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A bright flash of lightning illuminated the room for an instant, followed closely by a clap of thunder so loud it jarred Emerie to sit straight up in her bed. She hadn’t been fully asleep to begin with; the storm had been building all day and as she had watched the dark clouds piling up off the coast of the small island, she’d anticipated a sleepless night. The isolated research station had been selected in part due to the region’s reputation for electrical storms, but their frequency didn’t make them any less frightening to her.
Of course, she had been thoroughly educated about the island’s weather patterns when they had first arrived; she understood the components of lightning and the process by which thunder was created, but this understanding offered no relief on nights like this. The unpredictability of the storm was what truly made her anxious. She couldn’t rely on the gales of wind to follow reason; the rain ferociously beating against her window had no motivation she could explain.
Still sitting up, she hugged her knees and exhaled slowly, waiting for the next lightning flash and the dreadful boom that would follow. Her gaze drifted toward the doorway. Soon another crash of thunder vibrated through her tiny quarters, and just as suddenly she was out of bed, leaping down the hall on bare feet.
The corridor was only lit by the occasional flash of lightning, but she could just as easily find her destination in the pitch dark. No doubt, the beacon atop the research station was shining more brightly than ever through the sheets of rain, she thought, and the thought itself comforted her. Although it was small and craggy, the island was a stable presence in the surrounding sea, something that could be relied upon even in the most chaotic tempest.
The door to Hemlock’s room slid open with an easy whisper, but he didn’t say anything or move at all until the crisp bed sheets crinkled under the weight of an extra body beside his.He wasn’t surprised. In a storm like this one, it was less a question of if Emerie would show up and more a question of when she would.
“Don’t you think you’re too old to still be doing this?”
He didn’t lift his head or turn over, or even open his eyes as far as Emerie could tell as she huddled against his back, but the quality of his voice didn’t indicate that he had been asleep. He didn’t sound annoyed by her intrusion, more amused by her persisting habit.
“No.” She answered back in a tone that matched his in knowing affection. “And you don’t either, or you’d have started locking your door by now.”
“That wouldn’t be fair to you.” he reasoned. She made a noise of agreement as she buried herself up to her neck in the covers and rested her forehead gently between his shoulder blades. His right hand reached back and briefly graced her hair with a brush of his fingertips.
Presently, he felt a light tap on his arm.
“Go to sleep.” He said evenly.
“Can I…?”
Emerie’s voice trailed off as the doctor exhaled slowly, patiently.
“Alright. If you promise you’ll go to sleep. Now’s not the time for conversation.”
“I promise.” She insisted hopefully. Hemlock turned from his side onto his back and moved his arm so she could crowd in closer to him, which she did eagerly. As she settled in, she rested her head over his chest and let her eyes finally fall closed.She remained like that for the rest of the night, lulled into easy sleep by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.