She was seeing it again. Kirk letting go of the ladder...plummeting a hundred feet into the forest below...to what was presumed to be his death. Elouise was seeing it again, and it was awful. Some part of her knew she wasn't really seeing it again for real, but she still woke up screaming and sweating in the middle of the night.
Her husband shot up next to her. "E-E-Elouise?!"
Shaking, she leant against him and started crying. "I-it was horrible! So real! I-I couldn't convince myself it wasn't r-real..!"
"Was it the nightmare again?" he asked quietly.
Elouise nodded violently, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes and snuggled against him. "S-sorry, this is a bit embarrassing."
Kirk gently wrapped his arms around her. "I understand," he replied softly. Elouise's breathing became less laboured as she relaxed into the warm embrace of the man she loved. "I'm here now," Kirk reassured gently.
"Don't ever leave me, okay?" Elouise asked, a pleading look in her eyes. She had said this to him many times in the years since they'd been married, mostly because she was scared of losing him again. Watching him fall to his presumed death had been by far the most painful thing Elouise had ever witnessed or experienced.
Kirk placed his hand on Elouise's cheek. "Don't worry, I won't."
Suddenly, the door to their bedroom creaked open, and a little boy with red, curly hair and blue footie pajamas toddled into the room. Elouise sat up straighter in bed as Kirk reached down, picked the little boy up, and placed him down on his lap. "Hey, Tater," he grinned. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Is Mommy okay?" he asked. "I heard her cry..."
"Mommy's fine," Elouise assured her son, stroking his cheek. "Sorry I woke you."
The little boy grinned and crawled over to Elouise. He hugged her torso. "It okay, Mommy."
"You should get back to bed now, little Tater," Kirk said, grinning.
"Your daddy's right, Hunter," Elouise beamed. "Do you want one of us to tuck you back in bed?"
"Mommy," Hunter proclaimed, pointing at Elouise.
Kirk gasped dramatically and clutched his chest, making Hunter giggle. "Sir, I am offended!" Kirk paused, and then pretended to start crying.
Hunter crawled back to Kirk. "Sorry, Daddy. You tomorrow."
Kirk suddenly caught Hunter and started tickling him, causing him to scream madly with delight. When Kirk stopped, he bent down and kissed Hunter's forehead. "Night, buddy."
"Night night, Daddy."
Elouise got out from under the blankets and picked Hunter up. "Come on, let's get you back to bed." Hunter yawned, stretched, and leant against her chest.
When she got to his room, she walked over to his bed and set him on it. Hunter immediately began to crawl under his covers, and Elouise helped him. "I wanna be a superspy," Hunter announced sleepily, patting his duvet, which had a magnifying glass pattern all over it. "Or a detective."
Elouise chuckled. "Like your Uncle Kane?"
"Like Uncle Kane and Aunty Mavis!" Hunter slapped the duvet with his little hands. "Wanna save the world!"
Elouise laughed. "I bet you will one day."
"Mommy, can we visit Uncle Kane and Aunty Mavis tomorrow?" Hunter asked sleepily. "I wanna see Kaity and Darcy."
"Maybe," Elouise smiled. "I don't know how busy they'll be. If they're not busy, we can go see them."
"Yay!" Hunter clapped his hands together.
Elouise chuckled and kissed her little boy's cheek. "Good night, Hunter."
"Night night, Mommy."
"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart."
Elouise went back to her own bed and got back in. Kirk immediately snuggled up to her. "Is he in bed?" he asked.
"Yeah," she murmured.
Kirk grinned. "You sound sleepy, too."
"Kirk, it's two-thirty in the morning."
"Then go to sleep." Kirk kissed her briefly. "Love you."
"Love you, too," Elouise murmured, snuggling up with him. She fell asleep quickly. Feeling the body heat radiating from Elouise, Kirk smiled.
He was asleep just as quickly.