I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Family Takes the Nightmares Away

Rain pounded heavily against the roof and slashed against the windows. Slivers of white lightning flashed, illuminating the dark bedroom in brief spurts. The intermittent rumblings of thunder caused Stitch to grunt in his sleep. His ears flattened against his head, a subconscious motion to try and block out the sounds of the storm.

It wasn't the particularly vicious clap of thunder that jolted Lilo awake. It was the remnants of her nightmare, clinging to the forefront of her mind in vivid, terrifying detail, that caused her heart to race and sent her eyes darting wildly around the room.

"Not again," she whispered, trying and failing to fight back her tears.

The nightmare she had was a recurring one, and usually she would turn to Stitch for comfort. But this was the fourth time this week and she couldn't bring herself to disturb Stitch's slumber again, even though she knew he wouldn't mind in the slightest.

Lilo hugged her knees and swallowed thickly. The spooky storm made it easy for her mind to dwell on her nightmare. It unfolded before her eyes in full colour; Nani, Stitch, Pleakley, Jumba and her sitting at the kitchen table. They were laughing and joking, eating breakfast together. Nani would always scold her for putting too much sugar on her cereal. Jumba and Pleakley would fight over the last pancake. Stitch would eat the can of whipped cream.

Then the happiness would be interrupted by a dozen large, scary men in black suits storming the house with ray guns. They electrocuted Jumba, Pleakley and Stitch into submission, leaving them as twitching masses on the floor. Nani would try to help them, but one of the men would put her in handcuffs, claiming she was going to be arrested for harbouring extraterrestrial lifeforms.

Lilo would always be stuck in her chair. Unable to help. Unable to speak. Watching as they led her family out the door. Someone would approach her, and tell her that she was going to be placed in foster care, since there was no longer anyone left to take care of her.

The nightmare never went any further than that—she always woke up at the same point.

Lilo whimpered and rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear away the tears. She tried to fall back asleep, cuddling into her pillow, but the fear tightened her chest, made it hard to get in air smoothly. When another clap of thunder seemed to shake the house, Lilo jumped out of bed. She went to the first-floor landing in search for company.

She peered into Nani's room, finding the covers flat against the bed. Her shoulders slumped when she remembered that her sister was having a late date-night with David. Biting down on her bottom lip, she looked over at Jumba and Pleakley's closed door. She hadn't ever gone to them for a nightmare before. She hesitated for a moment, thinking about going to Stitch after all, but knew any slight jostle to his mattress would wake her best friend. Sound he could block out, but not touch.

"But I won't wake Jumba or Pleakley," she told herself. "I'll just slip in really quietly."

She didn't want to talk about her dream. She just wanted the comfort of snuggling with someone she loved, to know that everything was okay and they were still with her, and her mind was just being dumb.

She carefully eased open the wooden door. She was greeted with soft snoring. She tiptoed across the floor and approached the bottom bunk. She tried to crawl over Pleakley without disturbing him, but she lost her balance and her knee dug sharply into his stomach.

Pleakley flailed awake with a small, sleepy, startled yelp. His arm collided with something solid and it was Lilo's surprised cry that spurred him to fumble with his sleeping mask. He ripped it off, catching sight of the small girl splayed out against the hardwood floor, rubbing her head.

"Lilo!" He reached down and grasped the girl by the waist, pulling her back into the bunk. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," mumbled Lilo.

Pleakley scrubbed a hand down his face. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Sorry."

"What are you doing?" Pleakley asked tiredly. "Do you know what time it is?"

"I can't sleep. I had a bad dream."

She ducked her chin and played with Scrump's arms. "Ah," said Pleakley softly. He stifled a yawn and tucked a loose strand of raven hair behind the girl's ear. "Why don't you tell me all about it? Quietly. You know how your Uncle Jumba becomes Mr. Grumpy Pants when his sleep is disturbed."

"But I don't want to talk about it," Lilo whispered. "It only makes me feel worse."

Pleakley tilted his head to the side. "Do you have them often?"

"Um, I've had the same one all week."

"And you didn't tell anyone about them? Not even Nani?"

"Stitch knows I have bad dreams, but I haven't really told him what it's about."

"If you talk about your nightmare, it might help you feel better," Pleakley urged. "Always works for me."

"Well...okay," Lilo agreed hesitantly. "I keep dreaming about bad men coming to take you and everyone else away, 'cause your aliens. And Nani gets arrested 'cause she was letting you live here. I was left alone."

"That is a bad dream," said Pleakley with a nod. "But you don't have to worry. It won't come true."

The seven-year-old looked at him anxiously. "Really?"

"Really."

"But how do you know?"

"Because we have Cobra Bubbles on our side. I don't know anyone more terrifying than Cobra. Do you?"

Lilo thought hard for a minute. "No, I don't think so."

"See? No one will want to mess with us when we have Cobra Bubbles," Pleakley said matter-of-factly.

"But…Cobra is only one agent," said Lilo worriedly. "He can't take on a whole bunch of 'em."

"I think he'd give it a good try. He's always looking out for us, isn't he? He won't let anyone take us away, and we certainly wouldn't go quietly. So long as we have each other, we can take on anything, right?"

Lilo nodded. "Right."

"And we'll help Cobra out by keeping our lips zipped about the whole 'aliens on Earth' thing. Right?"

Lilo mimed zipping her lips shut. "Mm-hmm."

"Good girl." Pleakley ruffled her hair. "How are you feeling now?"

"You're right, I am feeling better." Lilo snuggled close, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Can I sleep with you? Just in case the dream comes back?"

"Sure," said Pleakley, his eye already starting to drift shut. "Good night, Lilo."

"G'night," said Lilo with a yawn, and after a few blinks, she was out like a light.

...

An explosive boom of thunder was not one that could slip under Stitch's enhanced senses. With a moan of annoyance Stitch rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked over at Lilo's bed and grew concerned when he found it empty.

Worried that his best friend had another nightmare, he left the room in search of her. When the elevator touched down on the main floor he immediately noticed Pleakley and Jumba's door ajar. Tilting his head, he scuttled down the hall, his nails clicking against the hardwood floor.

He peered into the room, his night vision already in full function. He found Lilo snuggled against Pleakley, her breathing calm and steady. She was safe and seemed to be at peace, but Stitch didn't want to leave her.

Stitch crawled up the wooden bunk post and slipped in beside the snoring mass that was Jumba. Stitch yawned and curled against his creator, nudging his head beneath Jumba's hand, so that it rested comfortably against him.

From then on, whenever Lilo had a nightmare, she didn't keep it locked up inside her brain. She spewed it out, talking it over with her 'ohana, and drained it of its power.