Jaune stared blearily at the nightstand from his pillow, the alarm clock blinding him with its unreadable green blur. He shut his eyes against the glare and tried to go back to sleep.

The storm must have woken him. What had started as a steady shower the night before had grown into a full blown tempest, rattling the walls in its intensity. Rain lashed the windows as the winds howled around the house in an eerie moan.

Jaune squirmed as he tried to find the right position to fall back asleep. He could feel Ruby behind him, her backside pressed against his, completely unphased by the storm. Out on the road she could be awake minutes before trouble even arrived, often before he noticed it himself despite being the one on watch. Get her home, though, and she might as well be dead to the world with how soundly she slept.

Just as he was drifting off a booming peal of thunder rocked the house, jolting him back awake. And while the thunder had kept him from nodding off, it was the hand grasping his foot that made him open his eyes.

Something hovered near the end of the bed. Two things. The smaller one held his foot with a clawed hand, shaking it insistently. Was it waiting for him to respond before it struck? The larger of the two stood just beyond, its gaunt, skeletal figure slightly hunched over as it stared blankly ahead. Both were cloaked in shadow, their nightmarish features obscured by the dark.

The smaller creature finally noticed that he was awake and turned its head to meet his gaze. Jaune lay frozen as the thing removed its claw from his foot. Its mouth opened and thunder spoke for it, a thundering boom that shook the world around them.

Jerking suddenly forward, the monster made its way further up the bed. Jaune's eyes followed it silently, still paralyzed. He realized then that it was actually a single thing, some fused abomination like the Nuckelavee - an Imp led, pulling a lanky Apathy behind. They were joined by a tentacle, a sort of umbilical cord that linked the two Grimm together. The Imp moved in bursts, jerking forward suddenly and having to stop as its counterpart stumbled to catch up. The Apathy's baleful aura kept him rooted and unable to defend himself as the monstrosity came to a stop near his head.

He wanted to scream but his dry mouth betrayed him as the monster slowly reached forward. The small, malformed claw found his shoulder and squeezed, sharp claws digging into his flesh. It leaned forward until it was just in front of his face. He could feel its hot breath on his cheek as it drank in his fear.

Heart hammering, he tried to move, to lash out. He needed to warn his wife, protect his chil-

The thing shook him roughly by the shoulder as it hissed. "Daddy!"

-dren. The anxious blue eyes of his son bored into his own as the fog of sleep finally lifted.

Jaune propped himself up on an elbow and rubbed the sleep from one eye as the boy withdrew a step. His hair was as wild as his eyes, the thick mop of red hair sticking out in every direction imaginable. He still clutched his big sister's hand as the taller girl wobbled on her feet, eyes closed, with some of her long blonde hair stuck to the corner of her mouth with drool. His son wore mismatched pajamas (the twins always swapped their tops for bedtime if left to dress themselves, for whatever reason) while his eldest daughter wore one of Ruby's t-shirts like a sleeping gown.

"What's the matter, Qrow?"

"Tummy hurts," the boy fibbed, falling back on his favorite excuse. He used his free hand to hold his stomach for effect. Another crack of thunder caused the boy to jump, readily exposing his true aim.

"How about you, Prim?"

"Moral support," she said through a huge yawn, eyes still shut. Jaune snorted at that.

"Where's your evil half?" he asked his son. Where one twin went the other usually followed.

"Being a butt."

Hogging the dog again, Jaune thought sleepily. The twins switched off getting to sleep with Drei each night and apparently Summer wasn't about to give up her turn.

Jaune knew how this song and dance went – do you need medicine, did you poop, etc. etc. – but he could already imagine every excuse and couldn't be bothered to abandon his warm bed. He laid his head back down and lifted the cover for his son to climb in.

"Come on, then."

Qrow surged forward, ignoring the spot offered to clamber over him instead. Jaune grunted with each blow struck as an elbow speared his liver and a knee pounded his ribs. His back was thoroughly pummeled as the boy tried to dig his way down in between his parents.

"Mom," the boy whined. "Quit being a butt!"

After a minute of struggle, Jaune could feel that his son had managed to wiggle down under the covers but wasn't able to get thoroughly sandwiched how he liked. He continued to thrash as he tried to squeeze in before Ruby, finally roused from the rough treatment, turned over. She mumbled something unintelligibly as she sleep-wrangled her son in a tight hug. They eventually settled, Qrow's small form pressed up against Jaune's back as Ruby sandwiched him in.

Jaune let out a tired sigh. "G'night bud."

"Night," the boy replied, yawning fitfully into Jaune's back before going still.

Thunder boomed again yet Qrow didn't so much as twitch. Neither did Primrose, who still stood sleeping on her feet next to the bed.

"Prim?" Jaune asked.

No response. She swayed slowly back and forth, ready to fall over at any moment. The only way she was making it back to her own bed was if he carried her.

"Sunshine?" he asked again.

"Mm," she mumbled, still tottering.

"C'mere."

He lifted the blanket again. Primrose practically collapsed into bed and curled up against his chest. She was out instantly.

After some maneuvering he was able to get her pulled fully under the covers and his pillow under her head. With the sliver of pillow left to him, Jaune rested his chin on his daughter's head and settled down to go back to sleep.

Tomorrow he'd probably wake up to an irate three-year-old jumping on him as punishment for not inviting her to the "slumber party" while an equally energetic Corgi runs sprints across the mattress. They'd crawl out of bed, watch their Saturday morning cartoons with big bowls of cereal, and plan their day. If the rain let up he'd play in the mud with the twins while Ruby and Prim hole up in the workshop to tinker to get ready for Ruby's next mission. And after his wife got back they'd see, against their better judgment, about adding another little monster to the family.

But hopefully just one. They'd never survive another set of twins.