35- Back to Work.

Quayleigh groaned as her alarm clock turned on the radio.

"Boo, I don't want to get out of bed," she complained to the upbeat sound of a latest hit pop song.

She had kept her alarm set to the station because she had always found the pop genre this particular station primarily played to be overly obnoxious first thing in the morning. Today, it was annoying for an entirely different reason; she didn't want to leave Tau.

"It's not like you to be irresponsible," he said wrapping his hand around the back of her head and pulling her closer; her heart pounding to the sensation of his kiss upon her brow.

"I'm not being irresponsible, I'm procrastinating. So, instead of being early to work, I'll just be on time."

"Would you mind if I walked with you today?"

"I wouldn't mind at all. It will give you a chance to say 'hi' to Shane. I'd really like it if the two of you could get along."

"That shouldn't be a problem," he replied as she crawled over top of him and turned off the radio.

"Ah, much better," she said as he rolled onto his back beneath her.

Adjusting her position, she straddled him and ran her hands up the center of his chest, but before she could lean further down, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

"So beautiful," he gasped and snuggled against her.

Quayleigh found Tau to be affectionate in the oddest of ways, preferring to hold her close and snuggle in a way that reminded her of the family dog one of her childhood friends had. Proximity seemed to be the most important thing to him, and it never felt as if he wanted more. There was never a demand or expectation hidden behind his actions. Something as simple as rubbing her hand over the top of his head made him smile in contentment. And a gentle scratch could make him crane his head into her palm as if he couldn't get enough. Even in moments like this, when she expected the chance to kiss him, she found his cheek nuzzled into the nape of her neck instead. His actions had a calming effect on her. She enjoyed the feeling of his breath against her skin, the weight of his head on her shoulder, and the strength of his arms as they surrounded her. She couldn't deny that she felt loved by him.

"Tau," she whispered causing him to lean back and look up her. Placing her hands to his cheeks, she leaned in and kissed him. "Now that's a proper good morning. Sadly though, I really do have to start getting ready."

"I suspected as much." He smiled in a satisfied way. "Would you like more coffee?"

"I would," she replied as he released her, leaning back on his elbows.

Climbing off of him, she sat on the side of the bed and began to stretch out.

"It's going to be a long day." She sighed as she stood up and headed towards the bathroom. "Better use the dark roast, and the big mugs."

"Got it," he replied as she closed the door turning to look at herself in the mirror.

"Shit," she muttered to herself as she saw that her eye hadn't completely returned to its normal cloudy white appearance. Groaning, she lowered her head and rubbed at her face knowing she couldn't leave without wearing her eyepatch. "Well on the bright side, at least it matches my nails."

***********************************

"Now this is something I never thought I'd see!" Shane remarked as Quayleigh came into the store with Dylan behind her. "I was about to call that Detective friend of yours to file a missing person's report."

"Who's missing?" Dylan asked innocently enough as they approached the counter.

"Her obviously. She's never just on time. When she didn't show up an hour ago, I almost started to panic! But anyways, good afternoon to you. Wearing a shirt today I see," Shane said having not taken his eyes off Dylan since they walked into the store.

"Quayleigh says I have to wear one when we go out."

"And you listened? Boy, it should be a crime to keep all that covered up!"

"No shoes, no shirt, no service. It's on the door, Shane. I'm going to clock in. Don't let him give you any bad ideas Dylan," she said as she made her way towards the 'employee only' door.

"I'll try," Dylan replied as she pushed open the door.

"Just because you don't like them, doesn't make them bad." She heard Shane add as the door closed behind her.

With a sigh, she made her way into the back office and punched in before putting her coat and purse away. Heading back into the store, it seemed that Shane and Dylan were embroiled in deep conversation when Shane stopped midsentence and glared at her.

"What the hell happened to your eye?"

"It's nothing. My eye was just giving me a bit of trouble. Had a headache last night and now it's being overly sensitive to the light," she replied as she reached up to adjust the patch slightly. "It should be fine by tomorrow though."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but when's the last time you had it looked at by a doctor?"

"A few years ago, now."

"Then maybe it's time, if it's starting to give you trouble," Shane remarked as he turned back to Dylan. "You see, it's just like I said. She needs someone looking out for her and frankly, I'm tired of doing it by myself."

"You really are making a big deal out of nothing."

"Maybe, but I've never seen you have any problems with that eye before, so something's changed, and it's best if you stay on top of it."

"Except that I know what caused this, and it won't happen again," Quayleigh replied as she stepped behind the counter. "Now instead of worrying about it, can't you just be impressed that I'm color coordinated?" she said flashing her nails at him.

Giving her a stern look, Shane leaned towards Dylan, "did you do that?"

"I did," he replied with a tone of pride.

"Okay, fine, bonus points to you for fashion sense, and triple points to you for paying attention and doing as I said," Shane replied as he leaned against the counter side-eyeing Dylan. "Uh huh, something to be said for a man who can follow instructions. If you weren't already rich, I'd tell you to apply at the salon. You'd have women lining up around the block to get a manicure, especially if were willing to work in your natural state, Shirtless."

"Alright, that's enough out of you." Quayleigh giggled as she looked over at Dylan who seemed to be confused by the current conversation. "Are you heading out now?"

"Yes. I want to go see Willy to let him know that I am okay."

"Oh, then take some food with you," she said as she grabbed a bag out of behind the counter and headed down one of the aisles. Picking up a loaf of bread, a jar of strawberry jam, a container of peanut butter, and a package of shortbread cookies, she placed them into the bag and headed back to the counter. Making a note of the items, she tied up the bag and handed it to Dylan. "And please tell him thank you for me. I'm grateful that he gave you a safe place to stay."

"I will," he replied as he took the bag of groceries from her.

"Good. Now remember to be back at our place by six incase Yechiel shows up early, and I should be home by midnight."

"Okay, I won't forget." Leaning down he kissed her cheek and whispered, "I'll see you later."

"Enjoy your day," she replied as she watched him leave the store.

"Oh girl! What the hell happened between the two of you last night? And do NOT spare the details!" Shane exclaimed as she spun towards him, casting a gleeful smile.

"Shane, I don't even know where to start."

"Ah, with the good stuff." He huffed as he rolled his eyes.

"If you're looking for juicy details, you're going to be disappointed," she replied as she made her way back behind the counter.

"Are you serious?"

She nodded, "yeah, nothing juicy."

"Then please explain to me how it is that Shirtless suddenly doesn't look like he's about to murder half the city?"

Quayleigh giggled and sat down on the stool as Shane began to close out his register. "Honestly, he had no idea he looked so angry all the time. He had grown so used to scowling, it was second nature to him. Once I pointed it out, he got all self-conscious about it. Don't you think he looks more relaxed now?"

"I was going to go with happy, but sure, relaxed works too. Either way, he is fine. But look at you all glowing and smiley. Can't blame me for what I was thinking."

Quayleigh smiled as she took a moment too look around the store, "You're right, I can't blame you, but that's a hurdle that's going to take time for me to get over. You know, it feels like I've been here for ages, and I've enjoyed it. It's not a bad life. Garren's been more than good to me, and I'll never be able to pay him back for that, but for the first time, in a very long time, I don't feel like a part of me is missing. He makes me happy. Being around him is almost effortless, and I don't want that to change because we moved too fast."

Shane groaned and eyed her with concern, "what do you mean almost?"

"Exactly that. If he was perfect, I'd think it was too good to be true."

"Like Mom says, 'if you can learn to love their flaws, the rest comes easy.' Are you okay with what you've seen of his?"

"Well, they certainly aren't deal breakers. But it's not his flaws I'm concerned with, it's my own. All I can do now is hope that when he starts to see them, he'll be able to look passed them and want to stay."

"You are way too hard on yourself Quays. You've no more flaws than the rest of us. If he isn't willing to be patient, respect the time you need, and work with you to move passed your fears, then he's not the one for you. However, in my humble opinion, with the way he was looking at you, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, well, he's not the one I'm worried about. Eventually I'm going to have to meet his family, and I have a feeling they're going to be less than thrilled when they see me. I can practically hear them calling me a gold-digging witch in collective unison already."

"And yet something tells me, he's going to tell them to fuck right off."

They both laughed, and once Shane finished closing his register, Quayleigh opened hers and paid for the items she had given to Dylan. A few minutes later, Shane left for the day, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

******************

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Folsten questioned Harlowe as she marched out of the MET behind him.

"Getting answers."

"Then tell me about that token."

"Stay in your lane, Detective. You were there to observe not get involved in matters that don't concern you!"

"It concerns me, because it's you," she blurted out. Taking a pause, he stopped and turned to face her as she continued," If this arrangement compromises the integrity of our case Harlowe."

"We both know this has nothing to do with the case. Inniken only brought it up to play games. As a profiler isn't it your job to recognize this bullshit?"

"Asking questions is how you know I'm doing my job. I need to know what happened in there. Why did he insist on calling you Starbitten? And why agree to all of this for your token?"

"Because it's him. It's what he does!" Harlowe hollered and rubbed his brow in frustration. "I knew the moment he called me Starbitten where this meeting was going, and I was prepared for it. I hoped with an audience he would've spared the theatrics, but he hasn't changed in thirty years. He's still the same envious, pompous asshole that refuses to let go of the past. He's waited all these years to get his hands on that damned thing. Now what happens is in his court, so let it go Hayden. It has no bearing on our case. It was simply the price that we paid to access what we need."

"And what if we don't learn anything?"

"Then we paid for nothing. That's how this works. It's how it always works when dealing with them. It's a gamble, but this time, even if we don't learn anything, we may still gain a valuable asset from it and that makes it worth it," he remarked as he continued towards his car. "Still, I don't think this is going to be all for naught. Phaedra isn't the type to make decisions lightly. Between what he said, and then agreeing to our request so quickly, I got the impression that we aren't too far off the mark."

"That's the same impression I got," she replied as they arrived at the car and climbed in.

"And Inniken, what impression did you get from him?"

Folsten took a breath as she fastened her seat belt. "Despite your warning, he was neither fast talking nor as cryptic as I thought he'd be. He danced around certain things, but it came across as nothing more than a way to feel superior. He was attempting to belittle you, to ensure that you knew your place. He presents as a man in charge, he wants you to believe he's someone important, and he talks the way he does to distract from the truth, which is that he knows very little. It chaffed him to admit to you that he couldn't answer your questions, but he was more than willing to give up his position for that token. Does he value it as some sort of trophy? Seeing it as proof that he's somehow better than you? Between the two of them though, Phaedra is the one I'd be careful of. He will hold up his ended of this bargain, but he was definitely holding something back."

"Not bad. To Inniken, this token is more than just a trophy. It's the power he's always wanted and never been able to get his hands on. Phaedra on the other hand, is hard to get a read on. Always has been. Guess he's lost some of his charms with age," Harlowe chuckled as he started the car.

"Hardly. I'm just better at what I do, and he was more than willing to discount me from the moment of our introduction."

"Ha! You were playing him from the get-go. Nice work. No way the kid would have been able to pull that off."

"Appreciated." She smiled as he pulled out onto the road. "Where are we headed next?"

"A quick stop at the crime scene in Clairemont, and then to the Down's," he replied as he glanced at the time, "There's a certain clerk I've been meaning to meet for a while. Here's hoping she doesn't refuse my offer."