Time had no meaning…
Bianca was dreaming; not a bad dream, a good dream. And she knew she was dreaming too. She thought at first it was the perfect kind of dreaming where she could steer it and mould it, go where ever she wanted… do whatever she wished…
But now she knew it was a trap…
All she wanted to do now was to wake up… but she didn't know how…
…
Bianca found herself faced with the intense gaze from a beautiful pair of hazel eyes. Marissa was staring at her, the tips of their noses almost touching.
They were on a lounger by the pool house. Marissa was sat astride Bianca's lap in her stunning red bikini… she had been giving Bianca a massage and now Bianca was keen to return the favour.
Bianca just wanted to close the gap and kiss those sweet lips like there was no tomorrow but Marissa pulled away.
"You don't want this." she whispered.
"Yes I do." insisted Bianca leaning after her, pulling the red head nearer; pressing their bodies closely together until their lips were barely a whisper apart. As her fingers caressed warm soft skin she knew this was what she wanted… all she ever wanted…
Marissa pushed her back, resting her forehead against Bianca's.
"Think about it." said Marissa a little more firmly, "This isn't what you were after."
Bianca blinked, she didn't understand.
"Can't you hear it?" Marissa asked.
And then Bianca remembered… a dream… she was dreaming… This wasn't really Marissa in her arms... This was just another trap.
She needed to get to the waking world. She needed to know why Miranda was screaming.
"I need to wake up." said Bianca.
"Yes." said Marissa stroking her cheek.
Bianca looked up into dream Marissa's beautiful face.
"But I don't know how."
"Yes you do." breathed Marissa, still gazing at her intently. "You are simply afraid."
"Afraid?" asked Bianca.
"You're afraid it will hurt."
Bianca blinked remembering the last time she was awake… really awake… the searing agony that had ripped through every fibre of her being and seemed like it would never end.
"It hurt so much." gasped Bianca.
Marissa was right she was afraid, but she could still hear Miranda screaming. It sounded so close and yet a million miles away.
"You have to save Miranda." said dream Marissa, reading her thoughts.
Bianca looked into her lover's eyes.
"But the pain?"
"You can do this Bianca." said Marissa gazing confidently at her. "Think of all the pain you have already endured for Miranda. Are you going to let a little more stop you from saving your miracle. Bianca you have to wake up!"
Bianca's thought's flashed once more to Miranda, someone was hurting her…
"No one hurts my baby!" she cried determinedly.
Marissa put her hands on Bianca's shoulders and smiled broadly at her.
"That my girl." she said proudly. "Now wake up."
"Wake up." Bianca echoed, willing herself to obey.
"Wake up." whispered Marissa planting a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"I need to wake up." Bianca agreed slowly nodding her head, wincing slightly at the fear of how much it was going to hurt.
Marissa smiled sweetly at her, her hands cupping Bianca's cheeks. Then suddenly her gaze grew very intense as her face loomed alarmingly close and she was screaming at her.
"WAKE UP!"
…
Bianca opened her eyes to a nightmare. She thought she was still dreaming.
Smoke… gunshots… screaming…
She looked around in alarm and there was Ricky Torres… a dead man… with his arm around Miranda's neck a blade at her throat.
He was going to cut her!
He was going to kill her baby!
Bianca reacted, she didn't think. She grabbed the nearest weapon she could find, a syringe left on the tray by the bed. She surged forward not caring about the leads that ripped from her chest.
Using a strength borne from fear, with one hand she held back the blade slashing towards Miranda's throat. With the other hand she plunged the needle into Ricky's neck and injected its contents into his system with no idea what it would do.
Gasping for air, Ricky staggered away from her, a look of complete surprise on his face, while Bianca pulled her terrified daughter from him.
There was a crack of more gun-fire and Ricky flew backwards hitting the floor with a painful crunch.
Bianca's legs collapsed underneath her. After her burst of adrenaline-fuelled speed she felt completely drained. She tumbled to the floor with her child safe in her arms… The dead man was dead!
It almost felt like everything had happened in slow motion.
Bianca collapsed back against the wall waiting for the dream to shift again as she fought to wake up… but she realised Miranda had stopped screaming. There was no more screaming. Instead her daughter was looking at her with tear-laced eyes; hugging her as if she never wanted to let go.
"Mommy! My Mommy!"
Bianca was awake! That had all been real!
…