The first thing Gabriel felt when he woke up was the pounding inside his head. He felt like tribal drums and machine guns alike were assaulting his cranium.
The ex-Delta Force solider groaned and moved to sit up. His killer headache protested at the movement and Gabriel saw spots when he opened his eyes.
When his eyes were met with the sight of his own bedroom, he naturally thought something must be wrong with the chip. In the safety of his own apartment, it seemed unlikely any outside force would have assaulted him to createthis. Last time his chip had been hacked, he had felt almost exactly like this, after Riley had woken him up.
"Mh…mm…mmm"
The sounds of a sleeping person rolling over behind him nearly scared Gabriel out of his skin.
He turned his head toward the noise too sharply, causing a splitting wave of pins and needles through his neck. He was momentarily distracted from the person on his bed by the pain. He leaned his head into his hands, waiting for it to pass.
But the agony in his head only intensified and for a second Gabriel feared it wasn't going to pass.
Suddenly he was thrown into a cyber-render.
He was standing behind his couch, in his apartment. It must have been nearly midnight; he could see it was pitch black outside the windows in his kitchen. There were no lights on inside except for the TV, a muted Late Late show on CBS that was casting a flickering glow over the familiar living room.
He was made aware of someone on his couch when a high pitched shrieking giggle reached his sensitive ears. He winced, expecting his headache to react but felt nothing. Maybe headaches did not apply to cyber renders.
He walked around to the front of the couch and what he saw made his mouth fall open. But it sure as hell explained the headache.
There he was as himself, Gabriel Vaughn, with the biggest, most idiotic smile on his face. And not much else. Yup. He was buck naked and so was….. Riley Neal. His partner, also naked and… lying on top of him. They were slap happy drunk, beer and a tequila bottle littering the floor. Cuddling and laughing, they looked like fools in love.
God, his partner really was a beautiful woman but his face grew red and he adverted his eyes. He respected Riley too much to stare at her rendered body.
Was this even real? It was a render, but had it actually happened?
Gabriel tried to awaken himself, shaking his head and trying to focus on reality. The scene in front of him faded slowly, becoming more and more blurry.
Once his head was back in his bedroom on real time, his headache returned, making him cringe. The sunlight coming through the blinds stunned his eyes for a second.
But as he came to, Gabriel realized his recent render wasn't quite just imagination. Riley Neal was in his bed. Twisted in his sheets and sleeping like a baby, she looked peaceful and cute. His heart melted and he had the urge to kiss her forehead.
His own thoughts caught him off guard and a blush rose to his cheeks. He was glad Riley was not awake to see it. Oh God. What would happen when she woke up? She seemed was still naked although the sheet currently protected her modestly. Only one, long, gorgeous leg stuck out. Gabriel nervously cleared his throat and then mentally scolded himself for the noise. He still didn't know what he would say when she woke up.
He suddenly realized he was also unclothed. He headed to the bathroom and grabbed a t-shirt and one of his many jeans on the way. In the shower he took extra-long, nervous about what they would have to say to each other. As he shampooed his short brown hair Gabriel thought about his feelings for Riley.
He had to admit they had always had sexual tension between them. At work and out of work there was flirting galore. But that was just part of their friendship and partnership. They were professionals and worked well together.
Had they actually done it, gone all the way? He concluded they must have, if their underwear was off. Gabriel groaned.
Riley was the woman he cared for the most in the world and he had her back. And she knew that. And she had his back. He cared for her and knew her better than anyone else. In return she made him feel human when everyone else treated him like a robot. He had long stopped worrying that Riley was just doing her job. He could tell she cared for him too. But like this?
Of course, he had thought about her like this a little before, but had always repressed the feelings.
One time when Jin Cong had hacked his chip, Gabriel forgot who Riley was. It was one of the worst days of his life because he had almost hurt his best friend. But he had seen something in the way they knew each other and asked her if they were intimate. Clearly there was something between them, a kind of electricity that had to be more than friendship.
He thought about having a relationship with her, waking up every day to see that lovely face. The super human agent shook his head and tried to snap out of it and focus on the present.
The shower was helping take the edge off his headache and some memories were coming back to him from last night. Yesterday had been uneventful at work. It had also been Amelia's birthday. Riley had taken him home and he had lured her into playing a drinking game because he didn't want to be lonely on his deceased wife's birthday. His partner knew what day it was and humored him. It started out innocent but now Gabriel could recall the taste of her sweet skin and the feel of her lips.
He shivered.
Finally too pruned to stay any longer he left the safety of the shower, dressed himself, and tentatively reentered the bedroom.
She was gone. The sheets were still in disarray but Riley was not in them. Had he imagined it? No, his memories reminded him. It felt very real. The clock read 8:30 a.m. They were both so late for work. But where was she?
He stepped into the kitchen just in time to see her dark brown hair disappear into the hallway and his door slam. Had she run away? Was it that awful?
He leapt around the kitchen counter and yanked open his apartment door but the stair well was empty. The only sign of his escaping partner was pounding footsteps echoing. She must have run, he thought glumly. He respected her boundaries and didn't chase her farther. They would talk later.
He waited in vain for her to pick him up for work, while icing his head. He went to check on his phone hoping to see a message from Riley. Instead he had a text from Nelson saying they had no cases and could come in at 4:00 pm ish to do paperwork. Gabriel sighed and looked at the clock. 9:07 a.m.. He had time to kill before he would have a chance to talk to Riley and his head was still in agony. He decided the only thing to make him feel better was his favorite hangover cure. A cold bacon sandwich with chicken noodle soup.
Only one place served the meal like he liked it. Ernie's down the street. Gabriel wanted to go out to the restaurant immediately, but he usually wasn't allowed anywhere without his protection…which was Riley. Who clearly didn't want to talk to him right now. Besides he was a grown up and could take care of himself.
He hesitated only momentarily. What trouble could he possibly run into at Ernie's?