The Dawn of Autumn

Basic Instinct

A/N: This one skirts dangerously close to M-territory, though not in the way you're all expecting. Tread gently. Sensitive topics and trigger(ish?) material. Remember in my author's notes at the very beginning of this story when I said it was my lightest fic, but that it was going to have some discomfort and bad juju?

*insert chapter 14 here*

Also, there's some "Game of Thrones" spoilers. Sorry about that.

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Chapter 14:

Basic Instinct

Stress oftentimes created tension between couples, but the impending danger only drove Emily and Alison closer together. They presented as a united front in all respects. Their unyielding tenacity only made them stronger.

Alison was aggressively protective of Emily. When her phone went off, Alison demanded to know if it was the stalker. When she felt that anyone was getting too close to the brunette she blew her top.

Emily noticed the shift in Alison's behavior. She knew it was because of the threats. Alison was on edge, and Emily was worried it was going to derail her. She worried about what her life was doing to Alison's mental health.

The month of December was anything but joyous. They were on edge. Caleb had been trying to land a solid lead of some kind for weeks, but the person on the other end of the screen was someone who was brilliant. Insanely so.

Emily had taken a page out of her father's playbook and was trying her best to keep Alison calm about the situation. She was level-headed and cool about everything, at least...in front of others.

When she was alone she was constantly looking over her shoulder. She felt it when eyes were on her. She second-guessed everyone she came into contact with. She felt like she was being watched every second of the day. She felt like everyone was out to get her, even though she knew that wasn't the case.

Sometimes she'd wake up in a cold sweat, drenched and shaking. One time she had been taking an afternoon nap with Alison on her couch after they had fallen asleep watching a movie. Alison had felt her shaking, but when she went to comfort her Emily had lashed out in her unconsciousness and had nearly punched her in the face.

When she woke up Alison was sitting on the floor in a daze after having been kicked off of the couch. She'd immediately apologized and told her she'd been having a nightmare about the Halloween dance. It was a lie. She was having nightmares about something far worse. She was having nightmares about something happening to her baby.

She tried not to let her paranoia get the better of her, but it was hard. Sometimes late at night at the gym she heard things in the stillness. In the middle of the night she was seeing shadows of people she knew weren't really there. Every time she crossed the street she wondered if a car was going to come out of nowhere and strike her. Food started to make her queasy, not because of the baby, but because she was afraid someone would put something in it.

It wasn't her life she was worried about. She worried more about her unborn child. And she worried about Alison.

She insisted that the blonde learn self-defense. That way, at the very least, if Emily wasn't around to protect her, she could protect herself.

Emily offered to train her, but Alison knew she could never hit her...or even attempt to hit her. But she didn't want Emily to get pissed at her and accuse her of treating her like she was fragile. She didn't want Emily to think it was because of the baby, even though it was. So she'd told her that she'd be too distracted by her boobs to concentrate.