Overwhelming heat. Dusty roads. Burning sun. Dead silence. Pop, pop, pop! Gunfire. People shouting... A Humvee and comrades. A Humvee and a dead dog. Realization and fear. A warning that came too late. Bang! An explosion. A piercing white light and then pure blackness. "Anderson!"

Auggie sat up with a gasp. It took him a moment to realize it was only a dream. He sat still for a moment listening. It was raining. He slipped out of bed and felt his way downstairs into the kitchen. Thunder broke through the silence. It started raining harder. Auggie's fingers trailed to the third cabinet to the right of the stove. He pulled out a glass; filling it with water and taking a few sips. He set the glass on the counter, and leaned against the sink.

"Auggie, are you alright?" He jumped with the sound of the voice. He heard scuffing as slippers slid across the hardwood floor. A hand was placed on his arm. "Auggie?" concern swept through the voice. He could tell he was still shaking. Soft hands cupped his face and made him turn towards the other person. He opened his mouth to say something but all the came out was an uneven breath. The hands traced down to shoulders and around his back. They pulled him in him, and he rested his head on the others shoulder. He wrapped his arms around the smaller frame, enjoying the comfort the familiar arms held.

A delicate hand wrapped around his and tugged him to follow. They made their way to the hallway when terrifyingly loud crack of thunder tore through the house. Auggie jumped and lost his balance; bumping into the wall with his back. He started trembling again as he slid down the wall. He hated when he had nightmares like this. They were fast paced and out of order. They would jump from one memory to the next until he would wake up out of breath. "Honey," he listened to the scraping of fabric against drywall while she sat down next to him. He leaned into her, burying his face in the little curls. He breathed in, relishing her sweet natural sent with a tint of grapefruit. He felt her lips on the top of his head, whispering calming words into his hair. His body slowly began to relax. He turned his head so that it was resting on her shoulder. She tilted her head so it was resting on his. He was suddenly exhausted. He sighed. Her hand took up his left one. His skin tingled as her fingers outlined the ring on his finger.

"Come on," she said, standing up and pulling him to his feet. He was caught off guard when her lips were pressed to his. It thundered again. She pulled back and they walked back upstairs to their room. They climbed under the covers; getting comfortable. He wrapped an arm around her body while she placed her head on his chest. His body shuddered as she traced circles on his t-shirt. She chuckled. He hesitated, wondering if he should ask. "Annie? Why do you put up with me?" She stayed silent. He suddenly felt worried he had asked the wrong thing. "Because…" she started, "Because I love you." He grinned. "I love you too," he yawned. He closed his eyes; listening to the rain and the woman he loved breathing. They helped him forget Iraq, and the nightmares. The two sounds created his own personal lullaby, and he liked it very much.


This my first fic, so constructive criticism is welcome. I know it's kind of short and cheesy, but I like it anyway. I don't think I ever fell so hard for a ship before in my life. I'm sorry if my grammar isn't that great. I'm okay with spelling, but punctuation always gets me =P If you let me know where a mistake is, I'll fix it. Anyway, thank for reading.

- oh yea... I'm going to rewrite this is Annie's point of view. I think that one will be better than this one. =)