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‘Holy moly,’ Wolf had said. ‘This guy’s been through the wars.’
It had been an understatement.
The teddy bear was missing an arm and a leg, and his head was dangling by a thread. All over, his fur was bald, with just a few traces of the original plush coating remaining. He had just one eye, and the stitching all over him seemed just about ready to crumble into dust.
‘The sad thing is,’ she’d said, ‘that he’s not even that old. When they’re not looked after, they can age so quickly.’
‘Yeah. Everyone needs to be looked after. Why’s he called The Doctor?’
Sophia had plucked out an ancient, Teddy Bear sized stethoscope from inside the box.
‘This belongs to him. Luckily, it’s in way better condition than he is. The danger with The Doctor is that if I make a mistake, I could end up making him worse. I’m gonna have to be so careful. I was going to start work on him tomorrow, but I don’t think that’s an option anymore.’
‘Maybe the day after, huh?’
‘Maybe.’
She had put the old bear back in his box and stored it safely on the counter.
Back in their bed, later that night, as he embraced his Little, Wolf thought about the bear in the box. He thought about what Sophia said, how if she made a mistake on The Doctor, even though she was trying to fix him, she might make his injuries even worse.
He suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of responsibility. Hehadto survive the raid tomorrow. If he didn’t, even if they defeated the Death Division, even if they kicked her dad out of town, Sophia would still be badly, badly damaged. She needed him now.
Wolf squeezed her a little more tightly, and to his surprise, his Little let out a wail of pure, undisguisable terror.
*
Sophia could never remember her much of her dreams, but she never forgot the feeling of fear she was left with after a bad one.
It was always worse when she slept somewhere new. Maybe that was to do with being without a home for so long. A new bed meant new dangers. A new bed meant try not to sleep too deep — just in case.
As she woke, snippets surfaced in her mind: cages and chains, doors and locks. Shadowed faces and bright white, wicked grins.
She fought against the thing keeping her still. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was Wolf, holding her close.
‘Babygirl,’ he said, ‘it’s alright. It’s just a nightmare. It can’t hurt you. Nothing can hurt you when I’m near.’
She stopped struggling and relaxed against his hard, powerful chest. ‘You’re here?’ she asked dumbly.
‘I’m here. You can sleep again.’
‘I don’t wanna,’ she said, blinking. ‘I just want to be near you.’
‘You are.’
‘Closer,’ she said, pushing herself up against the safety he represented.
‘You can come as close as you like,’ he said.
‘I meanreallyclose,’ she said. ‘I want you to protect me.’
‘I always will.’
She kissed his bare chest, feeling his smooth, hard skin under her soft lips. ‘You’re more than my Daddy,’ she said, hugging him tight. ‘You’re my whole world. I’m scared.’
‘I know,’ he said, kissing her hair. ‘I’m gonna do everything in my power to make things good. You know that, right?’
‘But what if something bad happens?’
