He awoke to the sound of crying. Sitting up in bed in the room he shared with his sister when he stayed over, Ben looked over and saw Emma standing up in her crib, crying uncontrollably.

"Sssshhhh, it's okay, Ems," he whispered, as he picked the toddler up and hugged her. Ben noticed she was trembling, and sat down on his bed. "Did you have a nightmare?" Emma nodded. Ben rubbed her back and gently rocked her, as she slowly stopped trembling. Emma leaned back, so she could look into her brother's eyes. "Ben, drink." she said.

"I'm not thirsty," said Ben, confused. Then it dawned on him: Emma wanted a drink. "Oh, you mean YOU'RE thirsty?" Emma nodded, looking at her brother like he just grew a second head. "I'm tired, give me a break," said Ben, amused. He set the little girl down on the floor, took her hand, and walked into the kitchen with her. Opening the refrigerator, he looked through the contents. "You want some water, Ems?" She shook her head. "How about some warm milk?" Emma nodded.

Ben filled a sippy cup with milk, and put it in the microwave. After a few seconds, he took it out, and handed it to Emma. "Here you go." Ben watched Emma drink her milk, as he recalled a conversation he had a few days ago with his friend Richie.

"Hey! Get away from my little brother!" yelled Richie, as he chased away a group of bullies. Richie knelt down and helped his brother up. "You okay, Johnny?" he asked, as he brushed his clothes off.
"They broke my plane, Richie," said Johnny, crying as he held up the broken model. "Now I can't fly it."
"Don't cry," said Richie. "I'll help you fix it." "Really?" asked Johnny, as he looked up at his older brother. "Yep. Now go inside, I'll be along in a moment."

"I don't get it," said Ben, as he watched Johnny run in. "You hate him. Why would you help him?" "Because he's my little brother, Ben," Richie replied. "And older siblings always protect the younger. It's what we do."

Emma finished her milk, and looked at Ben questioningly. "You still scared, Ems?" he asked. Emma nodded fearfully. Ben smiled. "How about a story?" Emma squealed. "Stowy!" Ben sat down on the couch with a book of stories, and sat Emma on his lap. "Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess named Emma..."

"Ross! Wake up, the kids are missing!" Ross got out of bed and started running toward the room his children slept in, but paused by the couch. "Oh my god, where could they have gone?"

"Rachel," called Ross from the living room. "Come here." Rachel ran into the living room, and her heart melted at the sight that greeted her.

Ben and Emma had passed out on the couch. Emma was leaning against her brother, her head on his chest, as she lightly sucked her thumb. Ben's head was leaning back, the book open in his lap. His other arm was wrapped around Emma, as if in protection of whatever wanted to harm her.

"Emma must have woken up in the middle of the night," said Ross quietly. "And rather than wake us up, Ben must have taken care of her. I think he was reading to her, when they passed out again." Ross knelt down, and picked up Emma. "Let's get these two sleepyheads back to bed." Rachel smiled and picked up Ben. "You know, honey, I kind of envy Emma."

"Why's that?" asked Ross, as he placed Emma back in her crib.

"Because," said Rachel, as she tucked Ben back in, "she has a brother that loves her enough to always be there for her. And I hope that will never change."

THE END

(A/N Sorry if this isn't up to my usual standards, I just thought of this earlier today & wanted to get it down before I forgot it. It's just a quick write, & hasn't been edited, so if it sounds a little off, that's why. As always, reviews are appreciated, but not required.)