Personal Soldier

Chapter 1

Delilah Stan was humming as she washed a pile of dishes in the sink.

Sebastian snuck up behind her and yelled, causing her to scream and flick water at him.

"Not nice!" Delilah yelled, turning off the water.

He laughed. "Sorry, Del. Hey, how would you feel about coming to set with me?"

"The Civil War set?"

"No, the Jurassic Park set. Yes, the Civil War set."

"Don't make fun of me, Sebastian."

"I wasn't- Do you want to come or not?"

"Can we bring Bucky?"

"Did you seriously name our cat Bucky?"

Delilah studied the black Scottish Fold kitten and smiled. "Nope. His name is Loki."

"Really?"

"Hey; Loki is great! Don't worry though, Bucky's always gonna be my favorite."

"But what if he's a girl?"

"Kitten's a boy. Trust me." She picked the kitten up. "Seb, meet Loki. Loki, meet Seb."

"All right, Del, let's pack your stuff. Come on."

"But I need to finish the dishes."

"I'll do them. You go pack. Rumor is there could be a role for you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you kidding me? A simple TV actress getting a role in a Marvel movie? Did Christmas come early?!"

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "Go on and pack, Del."

Delilah made her way to their room and started pulling out clothes.

Sebastian's words about a possible Marvel role for her lingered in her mind.

Her breath hitched and she closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. She silently counted to ten, but it wasn't working.

She stumbled and stepped back, hitting the wall.

Sebastian, who had just finished washing the dishes, looked up as a bang sounded.

He made his way to the master bedroom and found Delilah leaning against the wall gasping for air.

Quickly, he knelt in front of her and took her hands. "I'm here, printesa. It's going to be okay."

He exaggerated his breaths and she did the same, slowly calming down.

Sebastian rubbed her arms gently as Delilah whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Del, you never have to apologize for panic attacks." He stroked her hair. "You did scare me with that bang, though."

Silently, Delilah rested her head on his shoulder.

Sebastian glanced down at her and asked softly, "What do you need?"

"Sugar," she mumbled. "Feel like I'mma pass out."

He got up and went to the kitchen. He opened the pantry and pulled out some of her favorite chocolate and made his way back to her.

She'd curled up on the floor, head in her hands.

Sebastian sat next to her and handed her the chocolate. She put a small piece in her mouth, finally looking up and asked, "Where's filming?"

"Germany for us," Sebastian replied. "But you don't have to come if you don't want to. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Delilah glanced at him and smiled. "You'll be there. I think I'll be okay."