Late Nights

Loud shrieks bit through the peaceful night in a little home on the outskirts of Lewistown, Montana. Lina moaned softly into her pillow as the shrieking broke past her dreams and pulled her from her sleep. She let out a long, tired yawn and slowly turned in her bed, eyes landing onto Nathaniel. The little boy was curled up against her side, fingers wrapped in the fabric of her shirt as he snored softly. Lina chuckled quietly and carefully peeled Nathaniel's fingers away. The baby angel whimpered in his sleep and Lina shushed him softly, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead as she replaced her warm body with her pillow. Nathaniel's whimpers turned to soft hums and Lina took that as her cue to move.

She pushed out of her bed silently and made her way out of her room and down the hall to Leo's nursery. Leo was in the center of his crib when she reached him. His arms and legs were flailing and reaching and his face was a bright red streaked with fat tears.

"Hey, hush, Leo, hush," Lina whispered while reaching into the crib and pulling her son into her arms. Leo sobbed loudly into Lina's shoulder and his mother bobbed him gently. "It's alright, honey," she cooed. "Mommy's here." She checked Leo's diaper, finding that he wasn't wet. She started to carry Leo to the door, but Leo's crying stopped before she got there. Lina frowned and glanced down at the baby in her arms, finding her son occupied with staring at her with his big brown eyes. "Well," Lina huffed. "What's this all about?" The baby cooed in answer and held up his pudgy arms, grabbing at the wiry strands of hair that fell from Lina's messy bun. "Oh, I see," Lina hummed. "You were missing me, huh?" Leo cooed again and Lina chuckled before pressing a kiss to his head. "You know…if you slept for 4 more hours you would have gotten to see me just the same."

With her foot, Lina pushed open the nursery door and started for the kitchen. She hunted down a bottle and got started on warming up some milk for Leo so she could hopefully get him back to sleep so she could go back to the comfort of her bed. Leo was talkative while Lina worked. He let out several jumbled sounds and coos, reminding Lina of a pet parakeet she once had as a kid. Its name was Ritz and it filled her bedroom with an endless stream of chatter that she couldn't understand just like her baby boy did now.

"Lina?"

A gasp broke past Lina's lips and she turned, startled by the sudden voice. Her eyes turned to the shadows of the hallway outside of the kitchen and her heart calmed as Nathaniel stumbled in with his wings wrapped tight around himself. The green and gold of his wings glinted softly in the dim light hanging above Lina's head, almost making it look like he was a glistening angel Lina used to see on church windows.

"Nathaniel, you scared me," Lina sighed.

"I'm sorry," Nathaniel whispered, rubbing his eye with a tiny fist. It was then that Lina noticed that he still had her pillow clutched tight to his chest.

"Hey, it's okay," Lina reassured. She looked to the angel's wings, taking in how tight they were pressed to his back. "Are you okay?"

"No," Nathaniel whimpered. His eyes flickered to Lina then and he clutched the pillow in his arms tighter. "You was gones." Lina's eyes widened then.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Lina started. "Leo was hungry so I had to get up." Nathaniel nodded and slowly pattered into the room. "You don't like being by yourself?" Nathaniel shook his head. "Were you ever by yourself before?" Lina knew she was being nosey now, but she wanted to know more about her winged little boy.

"No alone," Nathaniel muttered softly, looking up at her with big blue eyes. "Brothers…sisters…"

"You had siblings?" Lina gaped. Nathaniel nodded and Lina asked how many.

"Lots," Nathaniel answered. He looked upward then and something sad crossed over his face then. "Can't hear thems. All gone."

Lina wasn't sure how she was supposed to interpret that so she quickly brushed off the statement and went back to finishing Leo's bottle. When she finished she popped the bottle into Leo's mouth and took a seat in the nearest chair. She waved at Nathaniel to come over then and the little angel pattered over. Lina helped him onto her lap with a few awkward movements and tipped Leo a little so Nathaniel could see the content little baby.

"Your siblings aren't all gone, Nathaniel," Lina urged. "You've got Leo." Nathaniel reached out a hand, taking Leo's hand like he had when he first met the baby. Leo uncurled his hand and then fisted Nathaniel's fingers. Nathaniel grinned.

"He strong," Nathaniel commented. He looked to the bottle then and his own belly growled.

"Guess you could go for an early morning snack too, huh?" Lina chuckled. Nathaniel nodded and Lina shifted until Nathaniel was back on the floor and Leo was in the crook of her arm with his bottle in hand. She rose from her chair and nodded at Nathaniel to climb onto it. The angel did as he was told and climbed up. Lina gave him Leo then and showed Nathaniel how to hold the baby bottle. "Got him?" she asked. Nathaniel nodded in answer and Lina stepped back and turned towards the fridge. She pulled out the milk and then moved to the cupboard, pulling out a jar of honey and cinnamon.

"What making?" Nathaniel questioned, glancing up at her from Leo's pudgy face.

Lina fiddled around in a cupboard for a few moments, letting out a cheer of triumph when she found her best sauce pan. She tossed it up onto the oven and twirled around, giving Nathaniel one of her biggest smiles.

"Ever try milk and honey before?" she questioned.

"No?" Nathaniel said— a question in his voice.

"Well, you're going to today," Lina hummed before turning around and starting on a fresh batch of milk and honey— a soothing nighttime drink her mother used to make after a night of bad dreams.

Nathaniel watched her from his chair, eyes flicking back and forth between her working hands and Leo's slowly emptying bottle. By the time Lina had finished making them both a cup of homemade milk and honey Leo had emptied his bottle and fallen asleep in Nathaniel's arms. Lina walked over to her son and angel, setting the mugs down on the table before reaching for Leo.

"He heavy," Nathaniel stated, shaking out his tired arms. Lina laughed.

"Just wait until he grows up to be your size." Lina placed Leo on her chest then so his head rested on her shoulder so his soft snores puffed against her neck. She picked up a mug then, handing it over to Nathaniel before taking her own from the table.

Together they sipped the warm liquid and Nathaniel let out a pleased hum.

"Nice," he said before taking another slurp.

"Mmm, yeah. Hit's the spot, doesn't it?" Lina moaned as she nursed at her own drink. "Want to watch a movie while we drink?" Nathaniel nodded and Lina set down her drink again, excusing herself from the kitchen for a moment to put a sleeping Leo back in his crib. On returning, Lina picked Nathaniel up into her arms while he still clung to his mug. Lina picked up her own drink then with her free hand and together the two made their way back to Lina's room.

They set their mugs down on the nightstand and Lina turned on the TV, searching through the list of movies saved on her DVR. She stopped on Studio Ghibli's Totoro and clicked it before heading back to bed. She crawled under the thick covers, pulling Nathaniel under with her. When they were both snug as bugs Lina grabbed their drinks and the two sipped silently as the opening credits of their movie played.

Sleep took them quickly, the warm drink of milk and honey doing fast work on their tired bodies. Cuddled together, Nathaniel and Lina slept soundly until the soft cries of baby Leo woke them again from the other room only a few hours later.