Black Night

She woke up to his voice and a gentle tapping on her shoulder. "Rose. Rose, wake up. It's OK. It's OK." He was quiet, and his voice was ringing with concern. Concern for her. Her breathing calmed and the handsome face of the red ranger swam into focus. He looked relieved to see this. "Oh Rose," Mack murmured. He was kneeling on the plush pink carpet next to her bed, dressed in a baggy red T-shirt and black sweats. "Another nightmare?" Mack questioned. His voice was sympathetic.

Rose nodded. She breathed in deeply and then exhaled. "Yeah. That's the third one this week. I'm sorry I woke you up again, Mack. Go back to bed. I'll try not to bother you again."

Mack sighed and got up off the floor. "No Rose. Don't be stupid. You're not bothering me, you're worrying me. The nightmares are getting more and more frequent, aren't they?" Rose bobbed her head again as Mack seated himself next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and eased them both back against Rose's piles of pink pillows. "Oh sweetheart. You're really starting to scare me, you know that?"

The pink ranger hid her face in his chest. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm so sorry. You have enough responsibility without having to worry about me. I'll keep it down. I promise."

"Rose, that's not what's worrying me. What's worrying me is that you won't talk to anyone about it but me. I want you to talk to my dad. He'll figure out what's causing the dreams and find some kind of solution."

"I don't need to worry everyone, Mack. We're all stressed enough without my apparent inability to sleep through the night. I don't want to cause another problem on top of everything else going on."

"What if it hadn't been me that woke up first? Do you think I enjoy waking up to your screams? Please, Rose. Please. For your own good."

He sounded so concerned for her wellbeing. Rose finally muttered, "OK, I'll let him know. First thing tomorrow."

"That's my girl. Go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." He pecked the top of her head and let go of her, standing and fixing the blankets over his petite pink teammate.

"Good night, Mack."

"Good night, Rose."