Post her time serving in the Second World War, Peggy had never properly addressed the lingering psychological side effects it left on her. She was a true sufferer of the post traumatic stress which stained her mind, as was her new husband, Daniel. It had been years since the war and Peggy was convinced the symptoms would subside, but each night as if clockwork, while deep in her rem cycle of sleep— she'd thrash and scream violently, reliving the terrors as if they were happening right in front of her all over again. She was a very active sleeper, and Daniel had grown accustomed to it until one violent night in particular. The two had gone to sleep as usual, until the terrors had flared back up for Peggy with a vengeance. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Daniel bolted upright to the screams, so loud and piercing it made his own vocal cords ache. The room was dark but it wasn't enough to mask the torment twisted on his wife's face. A glistening sheen of sweat coated her, as her limbs threw themselves violently as if they had a mind of their own. They clashed with the headboard, and the bedposts with tremendous thuds, the bruises left behind were still not enough to wake the agent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
"Peggy... Peggy?" Daniel whispered to her, reaching over to stop her limbs from thrashing. Much like sleepwalking, he knew better than to jolt her awake, instead made an attempt to gently coax her from whatever night terror she was having. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
At the gentle touch on her arm, a horrified surge shot through the agent as she bolted upright in bed. Her eyes wide and wild, but still in an ever deep, dead, eerie sleep. Her panting was harsh as she grabbed her gun from her nightstand, aiming it toward the foot of the bed. That was a new development in the situation.
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"Woah woah... Peg!" A chill ran down Daniels spine, his hands instinctively splayed at either side of his head as if it were aimed at him. The unpredictable nature of Peggy's night terrors made him feel sick sometimes, and he wanted help for her. He sat there in silence, watching her panicked chest heave as she stared blankly ahead, before she dropped the weapon again and slumped back in bed with a thud, knocking the crown of her head against their headboard. Daniel seized the opportunity to snatch up the gun and hide it, never to be seen by her again until she woke up.
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A few moments later, he heard a sweet voice which no where near matched he eeriness which had just taken place. "Daniel...?" She mumbled. She couldn't remember what she'd dreamt about. She never could upon waking up. All she knew was that her head hurt, and her throat aches from her screams. "I'm right here Peg... you're okay..." he assured her, though that was far from the truth. He needed to tell her what she had been doing, all these nights in a row, but that was a discussion for morning.
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"Just go back to sleep..." he whispered softly, tugging her close to his while he brushed back her hair that clung to her sweaty forehead. "I've got you..." he added, pressing a kiss to the sore spot on her head as she promptly fell asleep again, leaving Daniel there awake and alone to think about what had just happened.
