A/N: The writer's block is battled and the muse, although slightly rusty around the edges, is back. Thank you to princessklutz04 for the lovely beta! ;)
Under the bed
She was small for her age; and skinny. Even though he knew she was eating enough because he watched her eat two out of three meals a day he always worried about her. Apparently she had a good metabolism, was thoroughly healthy and simply skinny because, just like every healthy four-year-old, she preferred running to walking everywhere she went.
Still, he worried about her. It was his prerogative, he presumed. As her father, he was allowed to worry and he knew only too well about all the things that were out there that could potentially harm her.
This was his only night off this week, the only night he slept as opposed to the few hours of sleep he usually caught during the day and she was standing in the doorway, shyly peeking into the bedroom. With her flowery nightgown and her dark hair a tangled mess, she looked like a wild fairy, a little thing having crawled out of a field of flowers and weeds. She was pouting; he could see that in the faint glow of the street lights shining through the curtains.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake up the woman draped along his spine.
"There's a monster under my bed." she stated simply, creeping closer on her little bare feet. The dog sleeping beside the bed stirred, lifted his head and sniffed loudly. He was used to the nightly visits, was used to little bare feet and a small person climbing all over him.
"Honey, remember how I explained to you that there are no monsters?" Grissom asked patiently and she nodded, dragging a foot along the cool hardwood floor.
All of a sudden he was worried she might catch a cold and develop pneumonia; he patted the mattress beside him so she would come and sit there, her toes barely touching the dog's coarse fur.
"The monster doesn't know that monsters don't exist though." Her logic surprised him, it often did. The logic of a four-year-old who saw the world in bright colors, believed butterflies to be fairies in disguise. Children were sort of… interesting that way.
The woman behind him stirred, looked over his shoulder at their daughter and ran a hand through her own dark, tangled hair. Another fairy, only taller.
"Is there a monster again?" she asked and Noelle nodded, pushing her bottom lip out.
"Come here." Sara scooted away from him to make room for the girl. He missed her warmth against his back but reached out and lifted Noelle up and over himself. She settled down between her parents, snuggling down into the warm sheets.
"Sssss… your feet are cold." he hissed softly, making both Sara and Noelle giggle. Despite the monster lurking beneath her own bed, Noelle fell asleep quickly while he and Sara watched over her. Not used to actually sleeping at night, his inner clock told him that this was when he was supposed to be up and about. Sara was a born insomniac, rarely slept deeply and was used to lying awake.
"We might have to build a trap to catch this monster." Sara suggested, her voice a soft whisper.
"I think we should insist that there are no such things as monsters." That was the scientist in him speaking; the rationalist who didn't really grasp his child's fear and believed that cold hard science would convince Noelle that the only thing present under her bed was dust. And even that hardly stood a chance against Sara's anal- retentive cleaning methods.
"She won't believe us. She's four. A monster trap will be much more efficient than a lengthy explanation about how it is scientifically impossible for a monster to exist."
"Well… how are you planning on building this… trap?" he asked sarcastically, looking at her over the sleeping form of their kid.
"Oh, I already have great plans. It will help her, trust me." She reached over and ran a finger across his cheek and along his bottom lip. He kissed it softly.
"I do trust you. And if it means we get the bed to ourselves…"
She snorted, pulled her finger back and smiled. Noelle sighed in her sleep, her hand resting next to her head on the pillow.
"We will. I promise." she whispered, pulled the covers up to her shoulders and wrapped her hand around her daughter's.
The End.