「dino」

It's 3am when Leon's phone starts ringing, and he has years of mandated therapy to thank for his ability to resist the urge to throw it out the window. It's his personal phone, so the world isn't ending again just yet, but there's only one person who'd call him at 3am, and that makes the matter just as urgent.

He somehow manages to click the accept call button, before grunting, "Grace? You alright?"

There's no response for a moment, until she whimpers, "Leon?"

"That's me, kid. What's goin' on?"

For once, he's thankful that his wife is such a light sleeper, already blinking awake from the sound of his voice. She doesn't even bother with putting in her contacts, sliding on her glasses while Leon sets the call to speaker phone.

"I just— I had a n-nightmare, and you were there, and you were hurt, and— I-I just needed to make sure you're okay, and that you aren't hurt, 'cause it'd be my fault all over again, and—"

"Shh, shh… calm down, sweetheart," Ada interrupts, gently. "Leon's right here, he's okay, it was just a dream."

The younger woman doesn't respond, breaths hitching as she sobs. It's not the first time she's called after a nightmare, far from it, but it's rare for her to be this distraught in the aftermath. It might have been worse than usual, but maybe there's something more going on; he's just not quite sure what that something is.

"It was so r-real, and it was so scary, and I…"

"Would you feel better if you saw him in person? Even if it would only help a little bit."

It takes him a few groggy seconds to understand why she emphasizes the word little, a few steps ahead of him as always. While Ada isn't always the most emotionally observant person out there, she has some form of 6th sense for when Grace is feeling small. She almost always knows before Leon, and sometimes, she'll even realize before Grace does herself.

"Be honest, Grace. Don't worry about disturbing us, or anything like that," Leon adds, stretching his aching arms. Even if they don't visit, he's not getting back to sleep any time soon.

"I…um…yes, please?"

"Of course, kid. We'll even stay on the phone while we drive, if you want."

Ada rolls her eyes, already halfway through getting changed, "Let me rephrase that, we'll stay on the phone while I drive."

"N-no, that's okay. I'm all sweaty and icky and gross, I want to have a shower."

"Sure, but keep your phone nearby, just in case. I'll message you when we're outside, okay?"

"'Mkay… I'll see you soon."

There's not much for them to bring with them, because Grace is insistent that she doesn't need anything for when she's small, and what she does own is kept at her apartment. Knowing Ada, she's looking for a book or three to read to her, while he looks for the pair of jeans he's left their keys in this time.

For the first few months, Grace was too scared to call him whenever this kind of thing happened, worried that he would judge her for needing support. He didn't find out until one of her worst nights, when the memories became too much and Emily called him in a panic, her adopted mother dissociating on their kitchen floor. He stayed on the phone with them for hours, reassuring Emily that everything was okay, and speaking to Grace until she was a bit more lucid.

The next morning, he made Grace promise to call whenever she needs to talk, come rain or shine. If he's busy, or if she'd prefer to talk to someone else, she has Ada's personal number as well. He doubts she calls every time she wants to, but she is (usually) an adult who can make her own decisions.

It's easier now that Grace and Emily aren't living in the Midwest anymore, and visiting her only takes a thirty minute drive instead of an eleven hour road trip. With Ada's general disregard for mundanities like speed limits and the law, tonight, that thirty minutes is cut down to just over fifteen.

"I'll check on Emily when we get inside," Ada murmurs, typing out a message on her phone. "If Grace woke up screaming again, it would have scared her too."

Grace's apartment is a dime-a-dozen flat in the suburbs, intentionally inconspicuous. The only stand-out detail is her high-tech security system, and the multi-lock deadbolt in her door. Leon and Ada do have their own keys for emergencies like this, but she prefers to unlock the door for them herself, so they wait for her outside.

When the door does open, Leon barely manages to take two steps inside before Grace throws herself into his arms. Ada cooes at the sight, stroking through her frizzy hair before sneaking past to check on Emily.

"Dad…!" Grace whines, burying her face in his collar. She has to stand on her tippy-toes to reach, trembling from the effort and her lingering anxiety.

It's not the first time she's called him dad, but it is rare, unless she's half-asleep or feeling younger than usual. It might be a bit of both, but with how clingy she's acting tonight, he's leaning towards the latter. Poor girl.

"Shh, it's okay. Dad's here, Grace, we're all safe," Leon murmurs. "Why don't we go and sit down for now, okay?"

The poor girl shakes with every step they take, gripping Leon's hand for dear life as they make their way into the living room. It's only a few meters from the door, but she collapses onto the sofa like she'd run a marathon, whining as Leon pulls her into his arms again.

"I was so scared… it all felt so real, and I woke up, and it was so dark—"

He cuts in, "Let's stop thinking about that for now, okay? You don't want to work yourself up all over again."

Grace leans in close, enough for him to flinch as her cold nose presses against his neck, nails digging into his back as she clutches at his shirt. She calms down quickly, after that; it only takes a few minutes for her to start dozing off, slowly leaning more and more of her weight onto him. It reminds him of Sherry, who can be lulled to sleep in minutes with just a few headpats, even now that she's an adult.

The same concept might work with her, and it's a theory worth testing, he decides, brushing his fingers gently through Grace's wavy tangles.

"Your hair is getting long, isn't it? I didn't think you liked it touching the back of your neck."

"Mhm… I hate going to hairdressers even more though... Too noisy."

"You should get Ada to trim it for you in the morning. I'd offer to do it myself, but I couldn't even make my own hair look decent if I tried."

She blinks at him slowly, like a sleepy kitten, "I know. I've seen photos of you in your 30s."

If it wasn't for Leon's military training, he doubts he would've been able to stop himself from laughing. She's a bit… blunt, in the way all kids are, but she's not wrong. Ada must have showed her photos of him in New York, her favorite section to laugh about from her paparazzi photo album.

"Well, aren't you two looking cozy," Ada says, appearing so abruptly that Grace jolts in surprise. He hadn't noticed her arrival either, and knowing Ada, that was an entirely intentional choice.

"Mama? Um, uh, I mean—" Grace flusters, red to her ears. She tries to hide her face against Leon's shoulder again, but Ada doesn't let her, pinching at her cheek affectionately.

"Darling, I've said it before, but you can call me whatever you want. I'm not going to force you, but if you want me to be your mama, then I'll be your mama."

"B-but, it's embarrassing…"

"Sweetheart, you find everything embarrassing," Ada deadpans.

For a split second, Grace looks like she wants to disagree, only to quickly think otherwise. All Leon can do is pat her shoulder in sympathy.

"Now that's out of the way, it's bed time, kiddo. I know you had a nightmare, but that doesn't mean you get to stay up all night. So, do you want to sleep out here, or do you want to go back into your room?"

"She's acting all strict and mean now," Leon stage-whispers, "But, I'm sure if you ask nicely, she might read to you, or maybe even let you put a movie on."

"Leon, stop giving away my secrets. He's right, though."

Grace thinks about it for a moment, "Umm… can we watch a movie in my room, please?"

"Sure thing, darling."

Before Grace can even start to stand, Ada's already swooping in to carry her instead. Ada's build is deceptively muscular, even now that she's mostly retired, and Grace is barely 120 pounds soaking wet, so it's not a difficult 30 or so step journey to her bed. Better yet, unlike her strangely uncomfortable Ikea couch, Grace's bed is overly large for one person, and unreasonably comfortable.

"So," he starts, reaching for the TV remote. "What are we watching? Power Rangers? That one David Attenborough documentary about the plants? Pokémon?"

"Leon, it's 2027. There's more than one David Attenborough documentary about plants. Be specific."

"Oh, um. I was re-watching How to Train Your Dragon with Emily earlier, but I fell asleep pretty early. Can we watch that?"

"As long as it's not the sequel, because that one makes your mama cry." Leon teases.

"Please, like you weren't bawling your eyes out too."

"Oh, it's the original, I don't like the other ones either," Grace replies. Leon chooses not to comment on Ada's visible relief at that statement.

"You're a good kid, Gracie. Now, get over here; I want baby cuddles too."

She ends up lying in between them, tucked under far too many blankets to be comfortable, with her head resting on Ada's shoulder. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, she falls asleep before Toothless even shows up on screen. Leon and Ada are quick to follow suit.

When he wakes up a few hours later, Emily is sprawled across all three of them, drooling on Grace's stomach and smothering Ada with her teddy bear. He does think, just for a second, that he should rectify that last part. Unfortunately for his wife, he falls asleep again before he can.