Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. It's always nice to know people are still reading. :)
Adam called over his shoulder, "Which room do you want Jaz?"
She gave it some thought before answering.
"I guess the one closest to the great room."
It seemed like the best option so that she would have easy access to the TV if she couldn't sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was disturb someone else's rest while she was walking around.
"Okay, it's all yours. Once you're settled, check out the fridge and grab yourself a drink. I'm planning to grill up a steak and some potatoes. If you have time, start a salad."
Jaz dropped her items in her room and then walked out to the kitchen. She did check out the fridge and there was way more food than the two of them could possibly eat. The freezer was even more entertaining. It was so tightly packed that someone, she assumed his caretaker, had left a list of what it contained on top of the contents. She was pretty impressed. It took real skill to fill every bit of useable space. Returning to the fridge she pulled out all of the salad fixings while Adam reached around her to pull out the huge ribeye. He also grabbed a couple potatoes and some quick marinade from the pantry.
"I'll be on the back deck getting the grill going if you need anything. Otherwise, when your done, feel free to check out what's on TV. If you can find a weather report for the rest of the week that would be helpful."
"Consider it done."
It wasn't long before the tossed salad was prepared and she was sitting in the recliner flipping through the channels. She found a newscaster reporting that the weather would be sunny and seasonal during the day but unusually cold at night. All in all they couldn't ask for anything better. She found an episode of a much beloved TV series and immersed herself in the action.
A short time later Adam quietly stepped into the kitchen and peered around the wall to see Jaz curled up in the recliner. Her head was resting on the armrest and her eyes had taken on the glassy sheen that he was beginning to identify as the "I'm so exhausted I've checked out of my surroundings" look. She certainly didn't appear to know he was back inside and he was far from a ninja in his movements.
Determining that she was fine, he allowed the smell of cooking meat to pull him back out to the grill. He took a sip of the beer he had opened and looked out at the appearance of stars on the horizon as he flipped the steak. Ten more minutes and they would be ready to eat. He pulled out the salad, grabbed the plates and condiments, and set everything up at the kitchen table. He was ready just in time to pull the steak off the grill to rest and grab the potatoes. He put the potatoes on their plates and then cut the steak in half and then Jaz's piece in half again. Everything was on the table when he called for Jaz.
"Jaz, dinner's ready."
He watched as she uncurled herself from the chair and limped her way to the table.
"I would have helped if you let me know it was ready."
"No need. I had time while the steak was finishing up so it didn't make sense to make you come out."
She conceeded the point and took a seat at the table looking at her first home cooked meal in weeks. It did look much better than the frozen meals she had been eating since she got home.
"It looks great. Thanks for cooking."
"You're welcome. Maybe I can try to teach you to cook a few things while we're here?"
"You can try but I don't really have any interest. Now if you want to teach me how to use a new weapon, or perform a new martial arts move, I'm your girl."
Adam knew that was certainly the case. They carried on light conversation while they ate. He was pleased to see Jaz ate about half of her portion and even managed to eat some of the salad. Overall he considered their first meal at his place a success. Unfortunately he expected the night to be more difficult since Jaz had indicated she wasn't sleeping. Insomnia was miserable and he had battled with it himself off and on throughout his career.
After their meal was finished, he started a fire in the great room's fireplace. He had central heating but it didn't seem necessary this early in the season. The fire's warmth would drift through the lower level were they would be sleeping. It was too early to sleep so they watched a movie together and then another movie. At 2 am he decided it was time for him to drop into bed.
"I'm going to head to bed, Jaz. Don't worry about the fire as it'll ultimately burn itself out."
"Okay. Do you mind if I keep watching TV?"
"No, my room is still the one furthest down the hall so it won't bother me. Wake me if you need anything."
"Thanks. I should be okay. We've all been here enough to find pretty much everything we need."
"Okay. Just know I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks. I'll see you in the morning."
The morning started a little earlier than Adam had hoped. He was startled awake by a scream at 4:30 am. He pulled his T-shirt back over his head to go along with the sleep pants he was wearing. He didn't immediately rush out to her. He knew she was fine and he didn't want to make a big deal out of it. He quietly opened his door and walked down the hallway to the great room. When he was close enough he leaned out to look at her. She was sitting up in the recliner with her head in her hands trying to catch her breath. He could tell she was wiping away sweat that had beaded on her forehead. It must have been quite the nightmare.
"You okay, Jaz."
She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I can't."
"You know I'm a good listener."
"No, I mean I really can't. I have no memory of what I've dreamed about."
"That must be frustrating."
"You have no idea."
He walked over and took a seat on the couch across from the recliner before stretching out across it's length.
"The dreams have been going on since we got you back?"
"No, when I was on Base I was just too sore to sleep. The nightmares didn't start until about a week after I got home. Just about the time that the pain was getting better."
"So they haven't been happening long in the scheme of things. I bet it probably feels like an eternity to you, huh?"
"You have no idea. Between the screaming and the sleepwalking, I'm lucky my neighbors haven't had me committed."
"I wouldn't have let them. Tell me about the sleepwalking."
"Not much to tell. I wake up in a different place that I expected with no memory of how I got there. Fortunately that doesn't happen often."
"I'm glad to hear it. You definitely wouldn't be getting restful sleep if you're walking around."
"I'm glad it doesn't happen much because it's just plain creepy."
"I imagine it would be. I think it's safe to say you won't be able to go right back to sleep. Why don't you go ahead and turn the TV back on? I have over a hundred channels so there must be something we can find to watch."
Jaz flipped through the channels until she found something other than an infomercial. She looked over at Adam and realized he was already back asleep. She wished it was as easy for her. It did make her feel better that she wasn't disturbing his rest any longer. If he'd still been awake she would have sent him back to his room for the rest of the night. She settled down to watch TV for the rest of the early morning hours.
