Life Under the Hood

Chapter 25

Back to Lucy's POV

I jolt awake as something jabs against my stomach. I wince, not used to the feeling and move my hand to rub the now slightly sore spot on my belly. However, I am offered little relief as the feeling returns a second later, hitting my hand in the process. My mind is shrouded by sleep, delaying my thought process, and it takes me several long seconds to realize what is happening.

"You're kicking!" I exclaim quietly, a smile breaking onto my face and tears welling in the back of my eyes.

I rub my stomach some more as if congratulating my daughter on her accomplishment. I then turn to the space beside me, eager to wake Jason and let him experience this, but my mood quickly falls as I am meet with emptiness and left to remember his absence.

I reach over to the nightstand, grabbing my phone, pulling up Jason's number, but I stop myself before hitting the call button. Will he answer? Will he even have time for this? My hand is still hovering over the green button when my door creaks open, immediately grabbing my attention. I squint in the darkness to figure out my guest.

"Damian?" I whisper as my little brother stops at the edge of my bed.

His hair is tousled, and one hand rubs at his eyes, signaling that he's tired, but coming to me means he is unable to sleep.

"I...I...um..." He mumbled drowsily, crossing his hands over his chest.

I give a sympathetic smile, one I know he is unable to see before throwing back the covers and inviting him in.

This has been a normal occurrence every since Damian made his return from the dead. His resurrection brought with many nightmares, panic attacks, and moments of disassociation. Whenever these happened, Damian turned to Jason as he knows best how to handle the moments. Being married to Jason and constantly by his side, I also learned how to help Damian manage. This usually meant spending the day laying with him on the couch, talking him through an attack, or soothing him back to sleep after a nightmare.

Damian crawls in beside me, leaning his head on my shoulder. His breathing is heavy, but I can tell that he is controlling it himself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I run my hand through his hair. He shakes his head against my shoulder. "Ok."

"Why are you up?" He ask me, distracting himself.

I smile as I focus once again on my daughter's kicking. Her attention has seemed to move from one side of my stomach to the the other.

I take one of Damian's hands in mine, positioning his fingers over the area. We only have to wait seconds before tiny feet are beating against our skin and hands.

"Hmph." Damian grunts, small notes of affection evident in the noise.

"Incredible, isn't it?" I say, grateful that someone else gets to share this moment with me.

Damian makes a noise of agreement, shifting his hand to move with my daughter's kicks. He is asleep moments later. His arms are wrapped protectively around my stomach and his head slides along my shoulder as he falls deeper into unconsciousness. I giggle softly, laying him down gently before situating myself in a comfortable position. I then lay down, taking Damian's head and placing it on my chest over my heart so he has something to ground him throughout the night. His reminder that he is here and not alone.

I run my fingers through his hair, focusing on slowing my breathing so that I can return to my own sleep. Eventually, despite my daughter's sharp kicks, I find myself slipping into sleep.

——————Time Skip—————

"Wow." Mom breathes, her breath hitting my stomach and sending a shiver through me. "She's been at it all mornin?"