"Diana..."

He smiled to himself. It was usually he that gave into the exhaustion first!

Brett had been repeating her name for some time now, but Diana just continued sleeping.

"That must be one deep sleep you have fallen into!" he continued in hopes of rousing her.

He hated to disturb her after the all-nighter they had just pulled. A little while ago, though, she had started talking and thrashing about in her sleep as if she were having a nightmare.

"Diana?" he repeated. He laid his hand on her shoulder and her eyes snapped open.

Her reaction to finding Brett bending over her was totally unexpected. The look in her eyes was something resembling fear as she jerk away from his touch.

Brett didn't understand.

"Diana, it's okay. It's just me. You have been out for awhile now. I think you were having a nightmare or something. And it's no wonder with what we have been through today!" he said trying to calm her down, but she continued looking as though she were scared of him.

"What's the matter? You are acting very strange..."

"You know..." Her tone was guarded.

Perplexed, Brett asked: "Know? Know what?"

"Dale knows..."

"Diana, you obviously have had a really bad dream. What is it that we are supposed to know about?"

Diana looked around the room and for the first time realized she was in her own home. Her eyes fell on the stack of folders on the coffee table and she read the name Thomas Barker on the photocopied sheet that was on top.

The truth slowly sank in and Diana broke into an uncontrollable laughter. She couldn't help herself.

Brett didn't know what to think of her behavior, other than that the stress of the day was wearing hard on her mentally.

"Can I get you some water or something?"

She finally stopped laughing and patted her friend's hand.

"No, Brett. I just really should go back to sleep. You were right. I did have a really bad dream. In fact, I might even tell you about it one day."

And with that said, she reached over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Brett blushed.

"What was that for?"

"For being a good friend and for understanding."

Diana involuntarily smoothed her hair back and jumped up as Brett continued staring at her in disbelief.

"The rest of this paperwork can wait until the morning. You want to crash here on the couch? It is really late and if you didn‘t feel like crossing town, I wouldn‘t mind at all."

"Uh..."

"Well, whatever you want to do... But if you leave, just make sure you lock the door, okay?

Brett slowly nodded yes and watched her leave the room acting as if nothing had happened.

Safely in her room and away from Brett's questioning eyes, Diana leaned against the door and sighed deeply.

What had just happened? The dream had been so real. So real that it was difficult to tell now between fact and fiction. The harder she tried, the more confused she became. Had she really gone home? Did Dale and Brett really suspect anything?

By the time she settled herself comfortably in bed, she was almost convinced that things were truly alright. It had just been a dream and her secret was still her own...

As she drifted off, very faintly she heard a familiar voice.