Head Down

Chapter 32

A/N: sorry for the filler! Comment, Follow, Vote!

NATE'S POV

Katie is not a light sleeper. She does not curl up into a warm little ball of peace and rainbows, does not sigh those dainty girly sighs I can recall from Claire and Laura and Lucy and even Caitlyn, does not flutter her incredibly long eyelashes when she dreams, and most of all isn't silent. Last night was a constant shuffling of blankets, restless and panicked expressions on her face, and every once in a while talking -sometimes words I didn't understand the meaning of and sometimes ones I did. 'No' was definitely the most common, but 'John' and 'Katz' and 'Nate' came up every once in a while. Once the word 'piano' came up, which was confusing. Every few minutes lightning would strike, and while I couldn't see the light I could hear the thunder. Apparently Katie could to, because whenever a particularly loud boom struck her eyes would come open just a bit. I'd console her with a kiss on the lips or stitches and she'd fall back into her incredibly restless sleep.

The only time she calmed down enough to lay still was when she stopped her talking and traded it in for the softest, most beautiful singing I've ever heard. It wasn't always full songs -usually only snippets of a verse- but eventually she did hum into a sad, quiet melody that lulled her into a far less mobile sleep. That was at about four in the morning.

I loved it.

I loved every second of being next to her, that when she started to slip back into a nightmare I could curl myself around her tense form and she would relax, that she was constantly moving because if she ever got too still I would start to get worried she wasn't going to wake up, that she talked in her sleep since it showed me what she thought about when she was silent and conscious. Most of all I loved that she sang, even if the songs were so far from happy they brought tears to my eyes, because it meant that if something ever happened to me she would have something else to hold onto -music.

I myself finally found dreams at around five, satisfied with her heart breaking music and soft body beside me.

~

KATIE'S POV

I woke up slowly, still groggy from the stressful events from yesterday. There are no missing pieces from last night, the memory of how pathetic I was asking him to stay with me last night is immediately clear and fresh. He lays beside me still, his body encircling mine from every single angle imaginable. I smile embarrassedly, realizing just how much I loved his warmth and spicy smell all over me.

Glancing around I realize that there is absolutely no way I can get up without disturbing him, so I take my surprisingly good mood to work and lean towards his heart stopping lips that face my own. Our mouthes collide softly, and almost immediately he kisses me back with -dare I say it?- more enthusiasm than I. Smiling against his lips, all thoughts of leaving and big brothers and breathing slip my mind.

"Someone woke up on the right side of the bed," he murmurs against my lips.

As he moves his mouth from my mouth to the skin of my jaw I reply, "Oh I so didn't see that one coming."

Nate chuckles, his breathe tickling my me and bed head brushing against my stitches. We lose ourselves in each other for the next few minutes -or hours- and when he finally pulls away I can't help but grin like the love struck idiot that I am.

"If you smile any wider your stitches are going to split," he warns, and I immediately stifle my grin. "Hey," he murmurs, kissing my forehead. Does it get any better than this? Its the biggest understatement of the century to say I've never been this happy. "Isn't that what Laura is for?"

I roll my eyes, "No, it isn't."

He just shrugs, and I push him away from me with both hands on his chest. My head and stomach are back to normal and the familiar itch of healing is everywhere above my legs. There's something in the back of my head whispering that it's going to be a good day, all of the years of emotional suppression allowing me to compartmentalize the pain of my leaving somewhere far from my consciousness. 'Today,' I say to myself, 'I am just Katie, and he is just Nate, and we are going to live.' It's a ridiculously and hilariously naive notion, but in my opinion the universe owes me a little innocence.