Snapshot Three
Sleeping Beauty
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It was just a normal, Tuesday night. The moon hung brightly in the sky outside, bathing the room in a soft glow despite the drawn curtains. Riley was at her usual perch at the foot of Emma's bed, almost as though watching to make sure Eric did a good job of tucking Emma in.
Emma, tired out from her usual pre-bedtime tantrum, didn't put up much of a fight as Eric pulled her soft pink blankets around her, before leaning down to kiss her goodnight. Just like always, Eric gently stroked her hair for a moment, before he gave her his usual, "I love you, angel."
It was then that this normal, Tuesday night became a little more unusual.
As Eric turned away from the bed and started to leave, Emma panicked.
"No!" she cried, releasing her blanket only to latch onto Eric's arm. Eric stopped, looking down at his daughter in confusion. She'd never been afraid to go to bed before. Sure, being the endless ball of energy she was, she didn't always particularly enjoy going to bed, but she'd never been afraid.
With a soothing smile, Eric lowered himself to the bed, letting Emma scramble into his arms. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked, rubbing her back.
Emma's eyes were wide. "My closet," she whispered, pointing. She clutched at her blanket, gazing frightfully up at Eric.
Understanding dawned on Eric, and he couldn't suppress a small chuckle. "What's in your closet, angel?"
"Monsters."
"What makes you think there's monsters in your closet?" Eric asked gently.
"I heard them, Daddy." Her bottom lip quivered, and it broke Eric's heart. "They're scary."
Eric grinned, a sudden idea coming to him. "Do you want me to teach you how to scare them away?"
Emma's eyes, if possible, grew even wider in surprise. "You can do that?"
"Of course," Eric said with a chuckle. "Wait here for a second, and I'll go get something."
Emma seemed reluctant, but she allowed him to leave her for a moment. And only a short moment it was; within a couple minutes, Eric was back, a flashlight in his hands. "See this?" he asked, handing it to Emma. "When you turn this on, it shines a special light. And the monsters are afraid of it, and they run away."
"Really?" Emma asked excitedly, staring at the flashlight.
"Uh-huh. Wanna try it? I'll let you be in charge of it," Eric enticed, knowing Emma, like her mother, liked to feel in control; she liked to feel important. Sure enough, Emma nodded, a new determination in her eyes. Eric grinned. "Alright angel, come here." He gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly at his side, her eyes even with his.
Slowly, Eric carried her over to the closed closet, whispering the plan in her ear, only moving forward when he knew that Emma was sure.
"Ready?" he asked, a hand on the doorknob. Emma nodded quickly before hiding her face against Eric's chest. She grasped the flashlight tightly, and Eric had to smile - it appeared as though Emma were steeling herself for this, the same way Calleigh would prepare herself for an unpleasant encounter.
Eric gave her a moment, and sure enough, she looked up again with determination in her dark brown eyes. "Okay," she said, not a tremble in her voice.
Eric held her tighter, giving her a bit more reassurance. "Okay, Em. Here we go." He counted to three, and then quickly pulled the door open, letting Emma shine the flashlight to every dark corner.
He was perfectly content to hold her until Emma gave a firm nod and switched off the flashlight, her resilience yet again reminding him of Calleigh. "They're gone," she declared, despite turning her gaze to Eric for confirmation.
"They are gone," Eric agreed with a smile. "You scared them all away," he added, gently tapping Emma's nose. Emma giggled, happily wrapping her arms around him. "Are you ready for bed now?"
Emma nodded, and Eric carried her back to the bed, ready to tuck her in again, Riley scrutinizing his every move.
"I'm gonna let you keep this right here," Eric said, setting the flashlight down on her bedside table, right next to her Dora clock. "That way, if those monsters ever come back, you and Riley can chase 'em all away again!" As if agreeing, Riley gave a small yip from the foot of the bed.
He reached down, pulling her covers up to tuck her in. "I love you, sweetheart," he said, kissing her goodnight.
But Emma wasn't ready to let him leave yet. Despite her yawns, she called out for him again before he'd made it to the door.
"Will you read me a story?" she asked, all trace of any previous fear gone. Instead, her eyes were bright as she gave Eric her signature puppy dog look, the one he could never resist. "Please?"
For the first time, it dawned on him that maybe Emma knew that Eric couldn't resist that look. Maybe it was what he got for using that look on Calleigh so much. But Eric didn't mind; not at all. "Which one, Emmy?"
Emma thought for a moment before finally settling with, "You pick."
"Okay." Eric stood, crossing the room to the small bookcase in the corner. Generally Emma had one or two stories that she liked to hear over and over again, but tonight, Eric decided to go for something different. "This one looks like a very good story," he commented as he sat down on the side of the bed again. With a giant smile, he opened the book and began reading, much to Emma's delight.
Lost in reading the story, Eric never realized he and Emma weren't alone. His back was to the doorway, his eyes never seeing the visitor who stood there.
She'd been there for about five minutes, and she had no intention of going anywhere. Three years, and Calleigh still hadn't tired of watching Eric with their daughter. He was just so good with her.
Not that she'd ever had any doubt. No, any doubt she had lay squarely with herself, but Calleigh found that even she couldn't linger on that when she had a scene quite like this in front of her. Her husband, perched comfortably on the bed next to their daughter, animatedly reading from the book in his hands, obviously having no clue that he was only reading to himself. Calleigh couldn't help but grin; tucked snugly beneath the soft pink covers, Emma had long since slipped into dreams.
"…and they lived happily ever," Eric closed the book, his eyes finally alighting back to his daughter, taking in her peacefully sleeping form. "After," he finished on a whisper. "And you're asleep."
Calleigh giggled softly from the doorway, startling Eric. "She's been out for a while," she murmured, padding slowly into the room. Silently she crossed to the opposite side of Emma's bed, absently smoothing out the comforter before she sat, gazing across at Eric.
Eric lay the book down on the table, then crossed his arms, feigning indignance. "I'm finding it a little difficult not to feel insulted here," he pouted, eliciting another giggle from Calleigh. Oh, how he loved that sound.
Gently she reached down, stroking Emma's cheek. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I didn't fall asleep," Calleigh teased, her eyes sparkling.
"Just how long were you standing there?" Eric asked, lifting a brow.
Calleigh grinned, giving a nonchalant shrug. "A while…" Her eyes jumped to the bedside table, landing puzzledly on the flashlight. "What's she doing with the flashlight in here?"
Eric grinned. "We had to chase out the monsters with it," he replied, almost giddily.
"Monsters?"
"Yeah," Eric confirmed with a nod. "It was strange, Cal. She's never said anything about monsters before, but tonight," he paused, watching as Emma stirred slightly, "tonight she was convinced they were in her closet."
Calleigh was silent, though as she absently brushed her fingers through Emma's hair, the look in her eyes was one Eric couldn't describe as anything other than simply, perfectly motherly. Seeing that look in her eyes as she gazed at their sleeping daughter was plenty enough to melt Eric's heart on the spot. While she might doubt herself, there was no doubt in Eric's mind - Calleigh was amazing with Emma.
But despite the perfect scene before him, Eric's concern for Emma continued to bubble to the surface. "Do you think something happened at daycare today?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
Calleigh lifted her head, her soft green eyes meeting Eric's troubled gaze. "What do you mean?"
Eric shrugged. "This just bothers me," he explained. "She's been afraid of thunder, of strangers, but tonight was the first night she's ever mentioned monsters, and I just thought maybe one of the other kids at daycare might've said something."
Thoughtfully, Calleigh bit at her lip. "I don't think it's anything to worry about," she said after a moment, shrugging slightly. "I think it's just a normal, childhood fear. My brothers and I all had our irrational fears growing up too, before we learned what we really needed to be afraid of," she added, a distant look in her eyes.
Eric reached across to her, lacing his fingers with the fingers of her free hand. He'd learned very quickly how significant it was for her to divulge anything from her past. It didn't happen often, and most of those times, it simply slipped out. He'd learned to wait it out; sometimes she'd go further, but most of the time she'd do whatever she could to lighten the conversation, to turn it back to its original direction. This time was one of the latter.
"Aaron was always afraid of the dark," she began. "It didn't help much that nighttime was when…well, when things always happened in my house," she said, biting her lip. Gently, Eric squeezed her hand, knowing exactly what "things" Calleigh meant.
A grateful smile touched her lips as she glanced up at Eric. There was no need to explain to him - he already knew. Instead, she continued. "With Michael, it was ghosts, then clowns. And Evan…" at this, a smile appeared again on Calleigh's lips, prompting a questioning smile on Eric's as well. "Evan was afraid of broccoli."
Eric stared. "Wait, broccoli?"
Calleigh nodded quickly, barely holding in a giggle. "Yeah, broccoli. Michael and Aaron thought it would be funny to tell Evan that if he ate the broccoli, it would start growing out of his ears, and then he'd have to go to the doctor and have it cut off with a chainsaw every week because it would keep growing back." She paused, shaking her head in amusement. "Apparently, he took it as literally as possible. Needless to say, Mom never got him to eat his vegetables after that."
"I can imagine not," Eric replied with a laugh. "What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you," Eric clarified, nodding. "What were you afraid of?"
Calleigh tilted her head slightly, shrugging. "I was always a monsters kind of girl too," she admitted. "Except mine were always under the bed." She paused, chuckling. "Thank God I didn't have any older brothers, after what Aaron and Michael did to Evan." She smiled reassuringly across at Eric. "My point is, all kids are afraid of something at some point."
"How do we fix it?" Eric asked quietly, his fingers absently playing with a loose thread on Emma's bedspread.
For a moment he was answered with silence. He lifted his eyes to his wife again, seeing once more that faraway look in her eyes. Without looking at him, Calleigh sighed heavily. "By letting her grow up," she murmured.
Eric was quick to resist that. "I don't want her to grow up."
"Me neither," Calleigh replied softly, squeezing Eric's hand. "Me…" she paused, unable to suppress a yawn, "…neither."
Eric's concern immediately shifted to Calleigh upon seeing her yawn. "You tired?" he asked.
"Just a little," she murmured, smiling softly.
Eric stood, careful not to jar the bed and wake Emma. Quietly he made his way to the other side. "Come on," he said, extending a hand to Calleigh. "Let's get you to bed, too."
Calleigh smiled, hesitating only slightly. With a sigh she leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Emma's hair. "I love you," she murmured, lingering for a moment before finally she stood, taking Eric's outstretched hand. Silently he led her to the doorway, though it was there that Calleigh paused. "Wait."
Eric said nothing. He'd spent enough of his own time simply watching his daughter; he knew that was exactly what Calleigh wanted. Wordlessly he pulled her close, a smile on his lips as his arms snaked around her. He rested his chin atop her head, once more amazed at just how perfectly she fit in his embrace. That never ceased to amaze him.
Happily, Calleigh looped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. She smiled, hearing his heart beat steadily at her ear. Closing her eyes for a moment, she allowed herself to revel in sensation; the feel of Eric's arms around her, the sound of his heartbeat, the knowledge that Emma, their daughter, slept peacefully only footsteps away from them. Their daughter, with her shiny blonde hair and her beautiful, dark brown eyes; her perfect, adorable face that was so determined, so curious during the day, yet so peaceful, so serene as she slept. "She's so beautiful," Calleigh sighed.
Eric hummed his agreement. "Just like you," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.
Calleigh gave a quiet chuckle, her cheeks tinting as she pulled back slightly. Eric gently pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear as he gazed down into her eyes. "It's true," he insisted, prompting even more of an embarrassed smile to creep across her lips. It was adorable and Eric just couldn't resist catching her lips in a soft kiss.
She melted into the kiss, her arms looping around his neck, pulling him closer. "Mm, I love you," she murmured upon breaking the kiss, her warm breath tickling his lips.
"I love you too," Eric replied, kissing her softly once more. "Now let's get you to bed," he added, not missing her yawn. Tenderly he stroked her hair, smiling as she nodded.
Reluctantly, Calleigh pulled out of his arms, turning in the direction of her bedroom. She paused, not feeling Eric behind her. "You coming?"
"In a sec," Eric replied. He lingered in the doorway, watching his sleeping daughter for just a moment more. A smile on his face, he finally turned off the light before heading off to tuck his other angel in.