"No!" Rebecca thrashed out in her sleep. "Lachlan - no!"
"Rebecca!" Joe sat up, reaching out for her. She flailed her arms at him.
"Hey. Hey." He gripped her arms gently, shaking her shoulder to wake her. "It's okay. I've got you."
"Joe..." Rebecca realised where she was and wrapped her arms around Joe, dissolving into tears. He held her until the sobs finally faded away.
"Shh," he soothed her. "It was just a nightmare."
She shook her head, looking up at him. "I can't stop thinking about him. Lachlan."
"I know," he whispered. "But he's behind bars. He can't hurt you anymore." He thought of the sleepless nights he had endured after Rebecca had been taken hostage, locked up on Home Farm land as it turned out, and his hand closed into a fist as he thought about what he would do to Lachlan if he got his hands on him.
"I hate him," she said softly. "But apart from Seb... he was the only family I had left."
"That's not true." He looked into her eyes. "You've got me now."
She nodded and settled into his arms. He held her as she drifted back into sleep, not daring to fall asleep himself in case the nightmares came again.