Nearing the end of this story! A few more chapters!

The only light within the Captains quarters came from the small nightlight in the adjoining bedroom. In the master bedroom, Rose was drifting in a fitful slumber, as images of death and gore filled her dreams.

"Mmm," she whimpered, clutching the sheet that barely covered her.

Twelve hours had gone by and Jim still wasn't back yet, making life on the Enterprise difficult and dreary. After dinner, Chris excused himself back to the guest quarters for a conference call and left her and Miranda alone. Bath time and story time came and went, and Miranda was long gone in dreamland.

A shift in images from happiness to murder took over Roses mind, as she trembled in her sleep. Jim standing before her, bleeding out from various wounds and broken bones. Choking on his own blood and he tried to tell her everything he needed to say before the life faded from his eyes.

I'm s-sorry.. I'I love y-you…R-run..

It wasn't until he took his last shuddering breath that she began to scream. Hands reached out and grabbed her arms, shaking her as she thrashed about.

"ROSE! ROSE!"

The gut-wrenching screams filled the room, sounding as if a murder was taking place within the bedroom.

"Mommy!"

"Shit! Bones!"

Muttered curses and the sound of a child crying filled her ears, as she was trapped between consciousness and a dream state.

"Come on! Wake up!"

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and the gasping and shuddering breaths took over. Blinking in the dim lighting, Rose made out the face of her husband and let out a startled cry.

"Oh god!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

Jim grunted as she scrambled onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and holding him tightly to her, nails digging into her shoulders.

"Baby, baby," he whispered, as she sobbed. "Shhh, I'm right here."

A whimpering, shuddering mess, Rose held onto him for dear life and he tried to console her. Leonard stood in the doorway that separated the bedrooms, Miranda clinging onto him as he held her. Jim looked up at him and shrugged, unsure what to say or do.

"Mommy.." Miranda hiccupped, rubbing her eye.

Rose turned her head to look at her and sobbed, "Oh darling," she shook her head. "I'm sorry!"

Leonard placed her down and watched as she took off towards the bed, pulling herself up and into her parents' arms. Snuggled between both Rose and Jim, they all clung to one another, as both mother and child cried. Jim sat quietly hugging them both, whispering soothing words of comfort.

…..

Three hours later, after a quick debriefing with Chris, senior officers and the other captains of the ships that came to aide, Jim stood in the doorway of the bathroom facing his bed. After returning to room, Leonard offered to give Rose a sleeping aid, which she gladly took. It took a half an hour for her body to finally relax as she fell back asleep. He double-checked with security on their prisoner, who sat in a cell in the bowels of the ship. They would reach Earth's range in three days time, and a shuttle would take him and his helpers down for a more suitable holding center.

Tossing the towel over the shower rod, Jim turned the lights off and made his way across the room. Pulling one side of the blanket up from the foot of the bed, Jim made sure both Rose and Miranda were tucked in without waking them. Between his long absence and Rose's nightmare, Miranda refused to go back into her own room. Not having the heart to say no, Jim made sure Miranda had her bear and tucked her right next to Rose before he left. Now, she slept silently at her mother's side, clutching the sleeve of her shirt in her hand.

Jim knelt on the bed and leaned over them, placing a light kiss on each of their faces, before settling down on his side of the bed. Pulling the blankets up and over him, he slid closer towards the middle of the bed and gently draped his arm over both of them. He only hoped that once they returned to San Francisco, things would pick up and move smoothly for the family.

….

The next morning, Rose sat at the small table in the kitchen and stared at the cup of now cold coffee. Overly exhausted and still foggy from the sleeping aid, she woke up at 0700 to a call from Christine. The nurse offered to watching Miranda for the morning so Rose and Jim could talk and would return before her shift at noon to drop her off. Getting Miranda up after an eventful evening proved to be difficult, as the little girl refused to leave her fathers side. Jim woke up briefly, rolling over to snuggle with her.

"I'll be right here when you come back," he said, placing kisses on her cheek. "Mommy and Daddy need to talk for a little while."

Reluctantly, Miranda crawled out of bed and Rose carried her off into her own room to get ready. Christine came down around 0745 and took Miranda down for breakfast, promising to return as soon as possible. Once they left, Rose locked the door and made her way back into the bedroom and crawled back into bed and right on top of her husband.

" This is a compromising position," he said, yawning as she draped her limbs over his body. "Though, I am not complaining."

"Hmmm."

Jim wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, "What happened last night?"

Rose laid there in silence, her eyes closed as the headache rocked her. "Bad dream," she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head, "I know that," he sighed. "Half the floor heard you screaming. I came in and thought you were being attacked."

She sighed, "I was dreaming of you dying."

Jim grew quiet as he lay there in their bed, holding her in his arms. "There was so much blood," she whimpered. "I couldn't stop it and you kept bleeding all over the place."

Rolling over, Rose landed softly on her back as Jim laid on top of her. "I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded and he continued, "If anything should happen to me," he started, causing her to tear up. "My best friend is my CMO and I married a brilliant doctor, who patches me up when I burn my tongue with a hot fork."

Rose nodded, "That's true."

Jim cracked a sleep smile, "With you two at my side, I'll be safe," he kissed her. "But I will try my hardest to stay out of trouble."

She nodded and Jim rested his head against her chest, closing his eyes. They laid in silence for a while, enjoying the sound of their breathing and beating hearts, as life around the ship started up for another day.

"Shouldn't we get dressed and conference all the Admiralty?" she asked after a while.

Jim groaned and shifted against her, "We already have an Admiral onboard," he yawned. "It's still early and our prisoner isn't going anywhere for the rest of his life. I want to enjoy the morning with my wife before I have to make more calls."

"Hmm, sounds good," she sighed. "How much longer will we be out here?"

"Three days," he growled, as she played with his hair. "I hope that's enough time to pack."

She smiled, "That's plenty of time."

"Good," he yawned again. "I can't wait to move into our house and have you and Miranda for two whole years, living a normal life."