The group reconvened at the Ambrose residence while they waited for news from Antonio and Shannon.
"You guys know that it could be hours before we hear anything, right?" Violet asked her friends, "I mean, its not like, POOF! Here's your baby!"
Roman chuckled, "She's right, Shannon could be in labor until tomorrow night. Just because her water broke…"
"I'm an EMT you idiots," Dean snapped, "Of course I know that!"
"He didn't know that" Violet and Leslie said in unison.
"So, what the hell happened tonight, why did you two disappear?" Leslie demanded looking back and forth between her husband and Roman. Dean was looking guilty and Roman was flexing his right hand again.
"Well, ummm," Dean stammered.
"Yeah, you see, what happened was…" Roman added.
Seth sighed, "I'm pretty sure I know what happened, now either you two grow a pair and spit it out or I'll tell the ladies what I think happened."
"We could see how smart the nerd really is," Dean said.
Roman shrugged, "Let him show off for the women-folk?"
Seth shook his head, "Spineless… scared of two little women…"
Violet looked at Seth and then at Dean and then at her boyfriend. "Roman, tell me what happened."
"We spotted Jake at the bar, Ambrose called the cops, we kept eyes on him until they got there and dragged his sorry ass off to jail," Roman said.
"And what happened to your hand?" she asked looking at his red knuckles.
"Jake tripped and fell on the big man's fist, no big deal," Dean said with a shrug, "Now who wants a beer?"
"You hit him? Oh my god, Roman, he's not gonna let that go, you are going to get in trouble. He'll press charges or have you arrested or, or, or…."
"Easy half-pint," Dean said, "Jake was drunk, it's his word against Roman's. A drunken stalker versus a decorated retired Marine. No one will believe a word that comes out of that puny punk's mouth."
Roman continued to assure Violet that he only hit Jake once, just one hit and it was in self-defense. They all agreed that there was nothing to worry about.
"Come on Vi, look at Roman and look at Jake, do you think he needed more than one hit to K-O the bastard?" Seth said trying to calm her nerves.
"Really, kiddo," Dean added, "One punch is all the big man needs, and we know he's got morals and shit, he wouldn't beat an unconscious man."
"He was unconscious?!" she shrieked, "Roman! You could have killed him!"
"Relax, sweetie," Roman said in his deep calming voice, "Everyone just relax. Yes, I hit the bastard and he went down like a sack of potatoes. He wasn't unconscious, he was dazed, but he was also drunk. No one saw a thing."
"Why the hell are we giving Roman the third degree?" Leslie asked, "We should be cracking open a bottle of champagne. That bastard is in jail and we have Dean and Roman to thank for it."
"YEAH!" Dean cheered, "I helped too! Now let's celebrate!"
Roman and Violet decided to spend the night at Roman's apartment again, even though she knew Jake was in custody, she still felt uneasy about going home. They settled in for the night, Violet curled up in bed next to Roman, her head resting on his strong chest and his tattooed arm wrapped tightly around her.
"Sleep tight, sweetie," Roman said softly, kissing the top of her head. He was still keyed up from his confrontation with Jake in the parking lot outside the pool hall, he couldn't believe that the little shit had the nerve to pick a fight with him. The adrenaline was still in his veins, any other night and he would have hit the gym for a couple of hours, run on the treadmill until he was too exhausted to stand up. But Violet wanted to stay at his place again tonight, she wanted to be with him, she needed him, so he wrapped his arms around her and inhaled the scent of her shampoo and hoped that the two beers he had would be enough to calm his nerves.
Violet couldn't sleep, she had dozed off pretty quickly after getting settled in bed, but now she was wide awake, it was still dark out, she checked the clock on Roman's bedside table, only 2 AM, she had barely slept at all. Roman was out cold, his arm still wrapped around her, she squirmed her way out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. She poked around the cabinets and couldn't find any tea bags, not even the cheap ones that the Chinese food take out places give you for free. She sighed dramatically and plopped down on the couch, her mind was racing, she was worried about Roman and Jake's confrontation, she was worried that Roman might think less of her now that he actually saw Jake and realized what a scumbag he was. Then she started thinking back on her time with Jake, the happy times, he wasn't all bad, it was just towards the end, when he lost his job, he took it out on her and he got violent. He never dreamed that his sweet little flower would kick his unemployed ass out of their apartment and change the locks. She had great friends who supported her through it all, without Seth and Dean and Leslie there is no way she would have made it to this point. She smiled and drifted off to sleep on the couch, suddenly too tired to walk all the way back to the bedroom.
She was jolted awake by the most heart wrenching and terrifying noise she'd ever heard, it took her a minute to realize that noise was coming from the bedroom. She jumped up and raced to the bedroom and found Roman, sitting up in bed, sweaty and panting with pure fear in his eyes.
"Roman! What happened? Are you alright?" She said crawling onto the bed to get close to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and he swatted her away. "Roman?" she whispered, "Rome? What's wrong?"
Roman buried his face in his hands, pushing his tangled and sweaty hair away from his face. How did this happen? He never had nightmares when he was with Violet, she must not have been in bed with him. "You left," he said without looking at her.
"I didn't leave, Rome, I'm right here," she said timidly inching closer to him.
"You did. You left. This doesn't happen when you are with me." He said hating how pathetic and needy he knew he sounded.
Violet was quiet for a minute, "I couldn't sleep, I didn't want to wake you, so I went to look for some teabags, I didn't find any, but I was still wide awake so I sat down on the couch. I guess I fell asleep there." She looked at her boyfriend, he was still sweaty, his gorgeous hair was all tangled and matted from tossing and turning in his sleep, his breathing returned to normal but he was shaky, vulnerable. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him until he fell asleep again.
"Roman," she said gently taking his hands and moving them away from his face, "Talk to me. Tell me what happened." She kissed his cheek, "Please."
"Nightmares," he said simply.
"Well no shit," she said, "I figured that part out."
He chuckled, he couldn't help it, he loved it when his girl got sassy. "Yeah, well, the docs say that it's PTSD. I get nightmares, flashbacks to the desert. Its like I'm there all over again, I can hear it, smell it, feel the scorching sun on my back and taste the sand in my mouth." He kept his head down, he still couldn't bring himself to look at her, he didn't want to see pity or disgust, he knew the time would come soon, but he hated that Violet was seeing him like this.
She squeezed his hands, "You can tell me anything, Rome. Don't be embarrassed, please."
He kissed the back of her hand, "I'm supposed to be protecting you."
"So what? Do you see any danger in here? I don't see any bad guys. Its just me and you. When there are big scary monsters around, then you can protect me. Don't keep it locked up, Rome, I'm here for you, just like all those times you were there for me."
He took a deep breath and let it out, "I used to get them every night, and then Ambrose got me the security job and that helped, took up time at least. Found a gym that's open 24 hours, I'd lift and run until I had no gas left in the tank." He paused and took another deep breath, "Then I met you, that first night we had dinner together was the first night in months that I didn't wake up like this."
Vi looked at him wide eyed, she couldn't imagine how horrible it must have been, to have these dreams every single night. The fact that she was the one who made the nightmares go away, even if it was only for a short time boggled her mind. "Me? I made them stop? How?"
He nodded, "You make me happy. Sleeping with you in my arms has been amazing."
"Oh, Rome, I, I don't know what to say."
He looked up at her and smiled, he pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly, "You are perfect Violet. 100% perfect."
She rested her head on his shoulder and placed a soft kiss on his neck, "Rome, you've been such a help to me. I was starting to feel guilty for all you've done. Let me help you too."
"Well, there is one thing you can do," he said pulling away and looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
"What?" She asked.
"Never, and I repeat, NEVER, call me Rome in front of Dean! He tried it once, and I told him that if he ever did it again, I would shoot him."
She giggled, "But, what if I slip and he hears it?"
He shrugged innocently, "Then I'll just have to tell him all about your purple bedroom and your purple bathroom. I can hear him cackling now, 'Violet's favorite color is violet!'"
She punched his chest, "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, no? Try me!" He said laughing as she grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it. He scooped her up, pinned her down and tickled her until she begged him to stop. He gave her a long and passionate kiss and held her close until they both fell back to sleep.