TDA Meets TLH

6: Emma

I bolted up in my bed that night, my t-shirt soaked sweat. I had a dream that the Clave had found out about Julian and I, and that they were going to kill him for it. I got out of my bed, and walked into my bathroom, to get a glass of water. I then changed my t-shirt, and hopped back into bed.

As I laid there, I felt my Parabatai rune throb with pain. It had been doing that, since Julian hadn't been speaking properly. It was tearing me apart, not talking to him. I rolled into my back, and took a deep breath. I was wide awake. At times like these, I would go sleep with Julian, but something told me that that wouldn't be the best idea right now. I didn't want to go to Cristina, because she was still recovering from the whole battle at the convergence. That only left one person.

I got out of bed, and opened my door and walked out. I silently walked down the hallway, until I was outside of Mark's door. What am I doing? I thought. What was Mark going to do about my nightmare? It was Jules who always knew how to comfort me. Against my better judgement, I quietly opened his door, and walked in. I quickly closed it, behind me, and walked towards his bed.

Mark laid in his bed, his eyes gently closed, his pale face looking delicate. He was laying on his back, and I took a step closer to him. Suddenly, Mark shot up, grabbed a knife that was sitting on his bedside table, and pointed it at me. I jumped back, and his eyes widened when he saw that it was me.

"Emma?" Mark echoed. "What are you doing here?"

"How did you just shoot up like that?" I was wide eyed.

"The Hunt teaches you to sense stuff like that." He put the knife back down his table. "Is something wrong?"

"Can I stay with you?" I quickly blurted out, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I--I had a nightmare."

Mark looked genuinely surprised. "Okay."

He got back into his bed, and I awkwardly did too. We laid side by side, him laying on his back, and I on my back, facing him.

"I always go to Julian when this happens, but..." I trailed off.

"I understand." Mark said. "He looked very upset at seeing us together."

I felt a wave of shame go through me. I had almost broke down in tears, when I had seen Julian's face today at dinner. I didn't want to do this to him, but I had to. I had to protect him.

"It killed me." I whispered sadly.

"I understand why you have to do this, though. It is too dangerous for you not to." He continued.

"I have to protect Jules. Not me, I don't care about me. Just him." I said. "If the Clave did something to him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I've never seen people so protective over one another, even though you are Parabatai." Mark said. "It is amazing to watch."

I only blushed, and remained silent.

"What about you and Cristina?" I asked.

"What about us?" He sounded a bit bitter.

"I know something about her is bothering you, Mark." I replied.

He sighed. "I saw her kiss perfect Diego, and I had thought that maybe she had feelings for me."