Kara had gathered every candle in the apartment she could find that night and placed them all in congregations along the window ledge and sink in the bathroom. She'd lit them meticulously as she waited for the water to fill the tub, disrobed, and performed her customary check of her body in the mirror. Now, finally, she could relax and let the hot water melt away all the tensions of the past week.
After a quick test for temperature with her toe, she crawls into the hot water, immersing her body in the warm, scented pool. I wonder if he'll be home at a decent hour tonight, she thinks, closing her eyes and sinking further down into the water. Concentrating on the rumbling the water from the faucet creates as it hits the standing water in the tub, her thoughts never stray: Jason. As the bath numbs her skin, she imagines his body, the touch of his lips and fingertips. After what seems like an eternity, Kara's daze is finally broken by the creak of the front door.
"Bloody hell."
He's home, a jolt, and she's out of her trance and sits up slightly in the bath. His footsteps echo through the hallway.
"Jason, I'm in the bathroom, okay...I'll be out in a little..."
Suddenly, the door creaks open and his blond head peeks through the opening before he steps inside the room. Kara can't help but be startled as Jason's form slides through the door. After a moment she decides to speak.
"What's wrong?" she pouts, "You sounded upset when you came in."
"Just those stupid bastards at the station, Kara."
She watches as he walks to the sink, placing both hands on it, head hung in frustration. She moves to her knees, arms crossed at the edge of the tub, staring up at him.
"It just makes me so damn angry...I don't know why I even work this job anymore."
Kara studies him as he opens the medicine cabinet to pull out some Tylenol and thinks of all the times she's sat up nights worrying about him, never sure when he'll be home.
"What's wrong baby?" The question catches Kara off-guard, but she soon notices that Jason's been studying her troubled expression as he unbuttons his shirt.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how you work too much," Kara replies softly as she shifts positions again in the water.
"I know," he rejoins resignedly, "but you know..."
"Yes, I know."
Sliding further into the water, Kara lets her eyes flutter to a close while massaging her temples with her fingers. Jason gazes at her glistening body wistfully before he tilts his head back to swallow the Tylenol. She keeps her eyes closed tight to hold back the tears as he strides over to her, leans down and kisses her forehead. Kara waits to open her eyes until she is certain he's left the room, after the creak of the door closing, after his footsteps have trailed off into their bedroom.
She knows he's off to bed now. There's no telling what time it is, and he probably has to work early in the morning as well. The water ripples as Kara climbs gingerly out of the tub, the cool air sending a chill over her wet, now exposed skin. In a daze she dries off and wraps her trim, athletic body in her robe, pulls her hair back, and throws today's clothes in the hamper. Turning the light off, she steps out of the bathroom and treads lightly down the hall until she reaches the bedroom.
Instead of entering the room, Kara lingers in the doorway. She can see the outline of Jason's body in the bed, the stack of papers in the floorโall of those documents he's been downloading all weekโhis shirt and pants crumpled in a pile next to the door.
"I think I'm going to ask to be reassigned," his voice, though a low mumble, startles her.