#it kind of needs to be reread in the light of the as-yet unfinished selkie au fic in terms of some details

[the--highlanders]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I can't decide and we've discussed some of them together but!!!!!!! 💤 or 💭, please? :3

💤    Sleeping trouble.

“Mmph.”Something was tugging on Jamie’s hand, but he was too firmly in thegrasp of sleep to register it properly. “Doctor?”

“Whatis it?” He felt the Doctor stir beside him – but he was on thewrong side to be the one pulling on Jamie’s hand. “Go back tosleep, Jamie, the sun’s not up yet.”

Reluctantly,Jamie opened his eyes. Something was staring at him out of thesemi-darkness, and the snatched his hand away with a yelp of alarm.“Doctor, there’s something in here with us?”

“Athair?”A tiny, chubby hand reached over the side of the bed. “Athair,I had a nightmare.”

“Oh.”Jamie let out the breath he had been holding, all but deflating inrelief, the tension in his shoulders fading. “Oh, wee one. Comehere.” He reached down to lift his son onto his lap, and Rònangrasped anxiously at his sleeves. “A nightmare? What was it about?”Rònan buried his face in Jamie’s chest, shaking his head. “That’salright, ye dinnae have to tell us if ye don’t want to.”

“CanI sleep here tonight?”

“Ofcourse ye can.” Rònan scrambled off his lap to burrow underneaththe covers, suddenly smiling brightly as the Doctor gathered him intohis arms. Jamie flopped back onto the bed with a sigh, rolling overto exchange a worried look with the Doctor, who reached out to touchhis shoulder reassuringly. They watched as Rònan’s breathingevened out and he reached for Jamie’s hand again, grasping it as heslipped back into a deep sleep.

“He’llbe fine,” the Doctor said quietly. “Everyone has nightmares whenthey’re little.”

“Notlike this!” Jamie hissed. He cast a worried glance down at Rònan,and lowered his voice. “I worry that he remembers things. He nevertells us what his nightmares are about.”

“Hewas only a few days old when we found him,” the Doctor remindedhim. “Even if he does remember something, it can’t be aparticularly vivid memory.”

“Mm.I hope not.” Jamie wound a curl of Rònan’s hair around hisfingers absently. “Would sleeping in his other form help him?”

TheDoctor considered this for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. We’restill ourselves when we’re seals, you know. He’d still dream ofthe same things.”

“Whatif it’s our fault? What if we’ve done something wrong, or weshould have sent him tae live with your people, or -”

“Jamie.”The Doctor moved his hand to press a finger to Jamie’s lips,quietening him. “I may not be an expert on children -”

“You’rebetter off than me, though,” Jamie muttered. “At least yourpeople havechildren. Or more children than us, anyway.”

“Istill know a thing or two,” the Doctor continued. “And I can tellyou that this isn’t our fault.” His gaze settled on somethingbehind Jamie. “That being said…” He gently pushed Rònan out ofhis arms so as not to wake him, leaving the bed to take somethingfrom his desk. For a moment, Jamie thought he was going to bring backthe book he unwrapped from it, but it was discarded, along withseveral loose scraps of paper, a few shells, and what lookedsuspiciously like fish bones.

“Yourseal skin? Won’t he already have the real thing right next to him?”

“Well,yes.” The Doctor lifted Rònan out from under the covers, bundledthe skin around him, and returned them both to bed. “But I thought– the feel of it – it might help him feel a little more like he’ssleeping with a pod. It might comfort him.” Jamie smiled, watchingRònan nuzzle into the seal skin happily.

Rònan’stiny murmur was so quiet they almost missed it. “Shh, ‘m tryingto sleep.”

TheDoctor chuckled. “Well, that’s us told, isn’t it?”

“Aye.”Jamie kissed Rònan’s forehead, then reached out to take theDoctor’s hand again, kissing his palm. “Goodnight, Doctor.”

“Goodnight,Jamie.”