xp_logs | Domino, Rory, and Bridge, Saturday afternoon

Backdated to Saturday afternoon. Domino cleans up after the firefight, checks on Rory, emails the rest of her team and tries to cheer up a despondent Bridge. All in a day's work.

Domino gazed down at the row of bodies, scowling. One of the several things she regretted from last night was that all seven of the intruders had wound up dead. They were nicely anonymous now - their body armor had been plain, nondescript, and none of them had any helpful tattoos or had been carrying anything remotely resembling identification.

Theo, the white of his bandages standing out against his reddish fur, nudged one of the bodies with his toe. "The incinerator'll handle all this?"

"So long as they're in manageable pieces, yes." She had thought of just taking them out in the boat and dumping them, but she wasn't familiar enough with the currents around the island to be sure they wouldn't wash up either here or on the mainland. Probably more efficient this way, if not easier.

Theo grunted, staring at one of the corpses, which was already in a few pieces, its left arm and head rather messily detached. "That's the one that shot Bridge," he growled. "Got there in time to see him pointing his gun at G.W.'s head, so I got kind of mad."

"Well" Domino said dryly, mildly tickled by the thought of the unfortunate soldier's last couple of moments of life. "A little less work for us right now, then."

***

"Rory?"

Rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, Rory looked up to see Domino standing in the doorway of his office. She had quite obviously come right from the shower, he thought, seeing her wet hair. He was almost positive he knew why she was showering in the middle of the day, and he swallowed.

"Dom," he said a bit roughly.

She gave him a faint, almost ghostly smile, moving forward into his office. "You ought to be trying to get some sleep," she pointed out.

"I need to keep an eye on them." Bridge was being awkward about staying put. Moira needed to be woken up every hour, and Dayspring... Rory swallowed, remembering some of the thoughts that had gone through his mind as he stood over the operating table. Even the memory made him deeply ashamed.

"And you're going to do them how much good if you pass out on your feet?" She came around the side of his desk, leaning back against it, and Rory fancied that those startling violet eyes were looking right into his soul. "Show me what to watch out for," she offered, "and I'll call you if you're needed."

Rory looked up at her, smiling a little weakly. "You're a good lass," he said, rising rather awkwardly until he got his crutch set properly.

Domino snorted, one elegant eyebrow arching, and then, before he could react, leaned in and kissed him. It was not a demure peck on the cheek, or even a thank-you kiss, which is what Rory had been expecting when she had moved towards him. It was a very serious kiss, a kiss that made him see stars and made a certain part of his body start wanting something other than immediate sleep. If Domino hadn't grabbed the front of his shirt, he would probably have sat down very hard once she drew back.

"That," she said a bit breathlessly, licking her lips, "you can consider downpayment for later. Maybe tomorrow night, after we've all had some real sleep." Then she leaned forward again, and brushed her lips against his forehead very gently. "Thank you," she murmured. "For saving him."

"My job," Rory said hoarsely, swallowing.

"Still," Domino said, giving him an oddly bittersweet smile. "I know how you feel."

Rory gave her an assessing look. "You do, don't you," he said a bit uncertainly, never having thought about it quite that way. Well, when Domino had slipped into his room last night and slipped out of what little she had been wearing, the thought had crossed his mind that she might be trying to make some sort of point to Moira or Nathan. But then she had picked up the belt he had been wearing yesterday, suggested that he use it to tie her hands to his headboard, and then started to list, with a dazzling smile, all the things he could do with her once he did. His capacity for rational thought had begun to take a sharp nosedive around that point.

"I do." Domino reached out and patted his cheek. "And if I can cope with it, sweetheart, so can you."

***

Domino sighed, running a hand through her hair and staring blankly at the laptop screen. She was trying to write a quick note to Mina and David, to let them know what had happened, but the words just wouldn't come. She was beginning to crash, finally, all of the nearly-manic energy that had been driving her since the firefight finally running dry.

"Dom?" G.W.'s gravelly voice asked softly from the doorway. Domino looked up, frowning at him.

"You're supposed to be asleep," she murmured, not wanting to wake up Moira, who was sleeping in the bed to her left. She knew that such precautions weren't necessary for Nate's benefit. He was in the bed to her right, hooked up to far too many pieces of medical equipment for her liking. His leg was in a traction splint, his right shoulder was bulky with bandages, and there were bruises creeping downwards from where the bandages covering the side of his head ended. Between that and the oxygen mask...

"Hurts too much to sleep," he said softly, glancing down at his sling. "You okay?" he asked, coming in and easing himself down into one of the other chairs.

Domino shrugged. "Emailing Mina and David," she said evasively. "Just in case."

Bridge gave her a somber look. "Any reason to think we'll need it?"

"As much reason as there was to think there'd be room-to-room fighting in the halls of the castle last night."

"True." Bridge sighed, slumping in his chair and rubbing at his eyes. He looked moderately awful, Domino thought darkly. His arm was broken in three places, and would require further surgery, Rory had said. The blood loss hadn't been too bad, at least comparatively, but he really ought to be in bed. "How's he doing?"

Domino looked from him to Nathan, then back again. "Hanging in there," she said softly, her eyes flickering sideways to Moira. "I'm not sure she would let him do anything else."

G.W. let his chin rest on his good hand, his expression bleak. "They got us good, Dom," he said softly.

"I know," Domino said, methodically beginning to type an explanation to Mina. "But we got them better. They're all dead, and we're all still here."

"Just a minor disaster, then?" Bridge asked groggily.

"Recoverable," Domino told him, wondering when she had turned into the team cheerleader.