A Wolf's Heart

Chapter 8

Dani slowly came awake and laying half on Murphy. Her head and arm were on his chest while their legs lay entangled beneath the sheets. She softly smiled, hearing his steady heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his breathing. It was peaceful, laying there with his arms holding her to him, making her feel safe and protected. Her fingers gently moved over his chest, enjoying how soft his chest hair was. It was different. Nice. And there was absolutely no feeling of regret. Dani shifted her head to lay a gentle kiss along his stubbled jawline and was rewarded with him tightening his hold. Murphy inhaled deeply, his hair scratching against the pillow as he moved his head to look at her. She smiled and pushed herself up to kiss him before settling back onto his shoulder.

"Regrets," Murphy asked, his voice deep and raspy from sleep.

"None," she replied, her voice equally raspy "You?"

"No," he said, running his fingers down her back, gentling as they came to her still healing burn. "How're you feeling?"

"Mentally, good. I still ache a bit, and the burn isn't real bothersome. You've taken real good care of me, John," she affirmed.

"Is it bad that I don't want to move?"

Dani chuckled low, "No."

"We could stay in today," Murphy suggested.

Dani sighed and pushed up to rest on her elbow. Smiling gently down at him, she shook her head, "Not today. Wells and Charlie are going to see Clarke and get some medical training."

"All the better," he huskily replied, his eyes trailing down her naked chest. "We can have the place to ourselves."

Dani rolled her eyes, "They need to train first, John. Yesterday was their first day, and you know how sore and stiff we were when we first started. They need to get used to it, and we need to get back in the habit."

Murphy grabbed her and flipped them, making her gasp in surprise, "You know I can think of another way to get exercise."

"Really," she smirked up at him. "I didn't know you thought of Wells that way, but Charlotte's way too young."

Murphy grimaced and collapsed on top of her, "Dammit, Sully. Now, I got that image in my head."

She carded her fingers through his head, laughing, "That's what you get, goof. But in all seriousness, John. Last night wasn't a one-night thing for me. I don't want it to be."

He pushed up on his arms to gaze down at her, "It wasn't for me either, Dani. Whatever we are...this is real. We may both be open to other partners if there are any out there who aren't complete assholes, but this is real. Okay?"

Dani smiled at him, "Okay," then she shoved him off her. "Come on; we got things to do. We've lollygagged long enough."

He laid there pouting as she sat up with her back to him, "What do we have to do today besides train, oh slave driver?"

She looked over her shoulder at Murphy, "Well, while the kids are in class, I thought we'd take a longer hike. Explore a bit more. There's a whole world out there, Murph, and I want to know what's in it."

Murphy smiled, seeing the gleam of excitement in her eyes, and pushed himself up, "Then, I guess that's what we'll do today. But tomorrow..."

She leaned over and kissed him, "I make no promises, but tomorrow would be a good day to rest."

"You're killing me, Sully. Killing me," Murphy replied, following her out of bed.

She chuckled, "Nice reference, but if this is killing you, I think someone needs to build up their endurance."

"I'll show you endurance," Murphy said and chased her into the bathroom, making her sing a different tune.

When they finally emerged clean and dressed, they found Wells and Charlotte eating at the kitchen bar.

"Bout time you two showed up," Wells teasingly smiled at the pair. "Thought we'd have to send a search party for you."

Murphy rolled his eyes as he made a plate for Dani and himself, "Funny, Junior. I was simply trying to convince Mistress of the To-Do List here to give us a day off."

Dani snorted as she poured them drinks, "Which, not for lack of trying, failed miserably. As I explained to Mr. Sarcasm, it's best to continue with the exercise and training. It'll help with the soreness you're both feeling. But we're only going to do it for a couple of hours, and then you two will head off to the dropship to learn from Clarke."

"And talk to her about your idea about using the bands to send a coded message," Wells reminded her.

Dani nodded around a bite of food. Swallowing, "That too. Murph and I will get in some more exploring, so we'll probably be back around nightfall. Will you two be okay by yourselves for that long?"

Wells peered at Charlotte before nodding, "Yeah, we'll be okay. But before we get into all that. I was looking at the tablet for the tv and found something interesting."

That perked Dani up, "Do tell."

Wells grabbed the tablet beside him and swiveled around in his seat, "This place also has security." He tapped on the tablet, and the tv sprung to life, showing different areas outside the bunker. "Not only does it have cameras, but it also has proximity sensors, and the tablet can reset the keypad."

"And that's your way of telling me to fix the keypad," Dani smirked, looking at the tv. "Damn. How the hell are we getting such good picture quality after two hundred plus years?"

"How are they even working," Murphy asked, looking at the screen. "There's not a crack, blank screen, or debris covering the cameras. That shouldn't be possible."

Wells shrugged, "I did take a quick look at them, and they're in near pristine condition. I guess that they were encased with something that protected them all this time. Then when we started up the bunker, out they came."

"Just like everything else," Dani said in wonder. "It really is like this place was frozen in time, just waiting for us. Damn."

"As long as we don't get Rip Van Winkled, I'm okay with it," Murphy said, shaking his head.

Charlotte looked at him in confusion, "Rip Van Winkled?"

"An old story, kid," Murphy explained. "Guy fell asleep under a tree or hill and woke up twenty years later. Wakes up to find out he missed a war and everything's changed."

"Nah, I think you're implying those old stories about people getting trapped by the faeries," Dani interjected. "Those take over roughly two hundred years."

"My idea still stands. Twenty years or two hundred," Murphy harumphed.

"I suppose so," Dani said, leaning over and kissing him to placate Murphy. He grumbled but willingly returned the kiss. "Now, if we're done finding things to distract me from training, it's time to go. While you all are doing circuits, I'll fix the keypad."

Everyone groaned but headedout of the bunker. True to her word, Dani only had them training for a coupleof hours, and by the time they were done, she had fixed the keypad, changed thecode, and tested it. After a quick meal and wash, they headed their separateways. Wells and Charlotte were heading to the dropship while Dani and Murphyheaded in a new direction.