For two weeks after the kiss it was nothing but Awkward between the two. Every time they were in the same room one or the other would mutter an excuse and high tail it out of there. Whenever one thought the other wasn't looking they would give them a look of longing. Han struggled every minute of the day to keep himself under control and Katie did everything in her power not to break down and show her pain. Finally two weeks before The others were due home something happened.
Han was once again awakened by Katie's Night terror screams. This time they were blood curdling and so full of terror He could feel them in his bones. He didn't hesitate. He just ran to her room, forgetting a shirt .He threw open her open and gathered her in his arms trying to wake her, It killed him to see her in this much pain. She woke up with a yelp in the safety of his arms and gripped him tightly.
"Shhh Katie its OK, you're OK." he whispered into her hair, rocking her, trying anything to sooth her. her sobs became little hiccups and her tears dried as she listened to his voice and the sound of his heart beat. The tension from the past two weeks fell away as he just held her tightly. She sat there in his arms until sleep started taking hold of her. She yawned and relaxed in his arms. Sensing her about to drift off to sleep he let go of her and laid her down on her bed. He got up and before he could leave he feels a slight tug on his pants. He looks down to see her reaching out, and looks at her. "Katie-" He lets his sentence fade unable to speak around the sudden lump in his throat.
"I know, I understand, But Han please, don't leave, Just stay here please?" She whispers. The venerability in her small voice nearly made him weep. " Nothing will happen I promise, I just, I feel safer in your arms." She says with brutal honesty. It was all he could do to nod his head and climb back in her bed. She under the covers him on top of them. Opening his arms she curls back into them burying her face in his bare chest.
Her heart was beating so fast as she laid there in his arms. She just finally notice that he had no shirt on and she could feel the toned muscles of his chest and stomach. It took everything in her power not to run her fingers down his chest. She just laid there more relaxed then ever before in her life. She listened to his heart beat and focused on the sounds of his deep breathing. soon sleep overcame her and she fell asleep feeling safe for the first time since the night she was rescued.
He knew immediately when she had fallen asleep by the way her body grew lax in his arms. He should have laid her gently on her bed and returned to his own but something held him back. There was a fierce urge to protect her, like holding her while she slept could keep the nightmares that tormented her at bay. Her quiet breathing soon lulled him into a sound, but alert sleep. And that was how he fell asleep. Holding the girl that he could no longer deny he was falling for in his arms, protecting her the only way he knew how to.