NAOMI REID
"You know, if you want to get coffee out of the machine you'll have to put it on first." A voice says startling Naomi back to the present. Spinning around, she comes to face Dalton watching her with a worried expression on his face.
"Oh, hey. Morning," Naomi says to him putting a smile on her face before turning her attention back to the coffee machine. "Jensen went out to buy breakfast. He'll be back soon." She informs him.
"Yeah, I know. He left me a little note on my bedside table too." He replies to her teasingly.
Naomi scoffs a laugh, turning to look at him doubtfully.
"What? Don't believe me. He dotted the 'I's with a heart and everything!" Dalton continues this time making Naomi laugh.
"Well then, now we know who's his favorite. My I's were dotted normally." Naomi replies with a chuckle. Dalton laughed softly as well.
As she works on putting it on, she could feel the weight of Dalton's stare on her back. Glancing behind her, she gives him a questioning look, "I was zoned out when you came in, I'm fine. You're looking at me like you think I'm going to have a mental breakdown or something." She says with a chuckle.
"Well considering what you've been thrown into," Dalton replies trailing off.
"You think I'm minutes away from losing my shit, got it," Naomi says finishing his sentence with a nod.
"I'm saying it's kind of...warranted," Dalton replies, his tone soft and cautious. "Besides, all this went down just last night, you've hardly had any time to process."
"That's true, and yes, you're right. I'm still processing," Naomi begins, "But I promise I'm not going to have a breakdown. You don't have to watch me like I'm a ticking timebomb."
"I don't know if I should be more worried by that statement or not," Dalton says with a slight chuckle. "How are you so calm? Your lack of panic actually worries me. It's worrying Jensen, too."
"He tell you that on the note too?" Naomi asks in jest. Not getting the laugh she expected she studies Dalton's face, seeing the worry in his eyes. They were past the jokes it seemed.
Naomi lets out a sigh as she gathers her thoughts, "You know. I think it's cause I know what we did, what Jensen did...was justified," She confesses to Dalton. "I've lost patients in the field before and it's wrecked me. I've had breakdowns over them. They were innocent people I couldn't save and their deaths hit me hard. But this...what happened last night..."
"What?" Dalton prompts softly.
"They deserved it, Dalton," Naomi admits out loud. "It was self-defense on our part, yeah... but I have to admit to myself that I think they deserved it. The stalking, the threats...they. They made me feel so unsafe. They were ready to kill me! A human! And for what? Just because I wanted to save a life because I "fraternize" with Lycans and they don't like that?" Naomi pauses for a moment, turning back to the coffee machine, her back straight. "So, no...I'm not going to have a breakdown over it, and I mean it when I say I'm fine. Because they were not good people, and they brought it upon themselves."
"Valid," Dalton says mostly to himself nodding at her response, accepting and understanding where she stood concerning everything. Hearing the front door open and shut, Naomi sees Jensen enter the kitchen with bags of takeout boxes.
"Finally you're back, I'm starving!" Dalton says as he walks up to him, grabbing one of the bags. "Did you get my donut?" He asks making Jensen roll his eyes trying to hide a laugh.
"Yes Dalton, I got you your donut," He replies placing the other bags onto the table. Walking over to Naomi with a smile on his face, he embraces her gently - His actions a bit hesitant.
"Do I get a donut?" Naomi asks jokingly.
"You get two," Jensen replies easily, his eyes searching her face as they talk.
"She gets two?" Dalton interjects from the other room he'd just entered, sounding appalled at the statement.
"She gets all the donuts she wants," Jensen says softly, holding Naomi's face in his hands and moving in closer.
"I'm okay you know, truly," Naomi whispers to him.
"You don't have to be. I don't expect you to be..." Jensen rebuts softly, Naomi detecting a tone of worry.
"I would have hightailed it out of here if I couldn't handle it, Jensen. I would have had you drop me off at Avery's instead of spending the night in your bed. But I didn't, and I'm still here. I need you to stop worrying."
"You didn't need to see the things I did," Jensen starts, running his hand along her cheek, stopping near a small bruise she'd gotten. "That's not something you're going to forget anytime soon. It's going to change the way you see me,"
Moving to stand on her tiptoes, Naomi pulls Jensen toward her, connecting their lips with a kiss, effectively cutting off his sentence. She needed him to stop worrying and to understand that she didn't see him as anything but himself.
Their mouths move against each other - reckless, desperate, passionate. The two of them trying to convey so much emotion into the intimate action. Jensen's hands move down to her sides, wrapping around her waist. Naomi lets out a surprised gasp as she finds herself being lifted off the ground. Not pulling apart, she wraps her legs around him, pushing her body closer to his. Naomi could feel his fingertips snake underneath the tee shirt she wore - one of his.
~
DEAN STRAKEN
Almost four days since their last case and visit to the hunting organization of their victim, there'd been no more attacks that were directly related to the cases added to their pile. Something that presented as suspicious, to say the least. Dean and Calvin followed every clue they could, looking for ways to pinpoint the guilty party but came up empty-handed each time. They knew better than to believe the lack of cases, knowing there was no way the hunters simply stopped their attacks. Calvin's theory of them realizing they were drawing too much attention and changing tactics made more sense.
"Hey, I'm having a quick catch-up with Naomi and Avery over lunch, want to join?" Calvin says to him breaking him from his thoughts.
"Oh, sure. Where?" Dean responds closing up the files in front of him.
"Tyra's Taco Truck," Calvin replies with a grin making Dean groan and roll his eyes.
"Your obsession with that place is alarming my friend. Let's go."
~
At the little food spot, the two detectives find Naomi and Avery at a table waiting for them. "Hey guys," Calvin greets happily, embracing the two in a short hug. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, the city has been keeping us busy," Avery replies. "Hey Dean, how are you?"
"I'm good, It's nice to see you two again," Dean replies with a nod and a smile.
"We put in the order you texted it should be ready soon," Naomi informs Calvin as they all take a seat.
"You texted them your order, Calvin!?" Dean asks incredulously.
"I was saving us time," Calvin defends waving his hand dismissively at Dean, "Besides, we have so much to discuss."
"Oh, you have no idea!" Avery agrees, expression turning from playful to serious.
~
At the end of their conversation, the four first responders sit there in silence soaking in all the information they'd just received from one another. Though each party knew their personal experiences weren't isolated to them alone, hearing the other's stories made things seem all the more unbelievable.
"My God! This hunter situation in the city is truly getting out of hand. Dammit, Naomi, you got lucky! We could've ended up investigating your murder!" Calvin says in a hushed whisper, shock and worry written clear across his face. "No one is safe anymore. Tares City is longer a safe space for anyone and there's nothing that could be done about it. We can't even get justice for our victims."
"Things are only going to get worse too," Avery pipes in. "The majority of Lycans won't take this without a fight. They'll be fighting for themselves and humans now. It's only a matter of time before..."
"Before another uprising." Dean supplies, finishing her sentence.
"Where does this end, you guys?" Calvin asks shaking his head. "It's only getting worse, so where and when does it end?"
"When one group wins," Naomi answers with a sigh, the four of them falling into a tense silence.
~
"We might have a problem," Avery begins softly, breaking the silence. "That woman over there has been staring at us since she came in. Every time she thinks I'm not looking at her."
"Where?"
"Directly behind you." Not caring about subtlety, Dean immediately turns to assess the possible threat - Instead mumbling out "Are you kidding me?" Once he saw who Avery was referring to. "It's Quinn." He says, filling in Calvin as he turns back around in his seat.
"Who's Quinn?" Naomi asks, "And she's coming this way."
"She's a slightly unstable colleague who's also a hunter," Calvin replies in a whisper leaning over the desk.
"Hey there detectives, what a coincidence. I was wondering if it was actually you two," Quinn says with a smile as she reaches their table. "Guess we had the same thought...tacos for lunch. Hi, I'm Quinn Brooks, detective," She says turning towards Naomi and Avery.
Dean watches as she moves to hold her hand out to them, dropping a small vile onto the table as she did so. To anyone else, it would seem like the clumsy mistake she wanted the act to present but Dean saw through her act.
"Oh, dammit. I just got that!" She fusses as she grabs a couple of napkins to clean the spill.
"What was it?" Calvin asks in a bored tone, keeping his face neutral.
"A sample perfume a friend gave me. A new scent from her store." Quinn answers easily as she cleans the mess.
"Well, you got ripped off, there's no scent." Calvin comments in return.
The ringing of Naomi's phone stops Quinn from responding as she answers the call - A short conversation before she announces to Avery it was time for them to leave. Dean was glad, not wanting Quinn around the two with her suspicious behavior. Bidding the table goodbye, the two head off with a promise to text Calvin later on. Dean eyes Quinn as she watches them walk out of sight wondering what the fascination was about. Getting up from his seat, he begins to pack his unfinished meal.
"We should head back, Cal," He says to his partner who begins closing up his boxes as well.
"They seem lovely, did I interrupt a double date or something?" Quinn asks still milling around the table.
"Nothing like that. See you at the precinct." Dean answers dryly.
"Later Brooks," Calvin says to her as they leave the table, heading to their car.
"Hand me your food, Cal," Dean instructs as they walk. Calvin looks at him weirdly before handing over his bag, Dean tossing it along with his into a bin as they pass, not slowing their stride.
"Dude..."
"We can't trust hunters. And I definitely don't trust Quinn."
~
ARROW BERLIN
"We're in some deep shit now Berlin. Whatever your friend got himself into, you are now smack in the middle of it!" Nicholas says angrily, rolling his shoulders with a slight grimace.
Arrow doesn't respond as she continues to wrap a wound on Ezra's hand the best she could, the injury still bleeding significantly. "We have to get him to a hospital. these wounds are too serious for us to just wrap, and he'll need antibiotics." She says instead.
"No, no hospital. That's too risky." Nicholas replies definitively.
"He'll bleed out on your sofa if we don't get him some professional help, Nicholas. Your first aid kit is practically out of bandages and the bleeding isn't slowing." Arrow argues.
"Carrying him to the hospital will just draw more attention to us, to you, to the organization. We can handle his injuries here until we find out exactly what he dragged you into." He replies, moving to walk away.
"If he even makes it that long! Look at him! There are hunters at T.C, we could go there -"
"No, we can't Arrow," Nicholas interrupts, "Because even though they'd limit the questions, someone will still put two and two together. Two and two being you and the organization and some type of large-scale attack. Whether you allow it or not, someone would look into it! That Lycan knew who you were, in case you've forgotten. You and your uncle. Something's going on and I know you don't know what the hell it is! So until we have a handle and a full understanding of the situation, we are staying off the radar. We tend to your friend here, we go to work in the morning, and we proceed as normal."
"Nicholas, look at him. He's hardly hanging on as is." Arrow argues.
"Look, if by morning he doesn't improve... I'll call in a favor," Nicholas replies with a sigh, heading to the stairs.
"A favor? I thought you were against involving more people?" Arrow questions, stopping him.
"Well, she's the only risk I'm willing to take so..."
"She?"
"The guest bedroom is the second door on your left. I'm going to bed Berlin." Nicholas responds, walking away from her.
With a sigh, Arrow turns back to Ezra whose breathing had now become slightly labored. "What did you drag me into Ezra?" She whispers to him, passing a hand over his forehead.
~
With there being nothing more she could do for Ezra at the moment, Arrow heads up to the spare bedroom. Though she was physically exhausted, her mind would not stop - Replaying everything that happened and adding to the list of questions she needed answers to. The issue at the forefront of her mind was that of Jackson Reynolds. She needed to know who he was and how he knew her, fearing the possibility of being a pawn in someone else's scheme. A scheme that could very well put her in danger.
The actual act of searching for him though, had Arrow contemplating. Though the organization did have the software she needed to be able to search for this man, it could be a risk. Even if she had someone she trusted and erased the evidence, using the organization for this bit didn't sit right with her. She felt that the search for this name would raise the alarm bells she was trying so desperately to keep quiet.
Nicholas' words had her wondering if she did indeed drag them into something messy.
~
After much consideration, Arrow figured that a favor from a friend will have to do, deciding against the organization and any hunter's help.