"No, no, no, no, no!"

The words had started lowly, and increased in volume fast. It was the new girl Darcy Young yelling from her room. Roman, Seth and Dean sat in the living room and were actually talking about her when she started yelling from her room. It was late at night, and everyone else in the house were sleeping.

"Damn, new girl's loud," Seth said.

He didn't seem to care much what might actually cause her to yell in fear, but Roman and Dean jumped up and moved towards her room. Seth rolled his eyes in annoyance and followed them.

"Darcy?" Roman knocked on her door.

She didn't answer, but she continued yelling the word no. Normally Roman wouldn't enter any of the others' rooms without permission, but she sounded like she needed help. He opened the door, turned on the light, and found her in bed, clearly having a nightmare. Her chestnut brown hair was wet from sweat, and she was shaking in her sleep.

"Is she gonna continue this all night?" Seth asked.
"Shut up!" Dean hissed.
"Darcy!" Roman called gently. "Wake up, sweety."
"Let me out!" She yelled. "Dad!"

Roman and Dean looked at each other. The way she had yelled for her dad made it sound more like he was the one hurting her in her dream, rather than her yelling for his help. Before neither of them could react, Seth moved over to the bed. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.

"Wake up, screamer!" He yelled in her face. "You're having a nightmare, and it's fucking annoying to listen to!"

Her dark green eyes flew open, and she stared at the face right in front of hers in fear. Her hands automatically moved up, trying to fight what her mind saw as an intruder. He grabbed her wrists, and slammed them down on the bed.

"Try it!" He growled. "Try it and see what fucking happens!"

He squealed in surprise as a set of strong hands yanked him off the bed and pushed him towards the door. Dean still stood there with his arms crossed, shaking his head. Seth turned around to see Roman between him and the bed.

"Get out!" Roman growled.
"It worked, didn't it? She woke up," Seth said.
"I said, get out!" Roman yelled.

Dean grabbed Seth's arm and dragged him out of Darcy's room. He closed the door behind him, and left Roman in there with her. She sat up on the bed, still trying to catch her breath from the nightmare. Roman sat down on the bed and looked at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Sorry, I don't get these dreams often anymore," she said.
"No need to apologize. You can't control something like that," he said.
"I used to get them almost every night, but I got..." She looked down ashamed. "...help."
"Therapy?" He asked.
"Yeah," she answered lowly.

He placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head back up to look in her eyes. She met nothing but kindness in that smile of his.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
"When I get nervous, they return," she said.
"And moving in here today and starting your wrestling career in this company triggered it?" He asked.
"Yeah," she smiled. "Wow, you get it. And fast. That's a first."
"So what are they about? The dreams," he said.
"They're more memories from my childhood. I'm back in a bad place," she said.
"You called for your dad to let you out," he said.

She looked down again. She had no clue that she had been yelling in her sleep.

"I'm tired," she mumbled.

She laid back down, but he didn't get out of her room. Instead he moved over her to lie between her and the wall. He crawled under the covers, and pulled her back first up against his chest.

"I'm sweaty," she said.
"I know how to do laundry," he chuckled. "And I think you need someone to keep you safe tonight. Let me be that person. And the rest of the house will thank me if I keep you from waking them up. Oh, fuck, I forgot the light."
"Leave it!" She begged. "I'm scared of the dark sometimes, and I really don't like it after one of my dreams."
"Alright," he said.

He snuggled up against her and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep in a well lit room with all his clothes still on. He knew he probably was stepping over a bunch of lines on her first day in the house, but she didn't seem to mind. They had a nice talk earlier when she arrived, and he knew from the first second there was something about her. Something he couldn't explain.

"He used to lock me in the basement," she suddenly said.
"Your dad?" He asked.
"Yeah," she sighed. "When he felt like punishing me, I would be locked down there. It was pitch black. I'd be there for hours, sometimes even an entire night. I would knock on the door, cry and beg for him to let me out."
"Where is he now?" He asked.
"He died years ago. Finally managed to drink himself to death. I don't think anybody mourned him except his own mother. He was an angel in her eyes. No one in the family keeps in contact with her because she always blames us for his death," she said.

He crossed another line, and moved his hand under her top. He rested it on her stomach, slowly stroking her skin with his fingers. He wasn't trying anything. He just wanted her to feel safe.

"The dreams won't continue. They'll disappear fast. They always do," she said. "As long as I can find light, I'm not scared. Pray you'll never experience a power outage with me though."
"I'll totally protect you," he said.
"Why are you doing this for me, Roman? We just met today. You don't know me," she said.
"I like what I see so far. We all need help sometimes. And I kinda like having you in my arms. Just saying," he said. "Now get some sleep, sweety."
"Will you go out with me?" She blurted out. "Shit! I didn't mean to say that out loud. Forget what I said. Forget that..."
"Ssh!" He laughed. "Yes, I will. I'll take you out tomorrow night. Now sleep."

Roman woke up first next morning. He felt sweaty, and he didn't smell too good after sleeping in all his clothes. He gently moved over her, careful not to wake her. There hadn't been anymore nightmares. He watched her for a second with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe he was actually going out with her. He moved out of her room, and out in the kitchen where he found Seth with a cup of coffee.

"Someone got laid," Seth grinned. "It can't have been good considering how silent you were. Details, please."
"No one got laid, and just so we're clear, you're a fucking asshole," Roman said.
"What did I do?" Seth asked.
"Last night. You scared the shit out of her and threatened her," Roman answered.
"She was waking up the whole house," Seth defended himself.
"She was having a nightmare, and you made it worse," Roman said.

He poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I like her, Seth. Please, don't fuck it up for me," Roman said.
"Why would I do that?" Seth asked.
"Because you tend to get jealous when all the attention isn't on you, and then you do stupid shit," Roman answered.
"Wow, thanks a lot. And you call yourself my friend," Seth said.
"Seth," Roman sighed.
"Not interested!" Seth held up his hand. "Go fuck your new, little girlfriend. She'll get tired of you in no time."

Seth marched out of the kitchen, and bumped his shoulder into Dean that was entering. Dean yawned and looked at Roman.

"What was that all about?" Dean asked.
"Seth's jealous," Roman answered.
"Again?" Dean snickered. "What else is new? Oh, you and Darcy are. What happened?"
"We're going out tonight," Roman said.
"Sweet," Dean grinned. "I don't really know her yet, but she seems sweet, and I knew from the moment she set foot in the house that she would mesmerize you."

Roman poured Dean a cup of coffee, and handed his best friend the cup with a smile.

"She comes with a past," Roman said.
"We all do," Dean said.
"She's scared of the dark, and her father haunts her dreams sometimes. Bastard's dead, but he can still get to her in her dream," Roman shook his head.
"I bet you if we start this same conversation a month from now, I get to tell you that she has you to protect her now," Dean winked.
"One can always hope," Roman smiled.

The date that night went better than Roman could have hoped for. Dean was right. Darcy was mesmerizing him. And the way she looked at him made him believe he did the same to her.

"Do we really wanna go inside?" She asked.

They had stopped outside of the house. The light was on inside, so someone was still awake. Through the window to the living room they could see Seth sitting on the couch watching football.

"No, I'd rather do this," Roman said.

He moved close and kissed her. She melted into his arms, and he gently pushed her up against the front door. She was panting when they broke apart.

"Do you wanna spend the night in my room again?" She asked. "In less clothes than last night."
"Very much," he grinned.

The front door opened from the inside, and they stumbled inside since they had been leaning up against it. Roman wasn't surprised to find Seth standing there.

"I thought I heard something," Seth said.
"Right," Roman chuckled. "Goodnight, Seth."

He took Darcy's hand, and they walked to her room. Seth stood by the end of the hallway, arms crossed, watching Darcy enter her room. He was surprised when Roman was about to follow.

"That's not your room!" Seth burst out.
"I know," Roman winked at Seth. "We'll try and keep it down."