"Nora, you're taking forever!" I could here Danny whine through the bathroom. "Hurry up."

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he couldn't see me. I pulled down my right pant leg over my smooth skin. The bathroom was still pretty steamy from my quick shower. I squeezed my half damp hair in my half damp towel as I exited. From the left and from the reflection on my right, I could see Danny sprawled out on the bed.

I laughed. "You have got to be joking."

Danny smiled. "What?"

"You're sleeping on the floor." I abandoned the towel by the sink, giving up on my hair for the evening.

"No, I'm not. I obviously have the bed." He indicated to the mattress which he so proudly laid upon. "At least I'm willing to share. You don't have to sleep on the floor if you don't want to. The bed is plenty big for the two of us."

"I'm not sleeping with you," I affirmed.

"Whoa, keep it in your pants, princess. No need to take it to that level. Come on, I'm just trying to make both of us sleep comfortably here. I promise, I'm not going to touch you."

I searched his mind. He was telling the truth. He had no intention of trying to take advantage of me tonight.

Danny caressed the blankets in the space next to him. For a few moments, I stood by the sink, willing that he'd change his mind, decide to sleep on the floor, and let me have the bed. I eventually gave up, too tired to try to make him move. I sat on the edge before I fully committed to laying down beside him, leaving a couple of feet in between of course.

He turned his head smiled with a gentle relief. "See, princess? Was that so bad?"

I didn't say anything. My heart felt like it was doing somersaults in my chest. What was I doing?

"Okay," he grunted. "I've got to pee. Someone was taking forever in the bathroom," he accused pointedly.

The bed shifted as he got up. I took the opportunity of his absence to settle under the covers. The sheets acted like a shield around my heart. No connections. I absolutely could not make any more connections with him. My face felt hot. I wiggled to try to get comfortable, but my mind was racing in an attempt to try to be indifferent.

All too soon, the lights went out in our little hotel room. I heard the soft thuds of Danny's feet as he approached the bed again. He meandered around to get to his side. The sheets shifted and strained as he pulled himself under the covers with me. He exhaled and settled completely still beside me.

I could see the outline of his back through the darkness. It was no more than an arm's length away. So very very close.

And his mind was closer. He was so focused on me. His connection to me pulsed and strengthened with every silent second. I could feel his need to be closer. Temptation pulled and tugged at me to draw me nearer both physically and spiritually.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I reached my arm around and grabbed one of the far too many pillows on the bed. I wedged one or two between us as a barrier and skirted to the edge of my side.

Danny laughed once. "Good night, Nora."

That was too close. Why was this so hard this time? I had shut out so many people. So many people who didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated them for the sake of keeping myself safe. People who I had known a lot longer. Why wouldn't Danny just go away?

The feeling was unfamiliar and warm.

Plural for some reason rather than singular.

It almost seemed impossible for an emotion of this magnitude to be held by one spirit. And it was. Two spirits, barely discernible from each other clung to the same feeling. I focused.

It emitted a sort of strange comfort. Though still very foreign to me, I felt something very familiar. Like it wasn't so very different from what I had felt before.

Before I could explore the feeling, it started to fade. I tried to dive deeper back in the warmth, but I could feel myself becoming more and more awake. It was harder and harder to maintain the connection to sleep. I surprised myself by desperately reaching for it, even though I knew waking up was inevitable. It remained just out of my reach as I opened my eyes.

My arm was extended out in front of me. My hand gripped the shirt of the man sleeping beside me. I hastily tried to get a handle on the situation. My breath was heavy and panicked.

In contrast, his breathing was soft and steady. His blond hair was tousled and settled upon his forehead. He was so peaceful and quiet and beautiful in sleep.

My hand remained clutched at his chest. I could feel him move ever so slightly as he slept. I unclenched my hand from his clothes and drew it away slowly.

After that moment of realization, I sat up a bit too quickly, trying to somehow reverse what had happened. Thank god, Danny was still asleep. Who knows how he would have interpreted that gesture. I couldn't even bring myself to make sense of it.

I remembered I had put a pillow between us. I searched accusingly for the traitor. The pillow had somehow displaced to the other side of me while I was asleep.

I took a few breaths to try to calm myself down. I felt way too restless for how dark it was. I looked at the clock on the night stand and the loud, red numbers. It was too early for me to be awake, but too late for me to try to fall back asleep. I decided to head down to the lobby and wait for breakfast to open up.

I spent an hour or two just sitting outside the breakfast area, trying not to think. I concluded that the events that transpired had a simple explanation that wasn't worth trying to make sense of. I wasn't used to sleeping next to people. It was no wonder I acted strangely. I was just startled this morning when I happened to wake up next to Danny. If I had reached out to my sister, it wouldn't have been so unusual.

Emily. I closed my eyes and concentrated on her aura. I had a better sense of it this morning. It wasn't so distant. Not so much of an estimate this time. If our timing was good, we might just reach her by the afternoon.

Maybe that was why I felt so restless. I just wanted to see my sister again. She needed me.

I went back up to the room with two coffees in hand. It was a little difficult sliding the key card in and opening the door while juggling the hot drinks, but I somehow managed.

I kept the lights off. I tried my best to be quiet, but Danny stirred from his sleep.

"Nora?"

"Yeah, it's me," I announced in a sigh. I let the door close behind me with a thud.

"Did you go somewhere?" He rubbed at his eyes and sat up.

"Just for coffee."

Danny reached over and turned on the lamp. For the first time, I noticed Danny's handgun was placed on the table beside him.

"Did you sleep okay?" he yawned.

"Not really," I answered truthfully.

He nodded sleepily. "You kept tossing and turning. And you sleep talk."

"Sleep talk?"

"Yeah, something like, 'Stop. Let her go. Leave her alone.' You must have been having a nightmare or something."

I clenched my jaw. I had been dreaming about that again? How many times must I have muttered that when I was asleep? I guess I should be thankful I couldn't remember that part of my dream.

"You okay?" He looked at me with concern.

"I'm fine," I said. "I brought you coffee."

"Thanks, princess." He held his hand out as I brought it to him.

"Fair warning, it's pretty horrible," I said.

He took a sip anyway and made a face. "It's the caffeine that counts," he said almost as a reminder for himself. He took one more sip before he set it down and smirked. "You know, it's kind of nice, you getting me coffee for once."

I panicked and reanalyzed my gesture for misinterpretation. "I didn't get it because of that. I just thought if..."

"Relax, Nora. I know it's just coffee. At least you didn't pour it on me," he teased.

I was a little shocked. Why would he think I would pour coffee on him? It's not like I hated him.

"Besides, today's the day we find Emily," Danny said, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. "Better get cracking. The sooner we find her the better."

Danny ran his fingers through his hair. Again. And again. His eyes never broke away from the mirror as he tried to get his hair to stand up at exactly the right angle.

"There!" he said with satisfaction.

"I think you have enough gel in there to cover a small country," I commented. "Are you ready to check out now that we've wasted a good ten minutes?"

"Nice try, but my hair looks awesome, and you know it." He ran a hand over his hair. It didn't budge an inch. "And yes, I am ready."

When we got down to the lobby, Danny placed his hand on my waist. Before I could protest, he dragged me over to the front desk.

"Hi, we'd like to check out." He was back in character of newlywed and enjoying it way too much. He ignored my obvious irritation with our little charade.

"No problem," this attendant said with a bright smile. "Did you enjoy your stay with us tonight?"

Danny looked at me with a cocky grin. "I'd say it was pretty enjoyable, wouldn't you honey?"

This time, I knew he was aiming for a kiss on my cheek. I moved my face out of the way and rolled out of Danny's arm. "You smell like styling gel, darling. Might want to tone it down next time."

That certainly sent a shock to Danny's system. One little pet name sent him over the edge and spiraling. I smiled to myself as I left the hotel lobby. To put the final stake in, I held up my hand for him to see. Around my little finger was the key to his car.

I let myself in his shiny, red convertible. I closed my eyes in the passenger seat and waited for him to get done. Payback could never be too sweet.