Fee's hands are pressed to her face, trying to muffle the sobs that keep coming. Her entire body trembles with the force of holding everything in.
She looks up at me through wet lashes. I move close to her. When I reach for her, she doesn't pull away. Instead, she leans on me, letting me wrap my arms around her quivering frame.
She melts against my chest like she was made to fit there. The top of her head tucks perfectly under my chin, and I can smell that sweet scent of roses in her hair.
For a heartbeat, she stays rigid, still trying to hold herself together through sheer will. Then something breaks.
The sobs come harder now, muffled against the fabric of my shirt, but I can feel every shudder that runs through her small frame.
I tighten my arms around her, one hand moving to cradle the back of her head. My fingers thread through the silk of her hair, feeling how soft it is despite everything we've been through.
"You're okay," I murmur against the crown of her head. "Everyone's okay."
Fee shakes her head without lifting it from my chest. "Shane could have died. Cillian could have died. Emma was just doing her job, and she almost got killed because I was there looking for a fucking dress."
"None of this is your fault."
"I'm so tired of people getting hurt because of who I am, what family I belong to."
I stroke her hair, feeling the tension slowly bleeding out of her muscles as she lets herself be held. This is what she needed, not space or distance, but someone strong enough to catch her when she falls.
Fee pulls back just enough to look at me.
"Is he really going to be okay? Shane?"
"Yuri wouldn't lie about it." I brush a tear from her cheek with my thumb, feeling how soft her skin is. "Not about something like this. If Shane were in danger, he'd tell us straight."
"I worry about his wife. She's having her first baby. If something happens to their baby because of me..."
"Nothing is going to happen to the baby. And Yuri will talk to Cillian, make sure the news is handled delicately. Cillian knows Shane's family. He'll make sure she's told the right way."
"Promise me."
The desperation in her voice cuts straight through whatever remaining walls were still up. Fee Quinn has been systematically destroying my defenses for six months, and I've been powerless to stop it.
"I promise you."
Fee closes her eyes and leans back into me, her forehead resting against my chest. Her breathing starts to even out, the panic slowly leaving her system as my words sink in. I can feel the exact moment her body begins to relax, some of the rigid tension melting away.
"I keep thinking about what could have happened," she whispers against my jacket. "If you hadn't shown up when you did. IfCillian hadn't been there to cover me. If Shane had been alone in that alley."
"But none of that happened. You're alive. Shane's going to recover. Cillian will be back to work tomorrow, probably against doctor's orders."
That gets a tiny laugh out of her, muffled against my chest. The sound does something to me that I don't expect. I want to hear it again. I want to be the reason she laughs.
Fee pulls back to look at me again, and I can see she's starting to look more like herself. The panic has faded, replaced by pure exhaustion.
"Thank you," she says softly. "For saving all of us."
I want to keep holding her. Every instinct tells me to stay exactly where we are, with Fee safe in my arms, her breathing finally steady against my chest.
"I need to take care of your foot," I say reluctantly.
Fee nods but doesn't pull away immediately. When she finally does, I already miss the warmth of her against me.
I move to the foot of the medical bed and adjust the controls, raising the upper portion so she can recline comfortably without lying flat. The mechanical hum fills the silence as the bed shifts into position.
"Better?"
