A story of nightmares and comfort.

~# and #~ denote song lyrics

copyright (c) 1998 Jennifer N. D'Agostino "Maven Alysse"
Any comments are appreciated and can be sent to: MavnAlysse@aol.com
"All learning begins with these two phrases: I don't know. Let's find out!"

Songs in the Key of Fu: Angel Standing By

Caine quietly let himself into his son's apartment. He had not seen Peter in several weeks, as the young detective had been undercover trying to flush out a serial killer. A week and a half ago, Peter had enough evidence to arrest one of their suspects. He and a few of his fellow officers ran the man to ground and an unfortunate firefight had resulted in the man's death. Peter had been the one to fire the fatal shot.

'Captain Blaisdell mentioned that although the precinct's psychologist had deemed Peter well enough to return to duty, Peter has not seemed himself.'

**********

"He won't talk about it. Not even to Annie, and he's always been able to open up to her. I don't know what to do. It's not affecting his performance at work, so I can't officially take him off duty, though I feel he really could use the time to consider what has happened. He refused to take any vacation time." Paul sighed. "He's quieter, more withdrawn since the incident. And while I would normally enjoy seeing Peter calmed down, he has this air of guilt and, I don't know, fright I'd guess you'd call it. It worries me. Is there anything you can do?"

Caine shrugged, "I can try."

**********

Standing in the living room, he tried to sense his son's essence. ::Dispair, fright, sadness - all surrounding a small core of satisfaction.::

'Ah, my son, you are afraid because you feel you enjoyed killing this man.' Caine sighed. 'It was not the killing you enjoyed, but the knowledge that no one else would ever be hurt by this man again that fills you with satisfaction.'

Caine opened the bedroom door and glided towards his son. Although it was early in the evening, Peter was already fast asleep. As Caine watched, Peter twitched, a soft moan escaping his lips. Caine's heart ached for his son. 'Peter has always had such bad nightmares. Even as a child. They have not lessened in intensity as he grew older.'

He sat at the edge of the bed, lightly brushing strands of hair off Peter's brow, his other hand grasping hold of his son's, trying to soothe and comfort him. He began humming wordlessly, his voice soft and calm, trying to ease Peter gently from his dreaming. His humming soon became singing as he remembered a lullaby that Laura, Peter's mom, used to sing to Peter whenever he was having difficulty sleeping:

#~All through the night I'll be standing over you. All through the night I'll be watching over you, and through bad dreams I'll be right there, baby. Holding your hand, telling you everything is all right and when you cry I'll be right there telling you, you were never anything less than beautiful. So don't you worry, I'm your angel standing by.~#

His voice was rough, remembering Laura always had that effect on him, but the song soon did its work. Peter calmed down, stopped fidgeting, sighed once, and settled deeper into a dreamless slumber. Caine sat with Peter a few more hours, ensuring that the dreams were kept at bay for the duration of the night. He carressed his son's face, placed a kiss on his forehead, and rose to leave. Quietly he whispered, "We shall talk in the morning, my son. But for now, rest easy." Caine closed the door softly, smiling to himself at the sense of peace he felt from his son.

The End.