A/N: Written pretty quickly today just because 4x22 happened and I have a lot of feelings. Stay tuned, we have a long hiatus in front of us, you'll see more from me xD

NIGHTMARES

Lately, Olivia had come to dread the night in a whole new way.

It was not that she wasn't accustomed to nightmares; considering her life and the atrocities that seemed to be following her around no matter the universe or the timeline she lived in, she'd had her fair share of night woes through the years, which often resulted in bouts of insomnia that very few things could fight off. Peter had told her years ago about the night terrors he used to experience as a child. She was still completely unprepared when they decided to make their comeback, in the aftermath of her 'temporary death'.

No matter how healthy and safe she was, Peter now woke up almost every night, trashing around and choking out her name in this heartbroken croak that never failed to squeeze her insides, her heart aching at his distress. She let him cling to her, in the dark of night, his body shivering violently against hers as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and clenched his arms around her in a death grip; all she could do was draw soothing circles upon the sweaty expanse of his back, her fingers often ending up curled up into the damp mass of his hair, her lips pressed to his shoulder, tasting the salt of his skin.

It took her a while to find ways to really calm him down, once she realized that repeatedly telling him that she was fine, that it was just a bad dream, wasn't doing much. She had started taking his hand in hers, bringing it between them, and making him press his palm upon that small spot on her lower stomach that was getting firmer and more prominent with every passing day; she always lay her hand atop his, intertwining their fingers as she moved, uncurling herself from against his chest to bring her face to his. She then nuzzled his nose with hers, comfortingly, murmuring the same words over and over again. She had changed her motto from 'I'm fine' to 'We're okay, Peter. We're okay.'

When his breathing had slowed down and his muscles had started to relax, she would let him hug her again, his hand still firmly placed upon her growing bump, his breath a sweet and scorching caress against her neck, and she went back to stroking his hair slowly, whispering in his ear 'please don't dream tonight…please don't dream tonight…please don't dream tonight…'

He always fell back asleep long before she did.