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Donna was tired. The machete in her hand almost slipped out of her grasp, her hands wanting to relax, and keeping her eyes open was a more demanding task than fighting a bunch of vampires. It was a good tired though. An accomplished tired. A tired at the end of a satisfying day. And Donna wasn’t too tired to smile when she saw Jody’s jeep park next to hers.
“Hey there!” Jody greeted when she opened the car’s door, and Donna managed to lift a hand into a weak wave. She shouldn’t have done this hunt on her own, she knew that, it had been a big nest, but Jody hadn’t been able to come earlier, and Donna couldn’t let the vampires hurt any more people. Sometimes that was just how it went. It was good though, that Jody had agreed to pick her up, because driving on her own was probably a very bad idea right now.
Alex jumped out of the jeep from the passenger’s side, and after a hug, Donna handed her the keys to her car. Immediately after the exchange, Jody was at her side, dragging Donna into a bone-crushing hug. “You should have waited for me.”
Donna chuckled, running her hand over Jody’s back. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Not hurt, just tired.”
They were standing there, engulfed in each other for a few more seconds, until Jody led Donna to the passenger’s seat of her jeep. It was only now that Donna noticed how cold it had been outside, the night chasing away the last of the faint spring heat. The inside of the car, however, was cosy. Donna settled, closing her eyes, and felt how her consciousness drifted away. She could still feel Jody taking her hand before falling asleep.
She woke up when Jody gently shook her shoulder. “We’re here.”
It didn’t take them very long, walking through the door in the garage and arriving in Jody’s bedroom, but it still felt like a journey. Donna knew herself well enough to know that her whole body would ache the next day. Maybe she really should have waited for Jody. Maybe she had overestimated her limits. It didn’t matter now; it was already done. Now she just wanted to fall asleep in Jody’s arms and ignore her worries for a little while. Jody, however, had other plans.
“Come on.” She said as she hauled Donna to the bathroom, and it was when Jody filled the sink with warm water that Donna remembered that there was blood on her hands. And arms. And some on her face, now that she was seeing herself in the mirror.
Jody took care of it, the soft washcloth dragging over her skin. The water in the sink was tainted red by the end, but that wasn’t an unusual sight. Donna was used to it. Sometimes she noticed how weird her life was now, considering that she was used to seeing blood in her sink. Most times she didn’t remember what it was like before.
It didn’t matter. She liked her life. She liked hunting. It made her feel useful in a way her job never had. It made her feel good about herself, and that was a precious feeling she wouldn’t trade for anything else. And, more importantly, had she never started hunting, Jody and the girls wouldn’t be in her life the way they were now. Jody wouldn’t have let her into their lives, for her own sake.
“What is it?” Jody asked, an amused glint in her eyes, and Donna realised that she’d been staring at her. “Nothing. Just like looking at you.” She answered, and Jody smiled, pulling her in to kiss her. Donna felt all soft against Jody, melting into her, her hands holding onto Jody’s shoulders. When they parted, Donna almost protested, but Jody’s hands cradled her face, and they looked at each other for a few seconds. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Donna fell asleep in Jody’s arms, feeling safe and at home, knowing that this was where she belonged.