Andie sat silently in her window seat, feeling empty and sick. There was not a sound outside as she stared at the starry sky. She tried to keep her mind off the vision of Hannah blind and chained up, but she couldn't get rid of it. That dream had shaken her up more than any she'd had since discovering her powers. Adena had left her alone, probably sensing Andie didn't feel like talking. She'd had a nightmare about Bane when he'd been in a coma, but this had been different. Probably because unlike Bane, Hannah would not be able to defend herself. After a moment, Andie decided she couldn't be alone anymore. She pulled her phone from her nightstand and dialed a number. She knew it was indecently early to be calling anyone, but couldn't wait. She waited as the ringing sound buzzed in her ear. Eventually, it stopped.

"... Hello?" came a sleepy voice on the other end.

"Hey, Bane," Andie said, her voice more strangled than she'd realized.

"Andie?" Bane asked, his voice slightly less slurry. "It's three in the morning, is something wrong?"

"I know, I'm sorry to wake you..." Andie answered. "I just... I wanted to hear your voice... I'm sorry, I'll let you go back to sleep..."

"Andie, hold on..."

Bane was alert now.

"Are you okay? You sound strange."

"I... I don't know..." Andie answered. "I'll leave you alone, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called..."

"No, you absolutely should have. Do you want me to come over?"

Andie bit her lip. She felt bad dragging him across town at three in the morning for a nightmare, but she had to admit the idea of feeling his arms around her, hearing his heartbeat against her cheek was tempting... But no, she couldn't do that, it was selfish. He needed his rest as well, he had issues of his own to deal with...

"... I can't ask you that..." she said.

"Yes, you can. I'm coming over now." he said.

"Bane..."

"You would do the same for me," he said. "I'm coming over."

Andie felt a mixture of gratitude, guilt and relief. It was not a comfortable combination.

"I love you," she said in a whisper.

"I love you too. I'll see you soon." he said, and hang up.

Andie put her phone down and slid off the window seat. She sat on her bed, picked up a picture of her and Hannah which stood next to her lamp and sat looking at it, remembering the day it had been taken. It was a summer afternoon, and they'd gone to a zoo. Andie didn't like the thought of animals in cages, but Hannah loved zoos, so they had gone to visit one. It had been a good day, Andie remembered with a sad smile. She looked Hannah's big smile, her wide eyes gleaming with happiness. Just then, Andie no longer saw those familiar brown eyes, but the blank, toneless ones from her nightmare. She gasped and dropped the picture like it had burned her fingers. It dropped on her bed soundlessly. Andie sighed, pressed a hand to her forehead, wondering what in the world was the matter with her, and looked away, wrapping her arms around herself. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

It was just a dream... just a stupid dream... get over it!

Just then, a tap on the window made her look around. A small smile of relief appeared on her face as she looked into Bane's deep blue eyes, striking in the pale moonlight. She got to her feet and pulled the window open. She stepped back to give him room as he hopped lightly inside. Andie's feelings came rushing back all of a sudden, and she hugged Bane, who's arms held her even more tightly. He didn't speak at once, just letting her hold him. When she pulled back, he looked at her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I... I know it's going to sound stupid..."

"What happened?" he asked again.

"I... I had a dream, and I can't get it out of my head..."

Bane took her hands and led her to the bed where they sat down.

"What was the dream about?" he inquired, keeping her hands in his.

With some difficulty, Andie told him. When she had finished, Bane slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her against him.

"Andie, you know we'd never let Hannah get hurt, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Andie said. "But that doesn't mean nothing will happen, Bane, as much as we try to protect her..."

Bane seemed to realize that he couldn't deny that, so he said nothing.

"Well," he said. "That means we have one more reason to defeat Zorak."

"Yes," Andie said. "And I'm determined to be ready, this time."