Trapped 13?

positive ending

I touch my forehead with my cold hand once I enter the door. My head has been throbbing ever since our visit to the Williams so I quickly walk to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"You okay dear?", Mirabella asks me concerned but I just nod. I chug down the water and make my way up to my room. I know that Seven is already waiting for me to return home so I might just get this over with no. I enter my room and hang up my jacket before walking over to the balcony to get some fresh air.

For 10 minutes I just stand there and enjoy the cool air. The past couple of days have been a lot. Everything from returning back home to working with the FBI again to the SWAT offer to Seven makes my head spin. I'm good at planing an assassination, entering a building without anyone knowing, staking out a place for hours but this is something different. It involves other people's feelings, emotions, even futures. And that I don't like.

I'm not used to people expecting something from me. It's been weighing on my shoulders ever since I returned and I am quite tired of it to be honest. But it's something I have to live with. It's not like I haven't gone through worse.

A rustling on the grass gives Seven's arrival away but I just continue to stare at the stars.

"Hey."

I turn to him and nod.

"You busy right now?"

I shake my head, no.

"I uh- congratulations on the offer you got. It's good."

I nod again and exhale quietly. I don't really know what else to say...

"That means we'll still be seeing each other on a daily basis, though."

Another nod.

He sighs and shakes his head before taking a step closer.

"Look River, I really don't know how to do this. So you've got to help me out here."

I look up into his eyes and wait for him to continue.

"I'm happy for you, I really am", he steps even closer and gives me somewhat of a smile, "but I just didn't really expect this to go so fast. You going away to SWAT and me losing my backup."

I sigh out and nod understandingly.

"You have Guinevere. I should have never interfered in the first place. It was good for the time being but this was never a long term solution. You guys are a team, a family and I'm nothing more than an outsider-"

"That's not true and you know that, River. I don't want you to feel that way!"

"Seven, this is the truth. And don't worry, I'm not hurt by it. I knew from the beginning. You guys are different. You have known each other for years, you trust each other with your lives and I'm a suspected terrorist... a danger to that closed circle."

"River, I trust you with my life", he takes another step and softly touches my face with his hand, "and I want you to know that."

"That's different and you know that! You trust me because of this", I point at his hand and he drops it immediately, "but you didn't trust me at first either. And that's the right thing to do. I just don't fit but that is okay."

"If that's how you see it-"

"That's the truth, Seven. And I am not attacking you in any way. Because I like that you trust me and I like the reason for it", I take his hand and squeeze it before slowly letting go of it.

I still don't really know how to deal with whatever it is between us and it makes me uneasy but from what I've read in books, seen in movies and real life this is normal... whatever that means.