Love will save the day

Six year olds weren't supposed to die. In a just world- the world that Gwenyth struggled to create, little girls didn't bleed to death in the arms of the Criminalists that found them. They didn't look up at you with big blue eyes that slowly lost focus, whispering for their mother. These things didn't happen. Yet, when they did, all Gwen could do was seek that justice for them. She'd scoured that crime scene, scraping every bit of evidence she could.

Triple homicides were bad, and when she'd been called to the scene as the top criminalist in the area, she had known that it would be bad. Walking into that house had been like walking into a slasher-flick come reality. The arterial spray had covered the front hall, where Mrs. Hemmings had fallen. A single swipe to the jugular explaining that. In the upstairs hall, Mr. Hemmings had died- multiple stab wounds to the chest. There was no arterial spray, but there was still blood spatter from the impact, and some that had been flung from the knife.

Ten year old Thomas Hemmings had died in his bed. The little boy had died in his sleep, blunt force trauma to the head. He had never known what hit him, and had died happily in his sleep. Well, only happily in a morbid sense. Gwen knew she needed a vacation when she was beginning to think of dying in his sleep as a happy death for a fifth grader. Six year old Kimberly was missing altogether. In her sweep of the house, Gwen had found the molested little girl in the attic.

The past forty-eight hours had been some of the most excrutiating hours of her life. Holding the little dying child, hitting the officer had had neglected to check the attic, finishing the Crime Scene. The semen from the child's vagina had resulted in a suspect, and Gwen had been released to go home. Even though she hadn't slept in the last....she couldn't even tell you how long, Gwen had driven home. Walking up to her apartment, she stopped when she saw someone sitting outside of the door.

"Look, whoever you are, I don't feel like coping with any more blood, or stress, or trauma so....bugger off." She closed her eyes briefly, feeling herself sway slightly. "And do it quickly, please, so I can have the decency to not pass out until I have shut myself in my apartment." The figure stood, and Gwen realized what she should have known earlier, but had been too tired to process.

"Bugger off? Gwen, that's not a very nice thing to say to an old friend." He tucked his hands into his pockets, worried eyes belying the humor in his voice. He was concerned about her, which was good because she had to admit that she was pretty worried about herself.
"Zephyr."

Without another word, she moved closer to her friend, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. After a moment, his arms came up to hold her close. Zephyr and Gwen had been friends since interning for the same teacher. That had been three years ago, and now both had attained their jobs: Zephyr as a Chemistry Teacher and mad scientist; Gwen as a Crime Scene Investigator. The three years between had cemented their friendship, and kept their growing attraction in tact.

Many people had wondered how two people so close and so obviously caring about each other would go through so long together without dating. Gwen knew the answer- she hadn't proven to Zephyr that she could be trusted with his heart, and she couldn't open up enough to do so. A stalemate of sorts had occured between them, though their friendship continued. They popped in and out of each other's lives, constantly.

For the moment, Zephyr held Gwen as they stood in her hallway, letting her tears soak the front of his shirt. Something dreadful must have happened to her day, to cause the typically strong Gwen to break. Letting one arm drop, he dug around in his pocket for his key ring. Gwen had given him one of two spare keys to her apartment- so that he could water her plants if she ever had to go away. He used the keys to open her door, and moved them through it.
"Gwen, what's wrong?"

Zephyr lowered them to her couch, groping on her coffee table for the box of tissues. He used one to dab at her face, really worried about Gwen. Gwen calmed enough to tell Zephyr about the last two days, and Zephyr promptly pulled her back into his arms, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
"No wonder you told me to bugger off. I wouldn't have been as nice."

A very small giggle emanated from Gwen's lips, and Zephyr smiled in relief, glad that she would be alright.
"So, Ms. Reece, when was the last time you slept?" Her silence was all the answer he needed. Bending down, he pulled off her shoes, took her coat and hat, and dropped a blanket in her lap. Her wide eyes looked at him, worried that he would leave. Even though it was a school night, he was shrugging out of his own coat. He grinned at her, and then sat down on the couch, waiting for her to snuggle against him.

Once Gwen had, he picked up the remote control, and smiled at her.
"Sweet dreams, Gwen."

As she drifted off to sleep, she had to admit that perhaps everyone had been right. Maybe it was silly to confine her love for Zephyr as she had. She might have to make a move soon, but for now she would enjoy their friendship, and all that it had done for her. For now she would savor the strong arm around her, and the sounds of the Discovery channel buzzing in her ears.