New Years Series

"Here, you can snuggle under my blanket. I'll protect you."

"Here, you can snuggle under my blanket. I'll protect you." Peggy says as she lifts the comforter in the air from the corner.

The shaking 5 year old climbs in the bed and snuggles against her mother's chest. As she does, a loud crack and bangs fills the sky, shaking the house, making the little girl shake more and squeal.

"Mummy!" She cries burring herself deeper into the bed and closer to her mother.

Peggy lays on her side and brings the little girl closer, brushing a hand in her dark curly hair. "Shhh, its alright poppet. Mummy's here." 

As Peggy comforts her little girl, another flash of lightning fills the air and the baby kicks, startling Elizabeth. 

"Ah!" She screams, moving away from her mother. Once Peggy realizes why she was so scared, she laughed lightly and reached for her. 

"It's alright, Lizzy. It was just the baby."

"Really?" She scoots closer and sits up, hesitating to reach out. 

"Go on. He won't hurt you, I promise." She giggles and places her small hand on Peggy's belly, jumping back when it kicks again. 

"Eek!" The two girls laughs. "Has the baby kicked daddy?"

"Yes, he has. Daddy jumped too when it first happened." Lizzy laughs and touches her belly again. 

"Where's daddy?"

"Daddy's still at work." Peggy says, holding Elizabeth close. "He has to work later because Mummy can't."

"Why?" She asks, looking up at her mother with curious golden brown eyes. Peggy loves that she got her eyes, along with Daniels curls and curiosity. 

"Well...mummy can't work a lot anymore. At least not until the baby is born." The little girl tilts her head to the side as she thinks, making Peggy smile. "He has to grow and be safe. So I don't work a lot anymore."

"Oh..." She says as if understanding everything Peggy just explained. She curls up against her mum and tries to sleep, but the loudness of the storm scares her once more, causing her to scream.  Peggy tried to distract her from the outside by talking to her and letting her feel the baby kick, but once Lizzy got tied, she stopped talking and started snuggling. The bedroom door bursts open  several moments after Elizabeth screamed. 

"Elizabeth!?!" He shouts but then calms down when he enters the room. "I heard screaming."

"Lizzy got scared of the storm and came in here to sleep." Peggy says. As if it wasn't obvious enough, Elizabeth sits herself on Peggy's lap and wraps herself in her mother's arms, smiling at her father. 

"Pai!!" she squeals.

"Hey anjo, What are you doing?" He asks as he sits on the bed and hugs her tight.

"The baby kicked me."

"What?" He looks over at his wife who tried to hold in a laugh.

"Elizabeth was snuggling up against me because of the storm and...well he kicked while she was there and scared her."

"Your brother's starting trouble already, huh?"

"Yeah..." Peggy and Daniel laugh and hold Elizabeth between them. 

"So is that all I missed?"

Peggy hums and nods. But as she does another clap shakes the house and Lizzy jumps and ducks under the blanket. Her parents share a glance and uncover her. She shakes her head and wiggles lower to stay covered. 

"Come here, Lizzy. It's okay." Daniel says. She looks at her dad and then crawls back up again. "Its just thunder, I promise. It'll go away soon."

"I don't wike it"

"It's okay, princess. Do you want me to sing a lullaby? Will that help you?" He asks. She nods her head frantically and wiggles around to get comfortable. As Daniel sings a song, her eyes become droopy, and eventually she and the storm rest in peace.