Mahdi was woken by tight tugging on his hand. He opened his eyes to find Sera thrashing in her bed. Mahdi let go over her hand, and sat on the edge of her bed. He put his hands on her shoulders, and lightly shook them.

"Sera. Sera. Sera you need to wake up. Come on," Mahdi said trying to wake up Sera. 

She thrashed more. Then she yelled out, "Mahdi! Mahdi!"

"I'm right here Sera. You need to wake up."

Sera began to cry out more, and tears began to stream down her face. Mahdi pulled her against his chest. It quieted her sobs, but they were still loud, and gut wrenching. He wanted nothing more than to just comfort her, but he couldn't if she was still asleep.

She clawed at his arms, pounded on his chest, yet he didn't budge. He held her until her sobs quieted, and she no longer cried out. 

She sniffed, and began to move while wrapped in Mahdi's arms. Her eyes slowly opened. "Mahdi?" she croaked.

"I'm here. I'm here. It's okay. You're safe."

Sera pulled away to look into Mahdi's eyes. "Oh Mahdi. I'm so sorry." Sera began to sob into Mahdi's chest again.

Mahdi let her cry. He let her get every emotion she was bottling up for the last few months come out of her in one big wave. And he took it. He allowed her to beat on his chest, sob uncontrollably, and scratch and claw at his arms until she was raw. She had nothing left to cry about. Nothing to be upset about anymore. Yet she still cried.

"Shh. It's alright. Come on, lets lay back down," Mahdi says.

He helps Sera lay back down in her bed, and he laid next to her. She was still gathered in his arms, and she was still crying. He rubbed her back to calm her down, and it seemed to work. She sniffed and pulled away from Mahdi. He took his hand, and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

Her face was red, and puffy. But to him she was still beautiful. She wrapped her arms around him, and held on. He stroked her hair as her breaths evened out. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mahdi asked.

Sera took a shaky breath and began, "I couldn't save you. I couldn't save any of you."

"Shh. It's okay. It was only a dream. I'm right here." She shakes in his arms, and buried her face in his chest. "Sera, you can't save everyone, and you know that. You can't let that haunt you."

She nods her head. She knew this, yet she couldn't get it away from her. The fact that she knew she couldn't save everyone continuously haunted her. It was apart of her. She brought her face out, and kissed Mahdi hard on the lips. He kissed her back. They pulled apart. 

Mahdi brushed Sera's hair out of her face again and looked into her eyes. Everything a part of her was perfect to him. He loved it when she was happy a twinkle lit up her eyes, or how her eyes darkened when she was upset. He had even grown used to her short dark hair. Now it was growing out in her old color, and the dark was fading away. It was a beautiful color. Now there was something new to add to her beauty. 

The scar on her shoulder that peaked out of her night gown she was wearing. It was a reminder of what had happened to her, but it just made her look even more beautiful then she did before. It just added something to her. Something that she didn't have before. It was a battle mark. It was a way to show people that she had went through things. That she had survived. It was a mark of a warrior, a leader, and a survivor. 

"Do you feel like you're okay to go back to sleep?" Mahdi asked quietly.

Sera nodded her head. Mahdi pulled back the covers of Sera's bed, and they both crawled underneath of them. He smoothed the blankets over them. Only her head was sticking out of the blankets. Her head was on Mahdi's chest. She could hear his heart beat, and it was soothing. 

He wrapped his arms protectively around her. They were safe here. She was safe in his arms. He felt safe knowing she was here. It was just perfect.