Author: SoThatHappened

When Shaw got out of the shower Root was sitting on the lid of the toilet waiting for her. Shaw rolled her eyes and snatched her towel from Root's hands wrapping it around her dripping body and completely ignoring Root. Ignoring the look on Root's face, ignoring the fact that she still had nothing more than a thin layer covering her body, that damn see through white t-shirt. Shaw dried herself, ignoring Root's wandering eyes. Shaw ignored the dream that still rolled around her mind, haunting her, every image clear like she was seeing it on a screen. Root and him.

What kind of fucked up dream, she thought to herself getting frustrated that it was getting to her so much, and getting immediately angry that she couldn't let it go either. Dreams meant nothing, it was just bullshit your mind spun out while you were sleeping, they didn't mean anything. But for some reason she couldn't shake this.

"You can't just pretend I'm not here, Sam" Root said finally and Shaw didn't look up.

'Watch me" Shaw said and Root just sighed.

"You're being...ridiculous" Root said then paused, realising the weight of the words coming out of her mouth. Sameen Shaw being ridiculous meant a lot more than it would for anyone else. Shaw was a lot of things, but the fact that she was acting this way only resulted in one thing... she cared. A lot. And it was getting to her, the dream, the fact she cared, the idea alone that Root cheated on her.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that" Shaw said throwing Root a somewhat dirty look as she walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom, where she dropped the towel and started yanking open drawers.

Root trailed behind her into the bedroom, her arms folded loosely across her chest as she watched Shaw.

"What do you want then?" Root asked leaving a well timed gap of silence. "You know I will damn well do anything, so what is it?" Root asked her eyes fixed on the back of Shaw's head. "Want me to eat you out? Do you want a new gun? or whiskey? Do you want me to sit naked on my motorbike?" Shaw turned around and looked at Root, an eyebrow raised. Root stopped and stared at her.

"You know what I want?" Shaw said pulling a top on and looking at Root.

"What?"

"I want an explanation." Shaw said simply. Root sighed.

"Sameen" she said softly. "There's not one."

Shaw just stared at her. That wasn't good enough, Root knew it.

"You had a bad dream, like a really shitty one" Root said moving closer to her, slowly, knowing they were both very aware of the closing proximity. "But dreams don't mean anything, that wasn't a premonition, it wasn't anything that will ever happen."

Shaw just looked at her, that dark cloudy look in her eyes that Root could hardly stand, especially when she knew it was directed at her.

Root reached out for Shaw, her fingers grazing Shaw's arm but she pulled away.

"Don't" Shaw said and Root just looked down quickly letting her hand drop back to her side.

"You know I once had a dream that I couldn't leave my house because my best friend had turned into a tiger and wanted to kill me" Root said and Shaw just stared at her. "Weirdly enough, that never happened."

"I didn't know you had a best friend." Shaw said. Root almost laughed.

"Yeah, well in that dream I did" Root said "Which is exactly my point Sam, it wasn't real."

"Did you feel scared in that dream?" Shaw asked and Root couldn't lie. She sighed lightly.

"Yes."

"And when you woke up, you had to go check and make sure there wasn't a tiger outside" Shaw paused "because you were still scared?"

Root looked at Shaw, her eyes soft, gentle. She swallowed and glanced at the floor between them before looking back at Shaw.

"Yeah, I did" she answered and Shaw just gestured to prove her point.

"I grasp the concept you didn't actually sit on his dick, Root" Shaw said and there was something about the tone in which she said Root's name that sent an immediate shiver down Root's spine. Her stomach felt like it was sinking. "But the feeling it induced is still lingering, do you get that?"

Root just looked at her. She was clearly mad. In fact, it was a lot more than just anger that was boiling inside her. It was the idea of Root cheating on her, the fact she was having to deal with remnants of that feeling when she thought she would never have to.

"I get it" Root said quietly. "You're checking for the tiger."

"Exactly." Shaw said and Root looked away. Shaw watched her for a moment, she watched Root's eyes flick around the room, before staring down at her own hands. Then Shaw looked away. But suddenly Root was in front of her.

"That shouldn't have to mean I stop being your wife while you get over something I didn't even do" Root said her voice still low as her hand moved up to the side of Shaw's face. Making contact, her fingers lightly brushing against Shaw's jaw.

Shaw glared at her.

"I said don't" Shaw said but Root refused to move away.

"Is here better?" Root asked moving her hand down to Shaw's shoulder. Shaw turned her head slowly and stared at Root's long fingers that were lightly rested on her shoulder, before looking back at Root with her jaw clenched.

"No." she practically growled and Root just sighed.

"Well you're running out of options" Root just said with a light shrug as she let her hand fall down to Shaw's waist. She could feel how tense Shaw was all the way through her body. Stiff. Closing off.

"You don't need to be touching me" Shaw said. "At all."

"Oh yeah?" Root said and took a step forward pushing Shaw back against the dresser, their bodies crashing against each other as Root's hand moved between Shaw's legs, grazing against the underwear she had just pulled on.

"Get off me" Shaw growled trying to push Root off, but she had her full body weight pressing against Shaw, forcing her against the dresser.

"Why should I?" Root asked staring at her, directly into the eyes. "I haven't done anything wrong."

Shaw stared at her. She said nothing. They just looked at each other. Root was almost taken back by the silence, Shaw not fighting back immediately. She saw Shaw's jaw clench up, their eyes still locked on each other. Then suddenly, Shaw looked away, she looked down.

"Fuck" Shaw muttered, barely loud enough for Root to hear, it sounded like nothing more than a sharp breath. Root, slightly confused lifted herself off Shaw and moved her hand away, her eyes watching Shaw closely as a frown started to knit across her forehead.

Shaw shoved Root off her, away, and pushed past her suddenly without looking up.

"Sam?" Root said catching Shaw's wrist as Shaw tried to leave the room, pulling her to a stop and looking at her with concern. Shaw kept her eyes down but could feel Root looking at her. She glanced up, briefly, for a split second and not any longer. But that was enough, and she knew it, for Root to see the tears that were rimming her eyes.

"Sameen..." Root's voice was barely more than a breath.

Shaw twisted her wrist around Root's grip, they both knew she could pull it free if she wanted to, but instead she just just it drop. Root's fingers still wrapped around it.

Shaw looked to the side and blinked a couple of times, trying to get rid of the few stupid tears that were clinging to the rims of her eyes.

"If you say it, I will shoot you" Shaw said her voice was quiet and Root just bit the inside of her lip. She let her fingers slip away from Shaw's wrist, sliding over her skin and then grabbing her hand before it could fall.

"I don't need to say anything" Root said softly and Shaw just kept her head tilted away, staring down at the ground. Silence filled the space around them, then eventually Shaw used her free hand to quickly reach up and swipe a tear drop off her cheek.

"You're overwhelmed" Root said watching as Shaw let her eyes rest shut for a moment, her jaw still tightly locked, her breathing rigid.

"I'll get over it." Shaw said and let go of Root's hand, letting out a deep sigh and sitting on the edge of the bed. She glanced at Root for a moment before letting herself fall back with a thump, she stared up at the ceiling.

"Sameen," Root said climbing on top of Shaw, knowing that her weight barely made a difference to her. "I love you."

"I know that" Shaw said letting her hands come to rest on Root's thighs, knowing damn well there was nothing but bare skin if she let her hands slide any further up.

"Remember when I had that nightmare that you died?" Root asked feeling Shaw's warm palms pressed against her legs. Shaw just nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

"It ended up looking something like this, you on top of me" Shaw said and Root just smiled.

"Will it help?" Root asked her fingers running lightly up and down Shaw's arms. Shaw wanted to say yes, her lips parted ready for the word to come flying off her tongue but it didn't. She couldn't. She hesitated and Root saw it too. Shaw let out a sigh and rolled her head to the side looking away from Root again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Root tried instead. "Sometimes dreams sound really dumb when you say them out loud."

"I don't want to tell you" Shaw said.

"That bad?" Root asked an eyebrow arched and Shaw glanced back at her. "Just tell me what I can do, are you still mad at me?"

"Mildly infuriated." Shaw said.

"That's an improvement" Root said with a small smirk and Shaw just glared at her.

"You know how women orgasm in their sleep?" Shaw said and Root tried not to smirk.

"Yeah?"

"And you wake up and it's like...did that happen, or was it just a simulation my brain produced?" Shaw continued and Root just nodded. "I think my heart broke." Shaw said and any trace of a smirk washed off Root's face as it fell after those words.

"It was like...the volume was suddenly turned all the way up for the first time in my life, and the only sound was everything around me shattering." Shaw said and Root stared at her, unable to look away, her eyes glazed over with tears.

"Sameen, I'm not going to break your heart" Root said readjusting her position on top of Shaw, leaning down on her so their bodies were touching, and their faces were close. "I would never hurt you." Root said then paused. "Well, only for a little pleasure."

"Yeah" Shaw said but her voice got caught in her throat. Root watched her, she was blinking quite a few times, she swallowed hard.

"Sam," Root said softly letting her fingers trace Shaw's hairline gently. "Trust me."

"I do trust you" Shaw said but her voice got stuck again, hitching on that last word and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear escaping and sliding down her cheek, dropping onto the bed.

"Look at me" Root said wiping her thumb across where the tear had fallen. Shaw's eyes opened and Root was suddenly looking into two dark slightly watery eyes.

"You hold my heart in your hands, and I feel safe" Root said "And it should be the same for you."

"It is." Shaw said letting her arms wrap around Root's back pressing their bodies tightly against one another. "You're my safe place."