Soldiers (Three)
"...I promised you I would never leave you," he whispered, leaning down close to her. She could feel his cool fingers on her cheek, and she looked up at him with white tears in her eyes.
"I know," she replied. He leaned down and kissed her lips, smiling as he pulled away from her. His body was bruised and banged, and he had deep scars along his arms, his neck and his face. His left eye was covered in a thick, red bandage, as was his right hand. But he still sat beside her on the bed, drawing his fingers from her face to Daniyyel's. The little girl didn't even stir.
"…She's grown so big," Danny said softly. Sam just smiled and basked in the cool comfort his presence gave her, rolling over and laying her arms over Daniyyel's tiny body.
Danny climbed into the bed on Daniyyel's other side, hugging her to his body. Sam felt his arms drape over her back, and she smiled as she snuggled into both him and her daughter, feeling the strength and the love he gave to her.
She felt his cool lips on her forehead, and she opened her eyes to look into his. He stared back, his breathing slow.
"You're safe now," he whispered to her. Sam smiled, feeling a weight lift from her chest. As she closed her eyes, she noticed that his presence was similar to that of a comforting breeze; around her at every notice, surrounding her and caressing her, as she fell asleep…
"…Momma?" a voice said. Sam opened her eyes, blinking. Daniyyel's sapphire eyes peered into her own. The little girl was sitting up.
"Yes, darling," Sam asked, smiling, remembering her husband's return.
"You were dreaming and talking," Daniyyel said, and the girl shivered slightly. Sam frowned, giggling.
"Why, Daniyyel, what do you—" she stopped. The far window was wide open, blowing cool fall air into the room. It was blowing the curtains and rattling the windows. It had also been blowing on the two all night. She could feel it on her cheeks and her neck, along her collarbone and dancing over her shoulder blades. It felt similar to cool fingers.
He wasn't there. Danny was nowhere to be found. Sam swallowed and licked her lips, staring in disbelief.
No.
"Momma?" Daniyyel asked again. "Momma, can we shut the window? It's cold in here."
By popular demand - part three. Not as good as the first two, but it's more of a closer this time. Some people have been wondering where I pulled the name 'Daniyyel' from. It's actually the original Hebrew phonetic pronunciation of the name 'Daniel', which is a Hebrew name. I thought it looked cute. Anyway, part three of three. Inspired by the song "Like Toy Soldiers" by Eminem.