Date: March 2018
Chandler woke up to the sound of his girlfriend crying beside him. She was curled up beside him and her eyes were closed, she was having a nightmare.
"Katelyn, wake up," He whispered as he gently shook her shoulder.
She slowly stirred, her tear filled eyes opened and she bolted up, breathing heavily and she tried to get her bearings. When her eyes focused on her boyfriend, she immediately wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head in the nape of his neck.
Chandler was caught off guard at first but slowly his arms wrapped around her and he rubbed soothing circles on her back as she caught her breath.
"Nightmare?" he asked as he pulled away.
She nodded and sighed, "Yeah."
"Want to talk about it?"
She sighed and slowly laid back down. She felt the bed shift as he laid down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not going to like what you hear."
"Kat, just tell me. I promise I won't judge."
She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "When we were filming my reaction to your death, I was having trouble getting it right," Looking over she saw he was staring at her, a supportive look on his face. Taking a deep breath she continued. "I was trying so hard and someone, I can't remember who suggested that I think of how I would react if I learnt you were dead."
"Kat-" his sympathetic voice started but she interrupted him.
"I know it was dumb but I did it and it worked. I didn't really think anything of it until we watched tonight's episode and then I remembered it."
The tears returned to her eyes and she turned to look at him. "It just felt so real, the thought of losing you, it scares the hell out of me."
He drew her into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. "It wasn't real," He rubbed soothing circles along her back. "I'm not going anywhere," He promised.
She looked up at him, her face wet with tears. "I love you Chandler," She whispered.
"I love you too Katelyn."
They snuggled into each other and held each other in a tight embrace and soon fell asleep, however this time the sleep was peaceful. Being in the safety of each others warm embrace kept away the nightmares and gave them both a sense of safety and of love.