Reflections Of Angels

Bedtime Stories

"No!" Abby giggled, shaking her head and kicking her legs excitedly.

Nick laughed, securely holding on to the bouncing baby balanced on his knee. "What, you don't believe me? I have. I have seen a monstrous sea serpent."

"No, no, no!" Abby laughed, shaking her head.

"Would I lie to you?" Nick teased, booping the little girls nose with his finger, making her fall about in even more laughter. "It's a bedtime story. You're meant to enjoy it, not fact-check it."

"You can't get anything past this one. She's as sharp as a tack." Travis chuckled, appearing in the doorway. Walking into the bedroom, he plopped down onto the floor next to them, where they were sitting alongside Abby's bed. "Sounds like a fisherman's tale to me."

"Da!" Abby squealed, reaching for Travis with grasping hands.

Taking her from Nick, Travis settled her on his lap with a smile. "Hello, Sweetheart." He pretended to pout. "Did you start story time without me?"

Nick pointed at Abby. "Her idea. I told her to be patient, but she just couldn't wait. She's a bad influence."

Abby giggled at his teasing, pushing his finger away with her hand. "No, Nicky!"

"Aw, is he blaming you?" Travis cooed. "He's being very naughty."

"Norty!" Abby parroted, pointing at Nick accusingly. Nick mimicked her expression, narrowing his eyes at her in turn; and pretty quickly she cracked and broke down into giggles.

Travis laughed also. "I thought you were supposed to be calming her down for bed?"

"Yeah, no, that ship's sailed."

"Bad influence." Travis teased, trying to calm Abby down and make her sit still as the energetic child wriggled in his arms. "In all seriousness though, thanks for helping out."

"It's no problem." Nick smiled, tapping Abby on the nose again and chuckling as she went cross-eyed in surprise. "We get on, don't we Nibblet?"

"So what are you doing the rest of the night?" Travis asked as they tucked Abby into bed, the young girl clearly becoming overtired despite her objections.

"I'm going out searching for Nyx again." Nick said. "I don't think she will have gone far. She's most likely staying with someone we know."

Travis sighed. "I just hope nothing bad has happened to her."

"Don't worry. I'll find her. I'll find her and bring her back to talk to us. It was ridiculous to send her away; we're family, we should solve our problems together."