Coming Home (#Wattys 2017)

17; Nightmares

Billie took the news of a soon to be brother or sister a lot better than Harrison and Carrie expected. They were expecting her to be almost bothered by the news. It was because they'd been gone for three and a half months, and to tell their daughter she was pregnant could've gone a different way. They didn't want Billie to think they forgot about her.

But Billie seemed very excited about the news that she was getting a brother or sister. In fact, she began asking her mommy and daddy if they had any ideas of what they were going to name the baby. When they answered with no, she gave them a few suggestions.

After holding Billie until she fell asleep, Carrie crawled over Harrison to his other side. "Big day tomorrow huh?"

She nodded. Tomorrow they were both scheduled to have their respective surgeries. Harrison was scheduled to have his first, followed by her. They did this so one of them was with Billie the entire time. It was also due to the fact that Carrie's surgery would be more complicated than his because she was pregnant. She told the doctors to do whatever was safer for the baby, even if that meant numbing only her shoulder.

"Are you nervous?" He then asked.

"Not really. I don't care if I have to feel some of the surgery to take some risks away from the baby."

Harrison nodded and began to run his fingers through her long hair. It was now halfway down her back. "Your hair is getting so long."

"I know. Maybe I should get it cut."

He shook his head. "No I like it long."

She moved to the side when he sat up against the headboard. Then he patted his lap. Carrie happily moved to sit between his legs as he began to braid her hair. She taught him how to braid when Billie was really little, and it was something he would happily do for her now.

"Harrison, that feels so good."

He chuckled. "Good."

As he continued to braid her hair, he had to constantly push her back to a sitting position as she dozed off. "Stay awake for me. I'm almost done."

Harrison hurried to finish the braid. Once he was finished, he reached across to their nightstand and found a hair tie which he ended the braid with. She leaned against his chest and kissed him. "We're never going back over there ever again."

"Never."

Billie sat up. "Mommy?"

She slid out of Harrison's embrace and over to her daughter who'd woken up. "Yeah B?"

Little Billie held on tightly to her stuffed bear. "I don't want you and daddy to have to get surgery tomorrow."

Carrie picked Billie up and held her against her chest. "Daddy and I are going to be fine."

"Are you sure mommy?"

She didn't blame her for feeling insecure. After all, her parents just returned home from being missing in Pakistan for over two weeks.

"I'm sure B. Just like I always tell you, your daddy and I are tough."

Carrie stretched her arms over her head. When she did, her left shoulder popped as it always did since she'd gotten shot for the second and third time. "Was that your shoulder?" Billie asked after hearing the pop.

Her mommy answered with a nod. "I'm getting surgery tomorrow to fix my shoulder. Daddy's getting surgery to fix his leg. After tomorrow, neither of us will hear this popping noise anymore."

Billie nodded. "Goodnight again mommy."

"Goodnight B. Daddy and I love you very much."

She smiled. "I know mommy."

Carrie and Harrison soon fell asleep after Billie. She laid with her head rested on Harrison's chest, and an arm thrown across his chest. One of his arms was around her back while the other rested on the hand on his chest. Her right leg rested on his, just out of the way of his gunshot wound.

It was then when the nightmares started.

✎✎✎

Carrie rounded the corner after hearing his scream. Up ahead in the abandon building was light trickling into the hallway from the room where her husband was being held. There was another scream, and this time it wasn't Harrison's. It was a child's scream.

Billie.

She didn't wait another second before storming into the room and taking down the four men that surrounded her husband and daughter. The sight broke her heart. Both Harrison and Billie were tied to chairs under a lone light in a darkly lit room. The room smelled of must. Their hands were tied so tightly to the chairs, she could see the dark red blood stains on their wrists. Carrie noticed their feet tied to the chairs as well as both of them with gags in their mouths. And they were trying to shout something to her.

As soon as Carrie realized what they were trying to say, it was too late. Two men grabbed both her arms. They dragged her towards the chair and handed her a handgun. One man stood with a gun pointed at her head and in perfect English told her to shoot the man or the child.

The other man removed the gags from Harrison's and Billie's mouths. "Mommy!"

Harrison struggled against his restraints. "Save Billie."

She shook her head as the man pressed the barrel of his gun into the side of her head. "Do it!" he snarled.

"No."

"If you won't then I will."

Carrie was shoved to the ground as she felt one of the man's bullets strike her leg. There were two more loud bangs and she looked up to see Billie and Harrison both slumped over in their chairs.

✎✎✎

Carrie sat up quickly. She held her face in her hands as she took a deep breath to calm herself. It was only a dream. Harrison sat up after hearing her panting.

"Carrie, what's wrong?" he asked as he wrapped her up in his arms.

She instantly felt more secure. "Tell me."

And so she did. He looked stunned after hearing about her nightmare, but his gentle kiss gave her a sense of reassurance. He then wiped the tears off her cheeks. Carrie didn't even realize she'd been crying.

"Hey, its okay. Billie and I are right here. It was only a nightmare."

She nodded. "I know."

He leaned back with both arms still around her. "It's okay. You're safe. I'm going to protect you from those damn nightmares."

The two of them laid like that for the rest of the night. His embrace of security fought off the rest of her nightmares. The next morning after waking up in his arms, Carrie felt as if she'd had her first good nights sleep in a long time.