Zero.

Chapter Nine

Day 32

Agent Zero
It didn't take long for me to realize I was dreaming.
Not the kind of dreams that are fabricated while we Slept. A real dream. A dream where I could understand what it meant to be at peace. To be truly happy. To love... to be with him.

This wasn't the first time he appeared in my dreams and I hoped it would not be the last. The first time I saw his face was when Chief and I were fighting. It had been brief and I thought it was a memory, but it didn't matter anymore what he was.

I'd dreamt about him almost every night now; he was a part of me. Dream or not, I would recognize him from anywhere. Or more accurately, the feeling of him. I could never quite focus on his features. Every time I tried too, my mind would throw me out of the dream. So I stopped trying, and I cuddled closer to him, savoring the moment before my alarm forced me from this place and back into the real world.
"I wish you didn't have to go" he said, pulling me closer.

I smiled against his chest, there was no reason to pretend I was still asleep, he always seemed to know when I was up.
"I wish I didn't." I sighed.

"Stay" he pleaded, placing a warm hand on my cheek. His wedding band was cold against my cheek. The matching ring on my finger suddenly felt heavy. I ran my hands over his bare chest, on the right side, under his collarbone was the tattoo that marked all agents. A simple arrowhead forever inked into our skin to show who we were. I traced it with my fingertips.
Another sigh. "I can't."
"I know." he said.
I smiled, looking up at him.
"Then why ask?"
He grinned down at me "Worth a try."
"Not really." I smiled
"One day, you'll be able to say yes." he said sadly.
The corners of his eyes eyes crinklw as he smiled and my smile faded from my face
What color were those eyes?
"What are you staring at?" he wondered, pushing my hair out my face. I sensed that he did that a lot. I knew it was futile, but I tried to push against the fog of my brain and concentrate on his face. I felt a tear fall down my face.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
A smile. That devastating smile.
"Your husband."
*~*~*~*
My eyes opened immediately. I never woke up smoothly and today was no different. It had been the similar dreams since Chief first Woke us up. Every night he would come, and every morning I would frustrate myself pondering the possibilities of who he could be. It crossed my mind that he could simply be a figment of my stressed imagination, but I knew the inside of my head better than anyone. A figment of my imagination would not be cuddling me. Throwing daggers maybe, but cuddling, definitely not.
The day had barely started and I was already irritated.
"This is useless." I groaned.
Tossing the sheets off ny body more aggressively than probably necessary, I started getting ready for another day as Sarah McKinley. Last night, Benjamin had taken me to his favorite pizza place. Besides being a confirmed workaholic, he wouldn't shut up about the good Pembroke had done. I found out nothing remotely interesting or relevant to the mission.

Towards the end of the night, he even offered me his jacket once I realized that I left mine in my car. It was a chivalrous, platonic move, that only fueled my irritation. I couldn't find one single flaw in his act and it was driving me crazy. Yanking the brush through my hair, I cringed with I ripped a few strands out. My only hope at saving Lee was to search Pembroke's vault before Agent One or Chief got wind of what I was doing. If I could only prove he was innocent...
That thought alone irked me. Why was it so important that he be good? I wasn't easy charmed by a handsome face and nice smile, so that wasn't it. But I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted to save Benjamin. Or at the very least, I wanted to put an end to the feeling that I was missing something.