Nightmares
Diego gets nightmares. He got them just about every night as a kid. Sometimes he wouldn’t be able to wake up from them. As a kid, either Klaus or Mom would wake him up when they heard him crying in his sleep. He preferred the latter. Klaus would be annoying, wake him up, mumble whatever sleep-deprived Klause mumbles, then leave. Mom would calm him down, talk him through whatever he was feeling. He still got them from time to time, though. He would never tell anyone, God forbid he gave up his tough-guy persona. Nightmares aren’t really unusual for him. What is unusual, however, is Diego waking up, screaming.
Grace immediately gets off of her charging station and goes up to Diego. She was designed to take care of her children, after all. “Diego, darling, what’s the matter?” Diego looks over and tries telling her about the dream, not that it’s understandable. He’s a stuttering mess. Grace sits on the bed, “Remember what we worked on, Diego. Picture the words in your head.” Diego takes a deep breath, “I-It was just a nightmare.” Grace rubs his back, “It’s best to talk about your nightmares to get them out of your system.” Diego nods. “Dad…” is all he can get out. Grace smiles, “Your father isn’t here, silly.” Diego shakes his head, “I d-dreamt about him. About personal training…” Grace’s face softens as he tells her about the dream.
All of the siblings had personal training some days. He would notice Luther walking a little bit slower than usual, Allison would lose her voice frequently. Five wouldn’t come down for training. Ben would be shaking for days after his. Everyone still had nightmares about their training. Diego would be forced underwater for hours. He usually got a few sick days afterward, but that didn’t make it any better. Grace listened patiently, giving him gentle hugs whenever he started crying again. “I-I’m sorry…” Grace shakes her head, “What are you apologizing for, darling?” He runs a hand through his hair, “You’re supposed to be charging…” Grace gives him one more hug, “I taught you not to apologize unless it was needed.” Diego nods and lays down, “Thanks, mom.” She smiles softly, “You’re welcome, Diego.” She goes back to her charging station, processing all of this new information about Reginald.