As he expected, Mouse is woken before sunrise by the strangled sounds of Jay's nightmares. He's almost glad of the interruption, because his sleeping mind has been running over the heavy thwack of Jay being beaten, and the way he tried not to scream when the electricity was sent fizzling into his skin. He sits up and clicks on one bedside lamp, illuminating the taut lines of pain and fear on Jay's face.

"Jay, wake up. It's a nightmare. I'm here, you're okay, I'm here, you can wake up, it's okay," he murmurs softly, rising slowly in volume. "Come on Jay, it's not real, it's a nightmare. Wake up." Bracing himself, Mouse puts a hand on Jay's arm, jostling it gently while continuing to ramble comforting words. Jay starts awake, eyes wide and wild, snatching at Mouse's arms. As gently as possible, Mouse pins his friend, still talking, until the wild fear is replaced with recognition.

"Mouse," Jay croaks. Mouse slides back to the side, running his fingers down to grip Jay's hand.

"Hey," he says softly. Jay squeezes his hand tightly, taking a deep shuddering breath. "You wanna talk about it?" Mouse can feel the light tremors running across Jay's skin. Jay swallows hard, staring up at the ceiling.

"It started just back with Keyes… but then it turned into the Humvee dream." Mouse sucks in a breath.

"When was the last time…?" The half-finished question floats above their heads for a moment and Mouse listens to Jay's breathing falling into a calmer rhythm.

"Nadia." Mouse blinks slowly, a kind of immobile nod to himself.

"You didn't call." He hears Jay swallow again, and feels the slight jump in Jay's pulse where Mouse let his fingers rest on Jay's wrist.

"You know why." Mouse sighs sadly, shutting his eyes for a moment.

"I know." The guilt. "But I wish you had."

"I would've called tonight," Jay whispers, and Mouse's breath comes a little easier for the reassurance.

AN: I know it's super short, sorry! But the next chapter is a longer and will be coming soon, this is just how the break fell.