His bare feet padded softly down the hall, each step slower than the last as he approached Levi's room.

John paused outside the door. His hand hesitated on the knob. He'd been in countless rooms like this before—dark corners of safehouses, infirmaries, holding quarters. But this one held far more fragile than any mission. Slowly, he turned the handle and pushed the door open with care, letting only a sliver of light from the hallway slip inside.

And there, he found her curled beneath the thin blanket.

Her back was to him, her knees drawn up with her arms folded near her chest like a child seeking warmth. The oversized shirt she wore hung off one shoulder, revealing skin still recovering from all she had been through. Her hair had been brushed, soft and loose, fanned out over the pillow like silk.

His heart clenched in his chest at the sight of her.

She looked small and vulnerable.

Like a lamb was in need to be protected and kept safe from a shepherd.

Gabby had said she'd cried. That the pain from the drug, from the trauma, had nearly broken her. And now, looking at her, he could see the shadow of it all still clinging to her frame like a ghost.

He stepped forward slowly, careful not to make a sound.

Charlie stirred only faintly as he approached the bed.

John crouched beside her, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

Her lips parted in a sleepy, breathy murmur.

"Mm... s'warm..."

He let out a quiet chuckle. It was precious to him, which made his heart tugged again.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm here."

She didn't wake. Just shifted slightly, like she knew—somewhere in her dreams—that he was there.

As he slipped an arm under her legs and the other around her back, he lifted her from the bed. She weighed nothing to him, bundled in fragile limbs that still trembled from exhaustion. She curled instinctively into his chest, her cheek pressing into his shoulder, eyes still closed.

He carried her through the hallway, step by slow step, until they reached his room. The door clicked shut behind him, and he walked to the bed. When he laid her down on the sheets, he pulled the blanket over her body, and she whimpered when the cold air touched her skin. He gently told her "I'm here" before climbing into bed. He held her close, wrapping an arm around her.

She relaxed and her hands reached out when she touched his forearms over hers. Feeling his beard and his face touched against the crook of her neck, he closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose.

It felt like a lifetime, like he allowed himself to breathe and he held her tight.

Her body was warmer than it had been in that cold hellhole. Her chest rose and fell in rhythm against his, and he matched her breath without even realizing it.

He wasn't sure how the world had let that happen. Maybe it was mercy. Maybe it was just timing. But he did pray before jumping into the fire; Whatever it was, she was here. Still whole, even if shaken. Still his, even if scarred.

He kissed the back of her neck, the way one might kiss a prayer. One of his hands slipped across her abdomen within the shirt while the other anchored beneath her, tucking her against the curve of his chest. Just when he thought she was asleep, he felt her fingers lace over his forearm.

Charlie stirred. A slow, drowsy blink as she opened her eyes. Her lashes were damp. She sniffled.

"John...?" Her voice was a whisper, a fragile thread of sound.

Opening his eyes, he breathed in her neck before letting out a soft hum deep in his throat meant to soothe her.

"Shh... I'm here love."

Her arms wrapped around his, clutching him with a need.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she breathed out, like it ached just to speak. "I... I didn't know if I'd see you again."

He squeezed his eyes shut, his throat tightening.

"I should've been there sooner," he whispered, voice low and hoarse against her. "I should've never let you go through that. That wasn't supposed to happen."

She shifted slightly, turning just enough to meet his gaze. Her eyes were glassy, rimmed with red. Still swollen from tears.

"Don't... " she whispered. "It's not your fault. You didn't do this to me."

"But I should've protected you," he said, the weight of those words cracking through his chest. "It was my job and I failed—"

"No," she cut in gently, her hand moving up to his cheek, palm cradling the rough line of his beard. "You didn't. You came. I'm here because of you."

He stared at her. And in that moment, she was everything he wasn't.

Soft where he was hard.

Whole where he was broken.

Light where he'd only known shadows.

"I love you," she whispered, and her voice broke at the edges. "I love you so much I thought it would kill me if you didn't make it."

His heart twisted, like thunder in his chest. Releasing his hard exhale, he leaned forward and kissed her. They hadn't broken apart for a minute until he pulled back just enough to whisper, forehead pressed to hers.

"I love you too, Charlie."

His hot breath breathed against her and she closed her eyes. Letting out a soft sigh, she kissed him again.

"I love you," she said between kisses and break apart, almost smiling when she was just an inch closer to his lips. "To the moon and the back."

He chuckled heartily. "I love you to infinity and beyond."

That made her giggle.

"Is that Buzz's line?"

"Yeah."

"Did you watch all of the Toy Story movies?"

"Just the classic," John answered. "Cam was almost four when she wanted me to watch it whenever I was off-duty, that was when Penny was still around."

She smiled at him and she kissed him again before breaking away. Her eyes soft with warmth. Allowing her nails grazed along the underside of his jaw, her thumb gently brushing through the edge of his beard.

"You know," she whispered, a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips, "I used to think it was kind of weird. How I started falling for this grumpy but yet, sexy single dad."

John blinked, caught off guard.

His brow arched slowly, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. "Yeah?"

She nodded, her nose wrinkling. "Yeah. Like... what kind of twenty-something ends up falling for a man with a beard, rough hands, and a stare that would cut glass? I didn't mean to fall for you. But I did."

John let out a slow breath as if her words alone softened his heart, making his chest warm with her words.

"No one's ever said anything like that to me," he said, his voice low, rough but touched. "Let alone someone like you."

She tilted her head just enough to look up at him. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah. Never expected a young and beautiful woman like you to be kind to an old man," he said gently, brushing a knuckle down the line of her jaw. "You could've had someone with clean hands and a simple life, but you chose me."

"I didn't just choose you," she corrected him gently. "I wanted you."

Staring at her, his throat bobbed with the weight of that.

"I wanted the man who loves his child so much that he'd do whatever he can to give her a best life, full of love and lots of care. I wanted the one who works with his hands, and fights with his heart. For his friends and family. I wanted the one who looks at me like I'm his world, even when he doesn't say a word. I want the man who isn't afraid to love back, even if he has been through hell."

His smile deepened, slow and warm, but laced with something darker—a hint that was behind his icy blue eyes as her words sunk in. It did numbers on him that yes, he was afraid to love again. But ever since Soap has pushed him to do it, if it wasn't for his persistence. He wouldn't have given her a chance, including himself. No one, like nobody, had ever said such words that all he could think of was make love to her all night (and day) before his last day.

Slow down, soldier. You both had a long night. Save it for later. He reminded himself.

When he reached down and cupped her jaw, his thumb brushed along her lower lip as he leaned closer. "You know what I want?"

"What?"

"I want to give you everything," his voice was thick now, full of heat and devotion. "The safety. The home. The peace I never had growing up. All of it. You deserve that, and more."

She stared at him before smiling back. Biting her bottom lip (on purpose), he smirked back and continued.

"You're mine to protect and keep," he said huskily, leaning to her forehead and kissing it. "And I'll give you what's mine with everything I've got."

The way he said it—low, possessive, but tender—made her shiver and melt all at once. Her breath hitched softly, letting her lashes move up and down as she gazed up at him—full of emotion, worn down by the storm they had been through today.

When she reached up again, brushing her fingers along the back of his neck and his back hair guiding him down into another kiss. This time, slower and deeper. There was no rush. Just that quiet, warm ache of needing to feel him.

His nose brushed against hers as he tilted his head, letting the kiss draw out with patience, like neither of them wanted it to end. As his hand slid up her side, his fingers threading into her golden hair as she leaned into him.

Every breath they shared between their lips. Hot tongues clashing within each other as he fought over, and she moaned softly into his mouth, the sound something between relief and yearning. She let her hands slide down his chest, feeling the solid strength beneath her palms and his body warmth against hers.

He pulled back just enough to catch her eyes and his breath again.

"You all right, love?" he murmured, his voice laced with tenderness, still tasting her breath on his lips.

She nodded, cupping his face gently. "Better now."

He kissed her again.

And again.

It wasn't rushed.

It was the kind of kiss that was full of affection, with all the unspoken words they were still too tired to say aloud.

Charlie sighed against him, her fingers curling against his shirt, and he kissed her head. Then her forehead before not moving away.

"I could kiss you like this for the rest of my life," he muttered after closing his eyes.

She smiled, eyes closed as well when she exhaled softly through her nose. "Then don't stop."

And he didn't.

They kissed a few times and muttered tender words that the world outside no longer mattered. They kissed while Charlie half-moaned when his tongue would touch and taste most of her skin, moving out from her mouth to her jawline till her neck.

He moved and hovered over her before pressing against her small body. Her legs tangled over his, one leg moved over his waist while the other tangled on his thigh. The feel of his length becoming almost semi-hard against her stomach, it was almost like fire burning within them as each breath they shared was intentional and raw. Until her breath began to slow, her body relaxed into the comfort of him.

They panted after he pulled away, his wintry eyes stared at her chocolate eyes. She caressed his face and smiled at him.

"I love you, Johnathan."

He smiled back in return and moved back to lay on his back on the bed. She moved over and laid on top of him, Charlie rested her head against his chest where his heart was beating steady. One of his large hands resting on her back while the other snaking low before stopping on her butt cheeks within her shorts, their legs tangled under the blanket.

He kissed her hair and whispered it back, voice low and warm like firelight.

"Forever?"

She laughed breathily and lifted her head and face to look at him.

"Forever."

And then, she kissed him last and they continued blissfully into their love night of their forever.