* I've tried to make this chapter longer. There's a couple sections that are in Elijah's POV. Hopefully it isn't confusing. I love writing from Elijah's view point. I just like to be inside his head lol. I know someone's reading this, but I don't know if they are actually enjoying it. Please let me know what you think? Even if it's bad, I want to try to make improvements. :)*



Chapter Five

The guys headed to the Captain’s office and I frantically scanned the room for Elijah. I couldn’t see him anywhere. The elevator lights weren’t moving, so he wasn’t on his way up. My heart was in my throat and I could feel my breathing kick up a notch or two. I tried to count my breathing to calm myself down. All I could think was, “He thought I was rude to him. I didn’t even say goodbye. The only person to show me some kindness and he’s gone…”

I was still in panic mode when the Captain passed my desk and said, “I’m heading out to the hospital Danica. You can go whenever you want to. I’ll see you in the morning. Good work today.”

I absentmindedly nodded and tried desperately to get in control of myself. I don’t know how long I was fighting to gain control, but someone whispered, “Dani?”

My head shot up, “Eli?”

A smiled tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You called me by my name.”

I blushed and dropped my head again. “You have blood on you.”

“One of the team got hit. I had to deal with the hospital and contact his family…”

“Is he…?”

“No, he’s not dead. Just has a nasty shoulder wound. He’ll be fine after he’s patched up and gets some rest. You were worried?”

“Yes sir.” The truth had slipped out before I even knew what was happening.

“I told you I’d be back to finish our conversation.” He eyed me carefully. He could see the fatigue setting in and he wondered how long I’d been awake for. He softly said, “You did great today. I wouldn’t mind having you on all my missions.”

“Thank you sir. It was different.”

“How did you know about the tunnel?” He was just trying to keep me talking. This was the most he’d heard me speak since he met me.

“Blueprints sir. I guessed they would head for Central Park as that has the most escape routes without being noticed.”

“That was a good call. You heading home now?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’ll walk with you. You need to get some sleep, Dani. You look tired.”

I just nodded. I didn’t want to get onto this subject.

As I headed to the stairwell, Ash said, “Hay Danica, we’re heading to the bar to try to wind down. You wanna join us?”

“No thank you, sir.” I suddenly found my feet very interesting.

They were all now following me down the stairs and a hand grabbed my elbow as they said, “Come on, Danica. I’m sure a girl like you knows how to have a good time...” I yanked my elbow away, while trying to escape. My heart rate immediately picked up and my breathing became ragged. Elijah quickly picked up on what was going on, but he couldn’t get to me quick enough to stop the attack from starting. I was sobbing and trying to breathe at the same time as trying to escape.

I couldn’t see where I was going and my back hit the wall. I knew I needed to run; it wasn’t safe here, but I couldn’t see the way out. I heard someone ask, “What is going on? What’s wrong with her Eli?”

“Just let me get to her. Just back off, all of you. I’ll deal with this.”

My fingers were tingling and I just kept mumbling, “Don’t touch me, please don’t touch me...”

“Dani, it’s me, Eli. I’m gonna slide my gun to you, ok?”

Ash nearly exclaimed, “What are you doing, Eli?! You know you’re not allowed to hand your gun over to anyone!”

Eli snapped, “Just shut up Ash! It’s fine, just trust me.” Then he whispered to me, “Dani, take the gun. Good girl, that’s it.

I did as I had done previously, and pointed the gun at them while trying to get my breathing under control. They could see my hands trembling as I tried to steady the gun.

“It’s ok, Dani. Just breathe with me, good girl. Just point the gun at me. Forget about what else is going on. Just look at me. No, look at me not at everyone else. Come on; let me see your eyes.... Good girl. Count with me, ok?”

He counted with me, and I didn’t reach any form of normal until about 90 breaths. Tears were streaming down my face. I was petrified and embarrassed all at the same time. I managed to get to my feet unsteadily as I whispered, “I’m sorry, I have to go...” I dropped the gun as I all but ran down the stairs and fled.

Ash turned to Elijah and asked, “What the heck was that?! What just happened?”

Elijah rubbed his hands over his face and bent to pick up his gun. “I don’t know. She’s scared. I don’t know why, but she is.”

“Scared? That’s way more than scared, man. She’s terrified."

“I know, Ash, I know. Just.... I’m trying to help her, ok? I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about her.”

Ben piped up, “You trying to be the hero again, Eli?”

“I like her and I’m trying to help her. You saw what she’s like; she can’t be happy living like that. Just don’t tell the Captain. I don’t want her to get fired.”

“If it gets worse, you’ll have to tell the Captain. You can’t have someone working for us that could freak out at any moment. That’s really not safe.”

Eli sighed & mumbled, “I know, I know. Just let me try to help her first.”



Hands were grabbing at me; I couldn’t see where I was or who the hands belonged to. I knew they weren’t helping hands. I knew they were trying to hurt me. I shied away from the groping hands and I received a punch around the face. I tried to fight, but it only got worse. I was restrained... hands were everywhere.... those eyes, they appeared every time. Those dark, evil eyes. Watching me and laughing....

I screamed and jumped up. My eyes scanned the room, checking for anything that was out of place, making sure no one had got into my apartment. A few tears escaped as I sighed. Those few tears opened the floodgate and I sobbed and sobbed. I felt like my heart was breaking. I was too tired. Too tired to fight anymore, too tired to deal with my own mind, my dark memories and the demons that were catching up with me.

I cried until there were no tears left and then I got onto the treadmill. I ran until exhaustion wouldn’t let me go any further. My legs were like jello and I could hardly stand any longer. I got in the shower, trying to wash all the worry and stress off my body. I tried to scrub myself until I felt clean, but I knew that was never going to happen. I had resigned myself to feeling unclean years ago, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t try to rectify it.

When I saw my reflection in the mirror, I knew I couldn’t go into work looking like that. No amount of make-up was going to cover how awful I looked. Besides, I had completely embarrassed myself in front of Elijah and his team. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to go into work again. I couldn’t avoid them forever; their Captain’s office was right behind my desk.

I sighed and muttered to myself, “It’s Friday. Call in sick and maybe after the weekend, it wont be so embarrassing.”

I called Captain Michaels. I didn’t need to fake sounding sick. If I sounded anything like I looked, he’d have me hospitalized in a blink. He was very understanding, telling me to take the weekend to recover and that he’d see me on Monday.

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Eli’s POV

I’ve been waiting over an hour at the stairwell for Dani. She still hasn’t shown up. I hope she’s ok; she really freaked out last night. She freaks out a lot, actually. Something awful must have happened for her to be this way. Maybe the Captain has some history on her. She’d probably hate me for going to the Captain about her past. She obviously doesn’t want to talk about it, but she needs to talk about it to someone. Something is seriously wrong and I don’t think she can handle it on her own. I should wait for her to trust me, but I don’t know how long that will take. I don’t know if she can hold out that long.

I hop in the elevator, not wanting to be late. The Captain wants to debrief us from last night. The guys are already in his office. Dani’s not at her desk though. Maybe she’s running late.

We got through the debriefing quicker than I expected. Cain’s being released from hospital this afternoon but he’ll be off for a while. I’ll bring someone in from Bravo Team to take his place if I need to.

Captain Michaels saw me hanging back, so he asked, “Everything ok Ramirez?”

“Yes sir. No Danica today?”

“No, she called in sick earlier.”

“Sir, maybe this is stepping over the line, but do you have any history on Danica?”

“What do you mean? Do you have suspicions about her?”

“No sir, nothing like that. She’s just…. a little closed off. Just wondered if there was anything we should know about, now she’s part of the team.”

“You know I can’t discuss confidential files with you. There’s nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that should concern you about her work ethic. Maybe she just finds it a little daunting working here. She was thrown in at the deep end pretty much.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s it. She did great last night, didn’t she?”

“She really did. I offered her a permanent spot on the team, as a tech.”

“Did she take it?” I found myself getting excited at the prospect of working closer with Dani.

“No, but she didn’t outright turn it down either. I think she was more worried about you guys getting back safely though.”

Ash knocked on the door and interrupted our conversation. “We gotta go, Eli. There’s a situation at Grand Central Station.”

I made a mental note to come back and get Dani’s address later on. Maybe I’ll pay her a visit to make sure she’s ok.

END of Eli's POV

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I spent most of Friday exercising, cleaning and trying to sleep. Not that the sleeping worked. The nightmares seemed to be worse if that was even possible. I couldn't get those eyes out of my head, no matter how much I tried. That was one of the reasons I didn't look people in the eye, because I could always see those eyes. Trust me when I say that's something you don't want to see. Eyes that are so dark and evil that you feel like you're looking at the devil himself.

I woke up in a sweat, trembling on Saturday morning, so I just did some running and then some yoga to try to clear my mind a bit. I was reading a book when there was a knock on my door. I froze for a few seconds before realization set in and I remembered about my groceries.

I crept up to the door and looked out the peephole. Someone was standing in front of it with my bag of groceries covering their face. I called out, "Just leave them by the door please."

They didn't move or put the bag down and I started to panic. My breathing changed and the person outside must have heard it because they said through the door, "Dani, it's me, Eli. Calm down sweetheart. It's just me..."

I managed to choke out, "Eli?"

"Yes ma'am, it's just me. How about you let me in and I'll put the groceries away?"

"I would appreciate it if you just left them by the door, sir."

"I'd like to make sure you're ok, Dani. That's the reason I'm here. The Captain said you were sick yesterday."

"I'm fine sir."

"Just let me see you, at least? Set my mind at ease a bit?"

I opened all of the bolts, yes all seven of them, but I kept the chain on.

"If you're concerned about safety Dani, then a chain isn't the safest option. It can be snapped."

"It's titanium, sir."

"Wow, you really are safety conscious."

Now the door was open a bit, he could see me. He took in my appearance and inhaled in a sharp breath.

"Don't take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but you look awful. Have you even slept?"

"Yes sir."

"Obviously not enough. When was the last time you ate?"

I shrugged, honestly not remembering. The days tend to roll into one and with being so tired I don't keep track of my eating habits.

"Let me come in and make you some breakfast then. Once I've seen that you have eaten then I will go. How about that?"

He could see I wasn't going to go for it, so he took his gun out of the holster, put it on the floor and kicked it towards me.

"You can keep a hold of that until I leave. If you think you need to use it on me, I'll understand."

I tried to figure this guy out. He seemed to be friendly enough, but I couldn't trust that. I couldn't understand why he would give me his gun. Wasn't he worried that I would use it on him?

I whispered, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need to eat and you need to sleep. You're obviously not making sure you're doing either so maybe I should make sure you are. That's what friends do for each other."

"Aren't you worried I'll shoot you, sir?"

"The thought has crossed my mind, but my theory is if I don't do anything to scare you then you won't need to use it. I think your need to be secure is stronger than my worry that you're going to shoot me. I don't think you would do it unless you feel like I'm a threat. You're not a bad person Dani, just scared."

A single tear slid down my cheek, not knowing how else to express my thoughts or pent up emotions.

"Don't cry, Dani, please. I don't like to see you cry."

I wiped my tear away and sniffed before closing the door over. Eli thought he'd lost his chance and his gun, but it turned out I was only taking the chain off.

He smiled at me as he gingerly walked into my apartment.



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Eli's POV

Dani actually let me into her apartment. I sure better not mess this up or scare her anymore than she already is.

I set the groceries down on the kitchen worktop. The place is spotless, like seriously spotless. She has hundreds of books and I notice that all of her windows are bolted shut. She lives high enough up that no one can just climb up to her windows, yet she has everything bolted shut like it’s a prison. What has her so spooked? It’s really not normal for someone to be this way.

I need to say something; she’s feeling uncomfortable. “You read a lot, huh?”

“Yes sir.”

“What sort of books do you read?”

“Anything. Except romance…”

She looks shocked and annoyed with herself, like she’s said something she shouldn’t have. She looks very cute when she’s annoyed. There’s a sparkle in her eyes that isn’t there any other time. Her eyes always look so distant.

“You don’t believe in all that romance trash?” I see her frown deepen. Maybe that’s a touchy subject.

“No, not anymore sir.”

“Neither me. The media portrays romance as such an amazing, life altering experience, but in my experience it’s never like that.”

“No sir. People have no idea.”

She looks annoyed with herself again. “Are Spanish omelettes ok with you?”

“Yes sir.”

“You don’t have to call me sir, Dani. I’m not your superior.”

“But you’ll….”

She quickly shuts up and claps a hand over her mouth. She’s really frightened she’s going to say something she shouldn’t. I take a stab in the dark and whisper, “Dani, are there people after you?” I look deep into her eyes and they flash with an emotion I can’t quite place; maybe pain. She shakes her head and then shrugs. I’m not quite sure what that answer means, so I probe a little further. “Is that a no or a maybe?”

She stutters, “I… I… I can’t talk about this.”

She was going to answer, I’m sure she was but something is stopping her. “If you need help or protection, I can arrange it. I’ll camp out here if you need me to…” Her eyes widen in fear as she mumbles, “No, no, no. You… I… You can’t…"

She flies away from me, like she’s done something awful. I’m utterly confused at this point. I can’t make any sense of what is going on or what she’s thinking. This girl certainly is a puzzle.

“Dani, calm down, it’s ok. I just want you to know that I’m here if you need me. I’ll leave my number on the refrigerator. If you need me at any time, for anything just pick up the phone and call. Ok?” She’s hesitating, maybe she’s unsure. “I mean it Dani. Any time, even the middle of the night. If something is wrong, you pick up that phone. Ok?”

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

I continue to make breakfast, finding something quite comforting being in her kitchen and in her company. I’m just chopping the onions, when I hear Dani whisper, “I’m sorry sir.”

“Sorry? What for?”

“I, I’ve been horrible to you. I’m sorry.”

I sigh and think of how best to approach this topic. She seems to be making an effort and I don’t want to ruin that; I don’t want the door slammed in my face. “You haven’t been horrible Dani. I can see that you’re scared, I just don’t know why. I don’t expect you to trust me completely, you’ve only known me for 7 months, but I just wish I could help you…”

“You can’t, no one can.” She seems adamant about that.

“At least let me try? How about you let me get to know you a bit? You think you can do that? Even just some simple things, like your favorite food, favorite music, things like that. You willing to try that?”

She mulls it over for almost a minute and I can almost see her brain working through her eyes. I never really noticed it, but when they aren’t so distant and cloudy her eyes show so much of her expressions. She sighs and then drops her head before whispering, “Ok sir.”