And now, more fluffiness! Yes this story is full of it. It's time for more Todd and Fred and a little tenderness! Awwwwww…

Night Fears

Roadblock sighed as he lay in bed. It had been a long day. For some reason Todd and Fred had decided to cook breakfast for him. This took about two hours to clean up. And another hour to clean up after the clean up process. (Let's just say now Roadblock had some new holes in his walls.)

By now Roadblock had decided that maybe having the two mutants do chores around the apartment was not really a good idea. Especially after he had to call for a plumber's services after Todd decided to 'help' clean the bathroom. Basically the entire day had been spent on cleaning up after Todd and Fred's efforts to clean up.

Roadblock decided to try and sleep in order to forget the day when he heard something moving in the kitchen. Dreading to find out what it was he got up and went to it. He wasn't too shocked to find that it was Fred rummaging around. What did surprise him was that Fred's eyes were red. He'd been crying.

"I can't sleep," Fred sniffed. "Do we have any chicken left?"

"No," Roadblock sighed. "What's wrong Fred? Why aren't you in bed?"

"I had a nightmare," Fred played with his fingers. "I always get hungry after I have a nightmare."

"How about I make you some hot cocoa while you tell me all about it?" Roadblock told him. Fred sat down at the table while Roadblock fixed it up. "So what was the dream about?"

"Nothin'," Fred shrugged. "Just stupid stuff…"

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," Roadblock told him. "You can talk to me. That's what I'm here for."

Fred seemed to hold his breath. "I was in that lab, when we got caught by the sentinel," He started slowly. "You know, the one from…"

"I remember," Roadblock nodded.

"I could see everything," Fred said. "I couldn't move or talk, but I knew what was going on. It was back in Area 51. I remember watching them remove the others from that green hard gunk. I was last. I remember them shoving the others into their cells. Then it was my turn. Only in my dream, they decided not to let me out. They kept me in there like I was some kind of trophy. They were laughing at me, calling me names. And I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even scream it was…"

"It's all right kid," Roadblock patted him on the back. "It's okay."

"I know nothing happened to us there," Fred said trembling. "I know that. But that scared me more than anything. It was worse than the circus. At least in the circus they didn't do experiments on you. I…I don't know what would have happened to us if we were stuck there."

"But you weren't," Roadblock consoled him. "Nothing bad happened to you."

"We got lucky that no one recognized us," * Fred sighed. "Otherwise…"

"I know," Roadblock sighed. "Believe me. I understand."

"Roadblock? What happens if we aren't good enough for you?"

"What?"

"If we can't cut it," Fred sniffed. "If we can't become good soldiers will you send us back to that Area 51?"

"That's not going to happen," Roadblock told him.

"But what if it does?"

"It won't! I promise. It's true, we ain't gonna let them take any of you."

"Todd said we ain't supposed to be here," Fred said. "What if they find us? What if they order you to send us away?"

"Don't worry about that," Roadblock told him. "Hawk's got a few friends. And we've got a few tricks up our sleeve. So don't even think about those things!"

"I'm trying to be good Mr. Roadblock, really I am," Fred said. "I'm just not good at it."

"I know Fred," Roadblock sighed. "But you're not as bad as you think you are. You are a very strong boy and a hard worker. Just keep trying. Now go to bed."

Fred got up when they both heard a strangled cry. "Oh no!" Roadblock gasped. He raced to the bedroom.

"What's going on?" Fred asked, following him. He saw Todd wildly tossing in his sleep. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nightmares," Roadblock explained, trying to hold him down. "He gets them bad from time to time. Kid wake up! Todd! Todd! Wake up!"

Todd woke up with a cry. He clung to Roadblock tightly. "It's okay," Roadblock held him. "It's okay…."

"What happened?" Fred asked. "What's wrong?"

"It was one of those bad dreams huh?" Roadblock gently mussed Todd's hair. "You haven't had one of those in a long time."

Todd whimpered as Roadblock held him. Roadblock looked at Fred. He looked upset. "Is he gonna be okay?" Fred asked in a small voice.

"Yeah," Roadblock nodded. He looked at Todd. "You're gonna be okay, aren't you?" Todd feebly nodded. "See, you're gonna be fine."

"Feel so stupid," Todd grumbled.

"Don't be," Roadblock told him. "There are a lot of adults with the same problem on this base. Some are so afraid of them they don't sleep for days."

"Really?" Todd asked.

"Really," Roadblock nodded.

"It's just…" Todd fumbled with the words. "I feel so trapped and helpless. It drives me crazy. It's like I'm back in the lab again." He shuddered. "And that incident with Mag-nut-o didn't help any."

"I know," Roadblock sighed. "Do you two want to sit up and talk a while?"

"Nah," Todd waved. "Now that I know Freddy's here, I'll be okay. How about you Fred?"

"I'll be okay too," Fred nodded.

"Okay," Roadblock said. "Now get back to bed you two." They did so. "Good night."

"G'night Roadblock," Fred said.

"Night Dad," Todd said sleepily.

Roadblock smiled warmly and went back to his room. "You call him Dad?" Fred asked.

"Sometimes," Todd said. "It's okay. He said if I felt like it I could call him that. Outside of training of course."

"Oh," Fred said. "He really acts like a dad doesn't he? Sometimes."

"Sometimes."

"Hey Toad, I've been meaning to ask, have you heard anything about Lance?"

"Nothin'. Althea sent Polly to look around, but they're really hiding him good. Can't find him anywhere. He may not even be on the base. Could be on one of those secret training bases. They do that sometimes."

"Oh," Fred repeated. "They ain't gonna hurt him are they?"

"They ain't hurtin' him!" He said. "I know cause I went through the exact same stuff. It's mostly training and therapy. Nothing bad. Trust me."

Fred sighed and turned in his bed. "Toad…you think I can do this? Be a soldier?"

"Course you can! Hey I did it!"

"That's true."

"You'll be fine Freddy," Todd closed his eyes. "Trust me."

* Alternate universe, remember? In this world they weren't recognized until much later! Next up, you've been waiting for it…Lance comes back! Now the fun really begins!