A/N: This chapter explores the time when Jim didn't want Ned to sleep in the same bed as Katie because he was still having to get used to the idea of being together haha hope you all enjoy xx Mariah

Ned heard the yelling from Katie's room in the cabin and began moving before he was fully awake.

He had been sleeping on the couch and was rubbing his eyes as he climbed up the stairs. Jim had made sure he was sleeping thereby doing hourly checks after he found them in the backseat of his truck car.

They'd snuck off when everyone else went down to the beach for some alone time, but eventually, Jim and Melinda had come looking and found them.

Katie had been straddling him, her bathing suit top recently pushed to the side, and his mouth attached to her breast. Her father hadn't taken the sight very well. Which was understandable and why they had snuck off, but they were both adults and shouldn't have to hide or sneak around.

It was darker in the bedroom than the hallway when he slipped in and he felt his way around to the bed, her cries guiding him as he went. She flinched in her sleep as he got too close and he gave her some space as he rubbed her back.

"I'm here, Katie." He whispered, wishing he could soothe her in some other way, but he knew words were the next best thing. For another few minutes, that's what he did as her nightmare continued. "Baby, I'm here. You're safe. It's just a vision."

She was shaking when she finally let him wrap his arms around her, her skin cold to the touch.

"Ned," she whimpered, panting as she pulled him closer to her to make sure that he was really there. "I—I couldn't breathe… I was drowning."

"You're safe, baby," he whispered, cradling her in his arms. "Just breathe and try to catch your breath. You don't have to tell me anything right now. Focus on calming down."

She turned around and held onto him a little tighter, pressing her face into his chest. "I love you," she whispered, taking in slow breaths.

"I love you too." He said as she relaxed more, his hand at her rubbing up and down her side. "Was it a ghost?"

"I'm not sure. I'd assume so, but this is the first appearance to me at least," she answered softly. She was still crying silently, the tears dampening his shirt. "It was a lot to take in. I was running off a dock, diving into the lake and then I was in the middle, trapped in a current that was pulling me down. I couldn't catch my breath and I choked on all this water." Her body tensed as she remembered, holding him tightly as more tears fell down her cheeks. "I could just feel the wind on my fingertips as I got sucked down more and more."

Ned pressed his lips to her forehead again and again. He rubbed warmth into her the best he could, feeling how cold she still felt to his touch even as he held her and wrapped the blanket around them tighter.

It was freezing in the room, despite being humid in every other room.

"Drowning is a terrible way to die," he sighed. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. I wish there was some way I could take that off your shoulders."

"It's nothing I'm not used to… even if it's miserable." She sighed, wiping her tears away. "I have to tell my mom in the morning before one of the little kids gets affected. We have to cross this one quickly."She smiled at him sadly, holding onto him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for coming up here though. You should probably go back before someone comes to check. Was I really loud?"

"I heard crying from your room, but no one else sounded awake. It wasn't too loud," he tried to reassure her. "I don't care if anyone finds us. I love you."

Katie held onto him tighter. "I love you too."