The following day Henry was still upset about what had happened to him during the night. He had been tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep and finding it hard to close his eyes because of both the frustration and the vivid images replaying in his mind. He didn't really know how he would react when forced to face Elizabeth in the morning. Plus, Rochana never made it home, which irritated him even more.

When he was tired of lying in bed consumed by his thoughts, he got up, got dressed, changed the sheets and went for a run. It was early enough that it was still dark out. His soles slapped the pavement, his calves burning at the pace he was going and his heart was beating so fast that blood pounded loudly in his ears. That sound and being able to breathe in the fresh air, helped him clear his thoughts. At least for the moment.

Henry just finished having breakfast after his run and shower when he heard the door click open. He lifted his head to present the sight of a drunk and stumbling Rochana. Not this again.

"Where have you been?" he asked, concerned at her current state. Had she really been partying all night?

"I was out with the girls and we drank a little bit too much. But damn, it was a fun night!" she exclaimed with the enthusiasm the alcohol was still providing her after the long night.

"I hope you had a good night…" Henry spat out, angry at her.

"I did. Thank you very much." she responded, with a defying tone. "But now I'm beat, so I'm going to go to sleep. Have a good day at work honey." she added, slurring a little bit.

Henry stood in the middle of their kitchen shocked as she closed the door to the bedroom a little bit more forcefully than she had to. This is like sharing a flat with a roommate. This is definitely not a marriage. Tonight I will talk to her seriously about this and either we look for a solution or we end things for good.

After all he had done that morning, Henry arrived at the office with a couple of hours to spare so he could have some time to brace himself. I've never had a dream like that before. I'm married. Possibly to a drunk woman, but still I promised my love and faithfulness to her in sickness and in health. I guess when she's drunk it applies too. I can't be thinking about other women and much less have dreams like the one I had last night. Maybe what I saw between her and Hill affected me more than I thought and not having been with Rochana in a while just made it worse. Or maybe, deep down, I might feel attracted to her. No, no way.

Henry's mind was swamped with thoughts. He was confused and frustrated at the same time and when Elizabeth arrived, half asleep with her hair more tangled than usual, his heart swelled and instantly thought that she looked beautiful. No, no, no, no. I can't think this way. She's your colleague and it's all she's ever going to be. You have to save this kind of thoughts for Rochana.

"Good morning." she greeted him happily, while combing her hair into a ponytail. "How was your night?"

"My night? Why do you ask?" he said, defensively. I need to calm down, she's just asking. She's not a mind reader. There's absolutely no way that she knows what went through in my head last night. How we were… How was I… The way she… I need to stop doing this to myself.

Elizabeth was taken aback at the sudden harsh tone and his cold expression. "No reason. Just asking. I didn't mean to upset you…" she said in an apologetic tone. What has gotten into him today?

"It's fine. I just had a harsh night and I'm not ready to talk about it. Let's get to work." he deflected, hoping they wouldn't have to talk much for the day and he could distract himself.

Elizabeth was very understanding throughout the day, thinking Henry's cold attitude towards her was caused by an argument between him and Rochana. She felt bad for him, as deep down she knew he was fighting to keep afloat his marriage. I'll try to talk to him about it later… Maybe something big happened, and he just needs some time to cool down. Or maybe he doesn't want to talk to me about it…

Their day went by slowly as Henry kept tormenting himself about his dream - and his reaction to it - and Elizabeth was taken aback by the sudden change in Henry's behavior. He was the one who pushed her to be able to trust each other, to be there for each other and now he was shutting her out without a reason. Have I done something to make him mad? I really thought we cleared the air the other day after his debrief with Conrad. It has to be something else bothering him and making him behave like this.

"Henry, are you okay?" she asked, tentatively when she could no longer hold herself back.

He sighed. He knew he had been cold and kept her at arm's length all day but he was terrified to get close to her. What if I act on it and the dream becomes real here and now? It can't happen. I can't let it happen again, not in my imagination and definitely not in real life. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You've been acting weird all day. Did something happen? I know you said you don't want to talk about it and I don't want to push, but we said we'd be here for one another. Who knows, maybe talking it out will help…" she said, hoping that he would confide in her.

"Nothing happened." he stated flatly. I don't want to talk about this with anyone, let alone her.

"Okay… Just know I'm here if you want to talk or go get some drinks to wind down. I think we can call it a day." she said, throwing away the papers in front of her, hoping he would agree to go out together.

"Thanks. But today I have to get home early." he said, getting all his things. He threw one last look at the little lumpy sofa in the corner before his eyes wandered towards her desk. He froze as his stare got immediately lost into space as images of what happened in this room came rushing back to his mind. It was all a dream. It took him a while to react but he regained himself and muttered quickly: "See you tomorrow, okay? Good night, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth didn't process his words and he was already out the door. She sighed in defeat as she felt bad for him. It had taken them long enough to get to the point of almost being friends, and in one single day she had already missed his caring character and their playful banter they had grown accustomed to over the past few days. Tomorrow will be a new day and I really hope he feels better and he sorts things out, whatever that is bothering him.

During that night, neither of them was able to sleep. They just laid there, on each own bed, tossing and turning.

…