Description: Their hearts had been weakened by everything that had happened to them, but Jessica and Toby knew that, as long as they were together, they would be strong enough to make it through anything.
Jessica woke up gasping. Once again, her sleep had been disturbed by a nightmare. Ever since she had been rescued from Magor's clutches, she had nightmares constantly.
"Bad dream?" Toby asked sleepily. She nodded, feeling bad for waking him up. After all, he got just as much sleep as she did, thanks to the constant nightmares. It was the same routine each night. If one of them had a nightmare, the other would comfort them, and vice versa.
"I-I thought they'd stopped," she said in a small voice. "But I can't even close my eyes without remembering everything that's happened." Jessica felt Toby's arms wrap around her, hugging her to him comfortingly. She began to feel better and yawned slightly.
"Somebody wants to go back to sleep," Toby commented, yawning himself. He glanced at his clock and saw that it was early morning, too early to get up. He laid back down, his arms still holding Jessica closely. In moments, they were both asleep again.
Within half an hour, there was a yell of "Jessica, no!" Jessica woke up at this, as Toby grew panicked in his sleep. "No, leave her alone!" He cried out.
"Toby," she said. "I'm here, right beside you. Everything is alright, I promise. I'm safe." Eventually he opened his eyes and looked at her; she was there beside him. He felt her hug him, partly in comfort and partly to remind him of her presence.
He sighed. Normally, when he had nightmares, he could usually just ignore them and go back to sleep, but these ones plagued him every night, ever since Jessica had been kidnapped. "I'm alright," he lied. In reality, he was still terrified. They might have defeated Magor, but that didn't make them completely safe.
Jessica looked at him, knowing full well he wasn't alright at all. She gently kissed him, saying, "Well, I'll be here if you need me, I promise." For the second time, they both prepared to go to sleep.
"Good night," Toby said softly, forgetting that it was, in fact, morning. He rolled onto his side and gazed at her, taking hold of her hands.
"Good night," Jessica replied, smiling at him. Just as they were about to fall asleep, she added, "Can you hold me?" He nodded and wrapped his arms around her, before laying back as sleep soon consumed them both.
Jessica woke up several hours later. To her great relief, the sky was now sky-blue rather than midnight-black. She poked Toby's shoulder, "Wake up, Toby," she said, grinning as he swatted at her hand, before rolling over.
"Just five more minutes, Mom," he blinked his eyes open and saw Jessica's grinning face. "Oh," he said, cracking a grin of his own. "So that's how you wanna play it, huh?" Jessica gulped as he approached her slowly. Instinctively she moved back until her back hit the wall behind her. Her face fell upon realising he had her trapped. Judging by the smirk on his face, he knew it too.
She looked around, trying to find an escape when all of a sudden, he leapt on top of her and started tickling her mercilessly. "Toby," she gasped, trying desperately to avoid his fingers and failing miserably. "Stop it please!" Toby laughed at her attempts to evade him.
In a swift movement, he somehow managed to flip her underneath him and pinned her to the mattress, a grin on his face that soon faded when his eyes met hers. Toby could never look at her and not find her beautiful. He wanted to always have her by his side; the thought of losing her terrified him and he had almost, thanks to Magor, lost her forever.
Jessica looked up at him. She couldn't help but be grateful to him, as he had helped her through everything. There had been times when she had been ready to give up, but he never let her, knowing that she wanted to fight.
They had been weakened by everything that had happened to them over the year. They wouldn't have been lying if they had said they needed the other. The dark events had made them fragile; the constant nightmares were proof of that. It was why they needed to be together. When they were apart, they felt weaker, more liable to break. It was only when they were together that they were at their strongest.
Their paths may have been littered with many shadows but Toby and Jessica knew that, as long as they stayed together, they could overcome their fragility and face their demons side by side. It is only the deepest bond that will triumph against doubt and fear. If they stay together, and remain strong, their hearts will remain pure, and their weaknesses will become their strengths.
A fragile heart can be strengthened with the help of another, whose soul is also torn. Jessica and Toby are clear examples of this. They may have faced many hardships but facing them together allowed them to surpass the dark events they have had to face. Their love made them a force to be reckoned with; their desire to protect each other made them deadly to their enemies. The fear in their hearts was vanquished with the knowledge that they always had each other. That was enough for them to stay strong together.