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Realigning Destiny
By TT

Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny jumps the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 28 - Sweat

Light from the late-rising moon poured through the window of the bedroom, adding an ethereal atmosphere to the nearly silent room.

Clothes lay on the chair beside the bed, carelessly discarded in the haste of life. Shoes were tumbled before the chair. A drawer was partially open revealing a shirt attempting to escape the confines of the dresser.

The only disturbance to the frozen scene were the soft whimpers coming from the form on the bed.

The figure under the covers twitched slightly, her limbs moving restlessly. On the pillow near the headboard, a curl-topped head thrashed back and forth, sweat glistened upon her brow as another whimper escaped as her face contorted in fear.

Her eyes moving rapidly under their lids, the woman's breathing became harsher, more labored.

It was only seconds later that the still quiet of the night was shattered by a high-pitched scream as Stephanie sat bolt-upright in her bed, gasping for air and shaking with the after-effect of the nightmare, her wide, blue eyes darted around the room.

A few second later, the rapid fall of a child's footsteps sounded in the hall.

Stephanie had no time to try and collect herself before Charlie appeared in her doorway. He paused only a moment before crossing the room and, climbing up onto the bed, wrapped his mother in his arms, hugging her tightly.

The sound of larger feet racing up the stairs startled the duo on the bed. Stephanie shifted her body in front of her son's in instinctive response to an unknown threat. Before she could do more than move, a large form appeared in the doorway, gun in hand.

“Babe?” the man asked, stepping into the room and crossing to the bed. “Are you alright?” Ranger asked as he scanned the room.

Finally, satisfied that there was no threat, he stored his gun to its holster and settled on the bed on the side of the bed opposite Charlie.

Looking from Ranger to Charlie, Stephanie took a deep breath, held it and slowly released it. “It was just a nightmare,” she said, her voice still shaking slightly. “I'm fine,” she assured with a smile, hugging Charlie to her before leaning back until she was resting lightly again Ranger and hoping neither of them would feel her shaking.

Charlie looked at his mother doubtfully. This wasn't the first nightmare she had had and, despite the fact she always claimed to be OK afterward, the dark circles he always saw under her eyes the morning after a bad dream like this betrayed her words. He knew better than to argue with her, though. If the dream had been something she could share with him, she would the next morning. But experience had taught him he wouldn't get any more from her now.

Glancing over at Mr. Ranger, Charlie blinked a few times. The man dirty and dressed in camouflage. He knew that Mr. Ranger had spent the day with Uncle Bob, but whatever they had been doing looked like fun. He also knew that his mother wouldn't be happy he was tracking dirt into the house and especially onto her bed.

As he was about to ask another question, a yawn overtook him.

Leaning down, Stephanie kissed Charlie on the forehead. “Go back to sleep, kiddo,” she instructed.

“You sure?” the boy asked.

“Yeah,” Stephanie assured. “We'll talk in the morning.”

“'K,” Charlie agreed, kissing her cheek before bouncing off the bed and heading back to his room. As he reached the door, he turned back and smiled at his mom before shooting a look at Ranger.

Ranger nodded at the boy, assuring the lad that his mother would be fine.

Charlie nodded back and went to his room, closing the door.

Settling back against the headboard, Ranger drew Stephanie back to him.

Stephanie squirmed in his loose embrace. “I need a shower,” she protested, trying to get away. “I'm covered in sweat.”

“So am I, Babe,” Ranger informed with a smile.

A sigh escaped Stephanie as she let her head rest on the strong shoulder next to her.

“Who was it?” Ranger asked.

Stephanie straightened up. She blinked several times in surprise as she tried to see his face in the dim glow of the moonlight. “How do you...”

Ranger smiled at her, causing her question to trail off. “I know you,” he reminded. “I've seen you through nightmares before. Real ones and dream ones.”

Tension left Stephanie's body as she acknowledged the truth of the situation. Relaxing into Ranger, she sighed and closed her eyes, only to have them fly open again as the final image of her nightmare appeared before her.

A quick check of the clock on her bedside revealed that it was a little after four in the morning. She knew there was no way she would get back to sleep and even if she did, she'd have to be up by six-thirty anyway.

Another sigh escaped her as she tipped her head to look at Ranger.

She noted that he looked tired and worried. She had expected the worry, but it was very rare that she was able to see that he was tired.

“You need sleep,” she observed.

“I need to make sure you're all right,” he countered.

A small smile curved Stephanie's lips. “Let me wash this nightmare off of me and get some clothes on. I'll meet you downstairs in the kitchen in twenty minutes.”

Ranger leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. A wolf grin overspread his face as he stated, “I could use a shower too. Want me to scrub your back?”

Stephanie's grin widened as she chuckled softly. Shaking her head, she replied, “Tempting. But I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.”

Nodding his understanding, Ranger brushed a light kiss across her lips before rising from the bed and heading toward the door. “I'll go get cleaned up and meet you in the kitchen,” he assured.

“I don't know,” Stephanie said thoughtfully, her mind flashing through images of a sweaty Ranger working out before moving quickly to images from their night together. “If I remember correctly, sweat is a good look on you,” she finished, sounding slightly breathless.

“Babe,” Ranger replied, his voice sounding slightly husky.

Stephanie squirmed slightly. She knew that tone and it was quickly obvious her body did too. “Go,” she commanded, surprised by the huskiness of her own voice.

Ranger stayed in the doorway another moment before finally turning and leaving.

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie held it for a count of five and then slowly released it. Despite what her hormones might say, she wasn't ready to play with the fire that was Ranger, not yet.

With another glance at the clock, she dragged herself from bed and headed toward the bathroom.

As she turned on the taps in the shower, she deliberately ignored the slight shaking in her hand. There was no way she was as calm as she had pretended to be and she knew it would only get worse. It wouldn't take more than a cursory glance in the light for Ranger to catch onto that. But, the truth was, she wasn't ready to tell him either the cause or the content of the dream. If she did either of those things, he would know why she left Trenton and she wasn't sure either of them was ready for that.

Stepping into the shower, Stephanie allowed the water to wash away the sweat and fear from her nightmare, choosing to deny, at least for a few minutes, how very real that nightmare could become.

To Be Continued in Part 29: Haunted

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