Summery:

A sneak peek into an eventful night at the Gand's household where no one apparently can sleep, even though it is very late!

Somersault:

The faint squeals of crying stirred the deeply asleep couple awake like an urgent call. The first person who actually reached for the blanket to push it away and untangle herself was the concerned and very tired mother. But a hand stopped her sleepily progress by squeezing it gently.

"I go check on her. You go back to sleep."

Mon-El's dry voice spoke over the continuous pitch voice from the distance that was stubbornly demanding the presence of her parents.

"Are you sure?" The blonde asked almost guiltily, her brows furrowed. "You've just fallen asleep." She pointed out, referring to the fact that for the past few days her husband has been working overtime, trying hard to form a peace treaty with a race that had threatened Daxam for a few years. It had been overtly stressful and dragging days for him, yet the father in him never stopped caring about his children even if it meant adding to his own fatigue.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." He ensured before putting a kiss to the back the hand he held. "I'll be back soon."

Before Kara could express any other objections, the former King was out of the doors of their dark bedroom.

Mon-El walked passed by Tyren's closed door and down the hallway quietly to step into Elin's bedroom. At his sight the seven months old baby girl stopped crying and instead whimpered.

"…Ata…" She called Dad, in Daxamite, in the most accurate way she had only recently learned to. She then trashed and threw her little short arms upwards, asking to be picked up.

"Shhh… Sweetheart. I'm right here."

Mon-El collected her lovingly in his arms and let her nestle her wet cheeks onto his shoulder blade and rubbed her back gently.

It didn't take long until Elin started crying again, squirming in his arms, squealing in protest and clutching his shirt in small fists as though trying to tell him something, but didn't know the way how to.

"What's wrong baby? Is it your diaper?"

Mon-El put his dissatisfied daughter on the changing table and tried to check if she needed a change. Nope. That wasn't the problem. Elin almost screamed the moment he put her down. Worried that she might wake the whole house up, Mon-El took her back into his arms and tried to calm her again.

"Shhh… It's fine. It's gonna be ok." He shushed her daughter with sweet kisses even though he was still lost. "Are you maybe hungry?" Mon-El suggested as he walked them towards where a bottle of milk was put at ready for such occasions and offered it to his baby girl. Instead of accepting any kind of food like she usually did, Elin pushed it away with such force that he hadn't seen from her and made a disgusted noise as though the bottle had insulted her. She then started crying again.

Still clueless to the cause of her distress, Mon-El reached for the pacifier as the last recourse. This time Elin latched onto it, the little comfort bringing her tears to an end and making Mon-El sigh in relief.

The moment was short lived as Elin spat out the pacifier and started crying even louder than before as she pulled on one of her ears.

"Oh Rao!" Mon-El guided her head into his chest to muffle her loud cries, kissing, caressing her short soft golden hair, bouncing lightly and hoping beyond hope that Kara wouldn't come to check on them and see how he had failed to comfort their daughter.

"Atar? Is Eli ok?"

Mon-El spun around and saw Tyren standing in the doorway in his blue pajamas, rubbing one eye while gawking at them with deep blue eyes that resembled his mothers.

"Tyren? Close the door." He instructed his son and when he did as his father told him, he continued. "I don't know son. She won't stop crying."

Mon-El shifted Elin onto his other shoulder as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, making his heart break.

"Maybe she got tummy cake!"

Mon-El stared at him in confusion. "A what?"

"Tummy cake." Tyren rubbed his belly to clarify and it clicked in his mind.

"Oh! you mean tummy ache!"

With a new idea in head, Mon-El maneuvered Elin carefully on his arm so that she would be laying on her stomach along the length of his forearm horizontally while her head rested on his bicep and securely held her in place with his other arm. From experience he knew the position helped with stomachaches by adding some pressure on the belly.

"Is it your tummy sweetheart? Is that what's hurting you?" Mon-El whispered into her ear as he pressed his lips on the back of her neck affectionately, praying her pain would come to an end. "Is it better now?"

To his delight the little girl stopped crying and wiggling at last. The room was once again quiet save from small sniffles. Mon-El held the positon and stroked her constantly rising and falling backside while humming soothingly. He then gave his son an appraising look.

"I think you were right Tyren!" Mon-El chuckled at his five year old boy who's eyes twinkled joyfully as a grin covered his small features. He stepped closer to his father and sister and put his hand on the tiny hand that were holding onto Mon-El's thick arm. The action made Mon-El's heart skip a few beats. The profound connection between the siblings had shown itself from day one and it had never ceased to amaze their parents. Every time, it made their hearts tremble under heavy affection.

Unfortunately the stillness didn't last for more than a few minutes and once again Mon-El sensed hopelessly how Elin's breathing quickened and she even tried to bit him before another fit of crying began.

Tyren withdrew his hand instantly and the smile fell from his lips.

"No, no, no,no. Elin? What is it baby?" Mon-El once again moved Elin in his hold and worriedly looked at her tearful, drooling and red face. He put the back of his hand over her forehead and checked for fever. It was a little too warm, but he couldn't be sure if it were due to a sickness or simply because of crying continuously.

Mon-El decided it was time to wake Kara.

"Mon-El?"

For a second time that night, Mon-El turned on the spot and Kara herself was standing there. Her eyes wide awake.

"Kara! I don't know what's going on. She won't stop crying." Mon-El admitted sadly.

Kara merely nodded and came closer before stopping to brush his son's dark curly hair.

"Tyren? What are you doing up so late darling?"

"I hear Nessa cry."

She was about to tell him to go back to his bed, but right then the disturbed girl finally saw her mother and screamed to her as though she was the answer to her troubles as her whole body stretched towards her in Mon-El's hold.

"MIA!"

Kara reached for her instantly and Elin literally threw herself in her arms.

"Did you check for fever?" The mother asked as she kissed Elin's forehead, testing the temperature with her lips.

"I did, but I'm not sure."

Kara saw the pacifier on the floor and Mon-El hurried to explain.

"She spat it out. She didn't want any milk either."

Mon-El ran a hand through his hair in frustration, feeling disappointed in himself.

Kara was bouncing her girl in her embrace, murmuring softly with a frown between her brows. Elin had become somewhat quiet now. Nevertheless her pain was visible and they knew it was temporary.

"I said Atar, Eli has tummy cake." Tyren spoke up, making them turn to look at him. "But Eli cry again after Atar put Eli on her belly." The child explained the best he could.

"I held her in that position we used for stomachache and she finally relaxed." Mon-El clarified for Kara who was trying to decipher Tyren's words. "But she started crying again."

Kara felt her sleeping gown growing damp with Elin's salvia.

And then her hand came up and pulled at her ear repeatedly.

The action made a light bulb glow in Kara's mind.

"She's teething!" She gingerly guided Elin's head upwards with her thumb on her tiny chin and closely looked at her mouth and inspected the sore gum behind the bottom lip.

Mon-El let out an exclamatory gasp, suddenly seeing all the signs. He remembered how cranky Tyren had been during his teething.

He picked up some tissues and approached the mother and daughter, his eyes focused on Elin's mouth as well and helped cleaning up her small face. He spotted the slightly white sharp edge on the pink gum that was breaking into the flesh and bringing so much discomfort to his baby.

As if the girl had sensed their new found understanding to the cause of her pain, she had finally grown calm and only gazed at them with tired eyes.

"There are some small carrots in the fridge, can you fetch one for me?"

"Of course." Mon-El ensured before putting another quick kiss to Elin's forehead and walked out of the room to get the cool vegetable which he knew would sooth the baby's pain. On his way out he ruffled Tyren's hair.

Kara went to sit on the sofa in Elin's room she used for breastfeeding and smiled at Tyren who had been standing in the middle of the room unsurely all this time.

"Come here baby." Kara beckoned her boy to join them.

Tyren didn't hesitate to run to them on small feet and climbed to fit his small figure in the space next to Kara.

"Hey Eli!" Tyren sing-songed to attract his sister's attention to himself.

Elin looked at him rather uninterested and not in the mood like she usually was. The indifferent look however didn't stop the brother from trying harder.

"You gonna haf teeeeeth." Tyren had his mouth wide open into a huge grin and pointed at his teeth. Kara chuckled at him heartily.

Elin frowned at him.

"You ca eat pancakes an' pizza an potstickers an' …." Tyren continued enthusiastically, naming all the foods he loved.

The sister was still unimpressed. She even attempted to bury her head into her mother's chest and the pout was starting to turn into whimpers again. Kara held her tighter and hoped Mon-El would show up just about now.

Meanwhile Tyren had a backup plan. The little Daxatonian jumped onto his feet and continued with his long list of benefits of having teeth.

"An' you be strong like me!" Tyren flexed his slim arms. " Not as strong as Valo'! Ba' Strong!" He started stretching and then ran a full circle around the room, deep in his imaginations. "An' you can do dis'!"

Tyren performed a flawless somersault in the middle of the room, making Kara gasp at how much energy the little one was showing.

An adorable juvenile laugh rang in the room.

Mon-El froze on his way in the doorway with a carrot in one hand and took in the scene before him.

Tyren was now doing a cartwheel, then jumping, using Elin's crib to do any crazy moves he could improvise, speaking gibberish, encouraged by his sister's chortles. Elin was laughing even louder than she had been crying before! She was out of breath!

And just like that, the whole family joined Elin in her joy, making her laugh even harder.

In that moment, no one cared how late it really was or how tired they were.

They just watched Tyren performing more somersaults and cartwheels, doing whatever he was doing and forgot all about their problems. The youngest her pain, and the grown-ups their countless worries. No one could even think of those wary thoughts while watching a child letting his unconditionally happy spirit roam free and making her sister laugh, even if it were giving him a dizzy!

Notes:

In case you forgot, I've made up some words in Daxamite:
Atar: Dad
Mia: Mom
Nessa: Sister