A/N: Hello everybody! I'm back with more fluff! Who's surprised? No one? Cool. This fic has come to me in bits and pieces over the last few weeks and my muse has really been running a lot lately since we are only 2 WEEKS AWAY from the Season 3 premiere! Finally! I can't wait to have my precious babies back on my screen again, but in the meantime, enjoy a fluff fest of comfort and cuddles.

It was nearing eleven o'clock, and Thomas had experienced one of his most exhausting days in a while. He and Higgins had spent all day trekking through the dense Hawaiian jungle searching for the remains of a body that their latest case had pointed them towards.

While Rick and TC had provided aerial support regarding which areas were more likely to be places someone would bury a body, he and Juliet had been sweating it out on the rough terrain. His phone had told him that they had hiked a total of ten miles.

Despite the long, exhaustive day, Thomas just could not find the motivation to turn his lamp out and finally get some rest. He was in the process of rereading one of Robin's White Knight novels, and while that usually helped him relax and unwind so that he could fall asleep, tonight it just wasn't doing the trick. He felt as though something was missing.

The whole ohana had come together at the estate to share a delicious dinner that Kumu had prepared to celebrate the end of another successful day of crime fighting. He had really enjoyed himself and even Higgins had expressed her happiness at being able to enjoy a relaxing evening with her found-family.

He also remembered the small pang of sadness that he felt as Juliet had said goodbye for the night so that she could head back to the main house to finalize some paperwork from the case. He had almost offered to go help her with it even though he knew he would've been no use just to be able to spend some more time with her.

He allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts about his partner and how she had become an essential part of his everyday life. Each morning when he woke up, he was excited to head over to the main house after his workout to have some coffee and occasionally breakfast with her before getting ready for their day and whatever case they were working on. He realized that most, if not all of his typical days revolved around spending time with Juliet, even if most of the time it was for business purposes.

He almost wished that she could be there with him right then—he did wish that she could be with him, actually; even if all they would do was talk more about their day and just enjoy each other's company. Thomas felt himself missing her more by the minute. It was far too late to actually go see her, but his mind was seriously considering just calling her so he could hear her voice before he went to sleep. For a few months now, Thomas had been having occasional nightmares about Juliet. They always seemed to pop up after a particularly stressful day, making him worried about what tonight's sleep would bring since that's exactly the kind of day he had experienced.

The dreams were never the same, but they always involved something terrible happening to her, or strange people coming to abduct her. There were many nights that Magnum had woken up in a cold sweat with his heart pounding, convinced that something awful had happened. He always felt the need to go check on her after he had one of those dreams, but he knew she'd be furious with him if he did.

Still, the idea of calling her tonight before he went to bed was nagging at him.

She may already be asleep, he chided himself, and besides, she'd kill me for disrupting her at this hour anyways.

Thomas tried to shake the feeling that calling Higgy would be a good idea by reading a few more pages of his book, but the feeling just wouldn't go away.

Sighing, he resigned himself to the fact that she would probably find something else to be mad at him for tomorrow, so giving her a call now wouldn't really be all that bad in the long run.

His heart was beating a little faster as the phone rang, and a part of him was worried because he honestly had no idea what he was going to say to her if she picked up.

Finally, the ringing stopped, "Hello?" Said a groggy voice.

"Hi Higgy, it's me," he replied nervously. It sounded as though he had woken her up.

"Thomas, it's nearing eleven PM and I have been up since five AM. Please tell me that you have a decent reason for calling me as I was falling asleep."

Magnum cringed. This was what he had been afraid of, "I'm really sorry for waking you up, Higgy. I feel awful now. I shouldn't have called. I just- I just wanted to call to say goodnight and thank you again for such a good, productive day."

Juliet sighed, "Is that all, Thomas? I appreciate your motivation to thank me, but surely it could have waited until morning? I am heading back to sleep."

"Wait! Please wait!" He said quickly. "I was hoping that we could talk a little before falling asleep. I just feel like I need to unwind before I can go to bed. After our long day, I think it would help us both."

"It may help you, Magnum, but I was sleeping perfectly well before you interrupted me. Count some sheep or something. It has been quite a long day for us both and we both will feel better after getting some rest. I will see you tomorrow."

Thomas was a little disappointed that she didn't want to talk with him, but he wasn't too surprised. It was his fault for calling her so late and expecting her to just drop everything and speak with him. That was selfish, especially since she had started her day a few hours before he had.

"Ok, Higgy. I'm sorry for waking you. Thank you for picking up. I think I will be able to sleep now, though."

"You will? How has my frustration at being woken up helped you?" She inquired, curious to what their brisk conversation had granted him.

"I heard your voice," he replied quietly. "And because I know that you are safe and ok. Sometimes I have nightmares of people trying to harm you or take you away. I know they are just bad dreams but they feel— they feel so real. It's just comforting to know that you are alright. Especially after all of the dangers that we have faced in the past on different cases and assignments."

Saying that aloud to her was slightly embarrassing, but it was the truth.

The line was silent for a few seconds before Higgins spoke again, "I'm sorry for being so sharp with you, Magnum. My fatigue is getting the better of me. I'm glad that I could be of a little assistance to you. I assure you that I am perfectly fine and safe. There is no need to be frightened or worried. Please rest well."

"Thank you, Higgy. I really hope you have a good night's sleep," Thomas breathed a sigh of relief that she no longer seemed irritated with him. Then, a quick thought crossed his mind and he was talking before he could think twice about what he was going to say, "Can we have breakfast together in the morning? I will make some eggs and my famous chocolate chip pancakes. Will you please join me?" He asked hopefully.

"I will see how I am feeling in the morning," Juliet replied, "If I wake up at a reasonable hour I will come over to eat. Goodnight, Thomas. Sleep well."

Magnum couldn't stop the grin from cresting over his face at her answer about coming over the next morning. She had not said yes, but more importantly she hadn't shot him down either.

"Ok, Higgy! That sounds good. Just come on over in the morning if you'd like. I'll even plan on cooking some of that special bacon you like! Goodnight and sweet dreams! I hope to see you in the morning."

After he hung up, a warm, calming feeling washed over him. The possibility of eating breakfast with Juliet and having heard her voice was enough to soothe him into becoming sleepy.

He had never told her how much he loved her accent. Truth be told, her voice was one of his favorite things about her. If Juliet recorded an audiobook, he would gladly listen to it to fall asleep. Her voice was just so smooth and calming, particularly when she was talking about something that sounded intelligent. He loved how smart she was and how she had taught him so many new things since they had become partners.

As he finally got into bed and pulled the covers over himself, he closed his eyes and just thought of her talking to him and imagined Juliet sitting on the side of his bed, running her fingers through his hair.

The thoughts lulled him in a deep sleep.

When Thomas awoke, he was well rested and refreshed. He saw that it was only 8:30; plenty of time to get started on breakfast before Higgins would potentially be coming over.

Magnum headed downstairs to the kitchen and got to work putting some coffee on, making the batter for the pancakes, and cracking some eggs to scramble them.

Nine o'clock came and went, and there was still no sign of Higgy. Thomas was beginning to feel discouraged about her coming over. Even on days where they didn't have any cases or work to do, Juliet was always up and ready by seven every morning.

Thomas pulled out some of the special vegan bacon that she liked from the fridge and sent her a quick text that breakfast was almost ready, but by the time he had finished with the bacon, she still hadn't come over.

Thomas tried not to feel too glum; she had said the night before that she may or may not come over. Sighing, he got some food for himself and sat down to eat.

About 20 minutes later just as he was finishing up his breakfast, he heard a faint knock at his door. He sprang up from his seat at the counter to answer it, and low and behold; there was Higgy.

Thomas nearly had his breath taken away at the sight of her: she was still in her pajamas, her curly hair was tousled from bed, and her gorgeous brown eyes were still heavy with sleep.

She had never looked more beautiful.

"I apologize for missing your text, Thomas. I'm afraid I slept in quite late today. I suppose all of the exertion from yesterday finally caught up with me."

"That's ok, Higgy! We both needed a good night's rest. You didn't have to come over, but I'm so glad that you did," he smiled.

He welcomed her inside and led her to the kitchen where he warmed up a plate of the breakfast food for her. Juliet took a seat at the counter and yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. When she did that, Thomas got a small peak at her belly button and tummy as her T-shirt was raised up a bit. He swallowed deeply as he placed the plate of food in front of her.

"Would you like some coffee, Higgy?"

"No thank you, Thomas. I'm actually seriously considering going back to bed after I eat since we have nothing to do today. I know I'm not usually one to take a lazy day, but after everything yesterday I feel as though I've earned it."

Thomas chucked, "Indeed you have, Higgy. I plan on doing nothing today myself. Would you like some orange juice, then?"

"Yes, please," she smiled.

Thomas gave her the plate of food and then sat next to her at the counter. Juliet ate mostly in silence, and Thomas laughed, "Wow! My cooking must be amazing if you're this quiet."

"Don't get too full of yourself, Magnum," she replied with some eggs still in her mouth, "I am simply hungry."

"After breakfast would you like to relax here? I know you said that you wanted to go back to sleep, but you could just as easily do that here."

Juliet raised her eyebrows, "And what will you be doing while I rest?"

"Maybe watching a movie or something? I was just kind of hoping that we could spend today together. It's been a while since we spent time together that wasn't entirely dedicated to a case."

"Well, our time together won't be much fun if i'm sleeping, Magnum."

"Just you being here would be nice. I get kind of lonely living here by myself sometimes," he said quietly.

Juliet turned in her seat to look at him quizzically, "Is that why you called me last night? Because you were lonely?"

Thomas played with his hands nervously, "It was part of the reason. But I was being completely serious when I told you that I've been having nightmares about bad things happening to you. I've had some experience with nightmares before, especially after I first got back from Afghanistan. At first they revolved around myself and the guys still being in the POW camp, but as time has gone on they have changed to bad dreams about people that I care about; and most recently they have only been about you."

Juliet was quiet for a few moments before she spoke, "I'm sorry that you've been having those bad dreams, Thomas. Again, I am sorry that I was brash with you on the phone last night. We are good friends and you should feel comfortable calling me when you are having a hard time or just feeling down. From now on, I want you to feel comfortable calling me if you need something. I know I have given you a hard time about bothering me in the past, but I feel like we are beyond that now since we are equal partners."

Thomas smiled at her offer, "Likewise, Higgy. If you ever have any issues with anything at any time of the day or night I want you to feel like you can call me. Let's promise to do that for each other."

Juliet raised her eyebrows as Magnum held out his hand with his pinky extended to her, "Come on, Higgy! You've never made a pinky promise before? They are the strongest promises that you can make!"

Catching on, she wrapped her own pinky around his and they squeezed them together, "Why do I feel like I am still in primary school and I just promised someone that I would give them some of my crisps from lunch?"

Thomas laughed, using the opportunity of their pinkies being linked to lace their fingers together.

Juliet's breath hitched at the contact, and Thomas put on his best puppy dog face, "Will you please watch a movie with me? You can fall asleep while we watch it, but we will still be able to spend some time together."

Juliet looked at his pout and sighed, "Alright, I will watch a film with you. But we are not watching one of those mindless macho action movies that consists entirely of men who yell and shoot at each other for a couple of hours."

"Of course not!" Thomas exclaimed, "I will pull up Netflix and you can choose the movie."

Juliet finished up her breakfast and Thomas cleared her dishes before the two of them headed into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

Thomas pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch and handed it to Juliet who was gathering a few pillows.

Thomas turned on the TV and got himself situated in a corner of the couch before pouting again when he realized that Higgins was on the clear other side of the couch.

"Come sit with me," he whined, "You'll be much more comfortable that way."

Juliet rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "Do you have any more childish demands this morning, Magnum? I am perfectly fine sitting right where I am."

Thomas sighed, "I'm sorry, Higgy. I won't bother you anymore. Here's the remote so you can choose what you'd like us to watch."

Higgins flipped through the selection of movies until she stumbled upon The Princess Bride, "Oh my goodness! I haven't seen this since I was a little girl! It was one of my absolute favourites though! Let's watch it, Thomas!"

"I've actually never heard of it, Higgy, but if you'd like to watch it then I'm game," he grinned.

The movie began, and Thomas could just picture Higgy as a young girl being entranced by the story of the princess in the movie falling in love with a handsome farm boy who only said "as you wish" to her. In a way, it sort of reminded him of their relationship, especially since he felt like he was constantly following her orders and direction on cases and in regards to general tasks around the estate.

About half an hour in, he looked over and spotted Juliet's eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. She pulled the blanket further around herself and shifted a little as she tried to get comfortable, but she just couldn't seem to find the right spot to nod off.

"You know, you can still scoot over here and come sit with me, Higgy," he suggested softly. "I promise that you'll have the best nap of your life!"

Juliet furrowed her brow at him, but since she was half-asleep it just made her look even more adorable.

"Come on, bring the blanket too," Thomas said, opening his arms for her.

Juliet let out a huff, but surprisingly, she crawled over to him with the blanket and settled between his legs with her back leaning up against his chest. She lay her head back and it fell into the crook of his neck, lulling towards him. She shifted around a little more with the blanket, but finally let out a deep sigh as she continued to watch the movie.

Thomas' heart was beating wildly. He couldn't believe that Higgins had decided to essentially cuddle with him. He tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her to him, resting his hands on her stomach.

As the minutes went by, Thomas was no longer focused on the movie at all, but instead on Juliet's slowed breathing as she fell deeper and deeper into sleep. He wondered how he had gotten so lucky to be able to be this close with her, and the fact that she appeared to have comfortably fallen asleep in his arms made him happier than he had been in a long while.

He decided to enjoy the moment as much as he could and wrapped his arms around her a little tighter before falling into a dreamless sleep himself.

When Magnum finally woke up, the afternoon sun appeared to already be in the western sky, and the TV had automatically shut itself off after hours of no activity.

Higgins was still asleep though, breathing deeply in the same position she had been in hours earlier. The only thing that had changed was the fact that both her hands had come to rest on top of his own on her stomach.

Thomas shifted slightly, causing Juliet to attempt to burrow her head into his neck even more. He strained his head to be able to look into the kitchen to see if he could see what time it was from the clock on the stove.

He did a double take as he realized that it was four PM. That meant that they had quite literally slept the entire day away. He didn't want to wake Higgy, but he knew that if they slept any longer, sleep would be hard to come by that night.

"Higgy," he whispered gently, "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead. It's just after four. We can't sleep anymore or else we won't be able to fall asleep tonight."

Juliet groaned and huffed briefly, but still made no attempt to wake up.

"I know you're nice and comfy, Higgy, but we really really need to get up. I'm getting hungry, too."

Taking in a deep breath before expelling a giant yawn, Juliet finally spoke in a voice full of sleep, "If I recall, Magnum, this seating arrangement was your idea. Why so eager to get up?"

"Because, Higgy, it's after four o'clock!"

Juliet seemed to have heard that for the first time and abruptly sat up to look at the clock.

"Good lord! We've wasted the day away!"

Juliet began trying to untangle herself from his embrace, but Magnum grabbed both of her hands to stop her and turn her so that she was facing him.

"How was your nap, Higgy? You fell asleep so quickly!"

Juliet looked slightly embarrassed at his mention of their cuddle session, and she looked down at her hands as a blush crept over her face, "It was nice, thank you for the very restful day, Thomas. I didn't believe a truly restful day was possible with you, but I suppose I've been proven wrong."

Thomas smiled, "I hope we can have more days like this in the future. It was a really nice change. See, we can totally get along without arguing!"

Juliet laughed a little as she rose from the couch and stretched.

"I suppose we can. Thank you for the nice day, Thomas. I do need to head home, though. I'm still in my pajamas for goodness sake!"

Thomas looked a little disappointed when Higgins said she was leaving, but he completely understood why she was ready to go back to the main house.

Thomas sat up in bed quickly, breathing hard and fast. The nightmare that he had just had about Juliet was probably the worst one he had experienced to date. He had a suspicion that he would have a dream about her since they had spent most of the day together, but he couldn't understand why it had to be so horrific.

In tonight's vision, an invisible man standing in the shadows had kidnapped them both in some airplane hanger and hung Juliet from the ceiling by her arms. Thomas had been tied to a chair, helpless to do anything. The man must have been pressing buttons or something, because everytime he did, a new form of torture would come over her.

First, it had been a beating with clubs which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, then she had been whipped violently until blood was running down her torso and legs. Next, she had been soaked in freezing water and then electrocuted with jumper cables. The terrible acts being inflicted upon her just went on and on, and the worst part was that the more Thomas begged and pleaded with the shadowed man to stop and leave her alone, the more intense her punishments would become.

Despite the fact that the horrifying ordeal was just a bad dream, Thomas could swear that the look in her eyes as she begged him to save her was so real and desperate. As the nightmare had gone on, Juliet had lost the ability to even hold her head up to look at him; her body falling unconscious to the pain and suffering.

Thomas rubbed at his face and eyes roughly, desperate to get himself out of that foggy, sleep-induced horror film. He got up from bed and went to the bathroom to splash water on his face, but that only made him think of poor Juliet shivering from the tub of ice water that had been thrown over her.

He needed to talk to her- now.

Remembering what Higgins had said earlier in the day about feeling comfortable to call one other at any hour, Thomas tried to calm his nerves as the phone rang.

He was getting afraid that she wouldn't pick up, but on the fifth ring he was greeted by a muffled, "Thomas?"

"Higgy- Higgy I had another- another nightmare about you and it was just so-so much worse than all of the others and I-"

Thomas couldn't hold the tears back anymore and let out a loud sob.

He could hear a rustling on the phone and footsteps soon after, "Thomas, I'll be there in two minutes. It will be alright, I promise. Can you unlock the front door for me so I can walk in when I get there?"

He mumbled an 'ok' before hanging up the phone and heading down the stairs to unlock the door. In his dazed state he ended up just walking out onto the front patio and staring off into the distance.

A minute later he spotted Juliet hurrying across the grounds in her bare feet and pajamas, and then he blinked and she was right there in front of him.

"Thomas what are you doing out here? All you had to do was unlock the door! Come on, get inside."

Higgins ushered him into the living room and onto the very same couch that they had spent most of the day on.

"Do you want to talk about the dream, Thomas? That can help sometimes."

"He just- he just wouldn't stop hurting you. No matter what I tried or did, he just— just laughed and did something even worse," Thomas shuddered.

Juliet took both of his hands in her own, "Who, Magnum? Who was hurting me?"

A few more tears escaped his eyes, "I don't know, Juliet. I never saw him. All I saw was you, and how terrified you were and how much pain you were in."

Juliet brushed his tears away with her thumbs and tilted his face so that he was looking directly into her eyes, "Thomas, I can tell from your reaction that it must have been quite an awful dream, but it was just that: a dream. I promise that I am safe and unharmed, as are you. I know that you would do anything in your power to protect me, and I am tremendously grateful for that. We are amazing partners and even better friends, and I want you to know that I will do everything I can to protect you as well, even if it is from the demons of your imagination."

Thomas looked into her eyes and saw nothing but truth and hope. Then she smiled at him and opened her arms to him, "Come here," she whispered quietly.

Thomas hugged her tightly and buried his face in her neck. He took a deep breath and let it out, allowing the remnants of his anxiety to leave him knowing that she was there and safe.

Higgins rubbed soothing circles across his back and pulled him a little closer. They stayed that way for what felt like an hour.

"Do you think you are ready to try to go back to sleep now?" She asked softly, pulling back a bit.

Thomas sniffled and let out a deep sigh, "I guess I will try. I'm sorry that I woke you up, Higgy."

"No apologies," she said firmly, "As I said, we are here for each other. I am pleased that you see me as a source of comfort for you."

They stood from the couch, and Thomas had a somewhat crazy idea. You may as well ask, he told himself.

"Juliet, will you- will you please stay? If that makes you uncomfortable, I completely understand but-"

"Let's go to bed," she replied calmly, taking his hand and pulling him towards the stairs.

Thomas was really feeling drowsy now. When they got up to his room, he fell onto the mattress and crawled under the covers immediately. Juliet tip-toed to the other side of the bed and gingerly got in, sidling up to him to rest her head on his chest.

Thomas wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought his other arm up to hold her hand that was resting on his stomach, "Thank you so much for staying, Higgy. You're amazing."

"I'm glad I can be here for you, Thomas. It's late though, we need some proper rest."

Thomas pulled Juliet even closer against his side and placed a light kiss on her hair, "Goodnight, Juliet. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Thomas."

They slept better than either of them had in years.