Kris woke up in a cold sweat from a bad dream. She looked around her and saw Junior's arms encircling her body, protecting her. She turned over to face him, so she could see if she had woken him up in her frightened state.

She looked at his closed eyes and slightly open mouth. He was definitely not awake. She looked over at the clock on his side of the bed and realized it was 3 o'clock in the morning. It was a little early to do anything yet.

She sighed heavily and tried to turn back over, but felt Junior tickle her as he was dreaming. His hands went up and down her body, and she wondered what he could be dreaming about. She stayed facing him and watched him sleep, something he claimed to do every time he got the chance because she was "so beautiful to watch." Kris watched Junior begin to snore lightly, getting farther into the oblivion of sleep.

She heard his snoring start to dwindle off, however. She saw his eyelids move a little bit, and he shifted in bed. She watched him as his eyes sleepily opened and studied her before he spoke.

"Hey, you okay?" Junior asked her as he stroked the side of her body. She snuggled a little closer to him and nodded. He squeezed her affectionately and sat up a little bit in bed. "So, why are you up?"

"I had a nightmare," Kris mumbled quietly. She traced her fingernails in a circle around his bare chest. She then moved to his arm and drew a line back and forth softly.

"'Bout what?" Junior asked her. She didn't have nightmares too often, so Junior was curious.

"It's not really important. Just one of those things, you know," Kris replied to him vaguely.

"So, are you ready to go back to sleep?" Junior asked her.

"Um-um," Kris answered. She wanted to stay awake and just talk to Junior. She missed this, she missed being in bed with him and just talking, cuddling.

"Well, what do you suggest we do then, honey? We could play Clue. Maybe even Monopoly," Junior told Kris jokingly.

"I just wanna stay here, with you. You're my cuddle bunny," Kris told him softly with a laugh in her voice.

For as early as it was in the morning, Junior gave a very loud and hearty laugh at what she said. "Cuddle bunny? Are you serious?" Junior asked her between bouts of laughter.

"Yeah, I am, Junior. I just, like this part. When we wake up in the morning we never get to do it anymore, and I really miss it. Believe it or not, that was my favorite part."

"Okay, then. C'mere," Junior told her and opened his arm wide for her to snuggle into him. She draped her legs over his and brought her head to his chest, rubbing it back and forth to find a comfortable spot. She lay her head right by his shoulder and he looked at her for a moment before kissing her forehead, then nose, and then the top of her head, letting his lips linger there for a moment. He bent his head down to hers and took in her smell. One that was simple. Orchids and lavender, it was a light smell that he'd grown to love.

Kris took her hand up and traced her thumb around his lip, feeling its softness for about the millionth time since she'd known him. She changed her position and Junior had his arm wrapped around her again. She was drifting off into sleep and she didn't want to just yet.

"Cuddle bunny, I love you," Kris told Junior with a big smile on her face right before she drifted off into sleep. He looked at her and started to laugh quietly, shaking his head. He really didn't know where cuddle bunny had come from, and it amused him, it really did. He liked that Kris enjoyed their time together in bed so much that she'd thought of a name for it.

Being in Alaska, they really needed to be "cuddle bunnies", though. It was colder than when hell froze over, and Junior hated it, as he was sure Kris did. He got what Kris meant earlier when she said they never got to have this time anymore. He wasn't really home much, and he hated that, too. He'd be happy in two months, when they were ready to leave this place. He liked his job, but he didn't like not seeing his love.

He felt empty when he'd come home and find the house empty, without any lights, and a letter from Kris saying that she'd gone to bed. He'd crawl in and shiver in the cold space that was his spot of the bed, and try to snuggle up to Kris and get comfortable under the layers upon layers of blankets. He missed this just as much as she did.

Just before he went to sleep, he promised himself that he would make more time for this from now on. It was nice, and he liked it. He felt Kris shift in bed before his world went dark, and he whispered, barely audible, "I love you too, cuddle bunny," with a smirk on his face.