Tesia awoke in the middle of the night, scared. Whoever had put her to bed earlier had either forgotten to turn her nightlight on, or had turned it off later. She looked about her room nervously, trying to ignore all the spooky shadows that lurked about in the darkness. She hugged her Teddy tight, and, shoving her fear down the best she could, slid out of her bed and made a mad dash for her brother’s room. By the time she had reached his room, she had tears streaming down her face. She crawled up onto his bed and sat there atop the covers, not sure if he still slept naked or not – and she didn’t want to take any chances.

She sat there for a few moments, but then noticed that his bed was empty. She thought that to be strange, but crawled under his covers anyway, while still crying softly.

A.J. opened his bathroom door then, and the light shone out onto his bed. He spotted Tesia setting there, her Teddy hugged tightly to her chest. “May I ask why you are outta bed? It’s late; you should be asleep.”

Tesia sniffled. “I was…Got scared…”

A.J. put his bathrobe on – he had gotten up to go to the bathroom and had no clothes on. “Let me get something and I’ll be in, okay?” He said softly, walking over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of boxers and some pajama pants. He then went back into the bathroom, coming back out dressed. He climbed into the bed, scooping Tesia up in his arms.

Tesia cuddled into him as she cried. She hated being scared, but was so glad she’d someone who would protect her now – along with her Teddy, who’d done his best.

A.J. rubbed her back. “Shh. It’s okay. Nothing’s gonna hurt you, you hear me. Try and get some sleep, okay?”

Tesia nodded slightly as she sniffled again. “Glad I got you J…you’re the only one who’ll protect me – other than Teddy.”

A.J. leaned back against the pillow closing his eyes, yawning softly. “Yeah.”

“Yeah…” Tesia said quietly. “Nobody else has time…”

She saddened momentarily, then snuggled into her brother even more and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep in his arms, with her beloved Teddy clutched vastly, to her chest.

A.J. laid there for a little over an hour, just holding her, before easing away from her. He got up and went over, setting in the chair on the other side of the room. He dialed Erin’s number from there, not wanting to wake his sleeping sister up.