Eventually, she quieted enough for him to spoon behind her and slide back into dreamland. He didn’t open his eyes again until he felt her stirring next to him.
“Good morning,” he murmured, dragging his hand through his hair.
“Morning.” Her voice was gravelly enough that Cooper propped himself on his elbow to look down at her.
“Are you sick?” He was genuinely concerned, his hand immediately going to her forehead. While she wasn’t burning up with fever, she was warmer than normal. “Do you want me to call a doctor?”
Amusement flitted through her eyes. “For what?”
“I don’t know.” He felt put on the spot. “I just ... want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. Why are you so worried?”
“I ... well ... you had bad dreams again last night.”
She was taken aback. She didn’t remember waking up, but anything was possible she supposed. “I’m sorry I kept you up.”
He immediately started shaking his head. “I don’t care about that.” He was firm. “You were restless, though. You kept rolling around ... and not for the fun reasons we normally roll around.”
That was enough to draw a smile. “I don’t really remember dreaming.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse. “You were muttering. I couldn’t make out most of what you said. I thought about waking you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to sleep again.”
“Well ... obviously I slept.” She rolled so she was facing him, enjoying the way their bodies fit together. “I wish I could remember the dream. It’s really hazy, though.”
“Maybe it’s best if you don’t remember the dream.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because maybe something terrible happened in that dream and there’s a reason you’re blocking it out.”
“I guess, but I don’t know what that would be. I mean ... we heard the story. Both of us. It wasn’t as terrible as it could have been.”
“I don’t know, the idea of the earth opening up and eating a woman is pretty frightening to me.”
Hannah chuckled. “I’m sure that’s one of the more fanciful parts of the story that was embellished.”
Actually, he agreed on that front. “Yeah, I think that’s part of the lore. It’s more likely that the mother died because of something the girls did.”
“She was magical. They were magical, too. The story says the father had to choose between his daughters and wife. He made the only choice he could. Children are always going to trump a spouse.”
For some reason — even though he believed the statement on the surface — the notion was uncomfortable to Cooper. “I don’t know. I tend to believe that you shouldn’t have to choose.”
“In an ideal world, yes. I don’t think that’s reality. If you’re in a no-win situation, hard choices have to be made.”
“I don’t believe in a no-win situation.” She laughed, the sound bubbling up and filling him with warmth. “What?”
“I didn’t realize you were Kirk. Does that make Tyler Chekhov or Sulu? Boone is definitely Spock, although I don’t want to be Uhura. All she did was answer the phone.”
Cooper’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you a Trekkie or something?”
“No, I just happen to know about the Kobayashi Maru. My father watched that movie all the time. It was his favorite because his father took him to see it in the theater when he was thirteen or something — I think that’s what he told me — and he was a big Star Trek fan.”
“Well, I can’t say that Star Trek is a favorite or anything.” Cooper methodically scratched his morning stubble, considering. “It’s an interesting conversation. I think we should save it for another time, though.”
“Definitely,” Hannah agreed, struggling to a sitting position. When she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, she was caught off guard. “Wow.”
Cooper, not understanding what drew her attention, offered up a lazy grin. “Yes, you’re unbelievably sexy in the morning. Come over here and I’ll show you another trick Kirk was supposedly good at.”
Hannah ignored him and dragged her hand through her hair, frowning when her fingers snagged. “You weren’t joking about the sweating. Look at this mess. I’m going to have to use an entire bottle of conditioner to get a brush through this rat’s nest.”
“I happen to like it,” Cooper countered. “It makes you look ... rough and tumble.”
She laughed. “I think it makes me look like Medusa, but whatever.”
“Was Medusa hot?” He kissed her bare shoulder.
“She had snakes for hair.”
“Yes, but was she hot?”
Hannah laughed so hard it caught him by surprise. “Oh, I love you.” She threw her arms around his neck.
He smiled into her hair as he held her. “I love you, too.”
“Yeah, but I mean that I really love you.”
“Are you saying that I don’t really love you?” He pulled back far enough to give her a stern look. “If so, we’re going to start the morning with a fight.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She ran her thumb over his cheek. “It’s just ... you’re the only person I know who can make me smile even when there’s a missing teenager out there. I know it can’t last — we absolutely have to find her — but for just a few moments it was exactly what I needed.”
“I always want to give you whatever you need.”
“Me, too.” She rested her forehead against his and basked in his warmth. “Boone is coming for breakfast, right?”
“Yeah. He’ll be here in thirty minutes.”
“We should get in the shower. I’m hungry and I want to tell him what we found.”
Cooper wasn’t certain they’d found anything, but he understood the need to be proactive. “Shower it is. Then I’ll take
