Darkness Rising

Chapter Three

On Friday, Ellen considered skipping her appointment with Dr. Stan. She was still embarrassed that she had called him on Wednesday night. She had always prided herself on being stronger than that. But after the incident on the subway she had been on edge the rest of the evening. She had taken a couple of the pills that he had prescribed for her and gone to bed early, hoping to catch up on a little of the sleep she had missed. It wasn't too very long before she regretted even trying. The dreams came to her with a vengeance. She'd had these recurring nightmares for most of her life. She had names for all of them; The House Dream, The Voice Dream and of course The Path Dream. At first they came on a very irregular basis. Sometimes she would go many months without having any of them. Sometimes she would have the same one several times and be done. Never had they plagued her they way they were now; night after night, one of them or all of them, every single night.

Dr. Stan was very nice and extremely patient with her. He really wanted to help her, she could tell that right from start. She could also tell that he was very attracted to her. She smiled at the mirror and applied a small amount of color to her already pink lips. Of course she would keep her appointment. She enjoyed their sessions for the most part and was in no way immune to his ample charm. He had such an easy way about him, yet an undeniable strength as well. He made her feel safe; something she had been lacking in her life for a long time. He was also extremely handsome and ...well... quite sexy; something else she hadn't had in her life for quite a while. He was around 6 ft tall with thick dark hair, broad shoulders and chest, a brilliant smile and astonishing blue eyes. How was she supposed to overlook all of that? The fact that he was unable to hide his attraction to her gave Ellie an unreasonable sense of satisfaction, though she felt certain he would never act on those feelings. And as much as she would regret it; if he WAS able to help her make sense of her dreams and the things that were happening around her, she would welcome the end of their relationship. At least on a professional level.

Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath and then buzzed Joanne to send Miss O'Neill in. He stood to greet her as she entered the room, looking a little nervous, almost shy, and absolutely beautiful. She smiled brightly at him, taking the hand he extended and then she blushed. She fucking blushed, the color rising in her cheeks as she looked away for a moment, giving her a radiant glow that seemed almost unnatural. She bit her lip and asked him if she should sit in the recliner. For a brief moment her words did not register as his brain was focused on her bottom lip, wondering how it would feel to suck gently on it as he held her in his arms... damn it! He had to stop this!

"Dr. Stan, I want to apologize again for dragging you out of bed the other night. I don't know what I was thinking." She lowered her head briefly and then looked directly into his amazing eyes. "That's not true. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I'm so sorry to interrupt your private time. You have so many other patients; I know I have no special claim on you. It, it's just that I feel like you are one of very few people in this whole world I can turn to...who won't judge me, no matter how crazy I sound."

She started to go on, but he took her hand in his, "Ellen, I told you then that it was no problem and I meant it. I want you to know that you can call me any time, night or day, for any reason."

He was standing so close to her now that she could feel the warmth from his body, or maybe that was the heat of her own body rising, she couldn't be sure at that moment, couldn't think straight as he spoke so softly, smelling so good, his eyes telling her exactly what he was feeling inside.

"And...please. Stop calling yourself crazy. You are not crazy, not even close," he gave her a cheeky grin and she giggled, asking him again where she should sit.