I didn't move. I stayed pressed to Minho's chest with his arm protectively around my shoulders and the other one carefully cupped the back of my head. I stayed still and quiet in this hug. I couldn't remember the last time someone just hugged me. It was different.

The longer I stayed the more I could feel my heartbeat slow down, from the wild slamming in my chest to a slow steady rhythmic beat. My shoulders dropped slowly and my muscles lost the tension. My body was slowly exhaling the breath it had been holding for too long. My mind and body slowly, very slowly, realized that this situation, right now, was not a threatening situation. I wasn't in danger, right now, I was in a safe place.

I don't know how long we stood, he wasn't going to be the first to let go. I didn't want to either. I slowly let my eyes close. A very small thing, to close your eyes when you hug, but living in a constant high tension state of mind, I felt like it was a huge step. I felt maybe safe enough to close my eyes and just be. To close my eyes and trust I would be okay.

I felt his heartbeat, and the rise and fall of his breathing, the constant gentle pressure of his hands and the weight of his head resting on mine. I blame it on the changing and that I was still recovering, but a thought floated through my mind, a soft and sappy thought. One I would never have let myself think about before; his chest against mine, his heart was having a conversation with mine.

I felt the effects of the changing now that I wasn't in the fight or flight mode, my body started to shiver, feeling the feverish exhaustion. The aches and pains came back and my legs felt weak and about to give out. Minho must have felt the shift in me. He tried to guide me back to the bed but I shook my head.

"You need to rest. I know you're a Savage Beast, but even the wilf needs sleep."

"Not here." I said quietly, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Your own bed?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to pick you up. You won't make down the stairs."

I appreciated the warning that he was going to pick me up. I let a small gasp of pain out, the stitches in my side pulled. Minho gingerly held me closer to his broad chest, his strong arms holding me securely. I was by no means small, average height with lots of muscle, yet he had no issues picking me up. Laying my head down on his shoulder, my face hesitated pressed into his neck. I closed my exhausted eyes.

"You'll let me take care of you? No fight."

"No promises." I said weakly, sleep already trying to take over.

He huffed a small laugh and opened the door and started down the hall. Newt was leaning against the wall his arms crossed and a frown on his face as he stared moodily at the ground. Winston sat on the top step chewing his thumbnail. Newt looked up shocked to see Minho carrying me down the hall with a smile, when we probably looked ready to kill each other when I threw him from the room.

"What the bloody hell?"

"What's going on?" Winston asked as Minho passed them and started down the homestead stairs.

"She needs sleep."

"That's what the med-"

"In her own bed." He cut Winston's protest off.

"Clearly you two figured out your buggen' problem?"

The guys followed us down the stairs the thumping of the feet and their loud voices made me wince, my head was pounding again. I clenched my jaw, I didn't want to show them any more pain, any more weakness, but Minho must have heard the quiet whimper. I felt his arms tighten.

"Would you two I'm it for a minute!" He growled.

He nudged our door open and gently layed me down and pulled the blanket up.

"Sleep." He bent down and sled his hand under my pillow. "Emotional support knife is under the pillow."

I gave him a small sleepily smile.

"I'll be right back. Sleep Jessie."

Wincing slightly I rolled to my none injured side curled up and closed my eyes. I heard footsteps and the sound of the door closing behind him.

•×•

I closed the door to our bedroom door and was bombarded with questions from Winston and Newt. I held my hands up to slow the flow of none stop questions. I ran a hand through my hair and down my face.

Shuck I was tired.

"Yeah Newt, she kicked you out and we talked. You said yourself she deals with everything through anger. Also you said we were the shucken same. So...? What did you expect? Tears and sappy hugs?"

Newt pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled.

"But she's okay?" Winston asked.

"Will be. The changing...yeah I don't know. She didn't really tell me much, but our.." I dropped my voice and the guys leaned in. "Our suspensions were right...and yeah..it's not good."

"Shuck." The guys muttered.

"Well..." Winston started but trailed off, staring at the door behind me, none of us knew what to say or do. We all had the same looks on our face as we just stood.

"You look exhausted." Newt finally said, "you should go lay down too. It'll take her a day or two to fully recover."

I just nodded.

"Well...I'm gonna bloody assume that she's not gonna talk to anyone for a while. But we'll look after her tomorrow."

"Thanks for not taking it personally...he kicking you out."

Newt shrugged.

I turned and went back into our room. Jessie was fast asleep, her injured arm laying ontop of the blanket. I winced, thinking back to how much blood I saw when I found her in the maze. Her dark hair fanned out around her. Her lashes fluttered while she slept. She looked softer when she slept, the sharp coldness she hid behind melted away and she was a 18 year old kid.

I shook my head. I had stood by her bed just watching her, and that was probably a little creepy. She wasn't just interesting, she was captivating, her beauty was otherworldly. I had no idea what it was, but she had caught my attention.

When I nearly ran into her in the maze, she would have had an accurate throw had I not already been skidding and falling. After I had tackled and rolled off I knelt beside her fascinated, not just because she was the first girl I'd seen in a year and a half, but because she was just stunning. Ben had to give me a wack to the back of the head.

Running my hand through my hair again I pulled my shirt off and got into bed. I lay for a long time in the dark just watching the shadowy lump in the bed, knowing it was Jessie. I finally succumbed to sleep.

•×•

I shot straight up the knife clutched in my hand. I had always slept with one under my pillow. It's the maze...you never know what's going to happen. Newt was right, Jessie and I were eerily similar.

Something had woken me from a dead sleep. I had the knife white knuckled, I was breathing heavily, but very confused. Blinking a few times I looked around. The room seemed quiet. I frowned, lowering my arm. The wild cry happened again making me jump, and a shiver ran down my spine. It was a soft but haunted cry, somewhere between a sob and a whimper.

I threw the blankets off, Jessie wasn't in her bed. I scrambled out of mine and cautiously approached the girl in the corner. She sat hunched with her back to the room. I couldn't see what she was doing, but the way she was mumbling and shacking she was either having some kind of mental break down or she was in the middle of a night terror flash back thing.

Preparing myself for whatever, I slowly crouched down.

"Jessie?"

She let out a cry as she spun around with crazy agility, she had a long knife held in her hands, she tried to slash, but I grabbed her wrist before she could. Her eyes were glazed over.

"No!" She screamed.

"Jessie!"

With a snarl she leapt forwards. I knocked the knife from her hands and it skidded across the room. She hesitated and then dove for it. I was glad I had wrestled with Gally. But trying to grab hold of her was like trying to grab a ninja. She was quick agile and strong. I didn't want to open stitches, or hurt her, but if I didn't do something she was going to hurt me and herself in the process.

I dove for the  knife, getting there first I gave it a shove and slid it under the bed before she could grab it. Flipping onto my back as she tried to scramble over me for the knife.

"Jessie! Wake the shuck up!" I yelled.

I had wrapped an arm around her hips as she tried to dive over me for the knife. I pulled her back. So she was laying on top of me, she fought and squirmed. I saw tears sliding down her cheeks. I saw the terror in her eyes. She was stuck in her past. Thank shuck I was stronger. I wrapped both my arms around her and held her flat to my chest as she tried to fight and squirm.

As I held Jessie, holding her down from hurting herself more, words from a song floated through my mind. I have no context for them. I don't know where they came from, but I didn't know what else to do.

"Deep in the meadow, under a willow.
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes. And when again they open, the sun will rise."

Her growling and crying slowed down.

"Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you."

She had stilled, she wasn't fighting against me. I heard her whimpering and I felt her shaking. I held her against my chest, as I lay on the floor, singing some random song that popped into my head. But it was working, so I kept going.

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away.
A cloak of leaves, a moonbеam ray.
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay.
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you."

She was still whimpering and shivering. But the knife under the bed forgotten, the fight had left her, leaving her exhausted.

"Jessie?" I whispered.

She just whimpered again. I felt her hands trying to grasp hold of something, I had taken mine off to sleep, so her hands just lay flat on my chest instead. Her ear pressed against my chest, over my heart.

"Okay....we can stay for a second. You're okay. You're safe now. I'm here..." I whispered.

Not really knowing what else to do or say, I just held her for a few more minutes.

"Again?"

Her voice was so small, so quiet I hardly heard it. I didn't know she was awake, but at some point she had woken up.

"I'm going to get up. But I'm taking you with me."

She didn't say anything, or do anything, so I took that as a yes. I slowly sat up, using all the core muscle I had, my arms still held her tight. We got up, and I backed up to my bed, sat down, taking her with me and I slowly lay down. Pulling the blanket up over us, Jessie wouldn't stop shivering. She lay on top of me, her ear was pressed overy heart. Her injured arm lay beside us, her other one tucked around me. I drapped one arm over her and the other gently ran through her hair. And I quietly sung the unknown lullaby. I could feel her ragged uneven breathing lengthen out and become rythmic, her tight coiled body slowly unwound and relaxed.

I repeated the song a third time, I was whispering it at the point, but the song seemed to help. And what ever it took to help her feel safe and relaxed I'd do it. I think now I fully realized I'd pretty much do anything to help her feel safe.

Sure she was broken, and jacked...violent and vulgar, stubborn and sassy...she had a messed up terrible abusive childhood...but so was I. I didn't know my past, but I'm positive it wasn't a normal one. I was broken and jacked too. I was stubborn as shuck.

We were two broken kids, playing a dangerous game of trust. But...we both liked to live dangerous reckless lives.

I fell asleep with a smile for the first time in a long time.

And she fell asleep felling safe, for the very first time.