BUA HA HA! Guess what? My best friend who I haven't seen in two years is coming here for the holidays! Yay! So excited!

Also, you might notice that this chapter does have some hints towards a romance between Layla and Malcolm. Just so you know, Malcolm was the character chosen by Cockapoo and he will be appearing more and more often throughout the story. Possibly more than any of the other characters (except Alisa of course). ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, only my personal characters and my plot. Annabeth and Sally are probably going to have a court battle over who owns Percy. And Nico is still owning himself.

"Are you okay?" Malcolm's voice asks, awakening me from my nightmare.

My skin is damp with sweat. The nightmare has triggered a migraine and my skin burns. I'm still in so much shock that my voice doesn't seem to work and neither do my movements.

"Let's take a walk," he offers, pulling me gently off the bed and into the wheelchair.

He wraps a warm blanket over my shoulders and pushes me outside into the cold night air.

"Let's go to the Big House," he suggests. "It'll be warm there. They've got a fire and I can get you some hot chocolate."

I nod in response, my throat still not functioning properly.

He pushes me into the Big House's main room and helps me out of my wheelchair and onto the much softer couch. He rewraps the blanket around my shoulders and sets one over my legs. He then disappears shortly into a room next door, returning with two mugs.

He sits on the couch next to me and hands me a mug.

It's warm, returning some of the warmth the dream had taken from me. I pull it to my lips, my hands shaking slightly as I do so.

"What happened?" he asks soothingly, resting his mug on the coffee table.

I lift my eyes from my drink and up to his. Our eyes meet, grey to brown, and I look down again suddenly.

I watch as his hand slowly enters my line of vision and stops under my chin. He lifts it slightly, forcing my eyes to meet his once more.

"I can't help you unless you tell me," he insists, his voice barely above a whisper. "Please."

I almost break down at that very moment. I feel the sobs forcing their way through and I am so weak that I allow them to escape. A loud shattering sound makes its way to my ears as the mug of hot chocolate hits the floor.

"It's okay, calm down," he says, putting his arm around my shoulders.

I lift my hands to my eyes, covering them, hoping that he cannot see the weakness and despair within them. I pull myself yet again into the fetal position, dragging my legs into my body.

"You'll be okay," he whispers soothingly into my ear.

I take in his words, hoping that they'll help me calm down.

You'll be okay. You'll be okay.

I force myself to stop the sobs and pull myself out of the tightly wound ball I have made of my body. I attempt to sit up straight as well, but that's already pushing the boundaries. I lay my head on Malcolm's shoulder, taking in his warmth as a replacement of mine.

"What's wrong?" he repeats.

"T-there wa-was a t-t-tunnel," I start, speaking in between the returning sobs.

"And?"

"I-I w-wa-was t-t-trapped s-so I r-r-r-ran."

He rubs my shoulder gently, sending more warmth into my body.

"And then?" he continues.

"N-n-nothing. I w-was t-trapped and a-alo-alone," I continue, the sobs beginning to die down once more.

"Oh, Layla. You'll be okay," he says, soothing me once more.

The sobs die down completely and I begin to doze off once more. But this time I feel safe. Safe and sound.