Variations on a Theme
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: This will be a collection of little drabbles clustered in fives and centered on a theme. ThunderBlink drabbles, of course.
I love writing short little pieces so here is my contribution to the wonderfulness of ThunderBlink. These drabbles are connected only by the theme, otherwise they are individual little snapshots. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Chapter 1: Mornings
When John began to stir, Clarice let out a growl-like sound and all but through her weight on him, pinning him to the mattress. Then she settled comfortably on top of him, ready to go back to sleep.
"Clarice, what are you doing?" John's bemused voice rumbled in his chest under her ear.
"Keeping you in bed," she mumbled against his chest. "We're sleeping in."
"Are we now?" he chuckled, sneaking his arms around her waist.
"Damn right we are." Clarice tightened her hold on him just to stress her point. "If you want to keep sleeping with me, you've gotta start waking up with me. No sneaking out in an ungodly hour." Silence followed her statement. "And I decided you start now," she added as an afterthought.
"Yes, ma'am," John chuckled then placed a kiss into her hair before closing his eyes without further protest.
Clarice hummed in contentment.
The rising sun found John sitting on an old chair next to a small bed.
He was listening to the steady breathing of Clarice, constantly reminding himself that she was only sleeping.
After six excruciatingly long days, they had managed to rescue her from Sentinel Services. She was a mess when they found her. She was physically unhurt but John didn't dare to guess what they had done to her. She was terrified and exhausted beyond belief. When they found her in a small cell, she was fighting anybody who came near her, no matter whether they were friend or foe. Only John seemed to have managed to break through her defenses and, when recognition registered on her weary face, all he could do was to catch her before she sagged against him.
She was safe.
She'd been sleeping ever since, John keeping vigil next to her bed and keeping the nightmares at bay as best he could. She would wake up screaming, then she would cling to him while he was whispering soft reassurances into her ear.
She was not alone.
He was here to protect her.
Whatever happened to her, she would get through it.
And he would be there… every step of the way.
Everything was going to be all right.
He would be there… and God help those who want to hurt her again.
"Man, you really do eat everything," Marcos raised an eyebrow at the woman sitting opposite him at the table.
Clarice only nodded through a mouthful of baked beans.
"Not everything," John shook his head next to her, mild disgust on his face. "Anything."
"I can see that," Lorna grimaced over her breakfast. "No one should eat canned baked beans with so much enthusiasm. That's just wrong."
"Hey," Clarice protested, finishing the beans and reaching for a plate of dubiously looking pancake leftover. "It was good."
"It was five days old," John pointed out. "I opened it."
"I know. And you left it so I ate it. I really can't see why the fuss."
"Love you," John chuckled, pulling her to him and placing a kiss on her temple.
"Aren't those your pancakes from last week?" Marcos whispered to Lorna.
"Yep," she wrinkled her nose.
Clarice woke to a gentle press to her abdomen. She groaned at the disturbance and, blindly, her hand searched out the reason of her awakening.
"John?" she mumbled in a sleepy voice when her fingers came into contact with the man's hair.
"Shh…" he hushed her, not moving from his position.
"What are you doing?" Her voice was more alert this time around.
"I hear it," he stated excitedly. "The heartbeat of the baby." And this time he looked up at her. "I can hear the heartbeat of our baby."
She froze at the statement and when her brain finally caught up and suspicion became reality, her heart began to hammer in her chest.
She was sure John could hear that, too.
"John," Clarice groaned sleepily. "Stop fidgeting or get the hell out of bed."
"That's not me." His voice sounded wide-awake… and mildly amused.
Clarice's sleep-addled mind was still trying to process that information when she heard a soft giggle from under the covers. She smiled into her pillow.
"John," she called out again. "Something's climbing up my leg."
"Yeah," John acknowledged her statement without any alarm in his voice. "We have an intruder here."
"Oh, I hope it's not that snake from a couple of nights ago." Another little giggle. "It really scared me."
"Or that frog," John added playfully. Another little giggle.
Clarice opened her eyes and shared a humorous look with John.
"I bet it's that cute little squirrel that always comes here."
This time the giggle was accompanied by a squeaky noise and not long after that, a blob of black hair appeared from under the cover between Clarice and John.
"Aurora, what are you doing here, sweetheart?" Clarice asked as the little girl settled between them.
"Mommy and daddy didn't want to play with me. But mommy said you would."
"She did say that, didn't she?" John asked and Clarice silently groaned.
Aurora nodded vigorously with a huge grin.
"I guess it's time to wake up then," John agreed then hauled the girl out of the bed.
Behind the merry squeals of the girl, he could hear Clarice mumble, "God, I love that kid but I swear I'll tell Lorna and Marcos that they didn't make that kid so that we would play with her at five in the morning."