Night Terrors

A loud scream shattered the previously tranquil night, the fourth time that week. I popped up without hesitation, rushing to hop off my bed and moving out into the hall. I made my way to the last bedroom in the hallway and pushed the door open and slipped inside, quick to make my way to the tiny, shivering form on the bed. Golden eyes opened at the sound of my entrance and when they fell on me, the relief within them was immediate and overwhelming. He lifted his tiny arms in a silent plea, his voice shaky and weak.

"Seth...?"

I scooped him up in a tight hug and rocked him gently as he sobbed softly into neck, his breathing interrupted sporadically between hiccups that wracked his frame. A slight knock on the door drew my attention and I looked up to see a concerned Tom and Carol standing at the door. I felt a rush of warmth rush through my chest as they crossed the room and sat down on either side of us. Carol threw gentle arms around Jaimie and I and placed a kiss on both our heads. Tom softly tousled Jaimie's hair before repeating the action with my own. It had been a couple months since Jaimie and I had come to live with Carol and Tom and I had come to love the gentle and patient manner in which they handled my brother and I.

Sometimes, when I messed up or had a flashback, I would have a moment in which I was terrified that I had finally reached the end of their patience and they would snap on me. That they would realize I was the monster child that Sir said I was and they would start cursing at me and hitting me like he did. But every time I braced myself for a hit, instead I would get a hug, gentle words, and kisses on the cheek. The first week we had had with Carol and Tom, I had been trying to help out with dinner and accidentally dropped a plate.

As it shattered across the dining room floor, I had frantically started picking it up and apologized profusely. As soon as I felt some one standing over me, I had raised my arms to protect my face out of instinct. Instead of the punch or kick I had been expecting, a large gentle hand had drawn me up and then guided me away from the shards. Tom had tenderly looked over my hands and legs for cuts and when he gave me an affectionate tousle to my hair, I started crying at his obvious kindness. In all of the time since that night, neither Carol or Tom had ever raised their voices, lifted a hand against either of us, nor had they ever said a harsh word.

Wrapped up in Carol's warm hug with Tom's presence a comforting support, Jaimie slowly began to calm down. This whole scene had become routine over the last couple months, the four of us falling into an almost choreographed pattern. As soon as Jaimie had calmed himself down completely, Carol drew back with another kiss to Jaimie's forehead and Tom patted his cheek softly before he got up and went out into the hallway. I knew he was heading down to the kitchen to make up a cup of spiced warm milk. It always served to calm Jaimie down and put him out like a light, but before that happened, there was always one last part of our nighty ritual for whenever Jaimie woke up screaming.

Jaimie turned to ask Carol the same question he always asked on night terror days. "Can I call North, now? He'll want to hear about this!"

"Of course sweetheart. You know the button, right?" Jaimie only nodded as he took Carol's cell phone and tapped at the small icon with a black teddy bear. I had snickered a little the first time I had seen it, because I knew North would not appreciate the icon, but Carol said he was like a big gruff teddy bear. Seeing it now only served to make me smile. She obviously hadn't heard him yell yet, I thought to myself. North's low voice came over the speaker phone after only two rings, just like always. Without any preamble, he launched right into asking questions. Typical mother hen North, the big black teddy bear.

"Jaimie? How bad was it today?"

"It was okay,,,"

"Hey, munchkin two, don't give me that. I know when you are lying to me. Now, scale of one to ten, kiddo."

Jaimie just sighed, rolling his eyes at North's mother henning tone and I shared a grin with him. "I'd say a 5?"

"Munchkin one?" North asked me instead, ignoring Jaimie's indignant squawk, making sure that Jaimie was telling the truth. Grinning wider at North's nicknames for Jaimie and I, I answered North's question good naturedly. "I'd say it was a 5 or 6. They appear to be getting a little better."

North merely grunted at my answer, before running into his usual list of questions that he had for Jaimie. How long did it last this time? When did he get to bed? Any bad dreams? How long before the attack was set off. As Jaimie dutifully rattled off the answers, North would only make a small noise of acknowledgment, probably taking notes the whole time. He always sounded gruff, but he was always very kind and patient with Jaimie, for which I was eternally grateful. As the questions were wrapping up, Tom reappeared with a couple mugs of spiced milk, which he passed out to Jaimie and I carefully. He ruffled our hair once more and Carol gave us each a hug before they slipped out the door to head back to their room for the night. They knew that Jaimie would be alright for the rest of the night.

I blew on Jaimie's mug gently as he held it out to me and we both took a gulp of the delicious treat. Tom always put in some nutmeg and cinnamon with a little honey, which made the treat creamy and sweet. A sweet, familiar voice in the background had Jaimie and I perking up instantly.

"Alright, munchkins one and two, I'm staying the night with Sang baby and she wants to talk to you, so here she is."

"Hey Seth, Jaimie, how are you feeling tonight? Do you feel better now Jaimie?"

At Sang's voice, Jaimie's face completely lit up as he and I began enthusiastically answering her questions. As much as we were coming to care for Carol and Tom and as much as we respected and admired North and all the other boys, no one one came even close to Sang in our minds. We loved her, plain and simple and she loved us back. If it hadn't been for Sir kidnapping her, we would still be stuck in that house with that bastard. If it wasn't for Sang, I never would have been strong enough to defy Sir and make that fateful call to Mr. Blackbourne. If it wasn't for Sang loving us and accepting us, I don't think we would have been strong enough to survive that horrific night.

In Sang, we had found the love that had been cruelly ripped out of our lives, as if our mother had somehow made it back to us in some fashion. In Sang, we found the older sister we had never had or thought we wanted. And with Sang came North, Kota, Silas, Gabe, Luke, Victor, Nathan, Dr, Green, and Mr. Blackbourne. And from that awesome group of people came our association with Carol and Tom. Sang saved our lives in more ways then one and had become our family. Just the thought of her lifted my spirits when I was having a bad day and the sound of her voice now was obviously a balm to Jaimie's frazzled nerves.

After only a few minutes of talking with Sang, however, North butted in and interrupted. "Alright munchkins one and two, I hate to cut this short, but it's 2:30 in the morning and we all have school tomorrow. You too, Sang baby. If you hurry up and get settled, I might be able to squeeze in a chapter or two, unless you're too tired...?"

"No, please North! We were just getting to a good part. At least one chapter, please?!" I begged. Jaimie was quick to join in and started asking 'please, please, please' over and over. North had taken up the habit of reading to us while we were in the hospital and Jaimie and I had come to really enjoy it. North always ended a bad night with a chapter or two until we fell asleep. We were now onto the fourth Harry Potter and North had insisted on ending last time with Harry getting stuck in the office with the crazy Mad Eye trying to kill him! We had begged him to keep going, desperate to find out what happens to Harry, but North had remained firm and made us go to sleep.

Now, we hopped under the covers and placed the phone in between us as we settled into the pillows on Jaimie's bed, our mugs of milk warming our hands. North seemed to know exactly when we had settled for he quickly started up the scene and Jaimie and I were quickly re immersed into the terror that Harry was facing.

"At that moment, Harry fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat..."

Within twenty minutes, we had drifted off into a sleepy doze. Just as we teetered on the edge of dreamless sleep, I heard Sang and North's quiet goodbyes.

"Goodnight, my boys, I'll see you in my dreams."

"Good night, munchkins one and two, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

I grinned in complete contentment as I heard the small click indicating the end of the call and pulled Jaimie a little tighter in a hug as I finally fell into a peaceful nights rest. I dreamed of two lost little boys who were rescued by the soft kisses and loving green eyes of the lovely fairy princess. Of magic and danger galore. Of an evil sorcerer and nine knights who swept in and saved the day. And while they may be damaged at the end of it all, they lived happily ever after, they really did.