Finding Love in France (Alternate Version)

Part 42: Night Terrors

After a few more rounds, they had fallen asleep wrapped around each other, sheets tangled everywhere. Mila got up to use the bathroom during the night and was on her way back to bed when something knocked the wind out of her. She felt a hand around her neck and her feet leaving the floor. She tried to scream when another hand clamped over her mouth.

"Who the hell are you?!" He hissed at her. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?" he screamed "WHO SENT YOU?" His eyes were open, but he obviously did not see her.

She tried to yell into his hand "James, it's me! It's Mila! Wake up!" She was searching his eyes for some glimmer of recognition. He seemed eerily stronger than usual and was completely unreadable.

Instead, his grip on her neck tightened "WHO SENT YOU?!" He started to shake her violently. "START TALKING BEFORE I RIP YOUR FUCKING TONGUE OUT!"

He had mentioned his nightmares to her before, but had never told her they were this bad. She managed to pry his hand off her mouth and shouted "JAMES! WAKE UP! YOU ARE HAVING A NIGHTMARE! WAKE UP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT!" she was trying not to panic. She did not want to have to hurt him to snap him out of this state. Due to his sudden surge of strength and her precarious position, she wasn't sure she could overpower him.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, HYDRA BITCH?!" His grip on her neck getting tight enough to make her choke.

"JAMES! PLEASE!" She coughed out. No luck. She broke his grasp by kicking him in the thigh. He dropped her and fell to the ground, clutching his leg, grunting.

"THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" He screamed, jumping on her and pinning her to the floor. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're gonna regret not killing me when you had the chance!" He spat.

"Okay, James. Please try to calm down." Her voice got lower to make him have to stop screaming and pay attention to hear her. As she pled with him, she flipped them over, and had him face down. "James, do you know where you are?"

"Fuck you!" and he screamed in pain as she pulled his left arm behind him.

"James, do you know who I am?" she was trying her best to restrain herself from doing serious damage.

"You gonna kill me or what, you Hydra bitch?" he hissed at her.

"Okay, we tried. That's it, we're not going to do this anymore." she snapped his lower arm hard, until she felt his bones break in her hands.

As he screamed in pain, she let go of him and stepped back to see if he was still out of it. He saw her and started crying. "Mila! What happened?! Where are we?"

She knelt down beside him and looked in his eyes. He was horrified but there. "Oh thank god! My love, you had a night terror. You thought I was trying to kill you." She dropped her voice "unfortunately, I had to hurt you to get you out of it."

"Jesus, Doc! You did this?!" He was holding his left arm, wild-eyed from pain and confusion. She turned the lights on and he saw the bruises on her face and neck and went into hysterics.

There was a knock at the door, it was a hotel employee checking to see what all the noise was about. "We are alright, thank you. Would it be possible to call a cab back to the base at this hour?" Mila yelled through the door.

She grabbed their belongings and ushered him out to the waiting car. He was sobbing "I'm so sorry..." until they got to the infirmary.