"When was the last time you slept?" Fort asked his young wife gently as he caught her staring off into space when he came out of the bedroom.
"I'm not tired," Noble answered, dodging the question. "Sleeping means going to the Dream Realm, and that is where…"
The brunette Awakened could not finish the sentence, but her meaning was clear. That was where Seb had died. Fort had noticed how his wife almost never slept anymore. At least she had finally given him a reason why.
"Did you give an answer to teacher Julius on if you would be interested in a position at the Academy?" Fort tried to change the subject slightly.
"No." Noble continued to look at nothing. Fort did not need to go near her to feel the torrent of sadness swirling about her.
"It's a good offer. You studied Memories at University and I might have mentioned the research you did in your free time over the past couple of years." The man tried to coax his wife.
"It was nothing earth-changing." Noble sighed. "I don't see how I would be of any use at the Academy."
"You won't know unless you try." Fort was met only with silence. He rubbed his forehead and ran his fingers through his blond hair. "I didn't want to have to do this," he muttered.
Noble looked at him for the first time. Her eyes were so grey that they looked devoid of color. "Do what?"
Fort took his wife's hand. "My love, you have been in the house for months. It isn't healthy."
"I am not allowed to be sad?" Noble pulled her palm away. She rubbed at her eyes, her tears having gone dry long ago.
"Of course you are. I am sad too. But refusing to live your life will not bring Seb back." Fort took a step back as Noble's head snapped toward him.
"Oh, and what will bring him back? Tell me and I will do that instead." There was a fire in the woman's eyes, but to Fort, that was better than the emptiness he had seen before.
"Nothing will. But staying here and not moving forward does not honor Seb's memory." Fort softened his tone and sat on the sofa next to his wife.
Thankfully she allowed him to pull her close against his chest. Breathing in his scent, Noble relaxed a little. Her heart, which had been beating erratically, slowed to a steadier pace.
"I'm sorry," Fort said after a moment. "I didn't come out here to fight. I actually came out here to tell you something." When his wife did not immediately respond, he took it as an invitation to continue. "I know it is my day off, but I picked up an extra government assignment. Someone called in sick, and a message went out looking for a volunteer. I took it because the pay was very good. Problem is, it is in the outskirts."
The last bit caught Noble's attention. The outskirts were not somewhere Noble had ever gone to in the NQSC, but she had certainly heard stories. Life was short and barely livable out there, and the people who did survive were not usually ones you would want to run into in a dark alley. In short, it wasn't a safe place to visit.
"You.. are going to the outskirts?" Noble raised her eyebrows at her husband. "You are taking an escort, right?"
"It didn't mention one in the job description. It shouldn't take too long. I'll be in and out in no time. It should be fine…most likely." Fort winced at the last two words.
"Fort. You mean to tell me you are planning on leaving me alone at the house on your day off…" Noble's eyes swirled, the small fire in them growing. "To go to the outskirts with who knows what kinds of trouble… And I am just supposed to stay here and worry about you until you get back?!" She glared at him.
"I mean, uh…" The man rubbed the back of his neck, causing his wife to pull away.
"There is no way in two worlds that I am going to let you go by yourself down there. I am going with you." Noble stood and crossed her arms, daring her husband to argue.
Instead, he opened his eyes wide. "You want to go to the outskirts? What if we run into trouble?"
"I can cause more trouble than anything we might meet down there, I assure you. I'll be your bodyguard." Noble pushed up her sleeves protectively. With her powers, she could send people who tried to bother them floating away or even push her emotions on them to scare them away.
"A female bodyguard does sound very attractive." A smile crept its way onto Fort's face.
"I better be the only female bodyguard you ever have," the woman shoved her husband lightly against the couch before turning away. "Let me get changed."
Noble floated into the bedroom and Fort leaned back on the couch placing his hands behind his head. He wiped the smug grin off his face as soon as he heard his wife open the door to return.
"When you said you 'didn't want to have to do this', did you mean tricking your wife into getting out of the house by putting yourself in mortal peril?" Noble watched her husband's face pale.
"Well, I, uh, hm," Fort cleared his throat and looked away. He expected an argument, but instead two slender hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you," she whispered, "for caring enough to trick me."
The words were confusing and contradictory, yet Fort could feel the warmth behind them.
"Anything for you, my love."
A short while later, they were on the train and traveling at a staggering speed. The engine pulled them over the towering bridges and back to the ground at each stop. The farther they traveled, the less clean and pristine things around the railcar seemed to be.
Then all at once, everything changed in the blink of an eye. The world turned shades of grey, black, and brown. The ground was cement with only a rare tree to mark a street's corner. The people, too, looked different. The ones who were still on the train with them as well as those at the station seemed malnourished and exhausted.
Their hopelessness resonated and echoed Noble's inward feelings. For the first time in months, the Awakened took the time to think about someone beyond herself. Compared to what was around her just now, she had it pretty good.
She had much to be thankful for. 'I should really start acting like it.' Of course, thinking it and putting it into practice were two very different things. Change would take time.
"We have been on here a long time. Just how much farther are we going?" Noble asked her husband.
Fort looked down at his communicator and checked the map. "One more stop should do it."
"And where exactly are we headed? You didn't say." The woman had been so far in her own head that she hadn't thought to ask until now. How selfish had she been being!
"We are heading to a government facility for a spot check. The inspector I am filling in for is supposed to make a walk-through every six months and the report is due today." Fort answered his wife with a smile. "I know you are going to make a joke about government efficiency…"
"I would never!" Just because Noble knew how difficult it could be to get things moving didn't mean she would make a joke at her husband's expense. He was the most diligent person she knew.
'What kind of government facility would be in the outskirts?' she wondered idly as they finally came to their stop.
Her question was answered shortly as the couple stared up at a stark building with black lettering over the door.
"NQSC Orphanage #113."