Okay, this little idea popped into my head while I was on the bus to school, and I had to write it! So here's Lullaby And Good Night. Ejoy, and please remember to review, bunnies! And this is story number 82! Just 18 more to go! WOO HOO!
Disclaimer: They're mine! ALL MINE!! MWHAHAHA!! (Confused whispers in ear) What? They're not mine? Wolf's threatening to sure? Dang it! Fine!
This story is dedicated, of course to Confused, for her tireless efforts in helping me with all these crazy ideas. Thanks, bunny!
Alex Eames had just closed her eyes to go to sleep when she heard the furious knocking at the front door. Curiosity got the best of her, and she climbed out of her bed and crept out of her room. Padding down the plush carpet of the hallway, she stopped and sat in front of the stairs, so she could see her father answer the door. Her eyes widened as she watched her father guide a small and shivering boy into the living room. Alex slipped down the stairs, but stayed out of the sight of her mother and father as she examined the boy.
He looked about her age, with curly brown hair that was matted against his head. His entire body was shaking, and he looked painfully thin. But what made Alex scared was the blood that covered his arms and the front of his shirt.
Her mother and father fussed over the young boy for a few minutes, then walked into the kitchen. Alex paused before walking over to the couch where the young boy sat trembling and shivering.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, standing in front of him. He raised his head slowly, and their eyes met for a brief moment before he jerked his head back down to stare at his bare feet. But Alex wasn't put off. She sat down beside him and said, "My name's Alex. What's yours?"
He didn't answer for several long seconds, and she was about to ask him again when he finally whispered, "Bobby." She thought for a moment, then carefully reached over and touched his arm, and she wasn't surprised when his entire body tensed up.
"Don't worry, Bobby," she murmured gently. "My dad'll find out who did this to you, and he'll put him in jail for a long time."
She jumped when he jerked his arm away and leapt off of the couch, and she watched as he moved with lightning speed across the floor and into a corner of the room. He sank down to the floor and buried his face in his hands, his entire frame shaking with sobs.
Alex was confused. She thought that he would have been happy to see his attacker be arrested by her dad. Glancing over towards the kitchen, she rose up from the couch and made her way over to the dark corner where Bobby was hunched over and shaking. Crouching down in front of him, she hesitated before reaching her arm out and placing her hand on his shoulder, rubbing his back gently.
"Bobby, what is it?" she asked, and he shook his head furiously. Her voice took on a no nonsense tone, and she said, "Bobby, tell me why don't you want the person who hurt you to be arrested?"
He let out another sob, then slowly raised his head to look at her. "Because," he whispered. "My mom did it." Her mouth fell open, and he began to panic. "Please don't tell your dad! My mom's sick. She didn't mean to hurt me! Please don't tell him!" he begged, and she slid down the wall to sit beside him, her eyes burning with tears.
She couldn't understand what he was telling her. His mom had hurt him? She wasn't too young to be oblivious to the evils of the world, but still, how did a mom hurt her child? That and a thousand other questions swirled around in her mind as she stared at the back of Bobby's head. She had no idea what to say, so she decided to comfort him the only way she knew how. Scooting closer to him, she did her best to wrap her arms around his shivering frame.
He froze as he felt the arms wrap around him, but he didn't fight her as she hugged him to her. In her embrace, he actually felt safe and protected, a feeling he had long ago ceased to know. He let out a shaky breath and relaxed against her, closing his eyes.
In the kitchen, John and Helen Eames watched their daughter interact with the young boy. "He's cut up," John stated softly, and Helen nodded and grabbed her first aid kit, along with some other supplies. He kept his distance while she crouched down in front of her daughter and Bobby, and she gently pried him out of her daughter's arms.
He struggled to get away from her, but Alex laid her hand on his shoulder and spoke softly into his ear. "It's okay, Bobby. This is my mom. She's not going to hurt you, I promise," she murmured, and her mother shot her an amazed look before gently raising Bobby's shirt over his head and off of his body.
He didn't cry as Helen gently washed the blood from his body and applied ointment to the cuts. He just stared straight ahead until she placed the last bandage over one of the wounds, then smiled at him and said, "All done." He paused, then turned back to Alex and launched himself into her arms. Alex looked up at her mother, and Helen smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead, then gathered her stuff back up and carried it back into the kitchen.
"How is he?" John asked softly, and Helen sighed and brushed a tear from her eye.
"He has some nasty cuts on his chest. John, he needs to go to the hospital," she stated, and he shook his head and looked her in the eye. Then he looked into the living room where Alex was hugging Bobby to her.
"He's not going to go willingly," he said softly. "Why don't we let him sleep here tonight, get some food in him, then we'll take him first thing in the morning?" She paused, then slowly nodded her head in agreement. She lifted her head and briefly kissed her husband, then walked back into the living room, pausing in front of Bobby and Alex.
"Bobby?" she called gently, and he jumped before slowly raising his head to look up at her. She smiled warmly at him and touched his shoulder, saying, "You must be tired, sweetheart. Why don't you come with me, and you can go to sleep in my son's room, since he's at his grandparents."
Bobby made no effort to remove himself from Alex's arms, and she looked up at her mother and said, "It's okay, Mom. I'll show him to Phillip's room." Helen looked worried, but she nodded and rose to her feet, then walked away from the two. Alex watched her go, and a few minutes later, she slowly rose to her feet, pulling Bobby along with her. He stumbled a little as she guided him up the stairs, down the hall and into Phillip's bedroom. He glanced at her, and she nodded and said, "Go ahead, Bobby. You can sleep in the bed." He gave her a crooked smile before climbing up into the bed and settling down under the covers.
Just like her mother and father always did with her, Alex walked up to the bed and gently tucked the covers in around him. Then she kissed his forehead and smoothed back his thick curls. "Good night, Bobby," she murmured. "Sweet dreams." She waited until he fell asleep, then eased out of the room and climbed back into her own bed, hugging her pillow tightly.
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A piercing scream jolted the Eames family into wakefulness, and Alex struggled out of her covers and darted out of her room. She skidded to a stop in the doorway of Phillip's room, and she let out a gasp. Bobby was huddled in the darkest corner of the room, and her parents were standing in front of him and trying to coax him out of the corner. But he was having none of it.
"No!" he screamed as her dad touched his shoulder. "Leave me alone! I want my mom!"
Alex's stomach twisted, and she stepped forward and crouched down beside her parents in front of Bobby. John tried to stop her, but before he could, she had wrapped her arms snugly around Bobby and was gently pulling him against her. He struggled for a moment, then went limp against her and cried into her shoulder. John and Helen watched in amazement as Alex shifted to sit on her knees and began to hum softly, an old lullaby that Helen used to sing to her as a baby.
She had fallen asleep hugging Bobby, and when she woke up, he was gone. Her father had said that he had gone back to live with his mother, but that didn't dull the ache in her chest that his departure had created.
As she grew older, the memory of the sad eyed boy dimmed, but never completely faded from her. Then another man had come into her life, with expressive chocolate eyes and a heart of gold. And as she laid in bed and held him while he slept, she smiled and remembered the small, frightened boy whom she had comforted and protected.
"I love you, Bobby," she whispered, brushing her lips against his forehead. He stirred and snuggled deeper into her arms, and she softly began singing the old lullaby once again, the one she knew neither of them would ever forget.
The End
A/N: So, what did ya'll think? Good? Okay? I thought it was pretty original. I just wanted to try and explain how Bobby and Alex are so close, even right after they first meet. Hope ya'll enjoyed it!