"Marak?" Kate woke up in the dark.
She had been married for almost half a year, but she still hated waking up underground. It only made it harder that Marak wasn't at her side.
"Marak?" She sat up, confused.
This was the first time she had woken up from a nightmare without Marak there to comfort her. It was first now she realized how much it meant to have him there.
Marak was nowhere to be seen, and Kate hesitantly stood up.
She opened the door to their living room, careful not to make a noise. Marak sat writing at a decorated desk, looking up at Kate entered.
Despite her attempts to be quiet he had heard the door opening, and after one single look at his pale wife, he was at her side, holding her in his arms.
Finally Kate let her tears flow, hiding her face in his embrace. Marak gently carried her back into bed, never letting her go.
"Marak?" She asked again.
"What?" His voice was gentle. For once he didn't mock her.
"Never mind." She just needed to hear him answer. She closed her eyes.
She could handle waking up in the dark with him at her side.
And she knew he would never be far away.