Darkness. All she could see was darkness. She wasn't scared, per say. But there was something so discomforting about the stillness of the black. Listening tentatively, she pulled the covers closer up, under her chin. She looked across her room, but no matter how hard she focused, she couldn't see anything.
Her heart beat just a little faster in her tiny chest when the metallic steps of the fire escape outside her window creaked. Not much could unnerve this five year-old, but there were always exceptions.
As carefully as she could, without so much as disturbing the wrinkles in her sheets, Alexis sat up, clutching her beloved Monkey Bunkey to her side.
"Daddy?"
Part of her thought she was being silly - she knew there was nothing to be afraid of.
But she still wanted her daddy. Needed him, even.
Only moments after she had settled back into her pillows a streak of light fanned across the floor.
"Daddy?"
"Whatcha' need pumpkin?" They were both whispering. The silence of the loft still overpowered all else.
"Nothin'."
She could hear his bare feet pad across the room. Judging from the sound, she knew whether he was on the wood floor and when he had reached one of her many rugs – knew how close he was to her bed.
"Are you sure about that?"
She nodded her head as best she could, keeping her face turned to the wall. Alexis could feel him crawl into the bed behind her. He had lifted up the thick duvet, and his weight, depressing the mattress, made her roll towards him.
"Oh, really? Because I think you need rescue."
In those seconds the silence was deafening. The little girl curled up in the dark didn't know what to expect.
"From the tickle monkey!"
Before she could fully understand what was happening she was trapped underneath her father. Her sides aching from his tickling fingers, her cheeks sore from smiling. The laughter of both father and daughter danced and echoed through, what were, only minutes ago, silent rooms.
This time she didn't have to beg for him to stop. Instead, the pair ended up panting for breath, Alexis sprawled across her father's chest. There were still smiles on their faces as he ran his fingers through her scarlet red tresses.
"Daddy?"
Only a soft groan of acknowledgement came as a response.
"Will you scratch my back?"
"Anything for you Baby Bird."
Alexis rolled off of his body, reaching out for Monkey Bunkey, who managed to escape the tickle assault by flinging himself to the edge of the bed.
She turned back, pulling herself as close as she could to her daddy's side.
She felt his strong, warm hand rest on her back, then the smooth back and forth feeling of his nearly non-existent nails scratching her back through her nightgown.
Without her realizing what was happening, exhaustion settled in, pulling her down, back into the dark.
Only now, she had her daddy to keep her safe.
So this is really close to my heart, as something my daddy used to do for me when I was little. Now that I'm away, I find that I miss it more than I ever thought I could.
Here's to all the little girls, and to all the dads who come to their rescue.
Love,
Tappin
BTW: My logic behind the "tickle monkey" rather than the ever popular "tickle monster" - I could never picture Castle being any kind of monster, especially as a dad.
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