Thicker than Water

Chapter Fifteen

"Rogue," a sweet voice said quietly.  I hummed in reply as I began to wake up.  "Rogue," they said again.  I opened my eyes and looked about me.  I was still on the floor with Haden.  He was sound asleep with a firm lock around me.  I twisted to look at his face, which looked pained.  "Please, don't," he murmured and tightened his hold.  I winced at the pain that flared in my sides.  "No, Rogue."  He was talking about me in his sleep.

I stroked his cheek tenderly.  "It's fine," I soothed and kissed him lightly on the nose.  He scrunched up his face and pulled me closer, smothering me against him.

"Don't touch...," he muttered again and tightened his hold so much I gasped.  Damn he was strong.  He opened his eyes slightly and peered at me through his sleepiness.  A tear escapes him and he whispers, "Come back to me."  He drifted back to sleep before I could respond.  I unlocked his arms and sat up to look at him.  He was having a nightmare.  I sighed and stroked his hair wistfully.  He looked so defenseless that it nearly broke me. 

"He has nightmares quite often," Kant says, sounding a little tired.  I stood up and found him leaning by the broken window as he stared into the darkness beyond.  I crawled onto the bed closest to him and stared too, letting my new senses kick in.  The opposite roof where the men had been was now being patrolled by elvish police officers.  They wore thick armor and you couldn't tell any differentiation between any two.  They didn't cast a look our way as we spied on them.  The bodies of the men were gone.  I took a deep whiff of the air and grinned.  The smell of Basil in a stew teased my nose.  I didn't realize how hungry I was until then.

"How long," I asked him after a few moments.  I tried to shut out the idea of food.  But Haden's mumbling had me turning around to check on him instead.

Kant sighed heavily, then said, "Yeah, for about a year now.  He came back from a mission one day and couldn't sleep for the next few nights.  He usually doesn't sleep often now, but when he does he has nightmares like that."  Kant gestured with his head to him.  "It used to be worse though."

Now it makes sense why he knew I talked in my sleep that night, I concluded.  "Oh," was all I could really say.  Haden said my name again and I almost wanted to wake him up, to calm him.

"I've never really witnessed those night terrors," Kant said, "but I think Sam has.  If you want to know more about it, I'd ask him."

I nodded in response and leaned off the edge of the bed to pet Haden's hair again.  He grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

"I really think he loves you," Kant blurted out write suddenly.  If I hadn't been so close to the nightstand to get support, I would have fell off the bed.  I spun back around to face him as my face turned crimson.  "You can see it on his face when he looks at you.  And he's a lot happier than he used to be.  Because, to be honest, he was a heartless bastard before you came."

I flinched at his words and ran that through my mind.  The image of Haden being cruel and angry didn't match the one sleeping right now.  Not one bit.  I bit my lip in hope against Kant's words.

"He was awake an hour before you got up.  He was really worried they'd..."  Not able to finish, Kant sighs heavily.  "Anyway, he is a lot better now," Kant tells me then turns to look at me.  He pulls a very familiar piece of paper from his pocket.  "I know Max's message."  He tossed it onto the bed.  "And I do have a recommendation for you; tell Haden.  If Max if working for Harrison, we need to be careful."

I highly doubted that, but I nodded in reply to his warning.  I didn't need to piss off Kant.  He was scary already and I did not plan to see him when he was truly angry.

"He loves you too much to lose you," Kant was saying and smiled faintly.  "I used to have a wife..."  Before I could even consider asking him about it, he added, "She died giving birth five years ago.  My son was a still born."