Good Omens One Shots 1

A Child 4

A few weeks had passed, the demon and demon child spent more days with the angel at the bookshop and Aziraphale was happy. He enjoyed the presence of the two and Apopis seemed always happy to see him. He felt more involved in her raising without the pressure of being the sole caretaker. Crowley would come and nap on the couch as Aziraphale played with the child for an hour or two.

"You want to read a book, my dear?" Aziraphale asked, picking up a book and showing her. He had run out of games to play with the infant.

"Buh, buh! Ah buh!" Apopis squealed. She was starting to talk now, usually just saying the first sound without finishing the word.

Aziraphale smiled gently, scooping the child into his lap and opening up the book. He started to read until Apopis drifted off to sleep in his arms. He hummed as he carried her to her crib next to the dozing demon. Before setting her down, he kissed her forehead and wrapped her tightly in her blanket.

He settled himself not too far away with a good book and a cup of tea, listening to the pair sleep. About forty-five minutes into his reading he heard the tell-tale hisses and whimpers coming from the crib, a nightmare. The angel quietly set his book down and headed over to the child who was starting to thrash.

She had been waking up from nightmares for a while now and Aziraphale had always failed to calm her from them. Crowley was the only that could, so far. But the angel knew the demon was exhausted. Apopis was not an easy child to raise and Crowley was doing the majority of it already; he needed as much rest as he could.

Apopis' wings lashed out and fluttered as she tried to escape whatever dream she was in. She would start screaming soon. Aziraphale grabbed her writhing body and made his way hastily to a quiet corner of the bookshop so the noise wouldn't wake the demon still napping on the sofa.

At the touch, she started to cry quietly, the noise gradually turning into screams.

"Come on dear, wake up. It's just a dream." Aziraphale cooed, carding his fingers through her hair in what he hoped was calming. He had seen Crowley do it a few times.

Apopis just cried even louder, flapping her wings insistently losing quite a few feathers.

"Apopis, doll you're perfectly safe." the angel tried again, hugging her tightly to his body.

She shivered violently opening her serpentine eyes with a piercing scream. Aziraphale winced and tried to stroke her back in a way that was comforting but the child just wailed into his chest. A feeling of helplessness washed over the angel, he didn't know what to do. How did Crowley do it? He clutched at the child as tears pricked his eyes.

The demon, freshly awakened from a nap, sauntered over to the pair, "I got it angel." He muttered groggily, kneeling down so he was on their level.

Aziraphale nodded, gently handing the child over. Immediately Apopis started to quiet down and Aziraphale had to look away as he rubbed at his eyes to hide any evidence of tears. The feeling of helplessness increased as Crowley hummed rocking the child and she was calm within seconds.

"There, there." Crowley cooed, tickling Apopis under her chin. His serpentine eyes almost glowing looking down on her, "It was just a nightmare."

There was a short silence, before Aziraphale figured he needed to explain himself, "I didn't want to wake you." He winced as his voice broke in the middle of the sentence.

Golden eyes met his and he smiled kindly at the angel, "It's fine. No problem really."

"I know but I should-" Aziraphale cut himself off, looking down.

Crowley sighed and shifted to a more comfortable position with Apopis humming quietly in his arms. "It's okay, Aziraphale. She's just a bit picky right now, eventually she will be completely comfortable with you, it takes time."