It's going to be alright Cosette
It had been weeks since Cosette had been rescued by Jean Valjean and she was still having nightmares, not every night but enough times that it was starting to worry Valjean deeply.
He would hear her talking in her sleep, calling for her mother, crying and sometimes waking up screaming after a particularly bad dream.
He was doing everything he could to make Cosette happy, he was very loving towards her always giving her hugs and kisses and telling her that everything was going to be alright from now on, he promised her that no one would ever hurt her again. But he also knew that this was something that couldn't be easily fixed, the poor little girl had been abused for years and he knew that that was something that wasn't going to go away quickly, he hadn't asked Cosette to tell him everything that had happened to her because he didn't want to make her relive it all, but he knew that she had suffered terribly. He loved Cosette so much and he wished he could do more to help her but he had no idea what to do other than to comfort her as much as possible.
Cosette was getting better, she was smiling more and laughing, she really was a delightful little girl, but she was still having the nightmares.
One night Cosette awoke suddenly after another bad dream, it was very late and very dark but she gathered up her courage and left her bed and went to Valjeans bedside.
'Daddy', said Cosette standing beside his bed
Valjean awoke, it was dark but he could make out Cosettes face in the moonlit room, she had been crying. He immediately sat up when he saw her face.
'Cosette?' Valjean said, still half asleep, 'Cosette, what's wrong'?
'I had a nightmare' said Cosette through tears
Valjean pulled the little girl into his arms, 'Oh my poor Cosette' he said, 'my poor little thing', he sat with her in his arms and he stroked her hair for a little while trying to calm her down, 'do you want to tell me what it was about'? He said.
'They were hurting me again' Cosette said with her little voice.
Valjean knew exactly who 'they' were, The Thenadiers. They were a nasty bunch the whole lot of them, he was only given a glimpse of how Cosette was treated by them when he rescued her on that cold Christmas night but he saw how horrible they were to her, her tiny hands were covered in chilblains and she was covered in bruises from numerous beatings, she even had faint scars all over her back from repeated whippings with a belt, he remembered how he had stopped Madame Thenardier from giving her such a beating when he covered for a mistake Cosette made that night.
He kissed Cosette on the forehead; he wished he could get rid of all those bad memories with that kiss.
'Come here', he said to her, 'come lie down with me, you'll feel better after a while'.
Valjean laid Cosette on his bed and cuddled next to her, she was still so small that they could both fit in the bed with room to spare. He put one of his hands on her head and began stroking her hair again, Cosette was still sniffling from her tears but after a while she was calm again, neither of them needed to say anything else, Valjean knew he was comforting her and he liked the feeling of being able to help someone else even if it was only a small thing like placing a hand on a childs head.
After a short time Cosette was asleep again, it was very late at night and she was only a small child after all, Valjean kept his hand upon her head even after he knew she was asleep, it was a very comforting hand, he was asleep again himself after a while but he still held that little girl in his arms all night.
A few nights later it started happening again, Valjean had put Cosette to bed hours ago and he hoped she would have a peaceful night, he had read for a little while by candlelight and was about to get ready for bed himself when he heard Cosette crying out in her sleep.
He went into her little room, she was still asleep, shaking and clearly distressed, Valjean knew he had to do something to help her, he stood beside her bed and took one of her little hands into his own, and then he leaned over her and whispered into her ear.
Sssh Cosette, It's alright, everything's going to be alright sweetheart, Daddy's here. No one's going to hurt you ever again, I promise, I won't let that happen to you. Daddy's here sweetheart.
Suddenly Cosette stopped trembling; she was calm again and seemed to be sleeping peacefully once more.
It had worked, Valjean had helped her, Cosette's nightmare had stopped.
Valjean kissed Cosette on the forehead and stayed by her side a little while longer to make sure she was alright, he loved watching her sleep. She truly felt like his own child at this moment, he had made her feel safe and protected and he had made her nightmare go away, he didn't need anything except Cosette, he was her father and he would do his best to make sure she had nothing to be afraid of, it was his job to love her and protect her and he wanted nothing else in the world at that moment.
After a while Valjean retired to his own bed but he kept his eye on Cosette's little inner room all the while, he slept well that night knowing that he had helped his little girl to not be afraid anymore, it was an amazing feeling and Valjean hoped it would last forever.
The End