Stephenie Meyer - The Chemist

“ I think you’re adorable,” he breathed. His voice sounded like he was already half asleep. “And terrifyingly lethal, too, of course.” He yawned.

“Very sweet,” she said, but she wasn’t sure if he heard her. He was breathing so evenly she thought he might already be out.

She waited a few moments and then, carefully, she reached up with her free hand to touch his curls. They were so soft. Her fingers traced his features, totally calm in unconsciousness. It was that same innocent, serene face that had never belonged in her world. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything quite so beautiful.

She fell asleep like that, with her hand tucked possessively around the nape of his neck, the gas mask forgotten behind her back.

Kevin didn’t call.

Daniel didn’t seem to think this was odd, but Alex thought she detected some extra strain in Arnie’s shoulders.

It was too long.

As she’d understood things, Kevin only had to get into a position from which he could follow the one person they knew for certain was involved – Carston. He could have made the drive to DC in two days, even taking it easy. She’d told him exactly where to find her old boss once he was there. It was only a few hours’ work, at most. If Carston wasn’t where he was supposed to be, Kevin should have called. What was he doing?

Or had something happened to him? How long should she wait before suggesting that possibility to Daniel?

The new worry added to her paranoia. She strung an extra lead outside the door to her room so that it could be armed while she was in another part of the house. It was so frustrating, not being able to wire the whole first floor. Just one gas mask short.

On the plus side, every hour hidden helped her face. Under low-wattage lighting and with a lot of makeup, she might be able to escape notice for three or even four seconds.

The wait was an odd mix of boredom, stress, and the strangest kind of happiness. Doomed happiness, happiness with a deadline, but that didn’t make it less… all-encompassing. She should be in a very dark place right now, the pulsing beat of the hunt filling her ears, but she found herself smiling as a default expression. It didn’t help that Daniel was just as inappropriately giddy as she was. They talked about it the next afternoon while watching the news.

Alex had snuck Lola inside when Arnie left to go train with the other animals – she felt bad that they had to keep the door closed on the dogs; it seemed rude – and Einstein and Khan had come with her. Which made the room awkwardly full of dog. She hoped Arnie wouldn’t be upset. The dogs must come in sometimes or there wouldn’t be the doggie door in the laundry room. She didn’t know if the dogs were usually kept outside as part of their training or as an early alarm system or because Arnie had allergies – though if it was the last option, he’d chosen the wrong lifestyle.

Lola parked her floppy jowls and ears on Alex’s thigh, where there would shortly be a drool situation, Alex was sure. Einstein jumped right up on the couch beside Daniel, tail waving enthusiastically at the rule breaking. Khan turned himself into a long ottoman in front of the couch. After the program’s dull opening story – focused on politics, naturally, as if there weren’t almost a year to go before anything actually happened – Daniel stretched his long legs out across Khan’s back. Khan didn’t seem to mind. Alex stroked Lola’s ears, and Lola’s tail thumped against the floor.

It all felt comfortable and familiar, though she’d never been in a position like this in her entire life. She’d never been so closely surrounded by living things – touching them, hearing their breathing – let alone holding hands with a man who thought she was adorable… and lethal. That he could know her full story and still be able to look at her the way he did…

Her eyes moved automatically to his face while the thought ran through her mind, and she found him looking at her, too. He smiled his wide, bright grin – the two days’ stubble making him look unexpectedly rugged – and she smiled back without thinking about it. All kinds of bubbly emotions percolated through her chest, and she realized it was probably the best feeling she’d ever known.

She sighed, then groaned.

He glanced at the TV, looking for a reason, but it was just a commercial. “What is it?”

“I feel goofy,” she admitted. “Stupid. Bubbly. Why does everything seem so positive? I can’t string logical thoughts together. I try to worry, and I end up smiling. I might be losing my mind, and I don’t care about that nearly as much as I should. I want to punch myself, but my face is finally just starting to heal.”

Daniel laughed. “That’s one of the drawbacks of falling in love, I think.”

Stomach tingles again. “Is that what you think we’re doing?”

“Feels like it to me.”

She frowned. “I don’t have any comparisons. What if I’m actually going insane?”

“You are most definitely sane.”

“But I don’t believe people can fall in love so quickly.” Truthfully, she didn’t entirely believe in love, romantic love, at all. Chemical responses, sure; sexual attraction, yes. Compatibility, yes. Friendship. Loyalty and responsibility. But love just seemed a little too much of a fairy tale.

“I… well, I never used to. I mean, I always believed in attraction at first sight. I’ve experienced that. And that’s definitely a part of what’s happening for me now.” He grinned again. “But love at first sight? Just fantasy, I was sure.”

“Of course it is.”

“Except…”

“There’s no except, Daniel.”

“Except that something happened to me on that train, something totally outside of my experience or ability to explain.”

She didn’t know what to say. She glanced at the TV just as the newscast’s ending theme began to play.

That caught Daniel’s attention, too. “Did we miss it?”

“No, it didn’t run.”

“And that’s not a good thing,” he assumed, an edge creeping into his voice.

“I can think of a couple different things it could mean. One, they pushed the story out, and when it didn’t get results, they had to let it die. Two, the story is about to change.”

Daniel’s shoulders squared defensively. “How soon do you think we’ll see the next version?”

“Very soon, if that’s what’s happening.”

There was a third possibility, but she wasn’t ready to say it aloud. The story would definitely disappear if they’d gotten what they needed from it. If they had Kevin now.

She thought she understood enough about Kevin’s character to be fairly certain that he wouldn’t give them up easily. He was smart enough to go with the most believable version of the story if the department caught him: He’d been too late to save Daniel, and – after killing the Oleander – he’d gone to DC for revenge. He’d be able to stick to that story for a while… she hoped. She didn’t know who they had doing interrogations now. If that person was any good – well, eventually Kevin would tell the truth. As much as she wasn’t Kevin’s biggest fan, she felt sick for him now.

Of course, he could have been prepared for capture, the way she would have been. He could be dead already.

Batcave or no Batcave, if Kevin didn’t call by midnight, it would be time to leave. She could feel when she was pushing her luck.

Well, all the happy feelings had subsided. At least that was a sign that she wasn’t totally crazy. Yet.

They shooed the dogs out onto the porch before Arnie was due to come back, though the animal smell would probably give them away regardless. Daniel started a meat sauce for spaghetti, and she helped with the simple parts – opening cans, measuring spices. It was effortless and companionable working side by side, like they’d been doing this for years. Was that the feeling Daniel was talking about? The strange ease of their togetherness? Though she didn’t believe his theory, she had to admit to herself that she had no explanation of her own.