Caitlyn is 5, so Halt and Ferris are 8. Also, you cannot tell me that Halt never had pet names for his sister, especially when she was little.
AreiaCannaid: I agree! That would actually have made writing this a bit easier, but... that's the way it is. :D
Halt's eyes slid open when he felt something poke his cheek. He looked up to see a figure cast in shadow above him. He jumped slightly, taken aback and sitting up.
"Holy-!"
"Shhhhh," the small voice chided. Halt forced himself to calm down and get a better look at the figure. Once he had rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and they had adjusted to the dark, he could see that the shadowy figure was only his 5-year-old little sister.
Halt yawned and rubbed his tired eyes again.
"Cait? What are you doing here?" he whispered. He glanced around the room, taking in the darkness and the still-sleeping form of his brother. "It has to be midnight or something."
"I had a bad dream," Caitlyn pouted, clutching her stuffed toy close to her chest. Halt paused for a moment, unsure of what to do.
"Why not go to mother and father?" he eventually asked. Caitlyn shrugged.
"You were closer," she said. Halt closed his eyes in an exasperated way, swallowing a groan. He was tired and not ready to deal with this.
But then, he opened his eyes again. Now he could see tear tracks running down her cheeks. That sent a shot of alarm through him. He held his arms out to her. She didn't even hesitate, climbing on his bed and snuggling up against him, as close as she could manage. Halt wrapped his arms protectively around her.
"What was your dream about, Kitty Cat?" he asked her softly. Now that she was pressed against him, he could feel her trembling. Whatever bad dream she had had, it had really rocked her.
"I dreamed that mommy and daddy were gone," she said, in a tiny voice. Halt started rubbing small circles in her back in the hopes that it would calm her down. It worked a little. "And that you and Fairness were fighting."
Halt had to smile a little bit. She still struggled to say Ferris's name properly. She was trying, he knew, but it was still the most adorable thing.
But then, Halt frowned again. In her nightmare, their parents were missing and he and his brother were at war with each other.
"Why were we fighting, Kitty?" he asked. Caitlyn shrugged against him, burying her head under his chin.
"I don't know," she mumbled. "But you were fighting earlier, weren't you?"
Halt bit his lip. Yes, he and Ferris had been arguing earlier. It wasn't anything major, really, just a dispute over what they should have for lunch. But Caitlyn didn't know that, he realized. She had heard her two big brothers yelling at each other and probably assumed the worst.
"That was a simple disagreement, Cait," Halt explained gently. "We just… had different ideas."
"Then you should have talked about it," Caitlyn said matter-of-factly. "And agreemented on it."
Halt had to try harder than normal to fight down a smile.
"It's just 'agree', sis," he said gently. "And you're right… it would have been better if we just talked about it."
"And then agree?" Caitlyn asked. Halt nodded.
"Yeah… and found a way to agree," he said. Caitlyn was silent for a moment. Halt thought she had fallen asleep.
"So you don't hate each other?"
Halt shook his head immediately.
"No, of course we don't hate each other," he said softly. "We're brothers. We're siblings. And siblings don't hate each other."
"Promise?" Caitlyn asked. She glanced up at Halt with her big, innocent, watery eyes. Halt wiped away a stray tear that was making its way down her face.
"I promise," he said. He smiled reassuringly at her. "And nothing will ever change that."
She smiled at him. Halt shifted so that he was leaning against his headboard, holding Caitlyn close to him while she laid on top of him. After a while, he felt her breathing even out and assumed she was asleep.
He glanced over at Ferris, who was still sleeping peacefully.
We're brothers, Halt thought. And we fight, but there's no hate between us. Ferris is too friendly… he doesn't have the bone to hate.
He rested his head back against the headboard. There was nothing for him to be concerned about, and certainly nothing for Caitlyn to be concerned about.