A Little Twist

The Nightmare

Andy and Robert had taken their time worshipping each other's body and sharing love, then they had fallen asleep peacefully, Robert spooning Andy. They had been sleeping for a couple hours when a sudden cry in the night had them both sit up suddenly in their bed, eyes wide open. In that moment, they were glad they were used to being woken up by blaring alarms, they knew how to be alert rapidly, but that was only when they were at the station. When they were at home, cries in the middle of the night had stopped a few years ago, and they had quickly gotten used to it. That is why, without even thinking twice about it, they both got out of the bed, glad that they had thought about putting on their underwear before actually going to sleep. Robert made his way out of the room in his boxers while Andy hurried behind him, shrugging on one of his crew shirts while walking.

Their hearts broke a little when they made it to Olivia's room. She was sitting in her bed, tears streaming down her face as she held tight onto her baby otter plush toy.

"Hey baby, what's wrong?" Andy asked in a soft voice as Robert pulled the little girl on his lap while she sat close to them, one arm wrapping around her family and the other rubbing the girl's back.

"Olivia? Ladybug?" Robert asked next when Olivia only sniffled loudly to answer her mom's previous question.

"I...I...I sad...I..." The little girl hiccupped, clutching her otter tightly into her small hands.

"Ok, it's alright now." Robert tried to comfort her, rocking her slowly.

They comforted her, rocking her and rubbing her back, keeping her nestled in their warm embrace. Once Olivia started to calm down, Robert peered down at her expecting to find her asleep, but he met her wide-open eyes instead.

"Wanna tell mommy and daddy what has you so sad?" He asked softly.

"No. It's scary." Olivia whispered back.

"Maybe we can scare the nightmare away?" Andy suggested in a soft tone. "But to do that, you have to tell mommy and daddy what you're so scared of." She added as the little girl nodded hesitantly.

"The fire is scary." She half whispered. "It was eating my room. And I was lost, and daddy can't find me."

"Hey now." Robert said in a soft yet firm voice. "Daddy will always find you, ladybug. I promise."

"And mommy would too." Andy said, discreetly pinching Robert and giving the 'don't play the flying solo hero, I'm badass too' look.

"And mommy too." Robert complied, hooking a finger under his daughter's chin to make her look at him. "Understood young lady? Mommy and daddy will always protect you. From everything, fire, monsters, dinosaurs, evil racoons..." His voice trailed off as he felt Andy pinch him again.

"Promise?" The little girl asked her dad, still looking into his eyes, completely obvious to her parents' underlying bickering.

"We promise." Robert and Andy spoke in one voice.

The little girl nodded in understanding. Robert dropped her chin and cuddled her closer. Since the comfort session had started, Andy had been the one hugging Robert and Olivia, so now he wanted to be the one hugging his wife. He secured Olivia's cuddled position against him and extended the arm that had been behind her back to pull Andy into the hug. Once it reached far enough to get a good enough hold on her, he brought her closer to his side so that he could drop a kiss on both his girls' heads.

They stayed in that position a few minutes longer, enjoying the moment together, even if it was the middle of the night.

"What would you say to trying to sleep some more now baby?" Andy finally broke the silence, yet not moving.