A/N: In this fic, Briseis is the sister of Hector, and she elected to travel back to Greece and marry Achilles.

"Now, are you sure that you'll be alright in your own room tonight, cub?" Achilles asked kindly as he helped Patroclus lay down and settle in before sitting down on the bed's edge.

Their family dog, a Pharaoh hound, named Chiros, hopped up onto the bed and curled himself against Patroclus' side.

"I'll be okay," Patroclus responded quietly. "I've got you, Briseis, and Chiros to protect me."

"That you do, son. That you do," Achilles confirmed, leaning over to place a kiss on the boy's forehead. "I'll just be in the other room finishing up some reports, and Briseis has already retired; if you need anything, just come and get either of us, okay?"

"M'kay," Patroclus answered, clearly on the verge of sleep. "G'night."

"Goodnight, Patroclus," Achilles whispered as he left the room, propping the door open so he could hear if Patroclus became distressed.


It had been a trying few months since Patroclus' rescue. Upon finding out the men responsible for injuring his innocent cousin, Achilles ensured that the men would never be in a condition to hurt anyone in the future. Briesis and Achilles married during their time in Troy, which only served to further their two nations' alliance. Now, with the treaty between Troy and Greece settled, Achilles and Briseis could devote their full attention to helping Patroclus recover.

But being back in Phtia didn't seem to make much of a difference in the 17-year-old's demeanor. While the teen's physical injuries were healing at a remarkable rate, the psychological wounds proved to be the most concerning.

After his attack, Patroclus regressed to the same emotional state he was in when he first came into Achilles' care. The teen had withdrawn significantly from everyone but his cousin, his adopted mother, and his two most trusted friends. He could be only away from Achilles or Briseis for short periods, and his violent nightmares had returned. The poor boy suffered his worst panic attack in years when he accompanied his cousin to the Trojan beach where their ship was moored.

Overall, Achilles could tell that they had a long road of recovery ahead of them.

However, if it proved successful, tonight would be a significant step in Patroclus' recovery. Earlier that day, the teen had decided that he wanted to try sleeping in his own room. It was the first time since his kidnapping that Patroclus had felt comfortable voicing his own needs and wants.


A few hours later, Achilles decided to retire for bed himself. He was pleasantly surprised at how quiet the house was; only a few days ago, Patroclus would have violently woken from a nightmare within an hour of falling asleep. Since the boy appeared to be sleeping peacefully, Achilles decided to forgo checking on him for fear of causing a disturbance.

He padded down the hall and entered his own room. In the dim light of the moon, he caught sight of three figures lying on his bed. His suspicions were confirmed as he moved closer and found Patroclus curled up next to Briseis with his head resting on Chiros' belly. The faithful hound had his head resting on the teen's shoulder, but his head shot up, and he let out a protective growl when he sensed another presence standing over the bed.

"Just me," Achilles assured in a whisper, reaching out a hand to placate the hound. The latter resumed his previous position with a low grunt.

Patroclus looked so peaceful that Achilles loathed to move him in any way. Still, the 17-year-old had somehow managed to wind up sleeping with his newly healed wrist tucked under him, resulting in all of his body weight pressing on the limb. If he slept like that the entire night, it would be a miracle if soreness was the only thing that the teen experienced when he woke in the morning.

So, with a sigh, Achilles gently took hold of Patroclus' shoulders and shifted the boy so that he was resting on his side.

The young warlord stood up and began to prepare himself for bed, seemingly content in the knowledge that he had not woken his charge up when a small whimper sounded behind him.

"W-where'm I?" Patroclus asked, looking around the room with wide, anxious eyes.

"You're safe, cub," Achilles assured, laying down next to the teen and guiding the boy to lay against him. "You're with Briseis and me in our room. I'm guessing that you had a night terror and came here to sleep. Do you remember coming into my room with Chiros?"

"Uh-uh," Patroclus responded, turning to hide his face against his guardian's shoulder.

'He's regressed to sleepwalking,' Achilles thought. 'I was really hoping to avoid having to lock up the house like a prison every night.'

The elder warrior looked down at his side and felt his mild irritation at the situation subside as he caught sight of Patroclus. The boy had fallen back to sleep with his hand clutching at his guardian's tunic. Achilles looked over and saw that Briseis was staring at him, her eyes lit with affection. They both silently agreed that Patroclus was finally at peace for the night, and for now, that was all they could ask for.