A/N: Perhaps I should blame this one on the terrible headcold I’ve had for the last three days… or on the medication I’m taking to help me breathe… or on the gimbap (Korean rice roll) I had for dinner… Regardless of how it came to me, the idea was hatched while getting ready for work yesterday and wouldn’t let go!

Summary: This story is about… nah, too much info would spoil it. =)

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to own them, I just borrowed them briefly for my own amusement. Also, no disrespect is intended towards any person, real or fictional – this is all in jest. All characters belong to Donald Bellisario, Bellisarius Productions, yada yada yada.

Dreaming Of You

The echo of her breathing sounds loud and harsh through the blackness of the night. Running for her life, her heart pounds loudly in her ears, branches crackling and leaves tearing underneath her feet as she races blindly through the forest away from the monster that is chasing too close behind. Fear is everywhere.

Harm! Harm! she cries silently, the vacuum of the forest swallowing the sound before he can hear. Help me! Frightened that she might not make it to the safety of his arms, she knows nothing other than she must get away from her shadowy pursuer. She dodges between the trees, low-lying branches whipping her face and arms and legs as she attempts to weave her way out of the pitch-black maze that surrounds her.

Suddenly a monstrous giant ape, a silverback male gorilla, pounces out from behind a tree and into her path. Limbs outstretched and reaching for her, the massive body blocks her escape. Caught! With sudden terror she realizes that this is the ogre that has been chasing her endlessly. It rears up on its hind legs, standing tall and erect, long arms reaching out to keep her from passing. The monster’s face, however, is that of a man, a pudgy, balding man with a silvery beard and a wicked gleam in his eye.

“You’ll never catch him!” the ape-man shouts menacingly. “He’ll never be yours! I’ll keep you apart forever, I swear I will!”

Whirling on her heel, she pivots deftly and narrowly dodges the fiend’s thick, inept fingers. Her lithe frame slips easily through the narrow span between two nearby trees, which serve to protect her: the monster tries to follow but gets wedged in the grip of the willowy tree trunks, unable to pass through and continue its relentless hunt.

Hearing the monster as it bellows horribly in frustration behind her, she is too afraid to look back, pushing herself forward as fast as she can go. Almost immediately the darkness of the forest begins to lift. Ahead, off in the distance through the trees, she can see the high spire of the Tower of London. It beckons to her. It is the beacon that will lead her to Harm.

Harm! Riding the wave of elation that flows through her at the sight, she runs on, following the Tower’s inspiration towards the man she loves.

“Mac?” Harm’s voice echoes in her mind. “Mac, honey… wake up.”

“Whaaaa???” Mac groans as a gentle nudge rouses her from sleep. The fog of the forest falls away as she gains consciousness. Struggling to sit up, she rubs her eyes with a grimace. “What’s going on?” she murmurs groggily.

“You were moaning in your sleep,” Harm tells her quietly, a soothing hand rubbing her arm. “Nightmare?”

Collapsing back into the pillow with a sigh, she frowns as she tries to remember the dream. “I was trying to get to you, but a giant gorilla kept chasing me. It nearly caught me but I managed to escape.”

“A gorilla?”

She nods. “Actually, it was more of a man in a really bad Halloween gorilla costume. But he couldn’t touch me. I got away and made it to London in the end. To you.”

“And London is where you’re going to stay.” With a reassuring and loving smile, he pulls her into his arms for a hug. “I’ll protect you from any nasty old gorillas.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she whispers. Together they snuggle deeper under the bed covers.

Resting her head on Harm’s shoulder as she cuddles up against his chest, Mac closes her eyes and savors her husband’s warmth. The room falls quiet as they settle back into domestic bliss, the only sounds coming from the London street below their window. A moment later, however, she suddenly can’t help but give a small chuckle as an absurd detail from the dream pops up from out of nowhere.

“What’s so funny?” Harm asks sleepily, pulling her closer.

Mac smiles in spite of herself. “The gorilla’s name was Don.”

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~ FIN ~