Lwaxana sat up with a gasp, her hands pressed against her chest, feeling like she was going to explode with fear. "K-kate?" she managed to bite out before drawing her legs up to her chest, trying to fight against the sobs threatening to tear from her throat. At some point, Kate's quilt had been kicked to the foot of the bed, and she fished for it, needing the comfort.
And then, a warm hand was touching the bare flesh of her upper back, and she sagged against Kate, welcoming the comfort of her warm body supporting her as she drew up the quilt to her waist. "I'm here, Lwaxana, don't worry."
There was something comforting about the total lack of sympathy in the woman's voice, since she knew that Kate wasn't one to show too much emotion. Still, her very presence was enough to calm Lwaxana a little, and unconsciously, she nestled her head into Kate's chest, trying to find her heartbeat. "It was the same dream," she murmured brokenly as she tried to lose herself in Kate's very presence. "And I hate being this weak, this broken, but thank you for this."
"It's okay to admit that you need help." Kate started to move, but Lwaxana quickly wrapped her arms around her waist, holding her tight. "I was going to get you something to drink, to try and calm your nerves."
"I don't want drink, I want you." Her tiredness allowed the words to slip out before she could press her lips together and keep them in her heart. Kate stiffened, trying to pull away again, and Lwaxana let her as she curled her body into a tight ball once more, burying her head in her legs as best she could, the sobs tearing from her throat once more. She'd really gone and done it this time, fouled things up before she'd meant to, and in the process destroyed a budding friendship that she hadn't realized she'd wanted until it was no longer a possibility. "Just, go back to the sofa. I'll arrange transport off the ship come the morning."
"No." The word was faint, but emphatic, which caused Lwaxana to lift her face and look at Kate. Her eyebrow was cocked up, as if daring Lwaxana to speak once more. "No, you're not ready to leave here just yet. The night terrors still wake you up, and I won't let you go until that isn't true."
She nodded her head slowly before stretching out on the bed once more, bringing the quilt up around her shoulders. "All right."
Lwaxana closed her eyes, trying to will herself back to sleep, but found it elusive. Turning onto her side, she tried to get comfortable on the mattress. It seemed like nothing she did, though, gave her any relief. Next to her, she heard Kate sigh with resignation as she, too, stretched out on the mattress, scooting around until she was also covered by the quilt. "I have an early shift, so I'm sorry if I wake you in the morning."
"It's okay," she said as she stiffened her body, not wanting to relax against Kate, not wanting to intrude on her private space. Every fiber in her body, though, seemed to fight against her sensibilities, craving the warmth and comfort that another body next to her could offer. Uneasily, she closed her eyes, cradling her head on her hands as she tried to think sleepy thoughts, to train her focus on the void of darkness, rather than on who was next to her.
In less than ten minutes, Kate was fast asleep, a light snore slipping from her lips. The white noise did little to help Lwaxana slip over into the sweet oblivion of rest, though, and she sighed as she turned on her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was ridiculous, really, how keyed up she was, and she screwed her eyes closed. The only thing that did was start to give her a headache, and she opened her eyes once more, trying to think of the most boring novel she had ever been forced to read.
That seemed to do the trick, as she had just started yawning deeply when Kate flipped over and threw her arm around Lwaxana's waist. "Oh, really now. This is just absolutely ridiculous. Are the gods seeing fit to torment me now?" she muttered as she tried to dislodge Kate's hand without waking her.
"Please, lay still. I need to get some rest."
Letting out a soft gasp, Lwaxana stiffened once more before screaming loudly in her mind, knowing there was no one aboard who could pick up on her mental distress. Yet Kate's arm tightened around her waist, a deep frown marring her placid features, almost as if she had picked up on her frustration. "In for a penny, in for a pound," she finally whispered as she snuggled closer to Kate, resting her head next to the other woman's as she stared at her face. There was something so lovely about her features, and Lwaxana found her eyes roaming as she memorized everything she could see.
Slowly, her eyes started to droop closed, and Lwaxana let her body relax as she began to feel safer and safer. "Are you ever going to fall asleep?" Kate asked almost peevishly, and she shrugged a little. "What do you need to feel okay?"
"At this point, I don't really know," she replied. "My body keeps betraying me when I almost cross the threshold, and then I'm awake again. When I was like this with Ian, he would always kiss me, anchoring me to the here and now. I…"
She was about to say that she couldn't ask that of Kate when the woman reached up and stroked her cheek before giving her a gentle, tender, yearning, kiss. It was so sweet and gorgeous, and Lwaxana couldn't help but read Kate's thoughts as the buss lingered on. There was none of the duty she expected to read there, no reticence, no hesitancy. It warmed her heart, and she deepened the kiss, letting her arm creep up Kate's back to curl possessively around her shoulder, finally feeling ready to sleep.