Here's another chapter for you as I had it laying around! It'll probably take me some time to wirte the next one, just so that you know :)

Thank you all for your reviews, they mean the world for me!

Not mine

LESTERS POV

My thoughts were interrupted by a heart breaking scream from the bedroom. I rushed there, knocking my legs on tables and chairs and flied through the door with my gun raised trying to spot the danger. The room was empty except for Beautiful who was sitting upright in the bed gasping for air. I put away my gun and climbed back to bed and held her close as she sobbed against my chest. I brushed her hair and whispered nothings in her ears and soon she became to calm down. I continued to hold her as she calmed down enough to raise her head.

"I'm so sorry Lester." she said, hanging her head looking extremely embarrassed. I smiled at her and lifted her head with my hand, forcing her to look me in the eye.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Beautiful. It's normal to have nightmares."

"But I feel so silly, and I can't help but to scream. The dreams are so real, like I'm back in the house or back in the forest running for my life. Or that Connie is too far away, even though I run as fast as I can I can't get to her and she screams and screams…"

She got quiet as she remembered the horrors she had been through. I felt so sorry for her, she was so innocent and I thought it was so unfair that a sweet girl like her had to see and experience more horrors than some solders have to go through. I hugged her tightly and stood up bringing her with me.

"I think it's time for some hot chocolate." I said and remembered my mother doing the same. I remembered the time when I got home from my first mission, the time I saw the horrors of war for the first time. I sat in my kitchen, pouring my heart out to my mother who sat in her chair and held my hand. She was dressed in her sun dress, the yellow one with the flowers on. She kept on smiling at me, encouraging me to spill it all out and I did. I kept talking and crying for my lost friends and she kept on listening. Then after I shut up she stood up and shoved me to the kitchen and sat me down by the counter.

"Let's make some hot chocolate Angelito." She said to me and poured me a steaming cup of hot chocolate and gave me a piece of her heavenly chocolate cake. She talked to me about her week and told me about my cousin who had started his own business. I listened to her and felt my worries go away as I got surrounded by my mothers loving embrace. I knew I couldn't be Stephanies mother, but I was going to try to give her some of that comfort I felt that day.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked me and her face showed the worry and surprice she was dealing with. I laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Yes. Hot chocolate."

I lead her way to the kitchen and sat her down on the bar chair behind the breakfast counter. I took out the milk and the cocoa and started to make my mothers hot chocolate and kept on talking about nonsense, like how Howie had tricked Cal into breaking in to the wrong house and got him arrested. Then I told her about my sisters wedding and how the groom had fainted during the seremony. I heard her laugh and continued to tell the story about one of my cousins weddings where only my aunt had turned up; the rest of the family had gotten the wrong date in the invites. She laughed harder and I felt my heart grow lighter and I smiled at her. She had back the radiance she used to have but I could still see the confusion in her eyes. I gave her the cup of chocolate and took a piece of coffee cake out of the fridge and gave it to her.

I sat down beside her and took a cup of chocolate to myself. She leaned into me as she drank her chocolate, the cake following in the drinks footsteps. We watched the sun rise from behind the buildings and illuminate the room in soft colors. Minutes passed and finally turned into one hour. Stephanie lifted her cheek from my shoulder and looked at me with eyes filled with thankfulness.

"It's okay" I said before she got the words out of her mouth. She smiled at me and took a glance around the room. "I'll clean the mess, you go have a shower."

She laughed and kissed my nose as she limped to the shower. I laughed at her manners and stood up quickly assessing the damage. The furniture were all over the place and I had knocked over one table with some papers and stuff on, which were now scattered all over the floor. I lifted the furniture with no problem and put the papers back in their place. I heard the shower go on and sat down on the now upright couch. The light from the windows hit something on the floor and the light got reflected right into my eyes. I stood up and picked the knife up and stared at it thinking about the danger of having it in the drawers. I sighed and decided to put it high up in the over the counter cupboards so that she wouldn't get to it so easily.

I froze as I heard a knock on the door. It was cautious, a slight tap on the door not to wake any attention. I listened and heard that she was still in the shower and made my way to the door. I opened it and found myself staring right in Ranger's eyes. Bobby was beside him looking worried as he always did when it came to Beautiful.

"Yo." I said still listening to the sound of water hitting tile. I stepped outside and held the door ajar.

"How's she?" Ranger asked and I could see that I had been right about the sleeping. His eyes showed his pain and worry.

"For the better, I think" I answered and smiled. "She didn't try to kill me at least."

"That's a good sign." Bobby chuckled. "Is she complaining about some pain?"

"Not that I've heard. She had a nightmare though, was totally out of it but I knew the medicine to that." I said and listened if the water stopped running. As I still could hear it I continued. "I made her some hot chocolate and coffee cake."

Bobby laughed and Ranger smiled. This was my favorite technique to calm myself and everybody else who wasn't calm. Ranger and Bobby knew this very well, as I have put them through it quite often.

"Hey, it worked!" I exclaimed and smiled at them.

"Sure, I'm glad it did. Anyways back to business, could you ask if she wants to see either of us?" Ranger said and I heard a hint of worry in there.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." I closed the door and walked into the bedroom as she got out of the bedroom fully clothed in the RangeMan uniform of black cargo pants and T-shirt. I could see the scratches on her arms and legs and that her leg didn't seem to be okay. It looked painfully swollen and blue.

"Hey you." she said to me and sat down on the bed and dried her hair in her towel. I sat beside her and took her hand.

"When you were in the shower, Bobby and Ranger came by. You want to see them?"

She stopped and looked down at the carpet. I could see that she was thinking hard and I was careful not to make it harder for her.

"Bobby would be nice. He's the medic right?" she asked me and looked at me with questioning eyes.

"Yes he is. He's fixed you up more than once."

"I remember him."

"How about Ranger?" I asked and glanced at her reaction. She grabbed the towel harder and sighed.

"Not right now. I don't want him to see me like this. Not yet, but soon."

I squeezed her hand and told her to wait a moment. I walked quickly back to the door and saw that the guys hadn't moved one bit since I left them.

"She wants to see you Bobby. She says she doesn't want to see you Ranger just yet but soon. She doesn't want you to see her like this."

The heartbreak was evident in his face as by words broke his heart but I knew that he would respect her wishes. I lead Bobby in and closed the door as I saw Rangers back as he walked to the couch we had in the fourth floor lobby. I stifled a sigh.

Pretty please?