The portal had been closed for four seconds and Fin was already staring at the wall where it had been.
Xeon:You're staring at a wall.
Fin:I'm thinking.
Xeon:You miss her.
Fin turned, jaw tight, and moved towards his study.
Work. Structure. Routine. The three things Fin Shadowclaw used to survive emotions he didn't like. He sat behind his desk, pulled the first report, and started reading.
Xeon:Assign this to your Beta and Gamma. Go check on her.
The first spike came at nine.
A lance of pain through his left shoulder that made his pen drag across the page. Fin straightened, hand going to the spot instinctively, and breathed through it.
It was going to be a long day. They were already putting her through it.
He went back to the report.
✦✦✦
By ten, he'd cleared his entire desk.
Days of work done in a few hours because sitting still was not an option and productivity was the only socially acceptable form of panic.
