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Sara shot up straight in bed, her chest heaving and the ghost of a scream on her lips. Her skin felt as though it was crawling, a common sensation after a nightmare these days. The terror filled dream started to fade from her mind but the horror remained. Next to her, Ava slowly sat up, blinking back sleep.
“You’re okay, Sara.” She whispered, gently placing a warm hand on Sara chest. Sara closed her eyes, her chest still heaving as she tried to gain control of her breathing. Ava waited patiently, her other hand rubbing Sara’s back.
Eventually, Sara leaned into Ava, hiding her face from Ava’s kind eyes. She blew out a breath.
“You wanna talk about it?” Asked Ava.
“I really don’t remember it.” Sara whispered, pulling away. “But I still don’t think I can sleep now.”
Ava nodded solemnly. “I’m going to go grab you a water and the weighted blanket, okay?” Ava stood, but not before planting a gentle kiss on Sara’s head.
The halls of the Waverider were dimmed, as they always were at night. She carefully padded her way down to the galley, to fetch a glass of water for both herself and Sara, before heading back. She was not expecting to see someone hunched over at the table when she got there.
“Spooner?” The woman didn’t react, so Ava stepped closer. “Spooner.”
Spooner finally looked up, her eyes tired. “What?” She snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to snap.”
Ava took a seat opposite the woman. “What’s wrong?”
“You should be asking Sara that.” Upon the look of confusion crossing Ava’s face, Spooner explained, “Whenever she has nightmares I see images, feel whatever she’s feeling.”
Ava swallowed. She knew Sara’s nightmares were bad, anyone in the room when they happened would know that. “She won’t answer me, I already know that.”
Spooner looked up at Ava with tired eyes. “Then…” Spooner looked away. “I don’t know, I don’t know her well.”
Ava stood, and finally got the glasses she had came for. “We-we’ll figure this out, okay?” Said Ava, as she begin to leave. “I promise. I’ll talk to Gideon in the morning.”
When Ava arrived back in their shared bedroom, Sara had seemed to almost fall back asleep. “What took so long?” She whispered softly.
“We weren’t the only ones awake.” Ava answered gently, coming to Sara’s side, handing her the glass. “Small sips.” She whispered, brushing back Sara’s hair as she drank. When Sara was done, Ava took the glass, and set it next to her own she hadn’t drank yet. She went to the closet and grabbed the weighted blanket, placing it over the bed before grabbing her own glass and scooting over to her side of the bed.
Sara came and rested her head on Ava’s chest once she was settled, listening to her lover’s heartbeat. It always comforted her, and she allowed her eyes to slip closed. Ava drew meaningless circles into Sara’s back, something to do to keep her awake until Sara was finally asleep.
“You’re too good to me.” Sara sleepily joked, her words half slurred.
“Good.” Said Ava.
Slowly, Ava felt Sara go lax against her, her breath evening out. It was perhaps one of her quickest recoveries from a nightmare ever, but Ava was certainly not one to complain. Soon, she too fell asleep, thoughts of her love in her head.