A/N this is a very short one-shot, based a few weeks after 200 but you could imagine it happening more recently as well if you feel so inclined. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it because I'm pretty happy with how it turned out :)
You watch as your brother, to you known as 'Callum' but to your five year old son known as 'the Tickle Monster', chases Henry around the room. Henry laughs uncontrollably, the way only a child can, as he flees, shrieking happily as he realises he can't outrun the Tickle Monster forever.
You stop dead as you hear a strangled gasp from behind him. You whirl around. It's JJ. Her eyes are darting around the room, wide with fear. It's another flashback. You know from experience that you have precious few seconds before she breaks down entirely. You know you don't want your son to see his mother like that.
Grabbing Henry and lifting him high into the air you say "Hey buddy, how 'bout you go show Uncle Callum your new soccer moves outside?" You give your brother a meaningful look. He doesn't know exactly what is going on with JJ, but he knows it's bad.
He nods and takes Henry from you. "You're playing soccer now? That's awesome! Bet I could beat you in a penalty shootout though."
Henry takes the bait immediately and runs for the door screaming "No way!" Callum follows just behind him and you give him a nod of thanks.
You hear the sound of china shattering. She's shaking so bad now that she's dropped the bowl of pretzels she was carrying. When she looks at you, she doesn't see you, she sees him. She backs away in terror, not even noticing when the broken shards of the bowl cut into her bare feet.
"No," she whispers, "please don't"
It breaks your heart to hear her pleading with you, begging you not to hurt her. She whimpers as you approach her, then screams as you wrap your arms around her. Even as she struggles against you, you surround her with your embrace.
"Shhhh, darlin', s'only me." You murmur, stroking her beautiful blond hair. You rub your other hand over her back soothingly, trying to ease the taught muscles. "It's over now. You're safe." You whisper, tears falling gently down you cheeks.
It kills you to see her like this. You know it will take time, that you don't just recover from something like that overnight, but you can't bear to see her in pain.
Her body shudders against yours as she starts to sob. She's back now, you can feel it by the way her muscles slacken and she wraps her arms around you, squeezing you tight as though you're the only thing anchoring her in the present, the now, instead of that basement. Then you realise that you are.
"Make it stop." She begs you. You kiss the top of her head and stroke the nape of her neck. You don't know what to say, so you stay silent. You don't know how to make it stop.
You guide her over to the sofa and get her to sit down. She's still trembling, but you keep your arms around her. "I'm sorry, Chère, I don't know how to make it stop." You murmur.
"I'm losing my mind" She whispers, fear evident in her voice.
"No, sweetheart. You're not losin' your mind. You're jus' scared." You kiss the top of her head again as she rests her head against your chest. Her tears are soaking into your shirt. "You're healin'"
"Momma? You okay?"
You both look up to see your son looking at his momma with a worried, yet innocent, look on his face. You look towards Callum, who's standing in the doorway with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, Will, he's faster than you'd think."
JJ doesn't seem to mind; she sniffs and wipes the tears from her eyes. She opens her arms and smiles at Henry, who jumps up and settles in her lap. "Of course I'm okay sweetie." She says with a small smile, kissing his forehead and ruffling his hair.
"But you're crying. And I heard you scream." He replies quietly, snuggling into his momma's embrace. You wonder if somehow he knows that that is exactly what JJ needs, even as you watch you can see the tension leave her body and colour return to her cheeks.
"Well… you know how sometimes you get nightmares, and they make you really scared?" She says quietly, stroking his hair. He looks up at her. "Well sometimes Momma gets nightmares, but they happen in the daytime instead." She doesn't tell him that the nightmares haunt her at night as well, but he doesn't need to know that.
Henry throws his arms around his momma's neck then leaps off of her and bounds up the stairs. You pull her closer and rest your head against hers. "It's gonna be okay." You say softly. She just nods in reply and squeezes your hand.
You can hear your son thundering around upstairs, then pound back down the stairs again and rush back into the lounge. He's like a little blonde haired blur before he leaps back into your wife's lap. In his hand is clutched his stuffed giraffe, the one with a bowtie. The stuffed giraffe so aptly named 'Mr Bowtie'.
He pushes Mr Bowtie into the crook of JJ's arm. "Mr Bowtie will protect you from nightmares. He's really good at it."
You heart swells with pride and you can see tears in JJ's eyes again, but they're good tears, happy tears. She hugs your son close to her and shifts closer to you, with Mr Bowtie sandwiched somewhere in the middle. She wraps her arms around both of you, her two boys, and you don't need to see the smile on her face to know that it is there.
You know that she still has a long way to go; you both do, coming to terms with everything that has happened. You also know that it's little moments like this that make all the hurt, the pain and the fear bearable.
A/N please review, it means the world to me :) and to anyone who's waiting for the sequel to To Live Is To Choose, don't worry I haven't forgotten you, I'm still working on it.