Nightmare-
Lillian Holmes woke up with a cry of dismay, bolting upright. Her golden hair fell around her shoulders and stuck to her sweaty face as she clutched the edge of her blanket desperately.
Lily understood even at such a young age that nightmares weren't real, that there was no monster under the bed (though she often made Alistair check because she could) and there was no creature looming in the closet. She understood that the horrors her mind conjured up would never come to fruition. That didn't stop the intense fear that enveloped her as soon as she closed her eyes.
Being a Holmes, with a life that once or twice (thanks to her Uncle) involved looking at dead bodies, Lily was able to come up with some doozies!
Hands had circled her wrists and ankles pulling her to the floor, cold mindless laughter had filled her head, and a beast with blood in his teeth had stared down at her with pale eyes.
Shuddering and breathing heavily Lily brought her feet towards her for fear of some unseen creature biting off her toes or taking her by the uncovered part of her anatomy and dragging her beneath the bed. Unable to see anything in the darkness of her room, she allowed panic to overtake her.
Lily briefly entertained the idea of climbing out of bed to turn on the lights, but the floor was cold and so many unseen things could take her from behind if she didn't have her pillow pressed against her back.
For three agonizing minutes she sat in delirious panic, weariness overtaking her enough to at least slow her breathing- but she didn't trust sleep.
Suddenly the click of footsteps out in the hall sent her heart into her throat. Much to her relief the six year old realized that this was her father heading towards his bedroom from downstairs. Without thought she muttered a pained, "Daddy?"
The footsteps stopped, and for a moment she thought it was because he'd found his room and the plush carpet muffled them. But soon she could tell he was coming towards her door. The soft creak was followed by a sliver of light, and Mycroft poked his head through it, "Lillian, did you-" he halted his sentence to take in his daughter's tear streaked face. With ease he flipped the light switch making Lily blink in protest.
Mycroft made his way further into the room, closing the door behind him with an audible click. Lily wrapped her arms around her knees, biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't really want to explain what had happened. She felt weak and pathetic, the poor little girl that couldn't calm herself down and just go back to sleep! Turning her blue eyes on her protected feet, Lily said nothing, waiting for her father to leave with no reason to stay.
But he didn't.
Smoothly he made his way to her bed, sitting primly at the edge just beside her. He didn't gather her into his arms, nor offer any reassurance that it was all just a nightmare (because that would have been an idiotic statement to both of them, of course it was a nightmare!). He just...sat. Whether this was due to an understanding of her situation or because he knew absolutely nothing about how to comfort a child, she didn't know. But that hardly mattered.
Lillian allowed his presence to be her protection. He sat like a statue, guarding her from the nothingness. Why did he need to say anything when the fact that he was there was enough?
Slowly Lillian eased back into a supine position, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. Rolling onto her side she managed to mumble, "'night Daddy," before everything seem to relax inside of her and she succumbed to sleep once more.
Mycroft smiled as he listened to her slowed breathing, waiting a short time before he stood up to turn off the lights, casting one last look at his daughter. He left the doorway open enough to let some light into the room, and to be safe he would leave his door open as well. If she called for him, he would come.
Ok, no Isabelle in this one. I wrote this a while ago but didn't know where to put it. X)
More soon!
(Please review... I have cookie brownies!)