I said you guys would probably have to wait until at least December 1, but I'm in a good mood, so I'm updating on November 30! : )

Disclaimer: I own Gracie and Devin and that's it.

Parenting, real parenting, is hard.

I mean, it's one thing to take care of a bunch of kids in the middle-childhood stage because you're the best they have. And that is hard, too. But when you're the parent of toddlers, doing your very best to be normal even though you're in hiding in the mountains, things get a lot more complicated.

Like…

"Mommy!"

I groaned and rolled over to face Gracie, standing at the side of my bed with a worried expression on her face. A glance over at the clock told me it was three in the morning. "What is it, honey?"

"I had a bad dream!" she whispered frantically.

"Shh, don't wake Nudge and Angel. What was your dream about?"

"They were coming for us, Mommy!" she said, quieter this time.

I sighed and sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I reached down and picked Gracie up, settling her on my lap. "It was just a dream, honey," I whispered, stroking her hair as she leaned against me. "They're not coming for us. We're safe here."

"It was scary," she whispered.

I stood, bringing her with me. Careful to tiptoe, I crept around Nudge's bed, out of the room, and down the hall. In the kitchen, I placed Gracie on the counter and opened the door to the fridge.

"Do you want some ice cream, sweetie?" I asked her, holding up the carton.

"Sure," she said, but not cheerfully like usual. She was gripping the edge of the counter with both hands, eyes darting every which way, face pale.

With another sigh, I walked over and started smoothing down her messy curls. "I know how you feel," I said. "This house is all big and scary, right?"

"Uh-huh," she mumbled, putting a finger in her mouth.

"Well, you'll get used to it," I said. "Daddy and I won't let anything happen to you or Devin or the others. And in the meantime…" I took the ice cream carton and stuck it under her nose, tickling her stomach with one hand. She scooted away from me, giggling. "Why don't we have some of this?"

"Okay," she said, calmed, and I took down two bowls and made us some ice cream, complete with chocolate syrup on top. Just as we were digging in, a sound from behind us made me whip around, poised to fight. But when I saw where it came from, I realized the noise was a whimper.

Standing in the doorway was Devin. Tear tracks were visible on his soft little cheeks.

"Hey, honey," I said, kneeling down and opening my arms. He rushed into them, and I could hear him gasping in my ear as he cried. I rubbed circles in between his wings, already on guard, trying to decide if there was a connection between Gracie's nightmare and whatever was bothering him.

A moment later, Fang appeared in the doorway, wearing dark plaid pajama pants and a black shirt. "What's going on?"

Looky here, I thought sarcastically. Family rendezvous in the kitchen in the middle of the night.

"Gracie had a bad dream," I told him, standing up with Devin still in my arms. "And I don't know what's wrong with him." I carefully turned his head so he was looking at me and asked, "Did you have a bad dream, too?"

"Yeah," he said weakly, rubbing his eye with his fist. "They, they were chasing me."

"Sounds like Gracie's dream," I murmured, meeting Fang's eyes over Devin's shoulder. He nodded, letting me know he understood my suspicion. Maybe the whitecoats had identical chips put in the twins, and therefore their thoughts traveled to each other. But if there were chips, Jeb wouldn't be freaking out about trying to find them, because it'd be easy. Right?

I went to put Devin on the ground, but his little fist was clutching the strap of my tank top so tightly that I couldn't pry it off.

"Devin, let go," I said gently. He didn't. "Fang…"

Fang moved over, took Devin's fingers in one hand and the strap in the other, and slowly pulled them apart. Then he took him from me and placed him on the counter beside Gracie.

"Here, Devin," I said, handing him my bowl of ice cream. "It's okay. Dreams aren't real. You're fine."

When the kids looked satisfied, digging into their treat, I shivered, feeling a sudden chill in the room-- or maybe it was just me being creeped out.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I moved to stand beside Fang. "There is something totally fishy about them having the same dream at the same time."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Or it could always be because they had the same traumatic experiences at the School, and being in this new place brought out their fears of strange rooms and people."

I bit my lip, still skeptical. "I don't know."

I started to head back over to the kids, but Fang put his hand on my arm. "Hey," he said softly. "Don't worry about it. We'll just keep an eye on them, see what happens."

I inhaled deeply and nodded. "Alright. Stay on guard."

After the kids finished up their ice cream and I dumped the bowls in the sink, I swung Gracie onto one hip and Devin on the other and said, "Time for bed, you two."

As I turned, I saw Fang leaning on the doorframe, watching the three of us carefully. I held Devin out with one arm, and he took him.

"You gonna help me put them to bed?" I asked over my shoulder, already heading down the hallway. Gracie sighed and rested her head on my chest, unusually quiet.

"Yeah."

"Good," I muttered, pushing open the door to the twins' room. The covers on both their beds were sloppily thrown over the sides.

I put Gracie in her bed and Fang put Devin in his, but then he stood back as I kissed both their heads and said, "The dreams weren't real, guys. Don't worry about it. Just get a good nights' sleep, and in the morning we'll go for another flying lesson. Sound good?"

"Yeah," said Devin.

"Uh-huh," murmured Gracie tiredly. I smiled and moved her hair out of her face.

"Good night," I called softly, backing up toward the door. "Sleep tight."

"Wait," Gracie slurred, sitting up with a lot of effort. "Daddy, hug."

My eyes slid over to Fang. To my surprise, he walked right up to her bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. When he pulled away, she lay her head back on the pillow and said, "Love you."

"You too," he told her, and even though he didn't use the actual word, that much was such a big step for the emotionless guy. Every time Gracie said it to him, he just sort of smiled, before now. Every day, he was getting better at this.

I was kind of proud of him.

"Good night," I said one last time. After Fang stepped past me into the hallway, I followed and pulled the door shut behind me.

Just as it was about to close, I heard Devin say, "Good night, Mommy," and my heart soared again, like it seemed to be doing so often when I was around these kids.

Aww. That's so cute.

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