CHAPTER 6: Tired of Running

It was full moon and Sam could not sleep. He felt restless and he wanted to go for a run but he didn't want to leave Tara alone in the cabin. He wanted to be around in case she woke up. He couldn't help think about what she had told him earlier. About the witches, Eric and, Pam. For now she was safe here with him and yet, he couldn't shake that uneasy feeling that it was far from over between her and Pam.

He didn't know how long he'd spent tossing and turning, he believed it was for a long while. Too long. Staring up at the ceiling he tried forcing himself to sleep. He began to mentally count sheep, but, it was a useless trick. Frustrated, he threw the sheet off his body and sat up and looked around. He could see the bright moonlight streaming in through the windows. It illuminated everything in its path, including the very spot where Tara slept. He got up and slowly walked over to where she lay. From where he stood in the shadows not more than three feet away, he watched her, in silence.

With his eyes, he traced every curve and slope of her face as he did over thirteen months ago, their last night together before she left Bon Temps. Quietly she lay in the moon's light, she looked calm, peaceful, beautiful. He felt like crawling in and lay next to her and hold her close and protect her.

He wasn't aware of how long he had been watching her but in this light, her soft skin devoid of blemishes and lines, she appeared to glow in perfection. Then it occurred to him that the brightness of the moonlight might bring her out of her sleep. So, he turned in the direction of the windows with the intention of pulling down the shades. Just as he was about to, she began to stir in her sleep. She began muttering softly.

"No. Nooooo."

Upon hearing her weak cries, he turned right back around and rushed to her side. He could see that her face had quickly changed. It had become filled with anxiety and fear.

"No. Don't. Don't." she murmured again, her voice climbing. She whipped her head from side to side on the pillow while her eyes remained shut and tears rolling down her cheeks. He knew she was having a nightmare and he felt helpless. He felt helpless that he couldn't invade her dream and destroy whatever that haunted her.

"S-Sam. Sam. Sam!" Tara finally cried out and her eyes shot wide open.

Immediately, he sat down next to her, reached out and pulled her close. He could feel her heart through her purple tank-top pounding against his chest.

"Shh-shhh. It's just a dream. It's alright cher. Everything's ok. I'm here." he said softly hugging her and smoothing down her hair and rocking her back and forth.

After a minute, he released her to give her a moment to catch her breath.

"That's it, Tara. Relax. Everything's gonna be ok. Breathe, baby. Breathe." he said calmly rubbing her back with the palm of his hand.

As she listened to his soothing voice, she closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply. Once she'd calmed down, Sam rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Tara said apologetically.

"Cher, I was already up. Now lie back down and try going back to sleep."

"No Sam, I don't think I'll be able to sleep. Not after that dream." Tara said shaking her head.

"Do you remember any of it?"

"Bits and pieces. I was locked up in a wire cage waiting to be eaten by cannibal trolls. I tried to escape but it was useless. Then one of them came for me and dragged me off and took me to their leader who was Pam."

"That fucking fuck!" Sam said. His expressions were livid.

"Yeah, the fucking bitch is makin' me lose sleep. Shit, I'm tired of this."

"Do you remember anything else? Was I in your dream?"

"No, I don't think so. All I can say Sam, is that it felt so real. It was so damn fucking scary. Wait a minute. How did I get here. Did you move me? Sam. You shouldn't have."

"Nah, it's nutthin. You needed the bed more than me. Hey, how about some hot chocolate. It'll help calm your nerves. It'll help you sleep." Sam said trying to lighten the mood.

"No thank you. Not this second. Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you lie with me. There's more than enough room and I could do with a little company."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Tara replied staring up at him and throwing back the covers inviting him in.

Sam was more than glad for the invitation. He wanted to be next to her, feeling her warmth against his. He got in and lay down next to her. She then shifted onto her side with her back towards him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her securely from behind.

They talked while they spooned. Neither of them thought of it but holding each other felt like the most natural of things to do. Being this close to each other was medicinal, as it were. Tara soon forgot about her nightmare and Sam's pent up feelings disappeared. He no longer felt like going on that run. There was simply no longer a need to. He had everything he could possibly ever wanted right here in his arms.

Tara smiled and closed her eyes when he combed his fingers through the ends of her hair.

"You changed your hair." Sam remarked.

"So what d'ya think?"

"Looks nice." Sam replied when he meant to say something else.

"Nice? That's it?"

"Wh-what? I said something wrong?"

"Sam, nice is a word you use on your aunt or school teacher. Do I remind you of a school teacher?"

"Um, no. If I my school teacher looked anything like you, I would've stayed and graduated."

"I guess I should take that as a compliment. Thanks."

"Sexy."

"Say again?"

"Your hair makes you look sexy and sensual." Sam replied gently and lightly ran the tip of his finger the length of her neck and shoulder. He couldn't resist touching her and wanted more. She sighed. It had been a while since she had been touched that way. Thirteen months and three weeks to be exact.

"Your neck and shoulders, hmm, so intoxicating." As he said this, he kissed said body parts and tugged at her purple spaghetti strap.

"Hmm. Oh Sam." Tara whispered softly. She wanted him so badly, it ached. But, as much as she wanted him, she didn't want it to be like it was before. Which is, just them having sex for the sake of sex.

"Sam, I don't think this is a good idea." Tara began to say before it became too hard or too late for her to resist him.

"I, I just thought..You know, you're right. We're going too fast.."

Tara flipping onto her other side so that she could face him, she said,

"Sam, don't get me wrong. I do want you, like you wouldn't believe. I just don't want us to start this whole friends with benefits relationship thing all over again."

"Tara, what we had at the beginning was fun and yes, we did put the cart before the horse, but, we are older now, things are different and we're way past those times and I am willing for us to..ok, maybe we should take things slow and not rush into things."

There was a slight pause as the two stared into each other's eyes.

"Fuck that! Sam, let's do this." Tara blurted out, making a sudden change of course.

"Wha-" Sam said confused.

"Who the fuck am I kidding. I may not even live past the next day. We're here now, you, me in this place, in this dreamy, cozy cabin, alone, in the hills. It's full moon. It's fucking romantic."

"Are you sure?"

"I want this." Tara replied looking deeply into his eyes.

"If we do this, we really did this." Sam said looking right back.

"And this time Sam, I want this to be real."

They kissed and as they kissed, she breathed, "I missed you too."

Sam smiled upon hearing this. He realized that she had in fact heard him moments to her falling asleep on the couch as he washed their mugs in the kitchenette. It warmed his heart that she had considered them having something more with him. Well, although they hadn't dwelled much on the subject, as yet, he felt deep down that she wanted the same things as he. And her wanting him as much as he wanted her was a good start. At least for now.

Cupping his hand over her cheek he said,

"I don't want to lose you again."

"Neither do I."

They kissed madly sparring little time to relieve themselves of their clothes. As they made love on the bed, their naked bodies became completely immersed in the moonlight.

The clouds that hovered partially in front of the moon all night had finally parted. With nothing else in its way, Earth's ally shone with even greater brilliance, painting the lovers in silver. Then, the two climaxed powerfully. The feeling was never this intense.

Exhausted, they slept soundly in each other's arms.

~*0*~

At around ten AM, Sam opened his eyes and sat up in the queensized bed. All the window screens were rolled all the way down but it was still fairly light inside. He looked to his right expecting to see Tara lying next to him but she wasn't.

"No, no, no, no." he said out loud and blamed himself for waking up so late. He shot out of bed and ran buck naked to the bathroom to find that she wasn't there either.

"Shit! Not again!" He yelled. Tara being notorious for disappearing after a night of passionate lovemaking, made him think the worst, that she had left him, again. Except this time he couldn't blame her for wanting to get as far away as possible from Pam, from this town, from all the madness. His heart fell. He refused to give up and right then and there he made up his mind, that he was going to find her. He ran back and forth looking for his clothes.

He believed she couldn't have gotten very far on foot and figured he would be able to catch her up in his truck. Snatching up his clothes left strewn all over the floor, he quickly dressed. Not bothering to put on his boots, he flew out the door bare-footed with his shirt unbuttoned.

Just as he ran down the wooden stairs, he saw his own truck pull up and stop. It was Tara behind the wheel. She killed the engine and engaged the emergency brake. The moment she saw him, her face lit up.

"Hey baby." She greeted him and hopped out of his truck. Before she could say anything further, he walked straight up to her and threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. He hugged her long enough to make her think he wasn't ever going to let her go. When he finally did let go and she saw the look on his face, she realized why.

"Baby, didn't you see the note I left you?" Tara asked.

"What note?"

"The one I left on the table that said, 'Don't panic. Gone to get us some breakfast. Borrowed your truck, hope you won't mind. BRB. Tara'."

"Oh." Sam replied feeling a tad foolish. Tara leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. He quickly forgot feeling embarrassed and kissed her right back cupping her cheeks in his hands.

"I hope you're hungry, I've got pancakes, eggs, sausages and bacon."

"Yeah, I could eat." Sam replied rubbing the back of his neck wondering how on earth she was able to keep so composed after all that happened the night before, and considering that none of this was behind her.

"On my way back, I stopped by a thrift store and they had just about everything I needed, including a phone. Come, you gotta see this."

Tara motioned Sam to the back of his vehicle and opened the trunk. When Sam saw all the things she'd gotten, he was lost for words. Laid out in the back were silver chains, a cross-bow, wooden arrows, a rifle, boxes of modified bullets and UV flares.

"Can you believe the guy who ran the store tried selling me stakes. That's when I said to him 'look around, haven't you noticed we're surrounded by nothin' but trees. I can make my own thank you very much'."

"UV flares?"

"Yeah, they're supposed to work like normal flares except they give off ultraviolet light. Something I imagine vampires wouldn't appreciate none too much. He said he hadn't tested them yet. So, I talked him into loaning them to me on the condition that if they work, I'd pay him."

"Tara.." Sam began, he wasn't too keen on her direction in all this Pam fiasco. But, Tara knowing exactly what he was thinking jumped in before he could continue.

"Sam, before you try to change my mind, know this. I'm sick and tired of running. I've spent my entire life running away from my problems and it has never done me any good. Trouble has a way of finding you and no matter where or how far I go, Pam ain't gonna stop before she finds me. I'm staying, Sam, right here and when she finds me, I'll be ready."

~*0*0*~