Author's notes: The tense shifts are intentional. Basically, Carly still hasn't told Sam about the dreams. This was a little hard to write; I'm trying to focus more on the emotions than the smut.

These 3 am wake ups have to stop. I sat up, ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. I'd had another nightmare, and I was getting really sick of them. They always make me feel insecure, wounded even.

This one had been no exception, but I'd had this one before. It had been a reoccurring dream that started sometime early on in our relationship. Let's see… we'd gotten together early senior year, and it had started during Christmas break that year. Now, six years later, I'm still having it. It's starting to really tick me off.

It always starts with me running through a forest. From there, I eventually find my way into a clearing where a woman who looked exactly like me was standing. About a third of the time I have this dream, Sam would be lying dead a few feet away. Fortunately, that was not the case this time. This time, though, the dream was more disturbing than it had even been before. The other me had walked up to me, and in Sam's voice, told me I was holding the key to something very evil. If I didn't give it to her, Sam would die. Then she kissed me.

I tried to push this shadow me away, but she was so much stronger than I am. I fell, and she was on me in an instant. "You want it, Carly." Her hand found its way down my pants, and she pushed her fingertips inside of me. I tried to push her off again, and she laughed. "You're not going anywhere. It'll only be worse if you struggle," she stated calmly.

I don't want to talk about the rest. It should be sufficient enough to say she had raped me—or I had raped me; I'm not really sure—and I'd woken up a sweating, gasping mess.

I turned to my girlfriend. "Sam?" The girl in question groaned softly and pulled the blanket over her head. "Sammy?" I shook her gently, and the mass beneath the cover shuffled a little bit.

"What?"

"Look at me… please?" The blanket descended slowly to reveal my sleepy girlfriend's eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Um… it's 3 am. I have a question." Sam sat up a little bit and eyed me strangely. Then again, had she woken me up at 3 am, I'd have done the same. Despite everything we'd been through, I had never done this before. I've never told Sam about my nightmares. I don't want her to worry the way I did over the monster-stealing-her-soup incident. I still haven't told her, but I guess eventually I will.

"Yes, Cupcake?" I shuffled uncomfortably.

"Will you…" I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath. "Will you make love to me?" She sat up, alarmed. "Please," I added, to reinforce the request.

She kissed me softly. "Carly, are you okay?" I nodded and wrapped my arms loosely around her waist. I wanted the stains of my dream-rape gone. I wanted Sam to cover me, touch me, make me feel complete. I know my reasons were completely selfish, but in that instant, I just really wanted Sam to screw me senseless.

Sam sighed and looked at me again. I'm sure it was clear that something was hiding behind my eyes, but she also knows I'll talk to her about it when I'm ready to do so. "Alright," she said quietly and kissed me again.

Sam pushed me down slowly and deepened the kiss. My hands found her hips; my mouth opened when the tip of her tongue slid against my bottom lip. She shifted to a more comfortable position on top of me, and her right hand cupped my cheek gently. She pulled away from the kiss and looked me in the eyes. "Are you okay enough for this, Carly?" I smiled.

"I love you, Sam." Seemingly satisfied, Sam kissed me again. This kiss stole my breath away. There was so much fire and passion behind it that I was metaphorically knocked off my feet. I moaned softly, and her left hand crept under my shirt. I could already feel that sharp pull in my stomach; my insecurity was already gone, completely forgotten in her hands and lips.

God, I love that woman.

"Sit up," she said quietly, and I did so. She stripped my shirt off me, and grinned when she found me braless. I tugged at her sports bra; Sam very rarely wore a shirt to bed anymore. She shook her head. "Cupcake… this is for you right now." I whined.

"I want to feel your skin, Sam." She smiled and tugged her bra off, leaving it to the darkness of our bedroom. She settled in back on me, and I groaned as her hair brushed over my newly-exposed skin. Her hands moved to my hips and she started grinding slowly against me. Her mouth moved from mine to my earlobe, and I squirmed a little bit when I felt her teeth scrape over it. Fingertips played from my hips down my thighs, and then back up again toward my sides. Her nails scraped down my ribs as she kissed her way down my throat. I closed my eyes.

"I love you," she whispered quietly against my collarbone. I threaded my fingers through her hair and smiled. My insecurity wasn't coming back at that point, and I was happier than I had been in a long time.

Her tongue set to work, creating a heated trail from my collarbone to my chest. She nuzzled gently and took a nipple into her mouth. I gasped and jerked slightly, but her hands moved back to my hips and pinned me down firmly. I opened my eyes and met hers, and she flashed me a wicked smile before nipping the hard nub between her teeth and soothing it with her tongue. Rogue fingers pulled nails up my left side and beneath my left breast, before Sam scratched her index fingernail down my sternum, ripping another unbidden moan from my throat. Finally, my temptress of a lover released my nipple and kissed my stomach as she moved her way down my body.

She gently pressed the pads of her thumbs into those sensitive spots on my hips, and I pushed into her again. "Impatient, Carls?"

"Only for you, Sammy." She smiled again and dipped her tongue into my navel. I gasped and somehow managed to grind out "please?"

"Only for you, Cupcake," she said with a laugh. Her fingertips slid under the waistband of my shorts and they disappeared. I wasn't thinking clearly enough to remember where they went. I do remember wondering how she'd gotten me so worked up so quickly.

I glanced back down to notice that she'd folded her arms over my stomach and propped her chin up. "You know you're beautiful, right?" I smiled.

"I love you, Sam. You're my everything." She grinned—I love that grin—and dipped her tongue lower against me. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the pillow. Her fingertips brushed the inside of my thigh; my fingers tangled themselves in her hair. Her tongue was light against me, and she knows it drives me insane when she does that. Somehow, I managed to get a broken "please, Same, don't-" between ragged breaths.

One of the many reasons I love her is that she knows what I'm trying to say in any situation. I'm not sure how many other people would've interpreted that as "don't tease," but she did. I'm so grateful she did. Her tongue flickered against me again, harder, before she sucked my clit into her mouth.

It didn't take long.

After just a few minutes, I gasped out her name and pressed her head against me while sucking my bottom lip between my teeth and focusing on the white-hot sparks shooting through my veins. Sam hauled herself along my body and kissed me hard. I tried to kiss back, I really did, but I think I spent more time trembling against her than anything. She stretched out beside me after breaking the kiss, and I rolled over and draped an arm over her waist.

"Sleepy, Cupcake?" I yawned and nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I just had a bad dream, Sam." She wrapped her arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"It's okay, Babe. I'm always here for you." I smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. Finally, I'd get the peaceful sleep I'd been missing for a while.

It's one of the many reasons I love her.