If Roland and Melinda can sing this Gordon Lightfoot song to help James go to sleep when he's not feeling well, let's see what James, Nell, and Bobby Lee can do with it when they help Elena and Gabby go to sleep! I thought it would be nice if, as a way to help the girls get over a nightmare, Bobby Lee brings James to their room. He thinks James needs a break from working so hard, and it shows that he's right, since he falls asleep in the middle of the song! But fortunately, Nell and Bobby Lee are there to help the royal jukebox as well as their daughters. Thanks to theblindwriter95 for helping with the story. Gordon Lightfoot's music is not mine.

Everyone in the castle was asleep for the night. Helen Genevieve "Nell" O'Malley and Robert "Bobby" Lee Johnson had just put two-year-old Elena and Gabby to bed, and now they were in their rooms, getting ready to go to sleep themselves. The girls had also made the transition from cribs to big-girl beds, something Nell was especially happy about.

"It took several stories, but at least they're asleep!" Nell sighed with relief as she sat on the bed. "I'm so glad we have a copy of James' story folders, so we can read them, and the girls' favorite books, to them as bedtime stories, or any time they want to hear one! And they really love their new beds!"

"And for the girls to get to sleep, it took...let me see if I remember correctly," Bobby Lee counted on his fingers, "four Andrew Harmon stories, three fairy tales, two stories from the girls' Avalor books..." then he smirked and sang, "And a partridge in a pear tree!"

"You just couldn't help yourself with that, could you?" Nell tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't help but laugh. Bobby Lee liked playing word games with James, and he was almost as good as him. "But one of the Avalor stories you read was the one about Shuriki, or as the girls call her, the mean lady, and how she took over the kingdom. Are you sure they'll be all right, and it wasn't too scary for them?"

"They'll be fine," Bobby Lee smiled. "They've got Kitty and Dolly to protect them, but we'll hear them if they need us."

"All right," Nell smiled as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But if they wake up, and it's not related to potty training, that's on you."

"You love me," Bobby Lee smirked. "Besides, Elena's the one potty training, remember?"

"It's like we tell her and Gabby, it's not a race, and they should take it one day at a time," Nell smiled. "Elena will be ready to use the potty on her own when she decides it's time. But she is getting better."

Bobby Lee smiled. "That's true. She gets better every day."

As they settled down, Nell hoped the girls wouldn't wake up because of nightmares and that they'd be all right.

After all, it was their first night in their big girl beds. Nell and Bobby Lee had already assured them that they were safe with Kitty and Dolly protecting them.

With a yawn, Nell went to sleep with the hope of everyone, not just Elena and Gabby, getting a good night's rest.

A few hours later, they were awakened by the sounds of someone crying. "That's Elena," Nell murmured. "I'll get her." Nell was at the bedroom door when they heard the sound of someone else crying too. "And right on cue, Gabby's up and crying with her," she muttered.

"Helen, let me help you," Bobby Lee murmured. He saw the look on her face and added, "I know what you're going to say, it's my fault for reading the girls the story of Shuriki before bed, I should have shown better judgment, and you told me so."

Nell smirked. "I wouldn't say that! I know you were only trying to help put the girls to sleep and I appreciate it. But I think we might need reinforcements to help us deal with two crying toddlers."

"You might be right," Bobby Lee nodded. "And I think he might still be awake!"

"At this time of night?" Nell smirked.

"When Elena started climbing out of her crib, James was one of the first people she went to," Bobby Lee reminded her with a playful nudge.

"Oh, yes, even though he's singing around the castle again, and with his door open, James has told us that he only sings with it closed if anyone needs quiet, or Roland's involved with royal business," Nell smiled. She had heard how James had lost his voice at his birth mother's funeral and refused to sing in public. It had been a few weeks after she, Madeline, and Sabrina had come to live in the castle that he had been convinced to sing with the door open a crack (But that was also to make Sabrina feel more at ease, since she was terrified of closed doors), and when Elena and Gabby were a year old, James decided to try singing his song again. Unfortunately, someone had unmasked him when he took his bow, and he almost gave up singing for good. Everyone in the castle had told him that Queen Melinda never held him to what he said, and that his voice was a precious gift, and that he should use it. The next day, he sang another song perfectly, and unmasked himself. Now, he was singing around the castle again, and was always there for the girls when they needed a song.

Nell and Bobby Lee quietly made their way down the hall, following the glow of a light that was still on. As they'd thought, James was still awake, and working on editing royal documents. However, it looked like he was finally running out of energy.

"Easy now. You can finish that in the morning. Don't overwork yourself," Bobby Lee smiled. "Or do we need to get you?"

Nell chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully. "Another time, Robert." She turned to James with a smile. "Sorry to interrupt your work but Elena and Gabby are awake and we need your help to get them back to sleep."

James looked up, and they noticed that his eyes were heavy. "What are you getting me?" he murmured, since he was starting to fall asleep and he only heard part of Bobby Lee's greeting.

"Never mind," Nell smirked. "We know it's late, but Elena and Gabby are having nightmares. We just need a little help getting them to calm down and go to sleep again."

"But if you're too tired to sing, we'll borrow one of your tapes and use that," Bobby Lee offered.

"No...I'm okay," James murmured. "That's what the royal jukebox...is for, right?"

"Okay, if you're sure," Nell said as they led him to the girls' room.

Elena and Gabby looked up from where they were hiding in Gabby's bed as they spotted Nell coming into their room.

"Mommy," Gabby sniffed.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy and I are here," Nell smiled. She looked down at Elena, stroking her hair. "Did you have an accident, Love Bug?"

Elena shook her head, but Nell and Bobby Lee still checked, just to make sure. "She's right; she didn't have an accident," Nell smiled.

"Well, we did take her to the potty before we put her to bed, and she did a good job," Bobby Lee smiled.

Gabby smiled over at James. "James here! He sing?"

"He's going to help us sing," Nell smiled.

"No close door?" Elena asked.

"Well..." Nell paused, "We'll have to close the door, so we don't disturb anyone while we're singing. That's the polite thing to do at night if you want someone to sing to you so late. Auntie Sabrina knows that, but she's sleeping now, so she won't be upset."

"Okay Mommy," Elena smiled.

"Sing now! Sing now!" Gabby giggled.

"Hold on, Gab-Gab. Let the royal jukebox wake up first," Bobby Lee grinned.

"James nap?" Elena asked.

"Maybe in a minute," James muttered as he tried to wake up. "I've been trying to come up with a cut-off time for working on papers, but some of them took longer than I expected..."

"Don't worry about it, James," Nell smiled. "We know how dedicated you are to your writing, but even you need to take a break now and then."

"You bring song?" Gabby asked.

"I brought a few songs," Bobby Lee smiled. "We'll put the tapes out, then we'll let you and Elena pick one. Whatever song starts when we put it in the tape player, that's the one James will do. Does that sound okay?"

"Okay!" Elena and Gabby giggled.

"That's our girls," Nell smiled, now noticing them together in Gabby's bed. "Love Bug, how did you get there?"

"I climb out of bed and I walk!" Elena smiled.

"What a big girl!" Nell smiled. "But let's put you back in your own bed for now. We don't want Kitty to be lonely, since you and Dolly are with Gabby."

"Okay!" Elena giggled. When she was back in her bed, she asked, "We find song?"

"This one!" Gabby smiled. "It's got kitties!"

"Kitty song!" Elena cheered.

"I've heard that one," Bobby Lee smiled. "It doesn't exactly mention kitties, but it has 'cat-tails' in the song."

"Kitty song!" Elena repeated.

"Robert, do you think Elena cares? As long as it mentions something related to kitties, she's happy!" Nell chuckled.

"Mean lady," Gabby frowned. "She made kitties disappear."

"Don't worry, Gab-Gab, it was just a dream," Bobby Lee smiled. "You and Elena are safe, Kitty and Dolly are both okay, and we're all here with you too."

"And you should know that dreams can't hurt you," Nell added. "Everything's going to be just fine."

"Okay," Gabby smiled a little.

"Okay," Elena smiled. "Sing kitty song now?"

"Wait a minute, sweetheart," Nell smirked. "Let James not look so sleepy first."

"You don't want him yawning while he sings, do you?" Bobby Lee chuckled.

"No!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.

"You want some water, James?" Gabby asked, going over and finding the cup she drank from. "This wake you up and you sing good!"

"Well, Gab-Gab, but that's nice of you," Nell smiled.

When James was feeling a little more awake, he sat down on Gabby's bed with the girls on either side of him. "You ready?"

"Yeah!" Gabby smiled.

"James sing please?" Elena asked.

"Okay," James fought back a yawn.

"James, if you're too tired to sing, we can sing it instead," Nell offered.

"No, I'm okay," James said as Bobby Lee found the song he was looking for.

"You look sleepy. Night-night!" Elena yelled, crossing her arms.

"Elena, if James gets sleepy while he sings, Daddy and I will tell him to go night-night," Nell assured her.

"You want him to sing, don't you, Love Bug?" Bobby Lee asked, putting the tape down before taking Elena in his arms.

"Okay! James sing and Mommy and Daddy sing if James goes night-night!" Elena smiled.

"Sounds like a plan," James agreed.

"Sounds good to me," Nell smiled, Bobby Lee nodding at her side.

"I remember my mommy singing this," James said as he started the song. "It always helped me go to sleep when I was younger."

Elena and Gabby giggled as Bobby Lee put Elena back down.

"James look sleepy," Gabby muttered. "Is it his night-night time?"

"He's been up for a while helping with papers," Nell explained. "Sometimes he gets so caught up in writing that he loses all track of time. Sometimes he even works until late at night."

"He's been trying to come up with a cut-off time, but sometimes he forgets and works all night," Bobby Lee agreed.

"And it looks like we'll need to take over," she smiled as James started nodding off before he even started singing.

"I remember you played that for me, Madeline, and Sabrina when you brought us here," she smiled.

"I thought you might need something relaxing after everything you went through," Bobby Lee smiled.

"Well, it worked," Nell smiled. "I've heard people say around here that music makes everything better, and I've seen for myself that it works!"

"That's right," Bobby Lee smiled. He started to move James onto his back to carry him back to his room.

"Good idea, but let's try to sing the song for him first," Nell suggested. "You said that Roland says James can sleep through everything, so let's finish the song, then get James back to bed."

"James like Elena!" Gabby giggled.

"Am not!" Elena pouted. "Gabby like James!"

"Both of you are like him when you want to be," Nell smirked.

"How so?" Bobby Lee asked.

"Gabby can sleep through everything, just like James, and Elena loves singing kitty song, just like James loves singing everything," Nell smiled.

"Not sleepy!" Gabby yawned.

"Stay up!" Elena added with a yawn.

"Girls, you had a turn of staying up already," Bobby smirked. "Besides Elena Mommy and I don't want you sleepy during your speech therapy tomorrow."

"What that?" Gabby asked.

"Well, Gab-Gab, Elena goes to speech therapy to help her communicate with others," Bobby Lee started. "She also goes there to help her learn how to keep eye contact when someone's talking to her, and watch what people do when they talk to her."

"I come see what she does?" Gabby asked.

"I don't see why not," Nell smiled. "Elena liked watching you do your physical therapy, so now you can watch how she works with her speech therapist."

"Okay!" Elena smiled. She looked up at Nell. "James sing now? Please?"

"Nice job, Love Bug, and I think we should let James sing, but only if he's up to it."

"I'm up to it," James said as he tried to hide another yawn.

"If you're sure," Bobby Lee smiled.

"If not, it's back to bed with you, James," Nell smiled.

"I'll be fine," James assured them as he shook his head to clear it. "You know nothing stops me from singing anymore."

"That's true," Bobby Lee grinned. "We all had a lot of fun at the karaoke party when James said he'd never sing behind a closed door again!"

"That's right, and how often do I let Elena and Gabby stay up so late to hear James sing?" Nell smiled.

"That's right," James smiled. "Now girls, are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Gabby giggled, cuddling up with Dolly.

"James sing please!" Elena giggled, holding up Kitty.

"Okay," James smiled, "Here we go..."

When the song started, he sang softly, Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Rain pools in the woodland, water to my knees

"Yay!" Elena cheered, making Kitty dance.

James smiled as he continued the verse, Shivering, quivering, the warm breath of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

As she remembered this as one of the songs Bobby Lee played for her, Madeline, and Sabrina after they were rescued, Nell smiled at her daughters. They seemed to like this song as much as she and her sisters did. While it was true she would not normally let them stay up past their bedtime, this was an exception.

Especially because it was Bobby Lee's fault that they were up in the first place.

As James started the second verse, Nell noticed that he was starting to fall asleep again. 'I'll let him finish the verse if he can, but since Robert says he knows the song, he can fill in for James if he falls asleep,' she thought.

Nell's suspicions were confirmed that James was becoming too tired to sing as he sang softly, Catbirds and cornfields, daydreams together
Riding on the roadside the dust gets in your eyes

Bobby Lee looked over as he heard James yawn as he sang. "If he can finish the verse, that's great, but I can fill in for James if he falls asleep," he said to himself.

At the same time, James was singing softly, Reveling, disheveling, the summer nights can bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

As James finished the verse, he fell asleep on Gabby's bed.

"Roland told me about how James used to sing himself to sleep," Bobby Lee chuckled. "I guess some things never change!"

"La-la-la!" Elena giggled. "Me and Kitty sing too!"

"Glad to hear it, Love Bug," Nell smiled. "But the royal jukebox went to sleep before he could join you."

"We finish song for him?" Gabby asked.

"Okay," Nell smiled. "We'll finish the song, then Daddy and I'll take James back to his bed."

"Okay," Elena yawed, rubbing her eyes.

"You sleepy, Elena?" Gabby asked.

"Kitty song did it!" Elena pouted.

"Well, it is a pretty song," Nell smiled. "And it's kind of like a lullaby to help you go to sleep." She took Elena in her arms and took her over to her bed again. "Go to sleep, Love Bug. You'll be dreaming of kitties again in no time."

She started the next verse, Slanted rays and colored days, stark blue horizons
Naked limbs and wheat bins, hazy afternoons

"And to help you get to Dreamland, I'll help with the song too," Bobby Lee smiled.

He continued the verse, Voicing, rejoicing, the wine cups do bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

"Daddy silly!" Gabby giggled.

"He's not that bad," Nell smirked. "Daddy felt a little sad for making you two upset so he wanted to make up for it."

She started the last verse, Harsh nights and candlelights, woodfires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul

Bobby Lee smiled as he sang with her, Treasuring, remembering, the promise of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

"Yay Mommy! We love you!" Gabby smiled.

"We love Daddy too!" Elena smiled.

"And Daddy loves you, Love Bug," Bobby Lee smiled.

"James stay with us?" Gabby asked.

"I think we'd better take James back to his own bed. But don't worry, Love Bug," Nell smiled, seeing Elena start to look worried, "James can sleep through us carrying him back to his own bed, and he can sing with you tomorrow."

"Okay," Elena smiled. She came over to James and kissed his forehead. "Night-night, James!"

James didn't respond but Elena didn't mind, walking back to her bed.

"Night-night, James!" Gabby giggled.

"I'll stay with the girls and you take care of James," Nell offered. "The last thing we need is a crowd of people in the halls late at night."

"Good idea," Bobby Lee smiled. He settled James on his back, and left the room with him.

"Bye-bye!" Gabby giggled.

"Alright you two. You had your kitty song, now it's time for bed," Nell smiled.

"James sing again?" Elena asked.

"Maybe in the morning, when he's awake, and if he's not busy," Nell smiled.

At the same time, Bobby Lee brought James back to his room. "Thanks for your help, James," he said as he laid him on his bed.

"Mmm..." James muttered as Bobby Lee drew a blanket over him.

"I'll take that as a 'you're welcome,'" Bobby Lee smirked, tucking James' dragon Sir Blaze-a-Lot in with him. "Good night, buddy." He gave his shoulder a final pat, and went back to his and Nell's room.