Chapter 61: From Bad to Great

Once they were in the elevator, Elena slowly looked at Dave from the corner of her eye; she could tell he was determined to keep her safe. Too bad that was exactly what she was afraid of. It wasn't long before Dave escorted her to his room, and let her in first. "Now I have no problem sleeping on the couch if you want the bed." he told her.

"Did you learn nothing from our road trip?" Elena asked with a raised brow.

"You're right," Dave chuckled. "Well...shall we just say that we'll both be sleeping in the bed? I promise no funny business."

"I know you wouldn't pull anything Dave," Elena smiled. "Okay, we'll just skip the crap and say we're sharing the bed."

"Good call." Dave said while putting her bag down in the bedroom. Elena sat down on the couch and put her face in her hands. "You okay?" he asked.

"I know whatever I say you're not gonna believe me," Elena chuckled dryly. Dave sat down next to her, waiting patiently for her to continue. "I just can't believe this is happening. I want to wake up and see that none of this is real. Then I realize that I can't, and that it can only get worse from here."

"Elena, you know that I won't–"

"I know, you won't let anything happen to me, but what about you? We both saw what happened when Kane went after Lita, and what Matt went through because of it. What makes you so sure that Kane won't do the same with you? How can I go around acting like I'm okay when deep inside I know something bad is going to happen to you?" Elena told him with tears streaming down her face. Dave couldn't stand to see her like this, and he knew nothing he said would make it any better. He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, wiping a tear away with his thumb.

Dave then brought her forehead to his, releasing a heavy sigh. "Elena, I'm sorry. If there was anything I could do to make this go away, you know I wouldn't hesitate to do it."

Elena smiled at him, leaning into his hand, "I know Dave, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." Her eyes seemed heavy as she closed them, wanting to make it all go away.

"Come on, you should get some rest." Dave gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before lifting her into his arms and taking her into the bedroom. He set her onto the bed gently, "Try and sleep for a while. When you wake up we'll get something to eat, okay?" Elena simply nodded before closing her eyes and trying to sleep. Dave stood up and left, trying to figure out what to do next.

Elena opened her eyes, what felt like hours later, in a shudder. "Dave? You in here?" she called out in a shaky voice.

"Hey," Dave said after running to the doorway, wearing nothing but jeans. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah I just...I'm so scared..." after that, words were lost to Elena as she started crying uncontrollably. Dave slowly walked over to the bed and crawled across the mattress to her side.

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe now," he whispered as he brushed her hair from her face.

"I know! It's just that I can't get it out of my head and I'm worried you're gonna get hurt and–" Elena was cut off by Dave's lips covering hers. It was sweet, but strong, and perfect; like Dave himself. Elena didn't hesitate to respond, as Dave wrapped his arm around her back and brought her down underneath him on the mattress. "Dave," she gasped in between kisses. Her hands wrapped behind him, running her hands down his tense, bare back. Dave moved his lips to her neck, while his hands were on her hips, slowly bringing up her shirt. When Elena shared no complaints, he took it off and tossed it, seeing Elena in her red bra. She looked up into his eyes while she was undoing the button and zipper on his pants.

"Are you sure?" Dave asked her as a final confirmation.

"Oh god yes," she panted as he rolled over for her to be on top and slip his pants off easier. Now she was straddling him, her hands tenderly tracing every part of his chest and abs. Dave reached up behind her and undid her bra, tossing it with her shirt. He sat up; holding her to him, and slipping off everything else she was wearing with one hand. Elena was now on her back, Dave anxiously above her, leaning down to her face.

Elena woke up in the real world, more frustrated than when she went to sleep. Damnit! What in the hell? She thought angrily, now pouting instead of being scared. However as she contemplated her dream, a smile slipped onto her face and she gently bit her lip. Wow, just a few minutes longer and...Damn. Elena knew she wanted to sleep to have the dream again, but her stomach wouldn't allow it. So she got off the bed and started heading into the connected room to find Dave. "Hey Dave could we–oh!" she shut up when she saw that he was asleep on the couch. Elena couldn't help but smile at the sight of him lying on his back, one arm resting over his eyes while the other lay across his chest. She had to hold in a giggle, and figured she should let him sleep. Her stomach disagreed with her, and growled ferociously, saying "Wake him up and let's eat!"

Elena thought for a moment that she could go down, grab a bite and come back. However she knew she'd be in for the lecture of her life if Dave found out. What to do, what to do, shethought to herself. Maybe I'll give him a few minutes before I wake him up and then we'll get something to eat. She turned to go back into the bedroom, but one more look at the man on the couch made her stop. Dave shifted just so the arm covering his eyes went down to his chest, letting her see his calm and relaxed face. Elena slowly walked over to the couch and sat on her knees, just watching him as his chest went up and down. Now that she thought about it, this was the most relaxed she had ever seen him...it was really nice.

Elena stood up again, suddenly remembering her dream as she gazed at his face. He was in a black t-shirt and black sweat pants, which she noticed contrasted nicely with his tan skin. Next thing she knew, one leg was straddling his waist, slowly followed by the other. She was careful not to put any pressure on him, as she leaned closer to his face. Her finger traced his cheek softly, then his chiseled jaw all the way to his other cheek. She got careless when Dave stirred awake. Elena tried to jump off of him and act as if she was never there...but a hand covered hers on his cheek. Dave groaned a little as he slowly opened his eyes to see Elena's blushing face quite close to his.

"Hey there beautiful," he smirked, his hand still holding hers against his cheek.

"Uh...I can explain," Elena stuttered, secretly wanting to rip away and never come out of the bedroom.

"I'm all ears," Dave told her raising a brow, as if daring her to be able to give a good reason.

Elena cleared her throat multiple times before she actually spoke. "Well...I woke up and I came out here to see if you wanted to get something to eat," she said as Dave nodded with an 'Mh-mm.' "And then I saw you were sleeping, so I came over here to...wake you up."

"I see. So instead of poking me, or shaking me, you decided to...straddle me." Dave replied skeptically.

"Yeah, basically," Elena agreed nodding quickly.

"And you decided to feel my face." he added. Elena simply nodded again, lightly pulling her hand from under his. However he kept a nice grip on it, never taking his eyes from hers. "Well don't get the wrong idea here," Dave said in a deep voice, "I don't mind waking up like this."

"Oh I'm sure," Elena giggled. With her hand still in his, Dave sat up, keeping her chest to chest with him. Elena was blushing even more, but didn't want to move away...if anything she wanted to do the opposite. They both leaned in, only to hear Elena's stomach growling loudly. "Oh my god," she gasped and covered her face with her hands. Dave just laughed and stood up, his arms wrapped around her so she could get up as well.

"Well I'm going to say that's a pretty good sign to get something to eat. Want anything in particular?" he asked her.

Elena was still too embarrassed to say anything. "Uh...no, not really. Anything is fine with me." Dave figured they'd go to the deli a few blocks away. "Okay, let me just change real quick, I'll be right out."

Dave watched as she walked into the bedroom, giving him a quick smile before she closed the door. He let out a long sharp breath, thinking of the dream he had just before he woke up, and what he had woken up too. That's what I call a good nap, he chuckled to himself.

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Just little something to keep things spicy lol ;)