He had always been a light sleeper. From a young age he was trained to always be on alert and to be ready to run or hide when the voices started to get loud. His years in the military affirmed the need to always be ready to jump out of bed. Then his wife died and he found in nearly impossible to get any sleep, not when the guilt was screaming inside is head as he laid in a bed much too big for one person. It was like all his years of light sleeping had trained him for his new job at the first buzz of his phone, or now siren, he was up and ready to fight before before the rest of the team had even heard the call.
Since learning his partner was pregnant with his child his body somehow woke up at every little sound as if it was getting ready for his newest job as a father. He always knew he would be the one getting up with the baby in the middle of the night, which was something he would never complain about and welcomed that roll, and his body was training him for that day when the new position would begin.
He wasn't surprised when he woke up to the screams from the other side of the metal doors followed by the slam of feet running towards his bedroom.
"Wyatt you need to come now!" His friend shouted as she slammed the door open.
He jumped out of bed as soon as she finished her sentence and ran towards the girls' room. He found his partner lying in her bed still screaming and thrashing about. This wasn't the first time the nightmares had come, and he knew it wouldn't be the last.
"Lucy!" He yelled and quickly went over to her bed. "Lucy wake up it's only a dream."
He gently shook her until her eyes burst open and she sat up straight.
"Where is she?" She asked looking wildly around the room.
"Where is who?" He asked calmly not wanting to work herself up more.
"The baby!" She shouted back and tried to get out of bed. "They took her! They took the baby!"
He gently pressed down on her shoulders so she couldn't get out of bed. She didn't fight him off, but her head and eyes continued to search the room.
"No one took the baby Lucy."
"Yes they did! Emma and Jessica found her and stole her. We have to find her Wyatt, we have to find our baby!"
"Lucy the baby is right here."
He picked up both of her hands and placed them on her hard stomach. He held them in place and waited until finally the baby moved beneath them proving that the baby was indeed still there and not their enemies.
She looked straight into his eyes, "The baby is safe?"
"Yes, you still haven't given birth so no one is taking our child."
With that reassurance she burst into tears. He quickly pulled her into his shoulder and let her cry.
"It was only a dream." He whispered into her hair as he rubbed a soothing hand up and down her back.
"It felt so real." She mumbled.
"I know, but it's over now and you don't need to worry anymore."
Only when the tears had fully stopped did he push her away from his shoulder. He looked over at the night table to find a glass of water and a damp washcloth. He had yelled at their friends to get him those two items after the first night and since then he had found them waiting after every night terror. He handed her the water, which she quickly took, and wiped away the sweat and tears from her neck and face.
"Do you feel better?" He asked once she had finished the glass.
She shook her head no, "I'm so scared Wyatt."
"Scared of what?"
"That Rittenhouse knows about our baby. That any day now they're going to take me away so they can have our baby and train it to be one of them."
"You know I won't let that happen Lucy."
"I know, but I can't help but worry."
"Yes it has been harder to keep your pregnancy a secret since your bump is so pronounced at this point, but I think we've done a decent job of hiding you. And if you are that scared you can stay home until the birth."
"No! I can't do that, the team needs me."
"But our child needs you more. I don't want you worrying yourself, it's not good for your health or the baby. We can manage without you if you're scared of Rittenhouse finding out."
"I don't want them to scare me into hiding. I need them to know I'm stronger than their stupid organization. Plus they'll realize something is wrong if they don't see me.
"You have nothing to prove to them Lucy. They know you are strong, that's why they want you on their side. But you need to think about what's best for you and the baby. And know that no matter what your decision is I will support you."
"Even if that means me continuing to go on missions?"
"I'm not going to be happy about it, but that's no surprise. I haven't been happy about you going since I found out you were pregnant. But I won't fight you on your decision."
She nodded her head. "I'm going to keep going until I can't anymore. I would go up until I give birth, but…"
"Yeah your maternity leave is going to come a lot sooner than either of us are ready for." He joked.
She gave him a smile before leaning against his side and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked.
"No, but I'm as close to better as I can be. I think I'll always be scared about Rittenhouse taking our baby and wanting to keep them as safe as possible."
"Pretty sure that's called parenthood."
She laughed, "I can't wait to see what happens to us when this kid actually comes out."
"So you think our kid is a girl now?" He teased.
"What?"
"When you first woke up you kept saying she."
"Oh…I guess in the dream the baby was a girl and that's why I kept saying she."
"Do you think your dream will come true."
"I have no idea. It's funny, most women say they have a strong feeling about what they're having, but I've had no inclination to the gender. It's never even a thought most of the time."
"Probably because we're more focused on making sure there is a world for this baby to be born into."
"Yeah that's probably it. Not that I want this baby out now, but I'm so done with being pregnant. I want to feel like myself again and have my body and emotions back."
"Stop the nightmares?"
"Yeah that too. I've had plenty of bad dreams before, but never anything like this. They're so real and vivid and shake me to the core."
"This one was so bad you forgot you were pregnant."
She let out a sigh, "Yeah that was probably the worst one."
"Do you think you're ready to try and go to sleep again?"
She shrugged, "I guess….will you stay with me?"
"Of course."
The two maneuvered themselves in the small twin size bed so he was on the outside and her back was tucked safely into his chest. In sync they laced their fingers together and placed them on her stomach. Their baby was quiet as if knowing how badly it's mother needed sleep.
"Thank you." She said once they were settled.
"Of course. Now try and get some rest."
He felt her nod her head against his chest. He waited until he was sure she was asleep and no more nightmares would come before he closed his eyes. He knew she wouldn't wake up again until morning, she never did once he was lying next to her. It didn't take him long either to succumb to slumber once he knew his family was safe.
He didn't know how long he had slept once he woke up again. She was still curled into his chest and their hands still on her stomach. Since that first night they had shared a bed together he noticed how much better he slept. It wasn't a true deep sleep, but he was able sleep hard enough that the little noises didn't wake him up. It was some of the best night's rest he ever had in his life, which included when he shared a bed with his wife.
He carefully removed his hand from her's so not to wake her up. He knew she needed as much asleep as possible and didn't want to disturb her. Once he was sure she would stay asleep her crawled out of bed and tiptoed out the door.
He headed straight for the kitchen to get himself something to eat and was surprised to see his roommate already awake.
"You're up early." He comments as he went to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"No you slept in." He quickly answered back.
"I did?" He turned to look at the clock in the wall and surprised to see it was almost 11:00. "Guess I needed sleep more than I thought."
"Or maybe it's because of who you were sleeping next to."
He shot his friend a look, who quickly sent him one back. There was no fooling him, though he would deny it as much as possible…or at least out loud.
"Anyway Jiya and I were thinking." His friend continued.
"That doesn't sound good."
"I promise it's a good thing, or at least we think it's a good thing. Jiya and I think it's time that we switch rooms and that you and Lucy officially bunk together."
He took a sip of his coffee intrigued to see where this conversation went.
"Not that I don't like sharing a room with you, but I would kind of like to live with my girlfriend and since we're all adults I think it's okay for us do that. Plus with the baby coming soon we figured you would want to be in the same room as Lucy and the kid for all those late night feedings and whatever else baby's need at 3:00 A.M. We weren't planning on talking with you two about the switch until closer to the birth, but it would be nice if all of us could get a full nights sleep without having to worry about Lucy's nightmare."
"She can't control them."
"I know she can't and I'm not blaming her at all! But she only calms down when you're there so Jiya and I thought maybe if you were in the room from the start she wouldn't have them. We're worried about her too man."
He nodded his head knowing that his friends really were coming from a good place and not just because they wanted to share a room together.
"I'll talk to Lucy about it and see what she thinks." He agreed.
"That's all I ask." He paused before continued, "is there anything else you two have been talking about?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know maybe your feelings for one another."
"Rufus…"
"What I have to know? I see the way you to look and act around each other and it's way more than friendly. Plus you have a kid on the way."
"It's complicated…" he started trying to find the words to explain their relationship.
"No it's not! You both clearly love each other."
"There's more to it than that."
"Like what? There is no hiding it anymore, especially not when this kid is born. It's more than just you two now. And the walls might be thick, but that doesn't mean I can't hear what's going on in the room when the door is closed."
His face immediately turned bright red, he'd forgotten how much sound traveled in the bunker. "I'm just helping Lucy out with a problem." He mumbled.
"That's all? I don't think I need to tell you how things like that can complicate a relationship more."
"It's nothing like that! I'm not getting anything out of it. It's my fault she's in this situation and I was to help relieve…any discomfort she might have. And please don't tell her you know."
"Of course I won't! Look I just don't want anyone getting hurt."
"I know what I'm doing!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. I'm helping her out anyway I can and trying to be there for her no matter what that need might be."
"If you're here for her in all the ways you say you are then why don't you just admit your feelings?"
"I did!" He finally shouted.
His friend look surprised by the admission. "When?"
"Right after…right after you died. I sat right down next to her and admitted that I love her."
"What did she say?"
"I'm pregnant." He sighed trying to find the right words before continuing. "I screwed up badly with Lucy and have been trying hard to make it up to her. Do you know how scared she was to tell me she was pregnant? That moment after we thought you were dead was the first opportunity she had to tell me the truth. I can't erase how badly I treated her when Jessica was around, but I'm trying to be the person Lucy and this baby deserve. I don't want to put any pressure on her to say those words. She knows how I feel and that's what matters."
"She'll say them eventually."
"I hope so. But in the meantime I will help her out and care for her the best that I can. I never want Lucy to feel that way again."
"What about me." A voice asked from behind.
He turned and watched her waddle into the kitchen and lean against the counter next to him.
"Nothing." He quickly said trying to change the subject. "Rufus was just telling me about an idea him and Jiya dame up with."
"Oh yeah and what might that be?" She asked looking between the two boys.
"They think it's time we do a room swap. I'll move in with you and Jiya will move in with Rufus."
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." She shrugged and started to make tea.
He shot his friend a confused look, but he only got an all too knowing smile back.
"That's it? No argument?"
"No it makes sense. It's not fair to keep Rufus and Jiya away from each other and I'm going to need you once the baby is born."
"That's exactly what I said to him!" Their friend added.
"So it's settled then. Can you watch the kettle for me while I go to the bathroom?"
Before either of them could answer she walked away from the kitchen.
"Don't you say it?" He said as soon as she was out of earshot.
"Wasn't going to say anything." He quickly shrugged. "But she's got it as bad as you do Wyatt. Don't be surprised if she says those three words."
"You think?"
"Trust me I know."
