Riley

This girl was driving me crazy. She was hot one minute and cold the next. She was broken, and I wanted to be the one to fix her, so bad, but I don't know how.

I had to get out. I heard her crying, and I had the sudden over-whelming urge to go in and hold her. To tell her I was sorry and that it would be alright, but I couldn't do that. Hudson had warned me not to get close to this case, to Sabine, and I would do exactly as I was told.

In my rush to get out, I hadn't even thought about what food she would want. I know she likes cheeseburgers but we'd had them for lunch. I thought Pizza. Everyone likes Pizza, right?

The hotel I had chosen was one from the list Hudson had given me. He said a big resort left too many people to recognise her and put something in the media or to Chase.

Just thinking about that stupid radio announcement had me clenching my fists. She shouldn't have heard that. Knowing she witnessed her parents murder was enough for me to want to go on a personal vendetta to find the guy and smash his face in until he was unrecognisable. I didn't want anyone to hurt Sabine.

See what I mean? Crazy.

After circling the area for the fifth time and telling myself it was necessary to make sure it was safe, I decided I needed to head back. She was my charge, and as much as she was messing with my head, I had to keep her safe.

Walking back toward the hotel room I concentrated on what I would say. I had been a jerk, I know, but I had to be to keep my distance.

As I approached the door to our room my heart raced and my feet pumped on the concrete as I ran.

She was screaming.

The door was locked and no way in hell was I waiting to get my keys out. I stepped back and kicked the door off its hinges.

My eyes darted across the room, searching for anything I needed to protect Sabine from, but stopped in confusion when I saw nothing.

I checked the bathroom and windows. No one had broken in, no one was here. What made her scream?

For the first time since I kicked the door in I looked toward Sabine, she was asleep, lying in the bed... and quiet.

Had I imagined her screaming?

She looked so peaceful when she slept. I had noticed that when she fell asleep in the car, also. Her deep brown hair fanned around her, the pain didn't hide behind her humour facade, her under eyes didn't look as dark. She was beautiful. Until she started screaming again.

"No! Please, please, please... Daddy!" she thrashed violently and cried out in pain.

I knelt down beside the bed and smoothed the hair from her face.

"Shhh... Shhh, Sabine, its okay. I won't let him hurt you again, I promise," I tried desperately to soothe her.

She whimpered and lent into my hand on her cheek, another tear falling down her face. I wiped it away, holding her face between my hands. I had to wake her up.

"Please, don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. No!" she screamed again and I reached to lift her before she began thrashing.

I climbed in and had her lying against my chest.

"Sabine, it's okay. I'm here." I whispered in her ear. She shifted toward me and cracked her eye open. Thank god. She was awake. She wasn't in pain anymore.

"R-Riley?" She asked disjointedly between sobs, still half asleep.

"Yeah, darlin', it's me. You're okay. Go back to sleep." At my words she began shaking her head furiously.

"No, no, no. I can't. I can't watch it again. Please," her voice cracked and my chest tightened. I had never heard anyone sound so desperate.

"Shhh... it's okay. Ill protect you. C'mon kid, you gotta sleep."

"Please don't make me." She cried and fisted her hand in my shirt; I smoothed her hair back and nodded.

We were quiet for a moment before she sniffled and buried her head closer to my chest. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. So much for not getting attached to the case.

"My daddy used to sing me to sleep at night. He would always sing a different song, every night. And mumma would stand at the door and listen. Sometimes she would sing along. I miss them."

They used to sing to her. I had to do something. I'd never seen her fragile.

An idea came to mind and I knew it would help her sleep. I shouldn't be so desperate to make her okay, but I was, and I'd already gone this far.

Softly and quietly, I began whispering the lyrics in her ears, just loud enough for her.

She smiled and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

-

Sabine

He was gone again when I woke up. There was no note this time. I tried not to think too much about it. I don't even know why he's the one that's mad, he insulted me.

I had dreamt last night. Actually dreamt. I can't remember exactly what it was but I know for sure it wasn't what usually haunts my mind at night. But I did have one nightmare; it had been a really bad one, worse than just replaying their deaths. It was... well, horrifying.

I don't even know how I went back to sleep after it. I remember waking up but not what happened in-between. But all night those lyrics had played through my head, they didn't stop. I hadn't heard the song since I was a little girl, but last night it came back to me, because... because...

Oh. Oh god. Because Riley had sung it to me.

My mind finally caught up and I jolted out of bed. He had woken me up. Laid with me. Calmed me. Sang to me.

And all I could think was: Why?

He had made a point of proving how I was just an inconvenience to him. He wanted nothing to do with me other than his job. Why bother calming me and singing me to sleep?

I must have been screaming. I had to have been. Maybe he just wanted me to shut up and thought that was the only way to do it. That made a lot more sense.

I slowly stood, shaking off the dizziness and walked around the room. The digital alarm clock on the side table said it was 7:05. I'd had a lot better sleep last night than I'd had in months. I felt refreshed. And hungry. Maybe Riley was getting us some food, considering I hadn't eaten dinner last night.

I checked the tiny, barely-qualifies-as-fridge to see if the hotel had anything but found two completely uneaten pizzas. Riley must have gotten last night and not eaten either.

Shrugging, I picked a piece of each and sat back down on the bed. Picking at the cold toppings, I kept looking toward the door to see Riley return, before mentally slapping myself and concentrating on the food again.

For a 24 hour guard, he seemed to be gone a lot; I mean anyone could just come in and...

Grab me!

Nope, nothing happened. God, I'm so bored out of my mind that I'm relying on physcos kidnapping me for some excitement. What had my life come to?

Licking each finger clean of pizza sauce, I finished the mediocre meal and headed for the bathroom, maybe a shower would help pass the time.

-

Crap. My clothes were out in the main room and all I had was a towel.

Riley wasn't back yet, I knew that for sure, so why was I freaking out?

I walked out of the bathroom slowly, like someone might be sitting there waiting, but no one was, of course. I lifted my bag and sorted through the clothing, jeans and jumper were looking pretty good to me.

I'd always loved winter, and even though it had never snowed in my city, mum and dad would take me all the time to a nearby place that did. I remember the snowman building competition dad did with me every year since I was four. Mine were always so small and bad compared to his but mumma would say I won anyway.

Now winter just reminded me of cold. Cold temperature, cold hearts, and cold-blooded killers.

I pulled my jeans on, very sophisticatedly doing the jump-tug-wiggle as Bliss and I called it until they were around my hips.

And of course, for all the reasons that the universe hates me, the door opens and Mr Riley Martin walks in and immediately stops when he sees me standing there in nothing but jeans and a bra.

God damn it. He doesn't turn around. He doesn't walk back out. He just stands there and looks. My only saving grace being the fact that it's not a totally ugly bra. I blush deep red and reach for my jumper, pulling it on as quickly as possible.

"Done there, hot shot?" I ask when I find Riley still staring at my newly covered stomach.

I smile when he clears his throat and looks away quickly. I think I hear him mumble a quick, "Sorry," but can't be sure.

I notice the bag he is holding and smell bacon. I ran and steal it out of his hands, plonking back down on the bed to see what's inside.

"Hungry are we?" He asks, taking up position in the ugly chair. I roll my eyes and bite into the first piece of bacon I can find.

He also got me scrambled eggs and raisin toast. Yum.

"Thanks, I was starving," I said, crunching down on the raisin toast.

"You're welcome," was all he said and I wondered if he was going to talk about last night, or just pretend it hadn't happened. My bet was on the latter.

I watched him silently as I ate, paying attention to the way his bright green eyes surveyed the room, searching for any single threat but never settling on me. His dark brown hair was tossled in a way that made it look like he had been running his hand through it a lot. He probably had been.

The quiet was eating at me in way that made me have to fill it, so I asked the obvious question.

"Should I know where my twenty-four hour protector has been? Anything could have happened while you were gone," I raised my eyebrows at him and almost laughed at the widening of his eyes before he pulled his expression back to neutral, but I'd seen it.

"Securing the surroundings. I was never out of range of that door," he explained, pointing to the entry, "You were fine."

I felt like screwing my face up at him and poking my tongue out, but he already thought of me as a child, so I didn't.

Instead, I offered him one of my pieces of toast, holding it out toward him. He shook his head, motioning he didn't want it and I put it back.

"You're not eating?" I asked.

"No. You don't get to be-"

"-A highly skilled and physically fit police officer by eating food. Yeah, yeah, I get it."

He rolled his eyes at me for what had to be the sixtieth time since we'd met. I just smiled; it meant I was just accomplishing my new daily goal of annoying him.

"We probably still have about three hours until we arrived at the town you will be stationed in. If you're tired you can sleep in the car."

I thought about confronting him about last night. The question of, Why, still hanging over my head. But I knew that he would find a way to wiggle out of it anyhow, so I didn't bother.

"Okay, thank you. When are we leaving?"

"Right now. Pack up your things, kid."