A sunny day on the beach, only a few people around, some kids in the water and an ice cold cocktail next to her. The perfect day off. Sofia enjoyed the sunshine and the occasionally looks she got every now and then from passing by people. It was always good for the self-esteem to realize you look good and having people admiring that.

With a satisfied smile she got her attention back to her book. The sexy and smart detective was following a couple of thieves, was about to get them. Could be her back in the days. There weren't many bad guys who got away, most of them ended where they belonged: in a cell and in front of a judge. Yes, she had been such a great detective. Sometimes she thought it was a shame that she quitted her job, a job she had been great in, had changes to make a really good career. Then again her job now wasn't that bad either.

A scream made her forget her book. Somebody was at risk. She took a look around. Everybody seemed to be calm. Didn't they hear the screams? There, again! She checked on the kids in the water, still eight of them, still playing. There was no rush, no signs that somebody tried to get attention. Now there were was a cry too. Why was she the only one who heard that? Why didn't anybody else pay attention? Where the hell were the crying and screams coming from? The beach looked like before and…Sofia realized what she heard wasn't a part of the beach, it wasn't a part of her dream, it was reality.

Her eyes popped open. There! There was something. Some-body was crying and fighting. "Sara!" With one jump Sofia was out of her hammock and in her bedroom. Sara was in her bed, tossing and turning around, obviously suffering of a nightmare.

Sofia hit the light and went to her bed. The light didn't wake Sara up. She was caught in her nightmare, her faces was covered with tears.

"Sara." Carefully she shook the brunette. "Wake up, you're dreaming." No response.

"Sara! Wake up." Sofia tried it a little bit louder and shook her harder. She caught Sara's arms, that were trying to fight her.

"No! No! No!"

"Hey." She tried something else and pulled Sara in her arms. "It's all right, Honey. It's only a dream. Wake up, I'm here, nothing will happen to you." She caressed the back of the brunette. Somehow she had to make her feel she was safe, wasn't alone and the nightmare wasn't real.

"No, I…Sofia?"

"Yes, I'm here. It's all right, Sara. Relax, you had a nightmare. It's all right."

"I drowned."

"No you didn't. You're alive, you didn't drown."

"I almost died."

"But you didn't."

Sara tried to sit up, Sofia gave her some space to move but didn't break the contact to her.

"Did you have a nightmare last night?"

"No…maybe a little one…"

"You didn't sleep at all." Sofia sighed. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed how tired and restless Sara looked the whole day.

"No, I did sleep, but it wasn't…I was more exhausted after I slept than before…maybe it would be better if I go back to my bungalow to let you sleep…"

"There's no way I'll let you swim over and we won't take the boat. You'll stay here, Sara. If you don't want to sleep, fine, you don't have to but I won't let you leave or leave you alone."

"You've to work tomorrow."

"I'm aware of that."

"You need to sleep."

"I need to know you're all right."

"I am. I need a few more minutes…"

"You need something to calm you down." Sofia cocked her head. "Stay right here!" She got up, left the room and was back a second later with a book and a little stuffed dolphin and sat next to Sara.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll read you a story."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You understood me correctly. I'll read you a story. You can lay back, close your eyes, listen to my voice, maybe that will relax you a bit. I'll stay here until you're asleep and make sure you won't get another nightmare. And you can have Flipper." She put the dolphin next to the brunette.

"That's crazy I'm not a baby…"

"Who said stuffed animals and good night stories are only for babies? Lay down, close your eyes and shut up. If you don't want me to stay up the whole night, take you in my arms and hold you tight, you'll give it a try."

Sara grumbled something, laid down and closed her eyes. "That's ridiculous."

"Shut up!" Sofia opened the book and started to read out loud. When Sara pretended to snore after the first sentence, she slapped the brunette playfully and told her again to be quiet or she would end up in Sofia's arms. A few more mumbled and grumbled words and Sara was quiet.

Fifteen minutes later she was asleep, the dolphin tightly in her arms.

"That's my girl." Sofia smiled, got up, switched off the light, waited another minute to make sure Sara kept on sleeping, left the door open and went back to her hammock. Hopefully Sara could sleep better now.

Friday

Sofia had no idea if Sara really slept until the next morning or if she just didn't scream anymore. Fact was she didn't hear anything and was woken up by her alarm clock. She started her coffee machine and put some bagels in the oven before she gave herself a short clean-up. No need for a shower when you jump into the ocean a few minutes later.

"Rise and shine." She turned on the lights in her bedroom to wake Sara up.

"What?"

"Time to get up, the sunrise and the fishes are waiting for you. And so is a coffee and some bagels."

Sara sat up, looked sleepy and a little bit confused. She needed a moment to remember where she was. The dolphin was still in her arms.

"You've five minutes to get into your swimsuit, the bathroom and sit outside with me and the breakfast. Time starts now…oh and Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Flipper are a cute couple." Sofia closed the door before Sara could reply anything.

Less than five minutes later Sara sat next to her and had a coffee in her hands. There were only a few signs of the nightmares in the brunette's face. She didn't look relaxed and happy but better than yesterday and last night.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up last night."

"Don't worry about it." Sofia squeezed Sara's hand for a second. "I'm glad I could get you out of the nightmare. And I'm sorry I didn't stop you from swimming when you left that day."

"Not your fault. Like you said, I wouldn't have listened if you had tried to stop me. Sometimes you have to pay a price for being stupid."

"You're a lot of things, Sara, stupid isn't one of them. A little bit stubborn yes. That's all right that isn't always bad. I can see some stubbornness with your dive certification. It's a lot of work and most people don't like to learn and study during their holidays, not more than they have to. You're devoted, you not only want to get your dive license you want it sumna con laude, you want to be perfect. And I'm sure when I test you tomorrow you won't have any problems to pass the test. Like you won't have any problems to pass the practical part."

"Do you think I can be a good diver when I have nightmares of drowning?"

"You are already a good diver and the nightmares will go, they won't stay forever."

Sara sighed. She was afraid she had a special connection to nightmares. They liked her, they stayed with her longer than they did with other people. The nightmares of her childhood still visited her every now and then.

"Let's hope that."

"Did you have any nightmares after I woke you up?"

"No. It wasn't a great sleep but better than before – and better than the night before…that doesn't mean I'm a baby and need stories and stuffed animals."

Sofia laughed. "You slept and you looked cute with Flipper in your arms. We all need to feel safe sometimes. If that means a good night story and a stuffed animal, where's the problem?"

"A smug blonde makes fun of me."

"No, a nice blonde is glad you're better and she will keep that little secret between her and you."

"I'd invite the blonde to a dinner tonight but I'm afraid she'll be busy with her clients."

"Until eight she will, yes. Since when do you want to spend so much time with me, Sara? Not that I mind."

Sara bit her lips. That was a good question and she didn't know an answer she wanted to give Sofia. There was the truth and some lies the blonde would never believe.

"Maybe I want to get to know you better. After I wasn't that friendly in Vegas."

"Sounds like a good reason to me. There's only one catch: if you want to get to know somebody you have to give a little bit of yourself. Are you sure you want that? You strike me as a very private person." It wasn't a silent reproach of Sofia, Sara knew that.

"I know. Maybe we can have a cocktail and a talk tomorrow at some point."

"Why tomorrow?"

"Because you're busy today."

"Until eight, Sara."

"By then you will be working for over fourteen hours…"

"I can promise you this morning dive with you is more fun than work. I'll come around when I'm done with my last two students and when I fee tired I can always go home. Now, let's get started, shall we? I can see the sun and I'm sure there'll be a few fishes awake and wait for us." Sofia got up and offered Sara her hand to pull her up. With a smile Sara took the offered hand. Time to discover the wonderful world of the ocean in the morning.