Of Anime, Poetry and Falling in Love: Mack and Rose

Disclaimer: Nope, sorry.

Challenge: Dream

Timeframe: Somewhere after Kick Into Overdrive.

Summary: In which Rose has a nightmare.

Rose Ortiz woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest at what felt like twice its normal speed. Her breathing ragged, she looked around at the contents of her bedroom in the Hartford estate. Aided by the soft orange tint of the nightlight she kept out of habit, Rose's deep brown gaze locked on the three pink walls and the huge white bookcase that took up the fourth wall of the room.

"Just a dream, Rose. Relax," she said to herself soothingly. "It didn't really happen. He's fine; he's safe in his bed."

But it was pointless to try and coax herself back to sleep until she'd seen with her own eyes that Mack was really unharmed and sleeping in his room down the hall.

The white door to Mack's room creaked as she eased it open. She found herself breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that Mack was indeed fast asleep, the lamp still on and a graphic novel clutched in his hand. Tiptoeing inside, Rose took the book and put it on the nightstand. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, whether in a dream or reality. Understand?" she murmured softly.

Rose perched herself on the edge of the bed, unable to take her eyes off of him, try as she might. God he was gorgeous. So much better in real life than in the dream she'd just woken from in which he'd been dy…no, she had to stop thinking about that.

Mack stirred slightly, and then his eyes opened. "Rose?" he asked groggily. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and propped himself up against his pillows. "Not that I mind you being here, but" he checked his clock, "It's almost two in the morning. Something I can help you with?"

Rose, embarrassed that she'd woken him, flushed. "I'm so sorry, Mack. I didn't mean to wake you up. I'll just go now. See you later."

"Wait a sec, Rose. You can't just wake someone up and then not explain what you were doing there. What's going on?" He straightened himself up, looking at her face for some clue as to what she was doing.

He wasn't expecting Rose to fling herself at him and throw her arms around his neck. That was the last thing on earth the normal Rose would do, and Mack knew that she had to be extremely upset. Hesitantly, he hugged her back, and there was no indication of objection from his pink ranger.

"I needed to know that you were OK," she whispered. "I knew it was just a dream but I really needed to see it with my own eyes. She clung to him like a lifeline.

"What happened in your dream, Rose?" he probed quietly. Very gently he rubbed small circles on her back, comforting her. "You can tell me."

Rose spoke into his chest. "You were dying," she told him simply. "And I couldn't do anything to help you. There was so much blood, Mack. I was terrified."

"I bet you were." Mack held her tighter. "It's OK baby," he murmured. "It's OK."

Rose didn't even mind the term of affection he'd just used. She was still too relieved just knowing that her dream was just that: a dream, and that Mack was safe. And that she was being held in his arms, where she was protected and cared for.