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Tessa woke to a large but gentle hand that was lightly shaking her shoulder. The owner of the smooth ivory hand was just behind her, sharing the meager space of the couch they were sleeping on. It was the only one in the high rise condo they were holed up in for the night.
She struggled to focus her eyes, the only light in the space was the dim glow of a nightlight next to the door that led from the living room to the master bedroom.
"Mmm? Whats-huh?" She mumbled groggily, turning her head slightly.
Her best friend and guardian who just so happened to be a several hundred pound weapon of war whispered back.
"Sorry to wake you Tessa, but listen..."
A pulse of adrenaline spiked through her blood and cut through the grogginess.
Had they been detected by one of Cyn's hunters? It wouldn't have been the first time. Despite their efforts they had not quite managed to leave the area that they had found Morgan in. The nanite transfusion that Morgan and herself had gone through had left them immobile for a couple days and N couldn't fly as fast when he had to carry two human passengers; Holding Morgan in his arms and Tessa draped across his back like he was some kind of angelic robotic fireman.
But no, if danger were near N wouldn't be so passive and the sensor node she wore around her neck would've been active. She forced herself to relax and focused on listening to her surroundings. It wasn't long before she heard what N was talking about.
A muffled cry.
"No!..."
"Please!..."
N whispered in her ear again: "Her heart rate is through the roof. Must be a pretty bad nightmare. I would go try to calm her but I don't think I'm the right person for the job..."
Tessa grimaced. Given the ordeal Morgan had been through, it wasn't hard to guess what her nightmare was about. N was no doubt the world's friendliest Murder Drone but waking up to that sight had taken even Tessa a few weeks to get used to. In this situation, it might've given Morgan an actual heart attack. She put her hand over his and whispered back.
"You're right. Thanks for waking me. I'll go try to calm her down."
N gave her a friendly head-butt between her shoulder blades as he lifted his arm away and she quietly got to her feet. Morgan cried out again and Tessa almost flinched.
In this hellish new reality, it had become second nature to make as little noise as possible lest a passing drone pick up the trail. Tessa had a pretty good idea of how sharp their senses were based on knowing what N could detect. A racket like the one next door could be picked up from a hundred meters away at least. She needed to intervene not just for Morgan's sake but for all of them. She cracked the door to the bedroom and slipped in.
The bedroom was just as dim as the living room. A large king size bed took up the bulk of the space and nestled atop was a writhing tangle of blankets and pillows. Morgan was in the center of it all, whimpering and shivering in her slumber. Compressed in her tight grip was the cat plushie that Tessa had given her in the hospital.
When they had picked this place, Morgan had offered the bed to Tessa and N being the polite gentle soul that she was. They had of course insisted that Morgan take the bed. Her severely injured leg needed the extra room and the two of them were quite accustomed to sleeping in small spaces. Tessa hoped the tossing and turning Morgan was doing didn't result in a setback to her leg healing.
She rounded the bed, knelt down, and ever-so-gently put her hand on Morgan's shoulder as softly as she could.
"Morgan... Morgan it's me, Tessa." She gently shook the girl's shoulder.
Morgan lurched suddenly, crying out. "No!"
Tessa quickly put her other hand over the girl's mouth carefully yet firmly and shushed her, drawing closer to the shaking girl.
"Shhh. Shhh, you're OK Morgan. It's me, Tessa. You're safe. Everything's OK. It was just a dream."
Tessa's heart wrenched as she looked into the frightened teary eyes of her younger friend. The poor thing was terrified but seemed to understand what was happening. Tessa tried to put on as reassuring of a face as she could muster as she gently removed her hand from Morgan's mouth.
"Sorry about that. You OK hun?"
Morgan hiccuped as she slowly shook her head. She whispered: "I keep having the same nightmare."
Tessa gently patted Morgan's head.
"I used to have a lot of nightmares too. Still do, sometimes."
Morgan was still shivering violently and her voice sounded hoarse. "How do you deal with it?"
Tessa smiled again. "Usually N helps calm me down."
It was true. In the early days of Cyn's war before N had acquired his new body, Tessa had essentially woken up screaming every morning. Or would have if it wasn't for N who kept her quiet with a hand over her mouth much like Tessa had just done to Morgan. It was strictly necessary in those days as they had been so close to the epicenter of the conflict and the roving bands of Murder Drones had been far more numerous.
These days, Tessa's nightmares were far less common and N's new sensors were quite adept at detecting episodes before they fully took hold. It also helped that he knew her forwards and backwards like she was a treasured book. He could head off nightmares before they really even took hold.
At the mention of N's name, Morgan's eyes widened in alarm and searched the space near the door. Tessa rubbed her friends back and made more reassuring noises.
"Don't worry, he won't come in here unless I ask him to or there's an emergency."
Internally, Tessa felt a pang of regret. N could hear every word from the couch and would no doubt feel bad about the mere mention of his name scaring Morgan. Tessa had thought Morgan had gotten used to N's presence remarkably quickly. It'd probably helped that she'd witnessed him Goomba stomp her assailant into a scrap heap, but she supposed there were limits to human adaptability.
Morgan's eyes were brimming again as she whimpered, "Will you please h-hold me?"
Tessa felt her heart twist in her chest. "Of course hun, one sec."
She carefully climbed into the bed, taking extra care not to bump Morgan's injured leg. She laid down facing the trembling teen and fluffed her pillow a bit. Morgan let go of the plush to reach out, pressing her face into the crook of Tessa's shoulder and letting out a muffled sob. Tessa put her arm around Morgan and ran her hand through the girl's hair as she whispered sweet nothings.
After the sobs had died down slightly, Morgan managed to hiccup out a few words.
"I k-keep seeing them in my dreams. The murder drone." She shuddered as she spoke. Tessa nuzzled Morgan's hair.
"They catch m-me and stab me. But they don't k-kill me." More hiccups.
"T-They... e-eat-"
"Shhh- don't think about it dear." Tessa holds Morgan tighter to interrupt her. "You're safe now. We won't let anyone hurt you. Promise."
Morgan trembled and sobbed anew, gripping Tessa's shirt tightly. They stayed that way for a while, until Morgan's tears ran out.
Then, Tessa has an idea.
"Hey, didn't you say you had a cat?"
Morgan sniffled and nodded into Tessa's chest. "Mhm. His name was Pickles."
"That's a super cute name." Tessa cooed. "I always wanted a cat but my mother hated them so I only got to pet a few strays sometimes. What color was he?"
"Orange," Morgan whispered. "With green eyes and white paws. I miss him lots."
"What a handsome boy," Tessa hummed. "Wanna know a fun fact?"
Morgan nodded again.
Tessa whispered like she was dropping a giant secret. "N can purr like a giant cat."
Morgan snorted and shook. "Nuh uh."
"Yuh huh. Really loud too. It's very relaxing." Tessa pulled away to look at Morgan's face. For the first time since she woke, there was a small smile on the girl's face.
"It's actually how he calms me down when I have nightmares."
Morgan blinked. "That sounds nice."
"It is! Do you... wanna try? Only if you want to though!"
Apprehension spilled into Morgan's expression and she bit her lip. "I don't know..."
"If it's too much he can just go back to the couch. He won't mind, promise." Tessa took Morgan's hands encouragingly.
Morgan made thinking sounds as she gripped Tessa's hands. Finally she looked back up into Tessa's eyes and whispered: "OK."
"Brave lil' cutie." Tessa gently bonked their foreheads together. She raised her a voice a tad, "N, you catch all that?"
A few seconds later, there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. Tessa looked back at Morgan. She seemed nervous but gave a small nod after taking Tessa's hand again.
Tessa turned back to the door. "Come in!"
The door unlatched and slowly opened. N's head appeared in the doorway, sideways so as to hide his body. He wore his signature friendly smile.
"Hey guys!" he said, voice soft. He turned his eyes to Morgan with a look of concern. "Are you alright buddy?"
Tessa felt Morgan squeeze her hand tightly. She nodded.
"I've got something that might cheer you up. Check it out!" N proudly stepped fully into the doorway and flipped on the lights. "Tadaa!"
Tessa slapped a hand over her mouth to smother a loud laugh. She managed to turn it into a choked chortle.
N usually slept in a different oversized t-shirt than the black one he wore outside. This however, was not that. It seems somewhere along the way he had found a Pajama set that fit him. A shirt and pants set that was covered in pictures of little cartoon cats and dogs. It was utterly impossible to look intimidating in that outfit.
It had the desired effect. Morgan was giggling up a storm next to Tessa and had released her hand from the death grip.
"Where on Earth have you been hiding that?" Tessa managed to ask.
N flipped the lights back off as he approached the bed. "Been saving it for a rainy day," he winked. He stopped at the foot of the bed and put his hands on his hips in mock disappointment.
"Now I've been told there's someone here who doesn't think I can purr. That just won't do!"
Tessa slid over to make room as N managed to slide his way between the two girls surprisingly gently for someone his size and sat against the headboard of the bed. He kept his nanite stinger at the foot of the bed, well away from Morgan. Tessa checked her face for any trace of fear and found none.
N mock cleared his throat and turned his nose up dramatically, "Behold!"
A low but strong vibration filled the room and Morgan gasped in wonder.
"He's just like a cat!"
Tessa giggled. "Told you so! Try touching his chest, like this." Tessa placed a hand over his core and Morgan did the same.
"Woahhhhh I can feel it. It's so strong!"
N beamed and his chest puffed with pride.
"The best thing though, is a hug." Tessa leaned her head against N's shoulder and put an arm around his mid-section. N wrapped an arm around her in kind.
Morgan hesitated for a moment but slowly followed suit. Once she settled though, the tension evaporated off her shoulders and she let out a soft sigh.
"Warm," she whispered. Her eyelids slowly fluttered shut.
Tessa and N's eyes met and she smiled warmly at him. "Great job," she mouthed.
"Great idea," he displayed on his visor. He gradually toned down the strength of his purr to levels more conducive to sleep.
They stayed like that for a while, until they heard gentle snoring from the smaller of N's charges. Ever so gently, they maneuvered the formation until they were all horizontal with a pillow under each head. Amazingly they managed to do so without waking Morgan. Tessa sighed with relief and checked the clock. 3AM. Still enough time to catch several more hours of sleep.
This sleeping arrangement was actually pretty optimal in many respects. Now, N's core would mask the signatures of both their heartbeats from any approaching hunters. Plus, they only needed one bed and it was all very cute and comfy. Three birds with one stone. This pleased the tinkerer part of Tessa's brain and she sighed contentedly into N's chest as she pressed closer to him.
"G'night Morgan, G'night N," she whispered.
"Night Morgan, Night Tessa" he answered. His arm tightened every so slightly against her.
All was well.