At first, Jennifer waited patiently as her young charge finished brushing her teeth, but she suddenly felt anxious when the girl grasped the small cup between both her hands and took a long pull from it. A wide smile crept over Jennifer's face as she waited expectantly for the inevitable...

Then it began, the young girl's face scrunched up furiously in an attempt to keep the water within her pursed lips as she swished to rinse out her mouth.

Jennifer giggled happily, gazing at the young girl before her, an unexpected, delighted whimper leading to a whispered, "You're sooooo cute!" Which, unfortunately, she knew the young girl would never be able to hear.

"I hope," she thought, "you have some sense of how much I love you."

She gazed wistfully at the little girl as a "P'phlooo" signaled the end of her swishing. After setting the cup back down on the sink the youngster turned suddenly and ran straight at, then through, Jennifer... heading out the door for her room.

"Sweetie, you forgot Jeremy." Jennifer called out. She knew the girl would never hear her but hoped that on some level she may be able to influence her in some way other than as a silent protector.

As if she indeed heard her, the young girl ran back into the bathroom and grabbed the stuffed dinosaur from where it sat, then tore back towards her bedroom. Jennifer would always wonder at times like that if she did influence things that way. There was nothing on it in any of the guide books and noone seemed to know. Most people didn't think it was possible to influence anything, except directly. Jennifer ultimately decided that it may be futile and nothing but coincidence, but she would keep it up anyway... just in case. Besides, she liked talking to Elizabeth.

As Jennifer approached Elizabeth's room she could hear her mother telling the young girl about their plans for the next day.

Elizabeth's voice piped up suddenly, "Is Michelle coming?"

Her mother nodded, "Michelle, John and Tim are all coming. You'll be able to play with all of them on the beach." She tucked her daughter into bed and gave her a loud kiss on the forehead making the little girl giggle.

Jennifer was already making her own preparations for the coming trip. When she had heard about them sharing a beach house with their extended family she was both incredibly happy... and increasingly worried. At least she'll have a few more people around to keep an eye on things. In a pinch the mother and father's designated watchers could be drafted as well. Guarding their bodies wasn't the only thing they did.

Elizabeth's mother closed the door on her way out, leaving it open a crack so the hallway nightlight could shine into her little girl's room.

Elizabeth nestled down under the covers and avoided looking at the closet. Jennifer frowned, noticing the signs of a scared child. As she got closer she could hear the girl's labored breathing.

"She always tries so hard." Jennifer thought proudly. She moved closer and sighed. She couldn't touch her, or interact with her in any way to comfort her. The guide books had rules everyone had to follow, and besides, a scared child suddenly feeling a warm hand on their shoulder or head, even in a comforting manner, would probably never sleep again.

Jennifer knelt by the side of the bed and folded her arms on top of it, careful not to allow any pressure to touch the bed. She rested her head in her arms and watched Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, for her part, was pulled up into a ball in the center of the bed. The covers were up over her head except for a little hole left open for her to breathe.

A long while passed, Jennifer seemed to fidget nearly as much as the little girl she loved so much. She hated seeing her uncomfortable, she wanted to take all her fear away. She wanted to do something... ANYthing...

With a slight blush she made a decision and hoped that none of her peers were anywhere near. Steeling herself she took a deep breath... and began to sing.

Jennifer improvised a soft song about a little girl named Elizabeth, who fluttered with butterflies, soared with eagles, swam with dolphins and lumbered across vast plains with a dinosaur named Jeremy.

She sang the song a few times, improving on it with each turn. She even went so far as to create a rephrain for transitions.

After a while Jennifer trailed off softly, then stopped, as if the sudden silence might wake the girl if she had fallen asleep. She stood up and leaned over the girl hoping that if her song didn't send her to sleep, hopefully it had occupied her own mind long enough for the girl to deal with her fright and fall asleep on her own.

The young girl was asleep, but the look on her face and twitching legs immediately sent a hot searing pain through Jennifer's heart.

"She's having another nightmare..." she thought with dread.

It happened every so often, a nightmare that would wake the girl shortly causing her to scream until her mother would come in and take her to her parents room to sleep instead. Unfortunately she wouldn't get any sleep tonight, even in the comforting space between mother and father.

Jennifer chewed on her bottom lip, frantically needing to do something.

All tension left Jennifer's face suddenly, replaced by a look of determined resolve. She reached out with a hand shaking from fear of her own actions, and the overwhelming need to help one she loved, and placed her slender fingers on the young girl's side, just above the hip. She placed her thumb around towards the back so she had part of the little girl's waist between thumb and forefinger...

...and God help her, Jennifer tickled the little girl.

It was only the softest of tickles, barely enough to be felt but it definitely did something.

She yanked back her hand suddenly as Elizabeth's twitching ceased and the squirm she was sent into nearly made Jennifer poke her in the side from her light thrashing. Elizabeth's breathing became slow and steady. With a sigh of relief Jennifer noticed the young girl's face soften.

After a few minutes of making sure things were alright, Jennifer smiled to herself. She retrieved her phone from her pocket and dialed a number, her eyes never leaving the sleeping child.

"Tonia? It's Jennifer." She paused, listening.

"Ohhh, don't make it sound like that... Elizabeth had a nightmare, I don't feel comfortable leaving her tonight."

She listened to the reply.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

A pause.

"Ok... let me know when you have free again. I'll talk to you soon."

A nod.

"See you later."

She hung up.

Jennifer knelt again by the edge of the bed, placing her head on her folded arms and watching her young charge sleep peacefully.