Jaded stepped into the elevator, his finger busily flicking over the keyboard of his phone as he texted. He'd promise to update Justice when Sheriff Cooper reported back about the cargo truck that had gone missing yesterday. Apparently some anti-Species humans had hijacked it in a misguided attempt to 'starve the animals out' as the report quoted. The supplies were easy enough to reorder but the driver had been badly beaten up. Jaded had spent his morning making sure that the man's hospital bills were covered and he would have time to heal without worrying about money.

The NSO took care of their own.

He was just hitting the send button when a scent caught his attention. Mmm... Vanilla and cinnamon. He breathed deeply, that luscious smell filling the enclosed space of the elevator.
A low growl of pleasure rose in his chest.

He turned his head, nose following the scent and found himself staring at a human female occupying the opposite side of the elevator. A dark swathe of unruly curls shielded her face as she toyed with her own phone. A light blue blouse stretched over her generous breasts and a sleek knee length black skirt hugged her hips. Her shoes, some ridiculous strappy contraptions with towering heels, made her legs look miles long.

And to top off such a delectable little package, she smelled like frosted cinnamon buns.

Jaded felt his mouth water, wanting a taste of her. He wasn't normally attracted to human females but something about this particular one drove him a little wild.

"Oh balls!" Cindy cursed, flipping the pretty purple cover of her cell phone case closed and letting out a little frustrated growl.

Jaded wondered for an instant if she'd growl like that in bed. Gah...Get it together!

"Having trouble?" He asked, a little irritated with himself when his voice came out rougher than normal.

Cindy looked up and gave him a hapless little shrug, a contrite smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Have you ever had one of those days? You know, the ones where you're running late and then you step in a puddle getting out of the car and then spill coffee on yourself. Then, because you're dumb, you tell your boss he's being a chauvinist right to his face. Oh, and when you think your in the clear, you realize you forgot your phone charger just as your cell dies."
Jaded blinked. Probably the best to go with the safe answer. "Uh, yes?"

She sighed and Jaded tried to force himself not to notice how her long inhale made her breasts press against the fabric covering them, straining the buttons of her blouse. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump on you. I'm sure you have bigger things to deal with."

The elevator came to a stop at the ground floor and Cindy stepped forward as the doors slid open.

"Have a good day!" She called as she stepped out, leaving him standing there in confusion.
She was almost clear of the doors when the heel of her right shoe caught in the small gap between the elevator and the floor. With the buckle tightly cinched against her ankle, the shoe didn't budge, leaving her to topple forward with the momentum of her stride.

Jaded was out of the elevator in an instant, her startled gasp an echo in his ears as he raced forward to try to catch her before she hit the ground.

Her phone hit the ground and spun across the tiles, disappearing under a grouping of chairs against the far wall. The contents of her small purse spilled out, eyeliners, tampons and lip balm scattering on the floor.

Jaded's hands closed on her hips just as her palms hit the floor in an attempt to brace her fall. He managed to lessen her impact but she'd still ended up on the floor with him on one knee beside her.

"Are you all right?" He asked, letting go of her hips even as he leaned down to try and catch her eyes.

"Oww..." She groaned, slowly getting her hands beneath her and pushing up until she was sitting. Her skirt had bunched up, showing off a glorious amount of her pale thighs, and her high heels were still on but the stiletto heel of the right was dangling from the sole by a strip of silky black fabric.

She gazed down at herself and Jaded could scent the unhappiness coming off her before he caught the shimmer of tears in her eyes. She put a hand up to shield her eyes but he could still see the redness that swept across her cheeks and nose in reaction to her tears.

"Oh god, what a mess..." She gave a bitter laugh that sounded a lot like a choked sob and dropped her hand, looking around at her scattered belongings in a bid not to meet his eyes. She reached out and tugged her purse towards her, slowly gathering its lost contents.

"Cindy?" Jaded asked, wanting an answer to his question but hesitant to push too hard in her current state. He watched her jerky movements carefully as she collected her things and even reached out to snag a lip liner and a tampon off the floor beside him, offering them to her slowly.

"Thanks." She said wearily, taking them from his open palm and stuffing them in her purse. She took a steadying breath and looked up, not meeting his eyes but looking somewhere around the level of his chin. "Sorry about all this. I swear I'm fine but I really do appreciate you trying to catch me. I'm sure it could have been worse."

"It was no trouble." He assured her, standing and offering her a hand to help her up.

She took his hand and let him pull her up, wobbling when her weight transferred to right foot. The lack of heel on her shoe made her unbalanced and she hobbled carefully over to the chairs. With quick motions, she unbuckled the small clasp and slid the shoe off.

Jaded growled at the lines the strappy heels had imprinted into her skin and even more when he realized her slender ankle had started to swell. "You're not all right."

"It'll be fine. Oh, there you are!" She brushed him off, reaching down to grab her phone from beneath the seat.

His eyes narrowed as he watched her climb to her feet. She was steady until she settled her weight on the right.

Jaded didn't think about his actions.

Even as the hiss of pain was leaving her lips, he was catching her behind the shoulders and knees and swinging her into his arms. With her lean form cradled against his body he turned and headed for the buildings main door.

"Jaded! What the hell? Put me down!" She caught at his shoulders as if afraid he'd drop her even as she cried out her demands.

"Your ankle is injured. I'm taking you to Medical." He turned his back to push his way through the door and out into the sunshine. The ground was still wet from the mornings rain and he stuck to the sidewalk as he carried her over two buildings to Reservation's Medical facilities.

"But - but I'm...heavy." She protested, a blush stealing over her features. She ducked her head so her hair would hide her face from him.

Jaded stopped dead and looked down at the human woman in his arms. Did she seriously think she was heavy? A grin broke across his face and he tried to smother a laugh but it still vibrated through him.

Cindy looked up, lovely blue eyes narrowing on him. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No." He denied through a chuckle.

"Yeah. Right." She looked sour for a moment before a self-deprecating smile spread across her lips. "Okay, I guess that was silly."

"You think?" Jaded smirked at her and continued walking. "I spent years with nothing better to do than build my strength. I'm pretty sure a lifting a little thing like you won't strain me."

"I suppose you're right." She laughed softly. "I guess I just don't get carried around very much."

The laughter faded from his voice. "Stupid human males." He growled. He couldn't figure out why a man wouldn't take any opportunity he could to have this woman in his arms.

"Uh...yeah." Her own amusement faded but she didn't have a chance to say anything more as they walked through the automatic doors of Medical.

Paul peeked over the high front desk at them and stood. "What happened?"

"She injured her ankle." Jaded stated simply.

Paul came around and gestured at a gurney that rested against the wall. "Sit her down. I'll take a look."

Jaded gently sat her on the bed and stood to the side as Paul examined her ankle.

"It's sprained." Paul told them as he wrapped an ice pack in a cloth and wrapped it around her ankle. "I'll give you something for the pain but I recommend you stay off it for a day or so. Also, I would leave the heels in the closet for a week or so."

Cindy sighed and nodded. "Okay, will do."

Jaded hated the defeated look on her face as she took charge of keeping the ice pack in place as Paul went to get her painkillers. "I will talk to Miles for you, get you a few days off with pay."

"You don't have to do that." Cindy protested, looking up at him.

"I don't but I will." Jaded smiled, revealing his canines. "I'm also going to take you over to the cafeteria since I'm sure that you missed lunch and we will wait there until I can arrange you a safe drive home."

"Jaded, that's really not necessary."

He raised a dark brow and focused his green gaze on her pointedly. "It's time you had a little positive influence in your day. Now do you prefer cheese cake or ice cream for dessert?" He eyed her lean form and made the decision for her. "Never mind, you'll have both."

Cindy just stared at him, stunned, for a solid moment before a brilliant smile broke across her face. She giggled, her brown curls bouncing with her mirth. "Are you trying to fatten me up, Jaded? Planning on eating me?"

He smirked and told her the truth. "Maybe I am."