Dev sat on his childhood bed surrounded by tin soldiers. He must have fallen asleep while playing and had a nightmare. It had monsters and a scary lady. But there had also been a very pretty lady and magic. Dev had had magic in the dream. But, it was only a dream and now he wanted to play again. He tried to pick up his soldiers but he didn't have any hands to hold his toys. Where his hands had been were blackened nubs, still charred and bloody from some bright light. He began to cry. The door to his room opened and his mother rushed in to console him. Dev felt a comfort he had forgotten being swept into his mother's arms.

"There, there ma-boy, t'will be alrigh'. 'Ush now, let me dry your tears. Lets 'ave a look." Dev looked up to meet his mother's gaze. She looked like the lady from the dream a little, red hair and pretty. What was the dream lady's name? While Dev was trying to remember details from the nightmare his mother twitched her head to the side, looking away. When she looked back the top half of her head was gone with black vines whipping around. Her voice cracked and deepened, her accent warping. "You're mine, Devlin Brígh. Ye canny hide." He struggled to get away from the monster, pushing weakly with his damaged limbs.

The Bale was cradling him back in the bare kitchen. Somehow, he had crossed the Threshold. The walls began to seep thick black fluids. He was deafened by screams of pain and torment. In the windows, he could see faces pressed against the glass. Victims and supplicants, those who had been sacrificed and consumed in Evil's name. They were all trapped by the Bale in Hell. They were all being fed to it, even those being used for other's gains, like the Keeper of Temptation. The Bale was a Numen, still whole, locked away.

"Julianne! Help!" He remembered. The window started to ripple like water and a hand reached through. His own hand reappeared and he grasped the extended hand. Coughing and sputtering like he had been drowning, Dev's mind resurfaced back in his shocking reality. Julianne's hand was clasped in his, his skin pink and healing. He rolled to his side and vomited. And cried.

She let him finish and helped him sit up. She had shed a few tears herself while cradling his remains. It had taken a lot of her power to keep Dev alive, and when she had heard his voice she pulled him back from death. Though weakening, her ward was still in place. The world outside the barrier still unsullied. They were alone, for now. He wiped his eyes with his new hands. He briefly saw a relieved Kushiel and P.H. standing watch over them.

"Thanks." They leaned on each other and climbed to their feet. With a passive wave, Julianne dispelled her barrier and they limped to Dev's car. She dug a lipstick out of the little clutch and drew a circle with some strange letters in it. Dev felt a small static charge fill the air as she recited a spell.

"There. Now your car is, should be, impossible to find. Remind me to break the circle when we get out or you'll lose your car in your driveway." Dev let out a chuckle. She looked sidelong at him but shortly joined him. Tears streaming down their faces, they laughed until their sides hurt. They embraced in a hug, survivors of tragedy. They pulled apart after a long silence. Dev offered his handkerchief to Julianne. She wiped her eyes and patted at her nose.

Dev started his car and drove to his house. Julianne took his hand and held it while he drove home. After parking, she smeared the lipstick on the glass and they achingly got out and trudged up the steps to his porch.

"Where is your kitchen?" She asked. Dev led her down the hall to where P.H. had recently revealed himself. The clock on the wall read almost five AM. It felt like so long ago, but must have only been maybe 24 hours. "Salt?" Dev retrieved it from a cabinet above the icebox and handed it over. She kicked off her heels and set them by the door. "Be right back." Julianne set about warding and protecting the house so Dev made breakfast. He scrambled some eggs and fried up a few slices of bacon. He turned on his percolator and when Julianne made her way back to the kitchen, Dev had plated the food and was pouring fresh coffee in two mugs. "Thank you." She said and sat down at the dinette.

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They ate in silence, the occasional slurp or scrape on the plate the only noise. Dev collected the plates and set them in the sink. He slumped against the cabinets and sighed deeply.

"Don't worry, I put the same wards here as I would for myself. Short of blowing up the neighborhood, they won't be able to hurt us." Julianne said and sipped the coffee. Dev nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Go down that hall and take a left for my bedroom. Straight across is the bathroom. I'll sleep on the couch." He walked to the hallway and turned back to her. "Thank you for saving me. I think I went to Hell." A haunted look crept over Dev's features.

"Hey, we saved each other. So I owe you thanks, too." She smiled and finished the coffee. "Sleep good." Dev made his way to the living room and took off his shoes. He folded his jacket over the back of his armchair and took his tie off. He draped his belt and tie next to the jacket and sat down heavily on the sofa. He heard the shower turn on and was instantly envious. A warm shower would feel amazing on his aching everything. He drifted off to sleep while sitting up.

Julianne had nothing but a dress and undergarments so she snuck across the hall to raid his dresser and closet. She settled on a button down shirt and a pair of slacks. Laying down in Dev's bed she was suddenly wide awake. It didn't help that the pillow and bed clothes only smelled like Dev. She tossed and turned for a while then got out of bed and padded down the hallway to where he had retired. She peaked around the door frame and saw him asleep with his head back, snoring lightly. She smiled to herself. If they weren't so worried about staying alive and taking out a cult of murderers, she might have thought he was cute. She crept into the room.

"Dev, are you awake?" He snorted and lazily opened his eyes.

"Hmm? What? Is everything okay?" Julianne stood before him wearing his clothes. She took his hand.

"Come lay down with me, I don't want to be alone." He blushed. She liked that she had that effect on the seasoned police detective. "Oh my gosh! Not like that!" She pulled him up and led him down the hall. They lay down together in his bed. She put her back to his chest and pulled his arm tight around her waist. "Good night."

Within seconds, they were both sleeping like babies.

-

When Julianne woke up, Dev's reassuring warmth and body weight were missing. She sat up quickly and looked around the room for a sign of her detective. What a thought, her detective. She was getting to close to him. Sharing a bed had been a mistake.

She got out of bed and made it. She straightened her borrowed clothes and went to the kitchen. She needed more coffee. She heard the shower running and understood why he hadn't been with her. It had been so comfortable with him at her back. She closed her eyes and tried to force herself to think about anything else. She made the coffee and poured herself a glass. She added milk and sugar this time. She was looking out the kitchen window when she heard Dev clear his throat from the doorway. He was already fully dressed.

"Is there enough for another glass?" She nodded. He quietly rinsed his mug from earlier this morning and got some coffee for himself. He sat at the table and looked at her silhouette framed by the sun. She turned around and he quickly looked away. "I was thinking, just now I mean, we should go to the medical examiner's office and have you give a positive identification for Danny. For the record, I mean." She felt like the air had been stolen from her lungs. He was so quick to move on from last night. Why was she mad? She wanted to put some distance between them. Right?

"Of course. I already know its him, but if it will help with the investigation, then I'll do it. For Danny." Dev was kicking himself internally. There was a tension in the air. He couldn't tell about her, but he knew he had at least a school boy crush on Julianne. They had only known each other for a few days but in that time they had shared quite a few intense experiences. Maybe that was all. But he felt that there had been a moment last night. He felt it again this afternoon when he had woken up with her in his arms. Perhaps it was for the best that he not fall for a stranger.

"You're welcome to wear whatever fits you in my closet. I'll just go wait in the car." Julianne watched Dev retrieve his jacket and tie and walk out the front door. There was a little ache in her chest not related to any injury she had sustained last night. She tried and failed to clear her head once more. They really didn't have time for romance right now. If they survived the next few days, maybe she would tell him how she felt. She found some socks and put her heels back on. She walked out the door to go tell the authorities about the only other man who had made her feel this way.