El wakes up in the middle of the night with a start, hearing screams from the guest room. "Peter." she said, trying to wake Peter, "Peter, wake up."
"Huh?" said Peter, sleepily. Hearing the next shout, he sits up. "What's going on?"
"I think Neal's having a nightmare." said El, already sitting up in bed. "Should one of us check on him?"
"I should do it." said Peter, slowly getting out of bed.
"Wait, mind if I go instead?" said El, getting up and pulling a robe around her. "I'd just lie here and worry if not." Noticing a look from Peter, "I'll be fine walking down the hallway." She rolls her eyes and walks down the hall and knocks on the guest bedroom door before entering, figuring the knocking wasn't likely to wake Neal.
"No, please, don't." mumbles Neal in a shout, clearly having a nightmare. The scream that follows breaks El's heart and she walks forward and nudges Neal.
"Hey, Neal, sweetie, wake up." said El, pushing a little harder when he doesn't wake up. "Hey, it's okay, wake up."
Neal finally wakes, looking relieved as he looks around. "Oh, I'm sorry El, I must have woken you guys." he said, bracing himself up a bit with his good arm.
"Don't worry about it. It's all okay." said El, shushing Neal as she sits on the edge of the bed. "Want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly." said Neal with a groan, as he had been dreaming about being back with Keetes and his men. "Just bad recent memories." Neal notices the glass of water that had been on the nightstand was now the ground, luckily unbroken. "I'm really sorry about that, I'll get it." He starts to get up.
"Neal, it's fine, lay down please. I'll grab a towel." said El, leaving momentarily to grab a towel and comes back to dry the spot on the ground. "It's not a big deal, just an accident. And just remember I'm around if you need to talk, okay?" She finishes drying the area as best as possible. "The rest should dry by morning."
"I'm just so sorry about everything." said Neal, trying not to cry. "Everything is all my fault."
"Neal, everything is okay." said El, hugging Neal, knowing Neal likely was apologizing for other things than a spilled glass of water. "No one's mad at you, okay?" She stays and comforts Neal a little longer, just holding on to him until Neal relaxes. "How about you go back to sleep?" She notices Neal is back to sleep and scoots out from under him. She refills the glass, sits a dry towel in the area in case it gets spilled again, and goes back to the master bedroom.
"Is everything okay? You were gone for awhile." said Peter, flipping through a magazine by the bed. "I thought about getting up and checking, but I figured you'd ask for my help if needed."
El chooses to leave out Neal's moments without his usual mask. "It's all okay. Neal just had a nightmare. I bet today's statement just brought it all way too fresh into his mind." said El, removing her robe and getting back into bed. "I just wanted to make sure he got back to sleep."
"Did I ever tell you that you're perfect and smart?" said Peter, cuddling up next to his wife after turning off the light next to him.
"Yes, but you're welcome to say it again, Peter Burke." said El with a small laugh. "We probably should get some sleep though." Peter rolls over and falls asleep as she lays lost in thought worried about Neal.