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Everyone tried to get Emma settled during the rest of the afternoon and Rochelle helped her to take a shower; Addie was pregnant and was more affected by what happened, so she held back. Emma was grateful for both women’s support, and she was especially happy to shower as she felt like it would wash away some of her tears and help her to relax.

She joined the rest of the group for dinner but begged off a little while later to go to bed; she was exhausted from everything and really needed some time to just be. Rochelle and Addie stayed with her until she was asleep and then joined their husbands and Nick downstairs; they could all finally take a breath now that they knew she was home and safe. They stayed up for a little bit in case Emma needed anything but, since all had been quiet, they all made their ways to their rooms and fell into deep sleeps.

It was after two when someone crept down the stairs and raced over to the couch where Nick was sleeping; he was awoken by someone poking him and whispering in his ear.

“Uncle Nicky?” Ava whispered. “Uncle Nicky, wake up!”

Nick opened his eyes to find the little girl standing in front of him with concern in her eyes.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

Ava nodded. “I am but I don’t think Auntie Emma is; I think she’s having a nightmare.”

Before Nick could sit up or ask any questions, Ava launched herself into the reason why she was there.

“When I have a nightmare, mommy or daddy come sleep in my bed with me, rub my back and tell me it’s going to be okay.” Ava told him. “I was going to wake them up but I thought it might be weird for my mommy or daddy to rub auntie’s back and sleep in bed with her.”

Nick laughed out loud at the mental picture of AJ lying next to Emma, singing her to sleep.

“I got you covered,” Nick replied, “I will go check on Auntie Emma and make sure her bad dreams go away.”

Nick prodded Ava back upstairs and into her room; he made sure she was tucked in before he made his way down to his bedroom. He heard Emma’s soft cries as soon as he opened the door; it made his heart hurt to hear her sounding so scared. Not wanting to scare her further, he called out her name before walking over to the bed.

Emma furiously wiped the tears from her eyes when she realized he was there and pretended to be okay when he reached her. Even as hard as she tried, she couldn’t hide how she was feeling from Nick; she didn’t fight him when he crawled into bed with her and pulled her into his chest.

“You’re lucky,” Nick told her quietly, trying to break the tension, “Ava was going to get AJ to come sleep with you, but I got her to agree to use my services instead.”

Emma burst out laughing at the thought; she was touched by Ava’s concern but finding AJ in bed next to her would have been one hell of a shock.

“I’m glad you talked her out of her plan.”

“Me too.” Nick replied. “I’m not letting AJ slide in here and be the tattooed knight in shining armor.”

Emma chuckled and, much to Nick’s surprise, she pulled herself closer to him and rested her head in the space between his shoulder and head. She had fought long and hard to keep Nick’s at an arm’s length but she knew she needed him right now.

Nick wrapped his arms around her and gave her a small smile; if she hadn’t been through so much and wasn’t in such a sensitive position, he would have tried to kiss her. He knew that now was not that time and he tried to reassure her that she was fine and could sleep; when she asked, he promised that he would not leave her by herself.

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Emma awoke again a couple of hours later in a complete state of panic; her passing out in the cold and thoughts of her dying were refusing to leave her mind. She knew she was safe but the thoughts just wouldn’t go away and she started to cry softly.

Nick immediately woke up when he felt her body shaking against his.

“Are you okay?”

Nick used a finger to push her face up so he could see her; he felt awful seeing her this way and he wasn’t sure what he could do to help.

“You’re doing it.” Emma said quietly as if she could read his mind.

Nick pulled her tight and kissed her on the head. Stroking her back with his free hand, he started to sing to her in the hopes that it would relax her. It took a bit for it to work but her breathing finally evened out and she started snoring faintly. He was glad that could help her right now but he was scared about her going back to North Carolina in two days and then, potentially, on to England not long after. Setting a silent reminder in his head to talk to her about that, he pulled her tighter and rested his head on hers; he was asleep a few moments later.