Till the End of the Line

A narrow beam of sunlight shone into the room through a small gap in the curtains. The pale light fell in a perfect straight line down the length of the bed. As one of the bodies moved slightly in their sleep the light suddenly hit something shiny and was instantly reflected onto the wall in tiny fractures.
Sarah watched the dancing specks of light with a smile, even though James' metal arm was now resting rather heavily on her midriff. But she wouldn't dream of moving it, in case she woke him up. She turned her head carefully to the left and looked down on a messy heap of dark hair beside her on the pillow. Only the left side of James' face wasn't hidden under his hair, unless you counted stubble.
There was something incredibly disarming about seeing him asleep. Relaxed. At ease.

Sarah realised that she had only been up earlier than him once before and she had to suppress a smug feeling of pride and satisfaction at the thought that, apparently, she had finally given her soldier the homecoming he really needed.
James stirred a second time, closing his arm a little tighter around her, and as he moved the specks on the wall began to dance again.
It felt somewhat surreal to be lying in the same bed they had slept in together for weeks without actually being together. But there was something very comfortable and familiar about having him so close to her.

The moving spots of light faded away when, outside, the sun was suddenly obscured by gathering clouds. When Sarah looked beside her again James was looking back at her through narrowed eyes, lifting his metal arm to wipe the hair out of his face. She stretched her legs and rolled onto her stomach, supporting her head with one propped up arm.
"You're up late," she murmured, smiling slightly.
"I was having a pretty good dream," he said, straightening up a bit.
"What was it about?"
A little smile appeared on his lips as well, but he ignored the question and instead said: "I had planned to go for a run today, if the weather is any better." He reached up to lift the curtains a few inches, turning his head to catch a glimpse of the sky outside.
Sarah gave a slightly exasperated laugh and rolled onto her back again, slapping a hand to her forehead.
"My god! Don't you ever just relax?"
"Running is relaxing," she heard him reply in a matter-of-fact tone. She felt the springs in the mattress move as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and bent over to fish his clothes off the floor.
"Do you just want to be on your own, or are you really that bad at sleeping in?" she asked, moving to sit on her knees on the edge of the bed while James got up to grab Aidan's sweatpants that were lying somewhere near the bathroom door.
"You're welcome to join," he said with a little smile after he pulled them on, turning around and walking back to her. Her eyes travelled over his bare chest, and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep a straight face.
"I'd much rather stay here," she muttered, still suppressing an enormous grin, and she hooked a finger into his elastic waistband, pulling him closer. He leaned over her, supporting himself on the bed with his hands on either side of her as she lay propped up on her elbows, their noses touching. "And I'd much rather have you stay here too," she whispered, pushing herself up a little and briefly pressing her lips to his. He smiled one of his half-smiles when she broke away and she felt his hand on the nape of her neck, pulling her back in. It was just like he had kissed her the night before: slowly and carefully and keen at first, then deeper, somewhat rougher.
A small shiver ran down her spine as his grip on her tightened, pushing her back on the bed, and she ran her fingers through his hair and over his chest, her mind blissfully blank and her heart pounding furiously.

Once James was gone for his run, Sarah went to make herself some breakfast.
During their disastrous shopping trip on the way over to Asheville, she'd managed to get them enough food for a little over a month, and the previous owners of the cabin had left a few things behind which they'd been able to use as well. But when she got to the pantry and had a look at the shelves, Sarah noticed that their supply was running alarmingly low. She suspected that it wouldn't take long before they ran out.
Deciding to skip breakfast, in light of the circumstances, she went straight for the shower instead, all the while thinking of how she could best discuss her discovery with James and, especially how to persuade him to take her with him. She didn't want a repetition of the last time he'd gone away; staying behind on her own, waiting and worrying… And, since this would probably be a lot less dangerous than his previous trip, she reckoned there might be a better chance of him agreeing to bring her along.

The sky was a gloomy grey once more but, despite the ominous clouds that hung low over the mountains, there was still no sign of rain.
Sarah was shivering slightly in the freezing air while she stacked up some fresh logs to practice on. Just as she got into position to fire her first shot she saw something move in the closest thicket of trees. A closer look showed it was James, barely discernible in his dark clothes as he ran between the pines. He slowed down when he came to the clearing, exchanging a look with Sarah as he jogged past her. She gave him a little smile before turning her head back to face the target and taking aim again.

After a few rounds, Sarah noticed that her aim was becoming rather clumsy, due to the fact that her hands were shaking from the chill that was settling on her. A little while later James reappeared and joined Sarah by the edge of the lake just when she was reloading. Her fingers were trembling so much that it took her ages and James eventually jumped in to do it for her, handing her his jacket when she gave him the gun. He seemed completely indifferent to the cold; he even rolled up his sleeves after returning the gun to Sarah, who was still shivering, despite the extra layer of clothing.
Sarah got back into position, James standing behind her, but when she fired her hands shook so violently that the bullet only grazed the outer ring of bark.
"Try to breathe slowly," he said softly, briefly leaning closer to her.
She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply and privately cursing the cold and her shaking hands, and hoping that the next shot would demonstrate that she had, indeed, made a lot of progress since the last time he saw her practice. She especially wanted him to see how much she'd improved because it might influence his decision on whether or not she could come with him to re-supply their food store.
The next bullet went in a little closer to the centre than the one before, but still not good enough. And it seemed that, after that, her aim was only getting worse.

Sarah's spirits were still low all through dinner. Her disappointing performance during practice was making it even harder to approach the subject of their food running out, but she had to tell him sooner than later so James could start making a plan. She knew he always did extensive research before venturing out, which took time, and it could be several days before he (or, as she was hoping: they) would be ready to go. And by that time there might not be enough food left for the both of them.
She'd have to tell him tonight. An uncomfortable knot formed in her stomach when this thought settled in her mind and she glanced nervously at James, who stood before the kitchen counter with his back to her, washing the dishes.

"Want some tea?" she asked, joining him at the counter.
"If you're making some," he replied without taking his eyes off the pan he was scrubbing.
Sarah grabbed the kettle and he leaned back, allowing her access to the tap. As she bent forward to hold the kettle under the running tap she glanced over her shoulder and saw James looking at her with a small smile. A small flutter joined the nervous sensation in her stomach, and she smiled back, although frowning slightly at the same time. She felt like she just needed to get it over with, and before she actually had a good plan on how to begin she blurted out: "It's getting really chilly out these days…"
Mentally slapping herself for actually resorting to talking about the weather, she quickly added: "I did a lot better on the logs before it got this cold, you know…" From the corner of her eye she saw James give a little smirk that told her he didn't quite believe her. "I practiced a lot when you were away, you know."
James dried his hands on a towel, turning to face Sarah, who tried to appear as calm as possible.
"Well, it looks like you'll get some more time to practice on your own soon. Food's running low, so I'll have to go get some more."
Sarah's stomach seemed to do a small backflip.
"You know?"
"Of course. I cooked today, didn't I? I saw what's left in the pantry and I don't think it'll see us through the week if we're not careful."
He was about to walk back to the table, but halted in his steps when Sarah quickly stammered: "But... if you're going… I mean… I don't want to stay here on my own again."
He looked down for a second, apparently thinking, then met Sarah's gaze again.
"I'm not taking you with me, Sarah."
"I'm not staying here behind again," she persisted and James let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair before crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not like the last time, anyway, it's just some food, not breaking into some high-security weapons facility or something…" he looked up at her again, frowning, but she kept going: "Besides, I can help this time. I know I didn't shoot well today, but I really am much better than before you left…"
"I can't take you with me."
"But James-,"
"No."
Even though his tone was calm, there was something almost frightening in the way he said it. Seeing Sarah's look of sudden shock, he walked over to her and lay a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm serious. It might not be as risky, but there's still a risk. And remember what happened the last time we went to get food?"
"But that was before-,"
"I don't care if you're better at shooting now than you were before," his voice rose slightly and he took a step closer to her, "it's not a question of whether or not… I just, I can't…" he fell silent as he fixed his eyes on the floor.
Now it was Sarah's turn to reach out a comforting hand. She touched her fingers so his cheek, closing the distance between them as she did so, but when she wanted to retrieve her hand he pulled her back, brought her face up to his and kissed her. After only a few seconds, he broke away and muttered: "You're safe here… I need you to be safe."
Sarah bit her lip.
"I'd much rather be with you than stay here. I'm much safer when I'm with you."
The corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly, but he was still frowning.
"If something happens-,"
"Then we deal with it."