Arc listened silently as Madison recounted the dream from her childhood, a smile slowly developing on his lips. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, it almost didn't matter what she said. He loved to listen to her talk, which was good because sometimes she spoke enough for the both of them. It never bothered him, however, for just the sound of her voice was enough to calm and soothe him when he was upset, or to lull him to sleep when he had his pills. Her voice was the lifeline that towed him out of the abyss and back into the light. She was the anchor that kept him in the moment, rather than worrying about the past or the future. Whenever she spoke, when he could hear her voice, she was the light that kept him from seeing only the darkness that surrounded him.<br/><br/>The thought of Madison going on a supply run by herself almost made Arc sick to his stomach. What if something happened to her? No, he wasn't going to let himself get sucked into that thought. He grabbed the intangible line that was her voice and pulled himself back once again. "Let's try to hold off as long as we can so we can go together. I always thought the first time we'd go shopping, we'd go together... holding hands." The last part was something of a mumble, a stray thought that, had he been more coherent, would have been kept to himself. But in his sleep-drunken stupor, he hadn't realized that he had said it out loud.<br/><br/>The rest of the day he tried to trouble Madison as little as possible, which was a difficult task considering how often she checked on him. He listened to her every time she spoke, even when she was only talking to herself. It was comforting to know that there was someone there with him. Even if he wasn't attracted to her as he was, he would have appreciated just having someone nearby that was friendly and understood what he was experiencing. The fact that it was Madison and not some other random person. Her presence brought him peace.<br/><br/>Night fell again, and by that time Arc was starting to feel more of the effects of the withdrawal. His brow began to sweat and the color was slowly leaving his face. Waves of nausea came and went, though they weren't that heavy just yet. His temperature was beginning to rise, but all he could do was try to stay cool, as his body felt as though he was laying in ice. Arc stripped down to his skivies and laid on the makeshift bed with only the thinnest sheet covering him, and even that was too much.<br/><br/>Madison offered to sing for him, and Arc thought, at first, that he had gone delirious for a moment. It seemed reasonable enough, considering what he was detoxing from. But when Arc realized that the young woman beside him was being completely serious, he smiled again. Looking up into her beautiful eyes, he nodded. "I'd love that," he replied softly, moving closer to her as a cold breeze penetrated the plane's plated hull, blowing briefly across the room, just long enough to cause the hairs on his arms and legs to stand at full attention.