.Finally a Mother.

.Eight.

**TRIGGER WARNING - nightmares, mention of abduction, comfort**

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*12:18am*

Emily is fast asleep her arm around Eva who is curled up in her side. "No! No! Please don't take me!" Eva shouted in her sleep. Emily jerked awake and looked over to her daughter who was violently trying to get out of her grasp.

"Eva, Sweetheart, wake up, you're safe. I'm here with you." Emily said softly. Eva opened her eyes and stared at Emily with a terrifying look on her face. "It was just a nightmare Honey. You're safe, you're right here with me." Emily assured her. Eva wiped a few tears away and cuddled closer into Emily. The mother and daughter both slowly drifted back to sleep. It wouldn't last long though.

*2:37am*

"Please don't hurt her! Please! Stop!" Eva began shouting. Emily woke up and gently shook Eva awake. Eva's heart was racing and she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"They seem so real. I'm sorry for waking you." she said, avoiding eye contact with Emily. Eva, to Emily's surprise, turned so her back was to Emily. She even scooted a little closer to the edge of the bed. Emily had a sad look on her face. She was confused about what to do. She made the bold decision to run her fingers through Eva's hair, gently playing with it.

"You don't have to be sorry for waking me. Remember, I am going to be right here with you, through all of this. Including your nightmares. No matter what time it is, I'll be here with you." Emily whispered and waited for a response which she did not get. "Do you want to talk about them? The nightmares I mean?" Emily asked, hoping for some sort of response. Slowly (as to not hurt her ribs more) Eva flipped back over so she was facing Emily. She took a deep breath and winced at the pain from her ribs.

"The first one was that lady taking me from you. That one wasn't so bad. But the second one, someone was hurting you because you were protecting me. I don't know who it was, I couldn't tell. But I could see what they were doing to you to get to me. I hated that." Eva shared with Emily as a few more tears rolled down her face. Emily reached over and brushed them away with her hand. Eva reached up and grabbed Emily's hand. Emily thought she was going to push her hand away, but instead she held it to her face tightly. "You mean a lot to me. And I'm scared that something will happen to you because of me. Kids in the foster homes I've been in before used to tell me that I was a tornado. Wherever I went, destruction followed. I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Eva started crying harder than she was before. Emily propped her head up with her free hand.

"You mean a lot to me too. I won't tell you that nothing will happen to me. The work that I'm in, I can't guarantee that. And I don't like making promises about things I might not have control over. But Eva, if I get injured it will NEVER be your fault. You're not a tornado. You're my sunshine. Those kids were hurt in their own way and they were dealing with their own hurt by blaming everything on you. But none of that is true Sweetheart." Emily could tell the child was starting to fall back to sleep. Emily of all people knows how exhausting, mentally and physically, having nightmares is. She started singing softly to her, her hand still in Eva's. "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." Emily watched her daughter's eyes flit off to sleep. Eva slept peacefully the rest of the night with Emily's hand in her's.

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Word count: 673