Hello from the other sideeee… aka I'm back and once again it's been freaking ages and I apologize. Thanks to msec-in-aeternum for ideas for this. Also, I feel like lately I'm writing a lot about sleep — is that a sign that I'm not getting enough of it? Oopsie. Anyway, as usual, please let me know what you think — reviews are my lifeblood.

Henry woke up to the first rays of sunlight spilling through the bedroom window, feeling better rested than he had in weeks. Finally talking to someone about his nightmares had helped immensely, and even though he knew they wouldn't be magically fixed through one conversation, knowing that someone else knew was like having a weight lifted off his shoulders.

The reason for all this was lying next to him, sleeping soundly. Elizabeth. It was always her, he thought, smiling. She was so utterly connected to him and knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. It was like having an extension of himself, and he hoped (and deep down he knew) that she felt the same. Little else could bring him as much peace as that realization, and a look of contentment took up residence on his face.

Normally, when he and Elizabeth woke up, they were either tangled together (more often that scenario followed a heated night of reconnecting, to put it diplomatically) or they eventually drifted to their respective sides of the bed throughout the course of the night. This was not for a lack of intimacy, but rather a product of four years together and relishing in a good, ache-free night's sleep. That didn't stop Henry from shifting closer to his fiancée once he woke up, intending to wrap himself around her and doze off again — it was early still, especially for a weekend.

However, as Henry inched closer to Elizabeth, he heard the unmistakeable sound of her snoring. He fought the urge to chuckle as she remained oblivious, and momentarily stopped, listening closely. He grinned, and tried to put an old trick to use. Henry pulled Elizabeth close, gingerly, so as not to wake her, and pressed a kiss to her hair, taking a lingering breath. He stayed motionless and observed her closely.

Sure enough, she went quiet after a few minutes, and he felt satisfied and just a little proud that he could still stop her from snoring.

…

When Henry and Elizabeth were first dating, and had begun to spend nights at his apartment, they always slept cuddled together, partially because of pre-sleeping activities that left them too exhausted to move and partially because of the novelty of their relationship, and how giddy it made them both feel to be in the same bed.

As the months went on, however, they began to find sleeping positions that worked for the both of them, and their natural sides of the bed. All a testament to the fact that they were developing their own routine, and getting increasingly comfortable with one another.

One thing Henry noticed as their relationship progressed and they slept on separate sides of the bed was that Elizabeth snored, and not lightly.

The first few times he heard it he wasn't sure if it was Elizabeth or a small plane flying overhead, or possibly a grizzly bear that had gotten lost and decided to come to Charlottesville. But upon further inspection, Henry McCord had come to the realization that his girlfriend — his petite, rather delicate girlfriend — snored. Loudly.

He almost laughed out loud that first time, but during the nights that followed, Henry began to wonder if he'd ever actually sleep again. He didn't know how to broach the subject so he decided to just try and suck it up and sleep through it. Three nights in he knew that was no longer an option. He briefly considered sneaking out to the couch and crashing there until ten minutes before the alarm went off, and then slipping back in bed with Elizabeth and pretending like nothing happened.

He quickly nixed that idea too, and was left with a problem. How would he ever sleep? By night four, the snoring was incessant and he tossed and turned, growing more frustrated by the minute. He scooted closer to Elizabeth, wanting to pull her close so he could wake her carefully. But when he wrapped his arms around her and waited a second, her snoring stopped.

Henry held his breath, hoping she hadn't just stopped for a few seconds, but when she didn't start snoring after a solid minute, he grinned. Elizabeth snored when they slept apart. It filled him with a sense of pride, knowing his presence relaxed her that much.

Over the next few weeks, months, and eventually years, Henry came to a conclusion. When he and Elizabeth slept apart for too long, she began snoring, and his presence somehow made it stop. He'd tried to explain it to her a few times, but she always laughed and called him crazy.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, babe," she'd say. "Literally."

…

Now, Henry finally fell asleep again, wrapped around his fiancée, relishing in the fact that he could sleep in after six months of deployment.

Elizabeth, however, had other plans. She'd woken up a few minutes ago, and found herself tangled up in Henry. She smiled to herself, still not completely used to the fact that he was back and in Virginia and in their bed. She'd spent so long imagining what it would be like to be in his arms again that it she was still occasionally convinced it was too good to be true. She looked at Henry and couldn't help but grin at his utterly peaceful expression.

She knew she should let him sleep, he still needed it. At the same time, she was due back at work on Monday and he had time off and she planned to take advantage of all the time in between.

Elizabeth snuggled closer to Henry and tilted her chin up, slowly brushing her lips over his. She felt him react to the kiss subconsciously, and smiled. She kissed him again, longer this time, and was happy to see his eyelids flutter open at the contact.

"Mmm," he mumbled, kissing her back. "Mornin'."

"Good morning to you too."

She cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him more deeply, tracing the seam of his lips with her tongue. He opened his mouth to giver her access, and shivered when her tongue brushed the roof of his mouth. He groaned and rolled them so he was perched over her, grinning.

"Is there a reason you woke me up at 8:30 on a Saturday?"

"Mmm… maybe…" she replied, biting her lower lip. He rolled his hips and she was the one to groan at the contact.

"Well, seeing as we're both up now, why don't we spend our time wisely?" He dipped down to kiss her again and they quickly lost themselves in one another.

After, as they laid together in a tangle of limbs and sheets, dozing off again, Henry remembered the small hours of the morning.

"Babe, you really missed me when I was away," he said, chuckling.

"Yeah, of course." Elizabeth was confused, of course she had missed Henry.

"You started snoring again. You only do that when we sleep apart."

"Says you, mister," she snapped, feigning indignation. "I don't snore."

"Oh yes you do." Henry grinned, and started to tickle Elizabeth's sides.

"No, I don't!" They soon erupted into peals of laughter and a full-on tickle war, and by the end, both were still convinced they had the true understanding of Elizabeth's sleeping habits.

…

When Elizabeth had to go back to work the next week, the old worries came back. What if Henry couldn't deal with her work being classified, with her having to keep things from him? Would their relationship be able to survive all the secrets?

Ever since she met Henry, Elizabeth had slowly been taking down all the walls she put up when her parents passed away, those protective barriers that hid her true feelings from the outside world. She'd gotten to the point where Henry knew her better than she did herself sometimes, and though it had terrified her in the beginning, she was grateful to be so connected to someone, on every level.

So keeping secrets because of her job felt like a step back, like she was putting up walls again and shutting Henry out of a part of her life. Rationally, she knew that it was different, and not personal, and necessary, and that she could compartmentalize but still. It scared her.

The first few days were normal. No major activity was detected in the area she was assigned to cover, and she could confidently tell Henry she'd been looking at the desert all day. And he could tease her and jokingly ask if she'd spotted any camels yet, and it was okay. And her fear subsided slightly.

But then she spotted something, because if there was one thing Elizabeth was, it was damn good at her job. Suddenly, the bullpen erupted in a flurry of activity, senior analysts were summoned, Conrad gave her a pat on the back, they sent in operatives and somehow she'd found herself in the middle of it all. She went out with Isabelle and Juliet after work, for a few drinks, and they toasted to her first real op, and she felt like she was on top of the world for a little while there. She'd actually done something, helped people, helped her country. It felt good, and she wanted to share it.

But then she came home and it hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't tell Henry about this. And this op had been one of the good ones. What would happen when something failed, when they lost people, or god forbid civilians, if she misinterpreted something? What would happen when work nearly broke her and she would just feel like curling up in Henry's arms and sobbing? What would happen when she was exposed to the truly awful things people were capable of doing to one another, and her fiancé's quotes wouldn't be able to help her, because he would never be able to know what happened in the first place? What would happen then?

Stepping inside their apartment, Elizabeth was quiet and solemn. Her head was spinning with a thousand thoughts and she was thinking through every possible scenario regarding her job. Somehow they all ended with Henry leaving her, because there was still that tiny part of her that was convinced that everybody left her eventually.

Henry looked up from his book and noticed Elizabeth's expression. Instantly, he knew something was up.

"Baby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She pulled off her shoes and coat and headed to the bedroom to change out of her work clothes. Slipping on one of Henry's Marines sweatshirts, she inhaled deeply and tried to push her thoughts to the side and put on a brave face. Henry, however, knew she was bothered by something and had quietly followed her to the bedroom. He leant against the doorframe, watching as she took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. He hated this — hated that she still retreated to that place sometimes where she felt the need to be resilient and deal with everything herself, without letting him in.

Being gone for the past six months probably hadn't helped either, he thought and sighed.

Elizabeth turned at the sound, and was met by Henry's concerned gaze.

"Baby, tell me what happened — please."

"It's nothing, really. Have you eaten dinner yet?" Elizabeth tried to brush past Henry and head to the kitchen but he stopped her with gentle hands on her shoulders.

"Elizabeth—"

"I can't, Henry." She walked down the hall with a fierce determination, and it took him a second to catch up with her. He caught her hand, entwining their fingers, turning her so she had to look at him.

It was his expression that finally broke her.

"I can't, Henry, because I — because it's classified, and you know, I was really proud of myself today. And I had this whole idea of coming home and telling you and you telling me you were proud of me too. And then I remembered that I can't." She looked at a spot on the floor, as if she were embarrassed about it all. Henry let her continue.

"How the hell are we supposed to do this, Henry? I can't tell you what I do every day, and it eats at me, and I know that you said it's going to be okay, but then today happened and I almost forgot and ran to tell you. A good thing happened today, you know? What if I mess something up tomorrow and people get hurt and I have to hide that from you and—"

"Shh, stop." He placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. "First, know that I am always proud of you, Elizabeth, because you're incredible and I know, I just know you're amazing at what you do. Second, I know you can't tell me things and that's okay. As long as your job is all you keep from me it's fine. I understand. And third, we're gonna do this, together, because I love you and you love me, okay?"

She gave him a small nod and he continued. "I know this is hard right now, and it'll be hard every once in a while in the future too. Babe, I promise if something does go wrong at work I won't ask questions. I'll just be there, okay?"

She sniffled and wrapped her arms around him, practically melting into him as his arms encircled her and pulled him close.

"I love you," she whispered, "thank you."

"I'll still ask questions about the snoring though," Henry joked.

Elizabeth pulled back and stuck her tongue out. "Ass." She whacked him on the arm playfully, and Henry couldn't help but grin.

A/N: This was short and a total mess and slightly plot-less, sorry. More plot to come, I promise, I just had to get this out before, and get over the writer's block.