Bruce thought he had been stealthy in his retreat, slipping out the door as quiet as a mouse so he wouldn’t disturb the boys. Letting them have the cabin all to themselves while he moped about in outside world.

What he didn’t expect was for one of them to follow him, or to so suddenly feel a pair of arms go around him. The contact making him jump slightly, even though the redhead’s words made the corner of his mouth twitch in an effort to try and smile, just for him.

‘It’s okay.’

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. The words repeat over and over in his head. It’s okay, he’s okay, they’re okay. The only thing that wasn’t okay was the terrors of his short lived dreams that had put the doctor in such a gloomy mood in the first place.

“I know.” He says, finally, in that quiet way of his, after what seems like an eternity of silence between them while he’s lost in his thoughts. Twisting himself around so he can put an arm around the boy and steer them both back towards the cabin. Latching onto those still echoing words and the one who said them to help him push aside the temporarily rekindled fears and doubts of his past.

Edgar was right, after all.

Everything was just fine, now that they were here.