Nabiki woke up suddenly and jerked upright in fright. Her eyes scanned the room looking for a threat, but found none. She was breathing heavily and her heart was racing. Ranma immediately leaped to his feet from the bed looking for what had scared her. He stood in a combat stance for a few moments as he stood over her protectively. After a moment she realized she had been dreaming. "It's all right, Ranma. Just a bad dream." She said as she reached out and touched his leg to reassure him.
Ranma looked down at her and nodded. "What time is it?" He asked.
She looked at her watch in the dim light in the room. "About a half hour before dawn." She said.
"Close enough, I guess." He said as he walked away from the bed, clearly meaning to stay up.
She wasn't having it, she settled back into the bed and then held the blanket open for him again. "Nope, get your ass back in bed. I have no intention of getting up before dawn, and you are still on guard duty, Mister." He looked back at her with a somewhat confused look on his girl's face, but walked obediently back to her, crouched down, and climbed back into bed with her. She didn't know if cuddling with her all night had loosened him up a bit, or if he was still just sleepy enough not to care, but he wasn't nearly as tense getting back into bed with her again. He slid his girl's body right up next to her and laced his legs with hers as he slipped one arm under her neck, and draped the other around her waist while burying his face into the other side of her neck. He was gloriously warm, and she really enjoyed that. He still smelled like Lotus blossoms. She wondered if he was aware of that. She supposed that in the grand scheme of things, changing one's sex, hair color, and height were much larger changes than simply having a fragrance appear from nowhere.
Ranma nuzzled into her and she hugged him close to her. It didn't feel anything like when they had hugged yesterday. His tiny girl's body felt nothing like him. If anything, it felt like she was holding Akane when she had been little. The only thing that made it interesting was that she knew it was Ranma inside that body.
She wanted to sleep again, but doubted she would. Her heart was still racing from the scare of the dream. She couldn't remember the details of it very well, but she remembered that it had been about the Amazons having her cornered, and they had intended to kill her.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked in a whisper right next to her ear.
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to will her body to calm down.
"You're scared, I can feel it." He replied as he hugged her tighter, trying to reassure her.
"It's nothing, Ranma. Just a bad dream. It will go away." She bluffed.
"What was the dream about?"
"I ... it ... I don't remember." She lied.
"Yes you do, what was it?"
"I ... fine, I dreamed Shampoo was trying to kill me." She muttered, feeling silly.
After a moment's pause of silence, Ranma replied earnestly. "Don't worry, Nabiki, we're gonna get this settled." He hugged her tighter as he said it. Without his male body to wrap around her, it felt more like one of her sisters squeezing her shoulder in reassurance, than a big strong protector shielding her. But that was fine, she didn't need him to be her guardian. She had gotten along just fine so far without one, and she would continue to do so. Even so, she could feel her heart rate slowing down as the fear of her dream left her.
Ranma pulled his head back from her neck and looked into her eyes in the dim twilight coming in from the window. She looked back and tried not to look worried. He smiled after a moment and snuggled back up to her and whispered in her ear. "You're still very good at hidin' how you feel, but I can still read you, ya know. I can tell you're worried."
"I am worried, I'm worried you're going to get insufferable with your magic people reading abilities and I am going to have to mallet you." She growled at him. She didn't really mean it, of course, but he was bugging her. She also didn't know how to act around someone who could read through her masks. She'd never had to deal with that problem before. She didn't need him to reassure her. She was capable of taking care of herself. She knew he would never let anyone hurt her, but she didn't want him to feel like he was responsible for her. She also didn't want to base a relationship with him on how many times he had saved her. Because she couldn't return the favor, and they had to have an equal relationship in order for things to work between them.
He ignored what she had said and whispered, "I promise you, Nabiki ... I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you or your family. All right? It's going to be okay, I promise."
Even though she didn't want him to feel like he had to protect her, she appreciated the sentiment anyway. She hugged him tightly to her and whispered back to him. "Another promise, Ranma? And you don't want one from me?"
He shook his head. "Joke all you want, but I'm serious. I won't let them hurt you, or Akane, or Kasumi. I'll even protect your dad if he needs it."
She opened her mouth to argue with him further, but decided against it. She loved that he was so loyal, and that he loved her family too. She loved that he was willing to risk his life for them, even if she didn't think it was necessary. So the only answer she gave him was to hold him tightly and wait for the dawn with him. She drifted off back to sleep like that. Warm in Ranma's arms.

***

When she awoke again, the dawn had broken and sunlight was streaming in from the window. Ranma was still in bed with her, and wide awake. He smiled at her as she opened her eyes. She looked at her watch and found that only another hour had passed. Her body was perfectly content to stay in bed and sleep, but she knew that Ranma had been more than patient with her. He was an early riser after all, and he couldn't get up until she got up. She smiled and greeted him warmly. "Morning, Ranma."
He returned her smile. "Good mornin' to you too. Ready to get up?" He asked, a bit eagerly.
She nodded and he moved to hop out of bed, but she grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Hang on there speedy, we need to plan for today." He nodded and settled back down to listen. She thought about it for a moment, then laid out a plan as best she could. "The most important thing to do today should be to try to get Shampoo to calm down. I doubt we are going to get her to back off, but maybe we can get her to call a truce." He widened his eyes but nodded at her in acceptance. She paused a moment before saying the next thing. Even though it had been her idea, she wasn't wild about it. "And ... I want you to ask Akane out today. Take her on a real date."
"A-ask ... Akane ... um, you sure, Nabiki?" He asked uncertainly.
"Of course I'm sure. That's what we talked about yesterday. You have to keep your promise and make a choice. Unless you're telling me you've changed your mind and want to back out of the deal?" She asked carefully. He shook his head no emphatically. "Are you saying you are ready to make your choice now?" She asked in disbelief. He paused for a moment and thought about it, then looked up into her eyes and slowly shook his head no again.
"Well, then, like I said, I want you to take Akane out today. You only have a week to make a decision. Best to get on with it." She said with fake sincerity. She just knew that if Akane really fought for him, that he would probably choose her little sister. She just had to be willing to accept the risk. She wasn't willing to be in a relationship with him unless he had really given his options a fair chance and then made a decision. The fact that she was now in direct competition with Akane for a guy didn't bother her at all. Not. At. All. She thought sarcastically to herself.
He nodded hesitantly then whispered to her. "Where should I take her?"
She smiled at him sarcastically. "Ranma ... it's considered poor form to ask for dating advice about one girl from another girl one is involved with, especially if those girls happen to be related."
He gulped and nodded quickly. "Got it, sorry." He said.
She smiled patiently at him. "That's all right. You're learning, mistakes are allowed." He visibly relaxed at that, so she continued trying to make a plan. "Now, let's talk about how we are going to handle Shampoo. I think we should do that at the end of the day, that way it will give you breathing room to take Akane out in case it doesn't go well."
"B-but ... what it they attack the house again while I'm out with Akane?" He asked.
She smiled at him confidently. "Doctor Tofu is still out there, and my daddy and yours are home. I think between the three of them, we should be fine. I will go outside in a little bit and accidentally run into the Doctor, and invite him to breakfast. I'll let him rest inside while my daddy and yours stand watch for a while."
Ranma nodded at that. "I guess that's as good a plan as any ... so ... after I go out with Akane, we'll go talk to Shampoo?"
She nodded at him. I have no idea what to say to her, but I'll think of something. She thought with no small amount of fear.
"So ... time to get up...?" He prompted her. She looked over at him and saw on his girl's face the impatience he was trying to hide. It was sweet how considerate of her he was. She wondered if he had slept at all while she had slept, after they had gotten up before dawn. Probably not. She thought with some amusement. He was the kind of guy that was all go-go-go once he was up.
She looked at him and nodded as an answer to his request. While she enjoyed sleeping in, now was not the time for it, and she wanted to go see how Akane was doing anyway. Ranma scooted away from her gently and disentangled himself from her. They both stood after that and just looked at each other awkwardly. Neither one of them knew what to say to someone they cared about whom they had just spent the night with literally sleeping together. Ranma actually beat her to the punch as he put his arm behind his head and stammered to her. "Well ... thank you for not kicking me in your sleep ... I'll see you later today?"
She smiled softly at him. "Sure, meet me back here at the house once you are done with your date with Akane. We will have more planning to do after that. We should start plans for dealing with Kodachi and Ukyo as well."
He nodded enthusiastically and then quickly walked over to the door, unlocked it, opened it, and was gone. She gave herself to the count of five before she moved. She wanted to get her emotions under control first. She wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she knew she didn't want it on her face for the rest of the family to see. She poked her head out of the room just as he was entering Kasumi's room. 
"Hey Akane, how're you feelin'? I—" She heard him greet her sister. Then he closed the door and she couldn't hear the rest of it. She sighed, straightened her shoulders, and marched towards the bathroom. Suck it up, girl. This was your idea, so deal with it. She thought bitterly to herself.
She paused and looked back at Kasumi's bedroom door, and thought, but ... what if I'm wrong? She didn't have time to answer her own question because Kasumi exited her room at that moment and caught her staring. She smiled kindly to her and walked over.
"How are you today, Nabiki?" She asked as she put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine." She answered a bit more shortly than she had intended. She was bothered that Ranma was alone with Akane now. Which she shouldn't be, as he would be going on a date later with Akane, alone as well. She needed to pull herself together. She forced herself to smile up at Kasumi. "I slept well, how about you?"
Kasumi politely ignored the obvious internal struggle she was having and answered. "Oh, I slept fine. Father had me take his bed so he could sit up with Akane. Once I put a dressing on the bump on her head, and got her undressed and into her pajamas and into bed, there wasn't much left for me to do. I was just checking on her now when Ranma came in, so I thought I would give them a little privacy."
"Where's Daddy?" She asked.
"Oh, he's still in there. He's passed out on the floor by the bed, but he didn't move from her side all night. I don't know why he went to such lengths, she wasn't in any danger. She's been hurt far worse than that before. I'm sure she slept through the night mostly just because she got knocked out by those violent lunatics around her normal bed time."
She smiled at Kasumi's casual insult that she'd slipped in to her comment. It always amused her when her older sister let her mask slip and said things like that. She wondered if Kasumi did it on purpose, or didn't realize she did it. Regardless, she nodded in response, Kasumi's assessment made sense. But, she knew damn well why Daddy freaked out when any of them got hurt, and she knew that Kasumi knew why as well ... Mom.
After he had lost Mom, Daddy had lost all capacity to handle his girls being hurt or sick like one rationally would. Mother's death hadn't just messed up her girls, it had probably messed Daddy up the worst. He had loved Mom deeply and totally, and he had tried desperately to save her. And he'd lost her anyway. Now all he had left of her was herself and her two sisters. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes. The world really was a cold, dark and cruel place. That was why ... that was why she had to be strong. Only through strength and self determination could someone handle the awful cruelty of the world. But Kasumi didn't need her lecturing her, she knew and coped in her own way, so she replied with a simple statement of fact. "I figured. Akane's strong, I wasn't worried." They both smiled at that, leaving everything else unsaid.
"So ... I trust that Ranma was a gentleman last night?" Kasumi asked carefully as they both turned to head down the hall together.
She looked over at Kasumi and smiled at her gentle probing as she answered in a leading tone. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She smirked in a way that she knew would drive Kasumi crazy. She knew that part of Kasumi's interest in the subject was just because Kasumi tried to mother her younger sisters. But, privately, she wondered if part of Kasumi's interest in her sister's love lives was just due to boredom in her own. Doctor Tofu really needed to get his ass in gear and snap Kasumi up before her older sister gave up waiting on him and went after someone else. 
Speaking of the good Doctor, I should go bring him in out of the cold. She thought to herself. They reached the door to the bathroom and she stopped and turned to face Kasumi. Ranma has been in there an awfully long time. She thought a little bitterly to herself, as she looked over at Kasumi's bedroom door while Kasumi said something to her.
"—you agree?" Nabiki? Nabiki?!" Kasumi broke into her thoughts. She refocused on Kasumi and tried to play back from her passive memory what her older sister had been asking her, but it was blank. That was unusual, she was usually able to tune people out but still get the gist of what they were saying. Ranma really had her off her center.
"I'm sorry, Kasumi, what?" She had to ask.
Kasumi smiled tightly at her in the sternest expression she used these days, and repeated herself, "I just asked if you agreed that Father would want a full breakfast, or if I should make something light since everyone will be busy this morning?"
She doubted that was the only thing Kasumi had said to her, since she hadn't answered her question about Ranma. But she didn't feel like sharing her private moments with Ranma with anyone right now. So, she thought about it a moment, then replied with a genuine smile, "I would say go ahead and make a full one. It isn't like people around here have a hard time wolfing down your food."
Kasumi nodded and started walking towards the stairs. "Okay, I will ... we should talk later ... when you're feeling like it. I'd like to know how ... things are." Kasumi said over her shoulder as she started to go into the bathroom. She smiled warmly at her older sister as she disappeared around the corner to the stairs.
I bet you do. She thought to herself with a mixture of pride and resentment as she entered the bathroom. She just stood there for a moment as she gathered herself and tried to re-center herself. Don't focus on Ranma and Akane. He's keeping his promise, and I need to do the same. I need to figure out how to handle the rest of them. She kicked various ideas around in her head, but kept coming back to the same one. She knew it would work, but she had a feeling it would start a little war in town. There was another option as well, but she doubted Ranma would go for it. She decided to present both options to him when he got back, and let him decide. With that done, she took care of her usual morning routine, then gathered up her clothes from where she had left them last night. She looked longingly at the bath, and decided that she had earned it. She turned the water on to run into the bath and then quickly dashed across the hall to her room.
It was cold in the room, and it was weird seeing as much sunlight in the room as the hole in the wall was letting in. There was still debris all over the place from the destroyed walls. Just seeing the destruction again angered her. She didn't think of herself as a violent person, but the Amazons certainly brought it out in her. She wouldn't be at all sad to see them leave town. She shook her head to clear it and walked gingerly on the cold floor of her room as she shivered in her thin pajamas to reach her dresser. She quickly picked out a new outfit to wear for the day, and then hurriedly left the room and closed the door behind her. No reason to let the cold get any further into the house than it already was.
She slipped back into the bathroom and eagerly stepped into the second section of the room that housed the bath. She closed the interior door and reveled in the steam in the air as it leeched the chill out of her. With the shivering stopped, she slowed down and enjoyed the ritual of the bath. She set her clean clothes on the shelf by the door put there for that very purpose, and slipped out of her pajamas. They were silk, so they slid right off her as soon as she undid the buttons. She looked down and saw that her skin was pebbled with goosebumps from the cold, even though she wasn't shivering anymore. While she waited for the bath to fill, she went over to the showering station and quickly washed herself with lukewarm water. She didn't use the hot because she wanted the bath to have priority on that. Once she was done washing, she stepped into the rising waters of the bath and slowly sank into it. She let the heat infuse her with its strength. Well, she thought of it as strength anyway. She hated being cold.
Once the bath was done filling, she leaned back in the tub and relaxed as she let her muscles unwind while she puzzled out what to do about the rest of the girls chasing Ranma. She realized after a few minutes that she usually felt sleepy when she was in the bath, but that she didn't this time. She thought about it and realized that she had slept deeply and well last night. I wonder if it was just because Ranma is so warm, or if it is because I felt safe with him there? ... Probably both. She concluded with a smile.
She allowed herself the small luxury of staying in the bath for a good five minutes or so, then reluctantly got out. She left the hot water for the next person who wanted to use it. She had some half-formed ideas for how to deal with the rest of the girls. But she wasn't really all that worried about them. Shampoo and the Amazons were the ones she was worried about.
Kodachi had no real claim on Ranma, she was just crazy. Ukyo had a claim on him, but it was weak, and Ranma had admitted he didn't have feelings for her the way she did for him. I doubt Ukyo even has feelings for him the way she says she does. She thought sadly. So many people chased after love in any way they could, without really understanding what they were really after or if who they were chasing could give them what they wanted. Some people seemed to just drift through life doing what was expected of them, without really examining their actions or their real feelings. Duty to family and society was a pretty big deal of course, and it sadly brought a lot of people to places in their lives that weren't very great places to be.
But I won't be one of them. She swore to herself as she stared into her own eyes in the mirror as she got dressed. She took another moment to brush out her hair, then she put her hands on her hips and stared at her reflection sternly. "All right, Nabiki, you're ready to face another day." She said. And I am not at all bothered that Ranma is still in Kasumi's room with Akane. Not at all. She thought bitterly to herself. She rolled her eyes at herself as she stepped out of the bathroom and headed downstairs. She headed straight for the front door, braced herself for the cold, yanked it open and let it hit her. Good thing I took that warm bath before I went outside to get nice and cold again. She thought with an ironic small smile on her face.
She walked quickly to the gates of her family's land, opened them, and stepped out to the sidewalk that ran in front of the gates. She looked around and appreciated the pretty sunlight streaming through the clouds, and filtering through the trees. The birds were chirping, and some of the neighborhood dogs were barking. After a moment she cleared her throat, clapped her hands loudly once, then twice, and then a third time.
She felt him behind her before she saw him. She wondered if that was her nascent training in the Art rising up from all of the excitement lately, or if he was doing something to project his presence? It's probably him. She thought cynically as she turned to face Doctor Tofu's smiling face and bowed politely to him. He was one of the few people on Earth she bowed to. He smiled kindly and bowed back to her then stood with his hand behind his head in mock embarrassment. He is so goofy. She thought happily to herself. Just being around him made her feel better. He was one of the rocks in her universe. Always constant, never changing, always there, unflappable, calm, and always willing to help.
"Thank you so much," she said sincerely. Then she teased him. "You must be getting slow in your old age, Doctor, they managed to get to the house." She added with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye.
He smiled right back at her. "I have a good excuse."
"I'm sure you do, let's go inside and you can tell me about it." She looped her arm through his and pulled him towards the house.