Standard Dis: Not mine. Fraser, Ray K, Dief, and the rest of the gang belong to the geniuses who created them. However Anne, Ivy, and anyone else you don't recongnize are mine, so please don't use them without permission.

Rating: Pure, unadulterated sap. *grin*

The Coming Dawn
By: Morgan Peterson
 

Baker sat by Anne's bed, holding her hand and praying. 'Oh goddess. Please, please let
her pull through. I don't...'

 His breath hitched with pain, almost a sob. 'I don't think I could manage without
her...I love her.'

 He wished there was something within his power to do. That he could somehow
heal her, or take her pain into himself, but all he could do was hold her hand, waiting for
some sign that she was going to make it through the night, and into the coming dawn.

 'Why do these things happen? It isn't fair. Anne doesn't deserve the suffering she
goes through. Why...?'

 "Anne? They said talking to you is good. Talking...You know, we never really
talked. About us, I mean. I've never been certain how you feel. You're kind of hard to
read." He laughed a little. "Bet you love that. You've always said you wished you were
half as mysterious as Ivy. She's okay, you know. She and Ray are fine.

 Benton knows. About me, I mean. He's always known. Isn't that a kick in the
rear? You were right about that. You always said that his finding out wouldn't be the
horrible thing I thought it would be. That he was my friend regardless of shape. You were
right. Now wake up and tell me 'I told you so'."

 There was nothing. Just the slow rise and fall of her chest, in time with the
respirator, for she wouldn't breathe on her own. He stared blankly ahead, watching the
green line spike up and down with her heart beat, and wished, more than he ever had
before, that he could hear. Hear the reassuring hiss of her breath, or the beep of the heart
monitor. And most of all, that he could hear _her_. Her voice...He remembered what
Benton sounded like, and somehow not knowing Ray's voice never bothered him, he
knew their scent, their movements, even the rhythm of their footsteps, their heartbeats.
But Anne...He wished more than anything that just once, he could hear her. Besides, for
her to talk to him, she'd have to be _awake_! That there was a part of her that everyone
else knew, yet he could never have...It rankled. He wanted...well, _her_ for lack of better
phrasing.  He loved her.

 He sighed. He was tired. The bone-deep kind of tired that made him feel like he'd
tried to stuff a lifetime's worth of living into one night. Still holding Anne's hand, his eyes
began to drift shut.
 

***

 He was standing in a snowy forest. Just like the one in which he'd grown up. He
could feel the sun on his back and see it sparkle off the snow, and he could _hear_. He
could hear birds, and the rustle of wind in the trees. And a voice.

 "Baker? Baker-love? Why the long face?"

 He turned. There was Anne. He blinked. "Anne?"

 "Yes?"

 Her voice was husky, and had a slight thrum underneath it, like she was
humming even as she talked. It was the kind of voice that ought to be singing blues songs
in old black and white movies. To Baker, it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

 "Anne? Where are we?"

 "Dreams. Anything can happen in dreams. Won't you stay here? With me?"

 Dief was tempted, he truly was, but... "Anne. If you stay here, if _I_ stay here,
we'll die. We have to go back. We'll be able to return here someday, but...I'm not ready
to let you go. Not yet."

 Anne frowned at him. "But it _hurts_ there. I don't want to go back."

 Baker felt desperate. Somehow he knew that if he didn't convince her she'd be
dead before he woke up. "Anne. I can't stay here. I'm only sleeping. If you stay here,
you'll die, and I'll disappear, and we will be separated for a long, long time. Anne,
please. I don't want to lose you, I love you too much to have you gone so long. Please
Anne!"

 Anne blinked at him, and tears gathered on her lashes. "You love me?"

 "More than anything. Please, don't leave me."

 Anne dashed the tears from her eyes, and nodded. "I won't. I won't leave you."

 She vanished.

***

 Dief awoke with a gasp, to find his hand being held in a tight grasp. Anne's eyes
were open, and she was staring up at him with a pain-glazed look. Her lips moved slightly around
the tube that was feeding air into her lungs. "Love you."

 Dief felt like laughing aloud. He knew, somehow, that now everything would be all
right. His heart was back, and staring up at him. He hit the call button for a nurse, smiling
brilliantly down at Anne. "I love you too, Anne. I love you too."
 

Author's note: So? Total sap? Maybe, but I felt that I had to add a little cheer to counter act the rather depressing end to Blood Moon. Sometime I might go into the Ray K/ Ivy angst, but not at the moment. Almost done with the next long story, probably post it by next week. *grins*

C&C is welcomed, cherished, joyfuly added to scrap books that I pull out when guests visit. I _love_ getting e-mail from people. ('specialy if they're saying _nice_ things!) so please send some. The address is morgan_peterson@yahoo.com.