Touching Base
The knock knock on the front door of Alec's house was shaky, stuttered as if she wasn't entirely sure she should be knocking. Jenny was stood outside Alec's front door, looking up at it. Lights were on inside, so there were at least people awake. It was getting late, but it wasn't unacceptably late. She hoped he wouldn't mind even it if was.

Inside she could sense minds, two animal, warm and comforting and more, people, she guessed Alec and his housemate, Toby. The houses around them were giving off noise too, conversations that filled her up. Her eyes burned, stinging from the wind and from the tears that were just waiting to fall.

It hadn't taken her long to realise that she needed someone. The house had been empty and she was still afraid.

She knocked again, a little stronger this time and the door was pulled open by someone she didn't recognise, his glasses sat on the end of his nose and he looked at her the way someone might look at a randomly tearful stranger standing on his doorstep. It was a very 'what the fuck?' look, which was what Toby was thinking.

"Uh, hey there. Can I help you?"

He wasn't unkind, the girl looked like she was damn fragile and that she might break apart any moment. In fact, that was what she felt like. She chewed her lower lip and looked inside.

Wolf appeared at Toby's legs, anxious to greet the newcomer and Jenny held out a hand. He went still, calm and slid past Toby's hold to press his nose against her palm and she slid her hand over his head, scratching behind his ears.

His tail thumped against Toby's leg and he rolled his eyes. Such a whore.

"Is Alec in?" she asked, not looking up at Toby again. Her voice shook and she focused on the dog.

Toby wondered when Alec had started giving their address out to random people and he turned his head, lifting his voice to holler (since he didn't know where Alec was), "Alec?! Hey, Doctor-boy, there's someone at the door for you!"

The loud sound made Jenny flinch back, down the first step and away from Wolf who whined in complaint and then wandered back into the house to go and find somewhere comfortable to flop down for a while.

Toby, oblivious to Jenny's startled reaction, kept his head turned into the house before realising his manners. He had spotted the bruises on her neck but said nothing. After all, it wasn't like he could talk.

"Oh, come on in. You must be freezing. Here, c'mon..." He ushered her inside, but she didn't let him touch her, instead she curled in on herself, hair hiding her face and head hanging. The door clicked shut behind her and Jenny felt almost like she wanted to flee, but she wanted to see Alec more.

He would make everything better. She wasn't sure how, but she needed that grounding, that comfort. Her lower lip trembled. She hated feeling like she was going to fall apart. Her hands were shaking and she folded her arms, twisting her hands in the material of her hoodie as she waited for Alec.

Alec was in his room, listening to music with his earphones, paperwork strewn about his person as he worked through case files and sorted through the overflow he'd taken from one of the doctors who had been unfortunate enough to break an arm in that last violent outburst on one of the wards. Apparently she'd refused the patient drugs.

He turned his head as Toby shouted his name and reached up to pull his earphones out of his ears. "Coming!" He neatened up his various piles of paperwork and got to his feet, worn jeans falling down naturally around his hips. He was barefoot and made little to noise as he padded down and in the direction of the front door, frowning as he took in the sight of Jenny.

"Jenny?" He asked, closing the distance quite quickly. "Hey, you okay?"

Jenny stood up on her tiptoes as Alec approached, putting her arms around his neck and hiding her face in his shoulder, a shudder running through her as she pressed herself against him. Tears slid out from underneath closed eyelids and that was it. She just burst into tears right then and there in his arms.

Toby's eyebrow lifted and he pointed up the stairs. "I'm gonna- leave you to it..." he offered, heading up the stairs to leave Alec and Jenny alone. So that was Jenny. Huh, he'd imagined her to be a bit different.

"Got it back," she mumbled into his shirt, voice hitching with her tears. She was shaking, the aftermath of everything that she'd gone through hitting her like a ton of bricks. Her knees felt weak, but she wasn't aware of them shaking either. She was trying to focus on Alec and that everything would be fine. "Got it back and I- and he- the man was there and he had- I hurt someone."

"Hey, hey," Alec murmured as Jenny all but clung to him. "It's alright." His arms went around her and his hand went to the back of her head, cradling it in his palm. "You did what you had to do, Jenny. He took something of yours, you had to get it back, it's okay."

He stroked his thumb through her hair and just held onto her, noticing the way in which her knees were shaking. Alec would suggest sitting down eventually, but right now Jenny needed comfort. It was as he was stroking her hair that he noticed something and the doctor in him couldn't stop him from leaning back a little, peering at her scalp. It took him all of three seconds to find the cut.

"Woah," he muttered. "We gotta get that cleaned up."

Jenny hissed, retreating from Alec's questing touch when his thumb caught on the cut in her hair. "Pushed me into a shelf." she mumbled, "Didn't mean to hurt me... he was just trying to protect his master." She looked up at him, eyes still overbright, cheeks now streaked with tears. His shirt had a nice patch on it too where she'd cried on him.

It was as she looked back that the huge bruise across her through would become visible to him as well where the thing had tried to strangle her. It was a handprint, clearly, but there were too many lengths of fingers along one side of her neck, at least five. It was starting to bruise now, purpling nicely.

"I cried on you," she mumbled, reaching up to pluck at his shirt. "Sorry."

Alec waved off her concern about his shirt. "Don't worry about it. Clearly you needed it." He wiped away a couple of her tears and offered a soft smile. "Seriously, it's not a problem." Alec tilted his head and frowned when he caught sight of the bruises around her neck, they looked pretty nasty and what the hell was up with all those fingers?

"C'mon," he said as he encouraged her to sit on the couch. "I have a first aid kit in the bathroom, I'll be right back." What? It never hurt to have one handy, especially with some of Toby's escapades.

Jenny just followed compliantly, flopping down onto the cushions. She watched Alec leave the room before she pulled a pillow off and hugged it against her chest, hiding her face in the fabric and tried to pull it together. Her shoulders shook. Apparently the floodgates had been opened now and nothing would shut them, it seemed.

The emptiness she had felt was gone, but she could remember the sensation. Partly, her tears were those of relief, partly sorrow for the creatures locked up in the basement, only doing what they had been told. Some of her tears were even for Berg, the desperate old man whose thoughts had been so terrified, so afraid of someone taking his collection away from him. And there was a part of her that regretted taking her gift back. She was crazy again now, what if Alec didn't like her anymore? What if, if she saw Rhiannon and Melinda again, they didn't like her because she was crazy?

Alec came back and sighed as he took in the sight of Jenny on the couch, settling beside her. "Hey again," he muttered as he reached up and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "It's okay, Jenny. You're safe, I promise. Nothing and nobody is going to hurt you here, okay?"

He turned his attention to opening the first aid kit and slipped on the supplied pair of gloves, pulling out some disinfectant wipes. "This is going to sting just so you know." Alec reached up and parted Jenny's hair, beginning to clean the cut with efficient movements. "But, better clean than infected."

Alec was contemplating offering to let Jenny stay the night, she could have his bed, he'd be fine on the couch, but figured he should check with Toby first before saying that. He was trying to think first before speaking.

Jenny just nodded when Alec reassured her she was safe. "He knew where Rhiannon lived. She's a Slayer. He took her away too." Her lower lip wobbled, closing her eyes as Alec started cleaning the cut on her head.

It did sting, he hadn't lied and she reached out with one hand to curl her fingers in the fabric of his jeans, letting him know that it hurt. She had a very low pain threshold too. The bruised skin around it was throbbing and it made her want to cry for another reason too. She hated being so out of her depth and she had been nothing but. It had taken that brief time without her "gift" for her to realise that.

"He had a- strapped us down to a table." her voice wavered again, eyes welling up and tears spilling down her cheeks each time she blinked. "It really hurt, I remember it now. I'm glad he can't get you." Her whole body felt like it was covered in goosebumps from Alec's proximity. It had happened when she hugged him, but she'd been too distracted to pay attention to it.

"Sorry," Alec mumbled when she reacted the way she did to the disinfectant. He continued cleaning the cut out until he was sure he'd gotten every bit of dirt out of it and the skin would have a good chance at bonding together naturally without any infection. Then and only then did he stop his ministrations.

As she talked he nodded, figuring that she just needed an ear. He gave a slanted smile a few seconds later. "Yeah, me too. As much as I don't know anything about what I can do the last thing I'd want is for it to be taken away before I have a chance at understanding it."

"I'm glad it's all over," he said after disposing of the wipes and turning his attention to the bruises. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"

Jenny shrugged. "Don't know," she admitted. "Probably some bruises." She tipped her head compliantly as Alec checked the bruises, tensing when his fingers moved over them because the skin was sensitive. The bruises took her breath away whenever they were pushed on.

She pulled away from his touch after a moment, tapping his lips with one finger before she looked down at her knees. "Even if I'm crazy again, can we still be friends?" she asked, so quiet and childish that it was like she was far younger than her twenty four years. She sounded afraid, like she genuinely thought he was going to say no.

"Honey," Alec began very straight faced. "I met you when you were crazy, ranting at me to save some woman you said was dying, and I'm still here. And like you've said a couple times to me already, you're not crazy, you're special." He winked at her and reached into the kit for a tub of Arnica cream he kept in every first aid kit.

He unscrewed the lid and crooked a finger at Jenny. "Let me put some of this on for you, it'll help your bruises heal faster. Arnica cream, it works by stimulating the activity of white blood cells which process congested blood, and by dispersing trapped fluids from joints and muscles and bumped and bruised tissue. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial qualities and it's these that help to reduce pain and swelling as well as improving wound healing."

It was then he caught himself rambling and he gave a soft laugh. "Sorry, I got all technical there."

"'m not crazy," she mumbled quietly, agreeing with Alec. "We're special. You and me." She chanced a glance up at him, relief so very clear on her face and written in her eyes.

She listened to his explanation and she lifted an eyebrow, her own problems and worries apparently forgotten as he spoke. "That sounds gross," she offered. That was the limit of her expertise; it sounded disgusting even though they were all perfectly natural bodily functions. "You coulda just said 'it's gonna make you better faster'."

She frowned, looking at the wall opposite for a moment, head tilted as if she were listening intently. She heard voices in her mind that were passionate, but not angry. They were louder than all the others and then her face went scarlet when she realised what she could hear.

Quickly, she turned and hid her face in Alec's neck again like that would block out the thoughts of the couple next door having sex. "Think loud thoughts?" she asked him, unsure if it would even work.

"I have degrees," Alec pointed out. "I might as well use them for something." It was only when she hid her face in his neck again that he found himself lifting an eyebrow, confusion marring his face a second later. "Um, okay."

He tried thinking about work and the amount of paperwork he still had to get through, also about the fact he had overtime at the free clinic over the weekend. Then there was that date he'd had with that nurse, it had gone well, but not superbly well.

Jenny explained in an exaggerated whisper, obviously embarrassed, "I can hear- there's people doing- uh- that."

She closed her eyes. She had never tried to actually listen out for thoughts in the crowd before. They had always just floated towards her. Like with Connor, touch had amplified it, and this time too. Jenny leaned back to look at him, though she kept her hand on his arm like that would help her hear more. That and she very much needed the physical contact. She'd never had it before when she'd been distressed, she never realised how much better it made her feel.

She wished she could hate her parents.

"Why didn't it go well?" she asked after a few seconds, almost hesitantly. Had she picked that up from Alec? "The date, I mean."

It took Alec a couple seconds to realise what she was saying and immediately laughed. "Oh, man, that's gotta suck." He put down the tub of arnica cream, figuring he could always attack her with it later. It seemed she needed more human contact than anything else right now.

The mention of the date brought about a lift in Alec's shoulders. "It was... I dunno, dull. She's a great woman don't get me wrong, but there wasn't anything..." He found it hard to explain, but he looked for a certain fire in a woman, and the nurse as nice as she was hadn't had that fire. "I guess I like my women a little more passionate."

He found himself grateful that he hadn't allowed his thoughts to turn to the street racing gig he'd found through a guy he knew at work and that he was seriously considering taking part, letting his adrenaline junkie out on the deserted streets of Chicago.

When it appeared Alec didn't mind her curling up at his side, she did so even more. Her hand rested against his chest, palm above his heart. It reassured her. "I never got hugs when I cried... Always got told to shut up or made to sleep. I didn't like sleeping." she said quietly, a random thought.

"There was no spark?" she tried, "At least you tried, never know till you try," she nodded sagely and tapped her fingers against his chest in an odd, staccato rhythm. It matched the creaking of the springs in the couple a few houses over, or wherever they were. Not that she realised. "Sucks. Sure you'll find the right woman out there. Gotta be someone awesome for you." She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, breathing out slowly.

Alec tilted his head in thought. "Can't remember the last time I cried around my folks. It was ages ago, probably the first day they shipped me off to boarding school." He looked down at Jenny and watched as she settled, obviously very upset from her ordeal with the guy who robbed her of her gift. Least she had it back and was 'whole'.

"Yeah, somewhere." He lifted a hand and ran it over her hair, careful not to catch the cut or the bruises. "I'm not the one worrying. My mother on the other hand? Panicking. Thinks she's never going to be a grandmother and that all her genes have been wasted."

Jenny nodded, "My mom used to hug me when they went home after family therapy." she said, thinking, "But my dad never did. And the doctors and nurses weren't allowed to because it's not right and so they were mean instead."

She tipped her head into his hand, relaxing slowly. The touches were reassuring her as much as the steady beating of his heart. Her lips curled up into a small smile, not that he could see. She didn't want to go home. Not right now. She didn't think she wanted to go back to the empty house. It was cold and dark in there.

"I think a little Alec would be really cute." she announced, "Like a little genius. Just like his or her daddy. Maybe when you find the right girl."

Alec pulled a face. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? The idea of kids is frightening, but having one of my own? Dear God." He shook his head and glanced in the direction that Toby had gone, another person that Alec found himself worrying about a lot these days.

"Will you be okay on your own for a second? I just gotta ask my housemate something really quickly."

Jenny giggled, glancing up to see the face Alec pulled. "Your heart's beating fine. You're a drama queen," she teased, able to feel the thudding of his heartbeat. "Toby's sad," she announced a moment later, nodding at Alec's question.

"I'll be okay. But Toby's- he's got sad thoughts." A name kept circling her head. "Who's Kelly? He's thinking about her."

"Somebody he loved and lost," Alec answered. "I'm worried about him." He picked himself up off the couch and left Jenny alone as he trailed in the direction of Toby's bedroom, stopping briefly to knock on the door.

He didn't want to barge in uninvited.

Toby was sitting on the bed, doing the terribly depressing thing of reminiscing. Pictures he hadn't looked at for a long time were sat on his knee and he'd been leafing through them. There was a half-empty glass of whiskey on his bedside table.

He tipped his head, quickly gathering the photos together and putting them back in the packet. He cleared his throat. "That better be you, Alec," he said, taking a breath and scratching a hand through his hair. His touch lingered on the scar on his neck for a few seconds and he reached out for the glass, taking a sip as he waited for Alec to come in.

"I don't know who else it could be," Alec answered before he opened the door. His eyes instantly found the glass and he shook his head. "Drinking whilst thinking about Kelly is not going to do you any good, how many more bottles do I have to confiscate before you realise drowning yourself in whiskey isn't going to solve anything?" He breathed through his concern, wondering if Toby was hearing him or if he was too far gone and quite content to remain in this maudlin state. It wasn't productive and as much as he understood Alec still didn't like the way Toby was choosing to deal with his grief and whatever guilt he felt.

He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Anyways, I didn't come up here about that, I wanted to ask you if you minded Jenny staying the night? She's gone through a pretty crazy night what with the whole losing her mojo thing and having to go into a dangerous situation to get it back with injuries included."

"Coulda been your friend down there," Toby said with a shrug, finishing what was left in the glass before he just lifted his shoulders again. He took a breath and put the glass down, feeling a little guilty. He hated making Alec worry. "It's just one glass, Alec. That's all I've had." Today. He thought he'd done quite well considering. "How did you know I was-" Then he remembered Alec mentioning that Jenny was different. He wondered if she'd somehow heard it. Wow, Alec knew a real life Professor X.

That was a little creepy.

"It's not- I mean, I feel like I'm being haunted at the moment." He gave a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Tension was a bitch and he found it hard to get to sleep without a little bit of a nightcap. "Yeah, she can stay. I don't mind. It's- It's good you're watching out for her." She had looked like she needed it.

"Haunted?" Alec asked, folding his arms across his chest. "What makes you say that?" He glanced in the direction of the door, pretty sure Jenny would holler if she needed anything. She was never exactly shy around him.

He gave a smile. "Thanks, man. I'll set her up in my bedroom, sleep on the couch or something."

"Ever the gentleman," Toby teased. "It's good of you." He would have done the same were he in Alec's position.

He wrinkled his nose at the question. He had put off answering them for a few moments before he just shrugged. "Just-" I've been seeing the vampire that killed my wife. She's in Chicago.. That sounded crazy. It was crazy. There was no way she could have found him. "Nightmares and all that. Chasing me when I'm awake." His shoulders lifted, trying to be non-chalant. "It's no big."

Alec frowned a little. "Nightmares are usually a sign of something that's bothering you, be it in the conscious or the sub conscious. I mean, I never wanted to ask, but is there an anniversary coming up that might have triggered all the nightmares?"

He took to rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm going to refer you to a doctor for those waking nightmares of yours, might be something that they can do to help. Either that or you can try confronting whatever it is that's got you all tweaked out."

Toby shook his head. "Anniversary was months ago," he admitted. "Didn't get drunk though. Thought about it." Instead he went out, had a couple of drinks and then met Nathan. The vampire that had gotten into his head and under his skin. His fingers tapped out a restless rhythm against his thighs. There had been no word from Hayden either. Nothing about Kris which was setting him on edge too. He needed to know she was alright. "Did I tell you that Kris got taken by a vampire?" He looked up at Alec. "Sick bitch has got an explosive collar around her neck."

He let out a soft chuckle, "Couldn't you just give me sleeping pills or something? They'd help." He wondered where Nathan was, actually. He had a random urge to see the man. Vampire. Whatever.

Alec's eyebrows lifted at that snippet of information. "No! You did not tell me that. Maybe if you had I might've been more understanding about the alcohol and shit. Jesus, that's... fucked up." He dropped his hand away from his neck and shook his head. "And there's still no word on her?"

"I make it a point not to prescribe to my friends," Alec pointed out. "It's a conflict of interest so you'll be better off seeing your doctor."

"None." Toby muttered, plucking at his jeans. "Nada. Zip. Fuck all." He blew out a frustrated breath and pulled his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes. "All getting to be a bit too much at the moment."

He hated how he could remember the feeling of Nathan's fangs and how good it felt. That release. Like getting drunk without the nasty-ass hangover.

"Guess so. I'll make an appointment in the morning or something," he offered. "Promise."

"Fuck," Alec said with a shake of his head. "Hopefully you'll hear something soon." And then for some reason that jogged something loose. "Oh, by the way, I totally forgot to mention, but Kathleen called by. She wanted to see you, apologise in person I think." He rubbed at his eyebrow and ducked his head. "I wasn't very welcoming."

At the mention of Toby making an appointment Alec nodded his head. "Good, glad to hear it."

Toby laughed at the mention of Kathleen before he shook his head. "She's possibly the last thing I'd be able to deal with right now." He hadn't checked his email since he had replied to her. Just in case she'd decided to throw another barb in his direction, no holds barred nastiness that she was apparently excelling in, or had been when she had emailed him.

"Don't think I woulda been either if I was you." He gave another smile up in Alec's direction before he waved his hand, "You should be taking care of Jenny, she needs it more right now. I'm a big boy." It wasn't said unkindly, but Toby didn't quite know how to handle having someone look out for him like Alec did. He hoped Alec knew how much he appreciated it.

"I know," Alec assured Toby. "I just worry about you that's all." He smiled at Toby and then let himself out of his friend's bedroom, heading back through to Jenny. "So... how do you feel about crashing over here tonight? You can sleep in my bed and I'll have the couch. I just figure it's probably not a good idea for you to be alone right now."

Jenny was drowned in relief and gratitude, getting to her feet to hug Alec again, apparently, his not pulling away the first time she did it being enough to let her think that - today at least - she could ignore personal space. Not that she had any regard for it anyway. "You really don't mind? But I can sleep on the couch... I don't mind. Don't want to put you out of your..."

Her head tilted to the side again and her eyes moved towards the ceiling. Her hand went to her neck, scratching the side of it absently - in a very similar way to the way that Toby did. "Nathan..." She looked around, like she expected to see this 'Nathan'. "He wonders where he is."

Jenny was a little hard to keep track of. One minute she was... lucid, and the next? She was off in her head or somebody else's, it was always hard to tell. "It's alright, really. I'd prefer that you take the bed."

"Nathan?" He repeated. "And by he you mean Toby, right?"

"I think so," Jenny said, looking up at the ceiling again. Her fingers rested against the side of her neck. "Nathan..." He didn't feel like a friend, though. She didn't know how to explain it. "Toby... And Kris. He has lots of names. He wants to see Kris and Nathan... and C-" the name didn't materialise, though, it just stayed as a beginning letter. She looked concerned.

After a moment, Jenny wrinkled her nose, trying to pull herself back out of the thoughts in her head. "Long as you don't mind... I- Kinda feel bad for kicking you out of your bed." She looked apologetic, both for losing herself in the thoughts and for making Alec sleep on the couch.

Alec filed the name away for future reference along with that beginning letter of C, getting the feeling that there was a lot that Toby wasn't telling him. "It's alright, really." He put the first aid kit back together again and then gestured. "C'mon, I'll show you to my room. I gotta tidy up a little, it kinda looks like a bomb's hit it." Mostly it was just papework, easily cleaned up.

He got to his feet and wandered through to his bedroom, opening the door and stepping inside so he could gather up his things. The cat sprawled out over the bottom of the bed rolled over onto her back and looked at him reproachfully.

Jenny followed, toeing off her shoes by the door before she went up the stairs. "That's a lot of paper," she agreed as he started gathering them up. She picked her way over to the bed and held out her hand for that cat to sniff, then giving her the attention that she wanted when she had decided that Jenny wasn't a threat.

"I didn't know you had a cat," she said, listening to Spacey purr and letting the cat's presence be relaxing and comforting too. "She's gorgeous." Beat. "It is a she, right?"

Spacey moved her head so that Jenny was scratching behind her ears, moving so that wherever she felt she needed attention she got it as long as Jenny's hand kept moving. As soon as it stopped, Spacey was nudging Jenny's fingers with her head.

Alec chuckled. "Yes, it's a she. Belongs to Toby, but appears to have attached herself to me." He finished gathering up the paperwork and put it on the table near his laptop, the laptop that he switched off after saving all his work.

"I've got a ton of cases to work," he remarked with a shrug. "I took on Melissa's cases due to her being off with a broken arm."

"Maybe because Toby's sad." Jenny offered, looking a little surprised as Spacey walked onto her lap and sat down, her front paws against Jenny's dark hoodie, leaving white hairs all over it as she rubbed her head against Jenny's chest. "Hello beautiful girl, you're so pretty."

She glanced up, hand moving down Spacey's back. "She broke her arm? Ouch. Not good." She shook her head, "But- you do more than your share anyway, do you have to take on more? Can't another doctor do it?"

Alec watched Spacey with Jenny and smiled. "She likes you, you should be honoured. She doesn't like a lot of people." He double checked he had the right notes in the right files before he left the pile of paperwork alone, he'd have to grab a blanket out of the cupboard before he bedded down for the night.

"We work the same rotation and generally the same sort of stuff, plus everybody else is already swamped."

"And you're not swamped?" Jenny asked, "Already, without all the extra work?" She tipped her head at him and then asked, the tiniest of smirks on her lips, "Anyone ever tell you you're a workaholic?"

Spacey nudged Jenny's hand again. "I like her too. She's really sweet." Sometimes she wished she could read animal's minds too, but she could see Spacey's aura, pure and white like her coat. "I- I really appreciate this, Alec."

"All the time," Alec said with a laugh. "Guess it runs in the family, must get it from my folks."

He turned and looked at Jenny. "Don't mention it, I'm happy to help. I'm just glad that you're 100% Jenny again and hopefully a lot happier." He offered a smile then disappeared for a moment, reappearing with the tub of Anica cream.

"Apply this before you go to sleep, it'll work overnight."

"Sorry for landing on you. I guess I should have called first?" Jenny asked, reaching out and taking hold of the tub of Anica. She unscrewed the lid and took a sniff. It didn't smell too bad. Spacey didn't like it, though, as she jumped off the bed to rub herself against Alec's shin, winding herself around his legs.

She was quiet before she added, "I- I liked being normal for a while... but I think this is better."

Alec crouched down to gather Spacey up, smiling a little when the cat took to nuzzling at his jaw. "It's alright, Jenny. I said as much in my message after all, didn't I? Quit worrying, you're welcome here."

He scratched his fingers over Spacey's ears and nodded. "Usually good to be ourselves."

"Especially when we're special." Jenny agreed, looking hesitant for a moment before she got to her feet and walked over to Alec, kissing his cheek. She stood back on her heels and smiled up at him. "I hope the couch isn't uncomfortable." she added.

She looked at him for another second before she grinned. "Night Alec."

Alec smiled at the kiss to the cheek and then turned, pausing only briefly in the doorway. "Night, Jenny. Sweet dreams." He reached behind and closed the door, leaving Jenny to her own devices as he himself went on the hunt for a blanket.

Jenny stood in Alec's room for a moment, crossing over to the window and looking out of it, pulling one curtain back to look at the outside world. It seemed so much more alive now than it had done for a long time. Jenny's powers hadn't been gone that long in the grand scheme of things, but it had felt like forever.

She shut the curtain again and then walked over to the door, deciding to leave it a little bit open as she pulled her hoodie off and slipped out of her jeans. She kept her t-shirt on.

Rubbing the Anica cream into the bruises on her neck and the one on her hip that she saw when she was undressing, she rubbed her hands together, then wipe the excess off on her shirt. She didn't want to sleep, but she knew she should. She was afraid of having a nightmare, remembering the ritual or even the events of today. She hoped the creatures were alright.

Sliding into Alec's bed, she curled up on her side, hair obscuing her face as she drew the covers up right underneath her chin like that would protect her.

It might have been childish, but she hoped they wouldn't mind if she left the light on.

The darkness didn't seem much like it would be her friend.