July 4th, 2021

0515 hours

Robyn yawned and stretched, eyeing the clock on her wall. The beach house was deadly quiet, the only sound the steady drip of her coffee pot as it brewed. It was still dark outside, just now past five, but the sun would soon rise, and with it another grueling day of grinding away at the case.

She switched on a small tableside lamp by her couch as she waited for the coffee to finish. Hopefully, it would be strong enough to thwart her impending hangover. Nearly an hour before, she'd woken to find the bed empty, but the fact that Quinn wasn't there didn't perturb her. She knew he was worried sick over solving the case, and figured he was off somewhere doing his own investigation.

It would have been nice to wake up next to him, but she understood him on a level that surprised her, and it left her with a sense of serenity. Soon enough, he would walk back through the doors, and they would continue working. Robyn wasn't naïve to think their consummated desire for one another would overshadow what needed to be done. Perhaps that was why they really did get along so well, despite the arguments and constant one-upping. They liked each other, but the case needed solving, and so that was what they had to focus on.

Robyn plodded back to the pot, setting out two large mugs, just as her front door creaked open. Her heart leaped as she glanced over, a sudden relief washing over her as his stormy eyes met hers. His face relaxed at the sight of her, the worry melting away, and a contented smile graced his lips.

"I'm sorry." Quinn rumbled, voice a little hoarse. "I had to check on something." He shrugged out of his suit jacket, carefully folding it, and placing it on her armchair near the door. She noticed he only wore a white undershirt underneath, which meant he'd been in a hurry to get to wherever he'd gone.

"That's alright, I figured you were." Robyn replied, quickly pouring the coffee, and bringing the cups to the couch, where she curled up in a cocoon of throw pillows. "Here." She handed him a mug as he joined her, his progress hindered by the overabundance of pillows.

"I never understood women and their love for these confounded things." He chastised, and she turned to mouth off, but upon seeing the teasing smirk on his face, grinned back, snatching a pillow and whacking him in the head with it.

"They're comfortable." She countered, feigning resentment through her grin.

"They're an abomination." He laughed, letting loose unexpectedly, and tackling her in the pile of them. Laughter erupted from her mouth, the real kind she missed, the kind that only came from interacting with people you love.

Quinn tumbled her around for a moment, making wrestling noises, until her hair and pajamas were so disheveled that she began to feel self-conscious.

"Quinn!" A girly giggle escaped her lips as she struggled to right herself, panting with exertion. "I'm becoming indecent."

Indeed, her thin spaghetti top was now askew, one of her small breasts nearly exposed, and her shorts were riding up uncomfortably between her butt cheeks.

Quinn's brows raised high, nearly to his hairline, and he gazed at her with such fondness her breath hitched. "I love it. I'd love to see more of you, actually-"

She cut him off with another pillow to the face, sending his deep, warm laugh throughout the room.

"The coffee's getting cold." She scolded, though kindly.

"In this humidity? What an odd occurrence that would be." He chuckled, but straightened and grabbed a mug, lifting it to his nose. She watched him as he smelled the aroma before taking a drink.

"That is wonderfully strong shit." He mused, his eyes teasing over the rim of the cup.

Robyn felt her face redden. "I though you might need something a bit stronger than usual. I assume we are going to finish this thing later today, and I figured the extra caffeine would be helpful."

"So, it has nothing to do with the hangover you're warding off?" Quinn teased, easing his body closer to hers. Their thighs were touching now, and their arms brushed every time they took a sip of their java.

"A little." She admitted, trying to look away from him. His long, muscled legs looked sinfully sexy in his tailored suit slacks, the fabric touching him in all the right places. His undershirt molded perfectly to his toned torso, his defined arms on display, flexing slightly every time he drank his coffee.

"Would you like to continue where we left off?" Quinn's eyes darkened hungrily, his body pinning her to the couch arm, their chests flush.

"Yes," she breathed, unable to deny him "I mean, no!" A sudden urgency filled her, and she gently kissed him before pulling away. "What I meant was, not at this moment." She hoped he would understand, gesturing toward her coffee table, where files were spread, open and ready.

"You were going through Lynne's files while I was gone?" Quinn leaned forward, taking the papers nearest him.

"Is that okay?" Robyn chewed her lip anxiously: the last time she'd done her own research, he'd been quite peeved, but then, she was trying to be helpful and lighten his workload.

"That's..." he faltered, turning to gaze at her with an imperceptible emotion "that's attractive as hell."

His hot mouth was suddenly on hers, moving with purpose, conveying all the feelings he wouldn't, and couldn't, say. She felt what he did, and because she understood him, she also realized it would be a long time before she would hear him say the words she wanted to hear, but she was content to wait. Quinn was worth the wait.

"That's perfect. You're perfect." He whispered, pulling away, and the clarity in his gray, sparkling eyes confirmed it; what they communicated was, Robyn was perfect for him. Her heart soared at the confirmation of it.

"Where did you go?" She managed, breath still uneven with desire, expectation, and like; a very strong like that neared a love she thought she'd never find again.

"To question someone." He replied obscurely.

Robyn nodded, sipping her coffee graciously before adding, "John Ellis, right?"

Quinn nearly spat out his mouthful of coffee, whipping his head around to stare at her incredulously. "How did-"

"I read the files, you know, every damn one of those hundred pages of mind-boggling nonsense." She laughed, leaning toward him to offer him a napkin from the coffee table. He grabbed it, wiping his mouth hastily, his eyes wide in awe as he stared dumbfoundedly.

"I just connected the clues." Robyn shrugged, chugging her last bit of brew. "That's what you wanted us to do."

"You," a gleam of admiration swirled in his eyes "are incredible. Yes, I had a conversation with the not so late Mr. Ellis."

"What did you find out?" Robyn asked, chest tight with anxiety.

"There might be more of those god forsaken creatures." Quinn sighed, running his pale fingers through his hair. Robyn wondered how often he would do that in the coming hours. "Apparently, he'd captured one and killed it's mate. So long story short, if we're finding eggs, there were either more to begin with, or Lynne has taken up a very dangerous pastime."

Robyn's heart grew cold. "Cloning?"

"Possibly, yes." Quinn confirmed, a scowl marring his handsome features. "We should probably get to work on these, so we can find out why." Quinn confirmed, opening the file he was holding. His eyes began roving the page, and Robyn warily picked up one as well, snuggling into the welcome softness of the cushions. She felt a weight snuggle up against her as Quinn settled into the embrace of the couch, slipping his legs under hers so hers were propped up over them. She smiled as Quinn's body relaxed against hers, their hips flush and she rested against his taught side, a happiness blossoming within her.

"What have you deduced so far?" Quinn prompted, still studying his file, his lids squinted in concentration.

"Most of it is hard to follow." She admitted, scratching her head as she read. "She must use a code, because I'm unable to make out a good portion."

She turned and tilted several pages toward him. "These, though, are the doctor's notes. I can tell because his handwriting is different."

"What is that?" Quinn frowned, easing closer to see. His face was close, too close, and even though they'd been intimate, she still found his presence unnerving sometimes.

"These are formulas, here," Robyn pointed out the sections for him, her brain beginning to whir as she spoke "and these are chemical equations."

"What are they for?" Quinn asked, pulling his eyes from the page, a legitimate confusion etched in their depths.

"I think," she began, her head beginning to hurt "these are used to create anti-aging products."

"That would explain ElI'X's business deal with Gru." Quinn confirmed, nodding, his dark hair rustling across his forehead.

"Yes, but these chemical equations are much harder to decipher." Robyn felt her lips pull upward in a thoughtful pose. "Some of these are also used during the manufacture process of those products, but the others, well, they almost look as if they are some sort of DNA splicing code."

"What?" Quinn jerked, roughly grabbing the file from her hands. She startled, easing back further into the cushions, as his body language changed. His chin now held an angry tick, instead of the loose, calm demeanor from before, and his irises were nearly black.

"I've seen equations like this before." Robyn tentatively offered, hoping she wouldn't set him off; the anger wouldn't be directed at her, of course, but toward the case itself.

"When?" Quinn worked his mouth, again bringing his hand up to his hair.

"During my understudies, we had a segment on cloning and altering DNA." The moment the words left her lips, Robyn's body went cold with a frightening realization.

"I know what she's doing!" Quinn blurted out at the same time she did, both standing abruptly from the couch, staring at one another in disbelief.

"We have to debrief everyone." Quinn hastily began shuffling the files back into a pile, turning from her in the process.

Robyn was confused: was he angry with her, for not putting it together sooner?

"I'm sorry, Quinn," she began in a trembling voice, tucking her arms around her "I should've seen that sooner."

He barely turned toward her, gaze unreadable, and she felt her heart sink, lower than it ever had. She'd let him down, which she'd promised herself, at the beginning, that she wouldn't allow.

"How can I help?" She choked out, gathering the mugs and rushing to the kitchen, dumping them loudly in the sink as her hands trembled with disappointment, the resounding clank reverberating through the house.

"Robyn?" She heard Quinn come up behind her. He snaked an arm around her, gently spinning her to look at him. He ducked his head, tilting her chin to meet his gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked soothingly, pulling her fully into his embrace, the warmth of it washing over her stress addled body.

"I let you down. I seem to disappoint you, a lot." She admitted sadly, tentatively nuzzling her face between his shoulder and neck.

"You haven't." He pulled back in surprise, staring at her incredulously. "We wouldn't have this huge breakthrough without your beautifully giant brain." He smiled genuinely, and she brought her limp arms up to embrace him back.

"Thank you." She choked, burying her face in his chest. "I thought I upset you."

"Never." His voice was husky, rumbling pleasantly in his torso where her head rested.

"Good." Robyn closed her eyes, breathing him in, committing the moment to memory, never wanting to forget him. She didn't fully understand their attraction, but it was quickly becoming clear he was the one she didn't want to lose.

"Now," he continued, stepping back a bit "I need you to get George and run some tests. We have to find out if what we are speculating, is actually feasible."

Robyn frowned: he wasn't meeting her eyes; they were trained on a spot to her left, giving unnecessary scrutinization to a flowerpot.

"Okay." She agreed, reluctantly. He was hiding something from her, which she was used to, but this time, with them being so close to putting Lynne behind bars, it felt off.

"Get as many trials in as you can in the next few hours, please." Gone was the warm, loving detective she'd finally released from his shell; in his place stood the ever discerning, detached agent.

"Sure." Robyn's scowl deepened and she hastened to pull on her clothing. She didn't particularly care that he saw her change, since they'd been naked for hours, doing unholy things in her bedroom. What miffed her was his sudden change, like he'd flipped a switch, from one Quinn to the other, without so much as a warning, without regret.

"I'll do that, then, Sir." She bit out, hostile toward him.

"Thank you." If he noticed her tone, he didn't show it, which enraged her further.

Storming to her room, her chest was on fire, alight with a mixture of love and hate. It was a deadly combination, one that would either destroy her, or ruin him.