Yup, so this is the second one. Hope you like it.

Thank you so so so much, Charlotte Reese, for beta-ing this for me!!


The man had come out of nowhere. It was obvious he wasn't a cyborg, his eyes looking slightly crazed instead of blank. Maybe if she had been paying more attention she would have seen his shadow in the window.

They had been having a casual conversation that turned into a heated argument. Something about how John was getting out of control, doing stupid things, not thinking properly. Sarah was trying to agree with Derek, while still defending John at the same time. Of course, Sarah could relentlessly lecture him about growing up and taking responsibility, but that didn't mean she didn't feel sorry for him. He was just a kid, her son.

"It doesn't matter, Sarah," he told her angrily, saying her name darkly. It was clear this was a pressing matter for him, something he'd had on his mind for a while. His anger at her fueled her own anger at him. The poor defenseless paper towel holder she held was being crushed under her white knuckles while she shoved the paper towels on it. Glancing up at him, she noticed how his eyes turned lighter when he was angry. How they seemed to be staring at her so intensely it made her skin crawl.

"Yes, it does, Derek," she said his name with the same amount of venom. "He's not some soldier! He's a kid." Derek's mouth twitched, but she spoke before he could. "I understand he needs to be controlled, but yelling it into him isn't going to work." John may be the savior of mankind, but he's still a teenager and nothing was going to change that. Go at him with anger, he'll just lash out or run. He'll defy them anyway he can, just to prove that their words don't affect him. Shaking her head, she moved around the counter towards Derek, letting her hip brush against the edge.

"If we don't do anything about him, it'll continue. He needs to know that what's going on is serious," Derek explained, turning to face her and leaning against the counter.

Couldn't Derek see it was that exact reason that John was behaving irresponsibly? John knew it was serious. Knew that this was life or death. And he was trying to remove himself from it. Trying to keep his sanity. Trying not to become her.

"He does," Sarah replied, turning to leave the kitchen, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled roughly. Sarah convinced herself the only reason she let him pull her around to face him like that was because she knew they should settle the argument now, rather than through the day.

She just wasn't expecting the wave of awareness at his close proximity, as his intense gaze locked with hers.

"Are you going to do something about it?" he asked, and she could swear he was purposely making his breath hit her face.

Her hand turned and grasped his wrist in response, and her eyebrows knitted together, glaring at him. Her anger evaporated for a moment, and she stared at him, her thoughts stalling. Feeling his grip on her tighten, pulling her just a little closer, she quickly recuperated.

"I already am," she snapped, quiet and low to let him know she was serious, and not to mess with her. But, he didn't let go of her just yet.

"Better be sure," he warned her, and she tilted her head, biting the inside of her cheek. It was a way for her to control her anger and not break his arm right there. Of course, no matter how angry she got at him right now, she wouldn't physically harm him...that much. His hand tightened on her wrist even more, as if that were possible. What message was he desperately trying to send her? It occurred to Sarah she better learn quick, or else her hand would start to grow numb from lack of blood being able to travel to it.

And then, just like that, he released her. Flexing her hand, she gave him one last glare from under her lashes and turned away. That's when the glass to the back door shattered, and shortly after the door itself. Reflexively, her hand went to the small of her back to retrieve her gun, but it wasn't there. Images flashed through her mind, reminding her she had left it on the counter. Someone obviously had a gun, though, as the shots rang out, causing complete chaos. The man didn't seem to know exactly what he was shooting for, because his arm flew around, not aiming. Her legs braced themselves, ready to jump forward and engage in hand on hand combat with the man just as his hand whipped in her direction, when he jerked back, red spilling from his chest. But not before something collided with Sarah, pushing her to the ground and landing on her.

The air escaped her lungs in a quiet 'Oof!' as something smashed against her chest. Her eyes had closed as she choked to get air in her lungs. Her legs scraped the ground, desperate to get up, still fearful of the man who had so rudely burst into their house. But her arms were crushed between her and the thing on her. Only when she felt his deep panting by her ear and felt his arms wrapped around her back did she realized the thing was Derek.

"Wha-" But it still was a struggle to get air to her lungs. He picked his head up and looked at her, his eyes searching her face.

"You okay?" he asked after a moment. Struggling to look behind him, she saw the intruder was laying limp on the floor, gun scattered away across the room from the fall. When she felt one of Derek's hands travel down her back, she instantly snapped back to look at him. His thumb skimmed the edge of her waistband and he frowned. "Where's your gun? You could have been shot! If I hadn't shoved you out of the way, you'd be the one dead on the floor," he told her sharply. You would think his words would sound concerned or worried, but they were angry and reeked with disappointment.

Squirming to get her arms free from the crushing weight of his chest, she moved to grasp his waist, wanting to shove him off of her. However she hesitated when her fingers brushed his skin, due to his shirt riding from the movement of falling and whatnot. For a split second Sarah forgot all about the danger they could still be in, about the dead man lying maybe a yard away. About the questions and the frustration that would plague them for the next few days while dying, possibly literally, to know what it all meant and how it fit in.

Instead, all that she could hear was her own heartbeat mixed in with their breathing. See his face, inches from hers, and his eyes telling her he was in the same moment she was in. Feel his arms tighten around her by the slightest, pressing his body closer to hers, and his breath on her face. Feel his chest rising and falling, and the way she was frozen in place.

But it was only a moment, a split second, and she was already shoving him off of her. Acting as though it never happened...because she knew deep down that it wasn't supposed to. Still, as she knelt down to get a closer look at the man and she glanced up at Derek, the way he was staring at her was impossible for her to ignore. So she turned her attention back to the dead man and locked her thoughts in the little black box in her mind where every other thought not concerning the end of the world went when there was business at hand. Maybe she'd go back to the moment later, when she didn't realize she was thinking about it.


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