Checking her watch for what felt like the millionth time Sky saw that it was finally 5am. She had barely slept since her nightmare and she was exhausted. She felt constantly on edge and every little noise seemed to make her jump.
She gave up on trying to sleep anymore and made her way to the shower blocks, hoping the hot water would wash away some of this unwelcome fear. Feeling a little better she headed to the dining hall to get some breakfast where she met up with Chris.
"Morning" he smiled. "Geez did you even sleep? You look like shit" he laughed.
"Well thanks Chris" she said sarcastically with a bit of a laugh. "Didn't really sleep well last night" she admitted.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked as they grabbed their trays and found their usual table.
"No I'm good. But thanks" she smiled politely.
"Anytime" he said, and they sat in a comfortable silence eating their breakfast. Soon joined by the interns Sam and Keira.
By early afternoon Sky was starting to feel the effects of the night before. She had been jumpy and on edge all day long and it was really starting to wear her down. Taking a break between patients she sat down at the small table in the back room, but every time she took a moment to stop all she could hear was that sadistic laughter in her head. She tried to ignore it, tried to zone out and pretend it wasn't there but it kept haunting her.
She was startled from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder and she immediately lept out of her chair and pushed the person away as she screamed "Don't touch me!"
"Shit Sky... it's just me" Chris said a look of shock on his face as he stumbled backwards. "I called your name three times and you didn't answer..." he told her, sensing that touching her was a really bad move.
"I... I'm so sorry Chris. You just caught me by surprise is all. I... I didn't mean to push you" she said apologetically.
"It's ok Sky. I shouldn't have touched you like that. I should have known better" he reassured her, having a vague idea of what she had been through since he was the one who checked her over when Negan first brought her back. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"No... I- I don't think I am Chris" she sighed as tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Talk to me Sky, let me help. I am a doctor after all" he said as he sat down in one of the chairs inviting her to do the same.
"I-I was ok until last night" she began.
"Did something happen last night? Did someone hurt you Sky?" Chris asked, concern in his voice.
"No, no... No one hurt me. I just... ahhh this is stupid" she sighed, feeling a bit ridiculous that she was so upset by a nightmare.
"I can guarantee it's not stupid, whatever it is that has you all scared and jumpy, it isn't nothing Sky"
"I had a nightmare" she stated simply. "A nightmare about my time being held captive by those... animals. I couldn't go back to sleep and ever since then I just feel scared and on edge. I don't get it, up until now I haven't been scared of anything. I learned not to be in order to survive. And when things got so bad, I just didn't care anymore, I would rather fight and die for it, than live in fear"
"Sky, I think you're suffering from PTSD" Chris told her. "Probably brought on by that nightmare".
"What... what do I do Chris? How do I make it go away?"
"You can't just get rid of it, you have to work through the things that are causing it. It's the only way you're going to get over it. You need to talk about what happened to you, get it all out. Bottling everything up isn't healthy. Is there anyone you trust? Anyone you can tell things to?" he asked.
