AN: HIIIII! I am so sorry I fell out of posting on here. But the best news I am currently still in love with writing this story and actively writing for it! So much more to come! Thank you so much to the most recent reviewers, you have kept me going! your words mean the entire world to me! AvidReader1997- I am so glad you've enjoyed and you like their chemistry! I tried so hard to make their relationship really feel real. Ms-lady-Applejacks - Thank you for reading! Here is an update and lots more to come if you want them! LittleAngel2292 - THANK YOU! I hope you continue to love it! 0 forgotten-daydream 0 - Thank you so much! I have put so much work into really tapping into everything that makes Butcher himself. Carrot Top - Thank you for reading! evolution-500 - Thank you so much as always!
And thank you to every single person who has taken the time to review so far! Enjoy!
It was well into the middle of the day before they could leave the site. Addison sat with her legs curled up in the backseat of Butcher's car with the door open while he spoke with Mallory.
When he finished, Addison noticed Mallory shoot her a concerned look as he walked back to her from across the parking lot, but to be honest Addison didn't feel much of anything except exhaustion. She wasn't scared of that piece of shit and he hadn't really hurt her. Whatever knockout gas he'd used had done a fine job of keeping her loopy and out of it.
"They won't stop until they find the cunt," Billy rumbled as he came up, leaning against the car door. "And she swore to call us as soon as she did."
Addison nodded, and finally took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to track the bastard down herself, she could hardly keep her eyes open except for the fact that she was still covered in soot and dirt and blood, sticky and gross.
Billy let his gaze soften as he looked her over. "Don't think it's safe to go back to either of our places right now," he said, rubbing at his jaw.
"I'll get a hotel room," Addison replied, and she turned to her bag without waiting for him to answer. An agent had gone by her apartment earlier for her to grab clothes and her phone and a few other important things she didn't want left there.
Fuck the moral high ground, she thought as she plucked her cell from her bag. She'd use her black card to get a fucking suite on the top floor of one of those hotels uptown with as much security as the White House. They'd earned it.
As Billy drove them across the city, Addison reserved a room on her phone, making sure it was a place where you could check in and get a digital key card on the app without having to talk to anyone at the front desk. When they pulled into the parking garage, she scrubbed at her face in the mirror on the sun visor then pulled a loose sweater on over her bloody tank top. With Billy's duster and a pair of sunglasses added, she thought they could probably get through the lobby without being arrested.
She was right and they made it inside. Her key code was needed not only to get into the elevator but to get to the floor their room was on as well and Addison gave a quiet sigh of relief. She needed to rest, and she could not bear it if anything else happened to Billy because of her. They double locked the door of the room with a deadbolt and the thick metal door guard.
The room had a small sitting area and a huge bed, with a bathroom to the side. For a moment Addison stood there, not even able to think what she was supposed to do next. She tossed her bag on a chair then looked up to find Billy watching her.
Once more, when she met his intense hazel eyes they were drawn to each other by something outside of themselves - or maybe by something deep, deep inside. Billy took one step forward and wrapped her up in his arms, pulling her hard against his broad chest.
"I'm so sorry, Addi. I was such a prick, it was my fault…"
She shook her head against his shoulder, sliding her fingers into his hair and pulling back to look at him. "I wasn't any better," she murmured. "I'm not hurt but I shouldn't have put you through that…"
"He's after me, Addi, he's using you to hurt me, I can't…" his voice was thick and gruff. "I can't let -"
Addison shook her head again, and pulled Billy to her. "Fuck him. We'll get him."
"If something happens to you because of me I couldn't live with myself, Addison, I won't…" he broke off, his eyes dark and intense. "You're better off -"
"Nothing's going to happen to me. I'm here. I'm okay. I'm going to fucking kick that guy's ass."
Billy smirked, but Addison knew he was still struggling with the guilt. She could sense this was not something he was going to let drop but exhaustion was weighing her mind and her body down. "We'll talk about it more later."
Billy finally nodded and turned to kiss her temple again. "Let me start the shower for you, eh?" he murmured.
Addison nodded gratefully. "You too. I need to patch you up after."
He sighed, but didn't argue. He knew just as well as she did that her cuts had long healed but his injuries would not.
She pulled her sweater off and tossed it over a chair then threw the rest of her clothes in the trash in the bathroom. She felt disgusting and looked just as bad but it was Billy she was worried about. After he adjusted the shower spray, she watched him as he undressed, cataloguing every bruise and patch of raw red skin she could see and desperately wishing there was some way she could just make them disappear.
Billy wasn't bothered at all though. He held the shower door open for her and she stepped under the warm water, groaning in utter relief as everything immediately started to wash away.
Billy stepped in behind her, reaching for one of the little hotel bottles of soap and pouring it into his palm before he started gently rubbing his hands over her body. He started at her shoulders, smoothing and kneading, then urged her to turn around. The grotesque, disfigured B was still visible above her heart, and he ran the tip of his thumb over the dried blood with dark eyes before he washed it away along with everything else.
Addison closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of the spray of water on her back and Billy's touch washing away everything that had happened. He ran his soapy hands carefully over her breasts, then her stomach and her hips, before turning her around again to wash her back. Addison felt her body filling with warmth, her muscles relaxing one by one like magic as he took care of her.
After he helped her wash her hair she twisted it into a knot on top of her head and turned to him. "My turn," she murmured in a tone that brokered no discussion.
She did the same for him, but was especially careful over each burn and cut she came across, not all of them new. She made a note to herself of which ones needed to be tended when they got out whether he liked it or not, she savored the bits of him that were unmarred, lines of hard muscle and firm skin, and she reverently stroked the scars left over from god knows what horrible things.
The water was still warm when she finished, so she whispered "just a few more minutes" and Billy made a low noise of agreement in response. He sat on the wide tile bench in the shower and gathered in his lap and he held her there in the water until she started to fall asleep against his chest.
Finally Billy reached out to turn off the water and they dried off with thick towels. Addison pulled on a clean oversized tank top but Billy didn't bother with anything. "Bed," she directed him and he did as he was told. She pulled her first aid kit out of her bag and started to dab a little salve on the worst of the burns, adding bandages to ones that needed it, but trying not to be overly attentive.
"How did you get through the explosion?" she asked as she gently prodded at a patch of red skin on his arm, reaching for the burn gel again.
"When I saw the bomb I legged it for the back of the place but I knew I weren't gonna make it out. Shut myself up in a walk-in freezer just in time and then I found a way out that weren't totally in flames yet."
She put her stuff away then reached up to slide her hand along his jaw. "Thank you for coming for me…" She had to let him know, she had to tell him what it meant for him to never give up the way he did.
He nodded then moved her kit off the bed. "'Nough playin' doctor, sunshine. Ya need sleep."
He pushed the heavy blankets away and helped her lay down before pulling them back up and gathering her close. He nestled in close to her, slipping his arm around her waist and she wrapped her arms around him as he lay along side her settling with his head on her shoulder.
She thanked the universe over and over in her head that she still had him. After a moment she realized she could tell he was still thinking, not falling asleep.
"What are you doing?" she hummed, carding her fingers through his hair as he tightened his arm around her waist, his ear pressed to the flat of her chest. "Not that I'm complaining…"
"Listenin' to your heartbeat," he murmured gruffly. "Go to sleep."
Addison smiled, closing her eyes, and she did the same, listening to his.
They were woken up hours later by Billy's phone ringing from the nightstand. He jerked awake, moving his free arm to reach for it before he'd even fully opened his eyes.
"Yeah," he answered, his voice hoarse.
"We found him," Mallory replied in her customary clipped tone. Billy sat up so fast from where they were tangled together on the bed Addison tumbled out of his arms.
"Who is it," he growled.
"It took some digging but we traced the phone to a company called Dynamite Consulting, which is a subsidiary of Atlas Group, owned by NovaStar. Which is owned by James Stillwell."
"Stillwell? The fuck..."
"Madelyn Stillwell's brother."
Notes: Huge thank you to evolution-500 on ff dot net for giving me the idea to use James as a bad guy! (There is no Madelyn in the comics). It fit so great with the direction I wanted to go in! Sooooo much more drama to come! How do you think Billy is going to handle all of this?
Thank you for reading and oh please let me know if you're enjoying!