Shattered (#1 in Shifting Series)

Nightmares

Kakashi was jostled awake by a loud moan followed by a sharp elbow to his ribs.  He did not realize he had drifted off to sleep while watching the television as Sarah slept.  He looked down and noticed her face was flinching, her breathing was uneven, and she was swinging her arms about as if fighting something.  Her face tightened as if she was in pain, and he realized she was having a nightmare.  One hell of a nightmare going off the way she was swinging in her sleep.  The eyes beneath her lids were moving rapidly.  He wrapped his arms around her own, stilling their wild swings in an instant.

"No," she spoke in her sleep, her hand clinching into a fist but unable to swing out more as he pinned her arms down.

"Shhhh..." he whispered. "I have you, Sarah.  You're okay."

He ran his hand down her hair, trying to sooth her.  She needed her sleep after everything that had happened that day.  The room was dark, attesting to the late hour.  She stopped moving after a moment and he wondered if she was dreaming about the accident.  He could certainly understand that completely.  Since they had just spoken about it earlier, it was a high probability that was the case.

After Rin had thrown herself in front of him, causing him to kill her unintentionally, he had lived with those very kind of nightmares for years.  He was unable to sleep, seeing her face as she called out "Kakashi" in her last breath.  He thankfully no longer had those nightmares.  Since the battle with Madara, where he learned that Obito was not dead but was in fact the mysterious Tobi that had caused so many hardships in the village, all the nightmares had passed.  He had finally found peace in the past by the redemption of his friend.  Obito... He was now with the love of his life.  As many times before, the thought brought a smile to his face.  They might not have had much time on this earth, but they now had all eternity.  He shifted his eyes down to Sarah, running his fingers through her hair.  Maybe it would be the same with them as well one day.

Kakashi carefully slid out from beneath her to stand before gently cradling her in his arms.  He carried her almost silently into the bedroom.  Gently he stretched her out on the bed, tucking the pillow under her head.  He smoothed her bangs back from her face, smiling slightly before turning to the closet for a blanket to cover her with.  He didn't want to chance waking her to put her under the comforter.  He would stay on the couch. No way did he trust himself enough to sleep next to her. He grabbed another blanket out of the closet and was about to leave when she suddenly cried out.

"No!" she yelled, bolting up in bed.

A confused expression crossed her features as she looked around her surroundings.  She finally saw him and visibly relaxed.  "It was just a dream," she murmured in a sleepy voice.

"Go back to sleep, you'll see Naruto in a few hours," he told her before turning towards the door.

Sarah knew it was irrational, but the fear that had followed her out of the nightmare trembled beneath the surface.  She hadn't thought of that in a long time.  She opened her mouth without thinking, the words flowing from somewhere deep inside herself.

"Kakashi... will you stay with me?"

He stopped and looked back over at her.  There was fear in her voice.  Embarrassment was also on her face now; she obviously hadn't meant to ask.  It had just come out.  That nightmare must have been a bad one.  He hesitated as he warred with the smart thing to do instead of the desire to bring her comfort.  Damn.  He gave a nod of his head before coming back to the bed.  She moved over so that he could lay down.  She instantly snuggled up next to him and wrapped her arms around him.  He could feel her shaking a little.  She must have really been frightened from the dream at the way she instantly curled up with him.