Raven had been up reading for about an hour already and had just rolled over to go to sleep when she heard it. Past the dull, rhythmic snoring of her husband, like the gentlest song from the beak of a mockingbird, the tiniest voice emerged from the darkness of the bedroom. Calling to her by a name which brought a smile to her face every time she heard it.

"Mommy?"

Laying on her side, she craned her neck upward and looked through the dark in the direction of the door. A little figure stood motionless in the doorway, it's small arms clutching something to its chest. Again a tiny voice whimpered softly through the black.

"Daddy?"

Fear was evident in the little figure's voice. Not that Raven needed to hear her speak to know that. The thick, heavy feeling in her chest, flowing through her like a river was enough to tell her something had happened.

"What is it, sweetie?" she whispered, soft enough to not disturb the man sleeping next to her, but loud enough to let the voice know she had heard.

Stepping out of the darkness, the fragile form of five-year-old Coraline Logan entered the square of moonlight cast upon the carpeted floor. Her little, white nightgown, seemed to glow in the lunar light as her arms clutched a stuffed monkey to her chest and her eyes blinked with tiny unshed tears.

"Monsters," she said. "In my room."

Sitting up in bed, Raven faced the frightened child, giving a soft and comforting smile. The kind of smile which was only reserved for a select few in her life. "Monsters, huh?" she said. Through the dim light she saw the little girl nod and clutch the stuffed toy in her arms tighter. For a moment, she looked down at the still sleeping form of her husband, his face buried deeply in his pillow, his arms and legs sticking out in random directions from underneath the covers as he abruptly snorted and began snoring momentarily louder.

Returning her gaze to her daughter she smirked slightly. "Did they sound anything like Daddy?"

Coraline smiled and shook her head, her little violet tresses shaking back and forth on either side of her face. "No," she said softly. "They're scarier than that."

Holding back a tiny laugh, Raven widened her eyes in mock surprise. "Scarier than Daddy's snoring?" she asked. Again the little girl nodded at her. "Well," she continued. "I guess we should go and have a look."

Another small smile crossed the little girls lips as Raven got out of bed and approached her offering her hand to hold as they made their way out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"Now, where are these monsters," asked Raven, hands on her hips, strolling confidently into the five-year-old's bedroom.

Standing in the doorway Coraline played nervously with her stuffed toy. "In the closet and under the bed and in my toy box," she said, her tiny finger pointing to each location as she spoke.

Slowly Raven strolled across the green carpet of the bedroom and approached the twin sized bed, complete with the aqua blue bedspread, featuring an underwater layout of a dozen smiling, happy fish. Much like her father, it seemed like Coraline Logan was going to be a big animal lover.

"Hmm," she said, placing a hand to her mouth and pretending to be in deep thought. She looked at her daughter and pointed to the bed, silently asking for confirmation which the child gave by nodding. Slowly she got down on her hands and knees and gripped the edge of the quilt as it hung over the mattress, touching the floor. In one fluid motion she ripped it back and shoved her face into the small space.

"I don't see any monsters here," she said after a few moments of "searching."

Getting back to her feet, she walked over to the closet and once again did the same thing. Pulling back the doors in one swift motion and studying the interior. The same actions were again repeated for the toy box. She then approached little Coraline and gently took her by the hand, leading her back to her bed.

"After a thorough investigation I think it's safe to say this room is one hundred percent monster free," she said as she began tucking the little girl into bed.

"You must have scared them off," said Coraline, laying her head down on her pale blue pillow and resting her stuffed monkey down beside her.

Raven smiled. "Well," she said. "I have scared away my share of monsters."

"I don't like monsters."

"Me neither."

Although she felt better a single thought still nagged at the child's mind. With concern in her eyes she looked up at her mother and squeaked, "Don't turn off the light."

Looking down at her daughter, Raven could once again feel her fear welling up inside her. "Why not?" she questioned, feigning ignorance.

"If you turn off the light, the monsters will come back. They always come back when it gets dark."

For a moment, Raven looked deeply into her child's eye. Although there was a part of her that rather enjoyed the theatrics that went along with the naiveté of children, and though she very much wanted to soothe her fears, she had always sworn to herself that she would maintain a certain degree of honesty with her daughter. Spending several years of her life fighting the evils of the world, she knew firsthand how horrible it could be, and it was her deepest desire that she raise Coraline to be strong. So, brushing the little girl's cheek with the back of her hand, she looked into her eyes.

"Coraline," she said, her voice soft and comforting, yet firm. "I know it's scary, but if you're brave and you face it, there's nothing in the dark that can really hurt you.

Again the little girl was tearful. "But I'm scared," she squeaked.

"I know you are," her mother answered. "And it's okay to be scared. It's not easy to face the darkness, but the sooner you do, the sooner you'll realize you're not scared of it anymore. Do you understand?"

She watched as slowly the child nodded, seeming to somewhat understand what she was trying to say. Giving the little girl a kiss on the forehead she made her way for the exit and with a flick of her finger extinguished the light.

In bed, Coraline shook slightly as she rolled over onto her side and struggled to calm herself enough to fall asleep. A few moments later she was surprised when suddenly a dim green light filled the corners of her eyes. Raising her little head up off of her pillow she saw her mother again standing in the doorway, a glowing green stone sitting in the palm of her hand, it's light illuminating the small room.

"But you know..." she said as she as she made her way across the room and set the stone down on her bedside table. "When facing the darkness, it doesn't hurt to have a little light shining nearby."

Coraline smiled brightly at the beautiful green light filling her room, giving her peace and calm.

Smiling Raven bent down and gave her daughter another kiss on the cheek. "Good night," she said lovingly.

"Geoffry too," said Coraline suddenly motioning to the stuffed monkey still lying its head on the pillow beside her.

Raven smirked slightly. Of all the things she expected to do in her life, she never thought giving a kiss to a stuffed animal would be one of them. But nevertheless she still leaned over, gave a little peck on the forehead to the stuffed primate and bid him good night. She then stood and made her way to the exit as little Coraline Logan rolled over, shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Pulling back the sheets and quilt, Raven climbed back onto the mattress and slipped into the covers. Her jostling was enough so that it stirred the sleeping Garfield from his snoring slumber.

"What's going on?" he slurred, still half asleep.

"Nothing, Gar," said Raven lying down on her side and putting her arms around his waist. "Go back to sleep.

"Oh okay," he answered. Laying his head back down on his pillow he absent mindedly took hold of one of Raven's hands and kissed the back of it before settling back into sleep. "Night," he slurred one more time.

Raven smiled. "Good night," she said. "My light."

A/N: I know this was kind of cliche, but this idea wouldn't leave my head, and I figured the only way to get rid of it would be to put it down on paper. Anyway, I still hope you liked it. I'm hoping future ones will be better.