Returning to Louisiana

He wiped some sweat from her brow and rubbed it between his fingers, then lifted the torn blankets and sheets....all silently...then he turned to face her again.

"I disagree, Sevti Tigerian. We will be talking about why you are having nightmares of this magnitude and why you try to hide them from those who care about you."

He sat back down facing her, looking in her eyes and waiting.

She watched him with narrowed eyes as he examined her sheets and made his own assumptions. She folded her arms across her chest and cocked a brow as he sat back down. "It is none of your business, John Quinn and we will discuss no such thing. I'm fine, really, it's not a big deal so why don't you save us both the argument and go back to bed." She looked over at the clock and realized she had only slept three hours. It wasn't that late, but if she didn't fall back asleep, she would be in the same predicament as before.

She looked back over at him and attempted to keep her eyes off of his bare chest. She lifted her chin and kept her arms crossed, giving finality to her statement. "Goodnight John."

Quinn grinned at her stubbornness. It was one of her best qualities. He chuckled and nodded.

"OK...that's fine, go back to bed. Would you like more blankets and sheets to tear through? I can get as many as you like."

He watched as her gaze went to the bed. He stood, picking up a chair by the window and moving it next to her bed. He sat down in it and patted the bed, smiling.

"Pleasant dreams."

She watched him, pursing her lips in anger as he sarcastically offered her more blankets. She narrowed her eyes to slits as he set a chair down by the bedside and took a seat. He infuriated her but she knew the exact way to distract him. She was woman after all and refused to tell him about her problems. She stood from her chair, the black negligee she purchased in Paris was hugging tightly to her curves. She wore nothing underneath but sheer underwear to match. Moving over to him, she took a seat in his lap. She was so focused on making him forget about her nightmares she would do anything, that was how desperate she was. Running her finger along his chest, she grinned up at him. "Who said we had to sleep..." She leaned forward to kiss his chest as her nail continued to trail down his bare chest.

He grinned when she tried to distract him. He was curious how far she was willing to take it, but he was not likely to forget about the screams he had heard. Something was burned into her, giving her these nightmares. He would find out what they were eventually, but why hurry. Perhaps she needed the distraction as much as she thought he did. As she leaned forward to kiss his chest, he caught her eyes for a moment and they spoke volumes. She was not interested in this, and only wanted to make him forget what he had seen and heard. He lifted her face and looked deep into her eyes.

"Sevti, if you want this, perhaps we should move to a bed that has not been destroyed?"

When he forced her to look at him and suggested a bed that had not been destroyed, she swallowed nervously and only saw flashes of the face embedded in her mind. She pushed herself up more and looked away from him. Her mind was going a million miles a minute and she had to think quickly, she had to do what she must. No one would know of her past, especially not him. Turning back to look at him, she smirked seductively and gave a shrug.

"Why do you need a bed? What's wrong with right here? Right now? Do you not want it? Am I not to your liking?" She threw all the questions at him.

"Because your eyes betray you, Sevti. We both know it and avoiding it will not make the nightmares go away. No matter how you bury and hide them from the light of day, they will still haunt you. No matter how many distractions you find in the waking world, the nightmares comes back until you expose them to the light."

He lifted her from his lap and helped her to her feet, looking again in her eyes.

"I am guessing you have had them a long time. I know...I used to have them as well."

As he looked in her eyes, he knew she could see the truth of his words.

She pulled away from him in anger and shook her head, moving across the room to distance herself from him. "You can never understand or even begin to fathom what I dream or why. Just leave John. I said I didn't want to talk about it and I won't!" She clutched her head in frustration and shut her eyes tightly. "I just want to be alone! I just....I just want it to stop!! I don't want to think about it! PLEASE! Don't make me! Please...just please?" She was shaking her head no as she sank slowly to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. She had broke, right in front of the one person she never wanted to. "Just go..please leave..." She whispered, her eyes closed and refusing to look at him.

He moved over and crouched down next to her, wiping the tear from her cheek as he lifted her chin to look in her eyes.

"And that is exactly why you should not be alone. I am going to give you time to decide to tell me about what causes these nightmares, but until you decide to, you will sleep at my side. You are going to tell your boss that you are taking a break. Tell him about the attack in Paris if you want, but you are taking a break. You slept soundly when I stayed with you in Shreveport. For now that will have to do. You will sleep in my bed. Nothing more than sleep will happen unless you want it to, but when you are ready, we are going to sit down privately and talk. When you are ready, maybe you can tell me why I am not the only one with scars across their back."

He lifted her into his arms, cradling her body as he walked from the guest room. He carried her down the hall and laid her in his bed, pulling the blankets back and climbing in next to her, He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear.

"Sleep now, Sevti. I will stand watch against the monsters of dreams. The nightmares will not touch you again tonight."