Outsiders (DBH Connor x vampire!OC)

Chapter 36

Connor carefully washes her, being mindful of the deeper wounds that are still healing.
He helps her out the bath, removes her clothing and towels her off.

"Can someone bring very loose clothing?" Connor puts the emphasis on very.
North walks in with a nightgown. It looks indeed very loose.

Connor helps Faith in it.
"Thank you."
Connor nods, holding her close to him for a moment.
She feels her tense form, but for his own sanity - and partially hers - he ignores it.
"Do you want to sleep?" He feels her nod in the crook of his neck.

They walk outside the bathroom, the whole Jericho crew still present.
"I'm going to sleep. Thank you for helping me." She doesn't say what they need to do, leaving it to them to figure out what they feel most comfortable with.

Connor picks her up and walks to her bedroom, carefully laying her down on the bed.
"Stay, please."
Connor removes his jacket and shoes, before climbing on the bed next to her.

She wiggles closer to him, holding him close.
"The thought that you were waiting kept me strong for a long while." She whispers.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this."
"Not your fault."

Instead of talking, Faith drifts off to sleep with Connor monitoring her vitals.

It's a few hours of sleep later when her heart rate picks up drastically and she starts thrashing.
Connor carefully holds her close,talking to her.
"It's not real. You are safe. You are here with us."
It does not help, her whole body tense in a fight or flight reaction. Eyes unseeing.

Connor tries the last thing possible to get her out of it. He connects with her, shows her that the cruelty she is experiencing is not real. That she is safe, here with him.

It takes a moment, but she eventually calms down. She looses her fight and goes limp in Connor's arms.
Slowly he ends the interface, so she doesn't end up overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Faith starts sobbing in Connor's shirt, clenching her fists in his shirt.
Connor holds her close, wraps his arms around her as she cries.

"You did nothing wrong. No need to apologize. I'm here for you."

Connor is still holding her when she falls asleep. Exhausted by the emotions and the events that happened.
And this time she wakes up because she slept enough, not because she got a night terror of her awful time there.

"I need to talk to Perkins, give him an earful." She says after silently waking up in Connor's arms.
"I have my own things to add to that. Mind if I join you?"
Faith smiles, even when it doesn't reach her eyes. "Sure."

They keep laying in the bed for a long while, holding each other after so long, knowing the other is back here. No longer unreachable. No longer being tortured by a psychopathic vampire.