He came awake in the woods. Not in his cabin. The first thought that hit him was, "Dammit, Trace, your practical jokes are getting old."
Overhead the moon was full and bright. The stars gleamed white, except for one. As he gazed up into the night sky, one unique star hovered above him. It blinked red, then green than orange in rapid succession. Beck climbed to his feet deciding to ignore the blatant taunting. At least he still had his clothes on this time, and from the looks of it he was just a short walk from home.
A muffled noise from behind had him spinning around. Reese lay on the ground, curled in the fetal position, her hair a messy red cloud across her face.
"You left her here too?!" He shouted up at the sky angrily. In response the light flashed blue, did a loopty-loop and winked out of sight.
"Sonofa..."
The totally human vulgarity had barely left his lips before he was crouching next to her. He reached out at the precise moment she woke up. At his touch she jack-knifed into a sitting position, tried to roll out of his reach. But he snagged one of her arms.
She fought like a wild thing to get to get away. Rising awkwardly with her, he tried to restrain her without hurting her. She was determined to hurt him. But he was bigger, stronger, and faster. He took her back down. Turning at the last second and cushioning her body with his.
And what thanks did he get for that? A fist in the stomach. Followed by a knee to the kidney. Fortunately for him his kidney wasn't located where she'd thought it was. The gut punch was dead on though and had him hissing through his teeth. Thank the 4th Universe she hadn't gone for his...
"Get away from me!" Reese panted as she scrambled backwards onto her feet.
Climbing up from the ground slowly, hands out in friendly surrender, Beck reassured her. "It’s okay, Reese."
She backed away from him. "Don't come near me."
He was on her in the blink of an eye.
"Let go!" She stomped on his foot.
"Dammit, Reese..."
"You're glowing!" Reese cried. "Abducted by aliens! Misisng time! Nightmares! I thought I was losing my mind. But they're real. And you're one of them!"
Beck tugged, pulled her down a path through the trees. "Come on. We need to talk."
Reese swung a booted foot out and landed a kick on his shin. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
He felt a rivulet of blood run down his leg beneath his jeans. That tears it, he thought. "Pumpkin," He snapped pulling her roughly up onto the tips of her toes. "You've been half way across the universe with me more than once. You'll either walk through these woods with me now or I'll get you there in a way that'll make you wet your pants. The choice is yours."
