You Are On My Mind

Night Visitors

By twelve years of marriage, Linda was unfortunately used to waking up next to cold sheets. Sometimes her husband worked into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes he was on the graveyard shift as punishment, and sometimes he couldn't sleep and would wander downstairs or to the kids bedroom.
Linda woke up at two in the morning, her first thought was it was because of the empty bed beside her. Ever since she had first gotten the call- that damned scary call- she couldn't sleep well without her husband by her side. She sighed and rolled to Danny's side, wanting some sort of comfort. Something moved in the room when she was so close to sleep, causing her heart pounded loudly. She sat up, "Danny?"
When her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed the figure was a good two feet shorter than her husband. "Jack?"
The figure still stood rooted in the spot by the door. When she got no answer, she realized her mistake.
"Sean?" It looked like he wanted to bolt back into his room, but something made him stay. "Sweetie, did you have a nightmare?" She patted the bed and slid back to her side. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Sean only walked to her and sat on his father's side, looking down at the empty space forlornly.
Linda frowned; Sean had barely been one when Danny was recalled. The baby was too young to understand what his Daddy was doing. For a bit, he thought dads only visiting for two weeks every six or so months (sometimes longer) was the norm. When Danny was forced to do night shifts once again, right after coming back from Iraq, Sean suffered from separation anxiety. Although taking after his mother, Sean was definitely very close to his Dad- both boys were.
"Oh, Daddy'll be back soon. He's just workin' a little late," Linda explained, hoping the five year old understood. "Do you want to sleep in here tonight?"
Sean nodded and slid beneath the covers, pulling them close to his chin. Linda smiled and snuggled with him, holding him close.
"I miss Daddy." Sean said so quietly, his mother wasn't sure he meant to say it aloud.
"I miss him, too." Like Sean, it was hard for her to be away from Danny for too long. "But he'll be home in a few hours, don't worry."
*************
Linda woke up before the alarm- an hour before the alarm. She was relieved she had one more hour of sleep. She realized there was another presence in the bed, someone that wasn't herself or her youngest. It took her only half a second to know that Danny was spooked behind her, holding her close. She touched his arm, sighing softly, thanking God he came home safely. She hated when he worked the night shift.
"Looks like you got visitors overnight," Danny whispered as not to wake Sean.
She smiled, "he was missing his Daddy. Wait- did you say visitors?" She turned her head to him, confused.
He pointed to where her other arm lay, and she followed the direction. Her heart was immediately warmed when she saw Jack was cuddled in front of her, and Sean in front of him.
"Aww. When did he get here?"
"Same time I did. 'Round three." Danny propped himself on his elbow.
"I missed you," Linda carefully turned to her back, rubbing his chest.
"I missed you, too." He kissed her sweetly, "let's get that last hour of sleep."
Linda nodded, snuggling into his chest, "good idea."