Hey, baby. Are you okay? What's the matter? Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry, come here. No,
come here. It's okay. Are you okay being touched right now? Okay. Yeah, come here. Is it the
same bad dream you've been having? Or a different one? Yeah, just let me hold you. Snuggle up,
or it's nice and safe. I'll stroke your hair. No, we don't have to go back to sleep right
away. Just leave here with me. Do you want to tell me about the dream? Or you can just
ramble about random things if you want. I'll be right here listening. Yeah, I'm listening.
I'm still awake. I'm really sorry that these dreams have been bothering you. I'm really
glad I can be here for you when you wake up. I know you already know this, but I'm going
to say it again, okay? Okay. It's just a dream. It's not real. And nothing in that dream can
hurt you. You're safe, right now, with me. I won't let anyone hurt you, or anything.
You can stay in my arms for as long as you want. I'll just hold you, stroke your hair,
rub your back, give you kisses. It's okay to be scared of dreams. Sometimes when it's
late at night, things seem scarier, more overwhelming. But as soon as the sun starts shining, everything
will seem okay again. And until that happens, I'm here. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm
your sunshine, but I'll be as close as I can be. I can be a nightlight. How about that?
Sometimes, when I have nightmares, I watch a show that makes me laugh, or I watch YouTube
videos that calm me down. Or sometimes I just think about happy things. Like, I don't know,
my happy things are different than your happy things, but my happy things are puppies and
kittens. Basically any baby animal, especially if they're being silly and falling over. I
like thinking about food. Good food. Mexican food. I like thinking about how the day is
going to go tomorrow. It might be good, it might be bad, but it's usually nothing as
bad as what's in my nightmares. So sometimes nightmares are really realistic, and that's
what makes them scary. And sometimes they're just crazy. Sometimes once you start thinking
about your nightmare, you realize that it was really silly, and it was just the you
and the dream that was scared. And the real you doesn't have to be scared. However you
choose to deal with your nightmares, I'm here. I'm here to lay with you, and talk to you,
and cuddle you for as long as you want. If you want, we can go out. We can go get some
ice cream, or we can just drive around. Or we can go on a walk. Yeah, I kind of just
want to stay in bed too. I don't like that you have nightmares. Believe me, I don't.
But can I tell you something? I really like this time that we get to spend together. I
really like being awake with you at whatever ungodly time it is. It feels like it's just
you and the whole world. It feels very intimate. I really like knowing that I can help you.
I like knowing that you trust me enough to tell me what's going on, to hold onto me when
you need to. And you look sleepy. No, it's okay. You can drift off. I'll fall asleep
too, I'm sure. I just want to hold you and make sure you're safe first. Make sure you
fall asleep okay. Yeah. Yeah, you can stay in my arms. You can stay right here. Just
listen to me breathe. Listen to my heartbeat.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
