Keira

She wasn't sure if it was the birds or the light streaming through the window that woke her up. All she knew was that something was different. Ever since she'd joined the military, she'd woken up like she was on a mission-immediately. Completely aware of her surroundings. Ready for action.

It was, she was beginning to realize, completely exhausting. It was also what made this morning different. This morning she came awake slowly, drifting somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. The sun was warm on her face, and the pillow beneath her head was soft and smelled comfortingly like Carlos.

Carlos.

Remembering, she blinked open her eyes and smiled at her partner, who was laying half on, half off his side, snoring softly. One arm was wrapped around his pillow, the other lightly rested on her hand laying on the blanket between them.

She'd been surprised when he carried her into his room, setting her on the edge of the bed and tucking her in like a child before slipping out of the room to shut everything off. She knew she should probably protest, especially when he walked back into the room in his pajama pants and turned off the light. But all he'd done was slip into bed wish her good night, and, half asleep, she'd wrapped herself in the feeling of being taken care of for the first time in a very, very long time.

Of course the nightmares came. They came every night, tormenting her with visions of Greg and Sam and her friends on the force burning, trapped beneath the crumbling buildings of a crumbling timeline until there was nothing left. She saw Alec, staring sightlessly through a cage while the edges burned and the other Alex-this Alex-stood by and watched.

Very visible signs of her failure to preserve her timeline. Victims of her own incompetence.

She'd woken screaming, trembling and sweating while her mind clawed its way back to the awareness. Only this time, she hadn't woken alone. Almost immediately Carlos had wrapped her in his arms, pulling her against his chest and whispering reassurances.

He'd been the one to bring her a cold cloth for her sweaty face, and to turn on the bedside lamp to chase the night's horrors away. Then he'd held her while she cried, and told him everything-everything about the freelancers, and the devil's bargain she'd made to get here. The impossible job they'd given her.

How she'd failed them all.

He hadn't given her false platitudes, just offered her the comfort of his presence while she relived the horrors she'd seen since Alec-her Alec-had stolen the device and created the timeline they were living in. Then, when she was finally spent, he'd held her while sleep swept over her and dragged her under.

It was the best night's sleep she'd had in months…years, if she was being honest with herself. And she owed it all to the man sleeping next to her. Smiling, she slipped quietly out of bed to start the coffee.

Carlos

He'd known the moment she'd slipped out of bed, had had a brief inner struggle with himself while he decided whether to let her go or pull her back in. He wasn't sure, in the bright morning light, how she was going to feel about spending the night with him, or the darkness in her soul she'd spilled to him the night before, and in the end decided to give her a little bit of space.

He hadn't been ready for the nightmares. He supposed he should have been-she'd been walking around looking like an exhausted zombie for weeks. Her screams had ripped him from sleep, had him reaching automatically for his gun before he realized they were the only two in the room. Instead, he'd reached for her, hoping that just this once she would lean on him, just a little.

He got more than he'd bargained for. He knew his partner had been dragged through hell since being pulled out of her timeline, but he'd been gutted by the horrors she'd shared the night before. Keeping secrets, hell. After everything she'd been through, it was a wonder she was still sane.

But, she had leaned on him. He reminded himself of that as he slid out of bed, automatically pulling the covers up over the pillows-and pausing, for just a second, to appreciate the unfamiliar scent of her shampoo mixing with his own. No matter that he'd all but bullied her into it. Weeping and vulnerable, she'd bared her soul to him the night before, tearing down the walls that she'd built sky high since she'd returned.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with that yet, but something about it felt right. Like he finally had his partner back. It was a start.

He debated grabbing and shower and changing into some jeans, then chucked the idea. It was Tuesday, and they both had the day off. There was no need to rush.

Peeking around the corner, he smiled. It was nice, to have her puttering around his kitchen like she belonged there, and whatever she was making smelled amazing. A far cry from the coffee and toast he usually grabbed in the morning.

Maybe he could convince her to stay, just a little longer. He knew soon he was going to have to get dressed and take her back to the precinct, so she could pick up her car and go back to her apartment-and the man that was waiting there for her. After the night before, he just wasn't ready to do it yet.

The stab of jealousy was a familiar ache, one he'd gotten used to since Keira had announced she was going to be taking What's His Face home with her. He couldn't help but wonder how many times this stranger had held her when she woke screaming in the night, and the mental picture had him seeing red. Ridiculous, to feel this possessive of a woman who had pushed him away over and over again…but then again, he'd never felt this way about a woman before.

At that moment she turned from the stove and beamed at him, and his heart flipped over. She was comfortable, and more casual and relaxed than he'd ever seen her, wearing an old VPD t-shirt and a pair of boxers he'd found for her the night before. In that moment, smiling at him without shadows in her eyes, dressed in his clothes and making breakfast in his kitchen, he felt himself taking that last fall and tumbling head over heels into love with his partner.

Giving into temptation, he walked over, looped a casual arm around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head before forcing himself to let go and grab a cup of coffee. She wasn't his yet, he reminded himself grimly. No matter how pleasant starting the morning with her in his arms was, it was still a long way from being any more than a one-shot thing. Keira had just started considering the possibility of building a home, and a life, here in this time. They had just begun building back up the trust between them. He was going to have to give her some time before he stepped up to ask how she felt about taking that next step with him.