Aleisa fidgeted as she began to come back into consciousness, frowning as she tried to figure out what could have been waking her up. Her eyes opened up slowly as she could hear the sound of whimpering. It was barely intelligible but it was still there. Then she could feel some moisture from underneath her head. Finally, the jerky shifting of her 'pillow' was what truly woke her up. It was Peter. Lifting her head up she adjusted herself so she could get a good look at what was happening. His forehead was furrowed, sweat glistening across his bare chest and he was fidgeting around. He was having a nightmare. Aleisa quickly sat up and reached over to stroke his face soothingly as she tried to wake him up before it got worse.

"Peter? Love it's ok…wake up hon, it's me…come back to me Pete." She murmured comfortingly as she continued to stroke his face with her hands. Peter jerked awake, his eyes wild and frantic as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Hey, its ok….you're home with me Peter." Aleisa quickly told him, trying to calm him down. Peter heaved in deep breaths as he became lucid once again. He was home with his wife. Everything was ok. He groaned in frustration and reached up to wipe a hand down his forehead.

"You ok?" Aleisa asked him, searching his face for his reaction. Obviously something he had seen had shaken him up. Peter nodded as he swallowed thickly. He was far from fine.

"Hon I need you to talk to me." she cooed, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

"Yea, everything's ok now." He assured her, reaching up to grab her hand in his.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him warily. She had heard from his siblings that he had the occasional nightmare after he had returned home but this was the first time that she had seen it firsthand. After all they hadn't been married but a couple months now. Peter just sighed and pulled her back down to lay on his chest. She silently complied and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. It was still a bit fast but was gradually slowing down. They lied there for a moment, Peter thinking absently as he rubbed his thumb along her arm that was draped across his chest.

"I was back in battle." He told her slowly, Aleisa shifted her head so she could look up at him while still keeping it on his bare chest. She lied there and listened to him, never intending to interrupt so that he could get out what was bothering him. In situations like this, she found that with Peter it was better to just sit back and listen as he got things off of his chest.

"But this time I was home. We were in England and everything was going horribly….." he swallowed thickly, tightening his hold on his wife unconsciously as he recalled what he had been seeing.

"All I could think about was if everyone was safe. Somehow we ended up near your house and I just started running. I ran in and I called and called for you but you never answered….I didn't know what to think. But eventually I made it up to your room and…" he trailed off, his face scrunching in emotional pain. She watched him intently, her own heart hurting for him as she saw the unshed tears in his eyes. But he was determined not to let them fall.

"….and you were just lying there…pale and lifeless….I couldn't protect you….I couldn't do anything but just stare at you." He told her thickly. Aleisa ran her hand over his chiseled chest comfortingly.

"Peter look at me." She told him sternly. He looked down at her with glassy eyes.

"I'm still here and I'm safe. Everyone is fine. I'm not going anywhere. It was just a nightmare." she assured him softly. Peter nodded and buried his face into her hair, breathing in her scent. Aleisa pressed herself up against him even more. Assuring him that she was really there. She lightly kissed on his chest, just above where his heart was.

"I love you. I don't know what I would do if I ever were to lose you." He muttered into her hair, sounding much like a frightened child. Aleisa nuzzled into his neck, pulling him closer to her. In turn Peter held her tighter against him, just wanting to feel the beating of her very alive heart.

"I love you too, and you won't have to worry about that happening." She answered earnestly. Aleisa lay awake, running her hands along his chest, as she lulled him back to sleep. She had a feeling that he would be suffering from some degree of PTSD. It was normal for those in the war to have some type of psychological scarring. She couldn't even begin to image what Peter had seen and been through as he didn't share every detail with her. But she did know that no matter what she was going to always be there to chase away those negative thoughts. They would make it past all this together.