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"Ellie, shh, it's okay, you're okay." He murmured against her forehead between soft kisses. Making sure one of his arms made a block to prevent her from rolling around enough to fall off the side or hit herself on the bedside table was something she still hadn't noticed he always did but it felt necessary, especially for the rare times she wouldn't wake for a longer time.
It took a moment for her brain to realise it was safe to open her eyes as her breath continued to catch, her partner's chest so recognisable in these momengs. She could feel his heartbeat against her temple, knowing it was going faster than it should be thanks to it being 04:00 and his rest being disturbed by her. "Sorry," she said as she ran her fingertips up his stomach and kissed where her head had just been.
Alan gently tilted her head back so they were looking at the other, "How many times do I have to tell you not to apologise?" Leaning down he captured her bottom lip with his, the kiss deepening quickly as she moulded her body into the hold.
"You don't wake up screaming once a fortnight though." Ellie said as he wiped the last couple of tear tracks from her cheeks. Neither of them chose to bring up the countless times she would find him in their office, staring at the wall with a haunted look masking every feature. In those moments Ellie would silently wrap her arms around his shoulders from behind and hold him until his lips found hers, bringing him back to the life they had created together.
Mark had persuaded her to see the best therapists about the night terrors but as she had argued at the time it was futile when nobody would have believed her about Jurassic Park at the time. When that didn't work he moved into the spare room. He could never accept that there likely wouldn't be a fix because all the memories would stay with her. It wasn't the only reason they had divorced but it had definitely not helped whilst trying to reconcile any last remnants of their marriage.
She had warned Alan about the nightmares as soon as there was the possibility of them sharing the same bed again. It was the night of her offer for him to come with her and although nothing beyond kisses and sleep happened that night Ellie knew she had to tell him because there was no way she was letting him go again. She didn't believe him when he said it wasn't a problem then, and a year down the line she still expected another sit-down chat saying it needed to stop like had occurred three years ago with Mark.
In the months following the original events on Isla Nublar they had both had nightmares almost daily, during their awake and asleep hours. Alan had still been experiencing them when they broke up but they had been starting to settle during the night for him whereas hers were just as vivid. Thankfully the frequency had reduced but she couldn't have acted surprised on their second night reunited when she woke up to the sound of roars and images of spear-pointed teeth.
Then, and every time since, without fail he would stay next to her until she'd calmed down.
Ellie smiled as she stroked the stubble on his cheek, "I don't deserve you."
Reaching over to get her the bottle of water on her table he replied, "No, you deserve so much more."
He put himself down a lot in their relationship but Ellie never agreed. She was certain there was no better man out there, regardless of their shared history he was everything her head and heart needed and wanted.