xp_logs | [Miles, Artie, Marie, and Logan] ...I have bad dreams...

Monday morning, 6am. Miles wakes up from a bad dream and he (and later Artie) finds Marie already awake and a discussion of nightmares and being scared ensues.

Monday morning and the world was covered in a haze of grey. The bottom of the weathered steps to the beach wasn't even visible, much less the other side of the bay. It was just coming up on six and Marie had the coffee maker going. Thanks to the pause button, she'd gotten herself a cup and sat out on the porch swing, listening to the stillness and the sussurus of unseen waves lapping at the waterline.

"M'rie?" It was Miles, stumbling out in his jammies, clutching a blanket in one hand.

"Hey, baby," Marie said warmly, putting down her cup and holding out her arms to him.

"Miles had bad dreams again," he said sadly, getting into her lap. She tucked the blanket around him. He was still such a little waif, feather-light in her arms.

"That happens," she told him, pushing with her foot to make the swing rock.

"Does M'rie have bad dreams too?"

"Yeah, I do." Marie snuggled him close to her.

"What does M'rie do with her bad dreams?"

"I wake Logan up and tell him I'm scared when I have a bad dream. If I can't sleep, he hugs me until I can, until the bad goes away."

"He's brave," Miles said, reaching up to pet the locks of white hair that hung down between them as Marie looked down on him cuddled in her arms. "Artie said so. Miles 'spects that Logan doesn't have bad dreams."

"Oh, well you'd be wrong about that," Marie said sadly. "Logan has bad dreams too."

Artie padded out to the porch, bleary-eyed, looking for Miles and Marie made room for him too, tucking him under the blankets beside Miles.

"Logan has bad dreams too," Miles reported to Artie. "And Marie."

*Stryker stands in a hall of the Alkali Lake facility, arms crossed over his barrel chest, a look of loathing on his face. Logan faces him, battered and bloody, claws extended.* The image was so clear and real that Marie shivered and hugged the boys to her. ~bad man~ Artie signed.

"He was. But he's not coming back," Marie assured them both.

"How come we have bad dreams?" Miles wanted to know.

"I think it's because we're not done being scared yet," Marie answered. "Somewhere inside, we're still afraid."

"Does everyone get scared?" Miles asked.

"Everyone."

*Cain lumbers across a green hill.*

"Even Cain gets scared, Artie. Everyone does. It's okay. It's what we do about it that matters," she told them. She pushed the porch swing with one bare foot and it creaked gently as a small, salty breeze began to stir the fog.

"When do bad dreams go away?" Miles snuggled between Marie and Artie, looking like he was about to go to sleep.

"I think they get tired and go away when we tell them that we're not paying attention enough times." Marie squeezed the thin, strong hand that Artie slipped in hers. "Remember, they're not real."

~were real~ Artie pointed out.

"And did they win when they were real?" Marie asked him.

~no~

"So they can't win when they're dreams. But they're still scary." Miles yawned hugely and his little head got heavier on Marie's shoulder.

"That's why you tell someone. Bad dreams don't last when you're getting cuddled," Marie said.

"Does Marie give Logan cuddles?" Miles wondered sleepily.

Marie laughed at that. "Yes, yes I do."

Artie made the sign for cooties, as always, and made a face.

Marie tapped his crinkled little nose with one finger. "Now you've got them too," she said with a little grin. Artie stuck his tongue out at her in return. "Oh, are you saying you don't want cuddles too, mister?"

Artie thought about this a minute and then shook his head. ~friends, family, no cooties~ he decided, looking pleased with his conclusion and snuggling down.

"That sounds fair," Marie agreed. "I'd hate to have to stop giving you hugs."

~me too~

Miles gave a little snore and Marie wondered if the little boy had allergies and realized that if Alison hadn't found out, there was no one who would have cared to notice in the past to tell them. The idea saddened her deeply and she kissed his forehead gently. When she looked over a few minutes later, Artie was asleep too.

Marie found her coffee again, slightly cold now, and sipped at it. She rocked the porch swing and watched the slow breezes and rising sun conspire to clear away the fog.

Logan had come up on her silently and stood a slight distance away from them, his own coffee in his hands, watching. He passed her when she noticed him and went to sit on the steps a little below, leaning on the railing. The creak of the swing and the occasional snore from Miles were the only noises out of place in the morning air.

"Looks good on ya," Logan said after a while, eyes fixed on the curling waves. It took Marie a moment to realize that he was talking about the little boys curled up against her. She wasn't sure what to say to that so she kept her peace and a moment later he turned to look at her with a crooked smile. "Bein' happy always does."

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O God, I could ... count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. ~ title and tag from Hamlet