tim woke up to strands of hair falling across his face. this was becoming a regular occurrence as he had been staying over at lucy and jackson's apartment more often than not after she returned from the hospital. not that tim minded-- after she had been kidnapped, he felt a little better knowing that she was safe and that he was able to monitor that aspect personally sometimes.
he smiled softly as he gently scooted off the bed. it was still early, not even 4:00am yet, but tim was thirsty, so, once making sure he didn't wake up his partner, he made his way to the kitchen to fill up a glass with water. right as he was walking back to lucy's bedroom, he heard a horrible scream. her scream. tim didn't think twice, the glass was forgotten, and he bolted back to her bedroom.
"NO NO NO NO" echoed through the apartment. he found the officer thrashing in sheets and blankets that were becoming tangled around her limbs. "HEEELLLP" tim's heart broke at the sight. he rushed forward and tried to decide how best to help. he did not want to startle lucy even more, but he also couldn't bear watching her suffer trapped in her nightmare any longer.
"AHHH-- NO NO" this was not lucy. lucy was independent and strong and had a fire in her that no one could extinguish. seeing lucy pant and yell while fighting with the tangle of covers was almost unbearable.
tim decided that, while he didn't want to startle her, he needed to do something. he gently knelt down on the bed and braced his hands on lucy's shoulders. "lucy, hey" "AAHHH" she was fighting against his hands" "luce, wake up, please" "NO NOOOO" he tried his best to stabilize her shoulders but her head was still thrashing back and forth, and he could feel her trembling under his grasp. "lucy, you're safe-- LUCY" tim called her name slightly louder.
tim wasn't the only one who heard lucy scream. jackson shot upright in bed when he heard the scream and the crash. this was far from the first time he had been woken up by his best friend's scream. he hated that these demons were still plaguing his friend, and he would get up every night if that's what it took to make it better.
jackson rushed out of his room across the apartment to lucy's bedroom. he could vaguely see the shattered glass in the hallway and tried his best to maneuver around it. when he did, he gently cracked the door open.
lucy's eyes flew open and rapidly started searching around the room "lucy-luce, hey hey, come back to me" tim encouraged her gently. "wha-what--no" she argued and tried to fight out of his grasp "lucy, you're safe" tim tried to help her come back to reality "n-no LET ME GO" lucy was still fighting to free herself.
jackson realized what was going on and quickly turned on the lights. lucy gasped and started to take in her surroundings. "luce, look at me" tim tried to help her find his eyes. when she finally did, she let out a breath "tim" she launched herself into his arms so quickly it almost threw him off balance.
tim briefly turned to look back at jackson sending a silent 'thank you' across the room. jackson nodded as though he knew exactly what tim was thinking even though tim didn't really even know what tim was thinking. he assumed that lucy still struggled with trauma from her kidnapping, but he had no idea that these nightmares held her hostage most nights.
"you're safe--shhh... you're safe" tim pressed his partner to his chest. lucy didn't answer, she just gasped and choked out sobs into tim's chest. "you're safe, i got you" tim assured her over and over as he stroked a hand through her hair. he didn't dare loosen his hold on her. he knew what her nightmare was about, so he wouldn't dare ask. "t-tim i... i..." lucy couldn't finish her thought "shh luce, it's okay" he soothed gently.
they sat there for moments... minutes.. neither of them knew how long. eventually lucy's sobs reduced to sniffles. tim still did not relinquish his hold on her. he could gradually feel her breathing start to slow down.
"i was back there" lucy whispered finally breaking the silence. tim knew this, but he stayed silent letting her share. "i couldn't get out" she looked up making eye contact with tim. he gently soothed her hair back away from her face "you will never go back there again" tim promised. lucy sighed and slowly relaxed into his still unmoving embrace.
tim glanced back at jackson once more. he gave a short nod and turned the lights back off and quietly pulled the door closed.
tim and lucy slowly readjusted so that she was resting her head on his chest with his arms still protectively wrapped around her. thankful that tim knew not to ask questions, lucy focused her attention to the rhythm of tim breathing and attempted to match hers to it as it lulled her back to sleep.
as jackson moved to start picking up the glass before going to bed, he felt peace. he knew that tim would move the ends of the earth for lucy, and he knew she would always be safe with him.
