Toby shifted restlessly in his bed, trying in vain to get to sleep. His thoughts drifted to the beautiful blonde asleep on his couch, and he sighed audibly. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up and bring her to bed with him, but he thought that might call into question the whole "just friends" thing. He frowned and concentrated hard, straining his ears, listening for any sounds from the living room. Rustles from the couch and the occasional sniff were all he could hear. He sighed again and turned over, his eyes fixed on the blank wall, but then he heard a small whimper carrying through the silent house. It was quickly followed by stifled sobs and moans. Toby sat up and pulled the covers off his legs, pausing briefly to listen for more noises. All was silent for several minutes so he considered going back to sleep, until…
A bloodcurdling shriek ripped through the night, making the hairs on the back on his neck stand on end. "No! Leave me alone! Get away from me!" She yelled repeatedly, crying and screaming in between words. Toby sprinted through to the living room, grabbing the baseball bat he kept by the door for protection. Convinced he would find a serial killer looming over Justine, he burst into the room, keeping his bat poised, but saw no evidence of an intruder, only a sobbing, screaming girl writhing on the couch. "Justine!" He shouted, dropping the baseball bat at his feet. It clattered across the hardwood floor, snapping Justine out of her nightmare. She breathed heavily, her eyes were slightly glazed over, still struggling to wake up. He kneeled beside the couch, moving a few strands of hair from her forehead, which was clammy with sweat. Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall what had happened.
"What was that noise?" She croaked, and then spotted the bat. "Is that bat your Boone, Toby?" She smiled weakly at him, and he tried to return it but couldn't, still so worried as he was.
"I thought someone had broken in… And they were trying to hurt you," He brushed her forehead again, this time letting his fingertips linger on her cheek.
"Why would you think-" She stopped as the memory of her dream came flooding back to her. "Oh, God!" She choked and a fresh wave of tears crashed over her. He pulled her into a tight hug and she cried into his t-shirt, sniffing loudly. He squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.
"Do you want to talk about it, JJ?" He said quietly. She shook her head, but launched into a concise but detailed rundown of the events, pausing rarely for breath.
"We were in Dead Space, you and me, and we were just running around trying to escape. There was no-one around and it was really quiet, the kind of quiet you always hear in movies right before the side kick gets eaten, right? So then all these necromorphs started crawling out of the walls and Floor and they started towards us. They backed us into a corner and we couldn't escape and I was so scared, and then they came even closer and then-" She let out a small gasp, and with it came a heaving sob. "Then they killed you! And I was alone with just these monsters, and they started moaning and closing in… And then you woke me up." She buried her head in his shoulder, shuddering.
"Oh, JJ," He breathed and stroked her long hair gently.
They stayed like that for a while, rocking back and forth in the darkness. Eventually, Toby sighed and pulled back slightly, cupping Justine's tired face in his hands.
"We'd better get you back to bed," He murmured. She gave him one terrified glance but nodded and made to lie back on the couch. He shook his head however, and pulled her back towards him. "No, I don't want you sleeping on the couch…" He muttered.
"Um, okay, I'll sleep in the spare bed then." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Or…" He coughed and looked away. "You could sleep in my bed… In case there's more nightmares…" She yawned, leaning her head against his chest. He took that as a yes, so slipped one arm under her legs and hoisted her off the couch and through to his room where he laid her lightly on the bed. She stretched under the covers, almost falling immediately asleep, but forced herself to stay awake until Toby, who was removing his damp t shirt, had come into the bed too. A small smile spread across her face at the thought spending the night in his bed with him, but she hid it quickly when he turned to face her. He slid into the other side of the bed and turned away from her, forcing himself to ignore the electricity dancing across the bed between them.
Justine shivered slightly, but whether it was from cold or fear, even she didn't know. She shuffled across the bed to Toby's side, the space between them shrinking.
"Toby," She whispered. He turned and jumped to see her so close.
"What is it, JJ?" He replied groggily.
"I'm a little cold…" She looked at her fingers twisting her hair next to her face.
"Okay… I'll get you a blanket," He said, and started to get up. "
No!" She grabbed his arm to stop him. "Don't leave…" She blushed scarlet, though it was invisible in the near pitch darkness. He lay back down next to her, puzzled as to what she wanted. As she shifted closer to him, he finally understood.
"You want a hug, JJ?" She smiled and nodded awkwardly, turning her back to him. He was thrilled, but tried to contain his excitement. He wrapped his arm around her waist and hugged her to his chest. She shivered slightly at the feel of his warm breath on the back of her neck, entwining her fingers with his, smiling softly.
He watched her for a long time, marveling at her beauty. When he was sure she was asleep, he pulled her much closer to him and leaned over to kiss her briefly on the corner of the mouth.
"Goodnight, JJ." He breathed. "I'll always protect you."
Little did he know, she was still wide awake.