Heated

T W O ~ P R O T E C T O R

J A C K S O N

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The rapid screeching of the ECG machine woke me up with a start. My mind immediately processed all that was going on.

I rushed to the edge of the bed yet again and hugged her to my body.

"You're okay," I insisted, running my hand over her head in hopes of calming her down. She gurgled and coughed, choking on her own saliva as she fought to breathe.

"No, no, no," I held her trashing body gently, not to interfere with her IV, but firmly, to stop her from hurting herself.

"You're safe, I promise. You're safe," I assured and continued stroking her head.

Sobs racked her body. The same hopeless feeling that I've been dwelling in suffocated me as I watched the tiny little fae break down in my arms.

Within a few minutes, her breathing slowed as she stopped convulsing. I expected her to go back to sleep as she'd done every other time, however, she turned and looked right up at me.

Her eyes were a bright hazel, almost orange. Not only did the rarity of her eye colour shock me but it was the innocence in them. She looked so... harmless.

Her stare was unmoving and pinned me where I sat, unable to react.

Her eyelids started drooping again and she wrapped her arms around mine, rubbing her head against it in a kittenish manner.

She closed her eyes and I listened to her little breaths. She was too precious and I'm not sure I was able to handle it.

"... my hero," I thought I heard her mumble and for the first time in forever, a cheesy grin adorned my face.

It's only been about twenty-four hours since I carried her out of a burning apartment and as of ten hours ago, she has been waking up every hour completely and wholly traumatized.

I couldn't bring myself to leave. From the moment the EMT brought her to the hospital, to the moment she was moved to this room, I haven't left her. Well, save for the twenty minutes I spent showering in the hospital. I'd changed out of my uniform and into some casual clothes that I'd bought at the convenience store across the street.

I sat next to her bed for hours, wondering what the hell I was doing here. I tried convincing myself that this was wildly inappropriate but every time I tried to leave, I'd look at her face and knew that there was no way I could go.

As the hours passed and the results of the investigation starting coming in, I kept getting more and more reasons to stay.

The preliminary reports state that the cause of the fire might've been a lighter that exploding on the couch. It caught quickly and they suspect that the man we found was passed out from excessive alcohol consumption.

It didn't take rocket science to figure that one out with the number of bottles I saw on the floor.

Anyway, the apartment was carpeted and the fire spread quickly. The explosion was from the gas pipes and they confirmed that if we'd come just ten minutes later, the damage could've been much more detrimental.