The Lake House Chapter 5, a criminal minds fanfic

Ooh now we're getting somewhere :D

Criminal Minds characters and universe are not mine, but the original characters, storyline and wording are mine.

The Lake House

Chapter 05

He didn't get much sleep before he awoke again. He looked at the clock and saw that it was a little past midnight, turned over to settle back to sleep and closed his eyes again. He didn't get as far as dozing off again, though, as he heard a noise from the bedroom. There was a whimper, and he heard Lily moving. He recognised a bad dream when he heard it and it was pretty normal that she would have them. He was surprised her sleep had been so undisturbed the previous night in light of everything that had happened. He listened, it sounded like it was getting worse. He waited for it to lessen and her sleep to return to normal, but now he could hear her crying in her sleep, mumbling and making wordless pleading noises. That bothered him. It spiked as he was getting off of the sofabed, turning into loud, panicked sobs, and he hurried to the doorway.

'Shit.' he thought as he saw her. She was turned on her side, facing away from him, her arms stretched out in front of her, her wrists tight together as they must have been while she was tied up. She was begging now 'please stop', 'please don't'. He figured she must have been thinking about what they had been doing to her, but whatever it was that they were doing in her nightmare, it sounded like her soul was being torn apart. Suddenly there was a new twist. She was sobbing and implored whoever was there in her mind's eye "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't please don't hurt him." He was shocked. He switched the light on and was at the side of the bed shaking her in a split second. She wouldn't wake so he grabbed her wrists and prised them apart, which lifted her into a half sitting position. Her eyes flew open and he stopped breathing for a moment; he had never seen anyone look so tortured and so broken.

Her eyes widened as she saw him standing over her.

"Aaron? Are you…what did they…are you…" Suddenly she was sitting upright, grabbing his hands and turning them over, touching him everywhere she looked, ending up with her hand cupping his face, hers still looking distraught.

"It was a nightmare. I had to wake you, it sounded like they were torturing you."

She shook her head.

"N-no. They w-were hurting you." The dam burst and she flung her arms around him, sobbing in earnest again.

"They weren't, they didn't. I'm OK. You're OK. I'm OK. Ssh ssh." He rocked her until she stopped crying, which took a while. He reached behind him to the bedside table and grabbed a handful of tissues for her. She took them with a sniff and sat back on the bed, wiping her face. He fetched her a wet cloth from the bathroom.

"I feel kinda stupid." she hiccoughed.

"You shouldn't. I thought it was incredible how well you were handling what happened. Maybe the dip in the lake delayed the reaction, but I would say that this is overdue, and you needed to get it all out."

"Maybe." she nodded. "But I still feel kinda dumb. And tired." She rested her head on her knees and took a deep, shuddery breath. "I've just been asleep; jesus, how can I feel so tired."

"Just nature's way of helping you get away from whatever upset you so bad." He smoothed her hair, realising that it helped her when she leaned into his hand and her breaths evened out. It seemed that he had the same calming effect on her that she had on him. He decided that that was not a bad thing.

"I'm sorry I woke you." She sounded embarrassed.

"Oh nuhuh. No sorries for that." he hugged her gently. "Do you want to get up for a bit or try to sleep again?"

"Sleep, I think. If I got up I would just get overtired and shaky." She wiped the back of one hand across her still damp cheeks with a look of determination.

"OK, you do that. Your body's telling you it wants rest anyway, and it usually knows best. I'll leave the door open still, and I will be right there in the living room, just thirty feet away. If you have another nightmare, I'll hear it, OK?"

"OK." she said with a steadying breath. "Thank you."

"Goodnight, again." he said with a smile. She laughed and returned the sentiment, laying back down again as he turned the light off.

He returned to the sofabed, not entirely happy that she was thirty feet away but glad at least that he had been able to drag her out of her nightmare. He thought that when he was more awake, he would take the time to ponder what he felt about the fact that she seemed more upset by the thought of them hurting him than herself.

Several hours later he awoke with a strange feeling that something was…different. He couldn't put his finger on what it was until he shifted a little and felt pressure on his arm. He flexed his fingers experimentally. There was a small warm hand holding his gently. He looked down and illuminated by the glowing light of the fire was Lily's silhouette. She was curled up on the floor under a bunch of blankets, one arm sticking out and resting on the edge of the sofa bed where she held his hand as she slept. His heart suddenly felt ten times too big for his chest. He swallowed noisily. He squeezed her hand gently, stroking her skin with his thumb. She raised her head groggily and looked at him. Her voice was soft when she spoke.

"I just felt safer…near you."

He looked into her honest, unguarded eyes for a moment before sitting up. In one motion he drew back the bedclothes, leaned over, peeled back her blankets and scooped her up in his arms. She made no sound as he placed her gently on the bed next to him and drew the covers back over them both. Before he lost his nerve, he put one arm around her and drew her close to him, settling them together snugly.

"Me too." he whispered as he closed his eyes, falling asleep to the feel and smell of her next to him.

They were both awoken around four in the morning by a loud thump outside. There were no other sounds, but it didn't sound like a log falling off the woodpile. Aaron eased himself out of bed, telling Lily with a hand on her shoulder to stay put, and walked to the cabin door in his boxers. He flicked the light switch and carefully drew back the deadbolt and turned the lock. He swung the door open slowly, not knowing what he could expect to see. What he did see made him feel sick. The axe that he had left with its blade buried in the lake ice was now buried in the thick wooden boards of the porch. There was no-one to be seen now, they must have vanished the instant they'd left the axe, but he saw no reason to make them a gift of a large weapon. He plucked it effortlessly from the wood. Not many men could have done it and he felt a little relief at that fact; it reassured him that he was the best person to protect her if needed. So the bastard was still around, maybe both of them. They had picked the wrong target, and he felt a cold, steely band of determination tighten inside him; if they tried to hurt her in any way he would help them understand the depth of their mistake.

He slammed the door shut as he went back inside the cabin, taking the axe over to the fireplace and propping it against the hearth. He took a deep breath before returning to the sofa bed. She drew the covers back without a word and waited for him to settle back down again. They automatically moved closer so that they were touching again. He stroked her hair away from her face and just enjoyed looking at her for a moment while he chose his words. Her eyes were serious, but beyond the unspoken question, there was still that underlying buzz between them that was ever present and growing stronger with every passing moment.

"Someone left the axe on the porch. The blade was stuck in the wood pretty deep, so they must have taken a pretty good chop at it." He watched her face as he spoke. They both knew there was no chance it was a random do gooder who had done this. It was meant as a warning.

She didn't cry, didn't fall apart. But he felt the tension and tremors that ran through her at whatever mental pictures his news had conjured up. He pulled her flush against him and wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his face in her hair. When she spoke she half mumbled into his neck.

"My first thought…is that maybe we should try to find some way to get me to the nearest town so I can go to the police and…"

"No!" He clutched her tighter in panic. Even though he knew there was no way they would be able to do it, just the thought of her leaving, not being here, not being here with him, it made him feel more panic than he had ever imagined he could feel. If things got bad he could call the team on the satphone he kept in the safe, but they weren't at that point yet. And he felt strangely jealous at the thought of sharing her with others, even for her safety. If someone was going to protect her it would be him, damnit.

"I wasn't finished." He could feel her smile against his skin. "That's my first thought. But I don't think it's the smartest one. There's no guarantee that they would leave you alone once I was gone. And honestly…" She drew back to look him in the eye, her features only vague in the dim glow of the fire's embers. "Whether whatever this" she cupped his face with one hand "is, is me needing to feel protected and you needing to feel like you're protecting me or something…else…well I don't think I would do so well away from you right now. And I don't think you would either."

He nodded his assent. They may or may not need to talk about that at some point. But one thing was sure, and that was that there was no way in hell they were going to be separated while all of this was going on. Nor after it, if he had any say in the matter.

"No, we wouldn't do well apart right now." He smoothed his hand up and down her back unconsciously. He was beginning to admit to himself, in tiny increments, that he felt some level of…possession over her. But more than that, he felt the strength of her possession of him also. It was powerful, this thing between them, and he thought that it would only be satisfied with their small, innocent touches for so long.

"You need to know" he reached up to touch her face. "that they are not going to get anywhere near you. Not while you're with me. I will protect you. Whatever they do, whatever they throw at us, they will lose."

"But who's going to protect you?" she whispered. He saw the glint of tears on her cheeks and his heart expanded again.

"Is that what you're worried about? Me? Is that why you thought about getting out of here? Because you're worried about me?" She nodded furiously.

"I just…I can't…I don't want…you can't…I…" and with that she burst into tears.

He grasped her wrists and pushed her gently over on her back, some deep, male part of him needing to use his size and weight and touch to make her understand that he would keep her safe and with him, his body showing hers in the most direct way possible how powerful it was. He lay on top of her, her thighs gripping his, his hands holding her wrists gently but firmly above her shoulder level. His face was inches from hers and he spoke low and clear.

"You will. You will protect me, I will protect you, we will protect…us…"

She nodded slightly, catching the slight questioning tone of his last word. He moved his hands so that their fingers were entwined but remained above her, keeping her gaze. Her breathing was steady but he could feel her heart beating out of control, just like his was. He took the opportunity to ask the question that had been going around in his head for the last three days.

"Why did you think I was an angel?" he asked quietly, noting that even in the semidarkness, he could see her cheeks flush. But still, her eyes held his unwaveringly.

"Because you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." She said so softly he almost didn't hear her.

He let her go slowly and moved to her side again, falling over onto his back. He knew his face was a mess and he was close to tears but there was nothing he could do about it and he couldn't find it in him to care. He couldn't speak so he turned enough to lay his hand over her heart and let his head fall to the pillow. If he couldn't tell her how he was feeling, he could show her. Only seconds passed before he felt her hand take up a similar position on his chest.

As they lay there, Aaron felt his heartbeat slow down, her touch having the same calming effect now as it had earlier. After minutes without speaking he noticed that the heartbeat under his hand was matching his own beat for beat.

"Do you feel that?" he whispered.

"Yes. Why does it do that?" She shuffled a little closer.

He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. What was he going to say? That it was comfort? Simple biology? That it was a coincidence and held no real meaning? He couldn't. The part of him that the puzzle pieces of her had been fitting into so perfectly knew that it wanted more. More of her, more of this, more time, maybe even all time with her. He opened his mouth, he wondered if to damn himself.

"Because we're falling in love."

She didn't answer but he could see, barely, her lips tilt upwards in a smile.

"Turn over." she said quietly. "Face the other way."

He was puzzled but did as she asked, turning so he was facing away from her. He understood why seconds later when he felt her press herself close against him, curling her knees behind his and reaching her arm around to hold him tight against her. He felt her sigh against his skin before pressing a kiss against the nape of his neck and leaning her forehead against him.

"I want to be the one holding you for a change." He closed his eyes and leaned into her embrace as the last puzzle piece fell into place.