Disclaimer: Priest and its characters belong to Scott Stewart.

Claimer: I own Tessa.

Chapter #9: Tender

The next morning was spent trying to avoid eye contact with him while she unpacked her bags and put her clothes away. He was hanging around, and it was both an irritation and added to the already building tension thickening in the air like paste. She needed space, and he wasn't giving it to her. She ignored him completely, and she could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to the nightstand on her side of the bed. Although she felt horrible for doing so, she purposely pretended she didn't notice the flowers as she took out her journal and walked over to the desk. She sat with her back to him, and because of this she didn't see his eyes fall. Taking a hint, he left wordlessly. As usual, he returned a few minutes later with breakfast for her, but she was hardly in the mood to eat. He just set it down on the desk for her and walked away, and she heard him stripping once again. Despite her anger, she found it commendable he got up and got dressed just to give her breakfast.

Shoulders slouching, she looked over her shoulder with a quiet sigh. His back was facing her, and her eyes once again trained on his scarred back. The old wounds were dulled but visible, much like the faded memories of their good days. Finally making a decision, she silently stood up and padded over to him, watching as he paused when he heard her approaching. He glanced over his shoulder at her but didn't turn, and a second later he felt her fingers lightly brush his side. His gaze shifted there and then back to her, and she looked up to meet his stare. They were both quiet for a lengthy minute. He was waiting for her to speak first, and when she finally did her voice was calm but solemn.

"I'm still angry… but continuing to fight isn't going to make this any easier." She bit her lip. "I didn't mean what I said… about faking it."

Surprise flickered across his eyes.

"I was just really angry and confused, but I shouldn't have said that. You're right. I did enjoy myself… but that was a different man."

His eyes were searching hers intently, and she turned away once more, returning to the desk. He stared after her, when his eyes flickered to something near her to see she had placed the desert rose plant on the desk with her. A miniature smile made it to his face at realizing she had noticed it after all, but then it faded away as he remembered what he had done the day prior. He wanted to attempt talking to her again, but before he could part his lips to speak a knock on the door redirected his attention. Tessa looked up from her journal in alert.

She had grown to caution visitors, but she was safe this time. As long as he was with her, the others wouldn't touch her. She was presented with a surprise, however, when he opened the door to reveal a human man, not a Familiar. What was a human doing with a bunch of vampires and Familiars? They spoke in hushed tones, and she strained to listen, but she could only catch a couple words here and there. Then suddenly she heard Julian say "are you sure?" and saw the man in the door nod. A few more words were exchanged before they finally stepped back from each other, and the man tipped his hat before departing. She watched as he shut the door once more, and she grew curious when he just stood there instead of turning to face her right away. Something was wrong.

"Tessa, we need to talk…"

She blinked. "What is it…?"

"I had a scout go to the city after you mentioned Benny. I figured it would give you a piece of mind, but…" He trailed off.

She stood up instantly, eyes lighting up with interest. "You did? How is he?"

He turned his head to her, but his eyes fell. When he met her gaze, she could see it in his stare. Something was definitely wrong. The news he had for her wasn't good news.

"What is it…?" she asked again. "Is Benny okay?"

He sighed. "He's gone, Tess."

She stared at him. "Gone as in not in the city…?"

He held her gaze but didn't say anything, and she knew that wasn't what he meant. "He passed last month from a heart attack."

He watched as her entire body seemed to turn to stone. That was how still she became; it was like she had been shut off. All the emotion had suddenly disappeared from her eyes, leaving her with an eerily empty stare. Not many things put him at unease, but she was pulling it off right at that moment. He didn't like how she was looking at him, but he figured it was because she was in shock. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know what he could say.

"I need to be alone…"

He looked up at her, and then glanced down before nodding, knowing he could do nothing for her at that moment. He couldn't stay away long, though. Having spent over an hour prowling around the property, he had officially run out of things that needed to be done—all except one. Returning to the room, he knocked quietly on the door.

"It's me," he said. "Are you decent?" When he didn't receive an answer he figured she was asleep, so he quietly unlocked the door and pushed it open. As expected, she was laying with her back facing him. At least she hadn't tried breaking the damn door down again. He quietly kicked off his boots and shed both his coat and hat, but he kept his shirt on this time.

Tessa felt a dip in the mattress before a hand on her shoulder. She didn't fight him as he gently rolled her onto her back, and he loomed over her, his eyes searching her face closely. She had been crying. He could see her eyes were red-rimmed and still a bit glossy—probably why she had wanted him to leave. He wouldn't want anyone to see him cry, either. Knowing she would likely force him away, he slowly moved over her, and her eyes grew sharp with alert. Quietly, he tried soothing her.

"It's not like that," he said.

Lifting his hand, he gently stroked her bruised cheek with his thumb, eyes softened. She was staring up at him silently, but she made no move to shove him off her, so he took a chance. Slowly, he leaned down, surprising her when he placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Her eyes closed at the affectionate contact, face tensing, and before she could stop it a minuscule whimper escaped her lips. He shushed her softly, as his hand moved to caress her uninjured cheek. He was being so gentle with her. Briefly, her shining eyes moved to his, and she was shocked at what she saw in his golden stare. For some reason, everything came crashing down at that moment, as she recalled the stress she'd been through over the past few days, and the guilt she felt at how horrible she had been to him. She still felt betrayed, and she was still angry, and even though she had been giving him hell he was still trying to comfort her. She doubted he was anything close to this patient with others. Even she had to admit that. He had proven the fact with those Familiars. He was a loose cannon, but with her he was a different person. Closing her eyes, she felt tears prickling in them once more, and then she was breaking down in his arms.

He had brought her into his arms, holding her as she cried. She could feel his hand rubbing slow circles on her back as he tried soothing her. He didn't know how long he held her for, but when she finally calmed down he continued to hold her, mainly because she hadn't tried pulling away yet and he was enjoying having her in his arms again.

"I'm sorry, Tessa," he whispered.

She knew that his apology held two meanings, and she released a small sniffle. "Why are you being so good to me?"

"Because I'm not ready to give up on you." Her eyes closed, and he kissed her forehead. "I brought you something."

She lifted her head, orbs still glistening as she furrowed her eyebrows at him. Sitting, he scooted off the bed.

"Close your eyes."

She appeared slightly suspicious of him but did as he said after a moment. She was startled when she felt him drop something in front of her face, and her eyes opened out of reflex. When she saw what it was, she sat bolt upright in surprise. He watched her from the beside, happy to see she was at least moving. It was a baby bunny. Blinking, she turned her head up to look at him in disbelief, speechless and totally confused. He just watched her, and after a moment she took the tiny animal into her hands. It was a little ball of black fur, and it immediately crawled its way into her heart. Where had it come from? And why did he give it to her? He hardly seemed like the type. Finally, a smile made its way onto her lips as she set the bunny down and watched as it hopped around on the bed, unaware that he was watching her with a small smile of his own.

"Where did you find this little guy?" she asked finally.

"I didn't kill anyone for it if that's what you're worried about."

"…Why bring it back to me?"

"If you don't want it, I can always feed it to one of the vampires," he said smoothly, and then smirked when she held it to her possessively. "That's what I thought."

Satisfied that her mood was lifted, he walked across room to where a bottle of scotch sat on the dresser. She got up as well, taking the bunny with her. Kneeling down, she pulled over a box that had been sitting under the desk before walking to the bathroom. She reemerged with a towel, which she used to bed the box. He watched her as he unbuttoned his shirt, feeling rather pleased with himself. This was the woman he knew. It was good to see her back to herself for a change. He had hoped giving her the bunny would snap her out of the abyss she had fallen in. He'd found it when he'd gone to get her the desert roses, and it had just seemed like a good idea.

Tessa looked up after placing the bunny in the box, her fingers still stroking its soft fur with a maternal stare. She glanced towards him, and her eyes automatically shifted to his scarred back. Every time she looked at them, she couldn't help but come up with a million questions. If she ever asked him to tell her the stories of each scar, she probably would have been listening for hours.

"…Why did you do it?"

He glanced at her through mirror fleetingly. "I told you, if you don't want it—"

"I meant why did you become a priest?"

He looked back up once more, frowning the slightest bit. "It's not a life we choose."

"Couldn't you just refuse to obey?"

"There's no refusing the Church. If you do, you're punished and cast out." Turning, he glanced at her as he poured himself a drink. "Why the sudden curiosity?"

"Every time you take your shirt off, I see the scars on your body. I just still can't fathom what it must have been like…"

"It's in the past." Pouring a second drink, he handed it to her.

Walking up to him, she took it from his hand. "Hardly."

Again, he regarded her with a careful stare.

"Experiences like that don't just disappear. You spent practically your whole life as a priest. I can see it in your eyes that it still haunts you, and as much as you claim to love being a vampire, I know your experience in the hive wasn't any less traumatizing." Lifting her glass, she took a sip. "And I mean that in both a physical and figurative sense."

He frowned. "Physical?"

She motioned to his back. "You have three new scars on your back, and one on your shoulder."

He stared at her for a long moment. "You remember how many scars I had?"

"I'm just as surprised you remembered I love desert roses. I mean, I actually spent time looking over your scars, but I couldn't have spent more than a second mentioning desert roses, and I was pummeling you with a million other random facts at the time…" She trailed off suddenly when she looked up to fine he was smiling at her faintly. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're talking."

Her gaze faltered a bit, feeling a little guilty. Once he had finished his drink, he had laid back down for a catnap. She couldn't keep track of his sleeping patterns. At first, she had been shocked he needed to sleep at all, considering he was a vampire, but it appeared even they needed recharges here and there. That, or he was sleeping because he just felt like it. Deciding she was tired as well, she got into her side of the bed and pulled the covers over her. She didn't fall asleep right away, though, because her mind was whirling.

She was startled awake later that evening by a sudden jerk in the mattress followed by a scream. Having nearly jumped from her skin, she rolled over sharply to see he was sitting up beside her. His breathing was slightly quickened, the blankets pooled at his lap. She stared up at him silently, confused. He looked down at her after a moment, but instead of saying anything or offering explanation he just lay back down and turned his back to her. Her nonplussed eyes remained trained on his back for a long time, completely at a loss for words. It was obvious he had just woken from a night terror, but which of the horrors he had just relived was a mystery to her. It was also clear that he was embarrassed she had witnessed this moment of vulnerability. She debated it for a moment before extending her arm, and she touched his back gently. She both saw and felt him pause, and then after a moment he rolled over to face her.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.

Surprise flickered in his eyes, but he shook his head. "No."

She laid her head back down on the pillow. "I'm sorry I've been so cold towards you."

He stared at her for a long minute. "You may not believe it… but I really do care about you, Tessa."

"I know. I just wish you would care about others as well."

"I tried contacting Benny for you."

"I know, and I'm grateful."

Silence.

"But you still don't want to be with me." Sadness could be plainly detected in his voice, and she felt her heart clench without her control. She surprised him when she took his hand in hers.

"I don't hate you. I just can't be with you. Not while you continue to build another vampire army."

He looked away.

"Please don't be angry," she said quietly.

"I'm not."

"Then don't be sad."

He didn't say anything, and she squeezed his hand gently.

"I'm here now," she said.

"Not fully." She was quiet. "I miss you, Tess." His eyes shifted back to hers. "I miss our conversations. I constantly crave your touch…"

She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was so soft he almost didn't hear her. "Me too."

His gaze snapped to hers sharply, shocked. She held his stare evenly, her own eyes softened. All of a sudden, his desire to touch her became unbearable.

"Let me hold you, Tessa."

Her eyes met his.

"I just want to feel your body against mine," he said.

She remained silent for a little while, as a pregnant pause drifted through the air. He was shocked when she moved closer to him before rolling over. Unable to hold back his smile, he hooked his arm around her and pulled her back against his belly. She closed her eyes when she felt him nuzzle his face into her hair as he released a sigh of contentment, and she felt her heart melting for him.

"Julian?" she whispered.

"Mmm?"

"I want to apologize again for what I said. Our night together… it was real. I just wanted you to know that."

She didn't see it, but he smiled into her hair, and she felt his hand cover hers. She closed her eyes, her thumb stroking his knuckles as they drifted off once more.

Minor grammatical changes have been made to this chapter.

Finally, some peace between these two. Next chapter will have some vampires and a little more action, so stay tuned ;D The story is going to start heating up now.