Tough Love

Chapter Twenty-two

Eli seems to notice I'm filtering through my thoughts, because he lets me sit quietly for a few minutes. When I eventually wipe my tear away, he whispers, “You ok?”

“Yes sir... Sorry, I mean, yes.”

He smiles a little, “I don't mind if you call me sir because you want to, but don't do it because they made you do it. Ok?”

“Ok.”

He checks the clock and says, “It's late. You need to get some sleep, baby. Do you want me to stay here?”

I nod and he asks, “Have you slept at all this week?”

I sheepishly shake my head.

“How come? Nightmares again?”

“Yeah, really bad.”

“I'll be here to take care of you.”

“Thank you.”

As I try to fall asleep I can't help but wonder if tomorrow is a day of new beginnings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Eli's POV)

I settle in the spare room, thankful that I have finally seen Dani. I can't believe how much I have missed her in the last 8 days. Yes, I'm pathetic and I counted every single day. Dani seems more comfortable with me now though. She's even given me the go ahead to ask about her past. I just have to make sure I don't get too intent on finding out that I ruin all the progress we've made.

Obviously I don't want to make Dani feel any more pain than she already does, but I also need to find out what went down. For my sanity and also so I can help her. I don't want to start making her do things that will spark too many memories or anything.

Maybe tomorrow will be the day I can talk to the Cap and convince him to drop this whole thing. If he could just back off for a little while, then I think I can get Dani to be more comfortable and less volatile at work. That thought seems to be the last before sleep drags me into it's clutches.

I hear a scream. It takes me a couple of seconds to remember where I am and what's going on. This is partly due to the fact that it's been over a week since I've heard one of Dani's nightmares and also because I was in a really deep sleep. Knowing that Dani is nearby must have let my body relax enough to sleep more soundly.

I'm already at Dani's door. The mind is an amazing thing. I had a whole thought process before I even got to the door, which is like 5 seconds away.

I knock and wait for Dani to open the door. She doesn't, so I cautiously open it myself. I whisper, “Dani, it's just me. I'm just making sure you're ok. Can I come in, baby?”

She doesn't answer; I just hear her sobbing. I slowly approach her bed and stand at the foot of it. She freezes when she sees me and I'm not sure if she knows it's me. I talk to her to reassure her and I see her body relax slightly. “Can I sit, sweetheart?”

She scoots further up the bed and I take that as a yes. I perch on the edge of the bed with my back to Dani. I don't know what to say or do, so I just hum a random song and wait for my brain to think of something useful to say.

I eventually hear Dani's sobs subside so I say, “Dani? Do you want to talk about it?”

I hear her sigh and then she asks, “Is that your question?”

“Only if you want to answer it. I know the nightmares are a tough subject for you, so if you don't want to talk about it then no, it's not my question.”

She whispers, “I can't, Eli...”

I hear unshed tears in her voice, so I say, “Shhh, it's ok. It's ok, Dani. When you're ready, then you'll talk about it. Do you want me to stay in here? Will you have another one?”

“I don't know.”

“Which question does that answer?”

“I don't know if I'll have another one.”

“Ok, so do you want me to stay in here just in case?”

She tosses it up, I can see the battle raging through her eyes. She whispers, “Ok, but you can't touch me...”

“Sure thing. I'll just nap on the chair, ok?”

She nods and wraps the covers tightly around her like a cocoon, probably in the hope that nothing can hurt hurt through them. I curl up on the lazy boy in the corner of the room and wait for sleep to take hold of me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(END of Eli's POV)

A/N: Ok, so mostly a filler chapter but I wanted to show some progress between Dani and Eli. Also, I think there's some cute moments in there. I will hopefully update by Monday. I hit a bit of a block. I know where I want to go but I can't seem to get through this little part. Once I've written through it then things should flow faster. Comment and vote if you think it deserves it :D