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Dillon lied in his bed, wide awake. After learning that Tenaya was his sister, he never really seemed to have the usual nightmares anymore. That relieved him. But then a few days ago, a problem arose that made him worried. Extremely worried.
Three times this week already, Summer had woken him up in the middle of the night, screaming. He rushed to her bedroom and see her in her bed, trashing around. She had been having nightmares and they'd been effecting her greatly. She was always half-asleep, and it had even put her in peril earlier yesterday when they had fought Venjix's latest attack- bot.
Dillon stared at the celing of his room, hoping and praying that tonight; there'd be no screams. No nightmares. It killed him every time that he saw the fear in her eyes, and on one occasion; tears.
It was 2:00 AM. Still nothing.
Dillon still hadn't gotten his regular three hours of sleep yet, and he was starting to feel drowsy. He had been fighting it for the past hour already. Deciding that perhaps Summer was ok tonight, he closed his eyes; letting sleep overtake him.
Two hours later, Dillon bolted up to a seating postion upon hearing a scream. "Summer," he realized. He ran out his room to the Yellow Ranger's room. There she was in her, trashing around in her sleep.
"...no... Oh my-PLEASE NO!" she cried in her sleep. Dillon shook her, trying to get her to wake up. Summer's eyes snapped open.
"Summer. Summer, wake up. It's ok... it's ok." He was quiet, and his voice was filled with concern. Concern for her. Her breathing calmed and the handsome face of the Black Ranger came into focus. He looked relieved to see her awake. "Oh Summer," Dillon murmured. He was kneeling on the plush yellow carpet next to her bed, dressed in a baggy grey T-shirt and black sweats.
"Another nightmare?" Dillon questioned. His voice was sympathetic.
Summer nodded. She breathed in deeply and then exhaled. "Yeah. That's the fourth one this week. I'm sorry I woke you up again, Dillon. Go back to bed. I'll try not to bother you again."
Dillon sighed and got up off the floor. He sat on the bed next to her. "No Summer. Don't be stupid. You're not bothering me, you're worrying me. The nightmares are getting more and more frequent. First, it was every two nights. But now its every night." Summer sighed, knowing that the Black Ranger was right. Dillon wrapped his arms around her and eased them both back against Summer's piles of yellow pillows. "Summer, I-... You're really starting to scare me, you know that?"
The Yellow ranger hid her face in his chest. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I am really so sorry. You have enough things to think about, without having to worry about me. I'll keep it down. I promise."
"Summer, that's not what's worrying me. What's worrying me is that you won't talk to anyone about it, but me. But Summer, I can't help you. I don't anything about this sort of thing," Dillon stated. He took a deep breath and looked down at her. "I want you to talk to Dr. K. If anyone can figure out what's causing these dreams, it's definately her."
"I don't need to worry everyone, Dillon. We're all stressed enough without my apparent inability to sleep through the night. I don't want to cause another problem on top of everything else going on."
"What if tomorrow night, I'm not the one who wakes up first? And do you really think I enjoy waking up to your screams? Please, Summer. Please. If not for your own good, then for my sake."
He sounded so concerned for her wellbeing. Summer finally muttered, "OK, I'll let her know. First thing tomorrow."
"Thank you Summer. Try to go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." He pecked the top of her head and let go of her, standing and fixing the blankets over his Yellow counterpart. Summer couldn't help but smile at his concern for her.
"Good night, Dillon."
"Good night, Summer."
Dillon left the room, closing the door behind him. Summer let out a ragged sigh. This was always the hardest part. When he left her. When he would be there, holding her and comforting her, she felt untouchable. She felt safe. But as soon as he was out of her sight, the feeling was gone. She felt scared. Afraid that her dream would come true.
She turned to lay on her side. Four fifth-teen, her clock read. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Maybe she could get a couple more hours of sleep before she had to wake up.
Dillon looked just as tired as she felt, Summer noticed when she entered the dining room the next morning. He was frowning and pouring himself a cup of orange juice, his mind clearly not on the noisy conversation the other five rangers were having.
"Hi," she greeted him softly. She stood next to him at the counter, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"I couldn't sleep last night after…well, you know what happened." He looked miserable, and Summer felt guilt strike at her. It showed on her face because Dillon smiled slightly. "It's not your fault, Summer. Don't worry about it. Just…talk to the doc like you said you would and get everything sorted out."
"I will," Summer replied, moving her hand from Dillon's shoulder. She felt terrible for burdening Dillon the way she was. "I'll go right after breakfast."
"Good." Dillon said, smiling weakly. He looked thoughtful for a moment. He turned to Summer, who was raiding the fridge for something to eat. But before she could get anything, Dr.K called them to the lab. Summer sighed, and followed the others to the lab.
All through the meeting between the RPM Rangers, Colonel Truman, and Dr.K, Summer's mind wandered to how she was going to bring up the subject of her recurring nightmares. It was only when the rest of the team, save for Dillon, filed out again that Summer snapped back to reality.
"Go on," Dillon said gently, nudging her. "I'm right here." The Yellow Ranger nodded and took a deep breath.
"I hope the two of you didn't do something stupid," Dr. K said aloud. Dillon frowned at the prodigy.
"Dr. K, the thing is... I've been having nightmares," Summer announced, looking at her shoes. "Almost every night. Dillon is the only other person who knows." Here Dillon put his arm around her shoulders. Dr. K's eyebrows shot up, looking concerned.
"I see. Well, is it the same dream?" Summer nodded. "We'll see if we can find the solution. Come back when you get ready to go to sleep tonight and I'll analyze your brain wave activity. It could just be stress, or it could be something very more serious."
"Thank you, Dr. K," Summer said softly. Dillon nodded his agreement, his arm still wound tight around his Yellow Ranger. He turned the both of them around and together they headed out of the lab.
Much later, Summer went down to the lab in her pjs. Dr. K was sitting at her computer and waiting for her. She gestured vaguely to what looked like a hospital bed and Summer sat herself down on it. Dr. K walked over. She pointed to a rectangular, boxed shaped device, which was connected to a computer, that hung over her. "This sensor will allow me to monitor your brain activity while you sleep. Whatever's going on, what's causing you to have nightmares, we'll know by tomorrow morning."
Summer took a deep breath, nodding. "Sounds good," she said, watching as Dr. K went back to her seat. "Um, Dr. K, I know this sounds weird, but this thing isn't going to show you my dream... is it?" the Yellow Ranger asked. Dr. K looked at her strangely.
"No... why do you ask?" she wondered.
Summer shook her head. "No reason. Good night Dr. K." Summer stretched herself out, resting her head on the squashy white pillow. She fell asleep almost instantly, and stayed that way for a few hours until…
"DILLON!!!!!"
Before Dr. K was able to get out of her seat to contact Dillon, the Black Ranger came rushing into the lab. But his usual smirk was nowhere to be seen. "Oh God," he muttered, running to Summer's side. "Summer. Summer, stop. It's OK. I'm here now." Dillon brushed her bangs away from her eyes gently, whispering.
"How did you know to be here?" asked Dr. K once Summer had stopped screaming and was being cradled in Dillon's arms as if she might break. The doctor could see how much the 'brooding bad boy' of the group loved the Yellow Ranger, just by glancing at the entwined couple.
"I'm not sure. I woke up and knew to go to her." Dillon looked down at Summer sadly, one hand stroking her blonde hair soothingly. Dr. K nodded slowly. "Do you have any idea why she's having these nightmares doc? I'm really worried about her."
"I don't know what's causing it. But another thought has occurred to me, Ranger Series Black... She could be seeing the future, couldn't she? I have to look into it some more. It could also just be stress from her Ranger duties as well. The fact that it's recurring could mean a lot of things."
"I hope it's not the future," Dillon mumbled. "I'm not sure what Summer's nightmare is about exactly, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a battle. That could've been why she was nearly killed the last battle. I haven't asked yet because she's upset enough as it is." Dr. K rose an eyebrow when she saw the Black Ranger's arms tighten around the dozing Summer.
"Ranger Black... when are you going to tell her?" asked young mentor, not caring how forward she was being.
"Tell her what?"
"Tell her that you love her," Dr. K responded, rolling her eyes. "Everyone sees it. Even Ranger Green!" Dillon shook his head.
"Dr. K, you're way out of line on this one." He let go of Summer, laying her down. He brought a chair over to the bed and sat down, reaching for Summer's hand. The Black Ranger held onto her firmly, wordlessly saying he was not about to leave her.
Dr. K sighed, exasperated. "All right then." She turned and resumed her post at one of the lab's computers, watching the green lines wave over the screen.
It was well past three a.m. when Summer woke up from her dream again, though she managed not to scream this time. She sat bolt upright, wondering where she was. She finaly took in the computers, and realized she was in the lab. She noticed a sleeping Dr. K, who was slumped over with her forehead on the computer screen. Someone was holding her hand, she could feel it. The Yellow Ranger looked over to see Dillon, his right hand gripping her left, his head resting near her pillow.
He hadn't left her.
It was always so hard when he left her room in the middle of the night. But he was still here, he was still here for her.
She pulled her hand away from his, lying down again. Summer propped herself up on her elbow, watching her Black Ranger sleep. Suddenly Summer needed to be closer to him, and before she really knew what she was doing she rearranged herself again. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck, hugging him to her as tightly as she could. "Oh Dillon," she whispered, and then tears spilled from her eyes.
Dillon was awake immediately. "Summer?" The Yellow Ranger pulled away from him, still crying. "Did you have your dream again?" She nodded, closing her eyes.
He abandoned his chair, climbing onto the uncomfortable hospital bed with her. Instinctively Summer burrowed closer to him. He was lying flat on his back, Summer on top of him. The responsible conservative Summer was not to be found in this terrified, exhausted version of his beloved Yellow Ranger. She cried into his chest unashamed, her arms wound around his neck. Finally she spoke in a very shaky voice, pulling her face away so she could look at him.
"Listen to me Dillon, and listen good. In the event that some insane attack- bot tries to kill me, you do not sacrifice your life in exchange for mine. Do you understand me? I'm just not worth it."
"Isn't that up to me to decide?" Dillon asked softly. He lifted his hand to her face, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "And anyway, Summer, that's not going to happen. I won't let it."
Summer just shook her head. Then she thought about something that had been in the back of her mind since the day she'd met him, and was made even more evident by the way he was holding her and the way he was looking at her. "We're not just friends, are we, Dillon? There's something more?"
"God I hope so," murmured Dillon without skipping a beat. Summer smiled up at him, feeling somewhat relieved. She rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes once more. Dillon placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, somewhat content to hold her in his arms.
It didn't matter if they ever found out the cause of the horrible dreams that had plagued her mind for weeks. As long as she and Dillon were together, that was all that mattered.
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