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Whining softly Wes rolled onto his side tugging Stella along with him hoping he'd find a position he could fall asleep in. He had no idea what had woken him up, but, despite knowing he should be asleep, he felt wide awake. Something that didn't happen very often. He might not be good at falling asleep, but he could stay asleep. At least that's what Daddy always said.
In fact, he and Daddy had tricks that they always did when it was time for him to go to bed. It started with finding Stella the Bat, his most favorite toy ever. He carried her everywhere with him when they were at home. Once or twice he tried to bring her outside, but it always felt like he was going to lose her and that was the last thing he wanted.
When she was in laying in bed it was time for him to get in his pajamas and brush his teeth. He spent a lot of time picking out the pajamas he wanted to wear at night. He knew that it wasn't really a big deal, but it felt important. Like he had to take care of everything that was going on if he wanted all of it to be okay.
Once all of that was done, and he was under the covers with Stella, it was time to turn on Link. He had been so excited when Uncle Sam had brought Link back from a trip as a late birthday gift. The dinosaur nightlight was amazing! Mostly because if he had to get up for any reason he could carry it with him. It made trips to the bathroom a lot less scary.
After that it was time for stories. He always got two stories. One from a book and one from when Daddy was a police officer. He wasn't stupid. He knew that the stories weren't exactly what happened, but he still being able to listen to what happened to the man before he became his daddy. It was nice. Even if he usually fell asleep during those stories.
Now he was wide awake though and trying to replay the stories in his head wasn't making him any sleepier. He couldn't even get his brain to think about one thing for long. It kept jumping all over the place. Like the fact that Stella, though warm and fuzzy against his face, felt rougher than before; itchier. Maybe it was time to ask Daddy to give Stella a bath. She always felt really nice when she had a bath.
Another whine fell from him as he thought that. He was supposed to be sleeping. He wanted to be sleeping. It was bed time. Not thinking time. Yet he felt himself being pulled closer and closer to wakefulness. He really, really hated waking up. Everything always felt wrong when he was first waking up. Too big, too bright. Just not right.
Daddy always said it was because he was too busy making up new worlds in his dreams. That he fought to stay in those worlds just a little bit longer so he could finish the story he was creating. He liked that thought, though it was rare that he actually remembered what it was he was dreaming about. He hoped they were good stories.
Looking around the room he noticed that the only light was coming from Link so he knew that the sun wasn't even close to getting up. It felt like Daddy had just tucked him in. There was no way it was even close to being time to wake up. Even if it was a beach day he'd still have a long time to wait before he should be awake.
There was nothing he could do though. As much as he wanted to go back to sleep the longer he laid there looking around his room the more awake he felt. His mind was buzzing with so many different thoughts and all he wanted to do was start to tell them to Stella like he normally did. Their own little story time.
It didn't feel right to do that though. Bedtime was a quiet time. He couldn't just start talking to the bat. If he did than that might mean that he was really, truly awake. Maybe if he was quiet than the world would realize that he was still supposed to be asleep. That could happen right? He just needed to wait. With the plan in mind Wes pulled Stella to his chest and kissed the top of her head.
He couldn't remember how he got Stella, but he knew that she was his best friend. Auntie Nell loved to say that he was going to be friends with all the animals someday. He liked that. Animals were fun and cute. His favorites were dogs and bats. The kids in his class laughed at him. They said that bats were weird and creepy and that meant he was too. He didn't think they knew much about bats.
From what the book Auntie Hetty got him said they were really important. Like bees! They helped with bugs and pollen and they were really cute! They had these noses that looked like flowers and they were fuzzy and their wings were so cool! He really hoped he got to see them in real life one day and not a book.
"You'll come too, Stella," Wes offered forgetting that he was trying to not talk, "You'll see your family!"
A soft giggle fell from his lips only to turn into a cough a moment later. Rubbing at his dry throat Wes rolled over once more and reached for the glass of water Daddy always left for him. He had even gotten him and Izzy special glasses for their rooms. Izzy's had foxes on it while his had bats. They were really cute and they even had lids and straws. He hadn't spilled once since they got them.
As he lifted the cup up he felt how light it was though. Staring down at it in confusion he gently shook it and heard the straw rattle around. It took a moment but he finally remembered that he had finished it off when he woke up that morning and Daddy hadn't refilled it when he put him to bed. He had seemed sad. Not that Wes could blame him. He was sad too. So was Izzy.
She was sad a lot lately though. Papa was on a case so he wasn't picking them up from school the last few days. So Izzy's friends parents were giving them rides. Something that happened every time Papa was gone. No matter what she said about it he knew that she was sad that they didn't know when they'd see Papa next.
Still, they just went with it. There was nothing else they could do. So they got rides. At the moment it was Mr. Wright that was giving them rides. Normally Izzy loved that. She thought he was cute. That meant she ended up talking a lot. He and Serena usually made faces at Izzy when she did that. It was funny to watch. Serena always said it was funny. No, that wasn't right. She always said Izzy was a fool.
Today's ride was different. No matter how much Mr. Wright talked Izzy wouldn't. She was really quiet. Not her normal quiet either. It was an extreme quiet that just made everything feel really bad. Like when he was under too many blankets. Something was wrong. Something had been wrong for awhile, but she refused to tell him or anyone what was going on. No matter how much they asked.
He had tried too. He offered her hugs and the last slice of pizza and there was one time when he got a lollipop from his teacher for doing really good on a test and he gave it to her to try to make her feel better. Nothing worked though. She was still too quiet and mean. She wasn't acting like his big sister at all.
For awhile he thought he did something to make her bad at him. It was the only thing that made any sense. She was only mean to him when he did something really stupid. Like the time he took Hatter out to play, even though she told him not to touch him, and got food on him. She hadn't spoken to him for hours. He hadn't done anything like that though. Wes had learned his lesson and the last thing he ever wanted to do was make her that mad at him again.
Now she was being mean to Daddy. Which made even less sense than her being mean to him. Izzy had always told him that he had to be nice to Daddy and Papa. That they worked really hard all day and that it really good if they were nice to them. She wouldn't be really mean to Daddy after telling him all of that.
A part of him wanted to ask her what was wrong again, but he hadn't seen Izzy since she yelled. She slammed the door to her bedroom shut and the light under her door was out. Maybe she was just really tired. Daddy used to say he was a nightmare when he didn't nap. Maybe she just needed to fall asleep to feel better? Then everything would be okay again?
After she left he had wanted to tell Daddy that and hopefully help him fell better, but he couldn't. Wes normally loved to look into his Daddy's eyes. They were always warm and full of love. After Izzy left though they were different. They were cold; empty. Almost like he was looking into a posters eyes. Then the tears started to fill them and he looked like he was about to start crying at any moment. Wes hated that look. He never wanted to see the man look so sad again.
He tried to be on his best behavior after that. He didn't want to hurt his Daddy anymore than he already was. That was why he hadn't pointed out he had no water. It wasn't important He didn't always wake up for water. He could handle it. Except he was thirsty now and it was empty.
"Come on, Stella," Wes said pushing his blanket off, "Let's go. We don't have to wake Daddy. We can get water."
Making sure Stella was in his grasp Wes slid out of bed before grabbing Link. He couldn't reach the light switch easily but the nightlight would help a lot. He couldn't grab his cup too though. There were too many things in his hands already. Hopefully there was a cup he could reach when he got to the kitchen.
As he made his way downstairs Wes found himself clenching Stella to his chest. He knew that Daddy wouldn't let anything happen to them, but he was asleep. Could he really keep him safe if he was upstairs asleep? Maybe he should have just gone to the bathroom instead of the kitchen. It would have been easier.
That wasn't what he did though and as he climbed down the stairs he didn't fell like he going back to try again. That didn't stop him from hugging Stella to his chest and holding Link out ahead of him. He'd have to thank Uncle Sam for getting him a light he could carry. It really came in handy when he had to leave his bed at night.
It didn't take long after that for him to make it to the kitchen after that. Mostly because he was rushing a bit. Papa always said that if he wanted to stay calm even when he was scared he had to act normal. Wes didn't really get what that meant but it probably meant not running. Was moving fast part of it too? He'd have to ask again.
Shaking his head Wes made his way to the sink and placed Stella on the counter before looking around with Link. Daddy usually put his steps close to the sink so they shouldn't be hard to find. Except it was dark. Really really dark. Why did it feel like it was getting darker the longer he stood there? That wasn't how darkness worked. Right?
"Link," Wes whispered his eyes darting around looking for what the shadow were hiding, "Are you dying again? Auntie Kensi said she fixed you."
"I'm not dying!" Wes spoke for Link deepening his voice, "She fixed me."
"Then why is it so dark?"
"The shadows."
Tightening his hold on Link Wes spun around and reached up on the counter to tr to find where he put Stella. He was too small though and the darkness seemed to have taken over. He could barely see what was right in front of him. He didn't want to leave his friend but he knew if he stayed that the shadows were going to get him too. Could he really leave Stella alone?
Feeling tears in his eyes Wes got onto his tiptoes looking for a sign of the bat only to come back empty handed. A whimper fell from his lips and all he wanted to do was call out for his Daddy to come and save him. He couldn't though. Daddy wouldn't hear him even if he did. D.D. and Izzy would, but he didn't want them. He wanted his Daddy to help him.
Wiping the tears from his face the little boy took off running hoping he was going in the right direction. It was long before he was scrambling up the stairs barely paying attention to the fact he was falling and scrapping his knees and hands. It didn't matter. All he cared about was getting up to his daddy's room as quickly as possible.
As soon as he was upstairs he raced to the room ready to rush in and climb into bed. Before he could though Wes felt himself stop outside the door. There was a weird noise coming from inside. For a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe. Had the shadows already come and gotten his Daddy? Were they hurting him? It took a moment for him to realize he knew the noise. It was someone crying.
"What do you think we should do, Link?" Wes whispered looking down at the dinosaur, "Why is Daddy crying?"
"Izzy was mean," he responded once more trying to lower his voice.
"Izzy made Daddy cry? What are we supposed to do, Link?"
"What does Daddy do when you cry?"
"He gives me hugs and cuddles and sometimes we make cookies or take a nap or… We could do that for him!"
"Make cookies?"
"No, Link! Cuddle! He needed cuddles. Come on."
Cracking the bedroom door open Wes pushed his way in and closed it behind him. Holding Link out in front of him he slowly made his way closer to the bed. When he was close enough he found that D.D. was already staring at him though Daddy hadn't noticed yet. He couldn't help but notice how sad she looked laying there as Daddy cried.
Placing Link on the bed Wes pulled himself up trying not to disturb the older man. He didn't get very far before strong hands were under his pulling him up on the bed. Once he was sitting down he looked up at Daddy. The older mans mouth was open like he was going to say something. Before he could though Wes climbed into his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck.
"Wesley?" Daddy asked his voice low and broken, "What's wrong, kiddo?"
Shaking his head Wes pulled back and lifted his hands to sign. At least he tried to. Almost instantly he was reminded that he wasn't the best at sign. Daddy said he'd get better as he got bigger but he still hated that he couldn't talk with the man well yet. If Daddy didn't know how to read lips they'd never talk.
"You're sad," Wes finally said doing this best to keep his words steady and clear like he was told.
"Wesley," Daddy sighed shaking his head.
"You said cuddles make everything better. Cuddle time for Daddy!"
A broken laugh fell from Daddy as more tears streamed down his face. Shaking his head quickly Wes launched himself forward and hugged him tightly. He hadn't meant to make it worse. He wanted to help the man. Not make him cry again. What did he do wrong?
"Oh, kiddo," Daddy mutteed as he pulled back.
"Did I do something wrong?" Wes asked cocking his head to the side.
"No, Wesley, you did nothing wrong."
"But you're crying again."
Instead of answering Daddy lifted him up before moving to pull the blanket down. Grinning Wes quickly moved to lay down so he could be cuddled with the older man. It was like when he had a nightmare and climbed into bed with him. Only this time it was him that was protecting his Daddy and not the other way. He could do that!
Daddy pulled the blanket up and tucked him in before picking Link up and giving him a confused look. Wes wanted to explain what happened in the kitchen, but then they'd be focused on him. Right now was about Daddy. It wasn't like he was in trouble anymore. The shadows never touched Daddy. He was too strong.
"Thank you, Wesley," Daddy muttered placing Link down before laying as well.
"I love you, Daddy," Wes replied signing the word love with a grin, "I remember that one."
"I love you too, Sweetheart. Alright. Sleep time for us both."
Nodding his head Wes curled up under the blanket letting himself be surrounded by the warmth. He loved being under blankets. For the first time since he woke up he felt the sleepiness drag him under. He couldn't believe how sleepy he was. He felt wide awake before.
Still he found himself opening his eyes once more to look at the older man. His eyes were shut but it still looked like he was close to crying. Moving closer so he was curled against the mans chest Wes found himself trying to come up with a plan to help him. There had to be something he could do to help. He had to come up with a plan.