Sleepless Nights

Based on the characters of Looney Tunes and Animaniacs, which are the property of Warner Bros.

This work was inspired by SammyHeroes1's Hey, Doc! Look What I Found! on the Archive of Our Own website. It is recommended that viewers should read that story first before reading this one.

It was the middle of the night at Bugs Bunny's burrow, and all throughout the underground residence, the occupants slept soundly… except for one.

Bugs had woken up in a sweat, breathing heavily, and his heart racing faster than a locomotive. He swiveled his head for a moment, slightly relieved to find himself in the safety of his modest bedroom, before jumping out of bed. He rushed out of his bedroom as quietly as he could, slowing only when he was a few feet from the guest bedroom.

Upon reaching the door, Bugs halted and held one of his long ears to the door's surface, trying to listen for anything on the other side. When he couldn't hear anything, he grasped the doorknob and gently pushed the door open enough to stick his head inside. Heart racing, he stuck his head through the crack and looked towards the single, queen-sized bed that occupied the space.

To his relief, his three kids—Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner—were resting peacefully under the covers. As his heart began to slow down, he took a moment to observe his kids, watching as their small chests rose up and down and noticing the peaceful looks on their cute little faces. Lucky kids, the rabbit thought to himself, relieved and slightly jealous, wishing he was like them right now.

After closing the door, Bugs made his way towards the kitchen, pouring himself a small glass of water from the sink. As he sipped, Bugs leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed. Feeling a slight headache forming, he rubbed his forehead, careful of the bandages wrapped around his head.

As his fingers felt the clothed surface of the bandages, Bugs felt a shiver go up his spine. Although temporary, they served as a reminder of how he almost lost his kids to those greedy, wannabe animators after they kidnapped them last week with the intent of using them for profit. If it weren't for his kids being brilliant and their friends helping, who knows what would've happened to them.

But I can imagine, Bugs thought grimly, recalling his nightmare, which involved his kids being completely redesigned to the point that they were empty shells of themselves and forced to perform. He remembered vividly trying to rescue them in the dream, only to be tied up to a chair and made to watch them be miserable by a demonic, red-eyed version of Plotz, who took pure delight in the rabbit's torture and having to no longer deal with the kids.

"Hands down, the worst one I've had," the rabbit muttered.

Ever since the attempted kidnapping of the Warners, it seemed like every night, the rabbit had been plagued with nightmares of a similar nature. At first, he tried to deal with them on his own, but when they began to cause him to lose sleep, he enlisted the help of the company's toon psychiatrist, Dr. Otto "Scratchy" Scratchansniff. Unfortunately, Scratchy wasn't much help.

"The problem here, Mr. Bunny, is that your nightmares stem from the traumatic experiences that you had earlier—specifically fear. You feared for the safety and well-being of the children, which is understandable, especially after you stated that they planned on completely redesigning them to the police." Dr. Scratchansniff explained to him. "However, even though the kids are now safe, and those criminals were apprehended, the fear that you felt then still remains and is what is causing you to be having these nightmares. Unfortunately, removing that fear will be difficult."

Oh, how right the old doctor was. After hearing his options from the studio psychiatrist, Bugs decided to try some self-help therapy methods that, according to Scratchy, have proven helpful for people who have experienced trauma, particularly soldiers with PTSD. However, the toon psychiatrist also mentioned that while these methods would help, it would take time before the rabbit could see the results of his therapy—something Bugs was not happy about.

Still, it beats having to take sleeping medication, the rabbit thought.

As he started to take another sip of water, he was startled when the kitchen lights suddenly came on. As his eyes quickly adjusted to the sudden brightness, he turned to find Yakko, Wakko, and Dot standing next to the light switch, their colored blankets draped around their small frames.

As his younger siblings rubbed their eyes from the sudden glare of the lights, Yakko looked towards the toon rabbit with a confused look. "Bugs?"

Hearing his eldest kid's voice snapped Bugs from his shock. "Yakko? Wh-What are you kids doing up this late?" he asked before shaking his head. "You three should be in bed."

"Yeah, we know," Dot muttered sleepily, pulling her pink blanket tighter around her body.

"But we heard you as you closed the door to our room and wondered why you were up so late," Yakko stated, shifting the green blanket to sit comfortably on his shoulders.

"Yeah, we were worried about you," Wakko said, concern shining in his eyes as he held onto his grey blanket.

Bugs couldn't help but feel a mixture of love and guilt course through his body. He hadn't meant to wake them up and didn't mean to worry them. "I'm alright, kids." He tried to reassure them.

Unfortunately, his efforts were anything but reassuring, as they gave him a look before crossing their arms. "Yeah, that might work on some toons—" Yakko said.

"But we know better," Dot stated firmly before critically looking at Bugs. "Especially when it's clear that you haven't been sleeping well. Just look at those dark bags under your eyes. They're ruining your bunny-adorableness."

Rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, Bugs sighed before looking at his kids. He couldn't lie to them. "I…I've been having a rough couple of nights."

"Nightmares?" Yakko inquired.

Bugs blinked before looking at the kid. "Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"Oh, it wasn't a guess," Yakko corrected the rabbit.

"Yeah, we heard Daffy and Porky talking about you having nightmares yesterday when Granny dropped us off at the set," Wakko said.

Bugs grumbled at Wakko's words. He had told those two not to mention his nightmares to his kids. It had been a harrowing experience for both him and the kids, especially when they thought that he was dead after one of the kidnappers whacked him in the head with a baseball bat, hence the bandage around his head. He figured they didn't need any more reminders about the experience, and he especially didn't want them to worry about him.

But, oh, no, those two nincompoops couldn't help but blab about my nightmares out in the open, where everyone—including my kids—could hear them! Bugs thought to himself.

As he was mentally debating what to do the next time he saw his friends, the toon rabbit didn't see Dot walk up to him. He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt her wrap her hand around his. "C'mon, Bugs, let's get you back to bed," she said before pulling him out of the kitchen.

Knowing that it would've been futile to resist Dot's grip—the girl's toon strength was something he, her brothers, and everyone who knew her had come to fear and admire—and that his kids were worried about him, Bugs allowed her and her brothers to lead him back to his bedroom. Upon entering the room, Yakko and Wakko fluffed the sheets and his pillows before Dot led him to the bed and released his hand. After laying down, Bugs smiled as the three children grabbed his blanket and gently pulled it over him.

"There you go," Dot said, giving the rabbit a quick once-over. "Comfy?"

"Very," Bugs replied. "Though I gotta be honest with you kids, I doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep, even with your help."

His kids looked at him with concern. "Your nightmares are really that bad?" Yakko asked.

Bugs nodded his head sadly, his ears drooping a bit. "Yeah. Over the past week, they've been keeping me up. I've been tryin' some self-help stuff that Scratchy taught me to help me sleep, but unfortunately, they take a while to work."

Scratching his head, Wakko looked at the rabbit with a curious expression. "What kind of nightmares?"

The middle Warner's words caught the rabbit off guard. Casting his eyes away from his kids, Bugs struggles to answer Wakko's question. What could he say without worrying them or potentially giving them nightmares?

Unfortunately for him, though, each of his kids was very bright, especially Yakko. The moment the eldest Warner caught Bugs' eyes moving and how quiet he became at his brother's inquiry, it took him seconds to realize the meaning behind both. "It's us."

"Huh?" Both Dot and Wakko looked towards their eldest sibling with confused expressions.

However, Yakko focused primarily on Bugs, whose eyes widened upon hearing his kid's words. "Your nightmares have to do with us, don't they?" Yakko then shook his head as another thought came to him. "Or, rather, what almost happened to us after those three jokers kidnapped us?"

Staring at the kid for a few seconds, Bugs reluctantly nodded before releasing a small sigh. "I can't lie to you kids," he said. "After those three maroons came and…well, you know…"

"Beaned you on the head before tossing us in a sack like a bunch of kittens," Dot stated. She cringed when she noticed Bugs' ears drooping lower and his face fall; she could almost see the images her words created within the rabbit's mind. "Sorry, I mean—"

"No, it's alright, doc," Bugs gently reassured her before looking at all three Warners. "Anyway, I had a dream about what might've happened had those three succeeded before Porky and Daffy found me. And, since then, it hasn't gone away; if anything, like tonight, the dream gets worse, and I can't seem to go back to sleep afterward." The elder toon shook his head and sighed. "I'm a real mess, kids."

Seeing Bugs so down struck the children's hearts, and before Bugs could blink, all three wrapped him in a gentle hug. Wrapping his arms around the kids, Bugs gently returned the hug and let himself be swept away momentarily by the warm feelings he felt from their embrace.

Eventually, the kids released the rabbit from their hold and looked him in the eyes. "It's alright, Bugs." Dot kindly said.

"Yeah," Wakko assured him in a similar tone. "We've all had nightmares."

"So don't think for one second that you're a mess, doc," Yakko added, his kind-hearted smile widening when he saw Bugs smile at the use of his catchphrase.

Lightly chuckling, Bugs looked at his three kids with gratitude. "What did I ever do to deserve you kids in my life?"

"We ask ourselves the same thing about you," Yakko joked, shrugging his shoulders. "But we're not complaining."

Bugs smiled before exhaling a small sigh, which caught the children's attention. "I really appreciate what you kids are doing. I really do," he said, looking them in the eyes. "But I'm still not sure if I'll be able to go back to sleep."

As the three kids looked at the elder toon with concern, an idea suddenly flashed through Dot's mind. "Would you feel better if we slept with you the rest of the night?" she asked.

Surprised by the young toon girl's words, Bugs looked at his kids' expressions and noticed that all three held serious expressions—or, at least, as serious as their young faces could make them—with their black eyes showing genuine love and concern for his well-being. Seeing this almost brought small tears to his eyes and caused a warm feeling in his chest.

"Yes," he answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

With small smiles, the three Warners began crawling on his bed until Yakko and Wakko were curled up on his sides, and Dot gently laid atop his chest. Wrapping his arms around them, Bugs gave the two boys a small, affectionate squeeze before lightly nuzzling his nose on Dot's forehead, electing a giggle from the child. It took a few minutes, but all three children soon fell asleep. Bugs just laid there for a moment, silently watching his kids.

Before he rescued them from the water tower, he never thought he would have kids. Oh, sure, he was good with children—human or toon—but he never once considered what having little ones of his own might feel like. However, the Warners had changed all of that. They slowly wiggled their way into his heart, and now he couldn't imagine life without them. They were his kids, and he would do everything he could to keep them happy, healthy, and, most importantly, safe.

As those thoughts filled Bugs' mind, he found his eyelids beginning to close, and before he realized it, he was fast asleep.

When Bugs didn't show up that morning for work, Porky and Daffy tried contacting Granny to see if he was running late dropping his kids off with her. When she said she hadn't seen him or the Warners that morning, the duo immediately drove to his burrow to check on them. Using the hidden spare key, the two toons entered the rabbit's home and immediately looked for any sign of Bugs or the kids.

Upon reaching Bugs' bedroom, as Porky slowly opened the door, the pair saw a sight that warmed their hearts and put a small smile on their faces. Laying in his bed, the three Warner siblings were cuddled up against the rabbit, with small smiles on their faces and arms wrapped around the thin toon's frame. As for Bugs, the rabbit had a content look on his face, his arms wrapped around the children in a gentle embrace, and for the first time in days, looked as if he had slept through the whole night.

Seeing the peaceful look on the sleeping occupants' faces, the duo decided to leave them be and cover for Bugs when they returned to the studio. Plotz will probably be unhappy with them when he finds out, but Porky and Daffy agree that after everything the past week, Bugs had more than earned the opportunity to sleep in with his kids. They silently closed the door, leaving Bugs and his kids alone and in peaceful sleep.

Hey everyone:

So, first of all, today's entry is very special since today's my birthday! Happy birthday to me! I'm now another year older, wiser, and closer to getting gray hairs-hopefully, not until I'm at least 50, though. ;)

Here's the next part of my Toon Family Matters, Maniacs, & Hijinks series. I hope you all like it. I'm not really good at short stories, but I feel that I did well on this one.

While on the subject of my series, after some thinking about it, I'm debating on whether or not I should try and rewrite my last entry, How the Cast Met-or at least the first chapter, featuring Skippy and Slappy Squirrel. While I'm very proud of the work that I do, I'll admit, rereading it...I don't know; maybe I could've done better. In any case, if you guys and gals think I should or have any advice for me, please, I'm all ears...and nose, and mouth, and other body parts!