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Coming back to the States had not been easy for Elena. Sure, she was used to traveling for work - she was always prepared to fly anywhere at a moment’s notice, and normal sleep schedules were overrated anyway - but she was not used to spending her return trip in pain and in need of new clothes because she couldn’t get the blood (mostly her blood) out of what she had brought.
The worst part about coming back was having to tell Jeff’s family what had happened to him. They cried, Elena cried… honestly, part of her thought it might have been easier if they had blamed her for his death, but they were too kind to someone who had dragged a beloved husband and father into the middle of a hopelessly war-ravaged city in pursuit of a murderous psychopath. Jeff had been too kind to meet such a brutal end.
The only consolation she had in her return was that Nate came back with her; above all else, Elena was grateful that she did not have to face anything alone, although she already knew that was exactly what she would do. Nate even offered to spend a few days with her at her apartment - on the couch. After all was said and done regarding the discovery and subsequent destruction of Shambala, the two of them agree they were better off as friends. They had already tried and failed to make a relationship work, but the fiasco they just endured proved that they couldn’t go on working in their respective fields and not have some sort of communicative relationship
In the end, Elena declined his offer, saying she was feeling much better and could manage on her own. Nate’s concerned expression was not lost on her, but to her surprise, he didn’t argue. He just told her to call him any time if she needed anything at all. Elena promised him she would, though they both knew the chances of that happening were astronomically low.
It didn’t take Elena long to finish her story on Lazarevic. She made it a tribute to Jeff, and she mentioned Lazarevic’s “crazed, obsessive search” for the Cintamani Stone without disclosing the involvement of Nate and Chloe, among other details such as what the stone actually was and what Nate had to do to protect it. Elena’s boss praised her for her work and then told her to take a few days to recover.
At first, she was relieved to have the chance to spend some time catching up on everything that had been pushed aside while she worked on her last story. For a couple of days, her physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion gave her no trouble falling asleep at night, but by her third night home, the nightmares made their appearance.
Usually it was the same scene every time: Elena, Nate, and Chloe would escape from Lazarevic’s men and run through the ruins of Shambala, which seemed more like a labyrinth than her daytime memories would suggest. They would fight the indigenous guardians of the ancient city, and eventually, they would find themselves at the edge, looking down as Lazarevic and his goon squad made their way into the heart of the small forest containing the Cintamani Stone. Then there was that man holding the grenade, and even though Elena knew what was going to happen every time she got close, she couldn’t keep herself from advancing with some naive hope that maybe this time she could stop the inevitable. A blinding white flash… and Elena would sit bolt upright in bed, covered in a cold sweat with tears streaming down her face. Twice, Nate had been the one holding the grenade; those times, Elena barely made it to the bathroom before she was violently sick.
Elena contemplated calling Nate, but every time she picked up the phone, she asked herself what he could possibly do to help. It wasn’t as though he could stop her subconscious from torturing her every time she closed her eyes.
She started going out for runs around her neighborhood - she had always enjoyed running as long as she wasn’t running for her life. It helped wear her out enough to let her get a few hours of dreamless sleep during the day to help compensate for her restless sleep at night.
One afternoon, about a week and a half after her return, Elena was awoken from one of her post-run naps by a knock at her door. She checked her cell phone first, but there were no notifications that would indicate she was supposed to expect a visitor. Said visitor knocked again and Elena hurried to the door. She was not expecting Chloe to be on the other side.
“You know,” the dark-haired woman said in that entrancing accent of hers, “if you didn’t want Nate to worry, you should have considered dropping him a text every now and again.”
Elena stood with her mouth slightly ajar before her brain finally started coming out of its sleep-laden fog. “Chloe?”
“Glad to see you remember me, sunshine.”
“What are you doing here? Did Nate send you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have been able to find where you live on my own. It’s been nearly two weeks since he’s heard from you, and he didn’t want to invade your space, so I offered to check up on you.”
Once again, Elena was unsure of what to say, so she just moved away from the door so Chloe could enter.
“Follow me… I can set you up in the guest room,” she offered when she noticed Chloe had brought an overnight bag.
“Nice place you have here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house so clean,” Chloe mentioned as they made their way through the living room and down the hall.
“I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.”
“Not sleeping?” When Elena didn’t answer, Chloe gave her a small smile. “Me either, not really. It’s always hard when a job ends poorly.”
“Does that happen often?” Elena asked. Nate had always told her the good stories - undoubtedly to impress her - so she had no idea how many bad stories he had. The only one she could guess at was his brief mention of being in a Panamanian jail.
“It’s not uncommon for a job to take an unexpected turn, but they rarely go as bad as this one did.” Chloe didn’t supply any more information than that. With Nate, Elena could have pressed for an explanation, but she felt she didn’t know Chloe well enough to do the same with her.
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Elena made up the guest bed while Chloe showered, Chloe cooked for Elena, and the two of them chatted about their respective jobs. Chloe was particularly fascinated in the documentary stories Elena worked on, and Elena was surprised to hear about some of the prominent criminals Chloe worked with… and against.
It was late when they couldn’t stop yawning, so after they bid each other goodnight, Elena and Chloe retired to their respective rooms. Elena realized, as she changed for bed, that she hardly thought about what had been plaguing her mind while she slept since Chloe’s arrival. Perhaps she should have taken Nate up on his offer to keep her company? No, she decided; for some reason, she was glad it was Chloe staying in her guest room instead of Nate. If it had been her ex-boyfriend, she would have felt the need to prove that what had happened didn’t bother her, that she was stronger than she felt when she was sobbing at 2am. Elena didn’t feel that need around Chloe, and though she couldn’t explain why that could be, it put her at ease.
That ease didn’t last long; just as with every other night since her return, Elena had the same nightmare that jolted her awake. It took her a moment for the blood to stop rushing in her ears before she registered that she wasn’t alone.
“Breathe, okay? Just breathe,” Chloe was murmuring as she gently rubbed Elena’s arm. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her expression filled with the same worry Elena had seen after she’d been injured in the explosion she kept dreaming about. “Breathe with me, Elena, okay? That’s it sweetheart.” Elena wiped the tears from her face and followed Chloe’s deep breathing. After a few minutes, her heartbeat slowed to a more relaxed rate, her hands stopped shaking, and she was able to force some of the tension out of her shoulders and back.
“I’m sorry, I should have warned you,” Elena said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You don’t have to apologize, I understand.” Chloe reached up to brush some of Elena’s hair back from her face; her movements were slow and tentative, as though she was worried that anything too sudden would spook the blonde. “I’ll go get you some water.” It took a few minutes - Elena realized that Chloe didn’t know where the cups were - but by the time she got back, Elena had completely calmed down from her nightmare.
“Thank you for helping me,” she said with a small, rather embarrassed smile.
“That’s why I’m here, sunshine.” Chloe paused, and the way she looked at Elena made the journalist feel as though she was being studied. “Do you want me to stay for a while?”
For reasons unknown to her, Chloe’s question made Elena blush, and she was grateful that the only light in the room came from the night light she left in the hallway across from the bathroom. “No, it’s okay. I’ll probably read for a while to distract myself. I don’t want to keep you up.”
“If you need anything, please don’t feel bad about waking me up.” Chloe gave Elena’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and then went back to her room.
~~~~~
This pattern continued for two more nights before Chloe stopped asking if Elena wanted her to stay. On the fourth night, the treasure hunter made her way to the other side of Elena’s bed and crawled in to sit against the headboard.
“Tell me about it.” When Elena gave her a confused look, she added, “The nightmare. It might help if you talk about it.”
So Elena talked about it. It didn’t scare her as much as actually experiencing the nightmare scared her; more than anything, it made her sad that their adventure had ended with so much grief. Chloe said nothing while Elena talked, but she offered her hand for Elena to hold and gently squeezed whenever the reporter’s voice thickened with emotion. Even after Elena’s account of her nightmare ended, Chloe hesitated.
“Harry was more Nate’s friend than mine. I didn’t know him all that well, despite him wanting to protect me from Lazarevic. From what Nate told me about him, and from what I saw myself, I don’t know why he pulled that grenade for Lazarevic. I guess it doesn’t matter.” She looked at Elena and smiled. “You were better than Nate and I, anyway, trying to save Harry’s life. You’re too good for the world we live in, with all of the guns and stealing priceless artifacts just to sell them to the highest bidder.
This time, it was Elena’s turn to squeeze Chloe’s hand. “Your job is dangerous. You just need to make sure you come back alive.”
“Is that why you broke up with Nate?”
“No…” Elena paused for a moment. Was it wrong to talk about this with someone who was at least friends, if not still romantically involved, with Nate? She supposed it was okay; after all, she doubted anything she could say would change Chloe’s opinion of him. “Of course I worried about him, but the worry I could handle. He… well, he wasn’t always honest with me about where he was going and what he was doing. I think it was because he didn’t want me to worry, but it actually had the opposite effect, you know?”
“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re way out of his league anyway.” The two of them laughed, and then Elena yawned. “You should try to get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
Elena nodded, and the two of them settled under the blankets. Chloe propped herself up on one elbow to stroke Elena’s hair until she fell asleep.
‘I could get used to this,’ the journalist thought before she finally drifted off again.
After that night, the two of them fell into a comfortable routine. Elena started preliminary research for new story ideas - she limited her scope to domestic stories as per her boss’s request for her return to the field - and she could tell that Chloe was being selective with the calls she took for her next treasure hunt. They acted more like roommates than host and guest, and Elena had grown so used to and fond of Chloe’s presence that she actively avoided any train of thought that pondered what she would do when the treasure hunter left for home or her next job. It had only been three weeks since Chloe had showed up at her door, but Elena had already come to see her as a constant in her life. Chloe had also given no indication of her plans to part ways.
Chloe had started sharing Elena’s bed every night from the time they were both ready to sleep, and the nightmares weren’t always as bad. Some nights, they didn’t plague her at all, and every once in awhile, they would be as bad as before. It was usually after a bad night when Elena would find herself either hugging or being hugged by Chloe. Overall, it was an improvement, and another part of Elena’s life with which the journalist was getting all too comfortable.
It wasn’t until one evening while they were making dinner together (an activity they both enjoyed, especially while splitting a bottle of wine) that Chloe asked, “So, have you decided what you’re going to report on next?”
Elena was surprised by the question at first, but she had been leaving her notes and books in various strategic piles that were organized to her, but probably chaotic to anyone else. “Not yet. I haven’t decided if it would be better to pick a job first or find a new cameraperson…”
“I see.” There was a silence between them that was more awkward than any other silence they had shared this far. They had briefly talked about Jeff once, Chloe had apologized for what had happened, and they never spoke of it again.
“How about you? Any leads on a new treasure?”
“Plenty of leads, but nothing with enough proof.” Chloe shook her head. “Nate asked me to join him and Sully for some job, but I’m not sure I’ll survive another job of his.”
Elena laughed. “He does like to go overboard, doesn’t he?”
“Honestly… It’s all or nothing with him.” Their lapse in conversation was much easier this time. “Have you considered Yemen? I’m sure you could find plenty to report on there.”
“Have you heard something about Yemen?” Elena could admit that she wouldn’t write off Yemen if she wasn’t alone there, and if Chloe had a lead that could make her investigation a little more interesting, that was even better.
“I’ve heard a little. I can let you know when I get more information.” There was something in Chloe’s smile that made Elena’s heart flutter and gave her hope.
That night, Elena’s nightmare was both surprising and worse than she thought was possible. She woke only when Chloe shook her and called her name, not on her own like before.
“Elena, it’s okay, I’m right here!”
The blonde could feel herself shaking in Chloe’s arms, and it took her several minutes to control her sobs.
“It… it was you this time,” Elena whispered through shaky breaths. “You were the one holding the grenade, and I was so terrified, I tried so hard to save you, I couldn’t lose you-”
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. I’m right here,” Chloe murmured. She leaned over to switch on the lamp next to Elena’s side of the bed and then pulled away from Elena’s embrace so she could hold the journalist’s face in her hands. “See? I’m here. That wasn’t real; this is.”
“Chloe, I-”
Whatever desperate words inspired by fear that were going to tumble from Elena’s lips next were silenced when Chloe leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t what Elena was expecting, but her body reacted first, so by the time her brain caught up, she was already kissing back.
When they broke apart, Chloe smiled and gently wiped away the leftover tear tracks from Elena’s cheeks.
“I know, sunshine. Me too.” She leaned in to give Elena another quick peck on the lips before reaching to turn out the light again. “We’ll talk more about Yemen tomorrow.”
Elena smiled and shifted so that she could drape an arm over Chloe’s waist. “I think my boss won’t argue with me going to Yemen as long as I have a professional there to keep an eye on me.” Chloe chuckled and laced her fingers with Elena’s own.
“Trust me, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”