Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 21

Sometime early in the morning, while it was still dark, Kaelin woke with a start to another terrifying howl. She started again when she realized she was leaning against Jiminy's chest with his arm around her shoulders. Blushing, she scooted away. Had she really fallen asleep in his arms? The Wraith's cry sounded again, pulling her attention away from the awkward moment. She stared around the still-dark room, half-afraid the Wraith would fly out of the shadows at her. Her head was still foggy with sleep, and the flashlight was flickering, starting to run out of batteries.

Jiminy and Pongo had been woken by the howl as well. Whining, Pongo leapt up on the couch between Kaelin and Jiminy, shoving them further apart. He curled up and buried his nose in the crack between the couch's back cushion and seat.

"Are you all right?" Jiminy asked Kaelin, distractedly patting the dog's spotted back.

Gradually pulling herself out of dreamland, Kaelin told herself how very unlikely it was that the Wraith was in here specifically, but the glimpse of it she had seen the night before kept filling her mind. "I'm okay," she replied nervously, "It's outside, isn't it? We're safe here."

"Y-yes, we're safe here," Jiminy agreed, though he sounded nervous as well, "We just have to wait it out." A strong wind had picked up outside, and sounds of shattering and cracking mixed with the Wraith's screams.

"But how long will it be out there? Why did it come back?"

"I don't even know what it is or where it's from or—or why it came in the first place," Jiminy responded, shaking his head.

There was nothing more to say. All they could do was sit and listen to the eerie sounds from outside. The Wraith's voice had grown farther away. For several minutes, Kaelin thought the shrieks and howls rose in intensity. Then, with all the suddenness of a light being switched off, they were silent. Pale, morning sunlight drifted in through the window. Kaelin and Jiminy looked around the room, unsure what to say. The flashlight finally died.

"I should get some batteries for that," Jiminy said, standing up.

"Do you think the sunlight scared it away?" Kaelin guessed.

"I don't know." Jiminy walked around the table and picked up the flashlight. He slid the switch to the "off" position.

Kaelin stood up as well. They were facing each other across the coffee table. "I'm sorry," she said.

Jiminy looked confused. "For what?"

Kaelin blushed, realizing that, of course he didn't know what she was referring to. Yet it would be unbearably awkward to say, "For falling asleep in your arms last night," and she didn't even think that was a thing people usually apologized for. "N-nothing," she mumbled, searching his face for any sign that he was embarrassed by it too, or if he had even noticed. She brightened up a little. "Oh, can I make breakfast?" she asked.

Jiminy smiled. "Just like old times, huh?" he remarked.

"I hope you haven't just stuffed your fridge with grass this whole time," Kaelin returned with a grin. Then she became self-conscious about the comment, wondering if it had been clever or weird.

To her relief, Jiminy laughed. "You'd be surprised." He led her through an open doorframe to the kitchen. The kitchen was spacious and comfortably arranged with counters all around and cupboards coming down from the ceiling. There was a stove, a microwave, an oven, and a refrigerator. The microwave and the oven both had digital clocks, but Kaelin couldn't tell what time it was because they were off.