Before I Forget

Omnes Una Manet Nox

Surprise!

I know I said I wouldn't be able to update before Tuesday, but hey - phones excist! I've stolen some moments here and there, and here we are - another chapter. Sorry for any weirdness or bad English, I don't have Grammarly on my phone.

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Sky rushed out of the dojo barefoot, and Hawk ran after her. One look at her stricken face, the tears that poured down her cheeks, and he went after her without a moment's hesitation, leaving in the middle of the warm up routine.  The front door almost slammed him on the face as he tried to catch up with her.

"Sky, wait—!"

He got the door open, the bell chimed and the sunshine blinded him for a few seconds. And then—

He saw how Sky's legs gave in.

She had managed to get across the small parking space and almost to her car, but not quite enough. Unable to help, Hawk watched how she fell to the ground hard, crumpled down, her small shape in white gi making a sharp contrast with the black asphalt of the parking lot.

He was by her side in a heartbeat, the sun-burnt asphalt hot under his bare soles, but he didn't even notice. As he fell on his knees next to her, his heart climbed to his throat - Sky clasped her chest with both hands, she was struggling to draw in a breath, and with a jolt Hawk realized what was happening.

Shit, shit, shit—

He hadn't seen her have one of her PTSD episodes, not since the one time at the dojo, but she had told him she still got them from time to time.

And not once had he asked what he should do if it ever happened again.

"Sky, hey, it's me–" he grabbed her shoulders, but her eyes were wild - it was as if she didn't even see him.

He couldn't take it, he couldn't bear the thought that she was reliving the worst moment of her life, that she was being shot again, that she was watching her best friend die, and he was here, unable to do anything about it–

He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into his lap. He was kneeling on the ground, not giving a shit if the dirt stained his gi, because nothing was important except Sky, nothing but helping her when she was so clearly in pain. He held her shaking form against his chest tighter, his hand gently caressing her shoulder, her hair, as he murmured soft words to her ear.

"It's okay, it's not real–" he kept saying. "It's not real, Sky. I'm here, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you–"

Sky's body was convulsing, her legs trembling. She fought to draw in a breath, a strangled cry escaped her lips, and all the time Hawk held her, his heartbeat next to hers.

He heard footsteps, people gathering around them, but he didn't turn to look.

"It's not real," he whispered, cupping the back of her head. "It's not real. Snap out of it."

"Eli–" a soft whisper. Sky's fingers gripped his shoulders, she pressed her small face against his chest, tears soaking his gi.

"Yeah, I'm here," he breathed, squeezing her closer to his beating heart. "I'm here. I love you."

And then she was crying, drawing in deep breaths and sobbing them out, her body softening against his, and Hawk's heart was breaking. It was breaking into thousands of tiny shrapnels that cut into his soul and made him bleed.

"Hey, what happened?" a soft voice asked, and Hawk turned to glance over his shoulder, to see Aisha hovering right behind him. Miguel was not far behind. "Is she okay? Did she get a panic attack or something?"