Stepping off the train, Norah pulled her handbag closer to her side. People swarmed the platform from all sides, the smell of metal, sweat and smoke over powering her senses. For the last few months she had been spoiled with the fresh air or the sea and the forest. To come back to the city so suddenly, her body wasn't prepared for the onslaught of noise and smells.

Surely it hadn't been this bad? She didn't remember it being so hectic. Pushing her way through the crowd, it took her fifteen minutes to leave the central train station and already she was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Goddammit," she muttered, wiping her brow. She walked over to the taxi rank, queuing up to wait. Unconsciously, she pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. No new calls or messages. She didn't know why she was expecting a message from Rylan, telling her he knew what she was up to. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she realised she didn't like keeping secrets from him. The last time she'd kept secrets from him, it hadn't ended so well and parts of her body still ached in remembrance.

Her turn came and she climbed in to the back of the taxi, giving the driver the name of the prison. She saw his eyes narrow in the rear-view mirror and she resisted the urge to glare at him. Just because she was going to the prison didn't mean she was a criminal. Bigoted people. Her fingers traced the outline of the phone as she watched the city go by.

The skyscrapers soon shrunk to normal size buildings as they reached the outskirts of the city and her grip on the phone tightened as they turned into the Prison's visitors car park. It was large, and relatively empty of cars save for three. Norah couldn't help but wonder why they would think they would need such a large car park. Visiting people in jail was nowhere near the top of her list of things to do on a quiet day.

Paying the driver, she stepped out and stood nervously, listening to the car pull away behind her. The whitewash stone building still didn't remind her of a prison - except for the large steel gates and wired fencing surrounded the facility, it looked more like the entrance to a high school than a prison full of deranged criminals. Part of her mind told her to exclude her brother from that group, but she was happy to bunch him with them for the moment.

Stepping forward, she started the long process of getting inside. She spoke to guard after guard, went through searches, bag checks, ID checks and lastly, signing a ledger. She felt like she had some sort of sign on her back that said 'suspicious, potential criminal'.

To be fair, she frowned, she had pushed a man off a cliff, essentially killing him until a lunatic werewolf raised him from the dead. Somehow, even if she did come clean with that horrible truth, she had a feeling they would lock her in a mental asylum, rather than a prison.

She kept quiet, entering the small room with the two way glass. Black phones hung from either side of the glass, and Norah sat down. It still felt like she was in a movie when she came in here. This place was highly old fashioned with some of their equipment, she wondered where all the tax payers money was going if not into improving the facilities.

A door opened on the other side and two guards walked in, Adam between them. In the months since she had seen him, he'd lost a little weight, his face more drawn and the shadows under his eyes telling her he wasn't getting much sleep. A light beard covered his cheek bones and his hair was pulled back in a messy knot.

His eyes lit up when he saw her and he grabbed the phone eagerly. Norah followed suit, though more cautiously. "You came!"

Norah felt a bit guilty at the joy in his voice, but she tried to remain aloof. "I said I would. What do you want?"

Adam remained oblivious to her attitude, her appearance, blinding him to anything bad. "I wanted to see you, it's been so long since you came, and I've been so worried that that bastard had hurt you. Have you seen him?"

Norah shook her head, unable to voice the truth. Adam's face melted into relief, the strain around his eyes easing somewhat. "That's good. Hopefully he's given up and backed off."

If only you knew, Norah thought wryly.

Adam started talking about his time in lock up, about the people he had met and how his lawyer said if he continued to stay out of trouble, he could have an early parole for good behaviour. Norah listened quietly, letting him get it all out. If he asked her what she'd been up to, she wouldn't know what to say. Everything involved some form of the supernatural, and he would think she was going mad. Eventually Adam fell silent and Norah snapped out of her daze.

"You're still angry with me," he said quietly.

She sighed. "Of course I am, though the urge to kill you has faded."

"That's a good sign," he smiled nervously. He touched his hand to the glass. "Norah, I am so, SO sorry for everything I have put you through. Not just this mess, but everything that happened before it. I've been a horrible brother and I don't know how you've put up with me."

She saw the unshed tears in his eyes and felt her heart soften. "You have been a real jerk to put up with, but you've never been a bad brother when it counts," she said softly. "You always looked out for me, and tried to keep me safe. Unfortunately you are easily guiled into foolish escapades. In some ways, this is my fault, for years I've been wanting to pull you up on all the bad things you do, but I was afraid you would run away, and then I would be alone."

"Norah," he whispered. "I would never leave you alone. You're my sister, I love you, even if I never show it."

She placed her hand on the glass over his, ignoring how cliché it was. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." He sighed, tapping the phone against his forehead. "And about those stones," his voice lowered. "Just throw them away. They've given us both nothing but trouble and I won't have you in danger anymore."

Norah felt something like pride spread through her chest. A guard stepped forward, signalling their time was up and Adam's face fell.

"Will you come again?" Adam begged as he stood up.

She nodded. "I'll try to come again soon. Stay safe, Adam."

"You too, Norah." She watched as he walked back through that large door and felt her eyes begin to sting. She had known he would break her, but now she didn't care. She still loved the stupid idiot, and she knew she could never erase him from her life - it wasn't who she was.

Stepping outside, she called the cab service to come and collect her and waited in the empty parking lot as the doors locked shut behind her, a sense of relief spreading through her body.

"Norah Jacobs?" She jumped, turning around. A man leaned against a car to her left, causing warning bells to start ringing in her head. Dressed in all black, he staggered over, his eyes roaming her body.

"N-no," she stammered. "My name is Madison." She blurted out the first name that popped into her head.

He chuckled, stepping closer. "I got a picture of ya from Daniel. Now where are those diamonds?"

You've got to be kidding me! She stepped back, wondering if she screamed would the guards hear her. Why was no one posted outside for God's sake!

"Don't even think about it, missy -" She shrieked as someone grabbed her shoulder and a fist connected with the large man's face, blurt spurting from his mouth. He went down hard, and Norah tried to break free.

"Norah calm down!" She froze at the familiar voice. Rylan stood beside her, eyes blazing with anger. Too caught up in the moment, she hit his chest.

"What the hell? We're at a prison!"

"It wasn't going to stop him," he growled. A taxi entered the car park and Rylan dragged her forward, shoving her in the back seat before the car had even stopped. "Central Train Station."

The taxi took off and Norah closed her eyes, heart beating wildly. They remained in silence until they reached the outskirts of the city. Rylan's anger faded, and he knew better than to try and raise the matter with her until she was ready.

Norah opened her eyes, staring at the sky. The clouds had become dark and overcast, and the smell of rain drifted through the driver's open window. Rylan reached over, grabbing her hand and she sighed, knowing he wouldn't wait forever. "When did you know?"

"Last night, when you tried to hide your laptop from me. I knew it would either be porn or something important, and since you have me, I knew it had be something other than porn."

She snorted, trying not to smile. "You didn't have to follow me."

"I was curious to see what you were doing. I wasn't going to make myself known, but when that prick approached you, I couldn't just stand back."

"So you were just going to stalk me?"

"Well, I knew this was something you needed to do on your own, I was just making sure you were safe - and before you get angry, just know, I'm always going to be concerned about your safety. If you had told me this is what you were doing today, I would have understood. I still would have stalked you, but I would understand."

She squeezed his hand. "It's hard to stay annoyed at you," she muttered.

He grinned, lifting her hand kissing her thumb. "Part of my charm."

"I don't know if I would call it charm." He shook her hand in mock indignation and she smiled. The taxi pulled up at the train station and Rylan paid before she could pull out her wallet. They made their way to the platform, forced to stand in the open since the shelter was crowded.

Norah leaned against Rylan, his arms wrapped around her waist. It was almost unnatural how easily they seemed to fall into these moments. It normally took her some time in a relationship before she was comfortable with PDA, but for some reason with Rylan it felt right, no matter where they were.

Norah crossed her arms across her chest, a cold shiver going down her spine as the clouds finally tore open and the rain started to fall. The train was running late. She brushed her hair from her face to stop the water which was beginning to drip in her eyes. Rylan was always warm so she knew he wouldn't be bothered by the rain. At times like this she almost envied his supernatural abilities.

Movement sounded behind her, hands leaving her waist and a shadow formed above her. Looking up, she saw a jacket hovering over her head and turned around. Rylan was holding his arms up, holding his jacket over her.

She looked up at him, his dark hair was already sticking to his scalp, the water running into his eyes. His clothes were soaked in such a short time and she tried not to look at the way his shirt clung to his body, knowing it would only fuel his ego. "What about you?"

"I don't mind a little rain," he smiled.

Not comfortable with him getting wet after everything he'd done for her today, she stepped closer, reaching up and clasping his forearms gently as she moved his arms so the jacket covered them both.

Her heart thudded at their close proximity and she immediately wondered if turning around had been such a good idea. Rylan shifted closer, his front pressing against hers and dropped his arms. Eyes widening, she grabbed the jacket to stop it falling on them. "What are you doing?"

"My arms were getting tired."

She laughed in disbelief. "Yeah right."

He grinned. "They were, I'm not as strong as I look you know."

"I doubt that," she muttered.

He reached around, one hand resting on her lower back, the other between her shoulder blades, stopping any form of escape. She tilted her head up to meet his gaze and as she did, the sounds around them faded away. The only sound she could hear was her pulse pounding in her ears, the noise fast and irregular. She could feel his own heart beating against her chest, mingling with her own to create a tangled beat and she lost herself in the blue of his eyes. She saw specks of dark brown mixed in with the blue and she found it strange she had never noticed that before. Neither one was willing to look away and Norah didn't know what was happening but the strange thing was, she didn't want it to end.

A faint horn sounded in the distance, breaking the moment and she turned her head in the direction of the noise. "The train..."

Rylan's hand pressed harder into her lower back, the other moving up and capturing her chin, turning her back to him and lowered his mouth over hers. There was no desperation or need in his movements, they were slow and languid, his lips moving gently against hers, kissing her again and again. Her eyes closed in pleasure and she reached up on her toes to close the small distance between them. A small noise escaped her throat and his hand pressed harder into her back, the small space between them becoming miniscule. His hand moved from her chin, tracing gently along her jaw line, leaving a hot trail before moving through her hair to cradle the nape of her neck.

Not thinking, she lowered her hands, running her fingers through his hair, the wet strands clinging to her skin, causing the jacket to fall on top of his head. Breaking away, she laughed and reached for the jacket. Rylan grinned, beating her to it and moved it out of the way before claiming her mouth once more.

The train horn sounded again, louder this time and Norah jumped in shock. The train had arrived during their kiss and she felt slightly embarrassed knowing the passengers had probably been watching. Uncaring, Rylan grabbed her hand. "Come on."

He led her onto the train, shaking the excess water from his jacket before boarding. Leading her down the aisle, she felt eyes on her but kept her gaze on Rylan's hand in hers. Once they were right at the end of the carriage, Rylan gently guided her into the seat next to his and placed his jacket on the floor before sitting down.

They sat in silence as they waited for the train to depart, hands still entwined. Rylan's thumb moved across her skin, sending tingles up her arm. Feeling his eyes on her, she didn't dare look up and she heard a faint shout from outside, indicating the train was ready to leave. With a shudder, the train began to move and Norah hoped the journey home would be a fast one. It felt strange, calling Bellvale her home now. She had never wanted it to be home, just a place she could hide in until Daniel left her alone. Even with the thought of him out there somewhere, she didn't want to run anymore. Being with Rylan, she felt safe and she didn't want to leave him and her new friends.

A shudder shook her body as the cold began to seep through her clothes, now that she was in a dry place, her body began to thaw and shiver. The jacket hadn't kept her completely dry and her skin raised in goose bumps, her complexion turning pale. Freeing her hand from Rylan's she tried to rub her arms to warm up.

"Here."

Rylan reached over and placed his arm around her, pulling her against his side. Normally, Norah wasn't too comfortable being in this position in a carriage full of prying eyes but his body was a natural heater and she couldn't resist sinking against him, wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her head in the nook of his shoulder.

"You know," he murmured, "I would be enjoying this a whole lot more if I knew you weren't just using me for my heat."

"Shh," she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder as her eyes began to get heavy. "Heaters don't talk."

His body shook as he chuckled and shifted into her so he could hold her closer. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you when we get home."

Norah didn't hear him, she was already asleep.