The Heart of a Villain - Oneshots

Nightmares

[6 months post HOAV]

Rose was awakened by a jerking sensation. She opened her eyes, groggy, disoriented, and felt it again. A shuddering of the mattress underneath her. She lay there for a moment, trying to figure out where it could be coming from -- was it an earthquake? No, too inconsistent. It felt like someone was...

She lifted her head and looked to where Tom lay. He was sprawled. The leg closest to her kicked at her, confirming her suspicion. His hands gripped at the duvet so tight they dug down into the sheets and the mattress cover. And he kept having these spasms, his head going from left to right, and his chest riding and falling so rapidly that she was instantly afraid he was having some mysterious medical attack.

Sitting up, Rose leaned over him, careful not to let his flailing knock into her. His eyes were scrunched tight, and his hair was drenched with sweat. The muscles in his shoulders, arms and chest were utterly rigid.

A night terror? It was the only explanation. She had never, not in all the years she'd known Tom, ever seen anything like this from him. But things were so different now...

He gave a great wrench of his whole body, lifting himself nearly a foot off the bed, shaking the mattress underneath them. When he dropped, his head came up and his eyes flew open.

"ROSE!"

The shout made her jump. Then she leaned forward and clutched Tom's shoulder, digging her fingertips hard into him, trying to drag him back down to Earth.

"Here!" she said. "I'm here!"

He sat up, panting. His muscles were twitching, one hand went through the sopping mess of his hair to push it away from his high, white brow. "And William?"

"Asleep in his bed," Rose assured him.

Tom nodded, and, inexplicably, he reached out and grabbed her. His hands caught her under her arms and lifted her like a child, dragging her entirely to him, placing her in his lap. She scrambled to adjust, settling her arms over his and then winding them around his neck as he pulled her flush against his chest, hands spread wide to press her as close as he could. His head dropped down, cradled against her breasts.

For a long time, Rose just let him hold her. His heartbeat, so rapid at first, very slowly started to return to a more normal rate. She ran her fingers through the back of his hair, kissed the bare skin of his back and shoulders anywhere she could reach it, and murmured things like, "It's okay, I'm here," and "shhh," over and over. His breathing slowed, and the sweat started to dry, and finally, finally, he turned his head and pressed a kiss into her clavicle.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why?" she countered, soothingly. "You didn't do anything wrong."

He sighed, lifting his head to look at her. Even in his lap, he was still a bit taller than her, his nose brushing against her temple. He cupped her cheek and kissed the bridge of her nose, high almost to her eyebrows, running the tip of his very straight, pointed nose along the lines of her forehead. "Yes, I have," he said, his voice ragged.

She pulled back and looked up at him. She smoothed his hair, so much lighter now than it had been before, more blond and getting more curly the more he let it grow. "Tell me," she whispered. "Please?"

He hesitated. They'd had this conversation before they married. Tom's close-lipped, "I'll take care of everything myself" attitude was not going to work for her this time. He had to truly treat her like his partner, his other half, if their marriage was going to work. He had to confide in her and trust her strength to hold him up as much as he wanted to hold her up. He couldn't be in the marriage all by himself, she had to shoulder her half of the burden, and she wouldn't agree on a date until he agreed to let her in.