just another oldie

Her face hurt from how tightly knit her brow had been furrowed. Her soft mumbling was lost even on her, unable to find any kind of reprieve as she imagined pain rolling through her. It wasn’t until she had started crying that anything had really happened. Her eyes shot open, breaths coming out in short gasps as Leon sat beside her. He had one hand on her shoulder and the other on her chest, keeping her from moving too quickly after he woke her. Her fingers gripped his wrist, trying to pull him off her.

“Hey, just breathe,” he murmured, the dim light of her nightlight on the table the only illumination in the room. She let out a shuddered breath, tears still pricking at her eyes.

“B-Baby, where's the baby? Where is she?” Reine asked, fighting against him to try and sit up. He adjusted carefully, helping her and trying to keep her from moving too quickly.

“Reine, you haven't had the baby yet,” he said, keeping his voice soft and tone even. Reine looked around the room with wide and teary eyes, trying to find the source of her anxiety.

“N-No, where… Where is she, Lee? She needs me, I have to–”

“Reine,” he started, more firmly as he kept his hand on her shoulder, “you haven't had her yet. You aren't even at the six month mark.”

He took his hand off her chest, bringing hers down to her stomach. Carefully, he applied a little bit of pressure for her to feel.

“She's still inside you… She's safe.”

Reine tried to settle herself, still feeling disoriented and foggy.

“Lee, where's the… Where…” She looked around the room, squinting at the dark corners for objects she couldn't make out. He kept her seated, opting to gently hold her face in his hands to get her whole attention. He gently brushed his thumbs on the crests of her cheeks, getting her to look at him.

“You had a bad dream, Reine. The baby is still growing… She's inside you. We'll be seeing her in February.”

She searched his face for any lies, brows knit once more in confusion.

“What if sh-she's lost out there, I can't.. I can't…”

He remained calm and solid for her, listening to her concerns.

“Come on,” he hummed, guiding her out of bed and keeping a hold on her, “let's go check the nursery. If she's not there, then we'll check downstairs.”

He led her down the hall to the guest room they had still been working on converting to their nursery. They had the crib put together, but not much else. Reine stumbled towards it, Leon staying close as she looked. He had left a toy bear in it as a joke after they had finished putting the crib together. Reine had come back and dressed it at some point, calling it their practice baby. She carefully reached in, picking up the bear and cradled it in her arms. Relief washed over her as she held it, Leon watching her in case anything happened.

“I'm so sorry baby, I didn't mean to leave you here in the dark by yourself,” she whispered to the bear, snuggling it close to her. Leon rolled a palm between her shoulders, not quite sure what to do with himself besides remaining close. Reine nuzzled against the toy, patting softly on its back and doing her best to comfort it. Leon rubbed her shoulders more before settling a firm touch on her again.

“Why don't we take Baby into our room with us and get cozy,” he suggested gently. Reine nodded, still giving the toy as much comfort as she could. He steered her back towards the bedroom, hands on her shoulders to direct her and keep her from wandering off. He got Reine back into bed, taking his turn with Baby-teddy and holding it while she got comfortable before handing the toy back to her, careful and gentle as if it were a real child. He got in beside her, handling her carefully as he adjusted their positions.

“Looks like daddy wants to snuggle too,” Reine hummed to the toy, leaning back against him as he moved her to sit between his legs while he rested against the headboard of their bed in the center. Leon lazily slipped an arm around her while nudging one of her legs on top of his, linked together just in case she tried to get up.

“You could say that,” he murmured, keeping her close. Reine kept the bear close, nestling it in her arms while she started to feel herself doze off again.

“We still have to name her,” she mumbled, turning her ear towards Leon’s chest. He idly pawed at her arm, hand lazily gliding up and down her soft skin.

“We can think of that tomorrow,” he mumbled back.

She seemed to settle with the answer, gently brushing her thumb over the teddy’s face, feeling the glassy, button eye under the fake fur. Leon also had settled, Reine feeling him relax behind her. His breaths were shallow, fingers barely clinging to her as they rested on her arm… She took it as her cue to follow him. Carefully and gently she made a little nest in her lap before settling the teddy in it, doing her best to keep it from being able to roll or be crushed in the night. Once she was satisfied, she laid back, nestling herself into his body. He was warm, inviting, calm, as she felt her worries that she held so deeply start to disappear. The tides of sleep and exhaustion rolled over her, Reine listening to Leon’s heartbeat and soft breaths like they were her own personal lullaby.

-*-

When she woke up, she was laying down, snuggled in on herself in a small cocoon of blankets. In her arms, she had a teddy bear snuggled up with her. Groaning quietly, she rolled on to her back and started to unsheathe herself from the blanket pile she had found herself wrapped up in. She noticed that it was only her in bed, Leon’s side empty and any hints of his body heat were long gone. Stretching her arms and legs, Reine yawned and rolled on to her side, just as the door opened quietly.

“Hey you,” she hummed, seeing Leon coming in. She pulled one blanket around herself again, curling up on herself as he came to sit beside her. He brushed her hair out of her face, giving her a little smile.

“Good afternoon,” he hummed back, palm trailing on her side before settling on her leg.

“Is it that late?”

“Almost two.”

“I must have been more tired than I thought.”

She saw him remain still for just a split second, noticing that he was inspecting her more than he usually did, like she was sick. She started to sit up, Leon giving her a helping hand as she did so. The bear she had been holding was set aside as she pulled the covers off herself, the toy getting lost in their sheets. Leon watched her, eyes flicking towards the bear for a moment before going back to her as she settled, sitting up comfortably against her pillow as she stretched out her legs. He let her rest her ankles on him, rubbing a warm palm against her calf as she relaxed.

“You’re looking at me like something’s wrong. What happened?” She felt her heart sink as she asked, worried he had another assignment that would take him too far away for far too long. “Did you get any news?”

He hook his head, squishing against her legs and keeping her seated.

“No, nothing like that. But… You started sleepwalking last night. You were really… Stressed out.” He was calm and soft as he spoke, keeping a comfortable hand on her. “You didn’t get hurt, but you were very freaked out. You were looking for the baby and you were not taking no for an answer.”

She looked at the discarded teddy bear in the sheet, very quickly piecing together what happened.

“I guess that explains the bear I was cuddling.”

He nodded, giving her a short laugh.

“You were not letting her go no matter what I said.”

“Did anything else happen?”

“No… We went into the nursery, you picked up the… Uh… Baby… And I got you back in here. You went back to sleep pretty soon after and, as far as I am aware, did not get up again.”

Reine rubbed an idle palm against her belly, nodding along.

“And I suppose this is the first time it’s happened?”

“Yes.”

She tried to hold in another yawn, failing miserably in doing so before her face settled in a worried frown. Leon got up carefully, setting her legs back on the bed to stand closer to her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, thumb running against the crest of her cheek before he tucked her hair out of her face.

“I called your doctor’s office,” he whispered, “they said if it becomes a pattern we can make an appointment, but this isn’t unheard of.”

She felt a little less worried, finally making to get up. He gave her an arm, letting her use him as support. Once she was on her feet, Reine pressed her face into his chest. Leon held her, brushing her hair back and sliding his palm against her shoulders. She clung to him, fingers furling in his shirt as she snaked her arms around his middle. She stayed still for a moment, rubbing her face into him for a moment before finally letting go. Leon gave her another kiss on the forehead before she left him.

“Where did the, uh, baby wind up?” He asked, glancing over at the mess of sheets she left. Reine also looked over at the bed, shuffling the blankets a little until she pulled out the teddy bear.

“Found her!”