Steve squeezed his eyes shut, holding her just that little bit tighter. "Never," he whispered, even though he was pretty sure she'd already fallen asleep. "Never ever."

He stayed there, holding her while she slept, for quite a while. He wasn't at all tired physically, but emotionally he was a little drained, as he always was after Rogue had nightmares and he had to help settle her down. Being strong and seeing her in so much pain was exhausting. So he lay with her, letting his mind wander, not allowing it to settle on any one thing for too long.

Eventually, he remembered that he'd left the stove on; the heat had been lowered, but that wasn't going to keep the food indefinitely. With great reluctance, pressing a kiss to her forehead first, he gently shook Rogue awake enough to murmur, "I have to go back to the food. I'm still here, okay?"