The first few weeks after the Myishi incident were rough for the Supernaturalists. Stefan's absence was like a void pulling everyone into dampened moods. Mona was antsy, and Ditto was quiet. But Cosmo was especially affected. Over the last couple of weeks, he'd only slept for a few hours here and there, and it was taking a toll on him.

After waking up several nights in a row with his legs tangled up in the sheets and sweat pouring down his face, Cosmo had given up trying to sleep at all. If the nightmares weren't going to stop on their own, he wouldn't give them an opportunity to strike. Though sitting up alone in the middle of the night with only a pot of day-old sim-coffee to keep you company wasn't great either.

One day after three sleepless nights, Cosmo was particularly moody, and soon a sarcastic remark from Ditto turned into an all-out screaming match. Finally, after days of watching Cosmo getting increasingly tired, Mona decided she would have to step in.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, getting between her two friends. "Stop it! Thats enough, you two!" She glanced back and forth between them, letting her gaze linger on Cosmo a little longer. After a minute, Ditto crossed his arms and sulked away. Turning to Cosmo, Mona took him by the shoulders and started to lead him toward his bunk.

"What are you doing?" he asked, taken by surprise. Although with how slow his mind seemed to be working the past few days, just about everything took him by surprise.

"You need to sleep. Cosmo."

This took a second for him to process. Because lately, everything took a second for him to process. "No," he said, trying to pull away. But Mona just locked her arms tighter around his shoulders. Another day, Cosmo would have blushed at the close contact. But Mona was leading him to nightmares, and all Cosmo could think was that that was the last thing he wanted. "I don't need to sleep," he insisted as she pushed him onto his bunk. "I'm okay, Mona. Really."

"Cosmo." Mona placed a hand on his cheek and studied his face. There were dark circles under his round, brown eyes, and the gleam that was usually slight in them was gone. "You're exhausted. You can't deny it." She gently nudged him back into the bed, lifting the covers over his body.

Despite his protests, his muscles were relaxing. His body wanted to rest. "But I …" Even as he said it, Cosmo could feel his eyelids drooping. His tired mind was giving in, and all he could think about was the soft bed and Mona's warm touch before he finally drifted off.

"Ah!" Cosmo gasped as he sat upright in bed.

Mona looked up from where she was working on a n old computer across the room. "Cosmo?" she asked in alarm, rising and striding across to his bunk. "What's wrong?"

He was breathing hard, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Once he'd caught his breath and gotten ahold of his surroundings, he looked down, averting his gaze from Mona. "It's nothing," he said quietly. "I'm fine."

Mona wasn't buying it. She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked into Cosmo's eyes. "Tell me what's up," she said seriously. "Why haven't you been getting any sleep?"

Cosmo sighed. "It's Stefan." The name came out as a whisper. Cosmo didn't think he could've said it any louder if he'd wanted to. "Every time I fall asleep… there he is. Exactly how it was… that day."

Mona reached out and took Cosmo's hand. When he looked up, tears were trickling down her face. He felt tears of his own well up in his eyes, and he gave her hand a squeeze. Neither of them said a word, but they didn't have to. They both felt the void Stefan had left, and they grieved the loss of their friend together.

After a long moment, Cosmo broke the silence. "I can't go back to sleep," he said, letting go of her hand and starting to climb out of bed.

"Yes," Mona asserted, pushing him back, "you can." He looked up at her with tired, sad eyes, and her face softened. Taking his hand again, she said, "Because I'll stay right here with you the whole time so that there's nothing to be scared of."

He squeezed her hand again. "The whole time?"

She squeezed back and smiled sincerely. "I promise."

Cosmo lay back, and Mona bent down to plant a kiss on his forehead. Cosmo's eyes closed contentedly at the touch.

"Nighty night," Mona whispered.

"Nighty night."