A/N - Thank you to ItzSkylight for the request!

TW: Past abuse, PTSD, nightmares

"Boys, I need to tell you something," Phil said a bit nervously to his two older sons sat on the couch. "I'm going away on a business trip for a few days, and I brought someone to watch you guys and Tommy." He gestured to something out of view, and a woman slowly walked into the room, giving the boys a friendly, if hesitant, wave. The two immediately closed themselves off in their own ways, Wilbur curling in on himself and hiding behind Techno, who schooled his face into a glare and squared his shoulders as if ready for a fight. "Now now, calm down kids. This is Kristen, and she's a wonderful lady." His words did nothing to soothe either child, and they both just looked more spooked. 

"We're thirteen now, why can't we just watch Tommy ourselves?" Techno grunted, unwilling to meet Phil's eyes and keeping them on Kristen, who began shifting uncomfortably.  "Well, I've known her for a few months now, and I thought this was the perfect chance for you to get to know her because she's going to be around a lot more now." Phil and Kristen shared a loving look, and Kristen fidgeted with the ring on her finger. Then, Techno cleared his throat and they were shaken from their stupor. He looked like he was about to say something again, but was paused by Wilbur who whispered something in his ear. Techno's glare deepened before he cleared his face. "Okay," He said through gritted teeth. "Okay?" Phil said with a smile. "That's great!"

-

"I'll see you later, love," Phil said, and Wilbur and Techno watched through the banister rungs as they shared a kiss, and Phil went out the door. The whole ordeal made both children upset.

"What's the plan?" Wil asked, turning to his brother who was usually the leader of serious things like this. "We're going on the defensive. I don't want to make Phil upset, so we'll wait for her to slip up and then go from there. But our utmost priority is Tommy, you know how he gets around strangers. I don't want them in the same room until Phil is back here." Wil grimaced and nodded, his little brother's screams echoing in his ears even after all these years.

With that, they went to Tommy's room, who had been told by Phil that someone nice was here to babysit them for a few days, but nothing more. 

His older brothers found him hiding in his closet, which he had set up to look like the one at their old house. It irked them how well Tommy had replicated the placement and sizing of boxes and other items, but they would never tell Tommy to move it down or get out, even if it was a little creepy. He had grown up with this as his only safe space, and he still didn't entirely trust Phil not to invade his room.

All three children had been through hell with their shared biological family, and Tommy had the hardest time getting over the trauma because of his age. Techno and Wil had bad PTSD from being in that environment for so long and now also had an obsession to constantly make sure their little brother was okay. 

"Toms? Wanna come out now?" They murmured through the crack in the door. A small finger lightly tapped on the wood once, twice. Two taps meant they could open it up for him, so they creaked it open until the sliver of light fell on Tommy's pale face. "Who's here?" He whispered, a bit frightened. "Phil's friend Kristen," Techno said with only slight animosity. "She's supposed to watch us while he's gone." Despite feeling upset, Techno made sure to keep the emotion out of his voice as much as he could. He knew that his level-headedness and neutral reactions assured Tommy that everything was alright. 

"Phil's gone?!" Tommy said a bit louder, tears coming to his eyes. "Yeah, but it's only for a few days. He'll be back before you know it we'll be there the entire time," Wilbur consoled. "M'kay," Tommy finally sniffled and crawled out onto the carpet. Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. "Boys, may I come in?" A kind voice asked from the other side. 

Techno and Wilbur shared a look, before checking with Tommy. He hesitantly nodded, so Techno opened the door for Kristen.

It seemed all of them knew what was going to happen now. It was evaluation time; this meeting would determine how their time went for the rest of the long three days.

"Nice to meet you, Tommy," Kristen said casually. They noticed a bowl in her hands, and Wilbur couldn't help but peek at its contents. Popcorn!

All three kids were suckers for popcorn. This got Wilbur on Kristen's side rather quickly, since he was more trusting than his twin. It got Tommy to look in Kristen's direction, which was a win in everyone's book, but the snack just made Techno more suspicious. Was she trying to bribe them into? Had Phil told her what their favorite food was so she could make them like her?

"How'd you know popcorn was our favorite snack?" He said in his interrogative tone. Kristen didn't falter. "I asked your father. I didn't want to make you all food you didn't want," She chuckled. "And I'm guessing he told you about us, then?" At that, Kristen's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean our problems. Our past." 

"No, Phil didn't tell me about anything like that. I wouldn't have asked anyway, that's intrusive," Kristen replied, looking a bit baffled. "Before I leave, I wanted to ask you all a few questions."

The three kids didn't say anything, so she took that as permission to continue. "What would you like me to do while I'm here? I know it can't be fun having a stranger invade your house and try to replace your dad, so you all tell me what I should do. Would you like it if we played? If I put movies on? If I stayed out of your way? Anything's completely fine."

It seemed her kind words and tender tone were steadily winning Wilbur over, and even Tommy offered a small smile. Techno was also impressed, realizing this was quite possibly the only thing she could have said to make him trust her at all. Because of that, he decided he would try to be at least polite. "Erm, we prefer to keep to ourselves. I think we'll be fine in our room, thank you."

Kristen just smiled and nodded, heading out. Before she closed the door, she turned her head. "Please tell me if you need anything! I'll just be downstairs." With that, she shut the door gently and everyone breathed a small sigh of relief.

- 

"Oh love, it's alright." 

The unfamiliar tone in his room made Techno dart up, fully alert despite being asleep two seconds ago. From beside him, Wilbur also rubbed his eyes and looked around, alarmed.

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they saw Kristen sitting at the edge of Tommy's bed, holding his hand as he cried. The twins observed the distance between them and sighed in relief. Tommy wasn't crying because of Kristen.

The woman in question looked up when she saw them awake, beginning to explain before they had to ask. "I couldn't get to sleep and heard crying, so I came in here. I think he had a nightmare," She murmured, frowning in sympathy with her hand still gripped in Tommy's.

At her words, Techno and Wilbur were up in a flash and taking Tommy in their arms. "He's not here," Wilbur whispered quietly into the blond's hair, not caring that Kristen was there. "He can't hurt you. He's in bad man jail, and all of us are safe with Phil. Remember?"

The boy just cried harder, and Wilbur pressed on. "Tommy, do you remember? We're with Phil now, and the bad man is in prison. You're safe now, okay?"

"Okay," He sniffled quietly. "Can you say it for us?" Wilbur pushed gently. "Uhm, he can't hurt us anymore 'cause he's in jail, and we're safe with Phil." 

"That's good!" Wilbur cheered quietly, and Tommy's shoulders relaxed as he let out a quiet sigh. They all sat in silence for a moment before the youngest whined and rubbed his eyes. "Do you want to try to get to sleep now?" Kristen asked kindly, and Tommy just looked at his feet. It took Wilbur only a moment to read him, and spoke for his brother. "Would you mind turning on the bathroom light and leaving the door cracked, Kristen?" She nodded and got up, flicking the switch on and letting the light filter in through a small gap in the door. "Do you all need anything else?" She whispered. "No, thank y-"

"Henry!" Tommy said entirely too loudly for how dark and late it was. Techno and Wilbur cringed, but Kristen just chuckled, heading to the pile of stuffies on a hunch. "And which one is Henry?" 

"The cow," Tommy said while chewing on his fingers, which Wilbur gently pulled out of his mouth. The blond glared at his brother, who just poked his nose lightly and made him go cross-eyed. Kristen looked on and smiled, feeling lucky that she was able to witness the intimate moment. 

She located the cow and held it up in front of her face dramatically. "Hello! I'm Kristen. Are you Henry?" Techno and Wilbur frowned a little bit but didn't say anything because Tommy was giggling at her antics. She made the cow's head move up and down, and she shook his hoof. "It's nice to meet you, Henry. Are you going to protect Tommy now?" Again, she moved the head up and down before bringing the face close to her ear. After a moment, she nodded in understanding and shuffled over to Tommy's bed, handing him the stuffy. "He says he's going to take good care of you, okay?" 

"Okay!" Tommy said with a smile, tongue poking out between the gaps in his baby teeth. He looked up at the woman with something like wonder, and she winked at him and smiled before getting up to leave. "Anything else anyone needs?" All of them shook their heads no, so she went to return to her bedroom. 

"Thank you," Techno called out quietly to her as she closed the bedroom door. "You're very welcome. Good night, sleep tight!"

Tommy slept soundly that night, and the three siblings woke up to the smell of pancakes. The older two had a feeling Phil had told Kristen what to make them for breakfast, but they decided they didn't care because they were the most delicious pancakes ever.

A few days later, Phil opened the door to absolute chaos. Vanilla cake batter and frosting were all over the kitchen, Kristen's clothes, the twins' faces, and Tommy's hair. The four locked eyes with Phil, before sputtering with giggles. "Run, run, run!" Kristen exclaimed and the children ran shrieking up the stairs, Kristen just standing with a mischievous smile and a spatula.

Phil just smiled and rolled his eyes, letting his bag drop to the floor. "I reckon it went well, then?" 

"I think so," Kristen said with a hopeful smile.

(A/N, skip if you're not interested)

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and messages, you have no idea how much they mean to me. Many of you have said your dms are open to listen and I can't thank you enough, please keep being the kind people you are and making others feel better. Also, know that the same goes for me: you are always welcome to message me about absolutely anything, I am always willing to chat and help however I can.

Chapters might be slow, but I am working through all your requests. Please leave more if you have any!