A/N

We need fluff and comfort right now. Well, I don't know if YOU do, but I do, in between life crisis and health scares and of course online-based saber rattling.

Alex Blake was so tired she thought she might fall asleep standing up. After the last case, her sleep had been erratic and plagued by nightmares. It seemed that every time she thought nothing could get to her anymore, that she was finally numbed enough that the horrors she saw every day no longer affected her… something did. It didn't have to be one of the more gruesome cases either. It was as if it sometimes just slipped through her defences and infected her dreams with the fear that she usually kept under tight wraps.

JJ had noticed, of course, and by the end of this week, the entire team had. It was inevitable of course; she was more or less sleepwalking through the days. Hotch had taken her aside this morning and asked if she needed to see someone about it, or if she needed some days off. Alex had declined both offers, thoughtful as they were. She had told him that if she hadn't slept a full night during the weekend, she would take a couple of days off. He hadn't been happy about her decision, but not surprised either. But she honestly didn't think she'd need those days off; she was definitely going to sleep this weekend. The problem was that she didn't want to.

Sleep-deprived, Alex didn't fare too well when it came to everyday tasks. Today alone she had brushed her teeth with facewash. Stepped out of the shower but forgotten to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. She had put her keys in the fridge and put the milk in the bread box, and she had no idea – none whatsoever – where she had left her contacts.

So when she joined JJ in front of the TV after her shower (more precisely, after returning to the shower to rinse the shampoo, then forgetting to apply conditioner) she wore the glasses she hadn't taken out of their box in five years or so.

"That's a new look for you," JJ remarked.

"Actually it's an old look," Alex replied. "I haven't worn them in years. It feels weird."

"Well, they suit you." JJ took a closer look at her. "Are you alright, Alex?"

"Fine. I'm just tired."

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"I think I got a couple of hours."

"Two hours?"

"Something like that," Alex replied. In reality, it was probably more like half an hour.

"Well then, off to bed"

Alex let out something that was between a sigh and a groan.

"In a minute, I just need to go through the lecture plan for the forensic linguistics c-" she interrupted herself with a yawn that almost made her dizzy "-course that starts next week," she finished. JJ reached out and took her glasses.

"Can't do that if you can't see to read."

"I'm not blind without them, JJ," Alex replied and tried to take them back, but JJ wouldn't hand them over. "Fine," Alex muttered and yawned again. "I'll take the headache, then."

"Do you hear yourself, Alex?" JJ wondered. "You're so tired you can barely sit up straight. You know, I changed the bed sheets today. Fresh sheets. Think about that for a moment."

"I don't want to go to sleep," Alex admitted. "I don't need any more of those nightmares."

"Do you want to take a pill?"

Alex considered for a moment, then shook her head and ran her fingers through her still wet hair.

"No, it's okay. Sometimes they knock me out completely. Other times they make dreams even more vivid, I don't want to take any chances."

"Let's go to bed," JJ said and turned off the TV. "Since it's Will's turn to have Henry over the weekend, we can sleep in tomorrow."

"Oh. Right."

Alex didn't have any more objections to deliver, and it was no use trying to stay awake either; at some point the body simply overrules the mind. She was scared of what she might encounter in sleep, but she wouldn't be able to fight back much longer. She could feel herself nodding off for seconds at a time.

When she stood up, JJ put her arms around her, very gently rocking her.

"I know you're scared. It's okay. We all have those nightmares sometimes. They pass."

Alex nodded against her shoulder, unwilling to tear her face away from JJ's soothing body heat and the wonderful scent of the sweet, discreet perfume she wore.

"I know."

JJ held the other woman for a while, until Alex seemed suspiciously still and limp and leaned heavily on JJ's shoulder.

"Alex," JJ murmured, barely able to keep from laughing. "Honey, wake up. You can't stand here sleeping."

"Mmmh… watch me," Alex replied groggily, but somehow straightened, rubbed her face with both hands and tried to look alert but not doing a very good job.

"We're going upstairs now," JJ said in a soft but firm voice. "Are you finished in the bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"Good, straight to bed for you, then."

"Where did you put my glasses?" Alex asked the moment they reached the landing.

"Doesn't matter, you don't need them right now."

"Well, I need to know where they are for tomorrow."

"Alex, honey, I'll try to say this gently, but right now you don't know where anything is, and you don't have to, either. I'll be in charge until tomorrow morning, okay? You don't have to think about anything. Everything is taken care of. I've got it. I've got you."

Alex finally gave up what slippery grasp she still had on control and stumbled into the bedroom. While JJ went to brush her teeth, Alex changed into her PJs and crawled up underneath the covers, nearly moaning from how good it felt to lie down. Had the pillows ever seemed so fluffy? Not that she could recall.

When JJ returned Alex was flat on her stomach with her face buried in the pillows.

"Can you even breathe like that?"

"Breathing is overrated," Alex mumbled into the pillow.

JJ climbed into bed, inched closer, and started to gently run her hands down Alex's back. It was the same kind of feathery caress that had always managed to sooth Henry into sound sleep whenever he had nightmares. She wasn't sure if it would work on the stubborn, seasoned crimefighter in bed with her, but Alex's breathing relaxed even more and her skin broke out in goosebumps under JJ's fingertips.

"Does that feel good?" JJ whispered. Alex made a purring sound in response, sounding just like a sleepy kitten. JJ smirked. Yeah, that definitely felt good.

It didn't take long for that purr to turn into deep, calm breathing, and then into a light snore. JJ considered turning her over on her side - she could hardly get enough oxygen that far into the pillows - but Alex turned over of her own before JJ could come to a conclusion. The deep lines of sleep deprivation and anxiety had smoothed out and she looked like the picture of tranquillity. There was even a faint smile on her lips.

JJ didn't think there would be any nightmares that night, and she was right.