A/N: This is to be a collection of one-shots loosely based upon the theme of insecurities and doubts. All of it will be E/C of varying time periods, cannons, and styles. I will try to put in a summary for each one, though all (unless something drastic changes) will be rated T. I cannot and will not be held responsible if they have repetitive themes (I wrote these on my typewriter at odd hours and in varying degrees of emotional stability). *shrugs* Enjoy!
Summary: Erik suffers a nightmare and his wife is the only one who can calm his frightened mind.
Chapter 1: Awake
Christine looked through bleary eyes at her husband lying beside her in bed. He was curled up on his side, his back rounded toward her. He flinched inwards a few times, whimpering as he did. She knew even in her still sleep-clouded mind that he was having a nightmare, but it was not until he sat bolt upright, screaming, that she knew she needed to help him.
'Erik!' she cried, sitting up with him, now also fully awake. She gently put her arms around his shoulders, softly trying to coax him to turn and face her. She saw his glowing eyes find her in the darkness, the sleep fading from them quickly.
'Christine!' he all but wept, lunging forward to wrap her in a crushing embrace. His enthusiasm for the hold nearly knocked her over but he quickly began to rock them back and forth as he sobbed into her. He said her name a thousand times over as he stared manically over her shoulder, clutching the back of her head to his chest fiercely and pinning her waist to his as if he was trying to rescue her. He shook as he breathed, though it turned more to gasps the longer he continued.
'Erik, darling, calm down. It's all right. I'm here. Just relax, dearest,' she said, trying to sooth him. She wondered what she would do if he fainted on top of her. She was already having trouble getting air through his insanely possessive grip.
Finally, his grasp began to loosen. Christine was able to hold him back a bit, searching out his eyes. 'Darling, look at me. Tell me what's wrong,' she urged, knowing his nightmares were often quite vivid and disturbing, especially when they made him act out like this. She had never seen one quite this bad before, though.
'I couldn't find you,' he choked out in his sobs. 'I looked everywhere, but you were gone. Then I saw the blood and, oh! Christine! I'm sorry! I couldn't protect you. You died and there was nothing I could do. I failed you! I held you and you were so cold. Oh, Christine, don't leave Erik! He loves you! He needs you!' He continued to weep into her, his fingers straining to find the strength they had possessed earlier, but he was too exhausted to cling. Christine watched his pitiful display as he wept incoherent words and begged her of things she would never know.
'Erik. Erik! Calm down. I'm fine. I'm safe here with you. It was all just a dream. Just another of you awful nightmares. There is nothing to be afraid of. I'm here and I'm not…hurt.' She tried to pick her last word carefully as she comforted him. She did not wish to upset him further.
'I love you,' he wept into her shoulder as his body slowly began to sag under the weight of his tears and exhaustion. He had not slept a whole night through in some time. These dreams often kept him from sleeping, and he had to resort to simply lie beside his wife and watch over her while she slumbered in his arms.
'And I love you, my dearest husband.' She turned her head to kiss his hair, dark and slightly ruffled from his tossing and turning. She always felt that this was when she truly got to see him, absent of his formal appearance and mask with his whole upright persona discarded to stay closer to her. She loved these moments when they could be purely themselves, though the disruption the nightmare had caused was not a favoured turn for their time together.
Pulling him gently, she slid him down until he was more or less lying on top of her. He positioned his head to lean on her collarbone, his hands coming up to continue his hold on her shoulders. His weight was not so crushing as she had feared as he situated to the side a bit more.
She continued to murmur soothing words to him, shushing him gently when his sobs became hiccups. She held him, nuzzling into him as his tears leaked out and ran down her chest. She played with the tips of his ebony hair, twining her fingers through to his scalp when his tremoring breaths shook through both of them.
'I'm right here, love. I would not leave you for the world.' He tried to nod, to convince himself she was right as usual, but unwanted memories of his dream still invaded his mind. He saw her corpse again, laid out in his arms as he wept into her lifeless form. He buried his face harder to her chest as this came, his sobs breaking loose again.
'Shhh,' she whispered, holding him a little closer and turning to kiss him. She kept her lips there as she murmured into him, 'It's all right now. I've got you. Nothing is going to hurt us. Shhh, just relax, my love.'
'I love you, Christine,' he told her again, trying to calm once more. 'I love you so.'
'I know you do, darling. I know. You don't need to be afraid, love. There is nothing to worry about. You're safe in my arms tonight.'
Erik moved to look up into her eyes. She smiled down at him sweetly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He leaned up some to receive another on the lips.
'Do you want to go back to sleep?' she asked when he had returned to his spot beneath her chin.
He shook his head earnestly, but not enough to jostle her. 'I do not want the nightmare to comeback.' Christine winced inwardly at hearing the terrified child in his voice. This truly had been one of his worst nightmares she had seen. He only ever sounded this way when frightened to the absolute core.
'They won't, my darling,' she assured him. 'I'll make sure they don't come back. I won't let them hurt you again.'
He whimpered slightly and buried his face into her shoulder. From the gaping hole that made up his nose she could feel the broad puffs of air as they rushed across her skin in moments of sudden warmth.
Humming a little lullaby from her childhood, she felt his body slowly grow heavier on hers. His breathing quieted down and his muscled started to give way to their exhaustion. Christine nestled one last kiss into his hair as he slept before letting her own body ease into the embrace. She held him to her breast protectively as she matched her breath to his newly steadied rhythm.
