Title: Hairy Scary Monster

Genre: Hurt/comfort/family

Rating: T

"Mama!"

A childish shriek suddenly pierces the air and shatters the near-silence of the evening, the only other sound in the apartment coming from right there in the bed; Olivia's muffled moans and low whimpers signaling an impending release as Amanda's head bobs between her spread legs underneath the covers.

The clock is ticking steadily towards midnight and the kids had gone to bed hours ago, Frannie's furry body stretched out across the couch in the living room while she snoozes, and Amanda had finally been granted some much-needed alone time with her girlfriend. After sharing a bottle of wine and a bubble bath, they have spent the last while making love in various spots around their bedroom, unable to make it onto the mattress for the first round and ending up sprawled across the floor in the heat of the moment.

Instead of relaxing them, their joint bubble bath had gotten both women worked up into a frenzy of lust and passion, unable to keep their hands off of one another either in the tub or in the bedroom when they had chased each other from the bathroom soaking wet and wrapped in towels, intending on locating some pajamas. That has yet to happen, as Amanda and Olivia have remained in the nude for the duration of the evening after finally making it onto the bed to continue trying to satiate their voracious sexual appetites, Amanda's head poking out from beneath the blankets and resting her chin on the older woman's abdomen when Noah calls out from his bedroom again.

"Damn it," she mutters as she tries to catch her breath, her arms folded across Olivia's sweaty thighs and watching the rise and fall of voluptuous breasts as the lieutenant does the same, swiftly coming down from the peak she had nearly reached. "We better get in there to make sure he's okay and before he wakes up Jesse."

"He's probably dreaming about the monster again," Olivia sighs with what sounds like a mixture of frustration and concern. "We never should have let them watch that stupid show TV last week. This is happening almost every night now."

"Liv, it was just a children's cartoon and the monster was meant to be a funny, endearing character," Amanda soothes gently, placing a tender kiss on Olivia's belly button and swiping an arm across her moist forehead to remove damp strands of mussed hair that are obscuring her vision. "We didn't know it would have this impact on him. And Jesse has been fine. You never know how kids are going to react to certain things."

"I just feel so guilty," Olivia murmurs in regret as they scramble out of bed to quickly yank on the pajamas they had worn the previous night. "I hate that he feels so scared at bedtime now. I don't want him to be afraid to sleep."

"It's okay, honey, we're gonna fix this," Amanda assures her as they hurry from their bedroom hand in hand when Noah calls for them a third time, certain that Jesse will also be awake when they reach the kids' room. "It might take some time to get his sorted out but he'll be alright, I promise. And if I have to kick that monster's ass myself, I will be more than happy to do it."

Frannie trots into the hallway with her ears perked and her tail wagging, apparently alerted by the noise, and joins them in the doorway of Noah and Jesse's room, Amanda relieved to see that her daughter is still sound asleep. The dog instantly hops up onto the toddler bed beside the little blonde girl and turns around in a circle a few time before plunking herself down on top of the quilt, snuggling up as closely as possible to Jesse while Amanda and Olivia tend to Noah.

The young boy is sitting up amid disheveled blankets, rubbing his eyes and whimpering softly, immediately holding out his arms in a request for comfort as soon as he sees them. They oblige right away, both women climbing onto the twin bed with him, and Amanda finding herself squished between the wall and Olivia's taller body while the brunette stretches out across the middle of the small mattress and takes Noah into her arms.

"It's okay, buddy, we're here with you," Olivia whispers calmly, stroking a hand through her son's rumpled brown curls as Amanda rests her chin on Olivia's shoulder, the three of them lying side by side in an unkempt line of messy hair and wrinkled pajamas. "Is that silly old monster bothering you again?"

"Yes," Noah replies with a tearful, urgent nod, burying his face in his mother's neck. "He was peeking out of the closet at me. I saw him."

"What color is this guy again?" Amanda asks softly, trailing her fingers absently up and down Olivia's arm while they chat.

"He has green hair all over his body," Noah says in a hushed tone as his eyes widen dramatically. "He's a hairy scary monster."

"But last time you said he had purple hair," Amanda reminds him with a thoughtful frown. "And in the TV show, he had blue hair."

"He changes color," Noah sniffles as he drags an arm across his tear-stained cheeks. "It's different every time I see him."

"Well, why does he keep changing color?" Amanda asks with feigned confusion, raising her hand in the air in an inquisitive gesture. "Is he dyeing his hair?"

A short giggle emits from Noah's mouth at this question and a smile tugs at Amanda's lips in response.

"I'm being very serious here," she continues solemnly, her frown becoming deeper as she tries not to grin, pretty sure this topic of discussion will be over Noah's head but doing her best to distract him from his fear and ease any stress that Olivia has about the situation. "Do you think he buys his hair dye at the supermarket or does he get it professionally done at the salon? Is this a fancy monster we're talking about here or does he prefer to do things the cheaper way? Maybe he can't afford to get it done at the salon. Maybe he doesn't make very much money at his job."

"Amanda." Olivia is arching an eyebrow at her and shaking her head in what looks to be amusement and exasperation, but Noah is outright laughing now and Amanda feels a wave of satisfaction and relief, even while his mother shushes him and warns them both not to wake up Jesse.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she whispers in a conspiratorial tone to the little boy, leaning over Olivia's shoulder as Noah nods eagerly in return and gazes at her with bright-eyed anticipation.

"Your mama has to dye her hair to hide all the grey because that's what happens when you start getting older," Amanda mutters under her breath, winking at Noah and earning herself a sharp elbow in the side and a glare from Olivia. "So the monster isn't the only one around here whose hair changes color."

"Are you quite finished?" Olivia asks dryly, both eyebrows raised now as she fixes Amanda with a stern look.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make the kid feel better," she defends herself lightly, one shoulder lifting in a shrug.

"By making fun of his mother?" Olivia's gaze is boring into her own now and a colorful blush spreads across Amanda's pale cheeks.

"Well, whatever works," she snickers quietly before swiftly apologizing and explaining to Noah that she was only teasing.

"Alright, if we're done with this lovely conversation, everyone needs to settle down for the night and get some sleep, like Jesse and Frannie are doing over there," Olivia says firmly as she gestures to the toddler and dog who have remained curled up together in the tiny bed, snoozing away contentedly.

"But I'm still scared!" Noah is quick to protest, that fearful expression crossing his features again, but Amanda suspecting that he is starting to have too much fun staying up late with them and wants to prolong their gathering.

"Sweetheart, there's nothing to be scared of," Olivia assures him patiently, running her hand through his hair once more. "There's no such thing as monsters, I promise."

"But I saw him on TV," Noah argues in response. "He's real!"

"That was just pretend, buddy," Olivia says with a sigh, Amanda squeezing her arm comfortingly to try and assuage the guilt that she knows the older woman is still feeling. "Not everything you see on television is real. He's just a cartoon. Someone drew him from their imagination, like when you and Jesse make your drawings together and you create all sorts of things that you see inside your mind."

Noah still appears doubtful as he listens to his mother's explanation so Amanda decides to cut into the discussion, a touch of mystery in her voice. "Hey Noah, did you know that Frannie has heightened senses?"

"What does that mean?" the little boy asks curiously, throwing a glance over at the slumbering canine.

"It means that she can hear things and smell things that us humans can't," Amanda clarifies with enthusiasm, looking fondly at her pet. "So if there really was a monster in here, she wouldn't be sound asleep with Jesse right now. She would know that something else was in the room with us and would jump up right away to take care of it."

"Really?" Noah replies with a hint of admiration in his voice, Frannie promptly letting out a loud snore and making them all chuckle, Amanda quite surprised that Jesse still isn't waking up to join in with their impromptu slumber party.

"Yes, really," she assures him tenderly, reaching out to ruffle an affectionate hand through his unruly curls and pressing a quick kiss onto Olivia's shoulder while she does so. "I promise you she wouldn't be snoring like that with not a care in the world if there really was a monster in this room."

"Well, okay," Noah answers somewhat grudgingly, although still appearing slightly ill at ease with the situation.

"Would it make you feel better if we stayed in here with you tonight?" Olivia questions gently, Noah instantly brightening at this suggestion and nodding eagerly. "Okay, we're going to go get our pillows and blankets and then we'll be right back."

Once they are alone in the hallway and heading into their bedroom, Amanda feels Olivia grab her around the waist from behind and plant a lingering kiss on the side of her neck. "I know we won't get to continue where we left off earlier, but I don't feel right about leaving him alone right now. I hope you don't mind having a sleepover tonight."

"It's okay, honey, I understand," Amanda says softly, turning around in Olivia's embrace and stroking a hand over her cheekbone.

"Thank you for your help in there," the brunette continues lightly, one eyebrow quirking as she speaks and a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Even though I'm not so sure you went about it in the right way, I still appreciate it." There is a brief pause while the lieutenant clears her throat. "So you think I'm getting old, do you?"

"Hey, I happen to find older women extremely attractive," Amanda grins cheekily, sliding her arms around Olivia's hips and giving her a tight squeeze. "One older woman, in particular." Her voice lowers to a sultry tone as she places her lips right next to Olivia's ear and slips a hand slowly down to the juncture of her girlfriend's thighs, cupping her through the thin material of her pajama bottoms and inducing a sharp shiver from the curvy figure as she rubs sensually.

"I'm sorry for what I said but once we're done dealing with this whole 'hairy scary monster' business, I promise to make it up to you by putting my mouth right back where it was before we got interrupted."