Mike sat bolt upright, his heart racing. He urgently reached for his pacifier, which had fallen out while he was sleeping. But even the suckling of his new favorite thing wasn’t enough to calm him down after the nightmare he’d had. He couldn’t remember any specifics of it, just that it scared him too much to fall back asleep. Too much to even be in the dark room all on his own.
Mike knew what he had to do. He got out of bed and toddled out of his room, making his way down the hall to the bedroom Stacy and Jim shared. At some point he had wet his diaper, probably during the bad dream, but it wasn’t very wet at all. Just slightly damp. If Mike wasn’t so scared, he’d be fine falling back asleep in it.
Finally, Mike finished traversing the hallway, which seemed impossibly long in the dark, and pushed open the door to the bedroom. He toddled to Jim’s side of the bed.
“Jim?” he whispered around his pacifier. Jim opened his eyes groggily.
“Oh, hey, squirt,” Jim mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. “Need something from Uncle Jimbo?” Mike nodded. “Did you fill up your diaper again?”
“No, I- I had a nightmare,” Mike mumbled. “I can’t fall back asleep.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Jimbo can help with that.” Jim picked Mike up and brought him into the bed, snuggling the toddler between himself and Stacy, who was still asleep. “I’ve got you, squirt. You’re safe with me.”
Mike truly did feel safe now, and tucked between Jim and Stacy, he was able to fall asleep again.