Hello, everyone! Most of these chapters will be Ricky-centric and will involve hurt/comfort, but not every chapter.
I have noticed a lack of Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn stories on this website (and even the ones I have read don't involve many Ricky centric stories, and Ricky's my favorite character), so I decided to change that. Hope you like the story.
WARNINGS: NONE
***PART I: SEASON 1***
Summary: When Ricky has a nightmare, he'll learn why people call a dog Man's Best friend. Or Ricky bonds with the Harpers' new dog late one night.
Chapter 1: Of Nightmares and Man's Best Friend
EPISODE: PILOT
"Dawn! Dicky! Nicky!" Ricky called, desperately.
He was standing in a landscape that was completely black. There was no other sign of life anywhere. Darkness suffocated him, and the world was so quiet, it unnerved him.
He was alone. Ricky hadn't been completely alone since… never. He'd never been utterly alone. Even in the womb, he'd had three others with him.
Where were his brothers and sister?
"D-Dawn!" Ricky stammered. His original fear was growing to unbearable levels. "Nicky! Dic-Dicky!"
"RICKY!"
"Dawn!"
At his sister's scream, Ricky began running through the dark land in search of her. She had to be here somewhere, and she sounded so scared. Ricky and Dawn almost never got along, but he didn't like to see her distressed, especially since Dawn was so rarely frightened by anything. She was always a leader, always brave, always ready for anything. The opposite of Ricky. Hearing her sound so afraid terrified Ricky.
"Dawn!" he shouted as he dashed through the black space, his feet hitting the freezing cold floor. He didn't know what this place was. It was an absolute kind of darkness. No tell tale shadows you may find in a dark room, no familiar sensations when his feet touched the ground. Even the wind didn't seem to blow. It was like there was no air in the world, but he could still breathe. It was a horrifying realization.
"RICKY!"
Ricky skidded to a halt. Dawn was no longer screaming, but now he was hearing the terrified voice of…
"Nicky?"
"RICKY! HELP!"
"Nicky!"
Ricky raced towards the direction of Nicky's voice, which was to the left of where Dawn's voice had been coming from.
Where were his siblings? What was happening to them? Why were they so scared?
Ricky had never been so afraid, and trust me, he'd been horrified, terrified, apprehensive, scared, and a bunch of other synonyms for afraid plenty of times in his life. But when he was scared, he always had one of his siblings to comfort him (whether with words or simply with their presence).
"Nicky!" Ricky yelled. "Where are you?"
"RICKY!"
Ricky tripped and nearly fell as he forced himself to stop. Nicky and Dawn were silent, but now he was hearing the fearful voice of…
"Dicky!"
Ricky turned and ran towards the voice, but minutes later, he was forced to stop.
"RICKY!"
"Dawn?"
"RICKY!"
"Nicky!"
"RICKY!"
"Dicky, where are you?"
"RICKY!" all four of them screamed.
Ricky dropped to his knees and clamped his hands over his ears to prevent himself from hearing the terrified screeches of his brothers and sister.
"Ricky, help!"
"Why won't you help us?"
"Why did you leave us?"
"We wouldn't have left you!"
Ricky sobbed. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
He'd never felt so helpless, so powerless…
Rick sat bolt up in his bed, nearly smacking his head against the top bunk.
Ricky glanced around the dark room (it was dark, but at least he could see the outlines of the furniture and had some moonlight to see by), and he glanced from bed to bed.
Dawn was lying spread eagle in her own bed, her mouth wide open, loud snores sounding from her mouth. She was safe.
Dicky was lying face down on the top bunk, one of his arms hanging limply over the railing of the bunk. He was safe.
Ricky leaned off of his mattress and glanced at the top bunk.
Nicky was slumbering in his bed, loud breaths puffing between his lips. He was safe.
His siblings were safe and sound. It'd been a horrible nightmare. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
A soft whimper made him glance off the mattress, and before he could register what the shadow on the ground was, it leaped onto his bed.
It was the dog. Chip, as Ricky called him, although he was presently Chip/Gary/Tiny Elvis/Captain Squishy Paws.
"Hey, Chip," Ricky murmured.
Chip crawled onto Ricky's lap and laid his head on Ricky's thigh.
Ricky smiled and ran his fingers through the small dog's fur. The warmth of the dog on his lap and the small whimpers that sounded from him gave Ricky the comfort he'd been searching for.
Ricky smiled down at the pet. The memory and the fear of his nightmare were already fading from his mind.
"Thanks," he whispered to the dog.
The dog whimpered in return, as though trying to say You're Welcome.
Ricky finally understood what people meant when they called a dog Man's Best Friend.
A pretty short chapter and honestly not my favorite chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it!
Thank you for reading! Bye, readers! Please leave a review!