Night Terrors

"Adda!"

"You just put her to bed," Jean complained, nuzzling his head into his wife's shoulder. He sighed softly, trying to think of all the reasons why his daughter would be screaming his name. The last time it was because she thought she lost her blanket, but it was under her the whole time. The second time was because she was thirsty, and she had a glass of water already. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rolled onto his back. "You want me to get this one?"

"Adda!"

This time there was a shriek to her voice that Becky took note of. She sat up rather quickly and brushed her hair behind her ears. She'd spent more time with the child, so she knew her fears. "I got this one."

He couldn't help but notice how wide awake his wife looked. It must have been the time at war, because he never saw her jump out of bed so quickly. She was already off and down the hall before he could protest, sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms folded, a huff escaping his lips. He could barely make out what they were saying through the paper thin walls.

"No, princess, daddy has to sleep, he has appointments in the morning. Mommy can help you, what do you need?"

"Adda."

He snickered sarcastically from his spot on the bed. This was a nightly thing. He'd be busy, she'd want him, Becky would have to track him down. Every single night. Clearly Vanessa was a daddy's girl, but Becky refused to admit that her own daughter loved him more than she did. Before his wife could utter a curse word – as she usually would at inappropriate times – he slipped into his chair and wandered down the hall to his daughter's room.

"Adda!"

"Yeah," He replied tiredly, waiting in the doorway. "What do you need, Nessa?" Removing her thumb from her mouth, she poked it over towards the door in the back corner. He noticed that it was slightly ajar and emitting a light from outside. He sighed and went over to his daughter, running a hand over her head. "It's okay, Nessa. I'll go check for monsters."

Becky barely noticed how swift he was when he stood up from the chair and held onto the wall. Part of her remembered that expression, the stoic one, as if he was fighting off the world. She hadn't seen it in years, but he still remained ever vigilant, checking each crevice and spot where a monster could feasibly fit. She smiled a bit, watching him shift into full soldier, before he thumped back down, closed the door, and went back over to the two of them. "Anything?"

"I'm happy to report there are no monsters," He responded running a hand through his hair. "Nessa, I get the feeling that's still not enough."

The little girl whimpered and took her thumb out of her mouth, poking it down.

Under the bed? He hadn't thought of that one. It should have crossed his mind considering where Lust was hiding when she made him like this. He grumbled and dropped down onto his stomach, peering into the darkness. "I can't see down here."

Becky offered to turn on the light, prompting Vanessa to scream. "No! They hide!"

Offering her pen light from her pocket to him, he went back to work. Shifting objects and rolling things to the side, he couldn't help but comment on the messy bomb that seemed to have detonated under her bed. He'd worry about her cleaning her room later. For now, he was worried about monsters and he didn't see any. Wiggling back out from under the bed, he handed Becky her light back. "All clear."

Somehow, the idea still didn't satisfy the child's determination that there was a monster in her room. He couldn't help it; he understood all too clearly how she felt. Even he got scared in the dark sometimes. It was easy to do. She pushed out her lower lip and started whimpering.

"No, Nessa, no. Don't do that." He reached out his arms for Becky to help him up into his chair. Once that was done, he tugged his daughter into his lap. "Nessa, come on, don't cry. Please don't do that. You know I hate it when you do that."

Becky held up her hand to say something and then lowered it quickly, digging through one of her daughter's drawers for an object. It was a small hair tie with bells on it. She wrapped it a few times around the handle of the door and looked over at Jean. He seemed perplexed by what she was doing so she demonstrated. "If there's anything in here," She opened the door to ring the bells. "It will definitely make noise."

"Good idea, Becky! See, that's why you're the thinker of the group." He rested his chin on Vanessa's head and watched his wife move methodically through the room, searching for anywhere else a monster could hide. "What about under the bed?"

"I was getting to that." This time she left the room and retrieved a spray bottle of water, handing it to him. He twisted it in his hand to read the words Monster Be Gone on the side of it. "Now if anything shows up and scares her, she can use that. It'll get rid of anything. I used to use it as a kid."

He grinned that usual dopey grin and looked down at Vanessa, explaining how it works. "If you see a monster, just grab this and spray it, and poof! Monsters are terrified of this stuff, it's like acid to them."

"Ama!" She held out her tiny hands and groped the air. Becky complied and took the child up into her arms. "Ama chu."

"You're welcome, princess. Daddy's scared of the dark, too, so we have to be extra careful sometimes." Becky didn't address his pathetic whimper; he sounded like he was kicked in the shin. "But if you want to know a secret, daddy's the bravest of all of us. He's actually tussled with the monsters in the dark."

"No! They die?" Vanessa inquired, looking to her father with wide eyes.

He nodded, looking to his wife, glad she didn't get into details. "They did. It used to be my job, to fight off the monsters. Every night I'd check. Now you can sleep sound, okay? If you ever get scared of the monsters, you call me. I'll be here as quick as I can."

"Chu!"

"You're welcome, Nessa. Now will you go to sleep?" He loved his daughter, but he was quite tired from being startled awake. "Please? For daddy? I'll show you how to hunt them in the morning."

"Deal!" Nessa wiggled from her mother's arms, wandering over to her father and tapping his knee. When he bent down to ask what she needed, she kissed his cheek. "Chu Adda."

He gave a half grin as she climbed back into bed. "Goodnight, Nessa."

Back in their bedroom, nestled back where he belonged, he kissed his wife's neck gently. "You just had to tell her."

Becky reached out a hand to lay against his shoulder, smiling a bit to herself. "She needs to understand that even the bravest people in the world have weaknesses. She sees you as this big, tough, macho guy, and she needs to know that you have your weaknesses, too. The sooner she understands that, the quicker she can realize that it's okay to be afraid of the dark." She turned in his arms, kissing his cheek. "And besides, you're the hero of this story, not me. Why are you complaining?"

"I—kind of hoped I wouldn't have to tell her how I ended up like this."

She sighed and touched a hand to his cheek, kissing his lips. "Jean…you're a hero."

"Then why don't I feel like one? I can barely even do half the things she wants her to do. She asked me to dance the other night."

Becky smiled and kissed him again. "You'll get there. We'll work on it. I promise. But she sees you as nothing but normal. She's never known you any other way, so to her – this is her daddy. He might be a little special, but he's hers and she loves him. That's the thing about kids. Their affection is unconditional."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her body and closed his eyes, resting his chin against her head. "God, how did I ever get so lucky to find you."

Using his own expression against him, she closed her eyes. "Dumb luck and a deal with the devil."

"Ain't that the truth."

Idea used with permission from Majin Videl.