"Sweet dreams my little ones"
Ashe leaned over the cribs, kissing the two babies on the forehead. One yawned, creating a perfect O, stretching his little arms and legs, the other, already in a deep slumber, squirmed slightly, shaking his head at her touch, continuing to snore.
She loved the sensation of their soft skin against her lips. It always tempted her to wake them and cuddle them silly, but she had to resist, lest she want to spend the next few hours attempting to calm them to sleep again.
She also wanted to wake them so she wouldn't have to be alone. That was always the hardest part when it came to the night. She would have to sleep alone. She knew the little ones were only in the next room, but it was their father's warmth she missed.
She was tired of her tears being the only thing that could lull her to sleep. Sometimes she concentrated her hearing towards the nursery to listen to the sighs and grunts of the twins as a distraction. Either way, tears always won.
She knew she should be far from crying by now. It had almost been a year.
She turned to take one last look at her children and stopped. She blinked and shook her head vigorously then opened her eyes. She thought she'd seen something leaning over the ends of the cribs. It had looked at her but its features were not discernible.
Fearing that someone had intruded she rushed to the cribs. Thankfully, the babies were still sleeping.
She looked around nervously. Someone was here, she knew it. But how?
Suddenly she felt it.
It was the most terrifying feeling one could experience. Whoever was there was right behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, her eyes dilated in fear, Goosebumps popped up from the sudden chill, her body became stiff, yet her mind was on full alert.
Then a head came to rest on her shoulder from behind, nuzzling softly against her neck and cheek. Arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her close.
The cold disappeared, a wave of warmth washed over her, the Goosebumps faded, her body relaxed, She closed her eyes.
She felt herself lean back, her head coming to rest on a shoulder. She released one of her hands, letting it travel upwards, her fingers lightly caressing a cheek, then a neck, savoring the feeling with every moment of contact.
Another hand took hers, holding her palm against a cheek. The other hand remained entwined at her waist, the arm around it pulled her closer.
She brought her other hand up slowly and felt the forehead. It was there.
"I've missed you." She whispered, a squeeze around her middle indicated a response.
"Thank you," she could feel tears running down her cheek. She leaned her head back completely on the shoulder, nestling against the neck, smiling.
She felt the arms release her in order to turn her around so that they faced. She felt the arm return around her waist, pulling her forward, a hand coming to rest against her left cheek, a thumb wiping away the tears that rested there.
Lips came to meet her own.
Then the warmth began to fade. She felt as though she was falling, being pulled away. The feeling of reality became unbearably present.
Her eyes opened.
He was gone.