The Chemist
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.
Daniel hummed as he worked, a familiar-sounding tune that she couldn’t place at first. She caught herself humming along a few minutes later. Without seeming to realize he was doing it, Daniel started to sing the words.