They sat there listening to the sounds of the gunfight and worrying over their men. Shouts and gunfire, loud bangs and screaming could be heard, muffled by the closed doors between them. Jupiter fretted silently, wincing with every noise that came through the walls of the house. Someone crashed through the wall. It was hard for her to simply sit and listen with them safe and sound and tucked away as they were.

"I'm sure that Caine will be fine," Kiza told her in a panic tinged voice.

"Stinger'll be ok, too. Everyone will be fine." Still, despite the calmness of her voice she felt the need for contact. Kiza's hand felt reassuring in hers.

There they were, huddled in the bathroom, one arm around the other, when Caine opened the door. Jupiter all but launched herself into his arms, checking his torso and waist - and every other part that she could reach - letting her fear fall down notch for notch. Kiza brushed by them in search of her father.

"You're ok." Jupiter breathed, heartbeat slowing.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Caine nuzzled the top of her head, taking in her scent and marking her with his. His hands roamed her sides, calming her even more before pulling her back. "But there's something we have to do. We've taken a prisoner."

Jupiter squared her shoulders and pulled back from him a little. She breathed deeply in and out. "What do I need to do?"

"You should be present for the interrogation. We need to know everything that he knows." She nodded in response, leaning forward into him for another long second. Then she pulled away with a groan.

"Let's get this over with, then."

Caine led Jupiter toward the back yard, where the man had been brought. She didn't think that meeting him in blue jeans and a purple tank looked Queenly, but it would have to do. Kiza ran past her and back into the house.

"Captain Apini." She nodded formally in his direction and stood there trying to look stately, but when Caine made to remove his hand from around her waist, she grabbed it with her own. She didn't want to go through this alone, she wanted him, and she wouldn't let him put forward that whole it's not done, it isn't right attitude. She needed him holding her, touching her, right now, and that was that.

Jupiter thought she saw the barest of possessive grins light his features. Maybe he was coming into his own a little more.

"Your Majesty," Stinger began, "this is one of the bounty hunters. How would you like to handle the interrogation?"

"I would like you to take care of it as you see fit. As Captain of the Guard it's your prerogative that matters here. I have full faith in you." Jupiter meant everything that she said, always meant everything she said. Regardless a little tremor of nervousness for what might come fluttered in her belly.

It was hard to watch, considering the tactics that Stinger employed. He was brutal with the man, all fists and low soft questions. It made her stomach turn. She made herself watch though, because they needed this information and the least she could do was watch while he did what she told him to. She flinched with every blow , even begun to tremble at one point, but refused to leave when Caine asked her to, all but begged her to. Jupiter stood fast as bruises and cuts bloomed on the man's face and around his cybernetic implants.

This was something she hadn't been prepared for, hadn't even considered happening. She was thinking good cop bad cop, like in the movies. Or some subtle threats, not outright violence.

Stinger flexed his muscles, ready to deliver another heavy blow to the man before the bounty hunter finally said anything.

"I don't know who sent us," his voice was garbled and he spat blood on the ground. Jupiter felt her stomach curl at the sound of it. "I wasn't in charge of anything. He's the one," the man motioned, weakly, to a fallen comrade that was just then being carried around back by two of the Keepers. "He's the one who set everything up."

By the time they had finished with the man, he was half dead from the wounds he had taken in the fight, and the beating afterward. Jupiter's gut flipped again and she finally turned away. She stood dazed after they hauled him away, and after a long moment, she started to shake. Caine tightened his arm around her and had a word with Stinger over her head. She didn't hear him. He brought her inside after that, while any damage that had been done to the house was repaired by the Keepers.

He took her upstairs to their bedroom and she sat down stiffly on the edge of the bed, eyes still dazed, body still shaking. Caine came toward her, his eyes soft and comforting, and began peeling the clothes off of her. First her boots, then her jeans and finally her tank top. Afterward he stripped down to his underwear and leaned her back, tucked her under the covers. He slipped in behind her and suddenly she came alive. She pressed into him, crushing herself to his chest and breathing for one long moment before the tears came. Her heart hurt. She'd never seen anything like that before.

And at her order.

They stayed there for a long time, Jupiter getting out all of her emotions from the day, from the fire fight and after. Caine held her for as long as she needed him to.

The morning wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. She had a headache from the night before, but it was mild in comparison to the one she'd fallen asleep with. Caine was still holding her, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his wings like an extra blanket, a soft layer of feathers between her and the bedclothes. She shifted to bring her hand free and reached up to smooth his brow. Even in sleep he wasn't completely relaxed.

It had taken a while before he felt safe enough to sleep in the same bed as her. More times than she could count, she'd awoken in the morning to find him sprawled out in the chair at the foot of the bed or curled up on the floor with an extra blanket.

He worried about his nightmares. He worried about waking up lashing out at her. But somewhere along the line she'd taught him to seek comfort in her instead of pushing her away, and even though the dreams still came, he rarely had them when they shared their bed.

Now though, they were curled around each other in a tangle of limbs and mingling breath. She pressed a kiss on his lips which he surprised her by returning.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, a little frustrated but mostly amused. The smile that crossed her face came through in her voice.

"Mmmm, since you started moving." He pulled her in closer to him and snuggled her for a moment longer before speaking again. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm better. I just… that was hard, knowing that I'm capable of something like that. I'm not… I'm not used to having to make those kinds of decisions. I hope I never have to do it again."

"I do too." He didn't sound like he believed that was going to happen though. He likely believed it was a fleeting wish on her part.

They stayed tangled up in each other's arms for a while, until Caine's stomach grumbled, protesting that he hadn't eaten since last night.

"Guess we ought to get dressed and go find you something to eat." He laughed as he rolled off of the bed, and extended a hand to Jupiter to help her up. They paraded around the room for a moment, giggling and pinching and tickling and just enjoying each other's company. The knock on the door brought that to an end.

"Do not enter," Caine hollered through the door and Jupiter wasn't sure if it was because she was the Queen or because she was his, but it sent a little flutter through her belly either way. They dressed quickly, Caine in a dark pair of pants and a light t-shirt, Jupiter in another pair of jeans and a button up blouse.

She sat herself in the chair at the foot of the bed before Caine opened the door. There were exactly two people who would even consider entering their bedroom, Kiza and Stinger, and it was the latter who stood there, looking at Caine instead of over at Jupiter.

They exchanged some kind of silent communication before Stinger looked over at her. "Majesty." He nodded when he spoke and waited for her to motion him inside. Caine closed the door behind them.

She tried to see their bedroom from his gaze, a queen size bed in the corner, far from the door, with a fireplace across the room. Jupiter's chair was set in front of a bookshelf at the end of the bed. There was a dresser and a mirror and a nightstand. Certainly not what one would expect from a Queen's bedchamber. She doubted that Kalique would have felt comfortable in their small space, but it was cozy and it was theirs and Jupiter was happy to have it.

"How are you feeling, Majesty?" Stinger asked as he came to one knee in front of her. Caine stood where he was, waiting.

"Stinger, get off the floor. Sit down somewhere, please." He did as she asked, perching on the edge of the low dresser nearby.

Caine came to sit on the foot of the bed next to her. They all sat, staring.

"I'm fine, Stinger. Really. I know that sometimes I have to do things that make me uncomfortable, or that I'd rather not do. Sometimes, most of the time, I'm fine. Other times I'm not. I can't change that, but I can do my best to remain solid and Queenly while I'm doing it. Especially when we're not here."

She reached out for his hand and he took it. "Yes Your Majesty."

"Thank you for coming though, I'm fine now. Really." The both of them stood when she made to get up from her chair. "Let's go see what Kiza's made for breakfast."