Page 89 of Rookie Days

‘Please, please!’Terror mounting now in the heartbreakingly young voice.‘Ellie, save me! He’s hurting me. Make him stop! Please. PLEASE!’

Laura’s plea ended on a scream, and Ellie sat up like a shot at the feel of something touching her face.

“No—" Scrambling for her weapon, she almost fell off the bed.

“Shhh… It’s me, babe.”

Out of breath, still half in the nightmare, Ellie blinked hard to regain focus.Janet.The room was all quiet and her lover was there now, watching her with eyes sparkling full of warmth and understanding.

“Jan.” She needed to say her name out loud.

“Yes, darling. Come here.”

Ellie did not resist when Janet climbed onto the narrow bed with her and pulled her in her arms. She closed her eyes again, let out a sharp breath.

“Another bad one, uh?”

“Yeah.” Another hard breath. “Yeah…”

“It’s okay now. Relax. I’ve got you.”

Janet’s fingers running softly through her hair made Ellie want to burrow tighter in her embrace. Without analyzing the need, or allowing her mind to come up with the usual reasons why she did not deserve this kind of comfort, she snuggled close with her cheek resting between her lover’s breasts. Slowly, her heartrate settled.

“So what brought this on tonight?” Janet asked eventually. “Do you know?”

“Ah… I guess I drifted off trying to figure out Hayes’s next step.”

“Mmm. No wonder.” Janet reached over her head to hit the light switch. In the soothing darkness, in her scrubs and socks, she pulled the light cover over them both. “Do you meditate?”

“Uh… No.”

“I’ll teach you.” Janet kept one arm around her shoulders and slid her free hand under the collar of her t-shirt, to lay it flat over her heart in a protective gesture. “If it works for an hyper-active surgeon like me, it’ll be good for an over-dedicated cop like you too.”

“Thanks. How did your emergency go?”

“It was a five-year old with a nasty concussion. Pleased to say he’s doing fine now, though I’m keeping him overnight for observation.”

“What happened to him?”

“Typical kids’ stuff. He decided to jump off the top part of his bunk bed after watching Superman, convinced that he would fly.”

“Wow.” Ellie smiled. “Cool kid.”

“Yes, that’s what I said.” Janet chuckled. “His mom wasn’t impressed with me or him.”

chapter 29

They chatted quietly for a while longer. Janet confirmed that she had checked on her injured colleague before calling it a day and that the hospital guard had replaced Officer Elias in front of her door for the night shift.

“She’s good,” she asserted. “We don’t have to worry about her falling asleep on the job. So now, you should definitely tell me to shut up, and get some yourself.”

“Not yet. I like the sound of your voice.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Detective.”

“What? Not ever?”

Janet smiled, found her mouth in the dark, and brushed a soft kiss over her lips.