Fight. That’s all Serenity could think as she blinked furiously to keep her eyes open. It had been five days since the first dream, or since she’d seen Dair, and for five days, she’d dreaded the coming of the night. Glory had stayed one night, but Serenity hated seeing her friend sleeping in a chair. Especially when there was nothing Glory could do to help. Serenity had the nightmares whether her friend was there or not. These days of dread were followed by five nights of utter terror as the nightmares continued to consume her mind each time she drifted off into sleep. The bullet she had taken had been less painful and less frightening than the torture the dreams had put her through.

Serenity reached for the remote that sat beside her in the hospital bed and turned on the television hanging on the wall across from her. She turned the volume up as loud as it would go. She figured a nurse would be in to check on her, but she didn’t care. She had to stay awake. If she had to sit on ice or eat Jell-O covered in cayenne pepper, she’d do it. She just couldn’t let her eyes close and let her mind be taken over by the hell that had captured it.

Just as she’d suspected, a few minutes after turning the television on, a nurse popped her head in the door.

“Everything okay?”

Serenity nodded. “Just couldn’t hear the show above some of the beeping and chatter out there.”

The nurse looked at her as though she’d lost a few brain cells along with the blood from the bullet. “Okay then. I’m just going to close the door. Hit your call light if you need something.”

Serenity nodded and turned to look back at the television as if she were interested in the program. The TV program was the last thing on her mind. She needed answers. What was happening to her? Why was it happening? Would it ever end, or was she doomed to face the fires of hell and tormenting demons in her sleep until she was finally put out of her misery?

Dair being gone wasn’t helping. She missed him fiercely. She missed his hypnotic voice and his tender touch. Her heart ached and she hated she was on the verge of tears. It wasn’t like it had been months since she’d seen him. It was five bloody days, but it had been the longest five days of her life. She knew he wasn’t off having a blast, he was working and making sure Emma was okay because Serenity had asked him to. And he was trying to figure out why he couldn’t fix whatever was wrong with her. Even knowing those things, she was still selfish enough to want him with her. What kind of person did that make her?

The day dragged on, and the hands turning on the clock seemed to be moving her closer and closer to her demise. She felt like she was on death row, and the ticking was the countdown to her turn on the table. Exhaustion was the drug that was pushed into the needle leading to her vein, and sleep was the death that would ultimately drag her to hell.

When had she suddenly become so poetic? Her English teacher would have been proud of the comparisons she’d just made. She’d never been very creative with words, but apparently sleep deprivation was all she needed to become Edgar Allen Poe. And now she was comparing herself to great writers. Modesty was clearly not a side effect of exhaustion.

The room seemed to dim, subtly, and someone unaware of the Sandman’s existence might have attributed the change to the simple shifting of the sunlight in the window, but Serenity knew differently.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Dair started, but Serenity cut him off.

“If you’re starting with that statement, then you are definitely complaining.” They were both speaking loudly to be heard over the blaring television, still she didn’t lower the volume. She was thankful that for the noise because, hopefully, it meant he wouldn’t be able to hear the catch in her throat. He was back. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest as she stared up at him. He was back and still as gorgeous and mysterious as ever.

“Fair enough. The television is a bit loud,” he said.

She sighed, attempting to lay on thick a veil of feigned nonchalant-ness. Serenity was sure she was failing at her attempts to appear unaffected because she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was all dark and tempting, tall and muscular but lean. He was what Glory would call ‘sex on a stick.’ Though, when she thought about the description she’d heard her friend use so many times in the past, she realized it made absolutely no sense. What exactly was sex on a stick supposed to be?

Dair stepped closer to the bed and snatched up the remote. He turned the volume down until it was little more than a murmur of background noise and then turned back to look at her.

“Why do you look confused?” he asked as he set the remote down. She didn’t miss how he’d set it out of her reach.

Needing to stay awake and continue to attempt to hide her desperate need of him, she decided the topic on her mind just might be interesting enough to keep her from giving in to her exhaustion, so she just blurted it out. “I’m trying to figure out exactly what sex on a stick means.”

Dair coughed suddenly as though he’d swallowed wrong. His brow rose as he stared down at her, but he didn’t shy away nor blush with embarrassment.

She probably should have expected the calm demeanor considering he was thousands of years old and, really, what could surprise a person who’d been around for that long? But she’d already opened the can of worms, and she couldn’t close it back now. “It can’t be literal. I mean, who could have sex on a stick? I’m pretty sure that would be impossible. But it’s not used as a verb. It’s used as a noun, so what exactly is Glory saying when she calls a guy sex on a stick?”

She tapped her lip with her forefinger as she considered the question. “It’s being used to say a guy is hot or sexy, obviously, but wouldn’t it make more sense to say that guy’s hot enough that I’d have sex with him? I mean that totally makes sense.” She looked up at Dair and noticed that his brow seemed to have risen far enough that his eyebrows had disappeared into the hair that hung forward on his forehead.

“Is this something you’ve been thinking about for a while?” he asked her.

“No,” Serenity shook her head. “It’s not something I ponder over often or anything. I was just thinking about how attractive you looked, and then something Glory would say popped into my head, and then I realized how ludicrous it was.”

“You were thinking I looked attractive,” he paused, his plump lips turning up into a smoldering smirk. “Just now?”

She rolled her eyes and sat back. What she wanted to say was, ‘yes you’re hot as hades and I really think you should take your clothes off’. Instead, she said, “Really? After all that, the only thing you heard was that I think you’re attractive?”

“You think I’m sex-on-a-stick attractive.” He purred.

Serenity shook her head. “No, because sex on a stick is unrealistic.”

“So, you think I’m hot enough to want to have—”

“I didn’t say that either,” she interrupted quickly. “You’re drawing conclusions from my hypothesis.”

“Isn’t that what a hypothesis is for? To help one come to a conclusion?” Dair challenged as he took a step closer to her. He took another, and he was right next to her bed. He nudged her leg just a bit to encourage her to make room for him, and she immediately shifted. Dair sat down gingerly and then leaned across her, resting his right hand next to her waist so he was holding himself directly over her.

“I think you’re sex on a stick,” he murmured as he leaned closer.

She chuckled. “Again, that makes no sense.”

“Fine, then I think you’re hot enough to have—”

She pressed a finger over his lips halting his words. “You know where I stand on that topic.”

He nodded, though it wasn’t a question. When she removed her finger, he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “When we’re man and wife, your attractiveness will lead to sex … with me, just to be clear.”

She tilted her head and a single brow rose. “Awkward wording, but I get the sentiment. Pretend I’m blushing.”

This brought a deep laugh from him. She nearly groaned from the sensuality of the sound.

“Why must I pretend you’re blushing?”

“Because if you’d put it in terms that were not so hard to work through, I would have blushed at the compliment. As it was, the way you worded it took me some time to decipher, so I didn’t really have the opportunity to feel embarrassed.”

“Why do I feel like this entire conversation is really more about distraction than anything else?” Dair asked her.

Serenity leaned her head back against the pillow, but she didn’t close her eyes, not even for a second. “Because this entire conversation is a distraction. For both of us.

“Why do you need to be distracted?” He frowned at her. He tilted her head up with his fingers so she had to look him in the eyes. Serenity knew the moment he felt what she was feeling. His eyes widened and then filled with guilt.

“Don’t,” she said quickly. “Don’t feel—”

Dair put a finger over her lips and shook his head. “I should have been here.”

Dair’s eyes narrowed on the woman who’d stolen his heart, and he felt that very same heart breaking. He was failing her. She needed him, and he was unable to be what she needed. He thought back to several of the demons he’d confronted, the first of them, the most powerful, had been the only one that had said anything somewhat helpful. The others had been a waste, and unfortunately, the last one he saw had decided he wanted to play ‘let’s see who can destroy each other.’ He’d battled that demon for two days, fighting off its attempts at planting false images into his mind. But that demon, and all the others, was too low in the chain of command to know anything. He needed to find an upper-level demon and, other than the principal of Emma’s school, he’d not been able to draw one out.

“I’m sorry,” Dair told her as he brushed her hair back from her face. He could feel her need of him and, though she was trying hard to hide it from him, the emotions were coming through loud and clear now that he was paying attention. “I’ve made you feel like you aren’t my top priority by leaving you alone. That was not my intention, but it doesn’t change that I’ve hurt you.”

A tear slid down her cheek and Dair clenched his jaw. Never in a million years did he want to be the one to cause her pain and yet that was exactly what he’d done.

“I just, I didn’t,” Serenity began, trying to hold in the tears that were building. “I didn’t know how badly I would miss you.”

Dair lean down and pressed his lips firmly to hers. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I missed you too, desperately. And I would have been back sooner but I got a little tied up.”

“I’m not trying to make things harder on you, Dair,” she began, but he cut her off with another kiss. This time he deepened it, parting her lips with his tongue and savoring the taste that was uniquely hers. Dair’s hand slipped into her hair, running his fingers through the soft strands until he was cupping the back of her head. He held her still as he tilted his own face just a bit more so he could get closer. He poured every ounce of love that he could into the kiss.

The emotions he held in tight control when he was with her slipped from his grasp and he felt the shadows wrap around them. The room grew dark as Dair let go of all his worries, fears, doubts and let himself simply feel. His lips left hers reluctantly and were only nullified because he continued to kiss her on her jaw, her neck, her shoulder where he pushed the hospital gown out of the way.

“Dair.” Serenity breathed out and he couldn’t tell if it was a plea to stop or to continue. He wasn’t ready to stop, not by a long shot, but one word from her and he would.

Her fingers had delved into his hair and she kept pulling him closer any time he pulled even the smallest bit away. Dair bit down gently on her neck. He remembered when she’d done the same to him in the parking lot of the vet clinic where she used to work. She gasped and pushed her body up, trying to get closer. When Dair felt as though he was approaching the point of no return, he forced himself to remove his lips from her body. He put just a little distance between them, but he didn’t stop touching her—he couldn’t. It was as if her touch was the only thing keeping him alive at the moment.”

“Please don’t ever be afraid to tell me what you’re feeling,” he said, hoping she could see how much he meant the words. “Princess, I’m not going anywhere. Nothing you could tell me will run me off. Do you understand?”

“What if I’m too clingy?” she asked, her face still flushed from their heated kiss.

“No such thing. I’d prefer if you remained attached to my side at all times. But I have a feeling you would tire of me.”

She shook her head. “Not possible.” She sighed and let out a frustrated groan. “I just never wanted to be that girl who couldn’t go a day without seeing her boyfriend. I didn’t want to lose myself in someone else.”

“Do you feel like you’ve lost yourself?”

“No, but I don’t like not seeing you every day.”

Dair’s lip turned up ever so slightly. “That’s called love, Serenity. Our hearts and souls long to be close. There’s no shame in that. I want to see you every day. Not seeing you these past days was killing me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

“Sounds like you’re describing me,” she said quietly.

“I will be here more. I’d like to say I won’t ever leave but, when I get an assignment, I have to go.”

“I don’t expect you to stop doing your job. It’s too important. And I still want you to check on Emma, because I need to know she’s okay. But I do need you here more, especially at night.”

Dair frowned. “The nightmares?”

She nodded.

It was then that he noticed the dark circles and bloodshot eyes. Her lips were drawn tightly across her beautiful face, and she was pale.

“Have you been drinking anything?”

She nodded. “Not a lot, but yes. And I’ve eaten,” she quickly added.

“Other than not wanting to sleep, and missing me …,” A smile tugged at his lips. He hated he’d hurt her, but he loved knowing she’d missed him as much as he’d missed her. “How are you feeling?”

Serenity shrugged as she looked up at the ceiling as though it were the most interesting thing since electricity was discovered. “I’m sore, but moving isn’t as painful as it was. I can get up and shower and move on my own.”

Dair was relieved to hear that at least that part of her life was moving in the right direction. The door behind him opened before he could ask her anymore questions, and he quickly stood and turned to face the visitor.

“Good evening. I’m Dr. Lester,” the man in the white coat said as he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands. “I apologize about the time. I’m the only doctor on call on this floor so it’s been taking me a while to make my rounds.” He dried his hands and then picked up the file that Dair hadn’t even noticed Dr. Lester had been carrying.

Dair held out his hand to the man. “I’m Dair. I’m Serenity’s boyfriend.” They shook hands. The instant he touched the man’s hand, Dair felt something was off. He narrowed his eyes on the doctor and tried to get a fix on what it was. There wasn’t a demon present, and he couldn’t necessarily feel evil. He honestly didn’t know what was going on.

“Nice to meet you,” Dr. Lester said and then turned to look at Serenity. “How are you feeling this evening?” he asked her. “You’re looking quite lovely for a woman who’s been through the ordeal you have.”

Dair bristled at Dr. Lester’s words and the flirtatious smile that accompanied them. Did the fool not just hear him say that he was Serenity’s boyfriend? Dair sat down next to Serenity, forcing the doctor to go to the other side of the bed.

“Other than being tired, I feel okay,” she answered.

“Yes, it’s hard to get rest in a hospital. Too much noise and people constantly in and out of your room, poking and prodding.” He said this as he began his own poking and prodding.

Dair knew the man was a doctor, but it still bothered him to watch him touch Serenity. Especially since he hadn’t even bothered to ask her permission or explain what he was doing.

As soon as Dr. Lester’s hands began lifting her gown, Dair growled. It was a primal animal sound. Serenity shot him a look, but he ignored it. His vision had narrowed to one thing—the man who was touching his mate. Married or not, Serenity had been given to him with the Creator’s blessing. No mere human was going to attempt to take her away, at least not and live to tell about it. Dr. Lester pulled the sheet up to cover Serenity below the hips as he pushed the gown up further. Before it could go all the way up to just below her chest, Dair’s hand shot out and grabbed the doctor’s wrist. “That is far enough.” His words were tight as they slipped through pinched lips.

Dr. Lester raised a brow at him. “I must examine her, but I will not be inappropriate, sir.” His own words were just as tense as Dair’s.

“Dair,” Serenity said, pulling his attention away from the man currently pushing on her stomach. “Look at me, please.”

Dair looked at her, but only because he could hear the plea in her voice and he couldn’t deny her anything when she sounded like that.

“Tell me where you’ve been. You said you were tied up?”

He clenched his jaw tightly together. She was trying to distract him. How was he supposed to tell her that he’d been battling a demon in order to get back to her, especially with this man in the room? He didn’t want to worry her, but he wasn’t going to lie to her either.

“You haven’t been here staying with her while she’s been injured?” Dr. Lester asked, the accusation in his voice not going unnoticed. “She really is going to need a lot of help. I would think as her boyfriend you would figure out a way to be here with her during this time.”

“Pardon me, Dr. Lester, but I am not really concerned with what you think. My concern only lies with the health and wellbeing of my mate.” His anger kept him from censoring his words. He knew that humans did not refer to their partners as mates, but it was what his kind called them and, in that moment, he was too focused on not strangling the man.

“Dr. Lester, I don’t think my boyfriend’s whereabouts are any of your business.”

The doctor’s eyes softened as he looked up at her. His hands paused and then patted her stomach gently. “You’re right. Forgive me.” He finally pulled her gown back down and then listened to her heart and checked her pulse and pupil reactions. When the good doctor was satisfied, he stood and glanced at Dair before looking back at Serenity. “Everything looks good so far. I still want you to stay a few more days. I’d rather err on the side of caution then send you home and have something go wrong. And since I’ll be the attending physician for the next few days, I will have the privilege of caring for you.”

Serenity smiled up at him. “Thank you.” Dair knew she wasn’t flirting with Dr. Lester, but he still didn’t want her smiling at him.

The doctor reached down as if he was going to touch her hair or pet her head. Hell. No. Dair reached out and grabbed the doctor’s hand and began shaking it. “Thank you for taking care of my love. It is appreciated. If you’re done, I do believe she needs to rest.”

“Of course,” Dr. Lester said and glanced back at Serenity as Dair pushed him toward the door. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”

“I’ll be here all night,” Dair said, his eyes flashing a warning at the man. He knew they were pitch black and swirling with the rage he was feeling. “If she needs anything, I will let you know. I would ask that you only check on her if it is absolutely necessary. She is tired and needs a good night’s sleep.”

“I will make my regular rounds later this evening, Mr…” He prompted. Dair thought it was cute that the human should try to learn his full name. Not that he had a last name.

“You can call me Serenity’s soon to be fiancé’. That should be sufficient.” He pushed Dr. Lester through the door and gave him one last look warning him away before shutting the door in his shocked face.

“Dair, are you okay?” Serenity huffed. “You seemed a little out of control.”

Dair turned back to her slowly, trying to regain control of his emotions. He wasn’t used to feeling rage, jealousy, anxiety, love, and need all at the same time. He felt very much like snapping at her, but he held his tongue. How could she be so obtuse at the man’s blatant flirting. “No. I wasn’t out of control, but I’m not okay either. It was entirely appropriate and altogether necessary I make Dr. Lester understand my place in your life and what his place is not. The man was hitting on you right in front of me. He insulted me. He touched you in a manner that was not necessary. He didn’t need to push your gown up that far to examine you. He was, how do you humans put it, copping a feel.” He spat. Okay, so apparently his emotions were not under control.

“I think you’re blowing it a bit out of proportion,” Serenity said. “He was just being nice. He had good bedside manner.”

“I don’t want him at your bedside with any manner. I don’t trust him.”

“What? Why? Was he … I mean … did he have a demon on him or in him or whatever?”

The worried look in her eyes made him feel horrible that he was scaring her, but she needed to remember that she couldn’t trust anyone, at least no one other than him and her immediate family. Every human was capable of falling prey to the enemy’s influences. And even if the man had nothing to do with the spiritual battle that seemed to be attacking all of them, he was an ass. That was reason enough for him to stay away from Serenity. “I didn’t feel a demon, but something about him seemed off.”

“Off how?” she asked.

Dair shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just didn’t like the feeling I was getting from him. Please trust me. I’m not just being a jealous boyfriend. Supernatural things can be hard to describe.”

“Don’t you mean soon to be fiancé?” she asked a tad dryly.

He rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his eyes. “Okay, so maybe that was a little too far. But he didn’t seem to think being my girlfriend was enough reason to consider you off limits. I thought maybe if I made it clear just how serious we were that he’d back off.” Dair had a feeling that all he’d done was issue a challenge to the doctor. He didn’t seem like the type to walk away when it was smart. No, he seemed like the kind of fool who would stand his ground when he didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“Are you really concerned about some harmless flirting? Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course, I trust you. I don’t, however, trust that doctor.” He pointed at the door he’d just pushed the doctor out of. “He acted much too comfortable with you, Serenity. No man—doctor or otherwise—touches the hair of a woman who is taken. Hair is sensual. It’s one of those things that is off-limits to others.”

Serenity suddenly looked amused and annoyed at the same time. For some reason, Dair felt this wasn’t a good thing.

“Oh? And what other things are off-limits?”

“Petting of any kind, hair or elsewhere,” he answered as he started ticking them off on his hand. “Front hugs.”

“Front hugs?” she interrupted with a laugh.

“Yes, front hugs.”

“Why?”

Was she really going to make him spell it out for her? She simply stared at him, waiting. So yes, she was going to make him spell it out. He took a deep breath and plowed on forward. “Because when a man hugs a woman from the front instead of the side, her chest is pressed against his, which means he feels, her, well, he feels, I mean against his chest are her—”

“Her breasts?” Serenity said as if they were talking about something as mundane as the weather.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Exactly. He has no business feeling those regardless of the way it happens.”

“Okay, so, no petting, no breast hugs, what else?”

“Front hugs,” he said.

“Front hugs, breast hugs, whatever,” she responded.

Dair felt like he should be squirming under her glare, but he held his ground. “No little chats. It should be all business or nothing at all.” A single brow rose on her face. He was in murky water now.

“Do you want me sitting around talking to another female just for the heck of it?” he challenged.

Her eyes narrowed on him. “No,” she snapped. “Okay, fine. I get what you’re saying. But I expect you to trust me to set those boundaries myself.”

“I will, when I’m not around. As long as I’m with you, I will be the one to make a man understand when he has crossed a line. Especially one as bold as that doctor.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Are you ready to go home?”

Her eyes snapped up. “Yes, of course.”

Her answer was sharp and he didn’t understand, unless she was still irritated with him over his reaction to Dr. Lester. “Are you alright? Am I missing something?”

After several moments of silence, she let out a resigned sigh. “I don’t want to sleep.” Serenity played with the fabric of the blanket that covered the bed, not looking at him as she spoke. “The nightmares, they’re too real. Going to sleep is torture.”

The strain in her voice was a dagger to his chest. He reached out and placed a finger beneath her chin and raised her head until he could see her frightened gaze. She was so very tired but past the tiredness, he could see the terror.

“They’ve gotten worse?”

“Not worse,” she said. Her lips tightened, and her eyes narrowed slightly. “They have been horrible from the beginning.”

“That’s not what you told me when I saw you last,” Dair’s voice rose as his frustration grew. “You told me they’d lessoned in intensity.”

She cringed at his words, obviously knowing how untrue her words had been. Serenity stared up at him; her eyes had widened at his loud voice, and she gripped the blanket, no longer simply playing with it.

“I didn’t want to worry you. You’ve been trying to help keep tabs on Emma and figure out why I’ve been having the dreams in the first place. I didn’t want to add to that.”

Dair could see in her eyes her need for him to understand and believe her. She hadn’t been purposely trying to hide things from him, she’d been trying to protect him.

“You don’t have to protect me, Princess,” he told her as he leaned closer to her. “It’s my job to protect you.”

“That’s not how relationships work, Dair.” Her chin rose as she met his eyes. “It goes both ways. We protect each other.”

Dair didn’t know how to make her understand that he needed to protect her. Not only did he want to, but something in him, some primal force inside of him, made him need to protect her. The idea of not being able to do that was almost crippling.

“Please don’t keep things from me. Even if you know it will make me worry, or hurt, or whatever. Please, let’s not have secrets.” Even as he said the words he felt like a jerk. He hadn’t told her exactly what he’d been doing when he was attempting to figure out why she was having the nightmares. He wanted to protect her, just as she wanted to him.

Serenity reached up and placed her hand against his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. Her skin was warm against his cooler flesh and soft as silk. “Okay,” she said softly. “No secrets.”

He let out a resigned sigh. “Then I must be honest with you.”

“What?” She said and attempted to pull away, but he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, holding her in place.

“You know I’ve been trying to determine why you’re having the nightmares. But you don’t know what that entails. To put it in a nutshell, I’ve been hunting demons and trying to get them to talk. The last one decided he wanted to do more than talk. That is why it took me so long to get back to you.” He couldn’t believe the weight that was lifted off his shoulders by telling her the truth, though he hated the worry he saw in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Dair leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, intending it to be short and sweet. But as soon as the heat of her mouth touched his, he was lost. He hummed his pleasure as her hand reached back into his hair, her fingers wrapping around the strands and pulling him closer. “I’m much, much better now,” he whispered against her mouth.

Serenity parted her lips for him without his prompting, and Dair wasn’t about to turn the offer away. The moist heat of her mouth collided with his, and he greedily sucked her breath into him. She was fire to his ice, and everything about her melted him. The passion he felt when they were close was something he’d never known, and it was addicting. He wanted to be closer, to feel more of her, and yet he didn’t want to hurt her. It had only been a week since she’d been injured, and he didn’t want to hurt her accidentally. Apparently, Serenity wasn’t concerned about pain because she pulled him forward until his chest was pressed to hers.

“Careful, love,” he murmured against her mouth. “You’ve recently been shot.”

She nipped his bottom lip playfully. “I don’t really care if you hurt me. I just want you close.”

Dair could still see the fear in her eyes, though it was clouded with passion as he pressed his lips across her jaw and down her neck. When he returned to her mouth, he left the gentleness behind and gave her what she wanted. Kissing her deeply, he enjoyed the way she moaned and pushed herself closer to him.

When he finally pulled back, he pressed one last kiss to her lips and then another on her forehead. “How about I help you get some good sleep?”

“A good dream?” she said breathlessly.

Dair chuckled. “Not this time, Princess. This time I think we’re going to go for no dreams. You need restful sleep.”

He helped her lay back, and then he turned off the overhead lights. Next, allowing his own natural affinity for darkness to envelope the room, he took away all the light that remained. He wanted her brain to trigger its response to the darkness and help her grow sleepier. He pressed his hand to her forehead and closed his eyes, allowing his power to flow into her mind.

“Sleep, my love,” he whispered as he continued to push his power into her until she was in a deep, dreamless sleep. Dair took the seat next to her bed and sat back, getting comfortable for the night ahead. He wouldn’t leave her side. He was going to watch over her all night long to ensure that she got some restful sleep.

As the time grew later, Dair felt something happening that he’d never before experienced. He might have panicked had he the energy to do so, but as his body grew heavy and his eyelids began to droop, he could do nothing more than wonder how on earth it was happening. For the first time in his existence, Dair did something he’d never done. He slept.

* * *

Emma sat on the front porch of Reginald Jones’ house, the place she’d called home for a week now. Home really wasn’t an appropriate word for the dwelling, however, as home to her was a place she wanted to be, not a place she was forced to be. So, in her mind, it was simply more like a hotel, albeit a very dirty, smelly, and depressing hotel.

“Are you cold?” Raphael asked her.

She shook her head, though she truly was. But regardless of her discomfort, she didn’t want to go inside. She didn’t want to feel trapped, and being in the house with that man most definitely made her feel trapped. Raphael must have been able to tell she was lying because he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she felt warmth pour over her.

“That’s handy,” she said with a small smile.

Raphael shrugged as though it were no big deal. “There are some perks that come with the job.”

They were both quiet as they watched the fading sun set on the horizon. The technicolor sky was breathtaking and oddly out of place in such an abandoned and unloved neighborhood. It was as though the last of the rays were trying to find the beauty in a place that no longer had any, so that it might brighten and bring that beauty to light. It might as well stop trying. The house in which she found herself was better suited to the darkness than the light of day.

“You made it through your first week of school, mostly unscathed,” Raphael said.

“I kept expecting something to happen, for something to go wrong,” she admitted. “But it was just like a normal week in any school.”

“I know what you mean,” he admitted. “I kept a close eye on Mr. Flannigan when I could, but he never acted out of character. He’s rude and mean to the teachers. He doesn’t go out of his way to help anyone, but I suspect that was his nature before he ever allowed the demon access.”

“How is Serenity doing?” Emma asked, not for the first time that week.

“From what I hear from Brudair, she has been having trouble sleeping.”

“Is it because she’s still in the hospital?”

Raphael shook his head. “I do not think so. Dair believes it is something very sinister that is attacking her mind while she sleeps. He’s been trying to find out what. The only thing he’s managed discover is that the master of hell wants her out of his way,” Raphael explained.

Emma frowned as she looked at him. “Is she going to be okay?” The angel looked uncertain about whether he should answer, but Emma refused to back down.

“I do not know,” he said as he looked away from her and back to the horizon. “But I hope so.”

She felt her stomach clench, and her heart beat painfully in her chest. Emma didn’t want anything to happen to her friend. Not just because Serenity had been willing to sacrifice her life for the girl, but because she cared deeply for her as a friend.

“If it is in Dair’s power to do so, he will protect her,” he said, attempting to reassure her.

“And what if it is beyond his power?”

For that question, Raphael had no answer.

* * *

Darla gripped the phone tightly in her hand as she listened to the woman on the other end drone on endlessly about the policy and procedures of the DHS department. She’d called to check on the paperwork they’d filled out. Leslie had been unavailable so she was now dealing with a woman who seemed to enjoy her job about as much as Uncle Wayne enjoyed his last colonoscopy. Darla had asked a simple question about gaining custody of Emma, and the woman had given her the run around for the past thirty minutes, eventually coming to the conclusion that Wayne and Darla wouldn’t be able to purse custody until the DHS caseworker assigned to Emma’s case had a chance to review the paperwork and contact them.

“Why can’t we just speak to the judge about it?” Darla asked.

“Because that is not how things work. The judge in your county wouldn’t have any authority at this point. There are specific procedures in place for the safety of the child,” the woman said in a cold, uncaring voice. Darla believed the woman was concerned for the children in the system about as much as she believed in the Tooth Fairy.

“What if I hire a lawyer?”

The woman sighed, as though she were talking to a child who wouldn’t shut up. “Having a lawyer does not change the fact that the assigned caseworker to Ms. Emma Whitmore has to be present for any proceedings in regard to her placement.”

“What if the judge knew that Emma wasn’t in a safe place? Would he be inclined to allow different circumstances?” Darla asked in a rush before the woman could try and hang up.

“How do you know the child is in an unsafe environment?”

Darla was even more pissed at the bored sound in the woman’s voice as she asked the question. “She is staying with Mildred Jones’ father, and Mildred is about as useful as tits on a bull. And as I told Ms. Brummet, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“So, you don’t really know if Ms. Whitmore’s placement is truly unsafe?”

Darla bit her lip to keep from screaming every obscenity she knew at the woman. “Look,” she bit out through clenched teeth. “We love Emma. We want to give her a secure, healthy home. Why on earth would the state not want that for her?”

“I suggest you get in contact with her caseworker. There is nothing I can do for you until the caseworker is brought into the situation.”

The distinct sound of the phone being hung up was like a slap in the face. Darla pulled her own phone away from her face and stared at it as though an alien creature were crawling out of it. “That heifer hung up on me.” She growled as she looked up at Wayne who was sitting at the dining room table.

“What did she say about Emma?” Wayne asked her.

“She said we had to contact her caseworker, that a judge wouldn’t see us until we’d spoken with her.”

“Do we even know where she is?”

Darla’s eyes narrowed. “No, but I know who can find out for us.” Darla glanced at the clock and saw that it was already nearly six thirty. It was no wonder the woman on the phone was being a bitty. She’d probably had to work over quitting time because Darla had kept her on the phone. After having to listen to the uncaring voice of the receptionist, this brought Darla some small measure of satisfaction.

“But, it will have to wait until tomorrow,” she added with a frown.

“It’s going to be okay, Darla,” Wayne said as he patted his leg, encouraging her to come to him.

Darla walked over and let him pull her onto his lap.

“Little Emma will be back here before you know it, and you can teach her to make green stuff and cookies.”

Darla laughed. “You’re only saying that because you’re hoping there will be more green stuff in the fridge if I’m teaching her to make it.”

“If nothing else, I am an opportunist,” Wayne said with a small amount of fanfare. “I would be a fool not to figure out a way to have more green stuff in the fridge.”

“At least you’re honest,” Darla said as she pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“Speaking of honest, have I told you the joke about the honest man and the devil?”

Darla leaned back to look at him, a single brow rose as her lips pursed. “Is it dirty?”

A sly grin spread across her husband’s face. “Now, Darla, when have I ever been known to tell a dirty joke?”

“A better question would be when have you ever told a clean one.”

“Clean jokes aren’t near as funny.”

She shook her head. “Only if you’re a pervert.”

“Touché.”