Sportacus looked at the pink haired girl trying to keep her eyes open. There were smudges on her face and arms, and grass stains and dirt on her dress. Sportacus grinned at Stephanie, put his hands on her shoulders, and briskly marched her down the hall toward her room.

"I'll tell you what we'll do. You get ready for bed. I'll whip up a bite for supper. By the time you are finished eating, it will be around 8:08, bedtime."

Sportacus left the room to give Stephanie some privacy. As he walked toward the kitchen he hollered back, "Don't forget to wash behind your ears!"

Once in the kitchen, Sportacus got to work cooking two vegetable filled omlets. Sportacus being Sportacus, he used only the freshest ingredients. That meant cleaning and cutting up the vegetables took time. He cleaned as he worked and by the time he set the table, he could feel Stephanie's presence behind him. He pulled out a chair for her without looking at her. She walked over and sat down, while rubbing her eyes. Then he sat down himself.

"This looks and smells real good. Thank you, Sportacus." She took a bite and chewed slowly. "Umm, delicious."

"You're welcome, Stephanie. Just try not to fall asleep in it. I don't think it would make a good pillow!" Sportacus chuckled. Stephanie smiled through a yawn.

Sportacus looked more closely at Stephanie while they ate. She had obviously taken a shower, his clue being her smudges were gone and her hair was wet. He couldn't think of many little girls that took showers. Of course, he didn't know very many little girls around Stephanie's age, either.

Her lithe, little body seemed even smaller in the large, pink robe she wore. It must have been bought with the belief that someday she would grow into it. He looked at her face and almost laughed out loud. Her beautiful brown eyes were almost closed, and if her head dipped any lower, what was left of her supper would be decorating her freshly washed hair. Sportacus now noticed she hadn't bothered to brush it.

Sportacus removed the plates from the table and then pulled Stephanie's chair out. "Bedtime," he said. Stephanie's eyes popped open for a moment. She got up from her chair and walked ahead of Sportacus down the hall to her room.

"Nope, brush your teeth." Sportacus sharply steered Stephanie into the bathroom as she was going past it. Stephanie could have been sleepwalking. She was on autopilot. She brushed her teeth and walked past Sportacus back into the hall. He turned out the light and followed.

Stephanie turned down the covers on her bed and took off her robe, revealing her pink nightgown with the silver heart on it. She tossed the robe over the chair next to her dressing table. As she climbed into bed, Sportacus said, "Wait." He walked over to the table and picked up her hairbrush. "Sit up for a minute. If you go to sleep with that hair, you'll spend all day tomorrow picking tangles out, instead of playing."

Sportacus stood, with one knee on the bed behind Stephanie and began to gently brush her hair out. After her hot day in the sun, the room felt chilly to Stephanie. She barely felt Sportacus' leg on the bed behind her. She leaned back into the warmth coming from him. Stephanie knew how strong Sportacus was, but what flashed through her half-concious mind was how gentle, too. Strong and gentle at the same time, she decided she would have to think about that tomorrow. He could feel her start to droop after a few strokes of the brush. By the time he had brushed her hair dry and it looked like pink silk, Stephanie was leaning against his leg with his knee at the base of her head, holding it steady. She was totally out of it.

Sportacus put the brush down and put one hand behind Stephanie's head. Then he placed his other arm behind her shoulders and gently lowered her down onto her pillow. She never moved a muscle. He pulled the covers up to her shoulders, put the hairbrush back on the table, and turned off the light. As silently as he could, he tiptoed out of the room.

In the hall, Sportacus let out a deep breath. He hadn't realized he had been holding it and wondered, for how long?

Sportacus looked at the clock in the kitchen while he did the supper dishes. 8:26 No wonder he was tired, it was past his bedtime. He stifled a yawn while he checked the house to make sure everything was ready for the night. He spared a thought for Mayor Meanswell and Bessie, hoping they had arrived safely at the dinner and convention. He peaked in on Stephanie once more, just to make sure she was ok.

The moonlight beamed in through the bedroom window onto Stephanie's face. Her pink hair took on a silvery hue and her skin looked even more pale than normal. She almost looked ... otherworldly. Sportacus' breath caught in his throat for a split second of panic that something was wrong. But, her lips were the pink of strawberries, with a hint of a smile, and her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. She was peacefully sleeping. Sportacus tiptoed over to the bed. He leaned down and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams," he silently whispered, then Sportacus headed for the sofa to get some sleep.

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Blood of the Wolf, Chiba Apey, and Spacegirl07, thank you so much for the reviews and encouragement!