Tares City

52. Aftermath

NAOMI REID 

"You know, if you want to get coffee out of the machine you'll have to put it on first." A voice says startling Naomi back to the present. Spinning around, she comes to face Dalton watching her with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, hey. Morning," Naomi says to him putting a smile on her face before turning her attention back to the coffee machine. "Jensen went out to buy breakfast. He'll be back soon." She informs him.

"Yeah, I know. He left me a little note on my bedside table too." He replies to her teasingly.

Naomi scoffs a laugh, turning to look at him doubtfully.

"What?  Don't believe me. He dotted the 'I's with a heart and everything!" Dalton continues this time making Naomi laugh.

"Well then, now we know who's his favorite.  My I's  were dotted normally." Naomi replies with a chuckle. Dalton laughed softly as well.

As she works on putting it on, she could feel the weight of Dalton's stare on her back.  Glancing behind her, she gives him a questioning look, "I was zoned out when you came in, I'm fine. You're looking at me like you think I'm going to have a mental breakdown or something." She says with a chuckle.

"Well considering what you've been thrown into," Dalton replies trailing off. 

"You think I'm minutes away from losing my shit, got it," Naomi says finishing his sentence with a nod.

"I'm saying it's kind of...warranted," Dalton replies, his tone soft and cautious. "Besides, all this went down just last night, you've hardly had any time to process."

"That's true, and yes, you're right. I'm still processing," Naomi begins, "But I promise I'm not going to have a breakdown. You don't have to watch me like I'm a ticking timebomb."

"I don't know if I should be more worried by that statement or not," Dalton says with a slight chuckle. "How are you so calm? Your lack of panic actually worries me. It's worrying Jensen, too."

"He tell you that on the note too?" Naomi asks in jest. Not getting the laugh she expected she studies Dalton's face, seeing the worry in his eyes. They were past the jokes it seemed. 

Naomi lets out a sigh as she gathers her thoughts, "You know. I think it's cause I know what we did, what Jensen did...was justified," She confesses to Dalton. "I've lost patients in the field before and it's wrecked me. I've had breakdowns over them. They were innocent people I couldn't save and their deaths hit me hard. But this...what happened last night..."

"What?" Dalton prompts softly.

"They deserved it, Dalton," Naomi admits out loud. "It was self-defense on our part, yeah... but I have to admit to myself that I think they deserved it. The stalking, the threats...they. They made me feel so unsafe. They were ready to kill me! A human! And for what? Just because I wanted to save a life because I "fraternize" with Lycans and they don't like that?" Naomi pauses for a moment, turning back to the coffee machine, her back straight. "So, no...I'm not going to have a breakdown over it, and I mean it when I say I'm fine. Because they were not good people, and they brought it upon themselves."

"Valid," Dalton says mostly to himself nodding at her response, accepting and understanding where she stood concerning everything. Hearing the front door open and shut, Naomi sees Jensen enter the kitchen with bags of takeout boxes.

"Finally you're back, I'm starving!" Dalton says as he walks up to him, grabbing one of the bags. "Did you get my donut?" He asks making Jensen roll his eyes trying to hide a laugh.