Title: Stormy Night
Author: dennih23
Characters: Peter, El, and Neal Burke
Rating: G
Word Count: 459
Warnings: Fluffy future fic
Summary: Peter comforts his son during a storm
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine; they belong to Jeff Eastin
Beta:
Sherylyn - thanks for your help, all mistakes belong to me
A/N: For the It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Square on the Gen Prompt Bingo Card
Peter woke to the sound of rain drumming against the bedroom window. A flash of lightening momentarily brightened the room, and thunder rumbled outside, rattling the townhouse. He looked over and El was still sleeping. He was amazed that his wife could sleep through the noisy storm. He flipped on the table lamp and El rolled over, facing away from the light. He sat up and waited, knowing his young son would be in shortly.
A minute later there was a light knock on the bedroom door. Neal’s small voice followed, “Mommy, Daddy?” Slowly the door pushed open to reveal Neal. He was squeezing his teddy bear, Mozart, so tightly that Peter was surprised the stuffing wasn’t coming out. The thunder boomed again and Neal covered his ears and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes his father was walking towards him.
Peter raised a finger to his lips to shush his son. He lifted Neal up and carried him into the hallway. He turned on the light at the top of the stairs and headed down to the living room. Neal clung to his father as the storm raged on outside. At the bottom of the stairs Satchmo met them with a small whine.
He sat his son on the couch, and after finding the remote, he turned on the television. He flipped on the Disney channel and sat down next to Neal. The small boy crawled into his father’s lap. As the storm grumbled again, Neal squirmed even closer to Peter.
Peter wrapped his arms around his little man. He kissed the top of Neal’s head. “Hey Buddy, it’s okay. It’s only thunder. It’s a lot of noise, but it can’t hurt you.”
Neal sniffled, looking up with big tear-filled eyes. “Are you sure? It sounds mean and angry.”
Peter hugged his three-year-old and together they laid down on the sofa. Gradually Peter felt his son’s breathing even out. Soon after, Peter closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, El padded her way down the steps and found them. Her husband was stretched out on their couch and Neal was curled up on top of Peter, using his father as a pillow. Neal’s little fist was clutching his dad’s tee-shirt. Satchmo was at the end of the sofa coiled next to Peter’s feet.
Sunlight was just starting to illuminate their living room giving it a soft warm glow. El smiled, picked up her cell phone, and snapped a couple of photos.
She quietly sneaked off to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. She brought the mug back and sat in the chair across from the couch. Sipping the raspberry brew, she watched over the loves in her life.
Cross Posted at
AO3