A/N: I'm sorry if this story seems to be going really slow. That's because it is. I'm focusing more on the aftermath of everything rather than the high intensity action you get in the game. They have to face their own demons first, but I promise that the steamy bits will happen eventually.

They say that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. And Jayden obviously doesn't even like himself that much.

Okay, so this chapter isn't a lot longer than the last one, but it is still longer.

)O(

Jayden woke up with a headache. The kind that felt like Mad Jack was driving a bulldozer into his brain. Yeah, it had to be one of those headaches.

At first, he didn't remember the circumstances that had brought him to Madison's couch. One minute he was fine, then he was desperately searching for something to focus his sudden flash of blind rage on. The truly sad part, really, was that he had become used to this by now. Jayden had a million plausible explanations for the property damage he inflicted on numerous hotels.

It wasn't that he was an aggressive person, but without tripto...well, he just lost all control.

The only solution when he went into one of those rages, besides taking the drug, was to release it somehow. Usually inanimate objects were the first to go, and if it was really bad, there was always his own body...But never other people. That just wasn't an option. Jayden knew he couldn't take it if something happened, especially to her.

And that was why the last thing he remembered was holding a plate in his shaking hands, ready to smash it to pieces...

Madison was sitting at the dining room table with her laptop and a cup of coffee. She'd undoubtedly drowned her coffee with milk. It was a trait of her profession. The overcast sky flooded the room with gray light, giving her an almost silver complexion. A weary, angelic glow...

"You're awake." she said, though he knew very well what the look in her eyes meant. What she really wanted to say: You're alive.

"I am." he agreed. "Is that coffee?"

She made an effort at hiding her amusement. "Well, you just get straight to the heart of the matter, don't you?" I hardly think that's the heart of the matter, lady. The heart of the matter is what the fuck I'm doing here.

Madison went to the kitchen and poured him a cup. It was good: black and fresh and very real. She had honestly remembered how he liked his coffee. The warmth of the mug relaxed each muscle in his hands, which were tense from trembling all night. The rich flavor of the coffee was enough to wash out the unpleasant taste in his mouth.

All things considered, he felt surprisingly well-rested.

The pain in his skull began to ebb away a bit. At least it didn't feel exactly like someone was sticking red hot needles into the back of his eyes anymore.

You've got to be fucking kidding me, Norman, Jayden's rational self snapped, All this really wasn't enough for you, huh? You just had to go and get yourself addicted to caffeine, too.

But at least it wasn't triptocaine.

Right, and at least tripto isn't ARI. You are just picking your poison, Norman, the result is always the same. Hell, why don't you just take up smoking while you're at it? It's all a sign of something deeper, something seriously screwed up in your brain.

"Hey, Earth to Norman. Can you hear me?" He blinked, slowly coming back to reality. "You kind of...zoned out for a minute there. Are you okay? You'd tell me if you weren't, right? I mean, this is all a little overwhelming..." That was putting it mildly.

"I'm fine." Jayden answered, the lie being a natural reflex by now. Even though he knew that she was long past believing it. "Don't worry."

"I'm serious," Madison insisted, unwilling to leave the topic alone. It was, after all, the elephant in the room. "You really scared me last night, Norman. If this arrangement of ours is going to work, you can't keep secrets from me. Now tell me what the hell happened."

"Only if you tell me why you can't sleep," Sure, he wasn't in any position ot be demanding anything more than Madison was kind enough to give him. But this was not something he enjoyed talking about, so he might as well get something in return.

"I know you don't have a lot of respect for what I do, Mr. Profiler, but it may interest you to know that I spent two years in Iraq, covering the war." Madison began, speaking quietly. Her eyes were hard now, as if steeling herself. "The things I saw...horrible things...When I came home, I wanted so badly to put it all behind me. I wanted to forget. But the nightmares...It's always the same: masked men breaking into my apartment and attacking me. Then when I wake up, I'm frozen with the fear that I'm still dreaming, so I can't go back to sleep. That's why I can only relax in motels. It's the only place I actually feel safe. Go figure."

Jayden took a moment to absorb this information. It sounded like some kind of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder manifesting itself in Madison's subconscious. Christ, she shouldn't have to feel afraid, especially of some imaginary enemy.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not your fault."

"No, I mean about the plate I broke." he elaborated. "I think it's the triptocaine withdrawal that does that. I just...have no control sometimes. There's no telling what I might do when it happens and that terrifies me. So there you have it. That's the truth."

"Wow..." It was Madison's turn to take a moment and absorb the meaning of his words. "Well, I never liked that plate anyway. Anything else I should know about?"

"Nope." Except that I've lost my goddamn mind.