You'll Be In My Heart

by WannabeSally

A/N: This is my first Peanuts story. I rediscovered the relationship between Sally and Linus after watching the Christmas special, and was disappointed to find there wasn't much written about the two of them here. Seeing as how I could not deny the ridiculous cuteness that is Salinus, here is wee bit of said fluff. If you review, I may even give you some eggnog in honor of Christmas. Enjoy.

I do not own Peanuts or Phil Collins, unfortunately for me.

When she opened her eyes, he was standing there, in the doorway. She blinked several times, just to make sure he wasn't a figure yanked from her dreams. Sure enough, he inched closer, his blue blanket trailing behind him. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, adjusting herself to the darkness of the room. Everything was so quiet now, the kind of quiet that only occurs in the thick of night. Her small nightlight illuminated his tiny silhouette and she had to strain to see his face, questioning herself again - was she dreaming?

"Linus?" she asked, sleepily. Her chest began to rise and fall in a much faster, more syncopated rhythm as he slowly approached her bedside. She found it incredible that her normally unstoppable mouth had failed her, and she had absolutely nothing to say to him at the moment he was standing so close to her. She swallowed and lifted up her pink bedspread, enough for him to realize that she had intended for him to get under.

"May I?" he asked, as only Linus would, and she nodded, patting the spot beside her and scooting to the left slightly. He hiked up his blanket and crawled up next to her, settling his head only inches from hers on the pillow. "I couldn't sleep," he sighed, rubbing his nose. "I heard a noise."

Sally knew he was attempting to logically justify why he had ended up exactly where he was right now. It was a completely innocent scenario, but she couldn't help but be overjoyed that he had chosen to come near her at all, let alone this close. "There, there my Sweet Babboo," she cooed. "It'll be all right."

Linus inched closer to her, until his blanket was the only thing between them. "Terrible things happen in the dark!" he remarked and Sally smirked. It was one of the few times he had chosen to say something other then his normal retort to her term of endearment.

"I will protect you," she whispered proudly.

Linus nervously began to raise his thumb toward his mouth, until Sally snatched his hand. His eyes bulged and he gulped loudly, but didn't pull his hand away from hers. "Sally, I...," he started.

"Shh," Sally brought his hand down to his chest, resting it above his heart. "Can you feel how fast it's beating?" she asked.

Linus nodded. "Did you know the average person's heart beats three million times over the course of a lifetime?!" he blurted.

Sally's eyes narrowed and she ignored him. "I feel your heart too, Linus," she said. "It's there..."

"Of course it's there," he responded, matter-of-factly. "The heart pumps oxygen to the brain and--"

"Feel mine!" she brought their hands to her chest and Linus mellowed.

"You sure are warm," he responded.

Sally looked at him and smiled, her hand still clasping his. "See Linus? I can keep you safe and warm."

"Well since somebody's got to, it might as well be you," he said flatly.

"So does that mean you love me?" the little girl whispered, snuggling her head next to his.

"Good grief," he sighed, rolling onto his back, away from Sally's encroaching face.

"You'll see in time, I know," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I'll be in your heart one day, just like you're in mine."

Linus stared up at the ceiling for a long while, mulling over her words. For an eight-year-old, she had some good insight every now and then. Not to mention, he really didn't have any idea what he would do without her constant fussing over him. He moved his hand up over his heart and felt its beats. Perhaps she was right, one day, he'd wake up, and there she'd be.

* * *

In the morning, Charlie Brown woke to see that his slumber party mate had vanished. He checked under his bed, in the bathroom, in the closet, in Snoopy's doghouse, and under the couch. Where on Earth was Linus?

Shuffling back toward his bedroom, he noticed the slight crack in Sally's door. Pushing it open, he saw Linus, hugging his blanket and Sally, hugging Linus, asleep in her bed. "Good grief," he groaned, and slammed the door shut.

Come stop your crying
It will be all right...