The Pack and Sidemen Oneshots

Wooflan- Nightmare

Rob's P.O.V.

Across the room Lachlan slept, peacefully at first. We were in the same room of the small house we had rented for the annual Pack ski trip while Mitch and Jerome slept in the other, and Preston and Vikk had drawn the short straws and so were sleeping downstairs on the couch. I was awake only because I wasn't tired and it was something like 3am, so I was lying, sprawled on the bed on my phone.

I kept checking my phone for the time because I was so bored and annoyed that I wasn't sleeping but at about half past 3, maybe a bit later, Lachlan started to stir. It wasn't like he was waking up, he was tossing and turning, groaning and throwing his head back onto the pillow, his body seizing every couple of minutes.

I was about to get up to settle him down, maybe wake him up a little, when his entire body jerked suddenly, so much so that he practically threw himself off the bed. Yelping, I fell off the bed in an attempt to catch him and although I stopped him from hitting the ground, it didn't stop him sliding from the bed and into my lap.

He awoke gasping and panting, his breathing ragged and irregular, his heart beating so fast that I could feel it. He looked around, shaking and bewildered, scared and confused as to why he was on the floor and why he was lying on me. He was shivering too, his eyes wide.

"Ro-Rob?" He whispered, his voice high. He was still shaking.

It took me a moment to work out what to do, it was clear he had had a nightmare and probably had no idea what was going on, and he probably just wanted to get back to sleep too. Finally, knowing he still had his wide and confused puppy eyes on me, I wrapped my arms tightly around him and bundled him up, helping him up off the floor and back into bed.

Lachlan was stiff and scared, his hands scrambling to cling to my shirt. I had planned to move back into my bed once he was settled again but that clearly wasn't going to happen- his grip was so tight and he was tucked so securely against me that I didn't have the heart to just leave him there.

"Did you have a nightmare?" I asked gently, pushing a strand of hair off his sweaty forehead. He nodded miserably and pushed himself against me further, his breathing gradually slowly as he relaxed. "You think you're alright to sleep?"

"Only if you stay." He mumbled, closing his eyes. Well, I wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon because of his grip on my shirt so I just nodded, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders.

"Alright. I'll stay."

I saw his smile, and it stayed on his face long after he fell asleep.

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The night was fitful, even though I stayed with Lachlan the entire night he never got more than an hour or two of sleep at a time, waking himself each time by crying out and jolting upright. As a result I barely slept either, hardly managing to fall asleep before Lachlan would shoot up again, gasping and shaking.

I tried, I really did, to keep him asleep, allowing him to tangle himself tight against me, holding him close, rocking gently from side to side, humming. None of it seemed to work because he kept waking over and over again, there wasn't a moment of peaceful silence because Lachlan was either tossing and turning, crying into my chest or he was settling back into a restless sleep. I was flat out exhausted but still I kept up with comforting him, hoping he would finally settle.

But it didn't happen.

The dawn was creeping around the curtains when Lachlan fell asleep another time, his breathing steadying as he fell back into a deep sleep. I shifted him so he was lying less on top of me and more on the bed and pulled my phone out again to distract myself- I had no doubt he was going to wake up again and although I was exhausted, I wasn't going to be able to sleep.

I sighed heavily, running a gentle hand through the sleeping boys hair. I was really trying to be patient and I understood that it wasn't his fault that he was having horrific nightmares, but I was flat out exhausted. My brain was completely fried, I was barely awake but I kept going simply because I couldn't let Lachlan wake up, panicking and alone, confused too.

It was about 6 in the morning when a gentle knock came on the door and Preston pushed it open. He gave me a tired and sympathetic look when he saw Lachlan tucked into my side.

"I heard you up a lot last night, bad time?" I nodded slowly, throwing one arm over my face.

"Yeah, he's been having awful nightmares. I've been up all night and he's woken up 8 or 9 times since we went to bed." I sighed again, closing my eyes. "It's been bad."

"God, that does sound bad. Want me to take him for a while? You look like you really need some sleep..."

"I do, but I don't wanna leave him alone. He's been clinging to me all night and I don't think he'll let me leave, even if I try." Preston got a little closer and crouched down at the bedside, using the back of his hand to push away some of Lachlan's hair off his forehead where he was curled up beside me. He was facing away from me now, tucked up in a little ball.

"Are you sure? I don't mine taking him but if you think so..."

"I'm sure. He's basically stuck to me and if he wakes up again... yeah, no. I'll be alright." Preston gave me a look but I stuck by my guns, mostly for Lachlan's sake. I already knew he would probably be embarrassed, even though it wasn't his fault, and adding another person to the mess would only make it worse for him and me.

"I'm assuming you aren't coming skiing today then?"

"Oh hell no. Neither of us are, I'm keeping him in bed until he gets some actual rest." I said, glancing down at him.

"Okay, I'll tell the others to keep it down when they get up. Text me if you need anything."

I nodded and watched as he left, shutting the door gently behind him. I let out a sigh of relief, even though Preston's presence was comforting I really couldn't stand it because my brain was fuzzy, I was only half functioning and any noise above Lachlan's gentle breathing hurt my head.

I just groaned and settled back into the pillows, my arms still around the sleeping boy. God, I just needed some sleep.

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Lachlan groaned, tossing his head. I sat up gently, worried he was beginning to have another nightmare, but he started to stir and blink softly, burying his head deep into the pillow. It was clear he was exhausted, barely able to lift his arm off the blankets and as he turned his head his eyes met mine. He was already red from the warmth but he went even redder as he noticed he was curled up tight against me.

"Hey Lachy." I whispered tiredly, reaching out to run a hand through his hair. "You feeling okay? You had a rough night." He nodded slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm... so tired." He breathed, settling back down against me.

"I'm not surprised."

I knew Lachlan remembered the events of the last night, he remembered constantly waking up with nightmares and as consequence, he remembered waking me up too, but I didn't ask him about it. It wasn't any of my business unless he wanted to tell me and quite honestly, I just wanted to sleep. There were a few minutes of silence.

"Do you just wanna go back to sleep?" I whispered, tucking him back against me.

"Yeah." He mumbled. "Please."

"Alright then." I pulled the blanket up over us and he snuggled back down into me, closing his eyes again. "Sleep tight little Lachy, I hope you get a better sleep this time."

"So do I." He breathed, tightening his grip.

I only smiled, settling down too. It was nice, honestly.