Kristin sighed softly to herself as she bounced Tommy on her hip. The poor boy was exhausted but refused to sleep. None of the usual tricks were working and she'd already checked if it was him not feeling well. Unfortunately it was just one of those days where he decided sleep was his enemy.

It had started last night when Dream's visit with Techno had turned into an impromptu sleep over. Tommy had wanted to stay with the older boys all night and had thrown a fit at bedtime. Even with her and Phil taking turns to show him the others boys were asleep Tommy refused to settle.

Thankfully it hadn't disturbed the boys too much, but she could tell they were more tired than usual. Despite that they had welcomed Tommy back into their games up until he became increasingly irritated.

At this point Tommy didn't have the patience to play with the older boys without making a fuss. Juice and snacks did little to calm him and even now he was growing tired of being held as well. Kristin knew he would eventually end up knocking himself out, but she still wished it would be sooner rather than later.

"Just for a little while, Tommy. It'll make you feel imuch/i better." Kristin tried once more to convince him.

"No!" Tommy shouted with an agitated whine, "No sleep! Don' wanna go sleep!"

The more adamant Tommy was against sleep the more it was obvious he needed it. Kristin sighed again as she ran a hand through Tommy's well tousled hair.

"Are you sure, Tommy? Not even a little sleepy?" She asked gently.

"No Sleepy!" Tommy insisted all the harder.

"What about a 'nap' then. Naps are different then sleeping. We can try that instead." She offered hoping it would be more enticing an idea.

Tommy opened his mouth wide and Kristin prepared for yet another 'no'. However, instead Tommy huffed, closed his mouth and appeared to be thinking it over. Either that or he was fighting off another yawn.

"Naps are much nicer than sleep." Wilbur suddenly advocated from the other side of the living room.

Kristin hadn't noticed him enter the room and honestly had no idea how long he had been there. However, she was grateful for his help in the matter. Tommy tended to be easily convinced by his siblings after all. Especially Wilbur.

Tommy, of course, was looking at his big brother with a tired but curious gaze. Wilbur seemed to take that and run with it because he was nodding quickly as he walked up.

"Naps are super comfy. Much better than sleep. That's why I take them all the time."

At this Tommy's eyes widened slighly.

"Nap time?" He asked, not bothering to add more words than he needed.

Wilbur nodded in response, crouching down so he was almost face to face with Tommy now.

"Yea. I get all snuggled in with Jubilee and hide in my own little blanket pile. No one bothers me and its super nice. I can show you if you want." Wilbur offered happily with a bit extra enthusiasm.

Once more Tommy seemed to be considering it before he turned from Kristin and was giving grabby hands at Wilbur with a whine.

"Show! Show!" He demanded bluntly.

Kristin didn't dare to deny this chance at peace and helped to get Tommy safely into Wilbur's arms.

"Well, we have to use your room because Techno is using ours. But, that's okay. We can just use your blankets and Henry instead." Wilbur explained as the three of them turned to walk down the hall.

"Henry cuddles!" Tommy cheered, though there was still a small angry whine in his voice at the end.

"Yep. Henry cuddles. Maybe you can even share a dream with him if you hug him hard enough." Wilbur continued to chatter, not giving Tommy real time to respond.

When they reached Tommy's room Kristin started to help set up the blanket pile until Tommy very hotly scolded her. She had to keep the smile from her face as Wilbur, by Tommy's own demand, showed him how the pile was supposed to be set up.

It didn't take long for Wilbur to have Tommy tucked into said pile with Henry in his arms looking all the world ready for a nap. However, the tiny tot was still fighting it, demanding Wilbur had to stay with him.

Wilbur, for his part, was all too willing to crawl into the pile with his baby brother and wrap his arms around him. He insisted Tommy was going to be his Jubilee for this nap time which made Tommy as pleased as ever.

Kristin, not wanting to spoil Wilbur's hard work, stepped out of the room to prove the 'no one bothers you' part of the deal.

x-x

It wasn't long before the door to the room could be heard creaking open. Wilbur tiptoed out and gently re-closed it without issue before turning to find his mother.

"He's snoring, and also drooling. But he's not awake now at least." He reported as he gave her a thumbs up.

"I certainly owe you one. I really didn't think he was going to go down." Kristin admitted with a chuckle.

"...Does that mean I can have extra ice cream later?" Wilbur asked with a hopeful lilt to his voice.

Kristin made a show of tilting her head and humming in thought.

"How about, instead of extra ice cream you can pick the flavor we buy next time?"

Wilbur thought about this a moment before nodding his approval.