It was pitch black I couldn't see my hand in front of my face but I could see the moon through some trees over head, it was nighttime. I couldn't remember how I got here, I knew that I was looking for someone, but I couldn't remember who.

I heard a twig snap, making me jump, there was something only a few feet in front of me. Straining my eyes I tried to see what it was, I finally saw the faint outline of some kind of huge animal and it was coming closer to me. Then I heard It's growl.

I started to turn so I could run away, but I tripped on a root, falling on the ground with a hard thud.

My heart was beating hard in my chest. I scrambled to get up, when I finally got to my feet, my dress got caught on the same root. I tugged it free.

I started to run, I ran harder than I had ever run but it did not feel fast enough. I heard another terrifying hungry growl, and I could hear paws thudding on the ground right behind me. I knew I was going to die but I kept running, tripping here and there but I was determined not to get caught even if I had to fight it off with my bare hands.

Soon the sun started to come up. I was tired and I hoped that the thing behind me was tired too. But my hopes died when I heard more paws joining the first. "God- please! - help!" I cried between breaths.

I could clearly see now because the sun had come up, I looked around we were in a forest, that explained the stupid roots. I was to afraid to look at my pursuers, so I looked straight ahead searching for safety.

That's when I saw him, a man on a horse and he was riding quickly towards me I waved my arms "help!"

As he got closer I realized who was on the horse. (you'll never guess.) Nick.

He rode past me, sword in hand, and dismounted when he got to the animals. Then he started to fight the giant wolves that were double the sizeof a normal wolf.

I had stopped running and was watching in horror as Nick got hurt numerous times, from ether a sharp claw or a bite. I was helpless.

The bigger one of the wolves took a hard swipe at Nick. I heard a crack as he hit a tree. I realized with a shock that the tree that had broken but the crack had come from Nick. The wolves took one look at me, just standing there then they turned and ran off in the other direction. It had just been a game to them, like cat and mouse.

I ran over to Nick. Please let him be ok please let him be ok! thatwas all I could say, all I could think, and all that I could pray.

"Nick! Please get up Nick! Nick!" I cried my voice was thick with tears.

That was when I woke up.

(A/N end of dream : )

"Hmm, It's about time you were awake. Oh, are you okay dear?" I heard a familiar voice say.

"Mrs. Jackson? What- what happened?" I asked.

"You were having a nightmare. And judging by the tears on your cheeks, it was a pretty sad one. " She

said gently.

"Oh! Nick-" But I couldn't finish my sentence because sobs shook my shoulders violently.

"Hey hey sweetheart, Nick is fine! He's sleeping in the other room." She said with that motherly tone.

I shoved the covers off of me, I had to make sure. But when my feet hit the ground I felt a wave of dizziness overtake me, forcing me to sit back down. Maybe Nick can wait for a few minutes.

"Easy now. You had a very high temperature last night and you need your rest. As does Nicholas, he was the one that sat up with you the last two nights trying to get your fever down. He did a fine job too, just look at yourself. Your color is coming back, you are finally awake thank the good Lord for that. You were out three days you know." She said with a relieved sigh.

"That was sweet of Nick to do that. And wow, I was sleeping for three days? Wait what about Matthew? Is he okay? He didn't get the sickness did he?" I asked worry coloring my voice.

"He's fine. Just worried about you." She answered smiling. "And speaking of, there are certain people that would have my head if they knew I had been sitting here talking to you and not telling them that you are awake." I smiled at that. "Be right back sweetheart." And she left the room.

As I waited I studied the floral pattern on the quilt that was covering me, trying to think of any thing other than that dream.

The door opened and Nick came in making my shoulders relax I hadn't realized how tense I had let them get. "He does look tired" I thought a little guiltily.

"Hey stranger. I thought I'd never see those eyes again." he said in a teasing tone as he came to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hi." I said quietly, it was hard to look at him because I was still trying not to think about the dream.

His tone turned serious when he asked this next question. "Have you been crying?"

I looked down at my hands. "No."

I lied. Please don't go in that direction, anywhere but there!

He lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. Then he smiled at me and said "You're a terrible liar."

but somehow it made me want to cry even more even though he was trying to make me laugh.

I wanted to tell him about the dream, but it still hurt. Every time I thought about it, it was like a stab in the heart, it was like I lost my best friend over and over again. But maybe I just need to tell him and I will feel better, ok you can do this. "Eyes please don't leak, voice please be strong, and brain could you possibly make sense for a few minutes?" "Okay, I had a nightmare." I said, looking in his eyes. "and I was chased by these two huge wolves and you came to save me and you were fighting them and one hit you against a tree and I ran to you and you were dead."

"Oh great job brain that was terrific, and eyes good job at tearing up just when I needed you not to, and voice! Stupid voice you were talking to fast saying "and" to many times and also you were quivering the whole time!" As I was mentally scolding myself I didn't notice how intently Nick was watching me.

The floodgates in my eyes were still holding back but I knew they would not for very long. "It was just really scary when I thought I had lost you forever." And here it comes yup now they weren't holding back anything.

Nick pulled me into a hug. "How about some peanutbutter and bananas?" his voice was thick as he said this and I realized he was crying too. But the reason he said this was because when we were younger, peanut butter and bananas was what we ate together when it one of us scraped a knee or fell out of a tree. It was our comfort food.

I laughed and then said "That sounds nice."

I wasn't so dizzy this time around when I tried to get up, but I still needed the support of Nick. We went into the kitchen and I sat at the counter while he got the jar and the fruit, just like we use to do.

"How long has it been since we did this last?" I called to him.

"Umm, I think it was the first time you went up against me with a sword." he chuckled

And I laughed with him. "That was a funny day."

"For you." He said dryly. As came out of the pantry with his findings. I laughed at the look on his face, It matched his dry voice.

"Nicholas Jackson! You are not still sore about that are you?" I said teasing him.

"I really thought I would win! I mean It's not every day that your best friend (that's a girl) challenges you to a duel. And on top of that, I had never, ever seen you look at a sword much less hold one! So I really really thought it would be a piece of cake."

"But It wasn't. And I won."

"Yeah. Hey, do you even still remember the very very first time we did this? How did it get started anyway? I can't remember." I said with a smile.

"Yes you do. It was exactly a year after our fathers died." He reminded gently.

"Oh." I sighed, I had successfully ruined another happy moment.

"Do you remember that one time when we were climbing an apple tree, racing to get the last apple?"

I laughed "Yeah and I won?"

"I have a confession… I let you win." He said, very seriously, like he was telling his darkest secret.

"I have a confession too." I looked around making sure none were listening then I whispered, "I know."

His jaw dropped open "You know? What do you mean you know?"

"You were a faster climber than me but somehow, you slowed down? I don't think so."

It went on for a while like this until Mathew came to take me home.

"Rachel, child if you scare me like that again your going to get skinned alive!" Matthew said when he saw me.

"Hello Matthew, how are you?" I asked him.

He took me home and I went right to sleep. When I woke up the next morning Matthew said that he had some work to do so I had the day free to do whatever I wanted.

I decided to go see a young couple that I knew had just had a baby boy. But I needed to bake some things first so I could take something with me when I went.

I definitely wasn't as good a baker as I was a swordswoman but I had learned from Mrs. Jackson and she was the best of the best so I know a few things.

By the time I finished It was after lunchtime. So I set off to go see that baby.

I was walking with my head down because the wind was threatening to blow me away. And guess what? SMACK! Right into someone's back. "I- I'm s- sorry." It was getting cold and my teeth were chattering

"It's quite alright! In fact it was my pleasure, for such face like yours everything is a pleasure!" I recognized Jonathan Redmond's voice. "Oh joy!" I thought sarcastically.

I plastered on a smile. "Oh, hello!" I didn't know why I was even still talking to him.

"I was just waiting on my sister." he said as he motioned to the building behind him.

He stepped closer, to me a little to close but it would have been rude to back away now. He started to whisper something about dining at the inn with him.

I took a step away and smiled trying hard to be polite. "Thank you Mr. Redmond but I have… umm things to do… like ummm" Uh oh, brain please think!

"See you have time to dine with me, how about at six tonight? Very good, see you then!" and he walked away before I could abject or even answer to his request.

I mocked him. "Dine with me tonight" I smiled at myself after I said that because I sounded exactly like him. With his annoying nasal voice.

I headed on with a smile on my face. Even if I was extremely annoyed.

If I had looked inside the shop window that we had been standing in front of I would have seen the dismayed look on one special somebody's face that had misunderstood the smile that was on my face, after talking to that flirt of a man.

When I reached the house I was looking for I went up the pathway that led to the house and knocked

A beautiful blond girl opened the door. "Hello I'm Rachel Garrett, I heard you had a baby?

"Yes, It's nice to meet you Rachel! My name is Jessica Hartley, and my sons name Is Caleb."

"It's nice to meet you too. I hope we become good friends in the future! Hear I brought some baking and grape jelly."

"Oh thank you! I haven't had much time to bake since Caleb was born- Oh! Please come in!" she said a bit flustered.

"thank you. You have a nice home." I said.

"Would you like to hold him? He should be happy for a while more. You came at just the right time."

"Oh yes please!" As I was holding this baby I realized how much I wanted my own, I also realized that me and Jessica are the same age so this could be me.

After a little bit the baby's daddy came home. "Hello I'm David."

"Honey this is Rachel Garrett."

"It's nice to meet all three of you!" I said with a smile.

Then little Caleb wanted his Daddy so I gave him up but couldn't help but watch them talking and playing together. And I suddenly had a longing to have a husband and to have a child. This was a new feeling for me, and I liked it but in a way I didn't like it because I didn't think that anyone would ever look at me the way David was looking at Jessica.

What I didn't know was that someone already looked at me like that.

Nicks POV:

I was inside a shop when I saw Jonathan out the window just standing there.

Then I saw Rachel coming along, she wasn't watching where she was going and she ran right into him.

She looked up and I guess she apologized. He replied with some smart remark I'm sure. Then she smiled at him, I had never seen her smile at me like that, does that mean that she really does like him?

That hurt to think about. You see I had been in Love with the girl since I was twelve and she was ten.

Of course I tried to hide it but it had slipped a few times but thankfully she didn't notice. One of those times was a couple nights ago when I had almost kissed her. I'm pretty sure she was leaning in too though. But I didn't have time to find out thanks to Mathew.

He was a getting to close for my liking and I was about to go out to break it up but then he walked away from her. My heart snapped as I saw her smile as she walked away. She liked Jonathan. I wondered how that was possible. I knew that family, I had met them a couple years back when I was visiting one of the neighboring towns. Every time I had seen him in that town he had a different girl on his arm sometimes more than one.

So why would he go for a sweet girl like Rachel? Well other than the fact that she is perfect in every way.

"Why hello there, long time no see!" It was a voice that I knew but that I had hoped that I could avoid during her stay. I had been daydreaming or I would have seen her coming and hid.

"Hello Beatrice." I said with an annoyed sigh. She had tried stirring up a relationship last time I had seen her she had even tried to kiss me but I was able to avoid that. And when I refused her she caused all kinds of trouble for me.

"You know. How about we have dinner tonight, around sevenish? I don't like to eat very early so we can have a late supper. Just come to the inn it's the only decent place to eat in this tiny little town."

"Beatrice I can't, I have things to do." He said, getting impatient.

"No abjections! I won't have it" She started to walk out the door but stopped to call back "Remember Seven O' clock At the inn."

I'm sure the look on my face was hysterical to any onlookers but I couldn't help it.

"What just happened?" I asked aloud. I didn't expect anyone to answer but someone did.

"You done got yerself a date with one feisty girl." It was the man behind the counter answering.

"Thanks a lot." I said sarcastically.

Then the man answered with a chuckle "At least she's perty."

I left then. I had a headache, to much was happening at once. I needed to go finish some important things before my stupid date.

Evil laugh! that first part was fun to write, hopefully I scared somebody when Nick died?

This was a very long chapter for me to write I hope you liked it!

Please please please REVIEW!

Tell me how it turned out!

In case I don't see ya!

Good morning Good evening and good night,

Ilikemutemath