Clandestine Moments---

VI. Nighttime Terrors

Behind the closed door a child stood beside his parents' bed, his head hung low and his feet shuffling back and forth as if he didn't know what to do. He was scared, a nightmare had shaken him awake and pushed him down the hall into somewhere safe. And standing next to his mother's sleeping form, he wasn't so sure that she was the best person to wake up in the middle of the night. He knew she was busy during the day.

Tiptoeing to the other side of the bed he stood next to his father. Han was breathing deeply with soft snores escaping every other breath. His eyes darted back and forth fast under his eyelids and he didn't respond to the first call of his name. Anakin pushed on his arm, shaking the limb slightly, but to no avail.

"Dad," he whispered, scooting close to his father's face. The four-year-old stood at eye level with the sleeping man, staring him in the face with the seriousness of a child much older. "Dad!"

Han startled awake, opening his eyes to the sight of his son beside him, looking quite sheepish. He pushed himself up on one arm and blinked the fuzziness out of his eyes.

"Wha's goin' on?" he slurred.

"I had a nightmare," Anakin confessed.

Han sighed heavily. The boy had been suffering through nightmares for weeks now. It wasn't the first time he had come running for comfort.

"C'mere," Han said, holding the blanket up.

Anakin crawled onto the bed and situated himself between his parents. Leia, woken up by the movement, rolled over and saw to it that her son was comfortable. He settled down and closed his eyes.

"Another one?" she asked quietly.

"If he doesn't get some real sleep soon we're gonna have a real problem on our hands," Han worried. "The poor kid's already afraid to go to sleep."

Leia ran a hand through her son's soft hair, smoothing it off of his forehead in a motherly manner. She ran her finger down his cheek, bothered by the boy's sleeping troubles. It wasn't healthy for a Force-sensitive child to go through such stressful times, especially at such a young age.

"Things'll be alright," Han reassured in the dark. "We've made it this far, haven't we?"

Closing her own eyes she wondered what the future would hold for her son.

In his quiet slumber Anakin dreamed.

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a/n: Yeah I know, long time no update. Things have been so busy as of late. Lots of homework and junk. Thought I'd post this and let you know that I'm not dead and not dormant.

It's a fanfiction sin to read without reviewing.