Fight, flight or freeze? (Joss, Hope, Serenity)
The crash from downstairs had them all looking up, attention snatched away from the board game pieces on the table. Truth be told Joss wasn't paying all that much attention the game anyway, because Hope kept distracting him with her gorgeous intensity, and he'd really rather be doing something else instead of playing with Serenity and the empty chair that Leon had left.
The wind was making a racket around the house but that didn't disguise the crash, and it did absolutely nothing to disguise the scream that ripped through the house afterwards. Joss found himself on his feet, frozen in the middle of the room, his blood sprinting through his veins as he stared at the door that lead downstairs. He hadn't noticed that he'd grabbed Hope's wrist and pulled her to her feet too, not till she spoke.