Knock knock knock.
There was a soft but audible rapping on the rusty metal door. It was sufficient to wake Murdoc from his whiskey-induced slumber. The noise split open something inside his skull, bringing fresh pain. He growled loudly.
"Fuck off!" he yelled.
From the other side of the door came a soft "Murdoc?" Bloody hell, it was the kid.
"Whaddya want, kid?"
"Noodle have bad sleep. Noodle scared." she said pitifully.
Murdoc flung open his door. "What?"
"Noodle scared of bad sleep!" the girl said as she attached herself to his green, hairy leg.
It took Murdoc's foggy brain a moment to realise that she'd had a nightmare. And he was pissed that it had interrupted his sleep.
"You had a nightmare, so what? Don't be such a pus-" Murdoc stopped himself when he remembered that he was talking to a little girl, not 2D.
Noodle looked up at him with her wide eyes. "Night...mare?" she asked, letting the unfamiliar syllabus roll off her tongue.
"Yeah, y'know...bad sleep."
At the words "bad sleep" Noodle hugged herself closer to Murdoc. "Noodle scared of nightmare!"
Murdoc rolled his eyes. "Whaddya want me to do about it?"
"Noodle stay with Murdoc?"
"No."
"Please?" Noodle wiped away a tear. "Really scary nightmare!"
"Why don't you go bother Russ or 2D or something?"
"Sleeping."
Murdoc really didn't want to risk Noodle going to wake up Russel, who would undoubtedly get mad at Murdoc for not comforting his "poor precious baby-girl". It didn't look like he had much of a choice anyway, as Noodle broke away from him and climbed into his bed, burrowing deep into his blankets. Murdoc sighed and shut the door.
"Alright, I suppose you can stay. But only for a little while, y'hear?" He went over and sat down next to the small lump under his blankets.
"So, what was this nightmare about, eh?"
There was a sniffle. "Um, nightmare about Russel and Murdoc and Toochi being dead from black man."
It took all that Murdoc had to not laugh from the description. Sounded like a pretty tame nightmare to him. "Black man?"
"Hai," Noodle said solemnly, sitting up from under the blankets to look at Murdoc. "Bad man had black shirt and pants and face with see-through eyes," she waved her hand around her face to indicate a mask of some kind, "and black, uh, black..." she stood up and draped a blanket over her shoulders to demonstrate.
"Ah, a cape." Murdoc nodded slowly in understanding. He wouldn't admit it, but the description of his so-called killer creeped him out a little bit. There was something familiar about it that he couldn't put his finger on, and that made it even creepier somehow.
"Well, look," he said. "Ain't nobody gonna kill Ol' Uncle Murdoc, so there's no reason to be scared, you silly thing."
Noodle looked momentarily comforted by this, but just then there was another knock at the door.
Murdoc got up, grumbling, and nearly flung the door open into 2D's face.
"Now whaddya you want?"
2D shuffled his feet nervously. "Um, well, I had a bit of a bad dream, yeah, and I was just wonderin'-"
"No, now clear out, dullard."
"Toochi?" Noodle peeked her head out and her face it up when she saw the singer standing there in the flesh.
"Hey, Noodle! What are you doing here?" 2D asked, stepping inside.
"Noodle had nightmare!"
2D gasped. "So did I! What was yours about?"
Murdoc growled with displeasure as Noodle very tearfully explained what she had dreamed about. By now, they'd completely taken over his bed and blankets, so Murdoc perched himself on the corner, still pissed off.
"I had a nightmare too! I dreamed about this massive yak with glowing red eyes! It was really scary!" 2D shivered.
Noodle laid a hand on his arm. "Toochi okay?"
"Yeah, it was jus' really freaky." 2D ruffled her hair, then turned to Murdoc. "Wha' about you, Muds? Did you have a nightmare too?"
Murdoc scoffed. "Of course I didn't. I never get nightmares-"
Liar.
"-because I don't get scared easily." he finished proudly, ignoring the faint, leering faces of his father and brother.
"Oh! That must be nice." 2D yawned and lay down, with Noodle's head on his chest. "But now I'm really tired again."
"Well you can't stay here," Murdoc said irritably. "I've gotta sleep too."
"Then sleep with us." 2D and Noodle shifted over to make room. Murdoc sighed.
"Alright, fine. But if either of you snore, I'm kicking you both out," he warned. Noodle giggled and snuggled up to him when he hopped under the blankets with them.
"Now, no more nightmares, eh?" he instructed. He'd had enough drama for one night. The things I do for these two... Murdoc thought sleepily, his headache subsiding a little bit.
Luckily, Murdoc fell asleep before 2D started snoring, so he never followed through with his threat.
And that was how Russel found them in the morning. He stood in the young light, chuckling heartily to himself, before shutting the door quietly behind him.