The car was surrounded by flames. Huge flames. She could hear the crackling around her. She saw Kensi sitting in the seat next to her, unconscious.
"Kensi, wake up!" she screamed. She fought the restraints and tried to get free, but she couldn't. "Kensi!" She saw a familiar face through the flames. "Help! Akhil, help! We're stuck! Help us!" she cried, trying desperately to get free. She watched as Akhil stared at her for another moment, then turned and walked away.
Fatima jumped awake and wiped a tear. Her entire body was sore and she was scared. Not the best combination, she thought. She rolled over a bit and saw Ali sleeping next to her. Her hands shook and she slipped out of bed. She made her way into the living room, where she grabbed her keys from the table and slipped out of the apartment. She walked to the parking lot with her keys between her fingers and got into her car. She drove in silence, not even sure where she was going until she arrived. She sighed and turned off the car, then got out and went up to the door. She used her key to open it.
"Hello?" she asked softly. "It's me."
"What are you doing here?" Devin asked quietly, poking his head out from the kitchen.
"I, um… I had a bad dream. I didn't want to be alone," she whispered.
"I thought Ali was with you. Did something happen?" Devin asked, immediately protective.
"N-no. Just forget it," she whispered, turning around.
"No, no, hey. Come here. Stop it. Do you want something to drink? Some hot tea?" he suggested. Fatima nodded a little.
"Yeah," she whispered. Devin led her to the couch and gently tucked her in with a huge blanket over her.
"I'll get you a pillow after I get your tea going," he whispered. Fatima nodded and snuggled into the couch. Tears streamed down her face and she cried quietly as Devin started the tea. She sniffled and reached over for a tissue. She felt something cold gently nudge her cheek and she rolled over.
"Hi, pretty girl," Fatima said softly. "What's your name?" The dog barked softly and tried to climb onto the couch. Devin gently pulled her off Fatima and laughed.
"This is Roxy, my neighbor's dog," he said softly. "She was sleeping in my room, I should've warned you. I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Oh, it's okay, she's beautiful. I love her," Fatima whispered, gently rubbing the large brown and white dog. Fatima kissed her head and smiled.
"All right, if you're good with her, then I'll go get your pillow. If you want her in her kennel it's okay," Devin reassured her.
"No!" Fatima protested. "I wanna cuddle with her!" Devin laughed.
"Okay," he said softly. Fatima squealed and crawled off the couch, burying her face in Roxy's fur.
"Hi," she murmured. Roxy cuddled against Fatima and wagged her tail. "Pretty girl," she whispered. Devin came back into the living room and smiled softly.
"You, couch. Roxy, let me and Fatima get comfy and you can sleep on us. Okay?" Devin said softly. They snuggled onto the couch and Fatima immediately snuggled into Devin.
"Tell me about this dream," Devin whispered, rubbing her shoulder.
"Me and Kensi were back in that car," she whispered. "And the fire was surrounding us and I was so scared." Devin gently squeezed her hand.
"It's okay now," he whispered. Fatima sniffled.
"I saw Ali through the flames. I screamed, screamed for him to help. He just, he stared and laughed and walked away from us and the flames were getting really close and I thought the car was gonna blow up with us in it and I woke up crying and Ali didn't even wake up even when I got up and left," she cried. She felt a soft paw touch her shoulder and she smiled softly as Roxy snuggled against her. "Hi, baby," she whispered.
"Hey," Devin whispered. "Shh. I got you," he whispered. His hands found hers and he smiled softly. "Fatima," he whispered.
"Yeah?" she whispered back.
"Close your eyes. Do you think he would do that in real life?"
"I... I don't know," she whispered. Devin nodded.
"Fatima..."
"I want to break up with him," she whispered. "I've been trying so hard, pretending that it'll get better, but it just... It just isn't," she whispered.
"Then do it," he whispered. "And if he reacts badly, you tell me and I'll set him straight," Devin whispered.
"Rountree?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Can I tell you something? Do you promise not to judge me?" she whispered.
"Of course," Devin responded.
"I, um, I never liked Ali," she whispered. Tears stung her eyes and she suddenly wished she hadn't begun this conversation.
"Honestly, I could tell. It seemed like you were trying to force it to work," he said quietly.
"I was," she whispered.
"Why? You seemed so much happier when you were single, honestly," he said quietly.
"I was... I just, I guess I was trying to be the person I thought I should be," she whispered.
"Tell me about her," he said softly.
"She's not like me. She has a Muslim husband and she wears the hijab right and she... She doesn't feel anything towards other guys." She whispered the last part into her pillow as she cried.
"Can I ask what other guys?" Fatima was silent.
"You," she finally whispered.
"Really?" Devin asked, stunned.
"Yeah... I'm... I'm sorry," she began.
"Hey, no, uh uh. No. Don't go there. I, um, I have feelings for you too," he whispered. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare you off." Fatima smiled softly as Devin reached for his phone.
"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.
"Breaking up with Summer," Devin whispered. Fatima smiled softly.
"I guess I should break up with Ali," she said quietly. She opened her phone and immediately started crying.
"Hey, hey, what's the matter? Fatima," Devin said softly. Fatima showed him her phone, on which a text message that read "How about a little training session when you get home?"
"I don't get it," Devin admitted. Fatima sighed.
"I, um, when we were training, the guy had him like right behind me. Like, right behind me right behind me. Pressed against my back," she whispered.
"I'm so sorry. You didn't like it, did you?" he murmured. Fatima shook her head.
"Um, the trainer guy, he, um, he told me 'drop your hips'. So it was like, my butt was right on his crotch and I could feel him getting hard and-"
"Hey. Turn around. Look at me." Devin's voice was firm but gentle. Fatima wiggled around under the now sleeping dog and looked at him.
"Did you, or did you not vocalize your discomfort?" he asked.
"I didn't..." she mumbled.
"It's okay. It is. I just needed to know because if you did and he sent you that anyway, I'd have to beat his ass," Devin said quietly.
"I just wanted it to stop, I just tried to get it over with and he was moaning quietly in my ear, he whispered that he liked it once," she mumbled.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered.
"He joked at dinner that he'd take me home and we would train again, and I told him to cut it out because it wasn't funny. I thought he got the hint 'cause he dropped it until now. I told him I got called in to work so I could just get away after I had that nightmare," she whispered. "I just left and I told him I would come back in a few hours," she added.
"Fatima, come here. Hey. Come here. It is okay. You don't have to let him touch you in any way you aren't comfortable with, and this training thing is clearly making you uncomfortable. You do not have to train him. It is not your job. You do not ever have to let him touch you. Ever."
"I don't want him to," she whispered. "I don't like when he touches me," she whispered. Just then, her phone beeped. She picked it up and frowned. "He said I'm gone and come over," she said, frowning. "Is he cheating on me?" she asked quietly.
"It's entirely possible, Fatima. I'm sorry," he whispered. "Do you want to go figure it out?" he asked. Fatima nodded.
"I was gonna break up with him anyway, but... Yeah, I wanna know if there's another girl," she whispered. Rountree nodded and they crawled off the couch. Roxy immediately jumped up as well.
"It's okay, girl , we'll be back," Devin reassured the dog. Fatima sat back down.
"Oh, she was enjoying those cuddles, yes she was, oh, that's a good girl," she murmured as she rubbed Roxy's sides. Rountree smiled.
"You're cute," he said softly. Fatima smiled and stood up.
When they made it to the mission, Fatima saw Akhil waiting for her by her desk.
"Are you cheating on me?" she blurted out.
"That's awfully bold of you to say," he sneered.
"Are you?" she asked.
"If you must know, I am courting another woman, yes. But that's allowed," he said simply.
"Not with me, it isn't," she replied, sitting on her desk. "We've discussed this."
"You're always hanging around with Agent Rountree!"
"I'm not sleeping with him!"
"How could I know that?"
"It's called trust, Ali. I trusted you."
"Quit acting like you're so innocent, you whore," he snapped. Rountree was about to step in when Fatima put her hand up.
"Look at me. There was nothing, nothing going on, romantic or sexual, between Devin and I. He is my partner and my friend. But maybe I did just use you to distract myself from wanting him," she replied.
"Oh, so now you're admitting it?!"
"I hope you have fun with whoever you were sleeping with behind my back," Fatima snapped, turning around. Devin followed her out and got into the driver's seat of his truc
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah. I'm good," she replied.
"Summer read my message while I was waiting. We're officially broken up," he said softly. Fatima smiled softly.
"I guess that means we're both available now?" she asked.
"I guess we are," he said softly. He pulled out of the parking garage and drove for a few minutes, skipping their usual exit.
"Where are you going?" she asked nervously.
"I know a pretty nice spot I want to take you to. It was supposed to be a surprise, but do you want to know where I'm going?" he asked quietly.
"Um... I trust you," she decided. Devin grinned. Fatima smiled softly.
After about thirty minutes, they arrived at a small, secluded area of a beach surrounded by mountains. Fatima smiled as he backed up close to the water. Fatima got out and opened the back of the truck, then climbed in. Devin climbed in next to her and smiled softly.
"Fatima Namazi," he said softly.
"Yeah?" she asked softly.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," she mumbled, climbing on top of him. She kissed him softly.
"Stop me if I go too far," she mumbled. Devin sat up a bit and kissed her back. Their soft moans filled the air and Devin flipped them over.
"Ow!" Fatima cried out. Devin immediately sat up.
"What happened?" he whispered.
"I dunno. My back hit something sharp," she whispered. Devin turned a small lantern on and cleared a spot, then laid a towel down. Fatima laid down again and pulled Devin on top of her. They shared several heated kisses before Devin's hands found her hips.
"Is this okay?" he asked softly.
"I, uh, no," she mumbled. Devin immediately sat up and put his hands back on hers.
"Okay," he murmured. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too. Thank you for stopping," she said quietly.
"Of course. Do you want to kiss more, or do you just want to cuddle and look at the water?" he murmured.
"We can kiss. Just keep your hands on my face," she whispered.
"I can do that," Devin replied. "I'm so sorry I didn't ask first," he said softly.
"It's okay," she said softly. They kissed softly before Fatima settled down on his lap. Fatima closed her eyes as Devin gently ran his tongue over her lips. Fatima moaned softly and opened her mouth for him. She moaned and gently but his tongue. "Don't stop," she whimpered. Devin kissed her again. They nearly fell asleep in the back of the truck, alternating between sharing sleepy kisses and chatting quietly while staring at the water.