Set during season 3. Alex comforts Sean during a thunderstorm.

He was not proud of how hysterically he woke up. He gasped and spluttered and frantically kicked at the sheets. His heart pounded against his chest, his whole body shook, and he could barely breathe. That wasn't the reaction he should've had to what had woken him. A part of him was aware that he was overreacting. It was nothing. It would all be alright. It was only a storm. He could lay back down and be lulled back to sleep by the rain pounding the pavement. Except, he couldn't relax. He remained tense, ready for a fight that would never come.

Each flash of lightning and boom of thunder made it worse. He couldn't lay back down. He only clenched the sheets, praying that the attack would go away. Everything was just too damn loud. He couldn't find a reprieve from the onslaught. Maybe if he left the bedroom, he could find peace somewhere else. Yet there was no moving from the bed. He was rooted in his spot, eyes darting around the darkness trying to perceive any threats. There were none- obviously. It was all in his head.

Even so, he couldn't make it stop. The fear, the panic, the need to fight, it wouldn't go away no matter how rational he attempted to be. As the thunderstorm battled the world outside, his mind battled everything else. It was almost like he was in another warzone. Except that time, there was no safe base to run to.

Alex could sense that something was wrong. While she was trying to doze through the thunderstorm, she could feel that there was something wrong. She cracked open her eyes and glanced at Sean laying next to her. Well, he was supposed to be laying beside her. He sat rigidly on his side of the bed, breathing harshly and shaking. Alex's own breath hiccupped. Something definitely was wrong with him. If he had simply had a nightmare, he would've cuddled her for strength. He was experiencing far more terrors than that, "Sean? What is it?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just go back to sleep," Instantly, Sean dismissed Alex's concern. It was just a thunderstorm. He'd be able to fall back asleep soon. His girlfriend didn't have to worry, and she certainly didn't need to lose sleep over him. She could have her rest. Maybe she could have it for the both of them.

"Is it the storm?" Alex sat up in bed and turned on her bedside lamp. She had also jolted awake at the crack of thunder and instantly panicked at the sound. Though, she had managed to eventually soothe herself back into a doze. Sean, on the other hand, didn't seem to be able to settle down. She had felt how tense he was beside her. He continued to panic as the storm raged on. Even the sound of the rain couldn't comfort him. He was too far gone to his fear.

"Did it wake you too?" Sean fought to force his thoughts away. Alex could be a lifeline for him then- she was in every other matter. If he talked to her, focused on her fears regarding the storm, helped her go back to sleep, he'd be okay. He didn't have to fix himself. Healing others was a good enough solution for his screaming mind.

"Notice my lack of Russian," Cracking a small smile, Alex joked. Her command of English wasn't the greatest when she first woke up. Something Sean teased her a lot about. However, he barely reacted to her quip. Her smile dropped.

Tenderly, Alex reached for Sean's hand. She was surprised that he was present enough to hold her hand in return. The soft light of the lamp filling the room probably helped him. Flashes of lightning had less of an impact if the room wasn't pitch black. The thunder and rain continued to be a problem, but he was fighting gallantly. Or stubbornly. Judging by his responses, Alex was going with the latter, "It's not the worst storm in a while."

"No. But it's still scary," Alex argued. Things didn't have to be the worst thing in the world to be terrifying. She freaked at the sight of a cockroach, after all. Sean was allowed to be overwhelmed by his feelings at even the quietest bit of thunder. As long as he addressed his fears and knew it was okay to let others help him, it'd be alright. He could make it through the storm with her. She was right there, "What are you thinking?"

"I feel like you already know," Absentmindedly, Sean played with their interlocked fingers. He didn't have to admit anything. His girlfriend could read his mind and that'd be it.

"Yeah. But I want you to say it," Softly, Alex urged Sean to talk to her. Even before she turned the lights on, she could see how badly he was shaken up. It wasn't the normal anxieties from a nightmare. He was so close to disappearing into his fear. He needed to address the problem, talk and heal. Ignoring it would make it fester until he blew. It had happened to him before. And Alex refused to let it happen again.

Sean couldn't continue ignoring the topic, not with the way Alex's blue eyes studied him. He had to say something to appease her and make her drop it. Before he could even try to lie, the truth slipped out, "The lightning's lack a flash of a gun, and the thunder's like an explosion."

"It gets worse with each mission," Nodding in complete and utter understanding, Alex gripped Sean's hand even tighter. He squeezed back.

Although deadly missions with their flashing guns and booming explosions turned thunderstorms into horrific experiences, and it kept getting worse as time went on, Alex had always struggled with storms. Yes, since Operation Pale Fire. But also as a kid. She had never found peace in the loud noises and bright lights. Fortunately, her parents had been there to calm her down. She used to always be able to turn to them for comfort. Even years later, what they had done to soothe her had stuck with her, "You know, I used to hate thunderstorms as a kid. I had to crawl into my parents' bed just to sleep."

"Michael told me that when you would crash at the beach house, you used to crawl into bed with him and Nikita all the time after a nightmare," Sean changed the subject. He didn't want to keep talking about the thunderstorm. Addressing his irrational fears made them too real. They shouldn't have been real. A thunderstorm couldn't hurt him in any way. He didn't need to freak out over nothing. His ridiculous anxiety had to be ignored and shoved deep down. Talking about other things should've helped with that.

"I did that once. And that's not what I'm talking about right now. I'm trying to help comfort you," Alex rolled her eyes. She was starting to think that Michael would never let that go. But she could focus on that (and yell at him) later. Sean and his anxiety were far more important. He couldn't spend the whole night in a panic. She needed to soothe him.

"It's just a thunderstorm…" Before Sean could even attempt to continue deflecting, another round of lightning and thunder cut him short. He held onto Alex's hand as tightly as he could. A part of him knew he was crushing her hand, yet it was the only way he could ground himself. If he let go, his panic would consume him.

"Yeah. But remember, we're not just normal people," Ignoring the pain in her hand, Alex reminded her boyfriend. They would never react normally to anything, not after all they had been through. And that was okay. The two didn't need to be normal. They simply needed to adjust and adapt- change the way they lived. Already, Alex had tools on how to adjust to intense anxiety and fear, especially in regards to thunderstorms. She could easily give them to Sean to utilize. He wouldn't be able to say 'no', "You wanna know how I'm staying calm right now?"

"Is it because you're actually talking about your problems, and because I'm right here?" Sean could guess what Alex was going to say. It always came down to talking. The truth would set you free, but first it'd hurt like hell.

Alex almost made a smartass comment in reply, yet soon decided against it. That wouldn't have helped the situation. Sean only needed honesty and comfort, so that was all she'd give him, "Yes. Talking and having you here helps a lot. But mostly, my parents taught me some self soothing tricks that still work."

"It's not counting the seconds between lightning and thunder so you know how far away the storm is, is it?" Sean halfheartedly joked. He had always hated that calming tactic, even as a kid. Though, it was better than the line about thunder being caused by angels bowling in heaven.

"No. I didn't even know that was a thing," Momentarily confused, Alex tried to see if that fact was true. However, on the next crack of thunder, Sean began to panic again. His muscles tensed, his hazel eyes were blown wide, his breathing hitched, and his knuckles turned white as he clung to the sheets. Alex instantly abandoned her counting. She pulled herself into her boyfriend's lap, cradled his head gently in her hands, and pressed her forehead against his. Breathing steadily in and out, she set an example for him to follow. All he had to do was breathe. Things would be alright if he just took a full breath of air, "Hey. Hey. Just breathe."

It took him a moment. But by following Alex's example, Sean eventually got his breathing under control. He continued to shake. And he had to close his eyes. Yet his breathing was an improvement. Alex tenderly caressed his cheek. She made certain he could feel her warmth. He had to know without a shadow of a doubt that she was there, "Think about where you are. You're in bed with me. You're nice and warm under the covers, and you're safe in my arms. I have you, now and always. You can always rely on me for protection. But you don't always need me. You are just as strong. You are just as powerful Nothing can get you."

Sean wrapped his arms around Alex. He held her so close to him, they breathed the same air. She simply continued to soothe him, nudging his nose with hers, "Listen to my breathing. Steady, in and out. That's the only thing worth hearing. I'm breathing, and so are you."

After a long moment, Sean stopped shaking. He continued to hold her tightly, yet so did she. Alex wouldn't let him go. She'd keep him in her arms until she knew he was okay. Even then, she might just keep holding him. Comfort didn't have to only be given when one of them was hurting. They could always use love and support. It was the best way to heal and find strength. Everything else was just a bonus, "Distractions work really well too. You can breathe and think about other things."

"What kind of distractions?" Sean was fine simply breathing in and out in Alex's arms. But if she wanted to keep talking, or even watch a movie or something, he was completely fine with that too. Whatever would help the both of them survive the night would be perfect.

"My dad would rock me gently in his arms, and my mom would read me a fairytale until I fell back asleep," With a soft smile, Alex fondly recalled the time her parents comforted her. She had always felt so loved. It was one of the best feelings in the world. She continued to cling to it even as her situations changed, "Nikita would just act like an idiot until I was laughing too much to notice anything else."

How Nikita had comforted Alex during a storm was drastically different than her parents; it was more silly. She only told Sean about it to make him laugh. His eyes finally reopened and he grinned somewhat at the image of Nikita acting a fool. She beamed. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly. Though, he was a tad confused about what Alex had admitted. It didn't match what Michael had told him earlier, "I would've thought Nikita would be more comforting."

"After a nightmare, yeah. But during a storm, she tried to distract us both," Shrugging, Alex explained. There hadn't been a lot of thunderstorms when she had stayed at the loft with Nikita. When there was, the two women spent the time goofing around. They both needed distractions from the flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder. Comfort was reserved for nightmares and anxiety attacks. Though, as Alex expressed that to Sean, he appeared to be thinking about something else- sort of like he wanted to make a comment. She instantly became curious, and a little defensive, "Why?"

"Just wanted to understand why you had to sleep with her after nightmares," Sean smirked. Alex's suggestion that he should focus on his and her breathing had helped substantially. He felt calm and steady. He could ignore the thunderstorm and only think of the two of them. Which then meant that he could joke around with his girlfriend. He'd love to hear her laugh or see her smile brightly. It'd be the best thing to witness before he fell back asleep.

"Okay. Michael is completely over exaggerating. It was one time, and after Nikita calmed me down I went back to my own bed. It's her fault I even had to go to her anyway. When I had nightmares at the loft, she always joined me in my bed. She made me codependent," Alex huffed. Michael loved to complain that she had disturbed his and Nikita's sleep and had even kicked him out of bed. But that was completely false. She just talked to Nikita for a moment while she held her, then she went back to bed. It was nothing. And she had only done it once. Alex could normally soothe herself; that nightmare had simply scared her more than usual.

"Sure," Poking Alex playfully, Sean teased. He had suspected that Michael was being a bit over dramatic when he had told him the story. Alex wasn't one to constantly need others to battle her demons. However, she was one to be easily riled up. Teasing her over little things could draw huge reactions from her. It was adorable.

Finally, Alex moved off of Sean's lap. She collapsed against her pillows with a huff. Her boyfriend laughed at her. Although the sound made her relax and want to smile, she fought the urge. She was going to remain annoyed. Sean couldn't get away with his tease, "I'm done talking to you. Let's just watch a movie till the storm passes."

"But you're my distraction," Maybe Sean pouted just a little too much. Yet he had decided that all he wanted to do was share stories with Alex. There was still so much about his girlfriend that he wanted to discover. He had to know everything about her.

"Fine. We can talk," Alex acted like she had to fight with herself to agree to the suggestion. However, she absolutely loved the idea. Talking to Sean before they fell back asleep seemed like the best way to pass the storm. Laying together in the warmth of their bed made it even better. They'd both be able to fall into a peaceful sleep and wake up happy and relaxed.

"More stories from your childhood?" Grabbing Alex's hand again, Sean asked. He liked that little story she had shared about her parents reading her fairytales. He wanted to hear more of that, especially because of the way it made her smile.

"As long as you respond with your own," Alex instantly fired back. She needed to know everything about him as well. And childhood stories were just so fun to explore.

"Deal," Grinning brightly, Sean kissed Alex. It was a soft and tender kiss, something to express their sweet love and gratitude. When the couple was able to separate from it, they excitedly shared stories from happy parts of their past. They didn't stay up too much longer laughing and smiling together. After less than an hour, they had fallen back asleep. The thunderstorm continued its torment outside (though, it had lessened and had begun to move away) but the two slept soundly. They were at peace in one another's arms. Nothing could attack them while they were so safe, happy, and sound.