The Replacement

Thunderstorm

It was 3 in the morning, and Bell and Edward had fallen asleep on the couch the previous evening while watching a movie. Victoria was sleeping in their usual bed, seemingly totally content with sleeping alone. That is, until it started storming. She woke up abruptly due to a loud clap of thunder. The vampire's eyes widened when Lightning lit up the bedroom. She threw off the blankets and ran downstairs, calling for Bella. The couple startled awake and Bella quickly recieved Victoria as she fell onto her, shaking and crying. Edward woke up as well, immediately curious as to what had made the little vampire so upset. Then, he heard the thunder. He shared a look with Bella as they both understood what was wrong; she was afraid of the storm. Bella rubbed her back, giving her a soft look. Edward stroked her hair and whispered comforting words to her. Thunder rang out loudly again and Victoria yelped. Bella stood up and went upstairs, a crying Victoria in her arms. Edward followed, and they took her back to bed. There, the two of them held her between them, trying to make her feel safe as the bad weather continued. She buried her face in Bella's chest, trembling worse with every thunderclap. Edward was sitting behind her, giving her a back massage.
She seemed only to calm down a little, and the couple wondered how she dealt with living in the woods for years with such a bad fear of storms. Then, of course, it was possible that she had always felt safe with James, and, he was no longer here to help her feel safe.
Then, Edward got an idea for how to get her back to sleep. He winked at Bella, and pulled Victoria onto his lap. He then wrapped her in a blanket and began rocking her gently, before talking to her about something as boring as he could think of, in the best monotone he could muster.
"So... yeah, long division... one of the most basic math skills that usually starts being taught in third or fourth grade. "
Bella fought the urge to laugh as Victoria stopped crying, and began dozing off. Edward was literally boring her to sleep.

A few minutes later, the vampire was completely asleep, and Edward and Bella did a silent high-five. All was right with the world.