A/N: Warnings for implied PTSD and mentions of trauma.

Word Count: 501 words (excluding title, linebreaks and author's notes)

Flashbacks

Harry felt numb. His thoughts were sluggish, slipping through his mind like wisps of smoke he couldn't quite grasp. He could still hear screaming, she had screamed so loud as the world had flashed white, burning so bright he still couldn't quite see properly. Everything was fuzzy around the edges. Nothing felt real.

Where were his glasses? Where was he? What was happening?

There had been an accident, there had been screaming…

"How are you feeling?"

Harry blinked again, struggling to breathe as he tried to focus on the man in front of him. He had kind blue eyes and was crouched in front of Harry, his hands on his knees.

"Concentrate on me, okay? You're safe."

"People were hurt, people were dying… I tried to save them but I was stuck. I couldn't save them!" Harry could feel himself about to cry as the shock started to sink in. "There were so many cars."

"Look at me, love. Just focus on me. You're safe."

Harry shook his head, a little frustrated with the paramedic. Didn't he understand what was happening?

"You need to go help! We need to go, we need to go help. We need to save them!"

"Harry, my name is Ron."

"Ron, please, we need…"

"Harry, baby, focus on me. You're safe. We're at home."

The words sounded like they were coming from far away. He exhaled, biting his lip hard. The woman was still screaming, the sound ringing in his ears and he put his hands over them, hunching forward, body shaking.

"We're home. It was just a dream Harry, it was just a memory. We're both safe now, you're with me and you're safe."

"Ron?"

It came back to him slowly, the ambulance expanding until it shimmered at the very edges of his peripheral vision. Ron was sat in front of him, wearing only pyjama bottoms, his eyes fixed on Harry.

"Come back to me baby, you can do it. Remember the breathing techniques? Touch your ring and just keep listening to me."

Harry dutifully felt for his wedding ring, twisting it back and forth on his finger as he tried to breathe in time with Ron's counting.

"Hold me, please. I was back and I don't know what's real… fuck… Ron..."

Ron got up slowly, knowing that if he moved too fast he was likely to send Harry back into a flashback and sat on the sofa next to him, pulling him into his arms.

"You're safe. I'm real. Just focus on this and it'll be okay."

"I'm sorry." Harry's voice was barely a whisper. "I don't even know what happened, what the trigger was but fuck I was back in the ambulance, where we first met and…" he took in a shuddering breath as Ron rubbed his back gently.

"It's alright love, you don't have to explain. We're just going to lie here and relax."

Ron held him close and Harry listened to his voice, letting it drown out the woman still screaming.

A/N: Prompts and Challenges entered:

- Meet Cute Marathon Day 17: A has just been in an accident. There were cars, there were lights, there were loud crashes and the faint sound of a woman screaming. Now, A is sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket and a heavy feeling of confusion. B, a paramedic, stops at A's side and asks, "How are you feeling?"

- Play More Cards: War - War!AU

- Serpent Day: Blonde hognose snake - (word) whisper

- Lyric Alley: I'm a little bit scared

- Character Appreciation: (relationship) Devoted husband

- The Forty Day Challenge: 501 words only

- The Insane House Challenge: Action - Screaming.

- The 365 Prompts Challenge: Word - Shimmer