"We can stay here for the night." Reese said as he emerged from the tunnel he found. A flashlight in his grip shining towards the mouth of the tunnel. I walked in, scoping out the concrete structure as best I could using the moonlight. Wet leaves crunched beneath my now soiled sneakers, and the smell of sewage flooded my nose. Ignoring the smell, I searched along the walls of the tunnel for a partly dry place. Shoving some leaves out of the way with the side of my foot, I discovered partly dry ground. I made a place big enough for Reese and me. I sat down on the side furthest into the tunnel while he sat down next to the opening. Shielding me in case any threats decide to wander in from outside. The cold, dank tunnel offered some warmth, but not much. I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders, and brought my knees to my chest. Encircling my arms around my legs, I laid the side of my head down so I could face Reese. I found his dark brown eyes staring into my light blue ones in wonder. I immediately tore my eyes off of his, and put my face down in my knees in embarrassment. I could feel the blood rush into my face as I wrapped my arms tighter around my legs. I could hear Reese sigh as he moved to take his trench coat off. I lifted my head to watch as he pushed himself onto his knees to shimmy the long coat off. The coat revealed an army green tank top hugging a well muscled chest and a bleeding side. I gasped as I sat up and onto my knees, examining the wound. "How? Is it a bullet?" I asked as my eyes travelled up to his eyes. "Yeah. I'll be alright, It's only a graze. That thing didn't get me." Reese said with a half of a smile on his face. I'm amazed that he didn't show any indication of pain on his facial features; not even a grimace. "You still need that patched up. I don't want you to bleed out all over the ground." I said as I tore a strip of fabric off of the end of my t-shirt. Folding it over twice before handing it to him. "Put it on the wound, and apply pressure." I said while coming to a standing position. His hand reached out grab it; I could feel his eyes burning into my narrowed ones. "The first aid kit is underneath the passenger seat, here's the keys." Reese said as he fished the keys out of a pocket of his cargo pants. The twisting of his abdomen caused a hiss to emit through his clenched teeth. He tossed them with a pain weakened hand up to me. "Thanks." I said as I caught them with two hands, then sprinted out of the concrete half cylinder to the beat up brown soap box parked out of the way of the road. I dug the key into the passenger side door, and turned it to the left. The door opened with a loud squeak, which caused me to jump a little bit. From the day's events, I was still on edge. The dome light lit up so I could see into the car. Dropping to my knees, I felt underneath the seat in search of the kit. My hand finally touched cold metal, I ran my hand on the side in search of a handle. Finding the handle, I pulled it out, and shut the door. I put the key in again, turning it to the right to lock it. Making my way around the car, through the darkness, I sprinted back to the tunnel that sheltered an injured Reese. I slowed to a walk, as to not startle the soldier/time traveller sent here to ensure my survival. His eyes were closed, and one big hand clutching part of my shirt to the graze on his left side. Kneeling down softly in front of him, I put the back of my hand to his cheek. "Hey. Reese wake up. This won't take long." I said in a low tone. His eyes slowly opened, and his features came to life. "Can you lay on your other side?" I asked, positioning my hands on his upper body to help him turn over. "Yeah." Reese said in a disheartening tone. I gripped his shoulders, pulling them to the left as easy as I could. With every movement, Reese made a face. Once be was on his right side, I steadied him, and leaned his body against the wall. Placing the discarded trench coat on his shoulder so he wouldn't shiver from the cold. I threw the latches open on the first aid kit, rummaging around for bandages, gauze, disinfectant, water, and medical tape. With a small container of water in one hand, I peeled off the soaked strip of shirt, and poured a small amount of water on it. Cleansing the wound of debris and other foreign objects. Red on top of green did not look pretty, the cloth around the graze was singed to a black coloring. The wound itself was not very deep, at most 1/3 an inch into his side. Blood instantly started to well up again as soon as the water left, dripping down his stomach. I set the water down, and grabbing the hydrogen peroxide, unscewing the cap. "Ok, I'm going to disinfect it. It's going to sting, just bear with me." I stated in a soothing tone, lightly running my hand up and down his arm. Hovering the opened bottle above the wound, I poured the H2O2 onto the torn skin. Almost immediately Reese let out a loud groan, pounding his closed fist into the damp ground. Tears started welling up in my eyes making it hard to see; I caused him pain. Angrily brushing them out of eyes, I set the hydrogen peroxide down, and watched the H2O2 bubble in the wound. A strong anti septic odor rose from the wound, making me gag. 'Get it together Sarah. He has it worse off than you.' I scolded myself silently. The blood started to clot, so I reached for the gauze. Unrolling it, then tearing it into medium strips a little bit longer than the length of the graze. Layering the wound with multiple strips, then placing a large bandage over it, effectively sealing it from outside harm. For good measure I tore some tape off the roll, and placed on the sides of the bandage. After smoothing out the edges, I packed up the first aid kit, and set it aside. "Alright, it's all over. It just needs to heal some." I said returning my hand to his arm, rubbing it in a soothing manner. "You make a good nurse Sarah. Thank you." Reese said, his beautiful brown eyes half closed. Taking hold of my shaking hand, he clutched it to his warm chest. Although feeling somewhat uncomfortable, I let him hold my hand. Reese probably hasn't had a soft touch since he was little. The Resistance was hard on him, molding him into a soldier to fight those machines to save the human race. "It'll be better in the morning. You're just tired." I said. Reese opened his eyes, and took in my kneeling, shaking frame. "Lay with me?" He asked. I hesitated, him holding my hand was making weird things happen in my chest and stomach. "It's only for tonight. C'mon, your hand is cold." He said in a persuading, earnest manner. He slowly pulled my hand to his chest, and against my will, my body followed. Unfolding my legs beneath me, I worked myself so I laid parallel to his body, leaving a couple of inches between us, it was hard to do with only one hand. His hand only left my hand for a second to pull the trench coat over us that night. "No!" I exclaimed as I woke up with a start, sending the coat flying. I looked around at my surroundings for the human looking cyborg that was chasing me. Letting out loud whimpers with every turn of my head. "Sarah? Hey, what's wrong?" Reese asked, his voice cutting through the haze of my dream-like state as he struggled to sit up. My head whipped around towards him, my tear filled eyes could meet his tired, protective ones. "Bad dream. Bad dream." I whispered like a child to his moonlit features, my hands flying up to my tear soaked face. His hand came up to my back, rubbing it with long strokes back and forth in a soothing manner. I felt sobs wrack my body as I struggled to breathe through the tears trapped in my sinuses. He let me cry for a while, his hand still rubbing my back as I sat up. It felt like hours until I settled down, my breathing still shaky. "Was it about the Terminator?" Reese asked softly, his hand brushing back my feathered hair to gain access to the back of my neck, rubbing small circles on the sensitive area. Afraid to speak in fear of what may come out, I mustered a small nod in response. "It's only us here, he's miles away." Reese said, his hand leaving the back of my neck to grasp my upper arm, gently pulling it towards him. Just like before, my body followed. After I got settled in Reese lunged to recover the coat. "I'll get it." I said, pulling the coat over us then laying back down again. The air must have cooled off into the night hours, so it doesn't feel as warm under the black fabric. Reese's arm came up to wrap around my hips, pulling me closer so that the distance between us was non-existant. His forehead pressed up against my forehead. Letting his arm hang there, he shut his eyes. With this new found comforting heat source, I did the same. The only thing I saw was the barrel of the Terminator's pistol aimed at me the red beam of concentrated light pointed at the sweet spot between my eyes. I immediately opened my eyes letting out a shaky breath after double checking that no threats were present. I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to sleep with that horrific machine haunting my subconscious. I gazed at Reese for a bit, wondering how he could sleep with the scenes of the future burned into his mind. He must've seen things that made one persuing Terminator look like a child's game of hide-and-seek in a concrete jungle of lights and signs. He needs his rest just as I do. Swallowing my pride, I scooted even closer to his body. Tucking my head under his chin, I placed my hands underneath my head for a pillow. Feeling better, I closed my eyes. I felt my consciousness leave me, but his warmth never did.

Morning:

I awoke to my face pressed up against something warm and broad, and a hand stroking my hair. Sighing because of the pleasurable tingles running up my spine, I felt the cloak of sleepiness envelop me again. Pulling me back under until a rumble of a vibration interuppted. I opened my eyes, now fully awake only to be met with darkness and the smell of metal. Pulling away slowly, I was met with his heavy lidded eyes looking back at me. "'Morning." Reese said with a half a smile. "'Morning." I returned with a smile. Seeing him smile made me smile. His finger came up underneath my chin to prop it up. "You snore." Reese said in a teasing manner, letting his finger trace along my jawline. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks due to this new information and our close proximity. Pulling away even more, I sat up. His finger retracted. "I hope I didn't keep you awake." I said, feeling embarrassed. "No. It wasn't loud." I looked toward the opening of the tunnel, the sun was out. It looked to be 7:00. I sit up, Reese does as well. He pulls a picture out of his dirty cargo pants, gazing at it longlingly before handing it to me. Confused, I accept the worn photograph, it's of a woman. She wears a white bandana to keep her brunette locks out of her face. Her facial expression is set in a determined tone. The woman in the photo harbors an outstanding resemblance to myself. "I always wondered what the legendary Sarah Connor would be like in person." Reese said, his tone feather light, his eyes glazed over in lust. His gaze wandered over my face. "You're even more beautiful in person." Feeling uncomfortable, I looked down at my hands, using my pointer finger's nail to dig dirt out from under my other nails. "If you say so." I whispered under my breath. He chuckled, letting out a breezy "I know so." before tucking the picture into a pocket of his cargo pants. I paused, glancing at him with a redded complexion. "Want to get up now instead of drooling over me?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from my question. "Yes." Reese said, rolling onto his back, holding his hand out. Standing up, and shaking off the awkwardness, I grasped his hand, and pulled with all my might. Every groan he made were like needles pricking my heart. He eventually made it to a standing position, a flat hand placed onto the wall as support. In the morning sun, I noticed how his hands and arms were littered with different sized scars, some were 2-4 inches long. I traced the largest one on the back of his right hand, it started at the thumb knuckle, down to his wrist. Gasping from the energy it took to get up, he manage a "Dragged it on corcentina wire." Pause. "For 5 minutes trying to hide from a Terminator." The dark purple scar on his tanned skin looked beautiful, though painful. It must be 1/4 of an inch deep. My fingers traced it up and down for a bit while his eyes watched. "The biggest scar I have is on my stomach. It goes all the way from my navel to my solar plexus." I said softly, not knowing if I should go on or not. His nodding head told me yes. "Something went wrong during labor, so an emergency cesarean section had to be done, or I would have passed away." I said in a teary voice, wanting to hold her once more. "The baby was dead when they pulled it out, but I got to hold her before they took her away." I placed my right hand where the scar still is, on my navel, and looked away before letting the tears fall. "I need to stop crying." I laughed awkwardly through the tears, letting my hand slip away from my navel before turning to face him. "You didn't have to tell me that if you weren't comfortable with it." Reese frowned. "After last night, it's safe to say I'm comfortable with you. God, it's just us until that machine is destroyed, might as well tell you everything." I said in exasperation. "We have to get out of here sometime soon. Ready?" I wanted to let that subject drop. "Alright. We can't stay in one place for too long. I don't think I can drive, so you're going to have to." Reese said, standing up even taller, to his full height. I moved to wrap my left arm around his back a little lower than his arm pits, then pulled his right arm across my shoulders. "I don't need all this help, it was just getting up that hurt the most." Reese said. "Too bad, I'm giving it to you." I said looking up to meet his eyes. 'He must be 3-4 inches taller, and 30 pounds heavier than me' I thought as I helped him to the passenger side. Opening the door, I pushed him in, then closed it once he was comfortable. I walked around to the other side, unlocked the driver's side door and got in.

"Mom, I can't tell you where I am. I was told not to say." I told my hysterical mother on the other line of the payphone. "Sweetheart, your mother is worried about you. That man that you are with, has he made any moves on you? Has he..." "No." I cut her off before she could ask another question. "He's a good man. Listen, I have to go." I said, looking around for an excuse. "Somebody has to use the phone. Goodbye." I said in a hurry, hanging up the phone. Grabbing the phone book again, I flipped all the way to the "C" section, under businesses. With my finger, I skimmed until I found Cyberdyne Systems. Reese and me together could level the damn building, destroying any information/research about cybernetics and/or intricate computer systems that monopolize everything. Tearing the page out, I closed the book and placed it back on its shelf. Tearing out of the booth, I made my way to the truck Reese was trying to start from the last night. "Hey. I found something." I said excitedly. Reese's head emerged from underneath the steering wheel, his laying form sitting up before jumping down from the truck. I held out the paper from the phone book, finding Cyberdyne Systems again, I pointed it out for him to see. We started walking away from the motel, towards the roadway so nobody could overhear our conversation. "What about it?" He asked after reading it. "That's the place where Skynet was developed, and cybernetics are being researched, right?" I asked, trying to build a suitable arsenal of reasons to back up what I'm going to suggest. "Yes." Reese said. "We could blow it up." I suggested, waiting for the severity of the suggestion to set it. He stopped in his tracks, so I did the same. "Think about it! An explosion would be horrific. All data and research would be lost, creating at least a speed bump in the timeline leading up to the war." I said, grasping on to the lapels of his coat, almost pleading. "That's not my mission." He said sternly, looking down at me before continuing walking. "We could stop the war! We could eliminate Skynet in its early stages!" I exclaimed with a growing intensity. "No, it's too dangerous, we could end up in jail again. You can scrap that idea." He said in a sarcastic manner, picking up his pace. I stayed right alongside him, walking backwards to face him. "Think it through! We can do it!" I said, not going to be written off that easily. "No. Let's go see about that truck." He said, doing a complete 180°, grasping my arm. "No." I said, matching his stern tone, shaking my arm from his grip. "C'mon." He said in exasperation, gaining the grip on my arm again, walking forward while dragging me behind. "I said no! Get your paw off of me!" I exclaimed, breaking it free again before taking off in the direction of the roadway, away from him. "Sarah!" His voice called out. The pounding of my footsteps drowned out his call as I put more distance between him and me. I took a sharp right, going down a steep decline to the woods below. I could hear his hurried footsteps behind me as he called out my name again. Determined to get away, I kept running, hoping to find a hiding place. Turning my head back to the opening in the woods to see if he was close, my foot caught on the roots of a passing tree. Next thing I knew, I was face first on the ground. My chest hurt, and the right side of my face stung. I lifted up my head from the gritty dirt, and rolled over onto my back, letting out a groan. The ache in the grotto of my throat was met with a burning sensation behind my eyes. This whole situation is ridiculous. Picking myself up as fast as I could, I crawled into the bush behind the tree that tripped me. Shortly after I had camoflauged myself, I heard Reese approaching. "Sarah?!" He called out as soon as his slowing form entered my limited field of vision on the opposite side of the bush. His head whipped around in all directions, his hands reaching up to cup the sides of his mouth to call my name again. Concealed by the bush, I tried my best to lay still as well as keep my breathing as shallow as possible. After taking a last look around, Reese continued down the path, away from my hiding place. Listening to his calls as they got farther and farther away made me hate him even more. How dare he disregard what I say, yet demand that I keep in close range and do whatever he say. The Terminator is probably disorientated from the jail break he and I performed hundreds of miles away. Though he'll be on the hunt, looking for clues as to my whereabouts. Fuck the Terminator for screwing up my life up. All of these angry hurtful thoughts swirling around in my head made me hate myself the most. Being responsible for Ginger and her boyfriend's death, for the Sarah Connors he killed based on namesake alone in a systematic order before eventually getting to me. Now Reese and me are fugitives evading an unstoppable murderer from a dark future that I'm not even sure exists. Nobody can help us because nobody would believe us. I could feel my blood pressure going up, and my heart rate speeding up. I need to slow down and think instead of getting all worked up. I pushed myself in a sitting position, then brought my knees up, leaning against the trunk of the tree hidden in the confines of the bush. Setting my arms on the peaks of my knees, I dropped my head in the space I created, trying to stop my head from reeling. Bullets won't work because of its hyper alloy body, explosives won't work. There must be a weak spot. Reese said something about a memory core embedded in its head. Maybe we can disable it by taking the chip out, like a computer drive. Find a way to trap it and shoot its skull with Reese's shotgun. Not at too close a range, there'll be sharpenel for sure, and the possibility of it capturing one of us. Reese won't let that happen to me for sure. I'd have to talk to him to gain more intelligence on that metal monster. We'll figure it out as we go. As I was brainstorming, the sun shifted to where its rays were shining down into my little hiding space. It felt good on my scraped face, but I didn't dare stay any longer or I'll get lazy, not what you want when a cold, calculated killer is on your tail. The cold keeps you alert while warmth gives you a false sense of security. I waited for a few moments so my vitals were calm before emerging from the bush on my hands and knees, not caring if my hair had vegetation in it. My cheek smarted as it brushed up against the branches. My hips and knees protested as I came to a stand. I must've been in there for over an hour. As I walked towards the motel, I stretched my limbs. Crossing each arm across my chest, folding my other arm to touch the opposite shoulder until they cracked. Reaching back, I put one arm behind my back, the other going over my shoulder trying to reach the one in back and vice versa. Rolling my stiff neck in clock wise and counter-clock wise circles to relieve discomfort. I walked through a cloud of buzzing mosquitos, out of the wooded area to the truck where Reese would probably be at. Sure enough, he was in the cab, his back on the seats. His beautiful, tanned, scarred hands pulling on some wires from the ignition. Hearing me approach, he lifted his head up to look at me. I didn't want to be the first person to speak, so I stayed silent, staring directly at him. I didn't expect a heartfelt apology or anything, just recognition. As I got closer, his neutral expression turned into a frown "What happened to you?" He asked, concern glowing in his eyes. "Nothing." I said, still staring at him. "Where did you go? I didn't see any tracks. I called for you." Reese asked in a worried tone, getting out of the truck. "Doesn't matter. I just needed time away." I said feeling uncomfortable with his concern. I'm used to going wherever I want without question. "Okay. I'm sorry." Reese said, walking toward me cautiously, his hand going up to the back of his neck, rubbing it. "Yeah." I said, not wanting to make it more awkward. "Erm... your cheek it bleeding." He informed me. I brought my sleeve up to wipe it away. He walked until we were standing face to face, his hand coming up to brush debris from my hair. His fingers felt good when they gently tugged through some tangles. "That was ridiculous what happened back there." I said, laughing a little bit, looking down at the ground. "Yeah. I thought you just needed space. Being with me isn't the easiest thing." He said in a sincere tone, freeing the final piece of debris from my hair. "I was thinking, how would you go about killing the Terminator?" I asked, feeling all the intimacy from this moment extinguish. His hand fell from my hair, his features wearing a serious expression. "Crushing it would suffice, a well placed explosive in it's skeletal frame, so would boiling hot metal. In the future, we used lasers to penetrate its memory core." Reese said. "There's no tricking it. It's pretty dumb, but it senses patterns and discrepancies faster than you and I can." He said, continuing on. "Mmmm." I voiced in thought. "Guns are almost completely out of question, although the shells of your shotgun can slow it down. Continuous fire might be enough to push it back a number of feet, creating more distance between us and him." I said, crossing my arms. "It has to be at close range too. You think we can saw a good portion of the barrel off? I don't know where we'd find hacksaw though." I said motioning to the shotgun in the truck with my hand. "It's doable." He said. "I guess you aren't as defenseless as you seem." Reese said, smirking. "The Terminator has lit a fire under my ass to survive. I have to. I just need more intelligence on weaknesses and effective combative maneuvers." I said, feeling like engineer I was learning to be. "I've told you all I know, these weapons are not that effective against a cyborg." He snorted. "I know. What about earlier, blowing up Cyberdyne?" I asked, searching his eyes for what his face would try to cover up. "We would be taking a huge risk there. That facility is probably locked down tight with security all over the place. Not to mention what would happen to us if we were caught." He said running his fingers through his hair, letting out a mouthful of air. I nodded. "We'll see what we can do after the Terminator is out of the equation. First and foremost is your survival." Reese said, putting emphasis on "your". "I hope it doesn't cost you your life." I said, glancing at him before walking to the passenger side of the truck.

1985 (If Kyle had Survived):

"I need time away Kyle! I need SPACE!" I yelled over my shoulder as I speedwalked to the bedroom to change out of my uniform. "THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST UP AND LEAVE DAMN EARLY AND COME BACK SO LATE! He yelled hot on my heels. "YOU DON'T FUCKING OWN ME!" I spit out with as much hatred I could muster up, my fists balling up at my sides. "THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT YOU SARAH! JOHN NEEDS TO BE KEPT SAFE! IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN IT WOULD BE MY FAULT!" He implored. His cutting words left me shaking like a leaf, tears started to gather in my field of vision until I couldn't see where I was going. I dug my nails into the palms of my hands, feeling each crescent shaped indentation biting into my flesh. I kept on into the bedroom, stopping when I reached our closet doors. Kyle followed. I bit my lip, not knowing what to do next, I didn't want to get changed with him in the room. Before I knew it, he placed one big hand on my shoulder, and yanked my body around to face his angry red face with wild eyes. I felt my heart skip a beat, nobody manhandles me, my adrenaline levels shot up and my eyes darkened. The next thing that I did was completely from instinct, and shocked me more than it hurt him. I screeched in a mixture of rage and dejection and grabbed the hand that grabbed me, rotating it 180°; using the momentum from his pull, the rest of my body along with my foot turned to face him, kicking the back of his knee in. This made him loose his balance. Releasing his upturned wrist as I did so. Kyle fell to his knees, letting out a grunt of pain. He raised his head to look up at me, so I swung my fist, connecting it with the left side of his face. Officially incapacitating him for a while. It was all so fast, I didn't even realize what I did. Thank God he stayed down. Feeling extremely upset, I stepped to the side and made a huge circle around him in case he decides to retaliate or something. Last time I fought him he pulled a gun on me. I ran out of the bedroom and down the hall hysterically sobbing all the way to the safest room I knew: the bathroom. It was also the only door that had a lock on it except for the apartment door. My hands found the knob and ripped it open before getting inside and slamming the door so hard the mirror on the wall rattled. My nimble, shaking fingers reached down to turn the lock sideways, the bolt sliding into place. It being the barrier that separated the cool, calm serenity of the bathroom and the hellish, cutting, adrenaline filled atmosphere of the rest of the apartment. Turning away from the door, I let out more choking sobs. Immediately trying to muffle it by covering my face with my hands. Hot tears sprung from my eyes, I could feel them running down my fingers. Taking small steps, I made my way to the edge of the tub, sitting down against the wall before losing my composure completely. My loud gasping sounds filled the air, bouncing off of the cold off-white tiles and back to me. I wished I would've stayed at work instead of coming back home. I could have asked for even more hours in order to delay another heated fight with Kyle. We don't fight alot, but when we do it's explosive and leaves us both hurt. Bending down, I propped my elbows up on my knees while my hands rubbed my eyes. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest and the knot in my stomach tightening as I replayed our fight in my head. I could barely feel the bump in my stomach, but it was still there. John was in there. That made me feel even worse. John didn't deserve this. Wiping away the never ending flow of tears from my face, I placed my soaked hands on my navel. "I'm s...s...s...orry." Using short spurts of breath, I let out a teary apology. I groaned in utter despair at my words. Letting out a shaky breath, I focused on this two letter phrase. Repeating it over and over with varying levels of intensity and sorrow. Saying it to the ceiling, the vanity, the toilet, the mirror, the wastebasket by the sink, the floor. I felt like a broken record, but that was all I managed to say. At the umpteenth "I'm sorry", I heard the floorboards squeak outside the door. Kyle must have recovered from the beating I dealt him. He waited outside the door while I continued to bleat out mouthfuls of "I'm sorries". It wasn't long until I heard a soft knock at the door. "May I come in?" A small voice asks from outside my sanctuary. I don't know if I want to see him right now. I just want to melt into a hug, but that's not an option. Nobody was left to pick me up when I fell. Everybody I was ever close to is dead, it's only him and me. Regaining some of my composure, I decided to let my protector in, thinking it was safe to do so. Rising up from the edge of the tub, I padded quietly to the door, ignoring the aching of my body from that bent position. Unlocking the door soundlessly, I turned the knob so that the door was ajar. I scurried back to the tub, sitting on the floor instead so my back was up against the porcelain of the bath. I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and resting the side of my head against the soft material of my knee length blue cotton waitress dress, the white apron adorned around my hips feeling nice on my burning cheeks. A couple seconds later, the wooden door was pushed open, leaving a space big enough for a human to walk through. Kyle hesitantly walked in, the sight of his scanning eyes made me bury my head into my knees. A small whimper escaped my throat as he crossed the space between my curled figure and the door. I didn't care if he could see up my dress or not. A small breeze followed him as he sat down on the floor next to me to my right so he was closest to the door. Heat radiated off of his body as it pressed up against my side. Kyle sighed as he put an arm around me, drawing me closer to him. I didn't protest since the bathroom seemed cooler now that I got a feel of his heat. We sat there for a while like that until I finally gathered up the courage to look at him. I raised my head up some from the darkness only to find a large purple bruise covering almost his whole left cheek staring me in the face. 'I did that.' I thought to myself, giving out a low whimper, my face returned to rest upon my knees. I felt extremely bad for giving him that. How was he supposed to cover that up so people wouldn't ask? A new wave of tears came due to the site, tightening my arms around myself. His arm started to rub up and down my left arm. The feeling of his big, callused hand sent shivers up and down my spine with every stroke. Being brave, I lifted my head completely from the confines of my dress. I unwrapped my arms from around myself and let them fall to my sides. I still felt rigid and upset, but I can't hide forever. Still staring forward, avoiding his eyes, I took the hand that was rubbing up and down my arm in mine. I want to be the one to initiate closeness. I could feel his gaze on my face, waiting for a sign, but I didn't give him any. The last of the tears rolled down my cheeks, small hiccups replacing them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose my temper like that." Kyle said looking down. I looked up at his apology, making brief eye contact before resting my forehead against his side. "I know." I said solemnly. "I never thought you could kick my ass." He said in a playful manner, his body vibrating with amusement. I sighed, rubbing my whole face against his side. I could tell he was trying to ease the tension remaining from our fight. "I shouldn't have done that. If I did that to some other person, they could have me arrested for assault and battery." I said looking up at him. "Maybe." Kyle said. "Kyle?" I asked, looking up at him. "Mmmm?" He murmured, cocking his head towards me. Scooting closer to him, I laid my hand on his thigh. "Hold me?" I asked in a small voice, looking into his eyes. He nodded, moving his arms to my back and underneath my knees before lifting/dragging me onto his lap. The front of my dress folded up to reveal even more of my thighs as he dragged my body to hold me; my bare skin exposed to the cool air of the bathroom.

The Bad Dream:

In the late hours of the night, I found myself being awoken with a start by the covers being thrown off, and two warm hands. On my waist, chest, arms, and face they roamed in a hurry. "Kyle? I croaked out, my hands slowly reaching to meet his shaking, aching ones, stopping them. "Sarah?" He asked in a choking sob. He was having one of those dreams about my death, I could tell. He was making sure I was okay. Sitting up, I took his hand in mine, guiding his open palm my chest to where my beating heart was located. "I'm here Kyle. It was just a dream." I said, trying to get him to settle down. It didn't work, his sobs got louder and louder, his hand gripping the fabric of my sleep shirt. With every sob he made, my heart wound tighter in my chest; tears threatened to spill from my eyes. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close until his head rested on my chest, underneath my chin. His large frame bending to fit in my arms. He was scared, I can't imagine what waits for him in his dreams each night. Sleep is supposed to be a good thing, but it's full of nightmares for my time travelling guardian. Rocking back and forth on my tailbone with him glued to my chest has become a regular thing each night. This position provides comfort for both of us. My right arm stayed around his body while my left arm left him, only came up to stroke his hair and back. "I'm here. All of me is here." I whispered, my mouth coming down to kiss the top of his beautiful head. Kyle's cries became smaller and smaller, eventually turning into hiccups and gasps for air. For added measure, I started to sing quietly, not wanting to upset him. "Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow, lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes, when again they open the sun will rise..." I sang in the sweetest voice I could manage, holding him tight. The Meadow song was his favorite, it always lulled him to sleep. "Here it's safe and here it's warm, here the daisies guard you from all harm, here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place where I love you..." I continued, humming a tone that I made up during the pause in the lyrics. Sleep eventually overcame him, his breathing becoming shallower as I sang. Becoming tired as well, I closed my eyes. Kyle came first. Still holding him tight, I gently lowered us on the bed; a sea of sheets flowing around us in the dim hours of the night. The storm has passed, we remain once more.