Walter woke up to a cough wracking his body. He yanked at the thing wrapped around him, trapping him and tried desperately to get a full breath of air.

“Walter!”

A small weight slammed into his back. “Harriet.” His throat hurt and his voice came out raspy. “What..?”

“I was waiting and you weren’t coming home and you were gone and I knew you were going to come back! And you did!”

He did… He made it back. The house was warm. The fire was maybe a bit too large for the fireplace, but he was thankful for it. Walter glanced around. The rest of the house was dark. Wind was howling and buffeting the house. Thunder cracked overhead. “How did I get back?”

He remembered… There was a wave, he was knocked underwater, then that creature. The teeth. His heart sped up and he jerked his head around. He was home now. In his house. Harriet was clutching him tight and Walter came back to the present enough to wrap his arms around her.

“Hey, it’s ok. I told you I would see you tonight, didn’t I?” He wished his voice didn’t sound so rough. He ran a hand over her shaking back and stared into the fire. He was sure he’d seen a creature… not quite human, but human shaped. Teeth. Sharp, sharp, teeth. Walter shivered even though the house was plenty warm to beat out the chill from outside.

“I was so scared,” Harriet said between sniffles. Her breath hitched and she shook harder. Walter pulled her more into his lap and squeezed her tight.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Next time you ask me to stay home, I will. I’m so sorry.”

His words only made her cry harder, so he fell silent and let her shake and cry until her tears were all out, and she lay limp against him. Some quiet sniffles broke through, but she was calm at least.

The fire was dying down and could probably use another log soon. There was no evidence that Harriet had eaten dinner. The storm was raging harder than ever. Walter squeezed her one more time. “I’m going to cook some food. Why don’t you try taking a nap while I cook?” He had no idea what time it was, but he was hungry and he needed to be sure she had eaten as well.

She shook her head and clutched him tighter. Walter chuckled and brushed his hand down her back again. “I was really scared,” she muttered into his shirt.

“I know,” he said. “I know you were. Some food will help you feel better.” When she still didn’t let go he said, “Some food will make me feel better.”

It worked. She let go but stuck right by him as he stood to start cooking. His muscles trembled as he stood and another coughing fit hit him. Harriet pushed at him and he sat back down until he could catch a breath again.

His chest hurt. His lungs hurt. His throat hurt. A shiver wracked him and he leaned closer to the fire.

“I’ll cook. I’m better at it than you are anyway,” Harriet said as she pushed the blanket at him.

It wasn’t a lie. Martha had done a good job teaching her how to cook. It just didn’t feel right to let her cook when he had put her through so much due to his own stupidity. “I can cook, just give me a second.”

“No. I’m cooking and you’re staying by the fire.”

Walter smiled at her stubbornness. “All right.” He pulled the blanket around himself and watched her get to work. “How did I get back home? I don’t remember.”

She tensed and glanced over at him with wide eyes, then dropped her gaze back to the assortment of vegetables in front of her. “You walked. You knocked on the door. I opened it and you came straight to the couch and passed out.”

Her voice was… off. There was a flash of light through the shuttered window behind her and she jumped at the crack of thunder that followed. Walter stared at her but she refused to lift her gaze to him again. “Harriet?” She didn’t look up. “Are you sure that’s what happened?”

She nodded and kept her gaze locked on the knife in her hand. Her lower lip trembled and Walter let it drop. He didn’t want to make her cry again. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable thing to stretch out on, but it was warm thanks to the fire so he had no complaints. He closed his eyes but that momentary glimpse of too-sharp teeth filled his mind, and he opened them again. The fire danced and crackled merrily. It’s contrast to Walter’s mood was too sharp and he turned his back to it.

Thunder rolled outside of the house. Wind and cold seeped their way into their home only for the fire to beat them back out. A demon with too sharp of teeth lived in the ocean that he sailed every day. Walter stared at the faded material of his couch and wondered why he was still alive when those teeth had been so close to him.