[Phase 1]

Knocks sound from the other side of Murdoc's closed door. It's at an unholy hour of the night, but she doesn't see any alternatives. 2D has a girl 'round, so Noodle wouldn't dare go near his room; and Russel just hasn't been feeling well at all today, so she doesn't want to disturb him, either. So that leaves Murdoc, and she hopes that the slightly-scary man won't mind if she intrudes. It's only been a week and a half since she first arrived at Kong Studios, and she still hasn't gotten used to the odd noises that sound at night. They don't help with her night terrors, not one bit. So, here she is trembling violently in front of Murdoc's Winnebago and glancing around at every other moment around the car park to check for demons or zombies. Those two should be synonymous, she thinks.

Light floods through the cracks in the door frame suddenly. A second later, the door is slamming open to reveal a sleep-deprived looking man. "What?!" He demands, glaring out at the nothingness at his eye-level. His soulfire eye is flickering as it usually does when Murdoc's mad. He's confused, now, until he hears sniffling coming from lower down towards the floor. He fixes his mismatched pupils on the terrified child. She's very obviously fighting back tears, her trembling only increasing to the point where it seems like it might be painful.

"Uh oh. . What's the matter, little dove?" Murdoc asks, all anger forgotten at being presented with the state of the tiny girl.

"Mu.. U-uh, u-um, noise. . .uh. . ." She can't think of the English words for 'night terror', so the child just wipes at her teary eyes roughly.

Murdoc thinks he feels a tinge of sympathy. He knows that kind of facial expression from.. Well.. Seeing the same expression on his own face after another bloody nightmare about some sort of demon that had come to visit. The actual demon always differed, but the ending was always the same; his bandmates died and he was left alone in the world again. That is one of his only real fears, though he won't really admit it to himself. "Bad dream, eh?" He asks her softly, crouching down to wipe away a tear that is rolling down Noodle's cheek.

"H-hai. . ." The child replies with a sniffle. "Gomen- ah.. Um.. S-sorr-ee.."

Murdoc shakes his head at this. "Come on, then, love." He stands up straight and steps aside, shutting the door once Noodle comes into his Winnie. "There there, don't cry, now. ." He takes her into his arms gently. The child is shaking so much he's almost convinced that she's trying to start her own earthquake. "Alright, love, it's okay, I have you now." His voice is gruff as always, but it's somehow soothing to her.

Noodle buries her face in the crook of his neck, not really understanding his words, but still finding solace in the sound. She breathes in his scent, the smell of too many cigarettes and cheap cologne. She decides that she likes his smell. It's unique.

He's petting her hair with his free hand as he sits on his bed. It's just some sort of instinct, almost like his inability to turn her away when she's like this. "Do you want to talk about it, Noods?" He asks. Murdoc dims the lights a bit from where he sits, he doesn't like it to be so bright in here at night.

Noodle shakes her head no. "Uh.. Scar-ee." Her voice is already a bit steadier, now.

"Yeah, I thought as much." He reclines down on the bed, and she adjusts herself so that she's lying on him with her head rested on his chest. She loves the sound of his heart beating, it's like a bassline pumping life through him.

There's silence for a long moment before Murdoc says, "Well, I'm going to sleep. Did ya want to stay down here a while, pet?" He keeps his voice gentle. "I won't mind too terribly if ya do, I s'pose."

Noodle looks up at him with tired eyes, a grateful smile on her lips. Now that's just not fair, he thinks as he feels a sort of stab in his soul at the sight of that smile. He'll keep the lights on low for her. He supposes it'll probably be easier for her to sleep with them on.

"Mu-doc love." Noodle chirps drowsily, her hand setting on his cheek momentarily. Her words are slurring together, Murdoc realises. He runs a hand through her hair gently, smiling back at her.

"Hush, now, lovely, go to sleep. You're safe." Promises the bassist. He pulls the covers over himself and the child, careful not to disturb her position on his front.

"Mu-doc okay.?"Noodle asks, her eyes still fixed on him. The girl withdrawls her hand from his cheek to rub at her eyes again. There's red rimmed around them, Murdoc notices. "What? Oh, I'm just fine." He replies, adjusting the pillow under his head.

"A ouch." The girl touches her finger to a small cut above Murdoc's right eye lightly. He makes an 'ohh' sound. "It's just from me fuckin' around with me rod." He explains. Noodle knows about his rod, he likes to use it to whack zombies that get too close to him. He carries it around Kong often, and he sometimes even uses it to kill hoards of zombies when he gets angry and 2D isn't around to be his punching bag.

Noodle frowns. "Ow?" She asks. "It ow much?"

"Uh.. What? Oh, y'mean does it hurt?" He wonders, wiping a stray hair from Noodle's forehead. "Nah, not really." He lies. Really, he had had a lump the size of a large coin directly underneath where the cut is for about a week after he had gotten the injury, and it had still been hurting like hell until this morning. Right now it's just a dull throb, easily ignorable.

"Ahh." The girl doesn't seem convinced, but she's too tired to argue with him about it. She does, however, seem determined not to fall asleep just yet. She likes this nice, gentle Murdoc, and doesn't want to stop talking to him, or rather stop listening to him talk. His gruff voice is very soothing to her at the moment, especially now that he isn't currently barking out insults left and right. "So sad, hurt.. Uh.. Hurt Mu-doc sad." She reaches for his other hand, the one that's not stroking through her hair.

He seems surprised by this action, but lets her pull his arm into her own. She then holds onto it as if it's a stuffed animal of some sort, which the man finds a bit amusing. "Hm? I guess, but shite like that happens-" a yawn cuts him off. "-happens quite a lot more than you might think." The man finishes.

"Ohh." Noodle processes this in silence for a moment. "No good." She sighs, now sliding her hand into Murdoc's and squeezing it gently. He squeezes back, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

"Okay, you need to sleep, lovely." He urges again with another chuckle.

"Hm.. Mu-doc, uh, Mu-doc Noodle bed." She giggles.

Murdoc doesn't know how to react to being compared to a bed, but instead pecks the top of the tiny child's head. "Yeah, I am, aren't I?" He replies, shifting her into the cavity between his right arm and his chest. Noodle sighs with contentment, her head rested comfortably on his chest.

"Noodle bed." The girl's eyes are finally closed. She knows it's safe here with her Murdoc and is letting her mind drift off somewhere towards the Cloud of Unknowing.

"Mhm, sleep well, dove." Murdoc says. He doesn't mind the extra weight on his chest at all. He falls back to sleep with the scent of artificial candyfloss and strawberries filling his senses.

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Hello, all. I wrote this little snippet very late at night. Like 04:00 late. I'm sure you all needed more fatherly Murdoc in your lives, no need to thank me. But you should, because it'd make me really fuckin happy. Quite honestly, I was silent-squealing during the whole writing process. Your kindness would most definitely not be lost on me, so be sure to leave a review! I always love to read them, it makes me grin like a bloody madman every time I get one.

Have a good week, okay?!

Until next time,

Liz