They just held each other. Both were still thinking about what might happen when Jessica was finally out of protective custody, but neither of them brought it up again. John decided to try to put Jessica's focus back where it needed to be.
"You feeling okay about tomorrow," he asked.
"As okay as I'm going to get. That lawyer really freaked me out."
"Don't worry about that. Just be yourself and be honest. You'll be fine."
"You'll be with me, right?"
"I'll be right next to you. Just far enough away that I'm not in the image."
After a few hours, John realized that Jessica was starting to doze off.
"Jess, sweetheart."
"Hmmm?"
"I need to get up for a minute."
Jessica groaned in protest, but she untangled herself from him. He got up and went to his leg. Ninety-two percent charge. Close enough. He sat down and attached the leg, watching as the cascading blue light lit the room for just a moment, then the flesh color took its place. A quick bathroom stop, and he was back in bed. Jessica moved right back into his arms as he settled. She put her leg back over his and felt the synthetic one. She pulled back just a little.
"You put the leg back on?"
"Yeah."
"John, I told you, I'm okay with it."
"I know you are. I just wanted to."
Jessica kissed him before she snuggled into his neck. His arms were wrapped tight around her waist, and he rolled onto his back, almost pulling her on top of him. They were soon both asleep.
It was the small, red, flashing light at his bedside that woke John up in the middle of the night. Someone was tampering with his alarm system. He softly shook Jessica awake.
"Jess... Jess, wake up."
"What's wr-"
"Shhh. Someone's trying to get in."
"Are you serious," she whispered, but her voice was filled with panic.
"Get on the floor on the side of the bed. Stay down."
Jessica slid to the floor and peeked through to the other side. She watched as John's bare feet padded softly to the other room after grabbing his gun from the drawer beside the bed. There was a noise, like a door lock being turned, and Jessica stopped breathing. There was silence. Too much silence, until it was broken by the sound of fighting. She recognized John's grunting, and could hear the grunts of someone else.
Then a gunshot. A scream.
"Stay down."
That was John's voice. Jessica felt herself exhale, and the room started to spin as she watched bare feet approach the bed.
"You can come out, Jess."
"I don't think I can."
John hurried around the bed and dropped to the floor beside her.
"You okay?"
"I got dizzy. This is too much."
He helped lift her into a sitting position and she latched onto him, wrapping her arms around him.
"It's okay," he said. "I need to call the Captain and report this. Can you get back in the bed?"
"Yeah."
John helped her back up, then walked back out of the room. She heard the intruder's voice. He wasn't dead.
"I'm bleeding. I need help."
"Yeah, yeah. You'll get help," John said. "Captain, I caught our crooked cop. Yeah... You might wanna bring an ambulance."
There was a lot of grunting and groaning, and then John was back in the bedroom.
"What's going on," Jessica asked.
"I've got him handcuffed to a table. The Captain is on her way with a forensics team. We need to get dressed."
John slipped on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, then helped Jessica into a pair of sweatpants.
"You stay here," he said, motioning for her to sit on the edge of the bed. "I don't want you face to face with this guy."
"No problem."
John turned to walk out of the room. He would wait with the intruder for the Captain.
"John," Jessica called out, "you said he's a cop?"
John nodded. "Yeah. He was on the security team at the hotel."
"Is he the one who shot me?"
John hesitated. "Most likely, yeah."
"You shot him?"
"In the leg, to keep him from running."
"Good."
A smirk pulled at John's lips.
"I'll be right in the other room," he said. "Just yell if you need me."
Jessica nodded, and waited for the Captain to arrive.
Everything moved fast. The forensics teamed photographed the scene. Blood samples were taken. An ambulance arrived and took care of the intruder's leg before he was hauled to the police station. Captain Maldonado pulled John aside.
"Okay. What happened?"
"The tamper light for my alarm system went off. I got Jessica on the floor, away from the entrance, then went to the front door. The lock disengaged and the intruder entered."
"You mean Walker."
"Yeah, Walker. He drew a weapon, and I tackled him to the ground. We fought over his gun, which I got away from him, and I shot him in the leg to immobilize him when he ran at me again. That's when I realized it was Walker."
"Then what?"
"I checked on Jessica. Helped her get off the floor. She said she got dizzy."
"How is she doing?"
"Okay, considering. I'd feel better if an EMT looked her over while they're still here."
"No problem." She called the EMT over and sent him into the bedroom. "Where were you when this all started?"
John hesitated. "Jessica was in the bed."
"And you?"
"On the couch."
Captain Maldonado eyed him for a moment, then glanced at the sofa.
"You sleep without a pillow, John?"
"Yeah... They say it's good for you."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard that... About a hundred years ago," she said sarcastically. "John-"
"Sandra..."
"Are you getting emotionally involved here?"
"No, I'm not getting involved. I already am involved."
"John-"
"Look, I know all the reasons not to, okay. It's not like I planned it, or expected it. It just happened."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? You're still adjusting to be being back. You have your suspicions about Ana... Do you want to go down this road?"
"I know you're worried about me, and I appreciate it, but she's not Ana. Talk to her for a while. You'll see."
She nodded and walked into the bedroom.
"Miss Townsend... How are you doing?"
"She prefers Jessica," John said.
"Right," Sandra said. "I do remember you saying that."
Jessica smiled. "I'm doing okay, I guess, all things considered."
"I just need to ask you a few questions," Sandra said.
"Okay."
"Where were you two when this all started?"
Jessica's eyes flicked to John and he nodded.
"It's all right," he said. "She knows."
"We were in bed."
"Why would you be afraid to admit that," Sandra asked.
"I don't want John to get in trouble, or lose his job. When we realized we were attracted to each other, we even talked about not acting on it until after I was out of protective custody, but... well..."
"Close quarters made that a little hard," John finished.
"Yeah. He's not in trouble, is he?"
"If something had happened to you, I may have had to take disciplinary action," Sandra said, "but, seeing as your okay, John followed protocol... I think we can overlook it this time."
"Good," John said, "because I want to interrogate Walker."
"Absolutely not. I can't allow that. Not only were you involved in his shooting, you were a possible target, and you're romantically involved with the intended target. As it is, I should be pulling you from the protection detail."
"Please, don't," Jessica said. "I trust John, and you've already had one of your cops involved."
"And that's why I'm not pulling him. The first priority is your safety. John has shown he's still focused, and we don't know if anyone else in involved."
A look of relief came over Jessica's face. Sandra stared at her a moment before turning to John.
"I'd like to talk to her alone a minute."
"As the Captain or as Sandra," John asked.
"Does it matter?"
"It might to her," he said pointing to Jessica.
"John-"
"Okay," he said, then looked at Jessica. "I'll just be in the other room."
When John left, Sandra sat on the edge of the bed next to Jessica.
"Did the medic take a look at your shoulder?"
"Yeah. He said it's healing fine. John did a good job. Something tells me that's not why you wanted to talk to me alone."
"John's a good friend. I've known him for years. He's been through a lot the past couple of years."
"I know. He told me."
"What did he tell you?"
"That he lost his partner and his leg in an ambush. That he was in a coma for almost two years."
"That's right. And this is what I'm talking about. John isn't one to open up so easily, so, I question why he's so open with you."
"We didn't have much to do but talk. So, we talked. I also know his middle name and why he has it, that his dad was a cop, and that we have a lot in common personality-wise."
"Do you know who he was going after when he was ambushed?"
"No. He didn't say, and I didn't ask. I didn't think it was important. He was explaining why he had so much trouble working with droids when he came back to the force. He told me how the droid left him and his partner behind. I think he was just trying to connect with me and let me know he understood my fear."
Sandra nodded. "You seem like a nice person, and John's a big boy, but you think of me as his older sister. You hurt him, you deal with me."
"Warning taken. I have no intentions of hurting him."
Sandra nodded and left the room. John came in a moment later.
"Should I be worried," John asked.
"She's just looking out for you."
"Did you pass the test?"
"I think so. For now, anyway."
"They're finishing up now. They're going to get the place cleaned up, but we can't stay here tonight. The Captain is getting a room at a hotel nearby, and they'll post two cops at the door. Human cops, though I think we saw tonight that it doesn't really matter."
"What about Dorian?"
"Dorian will be in the room with us."
"Good. I trust him... almost as much as I trust you."
John sat next to her on the bed. "This changes things a bit."
"How so?"
"The Captain is going fill the prosecutor in on what happened tonight. They're going to try to cut a deal with Alexander."
"He'll go free?"
"No. He'll still do a lot of jail time, but they may offer him a reduction on the murder charges. All of the charges for the attempts on you will stand firm."
"In return for?"
"A confession. Turning over anyone who may have helped him."
"And if he makes the deal... do I still have to testify?"
"No. If Walker gives up info, and Alexander takes the deal and confesses, you won't have to testify."
"That would be wonderful."
"Don't get your hopes up yet. Let's see what we get out of Walker first."
"That's why you wanted to interrogate him?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'd rather have you here with me."
Jessica stared at John as she brushed her thumb over his cheek.
"You have a bruise here... and a cut over your eye."
"He got off a couple good punches. I'm fine."
John placed a quick, soft kiss on her lips and stood. He reached out to take her hand.
"Come on. Let's pack a few things for the night."
John and Jessica picked up Dorian at the police station. The Captain and the two cops who would be standing guard at the room were waiting. They all went up together. The two uniformed cops stayed in the hall on either side of the door. The hotel room had a small living area with a sofa, and a separate bedroom.
"I'll be back at the station getting this all worked out with the prosecutor," Sandra said. "That bedroom door stays open so that Dorian can be fully aware of everything. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," John said.
"Dorian," Sandra said, "I want an audio link. Feed it to my office."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hopefully everything will be quiet for the night."
The Captain left. John grabbed his and Jessica's bags and brought them into the bedroom. Jessica followed.
"Door open, huh," she asked.
"It's not like we would have been doing anything anyway," John said.
"I know. It's just..."
"Privacy."
"Yeah," she said with a smile.
"What?"
"I just like how we understand each other. Those simple things, you know?"
John smiled at her as he pulled the covers down and held them up so Jessica could climb in, then he joined her. He circled his arms around her and held her close to his chest as he lay on his back.
"Have I mentioned how safe I feel in your arms?"
John smiled. "I think I remember you mentioning that."
"Good."