An exchange happened in the corner of a hole-in-the-wall New York Deli, but it wasn't the usual exchange.

The leather travel bag was stuffed with bills totaling $5 million, and as Orion Byrne slid it across the floor under the table toward Oriana Montini, she placed a hotel key on the table. The money had been sent by Philli & Sarai Stein as the promised reward for finding their Right Hand. The key, which Orion held tightly in his hand, was to room 314- where Shannon Whelan was restlessly trying to sleep.  Oriana couldn't tell him much about what she'd been through, only that she had been in an underground utility room for at least six days; nearly starved and looking pretty rough. 

In the hotel room, the curtains were drawn tightly, and every light was off. Strangely, the comfortable hotel room was still unsettling to Shannon. Everything was so loud, and so bright. She hadn't seen daylight in nearly a week, and she heard nothing for that time but a maddening drip of water on a concrete floor along with the occasional sound of footsteps. The other sound that echoed in her mind was that of David Ruiz- the sickening laugh that he'd give when he tortured her. Nothing could make it go away, nothing could drown it out.

So, Shannon lay in bed with the covers drawn well above her shoulders, curled up facing the wall of the bedroom. She would try and close her eyes for a time, but sleep never came, so she'd open her eyes and stare at the off-white wall for what seemed like hours. Oriana had been kind to her, getting her settled before going to collect her reward. It was over for Oriana- but not for Shannon. 

Orion put the key into the lock, thinking twice before just barging in. He had no idea what she had been through, he didn’t want to push it anymore. His knuckles rapped loudly, echoing in the empty hallway. He could feel his nerves building slightly. 

Taking a deep breath after not hearing a response, he opened the door slowly,  of wanting to alarm her.

”Shan? Are you here?”

At first, she didn't hear the knock- or, she did, she just wasn't sure if it was really there or not. However, when she heard Orion's voice, Shannon felt more certain that it was real and not some auditory hallucination. Slowly, still sore from being tied to a chair, she sat up in the bed. Pulling the sheets tightly around her, she took a breath to reply; but her voice seemed to stick in her throat. She watched the door from the front room that led to the bedroom.

Orion appeared at the door, wearing the same familiar pea coat that she remembered. His hat was stuffed in the pocket, and his beard a bit more scruffy than he usually kept it. When she'd asked Oriana to let him know she was alright, she thought there might be a chance he'd come; but she also thought he might be busy. New York was his city after all. Catarina's city. Laying there in bed alone, she couldn't decide whether she was ready to see his face or not; but with him standing there, she thought she could feel the tiniest bit of relief starting to grow deep within her.

Shannon drew her eyes up to meet his, while her arms hugged her knees tightly to her chest. She had cigarette burns and bites all over her arms and legs, along with bruises on her face and neck. Nothing that wasn't covered by the light cotton nightgown was spared from some kind of mark. Her strawberry blonde hair lazily fell over her shoulder as she looked up.

"I...I'm sorry."

They were the only words she could manage in a slightly hoarse voice.

Orion dropped the keys in the ground, his breath catching in his throat as he practically ran to the bedside. He slipped in beside her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Oh, Lass. You’ve nothing to be sorry for. I should have been here sooner.”

He let his words fall away as he held her close. There wasn’t anything that he could come up with to ease this at all. So he just held her.

Shannon had cried in the bath. Whether it was from the pain of her bites and burns, or from the final release of the fear that she'd been feeling for those days, she couldn't be sure. It was probably both- but her emotions were still so raw.

As he embraced her, she closed her eyes and took a slow, shaky breath, then finally let her head rest on his shoulder. Part of her wanted to tell him everything- from the moment she was blindfolded to that very second. Instead, she let other memories flood her mind- like the first time she and Orion had kissed. Or the first time their hands brushed each other's in the tavern as they cleaned up the place. Those memories were much more pleasant to recall. 

After a few quiet moments, she cautiously reached up and draped her arms around his neck. 

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have sent Bruce away. I just thought...he'd be right back...it was just an interview. I didn't even recognize David Ruiz sitting in front of me. I should have seen it."

“Hey, there is no use in that now. You’re home. And safe now.”

He held her close enough that he couldn’t tell if it was her body quietly quaking or his. He went to the same place he always did of blaming himself but he wasn’t going express that to her, that was the last thing she needed. 

“Where do you want to go Shan? Just pick a place and we will be there.”

Even if she'd thought for a while, she couldn't have thought of anywhere else she'd rather be right now than hiding right here in her bed. The fact that Orion was there beside her now made the possibility of sleep a bit more of a reality.

Shannon yawned, and her stomach growled. The bag of food that Oriana had brought still sat untouched on the nightstand, all but forgotten. 

"Will you stay with me? I know you're busy...and I don't want to keep you from anything important. It's just that I haven't been able to sleep because it feels so strange being out of that horrible place."

She stretched back out in the bed and laid her head on the pillow. 

"I was just hoping maybe I could look at you for a little while so maybe my mind would calm down and let me sleep."

There was the smallest hint of a smile in her eyes as she spoke.

His fingers found hers, warmly intertwining them. “I’m not going anywhere, Lass. Lay your head down love, let me watch after you.”

orion tried his best to hide his smile as he watched her lay her head down. He brushed a stray strand of strawberry blonde hair from her face, gently bending to kiss her lightly on the forehead. He settled in beside her, half pressing his body against hers as he watched her drift off.

Not even realizing she'd fallen asleep, Shannon slept hard for at least 7 hours. When she opened her eyes, it was almost completely dark, save for a small lamp in the main room that spilled a dim glow into the bedroom. Squinting, she looked at the clock to see that it was just after 11 p.m. There was a presence behind her in the bed, and she carefully turned over to see Orion sleeping beside her. She smiled a little and reached out to touch his face. Her heart raced as she did. Moments like this- just the two of them- had been so few and far between. Fate was cruel, and the distance between New York and Chicago was far more difficult to deal with than she'd imagined. The most uncomfortable feeling began to creep into her mind. The unsettling voice that told her as soon as she returned to Chicago, she'd be out of sight and out of mind- for he had someone here. Someone that didn't have to go away; someone that didn't have to be away from him. 

She let her eyes and hand fall away from him, and turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling for a while.

He felt her stirring beside him as he let out a yawn and stretched his arms over his head. The hours had passed quicker than he had anticipated and at some point of looking over her he must have fallen asleep too. He watched her breathing for a moment as she stared at the ceiling. 

“Hey,” He said softly, brushing her cheek as he did, “everything ok in there Love?”

She gave him a warm smile, nodding and looking a bit more bright eyed than she had before. 

"Aye, feels better to have actually slept."

Her hand took his and gave it a squeeze.

"Thank you for staying.  I have missed feeling you beside me."

Silently, covered by her smile, she felt a twinge of regret. Instead of pushing that any further, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed. 

"I'm starving. Whatever Oriana brought me probably isn't fit for eating at this point. Are there any places to get food this time of night around here? New York is the city that doesn't sleep, isn't it?"

He noticed her hesitation but he didn’t want to push it; she had already been through enough as is without him adding to the pile. He let out a soft sigh as he watched her swing off the bed. 

“There are a few places around. What are you in the mood for? Steak? Seafood? Getting drunk somewhere?” He couldn’t keep the twinkle from his eyes as he tried to joke with her, anything to draw a real smile from her.

At the mention of steak, Shannon felt her mouth instantly water. 

"You had me at steak, darlin'. Let me see what sort of clothes Oriana brought for me. Can't be going out in none but my skivvies."

As she rounded the edge of the bed toward the table, she paused at his side and let her eyes rake over him slowly. In that moment, she didn't care if she wasn't his only- tonight, he was hers. Her hands drifted up and cradled his face, and she kissed him softly and deeply- pouring every ounce of her passion for him into the kiss.

His body temperature rose as he melted into her kiss. It wasn’t something that he was ever going to fight against. Letting the kids linger for a few more seconds he broke away with a half hearted sigh. It wasn’t something that he wanted to break away from but at the moment he didn’t want to press his luck. He had no idea what she had been through, he wasn’t even sure if he should ask. He let husband head fall forward slightly, pressing his forehead against hers.

”I missed you, Lass. Let’s find a bite to eat.”

The intimacy between them made Shannon's heart beat even harder. She couldn't deny what she felt; what she wished. But now wasn't the time. Maybe it never would be. 

She breathed in his scent one more time before slipping into the bathroom with the fresh set of clothes. She brushed her hair, leaving it down to cover as much of the bruising as she could. The dark green dress had a modest, square neckline, and the back-seamed stockings did a fair enough job hiding the bites on her legs. Finally, she draped a light, cream colored sweater over her shoulders and exited the bathroom. 

"Well, I feel a bit less wretched now."

Orion was just finishing straightening his tie as the bathroom door opened. His breath caught in his chest as his eyes draped over her green dress. He suddenly didn’t want to go anywhere, he wanted to curl up beside her and hold her but something was telling him that now wasn’t the right time.

He crooked his elbow out to her, “You look stunning Shan. I guess Oriana has some decent taste.” He said with a smile, a jolt moving through him as she placed her hand on his arm.

A car took them to a supper club a few blocks away. The dining room was quiet, and there was soft jazz music playing. Now well-rested, the sounds weren't so overwhelming anymore. In fact, she felt more normal than she had in quite some time. 

A waiter took their drink orders, then left them alone at a fairly secluded table. For a few long moments, neither of them spoke; opting for stealing glances and shy grins. 

Shannon wasn't entirely sure what to say. Part of her wanted to open up about the ordeal, but such wasn't nice dinner conversation. Instead, she took a sip of her wine and casually asked. 

"So...how is Catalina doing?" 

“Busy, busy. There’s a lot to be done in this city. Some built, some demolished. It’s hard work. I certainly don’t envy her.”

Orion leaned back into his seat, watching the tiny details about her as he spoke. The way she lightly brushed the hair from her eyes. The slight sigh she gives when she’s making even the smallest of decisions. He took a slow sip of his whiskey, twirling the glass lightly, the ice clinking off the sides as he did.

He let his voice drop quieter even though they were out of earshot of everyone, “I don’t need to know right now, Shan. You don’t even have to tell me if you don’t want. But you do need to talk to someone, at some point.”

Shaking her head slightly, the answer she gave surprised her a bit.

"It's over now. I'm alive, well, and the man is dead. Can't erase it, but there's no reason to unpack and live there, aye?"

Her hand was still quivering a bit as she held her wine glass. It'll go away- just like the dreams. Eventually it'll all go away.

"I can't imagine the work piled up for me at the hotel. Oy, and Philli and Sarai- I hope they haven't been too worried. Talk about piles of work. Two places."

She smirked a bit and gave a sideways glance at her wine.

"I may need something stronger."

He let out a soft chuckle, listening to her intently. He was never going to forgive himself for what happened to her but, if she wasn’t going to dwell on it, either would be. 

“Aye, I hear you there.”

Orion settles back into his seat as their food was brought to the table. He politely slipped the waiter some cash and mouthed a “thank you” before turning his focus back to her. He watched her for a moment as she nearly jumped on her steak, practically tearing it from the bone with her teeth. He couldn’t imagine what she had been through but at least it wasn’t enough to kill her appetite.