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couples_therapy: 34.1
Tuesday, 21 October 2008 04:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doctortara
34.1. Spend a rainy day with your partner
[Follows THIS]
The rain just didn’t seem to want to let up, though the mood it was creating seemed fitting. Tara pushed up onto her tiptoes and pulled one of their spare blankets down from the top of the wardrobe. She cursed softly under her breath when a pillow fell out and smacked her in the face. It’s probably something her husband would’ve laughed at if he’d been watching. He always had a cheeky sense of humour and laughing at each other was something they’d always been able to do. At least, they could most of the time.
She hugged the bundle of blankets to her chest and padded over to the bed where Lachlan was asleep, curled up in a ball on his side with his arm wrapped around his stomach. It was an undisturbed sleep so far, though she knew that was only because he’d resorted to a sleeping pill in an effort to put his mind to rest. That alone indicated to her how bad the nightmare had been. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it, though he’d asked her to stay until he fell asleep. It wasn’t a request he needed to make, though. She was reluctant to leave him alone after the previous night. He’d been sick three more times before he finally began to calm down, though sleep didn’t claim him again. Or he wouldn’t let it. He couldn’t rest, until finally agreeing to take the sleeping pill around lunch time when he was about ready to pass out from exhaustion.
It was a domino effect, because Tara couldn’t help but worry about him. She only made one effort to get him to talk about the nightmare, but only a promise that he would later came. She didn’t push. There was no need. She trusted him to talk to her when he was ready; he always did, even if it took some time for him to do so. She was careful not to disrupt him as she laid the thick blanket over him and tucked the edges around his back and legs to block any draughts. She leaned over to kiss him, brushing her lips against his forehead and smoothing his hair down. But despite her plans to make a cup of tea, it only took a moment of contemplation before she sighed softly and pulled the blanket back down just far enough for her to slip under it beside him. She nursed a hand under her baby bump so she could carefully ease herself closer to him and rest her head on the edge of his pillow. Their faces were only inches apart, close enough for her to feel his soft, even breaths against her cheek. She tucked her hand under his t-shirt and curled her hand around his waist, beginning to stroke her thumb slowly back and forth across his hip.
The scarred skin felt uneven under her fingertips, but he was in too deep a sleep to flinch away from the touch. Tara was the only one he trusted to touch anywhere near the wound site. He was a little bit more free with people seeing the scars these days, but touch was an entirely different thing. No one ever expected this to be an easy or quick process. He was still healing and still ached inside from the tragedy. But she had been so sure he was at least back on the slow road to recovery. The last time he’d had nightmares like this was around the time of the shooter’s trial, but they stopped when it was over and she was given a twenty year sentence after blatantly admitting to the crime and apologising to Lachlan when he was on the witness stand. Now he suffered through another one, and this time it was to do with their baby. She could only think he was still harbouring fears they would lose the child. And there was still a risk; there was always going to be a risk. This was their only chance to have a baby together and knowing it was precarious was frightening enough. But he’d been okay. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t pinpoint why his unconscious mind was sending him on this downward spiral again. All she wanted was for him to stop hurting. His painful admission that he couldn’t do this anymore had cut so deep inside her and left her feeling like all she wanted to do was hide away so nothing else could hurt them.
But they couldn’t do that. Hiding away wasn’t going to solve anything. She had no immediate fixes, she could only try to soothe the hurt for him here and now, and the best way she’d always done that was just to be with him. To offer hugs, and kisses, and warmth whenever he needed it. She hugged the covers closer around them and wrapped her arms around him. Things just always felt like they were going to be okay when she could feel him pressed against her. If only that’s all it took.
Lachlan Campbell [![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
drcampbell] referred to with permission, as always
Word Count | 843
[Follows THIS]
The rain just didn’t seem to want to let up, though the mood it was creating seemed fitting. Tara pushed up onto her tiptoes and pulled one of their spare blankets down from the top of the wardrobe. She cursed softly under her breath when a pillow fell out and smacked her in the face. It’s probably something her husband would’ve laughed at if he’d been watching. He always had a cheeky sense of humour and laughing at each other was something they’d always been able to do. At least, they could most of the time.
She hugged the bundle of blankets to her chest and padded over to the bed where Lachlan was asleep, curled up in a ball on his side with his arm wrapped around his stomach. It was an undisturbed sleep so far, though she knew that was only because he’d resorted to a sleeping pill in an effort to put his mind to rest. That alone indicated to her how bad the nightmare had been. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it, though he’d asked her to stay until he fell asleep. It wasn’t a request he needed to make, though. She was reluctant to leave him alone after the previous night. He’d been sick three more times before he finally began to calm down, though sleep didn’t claim him again. Or he wouldn’t let it. He couldn’t rest, until finally agreeing to take the sleeping pill around lunch time when he was about ready to pass out from exhaustion.
It was a domino effect, because Tara couldn’t help but worry about him. She only made one effort to get him to talk about the nightmare, but only a promise that he would later came. She didn’t push. There was no need. She trusted him to talk to her when he was ready; he always did, even if it took some time for him to do so. She was careful not to disrupt him as she laid the thick blanket over him and tucked the edges around his back and legs to block any draughts. She leaned over to kiss him, brushing her lips against his forehead and smoothing his hair down. But despite her plans to make a cup of tea, it only took a moment of contemplation before she sighed softly and pulled the blanket back down just far enough for her to slip under it beside him. She nursed a hand under her baby bump so she could carefully ease herself closer to him and rest her head on the edge of his pillow. Their faces were only inches apart, close enough for her to feel his soft, even breaths against her cheek. She tucked her hand under his t-shirt and curled her hand around his waist, beginning to stroke her thumb slowly back and forth across his hip.
The scarred skin felt uneven under her fingertips, but he was in too deep a sleep to flinch away from the touch. Tara was the only one he trusted to touch anywhere near the wound site. He was a little bit more free with people seeing the scars these days, but touch was an entirely different thing. No one ever expected this to be an easy or quick process. He was still healing and still ached inside from the tragedy. But she had been so sure he was at least back on the slow road to recovery. The last time he’d had nightmares like this was around the time of the shooter’s trial, but they stopped when it was over and she was given a twenty year sentence after blatantly admitting to the crime and apologising to Lachlan when he was on the witness stand. Now he suffered through another one, and this time it was to do with their baby. She could only think he was still harbouring fears they would lose the child. And there was still a risk; there was always going to be a risk. This was their only chance to have a baby together and knowing it was precarious was frightening enough. But he’d been okay. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t pinpoint why his unconscious mind was sending him on this downward spiral again. All she wanted was for him to stop hurting. His painful admission that he couldn’t do this anymore had cut so deep inside her and left her feeling like all she wanted to do was hide away so nothing else could hurt them.
But they couldn’t do that. Hiding away wasn’t going to solve anything. She had no immediate fixes, she could only try to soothe the hurt for him here and now, and the best way she’d always done that was just to be with him. To offer hugs, and kisses, and warmth whenever he needed it. She hugged the covers closer around them and wrapped her arms around him. Things just always felt like they were going to be okay when she could feel him pressed against her. If only that’s all it took.
Lachlan Campbell [
drcampbell] referred to with permission, as alwaysWord Count | 843