Page 93 of Keeping Zita

But he came back after work to spend the night again. And after the next workday. And the day after that.

Now, just a week after her ordeal, the sun was shining and Zita seemed better every day, proving her strength and resilience. She was still struggling with what had happened, which was to be expected, but she’d slept through the evening without a nightmare, which was a relief.

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, wasn’t sleeping all that great. The first night home, he’d just held Zita and listened to her breathe. One hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat under his palm. He didn’t think he’d ever forget the sick feeling he’d had when he didn’t know if she was alive or dead. His fear would fade, as would hers. With time and love, they’d both continue to heal from the traumatic experience. But forget? Never.

After she’d showered that morning—her third shower in twenty-four hours, but Obi-Wan wasn’t about to comment on that. She’d been taking at least two a day since her rescue…and he understood the need to be clean after such an intense experience—he asked if she minded Pyro staying with them. She’d admitted that after being alone on that massive ship for two days, having other people in the apartment was a comfort.

He hadn’t considered that…but clearly Pyro had. So Obi-Wan took her words to heart, asking if the rest of his team could visit. They were all worried about her and wanted to see for themselves that she was all right. She’d agreed without hesitation, and he’d sent out word that they could come see her whenever they wanted.

Which turned out to be that very evening. It wasn’t long after the end of the team’s workday before his apartment was bursting at the seams, and as each person arrived, Zita seemed to relax even more. It was a tight fit, but no one seemed to mind that Obi-Wan didn’t have enough seats for everyone.

Obi-Wan and Zita were in their usual spot in one of his oversized chairs, where they’d spent most of the last week. The entire Night Stalker team was happy to be stuffed into his apartment, along with Mandy and Laryn. The colonel had even stopped by at one point.

Surprisingly, Jennifer Williams and her dog, Fred, were there too, at Zita’s insistence. She said she wanted to thank them properly. So they’d dropped by shortly after the team arrived, and were still there. Fred was lying in the middle of the floor on his back, snoring loudly, which made everyone chuckle.

And Jennifer? She was sitting at the table near the kitchen, with Edge. Obi-Wan couldn’t see or hear what they were talking about, but they were definitely getting along pretty well. Which was interesting. The two were about the same height, around five foot six, but that seemed to be where the similarities ended. He guessed Edge was at least ten years older than Jen. She seemed laid-back, while Edge was…not. It was part of the reason for his nickname. He always seemed to be on edge. At work, while flying, and in general.

But surprisingly, his friend seemed pretty relaxed at the moment. Hell, he’d even seen the man smile and laugh a couple of times.

Also, when he’d first met Jennifer, there was something different about the woman that Obi-Wan hadn’t been able to put his finger on, too busy worrying at the time. Now, seeing her today, when he wasn’t fully focused on finding Zita and could see the woman in better lighting, he realized what it was.

She had no eyebrows. Or eyelashes.

It wasn’t a turn-off; it was just different. And there were plenty of reasons why she might be missing hair. He wasn’t going to speculate about it…he just hoped it wasn’t cancer. The disease was awful, and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

In the end, her lack of hair didn’t matter to Obi-Wan. Not one whit. She could shave off every hair on her body and he wouldn’t give a damn. As far as he was concerned, the woman was part of his circle of friends now. How could she be otherwise, when she and her dog had found the woman he loved more than he could put into words?

And Obi-Wan had to admit that he liked seeing Edge looking so comfortable around someone. The man was usually standoffish, and he had a habit of scaring away people who didn’t know him personally by frowning and looking pissed off at the world.

Jennifer didn’t seem scared. Currently, she was smiling at him, and they hadn’t stopped talking since after she’d greeted Zita, saying how happy she was that she was all right.

“Thank you all for coming over tonight. It means more than you’ll know,” Zita told everyone. “I don’t know if Sage has told you, but I’ll be moving to Norfolk as soon as I can get my life straightened out in California.”

“I’m sure Tex could help with that,” Pyro joked.

“He could?” Zita asked, with a tilt of her head.

“Why not? The man is a little spooky with the shit he can do,” Chaos agreed.

“What do you need done?” Mandy asked. “Maybe we can help you? Make some calls?”

“I need to talk to my boss at the ambulance service I work for, pack my stuff, arrange for movers, get my car across the country, talk to my contact at the agency I work for and let her know that I’ll be in Virginia instead of California, research ambulance companies here in Norfolk, turn off my utilities, stop my mail, find an apartment here…Man, it’s a lot, isn’t it?” she said with a small chuckle.

“I can help with an apartment here,” Jennifer said from her spot at the table. “There’s an empty apartment in my building and the landlord likes me, so I’m sure if I put in a good word for you, she’d seriously consider you for it. It’s totally safe too. Cameras, you have to be buzzed into the lobby, and there’s a full-time security guard in the lobby as well.”

“I can talk to people at the hospital on base,” Buck volunteered. “See what ambulance companies are the best and who they’d suggest you contact.”

“And Tex can totally deal with everything to do with moving,” Casper said.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Zita said a little shyly.

“Trust me, Tex loves this shit. He’ll have your entire place packed up and all your stuff on the way here within a week,” Casper said with a grin. “Your car included.”

“Oh. Wow. Um…”

Obi-Wan kissed her temple. “Say yes, Zita. Let us help you.”

“I feel as if you’ve all helped me more than my fair share as it is.”