Nigel was settling into his room for the night, Father had shown them the guest rooms where they'd be staying because of the sudden rainstorm. Nigel was fluffing up his pillow when Monty peeked into the room. "Nigel?" he asked aloud. "Yeah dad?" Nigel asked as he turned around on the bed, sitting on the edge of the bed with his legs dangling over the side. "I know this wasn't how you planned today to go, neither did I." Monty said as he stepped into the room, quickly glancing behind him before closing the door behind him. Monty walked over and sat down on the bed next to Nigel.
"I also know that things between you and your uncle have been quite..." Monty paused for a moment to find the right words. "...strained between you two. But things are going to change, I want you and Ben to have a better relationship, I want you to have a better relationship with your cousins. All I want is for everyone to be one big happy family." Monty paused again, he put his arm around Nigel's shoulder. Can you do something for me, son?" Monty asked, "Sure dad, what is it?" Nigel asked back. "I want you to try and understand Ben, and I'll tell you the same thing I just told him. It doesn't mean you have to like eachother or agree with each other all the time. I just want you two to try and reach some kind of middle ground. Can you try and do that for me Nigel old bean?" Monty asked. "I'll try my very best dad." Nigel said, "You trying your best is all I need you to do. Good night." Monty said before he gave Nigel a quick kiss on the forehead before getting off the bed and leaving the room. "I'll try and understand him. But I don't know if I can, we're so different after all." Nigel thought to himself once his dad had left the room.
It was 1:32 am in The Delightful Manor on a Saturday, everyone was sleeping soundly in their beds as heavy raindrops drummed out their songs outside and the moonlight hovered in the air. The Delightful Children were fast asleep in their bed, Benedict "Father" Uno was asleep in his bedroom and Nigel "Numbah 1" Uno and his dad Monty Uno were sleeping in separate guest bedrooms. But not all was peaceful in the manor, Benedict was having a nightmare. Benedict was tossing and turning in his bed, his face scrunched up into a mix of panic and dread and his fists clenching and un-clenching at random. Beads of cold sweat sprinted down his brow and his breath was becoming more gasping and frantic. Through the frantic gasps, words were blurted out unconsciously. "No...no...stay away. I'm...sorry, please I'm sorry! "No...no...no..." Benedict rasped in his sleep, the terror in his head becoming more and more unbearable by the second.
Nigel was having trouble sleeping tonight. Normally he was a sound sleeper but tonight he was plauged by restlessness. He would wake up and go back to sleep, only to randomly wake up a few hours later. His body wanted to sleep but his mind couldn't settled down, although for now he seemed to be winning the battle as he was close to drifting off to sleep. In his pyjamas, a black shirt sleeved sleep shirt, pink fuzzy sleep pants that went down to his ankles and white socks and hugging his sky blue Rainbow Monkey, this night looked like it was going suprisingly well.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Right as he drifted off to sleep, an ear piercing, blood curdling, terrifying scream shot through the tranquil night air like a bullet. Nigel threw himself up in bed like a bolt of lightning, now wide awake as he came to a horrifying realization that it wasn't just any scream he'd just heard.
That was Benedict who was just screaming.
Nigel tossed the covers off and scrambled out of bed, stopping for a spilt second to grab his signature sunglasses off the nightable and throw them on his face. He nearly tripped over his own two feet as he rushed out of the room, sprinting down the hallway as fast as his legs could go, a million thoughts running through his head all at once. Was Benedict being attacked? Was he injured? What could possibly compell him to scream like that? Nigel didn't know the answer to any of these questions and the fear of the unknown wasn't helping the current situation at all. Nigel turned a corner and saw a feeble light at one of the doors on the left of the hallway, he ran towards that with a hope for answers.
"Hey! What's going..." Nigel started to ask as he reached the doorway, his voice trailing off as his ears were suddenly hit with the sound of frantic gasping as he skidded into the doorway. From the doorway he could see the light he'd been chasing was Benedict's bedside lamp. Benedict himself was on his hands and knees in a crumple on the floor next to his bed, the covers of the bed halfway hanging off the edge of the bed. His shadow suit was gone, dressed in a beige sleep sweater, grey fuzzy sleep pants and yellow fuzzy slippers with a fuzzy pink and yellow bathrobe overtop. His pipe and glasses were resting on his bedside table. Benedict looked nothing short of terrified, his face was drained of colour, his eyes were wide with fear and glowing a dim yellow with tears brimming at his eyes and falling down his face like a waterfall. His whole body was racked with scared trembling that he was unable to stop. Benedict was gasping for air as if he couldn't breathe through tightly clenched teeth, frantic quick shaky gasps mixed with soft hiccups and whimpers.
The Delightful Children were standing at Father's side behind him, all of them were wearing long sleeved sleep shirts and sleep pants and socks, the pyjamas were indentical except for the colour. The three boys were wearing a light blue and Lenny had taken off his red football helmet while the two girls wore a light red and Ashley wasn't wearing her signature bow. Their tiny hands collected on their father's shaking back, trying to console him to no avail. They looked ready to cry themselves. "Father, it's okay! It was just a nightmare, it wasn't real! Please calm down!" The Delightful Children's pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears as Father didn't even look up at them, his frantic gasps slowly starting to break down into sobs. Nigel was worried he'd hyperventilate from not getting enough oxygen. He wanted to help but what could be do? If the Delightful Children, the ones he probably spent most of his time with and the ones who knew him best outside of his family weren't able to calm him down then what chance did he have?
"Ben! I heard you scream, what-" Monty suddenly ran up next to Nigel, dressing in a white long sleeved fuzzy sleep sweater, brown sleep shorts and navy green slippers. Monty was nearly shouting and his voice was laced with worry as he ran up to the doorway. Monty stopped at the doorway as well when he saw what was happening. Monty wordlessly stepped past Nigel and into the room. "Kids, move aside. I'll take care of this now." Monty said to the Delightful's, his voice soft and calm. The Delightful's hesitantly stepped aside and over to the doorway. "Is this normal for you guys or what?" Nigel whispered to the Delightful's, they were now standing next to him in the doorway. "No! Father's had nightmares in the past but they've never been this bad before." The Delightful's whispered back, suddenly getting defensive over the condition of their father. Nigel couldn't help but feel pity for the Delightful Children, David was holding the group together in a hug while Ashley and Lenny cradled Bruce and Constance in the middle of the group. The defensive spark Nigel had witnessed just seconds earlier had been dowused into nothing as fear and sadness was etched on their faces, Nigel even saw a glimpse of tears in Bruce's eyes.
Monty stepped over to Benedict and got down on one knee, putting a gentle hand on his baby brother's shoulder. "Ben?" Monty asked softly, Benedict looked up at Monty and pulled his trembling frame to his knees using his bedside for support, no longer gasping but softly sobbing. Benedict's tear filled eyes were brimming with a terror that Monty hadn't seen since they were children. "Monty, it was-it was him. It was Pappy. It was dark and suffocating, I couldn't move an inch. He was terrifyingly angry. He tried to kill me, he pushed me down and tried to drown me in the inky blackness! It felt so real and I got so scared! I just couldn't...I'm sorry..." Benedict whimpered, wiping tears from his eyes but fresh tears replacing them instantly, looking away from his older brother in shame. Monty reached over and gently pulled Benedict into a tight hug, gently shushing him and rubbing soothing circles on his back as Benedict collapsed into Monty's arms, throwing his arms around his brother's neck and sobbing into his shoulder, getting the sleeve of his brothers sleep shirt wet with tears.
"He can get scared? Adults can get scared? I thought adults weren't afraid of anything, especially Father." Nigel thought, staring off into space as his mind was weighed down with this new revelation. He was snapped back to reality when the Delightful Children spoke up. "Uncle Monty? Will Father be alright?" They asked, their voices synchronized but barley audible and shaky with with worry. Father let out a sharp, soft sigh and pulled his head away from Monty's embrace, wiping tears from his eyes with the palm of his hand. "I'm fine children, really I am. Go back to bed and rest. No need to stay here and worry yourselves over me." Benedict's voice was suprisingly quiet and feeble, his frame still trembling but now it was barley noticeable. "Yes Father..." The Delightful Children pouted, still clinging to each other as they wearily trudged back towards their room. Benedict's dimly glowing golden eyes then drifted to his nephew, "You too Nigel. Go back to bed, you need sleep as well. I assure you, I'm fine." As much as Nigel wanted to stay with his uncle and help, he also didn't want to argue with him in the state he was in. "Okay..." Nigel muttered, he hiked away from the doorway but he didn't go towards his temporary bedroom but in the direction of the Delightful Children. Nigel caught the five children just as they were about to go into their bedroom. "Psst! Hey Delightful's!" Nigel whispered, breaking into a clumsy run, he hesitated for a spilt second before he put a gentle hand on David's right shoulder. "Yes?" They asked softly. "I'm sure Ben is going to be fine. He's just as stubborn as he is powerful. My dad won't let anything bad happen to him, anyway." Nigel said, trying to be reassuring. Nigel's efforts earned a small smile from his adoptive cousins, "For once, we hope your right. Goodnight Nigel." They said before turning and entering their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Nigel turned and started to trek back to his own bedroom, it was time for bed.
"Are you sure you're alright? Can you stand on your own?" Monty asked. "Yeah, I can stand now Monts, the trembles have stopped and I'm able to breathe normally now." Benedict said, pulling himself away from Monty's embrace and standing upright. "Alright. Can I get you anything?" Monty asked. " Pills. I'll probably need some pills." Benedict mumbled, "What kind of pills do you need?" Monty asked. "Sleeping pills, over the counter stuff. I only take them rarely, like when I need to settle down after drinking coffee after an all nighter, I've never had to use them for a nightmare before." Benedict explained, "Alright then, you stay here and I'll get them for you. What do they look like?" Monty inquired. "Uh, small white bottle with a purple bottle. It's in the upstairs bathroom in the mirror cabinet on the bottom shelf in the middle. I take it with water." Benedict replied sheepishly. "Okay, I'll be right back." Monty said in his usual confidant way before he left the room, leaving Benedict sitting on his bed alone.
After about a minute Monty returned with a glass of water and the bottle of sleeping pills his little brother had described. After Benedict took the sleeping pills, Monty could see that something was troubling his younger brother. "Ben? What's the matter, is the nightmare still bothering you?" Monty asked. "No, it's not the nightmare. It's just that...it's that nothing you did wrong but I feel so weak that you still have to dote on me. It's so childish, i should be able to handle it all on my own but I can't. I'm sorry for the trouble, you should probably go to bed now." Benedict explained. Monty gave Benedict a tight hug in response, "Ben, don't think like that. That's not true at all. There's nothing wrong or childish with needing a bit of help or not being able to handle everything on your own all the time. You're my brother, I'll always help you out, you have nothing to be ashamed of or apologize for." Monty said, wiping tears away from Benedict's eyes.
"Thanks Monty, I needed that." Benedict said, a yawn escaping him. "I take it those sleeping pills are kicking in?" Monty asked, "Yeah...goodnight Monty." Benedict said, drowsiness starting to wash over him like waves on a beach. "Goodnight Ben, see you in the morning." Monty said before leaving the room and letting his little brother get some shut-eye, retreating to his guest bedrooms for some sleep himself.