The Enemy Within

Sacha woke. It was not the first time he had done so in the dead of night, nor was the reason for his waking new: Matthew was having a nightmare.

Gently extricating himself from his position next to Alise, the man quietly made his way across the room and into the hallway. Making his way to Matthew's room, he opened the door and stepped inside, moving to sit on the edge of the boy's bed. Sometimes, his presence alone seemed to soothe the boy. Not this night.

"Matvei," Sacha spoke softly, using English despite the Russian petname. He reached out a hand to brush the hair from his son's face. "[i]You are having a nightmare, moĭ syn. Come now, wake for papa, hm?"

Matt was restless in his sleep he kept mumbling. "No, no, no" Over and over again. He turned over again. He heard the door open and knew it was his dad coming to check on him he seemed to know that he was having a night mare.

Matthew woke up and rubbed his eyes and moved over to his father whimpering slightly. He curled up beside him still awake he was calming down but not enough to talk yet. Matt had not had a nightmare this bad before and it just freaked him out.

A few minutes later he felt relaxed enough to speak. "Daddy I was dreaming about the night I tried to take my life." He said whimpering slightly as he tried to get closer.

Sacha put an arm around the boy's shoulder, rubbing his hand soothing up and down his arm. Matthew was really a bit old for cuddling and the like, but Sacha found himself loathe to discourage the behavior. He was still young, after all, even yet at that transition between boy and man.

"I have nightmares about that, too," Sacha admitted quietly, heart aching a bit at the thought. It was the reason Matthew hadn't been staying in his dormitory all year. Sacha was fearful that he would harm himself, again. After his and Alise's child had been lost, the thought of losing Matthew become even more terrifying than it was, already.

"Would you like to talk about it?" the man asked.