Hannah was happy to finally step into her sleeping quarters, free from the cumbersome clunky hazmat gear. Per their protocol, she showered before leaving the floor to remove any possible contaminants from her body. Her clothes were put in a plastic bag and tossed into a bin to be cleaned by their dry cleaning service, and they would eventually be dropped off in her suite. Sanitization practices made for an almost immaculate station. Cleaning crews could always be seen moving about the complex. Her room had already received a visit, which she thought would quickly become a favorite part of her stay here. No cleaning chores. After a long hard day, cleaning was the last thing on her mind.

Right now, she was ready to fall asleep for the rest of the night, or at least as long as she could sleep for. They had no set schedule of when they had to work so if she woke up at O'three hundred, she could just get up and go to the lab. It would probably be nice to work when everyone was sleeping, like Xavier for example. Having his eyes glued to her made it hard for her to concentrate. It's like he was claiming her behind with how hard he'd stared at it, then at her.

Of course, whenever she had turned to look at him, he wasn't even looking at her or maybe he wanted it to look like he wasn't. She knew he had to be thinking about earlier or maybe it was she who was thinking about it too much. And yep, that was definitely the case. His arms felt so comforting that it was hard to forget about it. She had even had the best sleep she'd had in a while, that was until he woke her up because of the new circumstances surrounding the boy.

Hannah groaned. They really had to come up with some other name for him instead of just "the boy." They couldn't keep calling him something so impersonal. It felt rude in a way, made it seem like he wasn't an actual person, but they could clearly see that he was.

With his blond hair, he kind of looked like a Josh to her, so maybe she could call him Josh. She'd had a friend when she was little that somewhat looked like him and his name was Joshua. His parents had eventually moved away, taking Josh with them, and she could remember feeling so lost as he was her first real friend.

Falling backwards on the bed, she bent her leg to remove her heels. She really had to stop wearing these things all day. For a few hours they were okay, but then the balls of her feet always started to hurt. She should trade them in for runners like Corey had. Brutal shoes were not a scientist's friend.

Tossing her shoes towards the door, Hannah relaxed back on the bed, relishing in the peace and quiet. Her world was often too noisy, and it surprised her to find out how busy it was here. Thankfully, she had some time to herself. Cheryl decided to stay in the lab with Flynn and continue recording Josh's activities. The station had cameras that did the same thing, so it wasn't overly necessary, but she liked having her own personal footage that she could view whenever she wanted. If she wanted to review the station's footage, she had to go through the proper channels and have it okayed by Director Adams, then it had to go through Xavier who dealt with all that.

As she lay there, his blue eyes twinkled in her mind. Life had certainly gotten much stranger since arriving at the station. She wasn't sure what was stranger though, having slept in his bed and not actually having sex or the fact that she allowed him to hold her. That was something she never allowed and hasn't allowed for quite some time.

But somehow amidst the deep pain and sorrow, she gave herself over to the need to be comforted. She appreciated his restraint more than he would ever realize. It was hard to accept but it made her appreciate him even more. Should she thank him somehow? On one hand, she wanted to forget all about it, but he was a friend when she needed it, and she knew she should thank him somehow.

Maybe after her nap, she could take him a beer. Without a personal kitchen, she couldn't really make him one of her house specialities, but there was a chance she could convince the station's chef to let her use his kitchen to make a wicked lemon meringue pie. After that, they should be even.

"Who are you fooling, Hannah?" she murmured to herself. Nothing could make up for the support she'd received from him, but she would certainly try. For now, with the migraine building between her eyes, she needed sleep. And sleep she would.

***

Xavier set his extra guard up in the lab so that Clint could rest for the night. Mark wasn't his favorite guy, but he could be alert and do the job. He did have previous security experience and was used to the night shift, but the man's attitude sucked. Never wanted anyone to tell him what to do or how to do it, and tonight was no exception.

Gritting his teeth, he worked at making it through the orientation without losing it on the man. "Do not, for any reason, open that door. To go in there, one needs to be in a hazmat suit. Your primary duty is to observe and report. No one is allowed in there to visit with the boy unless it's his primary team, Hannah, Corey, Dr Booth, Cheryl, and Flynn. If there are any problems, call Kevin in the office."

Mark chewed his gum with his mouth open, only seemingly to half pay attention to what he was saying. "Got it."

"Can you repeat the instructions back to me?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I heard you."

Xavier flexed his fingers and took a breath. "Here is a list of clear instructions. Please read it and sign the bottom. I'll collect it in the morning."

There was a reason he was only an auxiliary guard and not one of his full-timers. He was like a last resort should they need extra coverage. And Xavier was glad for that. He handed Mark the paper and turned to leave the lab with Clint.

"Wanna make a bet?" Clint asked Xavier.

"About?"

"What that kid is exactly? Alien, zombie, human, or possessed," Clint grabbed his bag and followed Xavier out the door.

Xavier couldn't help but laugh. "Now that's a game I'm sure everyone on the team would like to play." The kid really was a mystery even to the doctors, let alone the stories spreading through the crew like wildfire.

"So are we gonna?" Clint asked.

"I'll leave a jar in the office for those who have a betting nature." For himself, he hadn't a clue as to what the kid may be, and honestly, he didn't like having something in his station that he was uncertain about. That increased the probability of danger.

As they walked down the hall, he reflected on what they'd seen that day from the observation window. For the first time in his life, he'd held his breath as his heart went nuts when she attempted to tend to the strange kid. There was a foreboding in the air, a darkness that was intermingling throughout the station. He'd half expected a monster to pull her right into the bubble.

Maybe he was just experiencing paranoia. Nothing happened that had given him any cause for concern, except the kid coming back to life. But even then, he hadn't really done anything out of the ordinary, just sat there blankly for the most part. If he'd shown any signs of aggression, Xavier wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving the lab, especially not in Mark's hands.

"I'm thinking of hitting the gym," Xavier said.

"You still have energy to do that?" Clint looked at him incredulously. "I'm exhausted."

"Not really, but i'm out of sorts tonight. Gotta do something to get rid of the nervous energy." As a guard you needed to be able to keep a level head, cool and collected, even in the face of danger. If you couldn't, then chances were you'd make a mistake and cost someone something. Out here, you were the police even more so than a security guard. The station's lives were in his hands, and he had to be alert and aware.

Maybe, he'd go for a run instead of the gym. The way that the main floor was designed, it created a track of sorts. A few doors prevented it from being an open circuit, but it worked all the same. As he made his way towards the elevator, he saw someone with a beer in hand and caught the whiff of it as he walked by. That seemed much more enjoyable than running.

But as he went to go to his room to grab one, he found himself standing in front of Hannah's door. He lifted his hand to knock, but then dropped it again. She would probably be tired after such a long day and wouldn't want company. Chances were she was probably already asleep. He had taken a step back to leave when her door opened and he was left speechless.

She was barefoot and in a two piece jammie set with light pink shorts and a tank top that said Beauty, leaving her midriff deliciously showing. Her hair was a tangled mess. Her eyes half closed.

Xavier's cock sprang to attention, making him clasp his hands together in front of it in an attempt to hide it. Heat fanning up from his neck. He hadn't expected her to come to the door, especially not like that. But damn, she looked good. "I'm—uh..." he stammered. Aw, hell. So much for being able to remain cool under pressure.

Her gaze dropped to his crotch as he caught the look of awareness in her eyes. Her cheeks became a delectable pink hue in color, and that aroused him even more. Her lips parted and her tongue darted across them. There was doubt now that she saw it.

Walk away, Xavier, his conscience told him, but his feet remained firmly planted where they were. Her chest rose and fell with each breath that seemed to be in time with his own. Her nipples pressed against her crop top. No bra. This was a bad idea, an extremely bad idea. If he couldn't walk away, he needed her to slam the door in his face. But neither moved, and neither could seem to step away.

"Beer?" she asked, her voice filled with a sexy rasp, which had him fumbling for words.