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It’s almost an eerily quiet night. The only thing you could really hear is the distant sounds of passing cars and the air conditioner blowing out little breezes.
In one room, Dewey and Rosalie are in bed, relaxing together after the long week they had faced. The only thing illuminating the room is a little table lamp. In another room, their beautiful baby girl rests in her own bed, surrounded by her stuffed animals, Monster High dolls, and Sonic plushies scattered along her shelves. You could definitely say their girl is a little spoiled. With her mother’s gorgeous emerald eyes and her father’s adorable chubby cheeks, how can anyone say no to her?
Dewey gets into bed with his wife and tries to make himself comfortable, before the inevitable nighttime venting begins.
“You know,” Dewey starts, turning in bed to face his wife. “You’d think since the students are older and a little more mature, Summer would give me a little less trouble. And Billy still insults my fashion choices.”
“They are getting close to being teenagers, Dew. And you know what that means. I have a feeling that Summer will always be bossy.” Rosalie, Dewey’s previously mentioned wife, moves the hair out of his face. “Look at you, you’re exhausted. You need sleep, baby.”
Dewey almost dies of laughter at the irony right then and there. Here she is, worrying about how tired he is when she’s practically half dead. “Sweetheart, no offense, but you look like you’ve been injecting coffee into your bloodstream.”
The headmistress laughs and tucks her head underneath his chin. While they’re married and literally have a kid, Rosalie’s affection and flirting still makes Dewey blush like an idiot. “Quiet. You got Nickie to bed, right?”
The guitarist moves an arm to put it around his wife’s body. “Of course I did. Told her a story and everything.”
Rosalie sighs contentedly. “That’s very sweet of you.”
“Well, that’s what dads do, don’t they? Tell their kids a bedtime story?”
“I suppose so. Though, I never got much of them from my parents.”
“Yeah. I really don’t like your parents, Rosie, if I haven’t made that super obvious by now. They should really be getting their shit together now that they’re grandparents.”
“Trust me, they have it all together. Everything except their attitudes. I’m not sure how often I want Nickie to be around them. What if they only put her down?”
Dewey pulls Rosalie in a little closer. “Well, I vote for NEVER letting them near her, but you know, you’re the mom.”
Rosalie removes her glasses and sets them on her nightstand. “We can figure it out another time. You ready for bed, Dew?”
The teacher stretches and yawns dramatically. “Ugh. So ready. I’ve been wanting my arms around your sweet body all day.”
Rosalie leans over and turns the bedside lamp off. “Aaand that’s my cue to go to sleep.”
They adjust themselves and get comfy under the blankets while Dewey wraps his arms around his wife’s waist, burying his face in her beautiful maroon hair. Before she can say goodnight, Rosalie is suddenly distracted. “Dewey, you said you were ready for bed. Now you’re just being weird.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dewey mutters, placing kisses along her bare neck and shoulder. She wants to shove him away and tell him to go to sleep, but she can’t. She loves when he does this and he knows it. But she can’t bring herself to stop him when every kiss reminds her of how beautiful he thinks she is.
She tries to pretend she doesn’t care, but a giggle slips out at her husband’s affection anyway. “Dewey, stop it, I’ve given you plenty of attention today.”
Dewey places a kiss between her shoulder and her neck. He knows he’s getting a good reaction out of her. “Can I not love on the love of my life simply because I want to?”
“Except it’s late and you need to rest. Don’t make me put you in the living room.”
“Uuugggh, fine. But can I still hold you??”
The principal rolls her eyes. “Well, of course you can. I know it helps you sleep.”
Dewey sighs happily and pulls her in close. Rosalie can’t help but roll her eyes again. What a dork.
It’s peaceful for a few minutes. The house is almost completely silent until there’s a sound of tiny, approaching footsteps and the gentle creaking of the bedroom door. The source of the noise timidly approaches the bed and finally, there comes a different, small sound.
“Mommy? Daddy??”
It’s not much of a sound, but it’s enough to make both parents alert and lift their heads up. The sound had come from their 3 year old girl, Nickie. “Nickie? What’s wrong, baby?” Rosalie asks with a quiet voice.
Nickie pushes her dark, maroon hair out of her face with her tiny little hands. She trembles in her dad’s t shirt, which practically reaches past her knees. She clutches her stuffed bunny as tears threaten to break through. “I haved a bad dream.”
“Oh, c’mere, Dove,” Dewey says, motioning for Nickie to get in the bed with them. “Come lay with Mommy and Daddy.”
Nickie tosses her stuffed bunny onto the bed and hops up to join her parents. She nestles in between them with her rabbit, still trembling.
Before asking more questions, Dewey and Rosalie try make sure their baby girl is comfortable. Rosalie gently starts to move her fingers through Nickie’s hair, a soothing gesture and something both her and her daddy are weak for. “Do you want to tell us what happened? What was the bad dream about?”
Nickie fidgets with the long, floppy ears on her rabbit as she recalls what went down in her nightmare. “Somebody putted me in a really dark room and they didn’t letted me out and you guys couldn’t hear me. And then a monster came out and almost eated me, but then it wanted to eat you guys. I waked up cuz I thought he eated you guys!”
They almost want to laugh, mostly because Nickie trying to tell a story is a cutest and funniest thing ever, but they refrain, not wanting to just brush off her fears. “No, baby, there’s no monsters. Nothing ate mommy and daddy,” Rosalie reassures her daughter, pulling her into a comforting embrace.
“Yeah, the only thing that’s gonna eat you is me!” Dewey says before pouncing on the little girl, pretending to gobble her up like a wild beast and make her shriek with laughter.
When he finally lets up, Nickie speaks again, giggling profusely. “Daddy, you’re silly!”
“He’s very silly.” Rosalie chuckles and leans down slightly, almost as if she’s telling her a secret. “Did you know your daddy cried when he held you for the first time?” she asks, wanting to distract Nickie from the lingering fear from her nightmare.
Dewey blushes when his wife brings up the memory. The sight of his little Dove sleeping peacefully in his arms for the first time had brought him to tears, something he’d never expected in a million years. “I think you’re remembering wrong, babe. I wasn’t crying, my allergies were just acting up.”
Rosalie does not believe this for a second. “The only allergy you have is a cat allergy, and I can assure you there were no cats in sight.”
Nickie looks up at her daddy with an amused expression. “Daddy, why did you cried?”
The teacher runs a hand through his hair and chuckles. “I guess I was just so happy to meet you. You should’ve seen your Uncle Ned, though; he was just gushing over you. Your Aunt Patty was pretty hesitant at first, since she doesn’t like me all that much and you’re, y’know, my kid, but she came around. She actually seemed to like you.”
Rosalie continues her soothing gestures, rubbing Nickie on her shoulder. “Ned was ecstatic when he found out he was an uncle. He dropped everything to come see you.”
“I like Uncle Ned. He’s silly,” Nickie says.
Dewey rests a hand on Nickie’s head. “You doing okay now, Dove?”
The little girl leans back against the bed frame and nods, still clutching her rabbit. “Can I sleep with you guys?”
“Always,” Rosalie replies. “You can come lay with us whenever you want.”
A smile spreads across Nickie’s face. No 3 year old has probably ever felt so loved in their life. She nestles into the blankets and clutches her rabbit tightly, knowing her mommy and daddy will fend off anything that might try to harm her.
Rosalie goes back to running her fingers through her baby’s hair. Before drifting off, Nickie asks one more question. “Mommy?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“How was I born?”
Dewey practically chokes on his own lungs. Rosalie stops scratching suddenly. “Uhh…” Dewey tries to come up with something. Anything. My god, he expected this question eventually, but not this soon. “I-I mean, you came from your mommy, kinda…” Before he can speak again, Rosalie saves the day.
“That’s a story for when you’re older… much older. You came from me and that’s all you need to know right now.” She starts to scratch along her daughter’s scalp again. “I think it’s time for bed, Dove.”
Nickie looks confused, even a little annoyed, but she doesn’t press further and gets comfortable again (which is quite surprising for a toddler). Dewey gives Rosalie a relieved look and mouths “thank you.” After some soothing head scratches, Nickie finally drifts off. “Goodnight, Princess,” her dad whispers before kissing her on the cheek. The blankets are practically swallowing her and it’s just the cutest sight. Dewey rubs her head gently and looks back up at his wife. “Nightmares and sleeping problems. She’s definitely our girl,” he remarks quietly.
“Surely she won’t need to be tested for anything in the future. She’s got most of it from you.”
Dewey rolls his eyes and shoves Rosalie playfully. “You’re a bitch.”
Rosalie chuckles and leans back against the bed frame, suddenly looking a little worried. “She definitely won’t have it easy. Especially if she’s got our traits. Other children can be cruel.”
Dewey senses the worry in her voice and immediately jumps to comfort her. “Hey, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To make life a little easier for her?”
“Yes, but…” she hesitates. “What if we’re not there to protect her? What if we’re suddenly gone??”
“Woah. Woah, don’t say that. We won’t be leaving her alone any time soon. I promise.”
“What if… what if you’re suddenly gone…?” Her voice trembles. “What if you just… leave?”
Dewey is a little taken aback by this. Leave?? The thought of abandoning his woman or his baby girl practically makes him sick. “Woah, Rosie, you’re acting like me leaving you guys is inevitable.”
She sighs, getting a little emotional. “You wouldn’t just… leave… right?”
Dewey turns his body to directly face Rosalie. He moves a hand up to her cheek. “No. No, absolutely not. You are my girls. I’d throw my damn guitar into an active volcano if it meant getting to stay with you guys forever. You must be tired or something.”
“Dewey…” Rosalie starts. “…that’s really stupid.” She can’t help but laugh. Getting her to laugh when she’s feeling down even though what he said was pretty dumb gives him a sense of pride. She knows he’s genuinely trying his best to comfort her, though the execution was ridiculous.
Dewey gently rubs his thumb against her cheek, making her shiver slightly. “I’m trying here, okay?” He pulls her in carefully and kisses her. Rosalie suddenly feels weak. If she wasn’t sitting down, her knees would buckle right then and there. She moves a hand up to grab onto his shirt, making Dewey laugh and suddenly pull back. “Jeez, Rosie, chill out. Our daughter’s right here.”
She laughs quietly, trying not to wake Nickie. “You know I get weak when you do that.”
“You’re just soft.” Dewey places a kiss on Rosalie’s cheek and lays down on the bed as he was earlier. He wraps an arm around his sleeping daughter. “You gonna lay down, babe?”
Rosalie adjusts herself so that she’s laying down facing Dewey and Nickie and scoots in close. Dewey moves his arm to wrap it around both his daughter and his wife. Before long, all three are passed out in a warm embrace.
Not much is said before they doze off, but Dewey doesn’t care. He’s just glad to have his girls in his arms.