The scream woke both Eve and me. I had been in a deep slumber dreaming about eating a cheesecake while riding on a bicycle and it had broken through and pulled me to the land of the living.

Next to me, my wife sat upright in the bed. “What was that?” She questioned with her voice thick from sleep, but alarmed.

I wasn’t sure what to respond with until it came again and then we both knew and my blood ran cold. The girls.

“Something’s wrong,” I called to her as I flung the covers back and bolted from the bed, nearly running from the room stark naked.

“Alex, your pants!” Eve called after me as she slipped into a robe to cover her nude body.

I blinked and skidded to a stop. “Right.” Then grabbed some black lounge pants from a chair and struggled into them as I hurried down the hall. I was so used to sleeping in the buff that I hadn’t even considered it might slow me down if my daughters needed me.

Eve was on my heels and together we burst into the girls’ room to find them both sitting up in the bed.

“What’s wrong?” I flipped the switch and the room exploded in light.

Ireland shrank from the brightness, hugging her rabbit to her chest. “Ashlyn’s screaming again.”

As if on cue, the older of the two gave another scream, her eyes wide and her little chest heaving hard beneath her night shirt.

I felt my stomach pitch to my feet at the petrified expression on her face and dropped down onto the bed next to her. “Ashlyn, honey, what’s wrong?”

But she didn’t seem to hear me. Instead, she clutched her bear tighter and screamed again.

I shared a worried look with my wife then turned back to my daughter. “Ashlyn, baby.” Gently I reached and touched her arm.

This time she looked in my direction and I felt a wave of chills race down my spine at the horror in her eyes. I don’t think she was even blinking.

“It’s got to be a nightmare.” Eve rounded the bed to the opposite side then climbed up on it and over to us. “She’s still sleeping and having a nightmare of some kind.”

I was at a loss for words; she looked wide awake. But the expressions on her face and the terror in her voice were scaring the bejeebes out of me. Next to me, Ireland shrank into my side and I slipped an arm around her. “Does she do this often?”

Ireland shook her head. “She didn’t do it till Mommy went to be with Jesus.”

I frowned and watched as Eve gently guided Ashlyn’s body to her chest, holding her close and secure. “It’s alright, Ashlyn,” she soothed as she stroked the younger girl’s hair. “You’re safe here. Nothing’s gonna get you.”

I watched as Ashlyn seemed to fold right into my wife’s arms. Her screaming stopped and her face relaxed and then her breathing began to slow. It wasn’t until I saw her eyelids flutter closed that I realized I was holding my breath. Letting it out, I turned my attention back to Ireland. “Are you alright?”

She drew her bunny closer and leaned into my side. “It scares me when she does that.”

“How often does she do it?”

Her lithe shoulders shrugged. “Not every night, but still a lot.”

“What happens when she does it?”

Ireland tilted her head some. “Well, she sits up and screams and screams. Sometimes Miss. Mona would come in, but sometimes she wouldn’t. And I would try to talk to her, but she never acted like she was listenin’.”

“Ashlyn or Miss. Mona?”

“Ashlyn.” Ireland climbed into my lap and tucked herself against my chest.

“That’s because she’s still asleep,” Eve explained in a hushed tone as she eased Ashlyn back against the pillows and tucked the blankets back around her body.

“But she looks awake.”

“I know she does, but sometimes people have nightmares that make them look like they’re awake when they’re not.” She leaned and brushed a kiss over Ashlyn’s forehead then smiled at Ireland. “I’m sure it was very scary and you’re such a brave girl to try to help your sister.”

Ireland leaned from me and peered over to her sister. “She gonna be okay?”

“She’s gonna be just fine, sweetheart.” Eve reached and smoothed a hand over Ireland’s cheek. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Ireland shrugged some and hugged her bunny.

I shared a look with my wife then snuggled my daughter close. “What if we sat over in the rocking chair for a bit?”

Her brunette head nodded and I shifted from the bed with her in my arms and crossed over to the glider chair by the window. Sinking down into it, I held her close and hummed softly.

Eve turned the lights back off then settled on the bed next to Ashlyn, smoothing her hand over the small girl’s back to help soothe her and keep the nightmares away.

“Do you know how to sing a lul’by? Mommy used to sing us lotsa lul’bys.” Ireland peeked her big brown eyes up to mine.

Honestly, no, I didn’t. But I couldn’t tell her that. Instead, I racked my brain trying to remember the one I would hear Brian and Leighanne sing over and over to their son Baylee when he had been little. But the words just didn’t want to come, so I was going to do what singers/songwriters do best and improvise.

I smiled down at her sweet little face and kissed the tip of her nose. “I sure do know a lullaby.” And after tonight I would make sure I knew two or three more. Maybe I’d even write one of my own.

She smiled at that then settled back against my chest, hugging her bunny to her side.

Sharing a look with my wife, I winked her way then cleared my throat and began to sing new lyrics to an old tune,

“Hush little baby don't you cry,
Papa's going to buy you an apple pie.

If that apple pie turns sour,
Papa's going to buy you a pretty flower.”

I knew Eve had to be amused at the lyrics I was inventing, but she stayed silent and in my arms, Ireland’s body began to settle more.

“If that flower starts to fade,
Papa's going to buy you some lemonade.

If that lemonade's too cold,
Papa's going to buy you a ring of gold.”

I shifted her gently in my arms as the glider moved slowly back and forth. Her little eyes were closed and her breathing had deepened. Feeling proud of myself, I finished the song, trailing off at the end.

“If that ring of gold rolls away,
Papa's going to rock his baby all day.”

Ireland didn’t move and I mentally cheered myself. I had done a pretty damn good job there and was feeling so proud and successful.

From the bed, Eve smiled and I slowly stood, lifting Ireland into my arms and crossing the room. Laying her back in her spot, I tucked the covers around her again then smoothed the hair from her face and kissed her cheek. “Sleep tight, sweetheart,” I whispered before doing the same to Ashlyn.

Eve joined me and we watched them both for another moment before cutting the lamp off and leaving the nightlight on to create a nice glow. Taking her hand, I slipped from the room and allowed her to close the door halfway. Then we took the path back to the master bedroom and inside.

“That was beautiful,” Eve commented as she slipped her robe off and climbed back fully nude under the blankets.

I chuckled low and joined her, still wearing the lounge pants. “Thank you; that was a McLean original.”

She waited until I was situated in the bed then snuggled her warm body to mine. “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Not really,” I chuckled and slipped my arms around her, “I couldn’t remember the original lyrics or think of any real lullabies so I improvised.”

“Well, you did a great job.”

I smirked. “Thank you.”

Eve patted my chest then peered up to my face. “I’m worried about Ashlyn.”

“I am too.” My brows drew together some. “Ireland said that her screaming nightmares started up once their mom passed.”

“I heard her.” She traced her fingers over the bare skin of my chest. “Tomorrow I’ll check around for places to find a good counselor. Poor Ashlyn.”

I hugged my wife closer. “Poor Ashlyn and poor Ireland. This just hurts my heart so much.”

“I know it does, baby.” She slipped her own arms around me. “We’re gonna get them through this. They’ll be laughing and smiling and happy little girls before you know it.”

I hoped she was right, because the idea of them suffering and being scared or sad nearly broke me in two. They were already my life and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure they came through all of this as unscathed as they could be.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day, while Eve was in my office trying to locate a good therapist, I was in the kitchen trying not to burn the pancakes.

“Did you ‘member the choc’wate chips?” Ireland questioned as she swiveled on the stool at the counter across from where I had the pancakes cooking up on the griddle.

I blinked. Damn, I had forgotten them. “Uh, nope. They’re right here.” And I grabbed then up from where they’d been pushed aside. Quickly, I sprinkled some over each pancake then gently pressed them into the lightly browned breading.

Ashlyn, who was seated next to her sister, frowned some at my actions. “Mommy would put them in the battah before cooking them.”

“Well, this is how daddy makes pancakes.” I winked at them then tossed the chips aside. “It’s his special chocolate chip pancake creation.”

That made my cynic giggle.

I grinned at that, so glad she didn’t even seem to remember her nightmare from last night. “All right, squirts,” I pushed up from the counter and took two cups from the cupboard, “what do you ladies want to drink?”

“Kool-aid!”

“Gwape juice!”

I blinked at their responses. “Well, daddy doesn’t have kool-aid or grape juice, so how about milk or orange juice?”

“Drats!” Ashlyn exclaimed, then she tilted her head and her brown ringlets brushed her face. “Milk, please.”

“I want milk too,” her sister chimed in.

I obliged and poured them two glasses, stuck bendable straws in to hopefully keep them from spilling the cups, then set them before the two and quickly flipped the pancakes.

Eve came in at that time and while the girls were busy blowing bubbles through the straws and into their milk, she told me that Paige was going to get us some names for a therapist. Seems she knew a few through her work at the hospital and one or two had a lot of experience with children, which I was grateful for.

She also felt inclined to let me know that the whole story about Melody and the girls was getting more attention than we had hoped for. I still hadn’t read the article, or any others, and was determined to keep it that way. But it seemed most networks were picking up the story and running with it and the thought made me sick to my stomach. We were going to have to keep a very low profile for awhile and I was seriously considering hiring Geoff on for those times we would have to brave the public. At least until everything died down.

Suddenly a little girl’s shriek cut through our hushed conversation and my wife and I both turned to see smoke billowing up from the griddle. Before either of us could move into action, Ashlyn swiped up her cup and dumped its contents out and over the griddle and pancakes. A hiss filled the room as the cold liquid met the hot grill and then she was taking Ireland’s glass and doing the same.

“Ashlyn, that’s our pancakes!” Her sister exclaimed, sounding horrified that she was ruining their breakfast.

Both Eve and I lunged for the counter and I grabbed the straws off the griddle before they could melt. “Ashlyn…” Milk covered the griddle and pancakes and was dripping off the sides onto the counter.

My daughter turned her innocent doe eyes my way. “The pancakes was on fire!”

I let my gaze drift down to the milk covered griddle and sopped pancakes then back to her sweet little face. “Well, they’re not anymore.”

She grinned big at that. “I did good, huh?”

“No!” Ireland scowled at her. “Now we can’t eat our choc’wate chip pancakes.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Eve spoke to them both, keeping her voice calm. “We can always make more pancakes. We just…” she surveyed the scene and chuckled low, “we just have to clean this up first.”

“Ireland, the whole house coulda burned down!”

I didn’t have it inside me to tell her there hadn’t been a fire, just some burned pancakes. “I’m very glad that you want to help keep us all safe, Ashlyn,” I began as I swiped some paper towels off the roll to mop the spilled milk up with. “But next time you see pancakes on fire, let me or Eve know and we can take care of it, okay?”

“I was just tryin’ ta help,” her voice quivered and her shoulders drooped.

“Aw, baby,” Eve set the sponge down that she had taken from the sink and moved around the counter to Ashlyn, “you’re not in trouble.” She kissed the girl’s head and gave her a cute squeeze. “We just want to make sure you know to tell adults if you see anything dangerous.”

My daughter sighed and gave a nod. “Okay.”

I sent her a cute little wink. “And just think, we can add the chocolate chips the right way this next time.”

Her ringlets bounced as she shook her head. “No, I want you to make your special choc’wate chip pancake creation.”

I felt my heart swell at that. “Well, I think I can do that.”

She giggled and Eve and I went about cleaning up the mess.

After the counter had been cleaned up and fresh pancakes were browning on the griddle, I refilled the girls’ cups and stuck new straws in them. Eve busied herself with taking out plates and silverware and we both made sure to keep an eye on my daughters and the breakfast.

Soon, we were all seated at the table enjoying chocolate chip pancakes dad’s special way with milk, or orange juice, and some sausage my wife had done up real quick.

“Daddy?” Ireland questioned between bites of pancake, syrup smeared on her cheeks.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

She paused her fork halfway to her mouth speared with a piece of pancake. “After brea’fast, can we go to the playground?”

I hesitated. We’d be sitting ducks at a playground if the paparazzi found us. But we didn’t have the backyard ready for them and filled with enough toys to keep the girls satisfied. And they wouldn’t understand why they weren’t allowed to go out and play. “Well….” I looked over to my wife.

Eve was watching us with a thoughtful expression. “I have a better idea. How would you girls like to meet your cousin?”

Both sets of identical brown eyes turned to her.

“Cousin?” Ireland questioned.

“What’s a cousin?” Her sister asked.

Eve set her fork down and wiped her hands with a napkin. “Well, a cousin is another member of your family.”

Ashlyn tilted her head. “We have more family?”

“Oh, you sure do.” She smiled brightly at them both. “You have lots of family; there’s grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.”

“Who are these people?” Ireland sounded surprised.

I met my wife’s eyes and nodded my head, giving the okay for her to continue.

She leaned closer to the girls. “Well, you have a grandma-”

“We have a gramma?!” Ashlyn interrupted her with an excited squeak in her voice. Her eyes were the size of saucers and she turned to her sister. “Ireland, we have a gramma!”

Ireland matched her sister’s expression. “I always wanted a gramma!”

“Charlie had a gramma and I always wanted one,” Ashlyn annunciated each word clearly and for effect. “Where is she?” And then she tilted her head and peered under the table as if her grandma was hiding and waiting for just the right moment to pop out.

I chuckled low. “Well, your grandma is in another state. She lives in Florida and we live in California.”

“You mean she’s not here?”

Her slender shoulders drooped again and I made a quick decision because I hated to see either of them sad or disappointed, especially after everything they’d been through. “Well, not right now. But what if we called her and told her to come visit us? Would you girls like that?”

“Yeah!” They chorused together.

I smiled. “Okay, after breakfast we’ll call Grandma and tell her to come see you guys. She can’t wait to meet you.”

“She knows ‘bout us?” Ireland turned her eager eyes my way.

“Of course she does.” I reached and touched her nose with my finger. “And she’s so excited to see you and she loves you so much already.”

“And me too?”

I turned to Ashlyn and tugged one of her curls. “And you too.”

Ireland giggled, just delighted with this tidbit of information. “Who else do we has?”

“Well,” Eve spoke up again, “you remember Miss. Lorraine and Mr. Spencer from last night? My mom and dad?” When both girls nodded, she continued, “They’re your family too.”

“Are they our cousins?” Ashlyn wiggled excited in her seat.

Eve looked my way, unsure of what exactly to refer to her parents as and I set my fork down and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Miss. Lorraine and Mr. Spencer could be your grandparents too. You could have more grandmas and grandpas.”

“More?” Both my girls looked like they just could not believe this.

“Oh yes, and you could call them…” I trailed off and racked my brain for some affectionate grandparent terms.

“Nona and Gumpy,” Eve interjected, referring to what her niece called her parents.

It made sense to have the girls refer to them the same that Natalie did. I nodded and sent my wife a wink. “That’s right, you could call them Nona and Gumpy.”

Ashlyn looked thoughtful. “Charlie calls his gramma, Gigi.”

“Do you like Gigi?”

Ireland nodded. “Can we call gramma, Gigi too?”

“Well, how about you call Miss. Lorraine and Mr. Spencer, Nona and Gumpy and then when you meet your other grandma and grandpa, you can call her Gigi and,” I paused. “What does Charlie call his grandpa?”

Ireland didn’t miss a beat. “Skipper.”

I wasn’t sure how Tony would feel about being called ‘Skipper’. “Well, what if we called your Florida grandparents, Gigi and Papa?”

My oldest daughter giggled, so delighted with all of this news. “I can’t wait ta meet Gigi and Papa! And can we go see uh…” her brow furrowed as she tried to remember all the new information.

“Nona and Gumpy,” Eve prompted her.

“Nona and Gumpy,” she repeated with a giggle.

“You don’t want to go play with your cousin?” I questioned. “She has a really neat playground.”

Ashlyn paused like she had forgotten all about that. “Can Nona and Gumpy come play too?”

Ireland giggled around the pancake in her mouth. “Cah ‘e hab-”

“Ireland, wait until your mouth is empty,” Eve gently reminded her of her manners.

She promptly closed her mouth and finished her bite, swallowing it then trying again, “Can we have a tea party?”

“And play dress up?” Her sister added.

“Well, I know for a fact that your cousin, whose name is Natalie, by the way, just loves to play dress up and have tea parties.” Eve winked at them.

Both my girls giggled with excitement and I found myself grinning ear to ear at how happy they were. “Okay, let’s not forget our breakfast,” I reminded them, trying to draw their attention back to the food.

“Oh yeah,” Ashlyn giggled out. “I really like these choc’wate chip pancakes.”

“Me too,” Ireland agreed. “Can we have them every day?”

I chuckled. “I don’t know about every day; you might turn into a big chocolate chip pancake if you ate them every day.”

“Noooo.” My oldest giggled with delight at the thought.

Next to her, Ireland tilted her head and I could see her brain was trying to conjure up the picture. “That would be funny,” she finally said.

I laughed low. “We can’t have them every day, because then they wouldn’t be dad’s special chocolate chip pancake creation.”

“Drats!” My oldest exclaimed.

Ireland giggled and then the two of them worked on finishing their breakfast.

I watched them both then met my wife’s gaze. Despite the slight breakfast mishap, their first full day in California was starting out pretty well. With a smile on my face, I turned back to my own plate.