Always Traught

Nightmares

Nightmares lingered around him. They never seemed to rest - always relentless, persistent, and constantly swirling around in the back of his mind. They popped up when he allowed himself to separate from everything else. Sometimes he would relive the deaths of his parents, the site of broken bodies, the awful senes of severed limbs, or the smell of rotting flesh. In rare cases, his brain created situations that were pure fiction. Some of those stages were more terrifying than anything he had ever witnessed in the real world. He would see the dead body of his unborn daughter. He would see the ripped out parts of his wife, littering dark rooms with her blood and flesh. He would see the burning corpses of his brothers and his adoptive father, too. All he could do was watch. It was as if he couldn't move. He was paralyzed.

This time, the terrors felt all too real. All he could feel was the tantalizing feeling of fear. His mind kept replaying all the things he saw. He could taste the blood, smell the scent of death, hear all the screams, and feel nothing but pain. Once he woke himself, he clutched onto the closet thing next to him. That was a pillow. His heart was pounding, mixing in with the screams. His whole body shook vigorously. Sweat covered every inch of him. It soaked the blankets on top of him. It soaked the sheets underneath him. His heart started to hurt. He thought he would die from it, so he reached out for his wife.

When he didn't feel her, he panicked even more. Had his nightmares came true? Was that god awful dream even a dream? What could he do? He could couldn't even move. His body shook too hard. He was stuck. He was paralyzed. He had failed again. This time was for real. He had lost everything. "Artemis!" He cried for his wife, "Artemis!"

He heard slow footsteps try to move fast, and in a few seconds he heard their bedroom door open. "Dick!?" Artemis exclaimed from the doorframe. The raven turned his head towards her, and tried to feel relieve from her presence. Dick couldn't calm down, still.

The blonde waddled over to him as quick as she could, her swollen belly upsetting her balance. She sat down by him, talking his sock-covered-feet and placing them on top of her knees. She ran her hands up and down his legs and started to sing a Vietnamese lullaby. The archer did this every time Dick had a panic attack. The feeling of her hands made him know that she was there. The song calmed him down.

Once his breathing slowed down and his body stopped shaking, he looked at her. His eyes looked up at her face, then moved down to her baby bump. He wanted to feel his daughter, too, but he was still unsure if he could sit up. "Artemis, can I - Can I feel the baby?" The blonde nodded. Dick did the best he could to help her lay down.

Artemis grabbed Dick's hand and placed it where their daughter was kicking. The spouses didn't talk. Artemis knew this part of the process. It started the day they felt the first kick. Dick allowed himself to close his eyes and just felt each movement. There was one kick, then two, then a moment where the baby just didn't stay still. It felt like magic. It was reminder to him that his baby was still alive. It told him that his wife was still alive, as well.

"Where were you out?" Dick asked, still searching for movements. They were slowing down.

"I was having really bad contractions."

"How bad?" He opened his eyes and looked at her with bubbling concern. Artemis gave him a look that said, "Worry about yourself."

"Other than contractions, I was talking to her about names. Y'know, cause she doesn't have one yet? I said her name could be A-B-C-D and she kicked me. Hard," Artemis placed one of her hands on the side of her belly, "For now, she remains nameless."

"You're 37 weeks pregnant, Mai. We should find a name," Dick lowered himself against the bed and rested his head against her stomach. He thought that the baby was asleep now, due to the lack of movement. She was already a Flying Grayson. Truth be told, that terrified both of the expecting parents.

"We really liked Aaliyah Diana Grayson," Artemis shrugged as she knotted her fingers in his hair.

"I think we loved it," Dick kissed her stomach. "And I love her."

The blonde woman sighed before asking him, "You dreamt that you lost her, didn't you?" She grabbed onto his hair just a little bit tighter.

"Yes," He bit back a breath, "I dreamt that I lost you both. There was nothing that I could do. I was frozen. It didn't matter how hard I screamed, they wouldn't stop hurting you. They wouldn't let me move," He was on the verge of tears, "When you weren't in bed, I thought those stupid dreams had came true. I thought they had ripped Aaliyah out of you, left both of you for dead. Even when you were right in front of me, Artemis, it still hurt. It felt like it had happened. But I just needed to feel you. Both of you."

Artemis didn't know how to respond to that. Dick didn't think she needed to. He took a breath of relief, because it felt good to say that. It felt good to be holding her baby bump and to have his wife's hands in his hair. It made him feel safe. Speaking those words felt like he was using them as a shield. That shield would protect his wife, his awaiting child, and him from those terrors.

His nightmares still lingered around the Grayson family, just not for the rest of tonight. That was the only thing that mattered.

A/N: Thank you all for 2k reads! I think 100 reads is a huge deal, so wow! Much love <3 🙈