50

When Rose gets up to use the bathroom, I go to look for Izzy. Her dad's in the backyard, speaking on his radio and she watches him through the window, her back to me.

"How are you?" I ask, keeping my voice soft in case she hasn't heard me approach. I stand close behind her.

"Honestly? Sickened."

Pushing my doubts away, I bravely wrap myself around her, trying to offer a little comfort as she holds onto my arms to secure me in place for several long moments.

"Tell me something," she says, fatigue muddying her voice.

"Rose was always your biggest critic. When you…" I change my mind, unable to voice it. "I mean, there were times she'd have happily ripped your head from your body with her bare hands."

Izzy stills in my arms.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because tonight when she told me how you helped her, she smiled. She's the first person to make any kind of positive acknowledgment."

She relaxes again and I feel her hands squeezing me.

"I'm glad; I could really do with a few more allies. Fighting alone all the time gets exhausting."

Her dad finishes on his radio and heads back for the house, and we slowly unfurl from each other and take a step apart.

"They've picked up King at his place. I'm going back to the station, make sure everything's done by the book. I don't want him having any excuse for getting away with this." He turns to Izzy. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll call Sue and ask if she'll keep Jimmy a while longer while we take Rose to get checked over." She turns to me. "Jimmy's at Dad's friend Sue's place in La Push, she explains. "I usually pick him up around now, but I'm sure she won't mind hanging on to him for me."

"You don't have to change your plans," I tell her. "I'll take Rose, we'll be fine."

"It's no trouble, really," she insists. "And she may need a girlfriend there, you know?" She gives me this look, and it takes a moment, but suddenly the meaning behind her words clicks into place.

"Oh, man, he didn't?" I'm pacing the small kitchen, one hand in my hair, gripping tightly. "That mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch. I swear to God…" My words tail off as Rose appears in the doorway, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"I'm ready," she says, and everything about her seems smaller; her voice, her height, her spirit.

I peel my hoodie off and go to her, wrapping her up in it until I'm satisfied she's properly cocooned. With my arm around her, I look to Izzy to see if she's ready too. The way she's looking at me nearly knocks me off my feet. She's softness and fondness and big, affectionate brown eyes.

And just like that, of all her unexpected moments, she's got me.

~S~