A/N: What's this?! I'm writing for a ship that isn't Triles?! I know. It's unheard of. I just couldn't shake this idea from my head. Plus, I had over 12 hours of sitting in a car this weekend on my trip to Cali and back. So I took advantage of the time to write since there wasn't much to do.

Please, let me know what you think! Criticism and comments are much appreciated. I've always gone back and forth on whether I ship Zaya or not. They're both such difficult characters for me to understand at times. So it was definitely a challenge for me to try to capture their essence and their feelings here. But the first thing I wondered with the promo for the next episode was if Zig heard Maya screaming in the middle of the night. Tumblr showed me I wasn't the only one - and I guess that's how this came about.

My entire body convulsed as I was abruptly woken from a deep, peaceful sleep. I sat up groggily, my tired mind trying to process what had happened.

Something woke me up. Something insanely loud. It was a scream. Oh shit - Maya.

I leaped out of bed, nearly losing my footing in the process. My eyes darted to every corner of the room as I tried to remember where my knife was. But as the realization sunk in that I may not have time, I decided to grab the nearest object that could potentially be used as a weapon if necessary. My heart was beating so fast I expected it to burst out of my chest any second. But I was still surprisingly in tact as I sprinted across the hall to Maya's room and threw the door open. I thought I was prepared for the worst - some sort of escaped convict with a gun to her head or a masked man carrying her out the open window. What I actually saw should have been more comforting. But the chills that struck through my veins were powerful like a blast of icy wind during a winter storm.

She was sitting upright in bed, her blankets in a disheveled pool around her feet. Her upper body rose and fell rapidly along with her labored breathing. Even from 3 meters away I could tell she was trembling viciously. The sweat coating her hinted that it wasn't a matter of being too cold. Her already pale skin had taken on a paper white shade that made her veins pop out. As they darted towards me I noticed the soft green irises were painted dark from the visible pain she held in her eyes. I would have compared her demeanor to someone who had just seen a ghost, but I knew that what she had seen was much more detrimental than a paranormal creature.

"Zig." My name sounded almost foreign through her raspy, shaken voice.

I briefly contemplated leaving her alone with her thoughts, but I knew that wouldn't help anything. I had never been wonderful at the whole "talking it out" thing. But Maya had been a huge help lately, and although I may not be the best at showing it at times - I do care about her a lot. I want her to get better. So I decided to stay and talk to her.

"Maya." I responded, gulping as I calmly shut the door behind me and walked carefully towards her bed.

"Why do you have a lamp?"

I hadn't been expecting that to be her next question. I chuckled quietly under my breath, looking at the item I had been clutching tightly in my hand.

"I uh... was going to use it as a weapon." I admitted sheepishly as I set it on the floor.

I was relieved to see her crack a small smile before her face fell once more

"Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep." She grumbled letting her gaze fall from mine

"Don't worry about it." I pushed her words aside with sincerity as I sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you okay?"

"Just go back to bed, Zig." She fought a second time, her voice rising with familiar frustration

"Maya, you're shaking." I pressed on but she continued to try to hide herself from me.

"Yeah. It's...freezing in here."

"Is that why you're sweating like you just ran a marathon?"

She pursed her lips, knowing she had no logical explanation for that one. My persistence was usually faulty, but this time it seemed to pay off. She only shrugged, so I continued to speak.

"Another nightmare?"

She nodded slowly, pulling her knees up to her chest. She looked so vulnerable and afraid. I took a deep breath as I watched her, her anguish making my entire body ache. I wasn't an expert on the whole nightmare thing. Hers were never explained to me either other than that they weren't pleasant to experience. They had been haunting her for far too long. They were consuming her more and more with each one. I wanted my optimistic, cello playing, sassy Maya back - not just for myself, but for her. I could never understand the power this girl held over me. At this point, I had given up even trying. All I knew was that I wanted to watch her worries escape.

"When I was four I had this reoccurring dream that I was being eaten alive by dinosaurs." I started again and her head finally snapped back up.

"So?" She asked with apparent confusion

"I'm still here, aren't I?" I smiled slightly but she only rolled her eyes "I know whatever you're seeing is scary. But you have to remember it's not real..."

"But it could be."

Her voice was so quiet I nearly missed it. The tension that soon filled the room brought the hairs on the back of my neck to a stand. She was completely serious. I silently wished I had a realistic nightmare story to share with her. But unfortunately, little Zigmund getting mauled by pterodactyls wasn't exactly believable after grade one. She was still as uneasy as she was when I had found her, bringing another idea into my mind. I might not be able to talk to her properly, but I could help her calm down physically.

"Why don't I get you some water?" I offered as I stood up but she quickly jumped, her small hand gripping at my wrist

"No, don't leave!" She pleaded, her fear stricken face clashing with the tingling rush of her touch

She looked as if the tears could fall any second. I sat back down, scooting up next to her this time.

"I'm not going anywhere." I assured her.

I was unsure of how that would help, but it certainly seemed to calm her down momentarily. I let my arm snake around her shoulders and she caught me off guard as she swiftly snuggled up against me. Her head fell to my chest, her unruly bedhead scratching beneath my chin. The butterflies in my stomach came to life as our bodies met, urging me to tighten my hold. She didn't protest. I wanted to ask why she didn't want me to leave - why she seemed to need me here so badly. But I bit my tongue, wondering if some questions were better left unanswered. We remained in silence for what seemed like hours, the only noise coming from her occasional sniffles. Even with nothing happening I was wide awake. Somewhere between when the trembling ceased and the color returned to her pigment, I realized that this was because there was nothing else I'd rather do than comfort her. Even if my presence seemed to be a lost cause on my end.

"Thank you, Zig." She finally whispered into the darkness and I couldn't help but smile as I peered down at her

"Don't mention it." I brushed off her apology, trying to make it seem like being with her wasn't the highlight of my night.

She shifted all her weight over so she was leaning against me entirely. The next thing tho break the silence was the sound of her snoring slightly. My heart melted at the awareness that she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep again. I was struck with a twinge of sadness when I remembered how late it was, and that her mother would not appreciate finding us in bed together in the morning. But as I stared down at her, finally at peace for the first time in forever I huffed with an exhausted sigh. Sometimes certain situations were worth getting in trouble over.