Tough love

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

To say things had returned to normal would be a complete lie.

The nightmares had begun plaguing Dean again, leaving him screaming and dry heaving in the night. Elijah would wake every night to a panicked Sam holding Dean either covered in sweat, vomit, or tears. Sometimes all three.

Damon was having a hard time eating again. Either Peter or Zac would try and get him to eat as much as they could to help the eldest siblings out, but Damon would often times end up crying on his bed and clutching his stomach tightly once he had been practically force-fed.

Derek had spent almost every night with Stiles, and Stiles often woke up to the sound of Derek whimpering in his sleep. The younger would rub his back gently until he woke up and then hold him while he silently cried in the night. The night was the worst time for Derek. His monsters always came in the dark, so the two would stay up, Derek clinging to Stiles and trusting him to protect him from the demons.

Stiles's demons, however, came during the day. Their moms birthday was in a week, and the only thing Stiles could think of in the house they used to call home was of his best friend. During the days Stiles would trust Derek to keep him safe, the wolf not leaving his side unless absolutely necessary.

All of them were completely exhausted. But they kept going on, because they didn't know what else to do. Tonight, however, was especially painful.

The 4th of July. Great days for most. Fireworks, bar-b-que, and laughing with your family. For the Lark household, this could not be further from the truth.

It was right after dinner when it all began to fall apart.

"I'm sorry Day, it's gonna be okay." Zac said, sitting on the side of his bed and stroking his hair gently.

Peter was beside him, rubbing his eyes tiredly but still rubbing Damon's back to try and offer as much comfort as he could. Tonight was an especially bad night for the boy, and Peter and Zac had to force feed him a chocolate shake just to get something in him. The boys had then led their raven-haired brother upstairs and into his bed where he had curled into a ball and began quietly sobbing. The stomach cramps had begun to set in, as he had to take deep breaths through gritted teeth to not throw up. As much as he didn't want his stomach to hurt anymore, he knew throwing up would only cause his brothers to force another drink down his throat.

"Does your stomach hurt Day?" Peter asked.

Damon just nodded his head as another broken sob left his mouth. Peter then crawled into bed beside him and cuddled close, putting a hand on his stomach and gently starting to rub circles.

As Damon kept hissing through his teeth and tears kept falling, Zac went and put a pot of coffee on, knowing it was going to be a long night.

Everyone else was asleep, and the twin was just praying they would stay that way, all of them needed rest. His prayers remained unanswered however, when the first round of fireworks went off.

Dean had bolted awake at the sound, harshly crying and pushing Sam's hands away from himself.

"Dean, babe, calm down for me bubs. It's okay, i'm right here. It's sam Dean, it's Sam!" Sam tried yelling, only to have Dean keep fighting him.

He knew his brother wasn't seeing him, this was proved in the way his hands were specifically protecting the lower half of his body.

"Elijah!" Sam yelled through the house, trying to even his breaths before his brother broke through the door.

"Is be okay?" Elijah asked, slowly approaching the bed.

"Nightmare." Sam supplied quickly.

"Go get a hot shower on, I'll get Dean and meet you there." Elijah said, watching as Sam ran towards the bathroom.