She woke suddenly, cursing in Spanish under her breath. Yes, it had been the same nightmare yet again. She didn't know why she was still having it. He was gone, he was never coming back. They didn't have to worry about him anymore. She rolled over onto her back, still breathing hard, her eyes wide open. It was the middle of the night, but she didn't even want to think about going back to sleep. It had been two weeks since the incident in the hatch and yet she couldn't get her mind off it. That was twice she had been held at gun point, twice she had been shot. The first time it had almost ruined her life. The second time it had just made her paranoid.
Just then, a large forearm coiled around her waist. She tried to close her eyes and make it look like she was asleep, but after a moment she heard a distinct grunt and opened them again, knowing that he knew she was awake. She rolled over to face him and looked into his eyes, wondering how she had ended up with him. A few weeks ago they had been sworn enemies, and now they were so close it was almost unbelievable. She had never met a man like him, he was considerate and caring when he wanted to be, but he also knew how to turn on the charm. He wasn't too over-protective of her, infact he was quite the opposite. He let her do her own thing, not getting overally paranoid if she ever stopped to talk to Jack. And most of all, he didn't judge her. He loved her, she knew it.
Well, she hoped so. They hadn't really discussed that yet, most of their conversations had been made up purely of light-hearted flirtacious banter. Sometimes they had more deeper and meaningful talks, mostly during the night when they could really be alone together and be sure that no one was listening. He looked out for her, always having her back if someone was getting on her nerves. She didn't really need to look out for him, he always knew how to handle a situation accordingly, or rather, his idea of 'accordingly'. Sometimes he would fly off the handle for no good reason, other than to stir up trouble. During these times, she needed to take control of the situation.
Sometimes they would spend all of their time together, taking long walks in the jungle and not returning until sun down or generally never leaving eachother's side. It was like they couldn't be apart from eachother. This amazed Ana. How ironic that just a short period of time ago they couldn't stand to even be near eachother. But things had changed, they had matured since then. Well, she had.
Now he grinned at her, reaching out to touch and stoke her hair, "What's up, Cupcake? Bad dreams again?"
"No, I just couldn't sleep." She lied, smiling back at him.
He knew better than to fall for that one again, "Well, you were sleepin' like an angel when I got here a while ago. An' you always seem to be awake whenever I get up to piss or get a drink. C'mon.." He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes, something he'd never done before. "Just tell me what's goin' on. It's the nightmare again, ain't it? You can tell me, Sugar."
She sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, that look he was giving her had really worked big time. She snuggled closer to him, wanting to cry. Yes, it was the nightmare again. What else could it be? She hadn't slept a wink in a couple of days now. It was keeping her up so she felt wrecked during the day. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, rocking her gently.
"Shh," He whispered softly as she began to cry, "Hey, c'mon, I didn't figure you for the waterworks type."
This only made her cry harder. She always bottled it up, only crying when she was alone. The last time she had cried had been just over a week ago, down in the hatch while she'd been recovering. She had felt trapped down there, wanting to go back up to the beach. Her arm had been so sore and had ached for days. Luckily, a few days later she had been allowed to leave the hatch, and that was when she and he had had their first talk since their little adventure in the jungle a few days prior, the same day that she had been shot, infact.
Now she couldn't hold it in, and she couldn't help it. He was actually helping her to let it out, and so she positively howled, crying hard into his chest. The tears streamed down her cheeks until she could cry no more, and she slumped down, her head falling back onto her pillow. He nuzzled her neck gently, then proceeded to play with strands of her long dark hair. She didn't even protest when he rolled her over again and closed his fingers around her waist. Her lip curled. Looking into his expectant face she knew exactly what was about to happen.
They had only made love once since their first encounter into the jungle, the day she had recieved the bullet in her shoulder. The second time had been a lot better than the first, as the first time she had merely been minipulating him inorder to steal his gun. The second time, however, things went much better. It had been only six days ago, infact. She wondered how he had managed to control himself since then, as after that he had been forever trying to get her alone, constantly teasing her and craving her attention. However, at night he would only comply if she would too, and for a week she hadn't been in the mood. That was when the nightmares really started.
She had started to dream that she was back in the hatch, sitting near Henry's cell like she had been on the day it had happened. He had been there, too. The man who had shot her. She hated him with every inch of her being, and had been only too glad to see him go. But after he died, however, the nightmares began. So yes, she was in the hatch. Everything was exactly how it had been on the day it had happened. She had been quietly pollishing the gun when he had entered. Only this time, he also had a gun. He would point it at her while he discussed Jason, her mother, Jack, Sawyer and many other things she would rather not have discussed. She would see flashes of things she had never wanted to see again in her life, and would always awake in a cold sweat, always in the dead of night. A lot of the time, he would be there to help her through. He'd hold her close until she was finally relaxed, then she would drift off into an uneasy sleep. Sometimes he couldn't help her, sometimes she would lay awake all night long thinking about it. Once she had even had to run out of the tent to be sick.
They would go away eventually. The nightmares. They had to, and besides, she wasn't the sort of person to dwell on something for too long. She would get over this, with a little him from him. She smiled as she felt his body pushing up against hers and licked her lips, ready for him this time. The way she saw it, he was the perfect person to help her get over this horrific ordeal. He had been there for her, even going as far as killing the man who'd done it to her. She suspected she was falling in love with him, and rolled her eyes. Great, just great. She was falling in love with a Redneck, who was also a complete asshole. But she couldn't help herself, there was something about him that had interested her from the beginning. But did he feel the same? She did not know. She suspected he did, why else would he want to spend so much time around her? This wasn't just a simple fling. There was more to it than that.
He held her so close, wrapping his arms around her as he pushed up against her. She was only too happy to comply this time, kissing his lips as he began to caress her ever so gently, running his fingers down her waist. His lips captured hers again and he ran a hand through her hair, pinning her down, his hand disappearing up her shirt and caressing her breast. She returned his passionate kisses, loving every second of it. She'd never had this kind of passion with anyone before in her life. She had loved Danny, but this was different. She was crazy about him. She needed him. She would only ever want him.
To his surprise, she pushed him away as he went to kiss her neck. "What's wrong?" He asked, sounding both baffled and annoyed at the same time. She grinned up at him, not wanting to make him think that she was annoyed with him for coming on so strong.
"Just.." She panted, unsure of what to say at first. Then, it came to her. "You're not gonna get bored of me, are you, Cowboy?"
He let out a laugh, grinning down at her. "Well.." He began, but before he could say another word she had begun to hit him in a playful manner, "Hey! Okay! Could I finish, please?" She flopped back, smirking. "Okay, as I was saying.." He cleared his throat, "Well, as a matter of fact I was actually thinkin' about stickin' around for a while, Hot Lips."
She grinned. It was the response she had been hoping for. He had even made good use of the nickname. Satisfied, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down towards her, allowing him to continue.
