Dale had worried about James. The two had become best friends in the short period of time they�ve known each other. Most mistook them for more because of their closeness and the way they were with each other. His family joked that the two of them were more then friends.
His mother told him that he could see that the two of them were in love. She, Teresa and his sister, Kelly told him that everyone could see it, even his girlfriends. They�d have to be blind not to, which is why his relationships never worked.
Their friendship was even the cause of a few of his breakups with his girlfriends. His girlfriends were either jealous or untrusting of Dale, of James. They didn�t understand that Dale shared a special bond with her.
He would always seemed to know when something was wrong and she did with him. It was their bond that made him worry. She was being so strong, never showing any emotion at all. It wasn�t odd, because she always felt like she needed to be strong.
Although that that was her nature, he felt that she needed to talk about what she was feeling. She needed to just once be vulnerable and let down her walls. He knew that Katie�s disappearance was affecting her. She was having restless nights. She never slept anymore, never laughed anymore, never smiled anymore. She wasn�t herself anymore.
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Flashback:
When he heard about what happened to Katie and that she was the one to find the place like that, he rushed over to her place as soon as he got home. He went round the back of the house and up her spiral wrought iron stair case that led up to her balcony.
Her French doors were open and her golden retriever, Macgyver, was at the foot of the bed, looking at him as James slept. Dale closed the doors behind him. He motioned for Mac to get down and he obeyed. He left the room, going out her bedroom door. James was beginning to toss and turn, mumbling something that Dale couldn�t quite make out. The look on her face worried him so he lightly shook her, waking her up.
�Red?� she asked sleepily, sitting up. She yawned, �B, what are you doing here?�
�I wanted to see how you were. I heard about you going over to Matt�s and finding the place� well, you know. I was worried about you,� he answered her, looking at her with concern.
�You shouldn�t be worried about me, Red,� she said, rubbing her eyes, �I�m fine. You should be about Katie. And Matt. And Ross. They�re the ones you should be worried about. They�re the ones suffering, not me, Dale.�
�I am worried about them, but I�m also worried about you. I know you and I know that you�ll do all you can to take care of them, but you need someone to take care of you,� he said as she plopped back down. She let out a groan. �Don�t tell me you�re fine, because you�re not. I know you�re not,� he continued on.
�And what do you expect from me? Huh?� she groaned again, turning over on her stomach, facing away from Dale. Her eyes finally started to tear up, but she didn�t want Dale to see. She never let anyone see her cry. She always felt like she had to be the strong one.
She had to be the strong one for her father when her mother died. Her father loved her mother more than life itself. She had to be the strong one for Charlie when she found out he was diagnosed with cancer. He had no other family, but her. She had to be strong when her husband died. Everyone thought they were nothing more than boyfriend and girlfriend and didn�t know what she was going through. She has always had to be the strong one and this case was not going to be the exception.
�Nothing,� he sighed, rubbing her back, �I just expect you to know you can talk to me when you�re ready to.�
James sat up, still facing away from Dale. �I know. I just can�t right now, Red,� she said softly, almost as a whisper.
She fluttered her eyes to keep the tears from falling. She pulled up her legs and hugged them, kind of steadying her shaking hands. Dale rounded the bed to face her. He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands into his. He looked into her eyes and she, back into his. He saw that there were cuts on her hands. He was a bit scared for her. His eyes showed her just how worried he was about her when he felt her hands.
As he held her hands, James� hands steadied in his grasp. James felt calmer with him there. They sat there for a while in silence. They didn�t say a word. They didn�t have to say anything to each other. Sometimes their silences were all that was needed. James, pleading with Dale with her eyes, asking him, �Stay with me?�
She couldn�t go through that night alone. Ever since she had gotten back from the police station where they seemed to questioned her forever, the realization that her best friend might be gone forever had set in. The pictures that had Katie, that filled some of the frames that sat on tables and lined walls that filled her home, the pictures of her and Katie especially, had affected her.
She just let it all out when she got home, breaking everything she could, throwing stuff across the room, turning over furniture before she just finally broke down and tired, but even then the tears didn�t come. She had been too upset, too much in shock, and just too angry, angry with Katie�s attacker, and especially angry with herself for all the what ifs and such.
She sat there, looking at Dale, who looked back at her. He got up and took off his sneakers and jeans. He took off his jacket and placed it on the chair next to the bed as James slid over onto the other side of the bed and pulling off the covers, making room for him.
He got under the covers and made himself comfortable. He faced her and she looked so vulnerable there, looking back at him. He pushed back the hair that covered her eyes. She snuggled in close to him and he put his arms around her and hugged her. She put her hand on his chest, feeling his chest go up and down. She changed her breathing to be in sync with his, which easily lulled her to sleep.
But her sleep didn�t last long. She was crying and yelling out. Dale had woken her up from the nightmare that she had had. Dale quickly put his arms around her and hugged tightly her as she cried freely. �Hey,� he said, trying to calm her, �It�s okay. It was just a bad dream.�
�Dale,� she said through her sobs, �I � I...�
�What happened?� he said, never losing his grip around her. �What was your dream about?�
She didn�t answer him. All she could do was cry. She cried so hard, he didn�t really know what to do but hold her and try and comfort her.
�Come on, Jame,� Dale said on the verge of tears himself, rubbing her back. �You can tell me.�
As her tears were beginning to subside, she pulled slightly away from Dale. She wiped her cheeks with her hand. Dale handed her a tissue. She turned her back from him to compose herself. �What was the dream about?� he asked.
�Nothing,� she said, sitting up with her back still to him. �Nothing at all,� she said, getting out of bed.
He watched her walk into the bathroom and wash her face. �Nothing, my ass, James,� he responded as he got up and walked over to the bathroom. He was going to go in but she had shut the door and locked in before he could come in. �James,� he said to her through the door. He knocked, but she just stood at the sink, staring back at her reflection, thinking about her dream.
She dreamed of Katie. How her attacker had come into the house. How he knocked her around the family room. How she probably screamed for help and pleaded with her attacker. How he just drowned out her pleas with a blow or punch to Katie. She saw Katie, bleeding and bruised, helpless. How her attacker just picked her up and took her with him. And she saw how it all took place just moments before she had arrived.
�If I had been there sooner, if I hadn�t been late,� she thought. She thought a lot about the ifs. She couldn�t help but blame herself for Katie being gone. She shouldn�t have been late. If she had been there, she could have helped her, possibly saved her. She was so angry with herself. Her eyes began to tear up again. �She�d be safe,� she said as she started to cry again.
Her legs gave out on her and she collapsed on the floor, crying. Dale could hear her crying through the door. He ended up spending the night on the floor, sitting outside her bathroom, listening to her. He knew she needed someone to be there for her. He wanted nothing more than to open the door and hold her.
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