SUMMARY: Heidi hears her brother talking about scarabs, and because she was spying, feels she has to face her scary dreams all on her own.
Spys and Dreams
Seated at her tea table; a small round table made just for her small size, Heidi was having a tea party with her fluffy rabbit, and her fluffy bear, as well as one of her many baby dolls. The active four year old had on a fancy white hat, with a pink ribbon going around it; one her mum had bought for her to use when playing dress up. It didn�t quite go with the light yellow dress she was wearing, nor the lacy pink gloves she had on her hands, but none of that mattered to the little girl, who was having a good time at her little party.
�Bonnie, I would like more tea if you please,� she said to her rabbit. Heidi stood up from her chair and walked over to the chair her rabbit occupied, helping Bonnie the bunny pour the imaginary tea. �Why thank you Bonnie,� she said as she walked back to her seat where she sat down, taking a sip of tea from her tiny tea cup.
With her back to the door, Heidi didn�t see her father walk in, and wasn�t aware of his presence until he was kneeling beside her. �You need to be taking a nap,� Rick said as he looked at his little girl.
�I�m much too old to have them,� she said as she folded her arms against her chest. Heidi didn�t like having naps, but still needed them. Without having a nap, by the end of the day she was very unpleasant to be around.
�I�ll bet Bonnie needs to have a nap,� Rick said as he stood up and walked over to Heidi�s bunny. �Would you like to take a nap? You would?� He picked up the rabbit and took it the short distance to his daughter�s bed and put Bonnie in beneath the pink and white quilt, then went back to his little girl.
�She doesn�t like them either,� Heidi said as she turned her back on him, then laughed when he began to nibble her neck. In an instant she found herself cradled in his arms, and was laughing hard, begging him to stop nibbling her neck. When he did stop, a yawn escaped from her mouth, and when she was snug in her bed, Heidi sucked on her thumb, while holding on to Bonnie.
Rick pulled the sheets and the quilt over Heidi�s body, then leaned down and kissed his little princess.
Quickly Heidi took her thumb out of her mouth. �Daddy, sit here till my eyes shut,� she said, then put her thumb back in her mouth.
Never able to say no to her, and knowing that she would likely get up again if he didn�t stay with her, Rick settled down on her bed, and began to gently stroke his hand against her left cheek.
�I miss mummy,� she said around her thumb. Today was one of those rare days where Evelyn was working at the museum all day, and Heidi never liked it when she was away for such a long period of time.
�I bet she misses you too. I�ll make a deal with you. You take a good nap, and when you wake up we will go see her,� Rick said.
She nodded her head, and in a few more minutes her heavy lids shut. Rick stayed with her for a bit longer, until he was sure she would stay asleep, then headed downstairs to listen to the afternoon radio broadcast.
~*~
With her father away on yet another business trip, Megan was staying with the O�Connells, and once school let out for her, she walked the few blocks to Alex�s school. There she found him sitting outside with his nose buried in a book. �What are you reading this time?� she asked as she walked in front of him.
�Oh, the usual,� he said as he shut his book, putting it in his satchel.
�What is it with you and Egypt?� she teased.
�It�s in my veins, and anyway most of it is pretty interesting, but you know all about that,� he said as they began to walk down the sidewalk toward the museum.
Megan had been his friend for most of her life, and she knew, unlike most other people, that there were amazing things that had gone on with his parents and even with him. �What happened to going to the playing field with Darby and Marcus?� she asked, surprised that they were not heading in that direction.
�Most of the team is out with the flu, and I promised mum not to get around any of them,� he said as he reached out and took her satchel for her.
Whenever there was an outbreak of the flu, or any sort of cold, his parents tended to get very protective over all their health. It had been two years ago when Heidi had nearly died from pneumonia, and due to that everyone had to be on their toes.
�So I guess that means a trip to the sweet shop is out of the question?� she asked.
�Not necessarily. Mum is in meetings all day today, so I�m sure she wouldn�t notice if we were a little late,� Alex said. The sweet shop was a little past the museum, and when they began to pass by, they saw the Beuford parked in front, which meant that they were not going to be make the trip after all.
~*~
Ernie had been the doorman for the museum for almost twenty years, and knew almost ever person who came through the doors each day. Now he was kneeling down listening as Heidi told him about the necklace she was wearing. �Your prince must be very kind to give you such a gift,� he said to the little girl.
�My Prince is very kind. He buyed me a horse and a dragon one day last week,� she said.
�Oh my, and does your dragon breath fire?� asked Ernie.
�Oh yes, but only to bad ones like my brother Alex,� she answered as she twisted her beads around in her hands. Both she and Ernie looked up as they heard the approach of running feet, right before Rick appeared.
Rick scooped his daughter up into his arms, holding her close. �You need to tell mummy or me before you go off like that,� he said.
�I was telling Ernie about Prince Harry,� Heidi said as she struggled for him to put her down. Once Rick had done that she was happy.
�It�s all right if the little one wants to stay here,� Ernie said always glad to have someone to keep him company.
Rick looked at Heidi then Ernie, and agreed that she could stay, always glad to have some time alone with the woman he loved.
Moments later the front doors of the museum opened, and Alex walked in followed by Megan. He rolled his eyes when Heidi screamed and ran off toward the back of the museum where his mum usually did most of her work, and greeted Ernie with a shake of his hand.
He and Megan walked at a slower pace, and when they arrived in the Library, Heidi was there sitting on Rick�s lap as they looked at a book. �Hi dad,� he said.
�Hi pal, how was school?
�The usual,� came his reply. �Is it all right if Megan and I go to the sweet shop?�
�I want to too,� Heidi said as she slid off of Rick�s lap.
As he had feared, his father asked if they would take Heidi with them, and that sort of question usually only had one answer. They would have to take her, or not go at all. �Yeah okay, but she has to listen this time,� Alex said.
Before her daddy could answer, Heidi put her hands on her hips and said, �I do listen, but only when you nice to me.�
Once they were gone, Rick went back to helping Evelyn with some filing she was doing, hoping that with his help she would get home earlier, so they could have some family time.
~*~
Heidi behaved until they arrived at the sweet shop, then as Alex had feared she started to act up. He and Megan had ordered a soda, quickly and easily, but Heidi wouldn�t make up her mind, and with other people waiting, Alex was losing his temper. �Heidi it is not such a big issue. You can either have a soda, or you can have some ice cream,� Alex said as he knelt beside his sister.
�I want both,� she said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
�Well you can only have one,� he said as he stood back up.
�Then I�ll tell daddy on you.�
�You can go ahead of us,� Alex said as he walked over to the table where Megan was quietly waiting. He sat down and hit his head on the table, wondering why his parents had to have a girl.
�Alex grab her,� Megan said as she stood up, just as Heidi ran out the door. Both of them ran out of the shop leaving their drinks behind, chasing her as she screamed, running down the side walk.
When he got close enough, just before she stepped onto the street, Alex grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her back hard, causing her to fall onto her bottom, right in a big cold puddle of water. Heidi�s screams turned into sorrowful cries, and when he tried to hold her she hit his hands.
�DAAADDDY,� she cried, drawing a crowd of people, embarrassing her brother even more.
Megan tried to comfort her but got the same treatment as Alex, and decided that getting Rick would be a good idea.
�Look, don�t be so stupid. If you get up I�ll get you a blasted soda and ice cream just as you asked for,� Alex said, wanting to ring her little neck.
�NOO,� she yelled as she cried harder.
Alex shut his eyes and took a breath, then was relieved when his father arrived.
�Alex hurt me,� she sobbed as Rick cradled her in his arms.
�You liar,� Alex snapped.
�That�s enough,� Rick said to his son, not pleased that Heidi was so upset. He walked ahead of them toward the museum and behind them, Megan took her best friends hand. �I told him what she did,� she assured, knowing that right now Alex just wanted to be alone.
~*~
That night after everyone was in bed, Megan snuck into Alex�s room, finding that he was still awake. Once he had made room for her, she snuggled into his bed, then asked him to explain about scarabs. �They don�t ordinarily eat people do they?� she asked as she faced him.
�Well only if there is a curse placed on them. The ones cursed for the Homdai had to be. It was part of the torture process for Imhotep, and for any other person foolish enough to try and find him,� He said as he yawned.
�So they ate his flesh?� she asked fascinated and horrified at the same time.
�Yep, over several years, well I don�t know how long it took them but long enough, and I�m sure that his screams echoed through Hamunaptra for weeks on end. My dad said that when they were there that first time, there was this wind that would blow through the tunnels, and even up top at the campsite. He said it was a warning that they should have listened too.�
Just outside his door, Heidi sat listening in wrapped attention. She had seen gold scarabs at the museum, but never knew until now that they ate people. When Alex began to tell Megan about how their uncle had nearly gotten eaten by one, Heidi quickly ran back to her room and crawled into bed, holding her Bonnie tight. She was frightened by his story, and worried that the scarabs would come and get her.
~*~
Spending time with her Uncle Jon was one of Heidi�s favorite things to do, and now as they walked up to the barn, she was asking him about scarabs. �Do they live in London?�
�Just in Egypt,� Jonathan said as he pulled the door to the barn open. He let Heidi go in before him, then after getting her riding hat and the tack box from the tack room, he walked to the back of the barn where her horse waited.
Heidi already had the door open, and was petting Bernard�s muzzle. �We get to go in the field because it�s dry,� she was saying as Jonathan began to groom her horse.
Bernard stood still for her mistress, and stood still as Jonathan finished getting her ready. Once her saddle was on she let him lead her out into the main part of the barn, and again stood still as Jonathan tightened the girth one last time.
�I don�t want to wear my hat anymore,� Heidi said as Jonathan tried to put it on her.
�You need to wear it to keep your head from getting hurt should you fall from Bernard�s back,� he said. When she refused he rested his cheek against Bernard�s side. �Heidi if you don�t wear your hat, then you won�t be riding today,� Jonathan said.
�I HATE YOU,� she screamed, then ran away from him, out of the barn. Because he had to put Bernard back in her stall, Jonathan couldn�t go after his niece right away. When he finally ran out of the barn she wasn�t anywhere to be seen, and Jonathan cursed under his breath as he ran toward the house.
~*~
Under her parent�s bed Heidi hid, not wanting to see her uncle Jon. Today she was angry with him for trying to make her wear her hat. Next to her, China rested, keeping her company. �We will stay here till mummy and daddy come home,� she said as she began to suck her thumb.
�Heidi, are you up here?� she heard her uncle ask. Heidi kept her thumb in her mouth not willing to let Jonathan know where she was.
�Come on Pixie. If you come out I�ll take you back up there,� Jonathan said as he looked in his sister�s closet.
�Jonathan, what are you looking for?� Evelyn asked as she walked in.
�Your daughter. She ran away from me, and I don�t know where she is,� he said.
�I�m right here,� she said as she crawled out from under her parents bed. She walked over to Evelyn and when she was in her mother�s arms held on tight. �I said I didn�t want to wear my hat, and Uncle Jon says I won�t be able to ride Bernard,� she informed.
Evie carried her to the bed, and sat down there. �Heidi, we aren�t trying to be unkind by having you wear your riding hat. We do it to keep you safe,� Evelyn said as she stroked her left hand through her daughters dark curls.
�Uncle Jon hurted my feelings,� she said as she yawned.
Jonathan sat down next to them. �I sure didn�t meant to do that Pixie, will you forgive me?� he asked.
She giggled when he tickled under her chin, then reached out and grasped his nose. �I got your nose,� she said.
�On no, what will I do without my nose?� Jonathan asked as he made a sad face, which made both Heidi and Evie giggle.
�I suppose I give it back to you,� she said. She reached out again and put it back for him. �May we go for a ride now, and I will be good and wear my hat?� she asked.
Jonathan looked at his sister who nodded her head, then let Heidi have a ride on his back as they went back outside to get her horse ready for some exercise.
~*~
It wasn�t until Heidi was in her bed, all alone, that she thought about the scarabs, and the more she thought about them, the more afraid she became. If the bugs came in her room they would eat her. �Don�t be frightened Bonnie,� she whispered as she held her bunny against her face. As hard as she tried, Heidi couldn�t get to sleep, and finally decided she didn�t need sleep.
After quietly shutting her door, she turned on the lamp sitting on her bed side table, then carried Bonnie to their tea table and put her down. �Now you be brave, and I will go get us some cookies,� she said. After opening her door and finding that no one was in the hall, she tiptoed to the stairs. The only light on was the one on the landing, and the one at the bottom of the steps. Heidi made it down the stairs without a sound, and walked to the kitchen as quiet as a mouse.
The kitchen was dark, more so than what she was comfortable with, but Heidi wanted some cookies for she and her bunny. Bravely she walked into the darkened room, her eyes adjusting quickly to the dark, enough so for her to make out shadows of things.
The cookie jar was on the kitchen counter close to the stove, but Heidi wasn�t tall enough to reach up to get them. That problem was easily solved as she pushed a chair from the kitchen table to where she needed it, then after climbing on the seat she easily pulled the cookie jar out, and removed five cookies.
Next she went to the ice box and took out a bottle of milk, then put it down on the floor, trying to figure out how she was going to get her cookies and her milk upstairs. She looked around the kitchen, and spotted a satchel hanging on the door leading into the pantry, and after loading her goodies inside went back upstairs to her room.
~*~
Something woke Rick from his sound sleep, and for a moment he lay still listening. The only sounds he could hear was the soft patter of rain falling outside, and the occasional creek the house made at night. As he was beginning to drift back to sleep he heard another sound, the sound of heals tapping against the wood floor; a sound that meant his little Princess was awake.
Carefully he managed to slip out of bed without waking Evelyn, and after slipping on a pair of long pajama bottoms, Rick walked out of their room and down the hall to Heidi�s. Her door was shut be he could hear her talking and see the light shining through the bottom of the door. Quietly he turned the knob then opened the door finding his daughter dressed up in her finest tea attire serving tea to almost all of her stuffed animals.
�Heidi, it�s late,� he said as he walked into her room.
�No daddy. It�s day time here because I�m in the part of the world where it�s always day time, and I don�t have to sleep,� she said as she sat down in the old Victorian Rocking Chair.
Rick noticed the half empty bottle of milk and the half cookie on her tea table and folded his arms across his chest.
�Miss Millie wanted a drink and Bonnie needed a cookie,� she said as she stuck her bottom lip out.
Sometimes Rick wondered which was more difficult, raising a son, who at the age of four, had been hell bent on breaking every thing in site, or raising a daughter, who had an answer for every wrong thing she did. �We will talk about this in the morning. Right now I know a little girl who needs to be in her bed asleep,� Rick said as he walked over to her bed, and picked up the nightgown she had been wearing when they put her down four hours ago.
�But we can�t go to sleep daddy. We can�t because Miss Millie is frightened because of the rain,� she said as she began to cry.
Rick picked her up, then sat down in the rocking chair, gently removing her costume jewelry from around her neck, and from her wrists and hair. �Did you tell Miss Millie that the rain won�t hurt her?� Rick asked, knowing that sometimes Heidi thought up things such as that to prolong going to bed.
�I did, but she still afraid,� she said as she cried harder, making her daddy realize that she was truly upset over something.
By then Rick had her dressed in her night gown and lifted her against his chest and shoulder. �Shhh, I�m here baby, I won�t let anything happen,� he said hoping she would tell him what was wrong.
�I need Bonnie,� she said through her sobs, and as Rick started to stand up, Evelyn came in and retrieved her favorite Bunny from her bed, then walked over to them. When she placed the rabbit in their daughter�s arms, Heidi reached for her, and once Rick had vacated the seat, Evie took his place, then held their daughter. Almost like magic, Evelyn�s soothing voice and her comforting arms helped Heidi calm down. Within a few minutes her chest rose and fell indicating that she was finally asleep.
Both of them put her down in her bed, then Rick took the milk and the left over cookie downstairs to put away. When he arrived back in their room Evelyn as already in their bed, and after removing his pajama bottoms he slipped in beside her.
�What frightened her so?� Evelyn asked as she rolled over to look at the man she had loved for over fifteen years.
�I�m not sure. She told me Miss Millie was afraid of the rain, then she started to cry,� he said, just as puzzled as she, over their daughter�s upset.
The rest of that night passed by without any further innsodents, and by morning Heidi was more or less her old self.
~*~
The next few nights that passed, Heidi went to bed without any fuss, and only when she was sure that her parents were in their room did she dare to even step foot out of bed. She kept her light on, watching for any bugs in her room, and by the third night of keeping awake practically the entire night, that next day she was a holy terror to behold.
That morning when Evelyn went in to get her out of bed, she found her daughter�s bedside light on, as well as the light in her bathroom and her closet. Puzzled but not all that concerned, Evelyn sat down on the edge of Heidi�s bed. �Heidi, it�s time for you to wake up,� Evelyn said as she kissed the back of her daughter�s head.
Most of the time Heidi would snuggle with her mum, but today she pulled away tunneling under her covers. �Go away,� she mumbled.
�Heidi did you stay awake last night?� Evie asked.
�No go away go away,� she said in a hateful manor.
Evelyn stood up and decided that since she and Rick were both staying home today, that perhaps letting Heidi get a little more sleep would help her mood. �I�ll be downstairs with your father when you decide to wake up,� Evelyn said as she left the room.
~*~
As Rick finished making breakfast, Evelyn walked in without their usually bright eyed daughter. �Where is my Princess?� Rick asked as he walked over to Evelyn, pulling her into his arms for another good morning kiss, one she seemed happy to let him take, as well as to give.
�Hmm, your daughter seems to have been bitten by the sour bug this morning,� Evie said as they finished their kiss.
�Do I need to go upstairs and get her out of bed?� he asked as he leaned in and kissed her once more.
For a few moments no words were spoken, as the two of them continued to kiss. Then they heard Jonathan complain and pulled apart. �I think she stayed up last night,� Evelyn said as they kissed one more time before sitting down at the table, both ignoring Jonathan.
�Has there been anything you maybe read to her that she might feel afraid of?� Rick asked, knowing he hadn�t read her anything new lately.
�Nothing out of the ordinary. Jonathan, has Heidi indicated that she�s afraid of anything?� Evelyn asked, as her brother sat down at the table across from her.
He was exhausted, and shook his head. �Not that I can remember,� he admitted as he ate a bite of dried toast. He ate another bite, then decided he better stop, knowing from years of having hangovers, that if he ate anymore he would be hugging his toilet for a few hours.
~*~
Much later that morning, Rick headed upstairs to wake his daughter. When he walked in he found a lump under the covers, and smiled as he walked to her little bed. �Heidi,� he called out as he knelt beside where she was resting. He reached out and took the top part of her blankets, pulling them back, uncovering her head. He left the rest of her body covered up, and leaned over kissing her left cheek. �Rise and shine,� he said as he rubbed his hand over her back.
�Nooo,� she wined as he continued to try and wake her up. Heidi had only been asleep undisturbed for four hours, something neither of her parents knew.
�Your mum and I thought it might be fun to go to the park,� Rick said, trying to coax her into waking up.
�Sleepen,� she said as she started to suck on her thumb.
Rick frowned. �Heidi, did you get up again last night?� When he didn�t get a response, he realized she had gone back to sleep, and thought about just letting her sleep, but decided that she needed to be up. When he lifted her out of her bed she cried, and yelled at him to put her back.
�I still tired,� she said, as he sat down with her in the rocking chair.
�You�ll feel better once you get dressed and have breakfast,� he said as he gently rocked her.
Heidi continued to cry as he continued to talk to her, and had a screaming fit when he put her down to pick out her cloths for her to wear that day. Her screams brought Evelyn, who picked her up, trying to find out what the fuss was about.
�I want to sleep,� Heidi wailed as Rick came over holding a light blue dress.
Evie sat down with her baby, and talked about Heidi�s dolls, a few of which had once belonged to Evelyn. �When I was a little girl, I used to take my dolls with me outside and make crowns for them out of flowers,� Evie said as she stood Heidi up, then lifted her night gown off of her without a fuss.
�Do you still know how to do that?� Heidi asked now interested.
�I believe I could make one for you, and for your babies,� Evie said as she pulled the dress over her daughter�s head, which Rick handed to her.
Heidi yawned, and rubbed her eyes as her mum tied the light pink sash in the back of her dress. Once she was ready, and her hair was brushed, she let her daddy carry her downstairs, happy to rest her cheek against his shoulder, still tired.
~*~
Breakfast, or more brunch for Heidi started out as it normally did. She was picky about the food she ate, not willing to try anything new unless one bribed her. Today�s lunch was a ham sandwich, something she usually liked, but today she didn�t want to eat.
�Heidi you need to eat so you will grow big and strong,� Rick said as he finished off another sandwich.
�It�s not very good daddy,� she said as she pushed the plate away.
�You didn�t even take a bite.�
�My belly hurts,� she said as she rested her head on the table.
After taking a deep breath, Rick started to get up, but Evelyn was already at their daughter�s side, and with a little coaxing was able to get her to eat a few bites of her sandwich, and drink all of her milk.
Once Brunch had ended, they all went outside, and while Rick sat on a blanket in the side yard, his girls picked several bunches of daisies. Within a few minutes they had a whole bunch picked, and joined him on the blanket.
Heidi sat down on her father�s lap, and they both watched as Evelyn began making a crown of flowers. Evie made a crown for Heidi, and also a necklace. Then she had enough left to make one for herself, though when she put it on, Heidi seemed to have other ideas.
�No no, Daddy has to wear it,� Heidi said as she laughed.
Evie smiled and place the crown of daisies on Rick�s head, glad she had a husband with a wide sense of humor.
�Daddy is the Daisy Queen, and I�m the princess,� Heidi said as she began to twirl around. She giggled then ran over to the fence to pet Seti, who was talking to her through a serious of winnies and neighs.
�You look simply wonderful,� Evelyn said as she cuddled up to the one she loved.
�If you tell Alex or Jonathan about this, you will be sleeping on the couch,� Rick said in mock seriousness.
Evie lifted her head away from his chest. �Would you be able to resist not having me there? You wouldn�t have me beside you to cuddle up against, or to kiss,� she said as she leaned forward, then up catching his lips in a heated kiss.
While her parents were otherwise occupied, Heidi climbed up the fence, and put her necklace over Seti�s head, and now was trying to find a way to get on his back. �Hold very still,� she told her brother�s horse.
Seti was old, and far more gentle than Bernard, so when Heidi climbed on to his back, he didn�t pay much attention to her. He leaned his long neck down to pluck up a nice clump of green grass, allowing her to sit on his back.
�Up up,� Heidi said as she grasped on to the hair on his neck, nudging his sides with her bare feet.
Seti just snorted, then took another bite of grass, not seeing Bernard coming up behind him until she was nearly upon him. Then he, without warning, took off with Heidi clinging to him for dear life. �DADDDY,� she cried.
Her scream broke their kisses, and when Rick stood up, his eyes widened in horror as he saw his daughter on the back of a very frightened Seti. He ran to the field with Evelyn hot on his tracks, and without much warning climbed over the fence and jumped onto Bernard, who tried to throw him off before he got her in control, enough so to go after Heidi and Seti.
Now in the woods, Heidi was getting slapped by every branch they passed by, still clinging to the horse with her legs and with her arms around his neck. �Stop stop,� she begged of Alex�s horse.
Seti was not fond of Bernard, nor was she fond of him, and still upset he took Heidi deeper and deeper into the woods, running into a deep stream of water, which soaked the terrified little girl. Once he was on the other side of the stream, he stopped and began to eat more grass.
�DAAAADDDYYYY,� Heidi yelled as she still held on to Seti�s neck, wanting to get down and go home.
~*~
Walter Gibbs had a rose garden that he had worked on for nearly fifteen years. He grew both White and red roses, and most of the time kept them for his own viewing, and for his dearly departed wife Sylvia, who had also loved the garden. Today he was out doing some pruning when he heard a child�s cry not far from where he was working.
Concerned, he left his roses, and walked into the woods, following the cries until he came upon a black horse, and on top of it, a very wet very frightened little girl.
Seti sensed the man�s approach and lifted his head, causing Heidi to cry even harder. �Easy there, I bet you like peppermint don�t you?� he said to the horse as he slowly approached from the left side, rattling a piece of candy in his pocket.
Once Seti had the candy, he relaxed, allowing Walter to lift the sobbing child from his back. �There now, did he get away with you?� Walter asked as he carried the little girl with him.
�I want daddy,� she said as her teeth chattered.
�I think the first thing we need to do is get a blanket for you, then I�ll get you home,� he said, noticing that the horse was following them.
�Do you know where I live?� Heidi asked as she yawned.
�Sure do, with that long dark hair and those soft blue eyes, I�d say you were Evelyn O�Connells daughter,� he reassured as he got to his garden and picked up a blanket from one of the chairs, draping it over her.
~*~
An hour passed by, and Rick was no closer to finding his daughter than he had been when he had started. �HEIDI,� he yelled one last time.
�She�s here,� came a voice from somewhere past the stream. Rick turned Bernard around, and saw his neighbor Walter carrying his daughter, and behind him the run away Seti.
Rick slipped off of Bernard, and slapped her back side sending her running toward home. Seti passed him by running fast, seeming to know that at this particular moment he was on Rick�s bad side.
�I think this young lady has had quite an adventure,� Walter said as he placed the sleeping child into her father�s arms.
�Thank you for taking care of her,� Rick said, then he left, knowing Evelyn was likely worried sick.
~*~
Once they had gotten her dressed in a dry clean dress, it was all Heidi could do to keep her eyes open. They put her down in their bed, and it seemed as though the instant her head was resting on a fluffy Down filled pillow, Heidi was fast asleep.
�Should we call the doctor?� Evelyn asked as they walked out of their room, worried that with her getting soaked when Seti had run through the water, Heidi would surely come down with a flu of some sort or the other.
�All we can do is just wait and see. She�s a tough kid Evie,� Rick said though his nerves were rattled, and it was taking all of his will power not to put an advertisement in the paper, and have someone come take Bernard away.
~*~
The bad bugs were all over the place, and Heidi tried to scream but they were in her mouth, and in her nose. Just when she thought they were going to start eating her she opened her eyes and found herself in her parents room. It was still daylight outside, but after a dream like that, she didn�t want to be alone.
As she slipped out of bed, her foot stepped on something that squished, and that topped off her bad day.
~*~
Once again their daughter�s cries sent both Rick and Evelyn running to her side. They found her sitting on the floor in their room, holding her foot as she cried soul wrenching cries, and saw not far from her a smooshed beetle.
While Evelyn picked her up and carried her over to the rocking chair they had in their room, Rick went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with warm water then walked over to his wife and his daughter. When he reached out to touch her foot she screamed and pulled it away crying harder.
�Heidi, he�s just going to wipe your foot clean,� Evie said as her baby continued to cry.
�Noo noo, its in me,� she sobbed.
�Shhh, nothing is in you my angel, nothing at all,� Evelyn said as she cradled her daughter in her arms.
�Scarabs are,� she managed as she looked up at her mummy.
Evelyn held her baby as tight as she could without hurting you. �Oh angel, is that why you have been afraid to sleep?� she asked, remembering how she had shown Heidi the gold scarabs, however not remembering that she had said anything about them devouring human flesh. She felt Heidi�s head nod.
�I was bad Mummy, I hearded Alex tell about them to Megan and I was afraid you would be mad at me because I was listening to him,� she said as she continued to cry.
�Heidi, you are not bad,� Rick said as he knelt in front of them, kissing both of her cheeks and then her nose. �Scarabs don�t eat people, they mostly stay in camel dung, or horse dung and eat that,� he said hoping to reassure her.
�But scarabs are cussed daddy,� she said.
Rick managed to keep his composure as he kissed her again. �Cursed? That�s just a story baby, nothing more,� he said, though it really was not, and when Alex arrived home, he and Rick would be having a very long talk about not bringing up curses in the house as long as Heidi was around.
�But Alex says that Uncle Jon got bitten by one, and that you had to cut it out of him or it would have eated him up,� she said as she buried her face against her mothers chest.
�Your uncle got bitten by a bug of some sort, and I had to cut into him to get the infection out,� Rick said not liking that he was lying to her, but also not willing to have her so frightened by the scarabs.
�Did he cry?� she asked as she looked at him.
�Just a little bit, but Ardeth and I patched him up as good as new.�
�Whose Ardeth?� she asked.
�A friend of ours,� Rick answered as he lifted Heidi into his own arms. After getting her foot wiped clean, they went downstairs to have a snack, and then to have a hopefully relaxing evening before an early bed time for all.
~*~
As he was just about to go to bed, Alex heard a knock at his door and bid whomever it was to enter. He stood up from his desk and found his father there. �Hi dad,� he said as he made his way over to his bed, sore from the match he and his team had played today.
�Hey pal. Alex will you do me a favor?� Rick asked as he stood leaning against the door frame.
�Sure,� he said hoping he wasn�t going to have to watch his sister.
�Will you not bring up our adventures in the house? Heidi over heard you the other night and has been convinced since that time, that she would get eaten by scarabs,� Rick said.
Alex wanted to laugh but could tell by the weary look in his father�s eye that doing so would likely get himself punished. �Okay I�ll keep my lips sealed,� he said. Once his father was gone, Alex crawled into bed and went to sleep, dreaming that he had a brother to hang out with rather than a bothersome sister.
~*~
It took a few sleepless night to convince Heidi that scarabs were not flesh eaters, and that she didn�t have to be afraid of them. Even after she started to fall asleep on her own, there were still nights where she would wake up frightened. Those times the little girl would gather her Bonnie in her arms and get her blanket, then walk the short distance to her parents room where she would fall asleep on the floor at the end of their bed, needing to be near them to feel completely safe.
THE END