*****Trigger warning for discussion of mental health and trauma. I've avoided making anything too graphic, but please take care if that is a sensitive subject for you.******

They had somehow slipped out of the chaos and now trudged back the way they came as rain hissed angrily down from the sky. Neither had spoken since Monsieur Rochelle pulled the sheet off Lucie's body—what was left of it, at least. JB had seen atrocities before, but it never got easier. He'd made sure to drag Sam out of the square before the crowd could clear enough for her to witness the reveal. JB knew all too well how such a sight invaded someone's nightmares for the rest of their life.

He glanced at Sam, but her gaze remained fixed on the muddy ground as they squished their way down the hill. Her cap lay plastered atop her soaked curls and large droplets cascaded down the bridge of her nose and dribbled onto her shoes. Her fischu was so drenched, JB could see straight through to her collarbone underneath.

"Sam, are you okay?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She stopped walking and stood quietly on the hill, so small against the wide, grey sky behind her. "They must have been on their way to meet us when it happened," she whispered. "Lucie might not have died if I hadn't asked her to tea."

JB reached for her hand and hoped his fingers felt reassuring in hers. "You can't know that for sure. Trust me, it's no good torturing yourself with what-ifs. I had to learn that really fast in my career."

"Well, I'm not a time agent," she said. "I'm not trained for this kind of thing and I was stupid to think I could go back in time and not have to deal with something like this. How do you do it all the time?"

"It's not easy," he said, shivering at just the memory of poor Charles Lindbergh Junior's tiny decomposed body, lying partly buried by a highway.

Her knees started to shake. "I feel dizzy." JB caught her elbow just in time to ease her gently onto the ground as her legs gave way. "I'm so pathetic."

"Hey." He slipped his hand under her chin and held it until she met his eyes. From here he could see a faint dusting of freckles on her nose and cheekbones, something he hadn't noticed before. "You're having a normal reaction to a horrible event. There's nothing pathetic about that." He paused, then added, "and you may not believe this, but you really shine out here. You're a natural at time travel. Me and my malfunctioning elucidator couldn't get by without you."

A loud sob escaped her throat and he realized he must have said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry."

"No, that's not…" she sniffled. "I'm just touched. And emotional and gross and covered in snot and please don't look at me right now while I'm an unstable wreck and you're so calm and professional. I swear I took my meds this morning."

He might have laughed if the circumstances were different. He was certain Cira was having a good cackle watching them from her desk at headquarters. Calm and professional? His emotions were what got him in such hot water with the Agency in the first place.

"You know," he said instead, "I had to take meds to regulate anxiety until I turned eighteen and was allowed to take the single dose treatment."

"What do you mean? They haven't perfected mental health treatment in the future?"

"Not quite. It's certainly a lot better, but there's a long way to go. Plus, there's still the issue of diagnosis. They didn't figure out I also had schizophrenia until it showed up in my early twenties and caused lots of problems for me and my family. I, um…" he swallowed, not even sure why he was sharing this much. "…I had some pretty dark days, not knowing what was real and what was a hallucination. Sometimes I just wanted it to stop and thought I had no way out except…" He couldn't finish the sentence. It was a time in his life he tried very hard to forget.

"I'm really sorry you went through that." Her face was so close to his now, he could smell the strawberry tea that still lingered on her breath.

"It's okay. They diagnosed it pretty fast, got me a vaccine, and I haven't had any problems since." Except for that time I saw the dead Lindbergh baby and thought it was Jonah. He blinked the memory away once again and focused on the softness of Sam's hands and how their foreheads were now touching. Something compelled him to brush her cheek and lean closer.

Then Sam's jaw tensed and her eyes narrowed on something behind him. "Don't. Move," she hissed.

Too late. He'd flung himself around to get a view of what had startled her and he spotted a large animal just feet away. It lay on its belly, tail flicking rhythmically like a cat ready to pounce. It had thick, reddish fur with a canine body, but a feline tail and claws. Its amber eyes were cat-like too. And its teeth…those could rip off someone's head in one bite.

The creature lunged at them. JB rolled out of its way just in time, but it pinned Sam to the wet grass. She screamed.

He flung himself at the beast and managed to grab hold of its tail. Its fur reeked like rotting flesh. What in God's name gave it that awful stench?

No matter. He had to reach Sam. If he could just get to that thimble in her pocket…

With the animal temporarily distracted, Sam got to her knees and bolted out of harm's way. She made it about three feet when her skirt caught on a jagged rock and she plummeted back down. She pulled at her skirt to no avail, getting her sleeve caught as she struggled. Meanwhile, the beast yanked its tail out of JB's grasp.

JB stumbled forward, but quickly steadied himself and raced to Sam's side, kicking up mud and rain as he hurried. In one final yank, Sam managed to rip off her bodice and skirt, freeing herself from the rock.

The creature charged at them once again, digging its talons into Sam's shoulder and neck. No sound escaped her lips this time. She lay motionless beside JB, bleeding.

There wasn't much time left. JB shoved his hand into Sam's right pocket and felt the cold brass thimble in his palm. In the split second that the creature lifted its paws for another attack, JB cried, "Elucidator, get us out of here!"