Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side - sim: Honoring the Ardent

(snip)

“My work can wait.” He was only using it to avoid sleeping himself after all. He moved over on the bed and pulled up the blanket, holding it up for her to get under. Then he waited for her. “I’ll be right here, all night. Then you can get some sleep.” If he was lucky he would too but he held little hope. And if she did sleep he didn’t want to wake her with a nightmare.

~ Roman

Rand moved over, under the blanket and laid down next to him. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but it took a long time. As soon as she would start to fall asleep she would twitch - over tired muscles.

Eventually she fell asleep, tossing and turning frequently. Until she woke suddenly, around 0130, sitting straight up with a gasp. Feeling like she’d been running, flat out, for awhile.

Rand

Roman put his arm over her and did his best to sleep, trying to lie still so Rand would think he was sleeping. He fell asleep, at first, but it did not take long for a nightmare to wake him. He thankfully didn’t sit up like he normally did, so he tried to go back to sleep. He had little luck and he was awake when Rand woke, sitting up. He sat up with her. “What’s wrong?”

~ Roman

Rand drew her knees up, hugging them, and hung her head, breathing heavily. The posture was more indicative of a fetal position, for safety, than an attempt to stop dizziness or hyperventilation. This happened sometimes, she’d have a panic attack in her sleep. She could never remember what she had been dreaming about, if she had been dreaming at all. She wasn’t able to answer his question, only lean against him until she could breathe slower. “It…it happens sometimes. Panic attack while I sleep.”

Rand