Customer Satisfaction [COMPLETE]

Mixed Signals

She came to with a start, blinking slowly against the soft morning light and momentarily at a loss for what she was doing there. The memories of last night flared in her mind as she rubbed her eyes, and she straightened, surprised she had fallen asleep. Last she remembered, she had been staring into the starlight, not making a move to leave, flicking her gaze towards Luke now and then who had looked progressively weary but just as stubborn about his insistence to stay.

Something about watching him blink sleepily had been almost hypnotically soothing, and the next thing she knew...

She had fallen asleep. She had fallen asleep? It had been a few days since she had slept properly more than a several minutes at a time, and to sleep so peacefully?

She must have been more tired than she thought. She stretched, yawning hugely, and clambered up.

It was still early. She had actually slept and woken with the sunrise without wanting to kill herself.

It must've been the post asthma fatigue, she wondered. She walked towards the lawn chair, slightly woozy, expecting Luke to have left sometime in the night, and stopped dead, coming upon the most curious sight.

He was still reclined in the chair, his eyes closed, his face relaxed and peaceful, almost boyish. He had stayed.

She watched him for a few moments, at a loss of words.

She felt her heart flutter slightly.

She fisted her hands, not letting herself be moved. She glared at him, waiting for him to wake up. But of course he slept like the dead. She stepped closer to him, watching him in quiet fascination. She didn't think she had ever seen him sleep. Even as a child when she had sneaked into Will's room late at night, Luke had been wide awake, silent but watchful until she had left, his eyes two reflective brown orbs.

His lashes were longer than she had thought. She suppressed a giggle.

He didn't snore, which was a pity. It would have been nice to know the great Luke Marshal had some kind of a defect.

He looked younger. And at peace.

In a fit of vindictiveness, she reached up, vigorously shaking a branch over him. Leaves rained, covering him in soft fluttering blanket. Not quiet satisfied, she smiled through gritted teeth, and shook the branch until the fit of pique passed.

"Sweet dreams, Luke Marshal." she murmured, skipping away, feeling inordinately refreshed and ready to face the day.

Kate washed and dressed with record speed, her mind alert and racing after a good night's sleep. A soft pattering at her window infiltrated the apartment as she blew dry her hair, and she smiled at the rain drops sliding over the window pane. The weather was great, and she had just survived her first night of her hell--with Luke, at that! Perhaps she had long left the past behind and had just been underestimating herself. At that point, she felt so strong, and ready to face the world. She hummed happily.

As she combed out her dry hair, an odd thought stilled her...could he still be sleeping outside in the soft rain, dead sleeper that he was?

She bit her lip, staring at herself in the mirror. "I don't care." she told herself, looking determinedly into her icy blue eyes, "He can soak and catch pneumonia, I'm not bothered."

She forced out a shrug and reached for a moisturizer, thoughtfully warming a dollop in her hand, then slowed down, looking back at herself in the mirror.

It was because she was bothered that she was thinking so much about a small act of common courtesy. After all, if any other person, in place of Luke, who had helped her during her asthma and kindly stayed with her through the night was in danger of catching pneumonia, what would she do?