by Christy Shorey and you

ARCHIVE: NOV. 16 edited for spelling and grammar

3017 words

Lacey looked down at the necklace Logan had given her. He had refused to explain his cryptic comment any further once they had made it out of the building, as the fire department was starting to arrive. There had been a grease fire in the restaurant next door, and the unknowing waiter had thrown water on it to try to quench the flames, only enraging them further. There was smoke damage in all of the row of shops, and Lacey had been sent home for the day, and told she would be called when they knew it was safe, to help with clean up.

So now she sat in her house, waiting for him to come home, and repeating the phrase "it collects dreams" over and over in her head. Instead of coming straight home from the tattoo parlor, she had gone to the mall, and while there accidentally brushed as many people as she could manage, intrigued with the task Logan had given her.

George hopped up in her lap, and started kneading her stomach. She looked down at the orange tabby, and ran a hand idly down his spine. "It collects dreams," she told the feline. He chirped in return, too busy purring to give a full meow.

The sound of a key in the lock had Lacey leaping up, stranding her cat to leap off in an unceremonious attempt to maintain his balance. He gave a hiss, and batted at her leg, but she was already on her way to the door to meet Logan.

He was closing the door when she got into the hall. "What do you mean, collects dreams? Like, aspirations, or like the nocturnal visions we all have?" she demanded of his back.

Logan turned and blinked at her. She put her hand on the necklace, and elaborated. "I want to know what it is I stole from all those people you had me touching today. Let me tell you, everyone at the south-side mall thinks I'm a bit klutz or very rude, by the way. And I almost go arrested for shoplifting, until the security guard searched and saw the only thing in my purse, and in my pockets, was my wallet, my keys and my phone. Luckily I didn't have any makeup in there, or I suspect there would have been problems."

Logan gave a sigh, and put an arm out, indicating the living room. "Do you mind if we sit? It's not easy to explain."

Lacey bit her lip, but followed him into the living room. She even had enough patience to wait for him to sit, and take off his shoes. But when he still didn't speak, she worried that he might choose now to clam up. "Well..." she said, not hiding any of her impatience.

Logan leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. "It collects dreams, as in the nighttime visions, but not everyone has them," he said. "And it doesn't exactly steal them. The original dreamer still has the dream, but I am able to see the dream with them, as they are dreaming it, and in the morning, the dream is collected, so I can review it later if I need to. The original dreamer doesn't remember their dreams, but I think they still remember that they DID dream. I'm not exactly sure on that point, actually."

Lacey looked down at the necklace. It was a little hard to see given the length of the chain, but she refused to take it off. "Where did you get it?"

"I think I built it."

Lacey looked over at Logan. He had a hand on his forehead, and sounded rather tired. "What do you mean, 'think'?"

"I had a rather long bout of memories from past lives, and when I recovered from them, the necklace was there. I'm not positive that someone didn't come by and drop it while I was away in my mind, but I highly doubt it, since it is only part of the device. The rest appeared in bits and pieces over many such times."

"The nightstand?" Lacey asked, and was pleased to see that she had finally gotten his attention enough that he opened his eyes. He looked at her, and she felt him trying to size her up.

"Don't worry," she said after a moment. "That doesn't make me the bad guy. I just remember how insistent you were that it was brought over the first time you came, so I assumed that was it."

"Right. Okay," he said, though there was still a trace of doubt in his voice. "It is the nightstand. I put the necklace into it, and the device scans through the files of all the people to find someone who is asleep, and then I can join their dreams. I have a bit more control over it, but that's the short and simple version."

"Will you show me how to work it?"

"Maybe? Not today, though. And I'm not sure it would work for you, so you might just see some pretty lights."

Lacey frowned. "Have you stolen any of my dreams?"

Logan shook his head. "I tried, but for some reason it didn't work. Probably the same reason you affect my past memories, and we still haven't figured THAT out yet."

"And you collect the dreams, why? Is it to help you look for what makes you have the flashbacks?"

"Yes. Dreams provide insight into a conglomeration of events in a day - observations that the conscious mind might not even see. That's the theory anyway. I think. And somehow all my past selves have decided that this is a good way to find out what has happened to me."

"Is this the first life you've had the device?"

"I don't know. Get down," Logan said, scooping George up off his lap, and standing up. He sat down rather suddenly.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lacey asked, leaning over, trying to see his eyes.

"Yeah," Logan replied, but his voice seemed distant. Lacey reached out her hand to touch him and stop his flashback, but he leaned away from her. "No, I think I need to see this. Wake me if I get violent, or I'm gone more than twenty minutes."

Lacey leaned back in her chair, and pulled her knees to her chest. She didn't like when Logan insisted on viewing the past memories. It seemed to her to be such a horrid thing to relinquish control of oneself, of one's sense of self, even if it was to a past self.

Logan was mumbling to whomever he had talked to in his past life, and rose from his seat, then abruptly sat again.

He had never let her leave him in for more than five minutes before.

George meowed from in front of Lacey's chair, and she shifted in her seat to make a lap for him. When the cat jumped up, she scooped him up in her arms where he sat, purring, as she watched Logan, helpless to intervene with whatever was now causing the fear on his face.

***

Margot was frustrated when she got home. Rose had noticed her too-curious activities with regards to records and research. "I don't mind if you do it, but if the doctor's find out," she had said. She hadn't vocalized it, but Margot understood that if Rose caught her at it again, than the doctors WOULD know about the activities. She had used up her one get-out-of-jail-free card. The most she had been able to get from the medical center were procedures that she was either certain wouldn't work, or had already tried and failed with. That meant that the searching that Dresden was doing was all the more important.

When she walked in he had books spread out all over the dinning room table, and was frantically scribbling notes.

"Find anything good?" she said, taking off her coat.

"Just a minute," Dresden replied, holding up his free hand for silence as he finished jotting down whatever note he had. He turned to look at her, his brown eyes alight with excitement. "I think I found something really interesting, actually," he said. "But I'm right in the middle of it, I have to cross reference a few more sources."

"Don't let me stop you," Margot said. "I'll just order dinner." When she looked back she saw Dresden back at work, and was uncertain if he had even heard her reply. She gave a sigh, and headed down towards Kyle's room.

Kyle was on his bed, watching a Japanese trivia show. Margot waited in the doorway until a commercial, then asked him what he wanted for dinner.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes darting between her and the TV, periodically.

"Drained. It may be another early night for me, and an early walk in the morning, sorry."

"I don't mind if I can come back and sleep in," Kyle said. "How about Chinese?"

Margot made a face. "I had that for lunch."

"Mexican? The new taco bar finally opened a few blocks over."

"Do they deliver?"

"I don't know, but I'll go get it. After the show?" He looked hopeful, and when she nodded, he gave a grin. "Great." Then the commercials ended, and he was engrossed once more in the show.

Margot headed back to the dining room, and plopped down in a chair across from Dresden. She picked up a book from the stack on the floor, and flipped through the folk-tales contained in it. Kyle came in, and took everyone's orders, and then headed out to pick up the food.

Dresden sat back in his chair with a triumphant sigh. "There," he said, tossing his pencil down on the notes he had been taking. He blinked a few times, then seemed to notice Margot was sitting across from him, watching with interest. "Oh, hi. Um," he said, turning the notebook pages to something blank. "Can we talk, I mean, before I share this with you? I've got to let it settle some, and I've got something to tell you."

"Can we do it outside? I told Kyle we could eat on the porch, since the weather is nice."

Dresden nodded, and followed her out. Margot watched as he paced back and forth across the tiny screened in porch. He stopped once or twice, then quickly resumed his walking. The third time he stopped and started again, Margot had enough. "Out with it," she said, and had the satisfaction of seeing him stop in mid-stride.   She arched one eyebrow, "Unless you want to wait for Kyle to hear this? He should be back any minute."

Dresden shook his head, and took a deep breath. "My suspension is over tomorrow, and I want to keep working for you, and work there too, only I won't need any money from you because I enjoy doing it, so don't think you have to worry about paying me, and I'll even do some of the handiwork still, if you need."

Margot was surprised that he managed to say that all in one breath. She noticed he was looking expectantly at her, and she gave a smile. "Okay," she said, and he gave a sigh.

"I think I might have found something really interesting," he said, perking up. "But, only, well...do you think, especially now that I'm going to continue the research, you can tell me what, exactly, you're looking for? I mean, I think what I have is big, but I've thought that before, so I'm worried I'll just be slaving away in pointless directions and wasting time."

They both turned at the sound of the front door opening. "Can it wait until after dinner?"

Dresden nodded, and they sat down to eat. A breeze kicked up during the meal, and by the end they could all tell a storm was coming. Margot sent Kyle in to clean up after dinner, and sat back in her chair. Dresden watched Kyle leave, then turned an expectant face to Margot.

She fidgeted nervously, her fingers and the wind playing with her hair in equal measure. For good measure, she tugged some of her wavy locks straight. Finally she met his eye, and was pleased to see that her actions had the effect on him she had been aiming for. When he looked like he was just at the point to either tell her to forget about it, or to get on with it already, she took a big breath.

Dresden leaned forward.

"It's hard," Margot said, keeping her voice small, making him lean closer. "But, I'm looking for a solution to a problem I have."

"A literary problem?" Dresden frowned, his brows furrowing.

"No, a real life problem," Margot said. "But many people wouldn't believe me if I told them, so I didn't want to say. Especially since I thought you'd be leaving after you suspension was over. I didn't want you to think less of me."

"Never," he sighed. "I could never think less of you, or little of you. I think of you a lot."

Margot smiled, and wondered if he realized his slip up. Or if it was a slip up at all. This was going to be easier than she thought; he was already so influenced by her power and her will that this next step should be an easy leap. Not as easy as it had been with Kyle, but easy enough.

"Promise me you won't freak out?" Margot said.

"I promise," Dresden said, looking confused.

"Okay, sit back. You'll want to, trust me."

He did as she said, and she got up from the chair. Turning her back to him she loosened her clothes. She could sense Dresden's confusion and excitement, and hear it in the change of his breath. She smiled, then proceeded to change into her natural state, her clothes slipping off as she transitioned into a small red dragon.

She heard the chair clattering, and turned to see Dresden standing, a look of shock on his face. Kyle had heard the noise as well, and came to the porch door. He quickly assessed the situation, and collected Margot's clothes. "I'll go put these in the hamper," he said.

*Thank you* Margot thought at him, and Dresden stepped back. Margot turned her serpentine head to look up at him. He was still speechless. Kyle passed behind Dresden, not seeming to notice the state he was in.

They were quiet for a moment; the only sound was the wind increasing its mad dash through the trees. Finally in a small voice Dresden managed to say "Margot?"

She pulled her scaly lips into a parody of a smile. *I'd say I just won that argument. What to you think?*

****

Warmth on Logan's arms brought him back to the present. It took him a minute for the vision to fade completely and to resolve into Lacey standing in front of him, one hand on each arm, looking worried.

"Are you okay? Are you back?"

Logan nodded, but that made his head pound. "Yes, I'm fine," he said, not even convincing himself.

"Hardly," Lacey snorted. "But at least you're back. I thought I'd lost you."

"How..."

Lacey shook her head. "After twenty minutes - which were first boring then full of worry, by the way, I tried to reach out to touch you, to bring you back. But you said "not yet." It was your voice, but it didn't sound like you, something in the cadence and pitch. I was going to ignore you, but you stepped away "He needs to see this," you said, so I let you be."

Logan felt a fluttering in his chest. He didn't remember saying any of that. Who was using his body in the here and now. He shook his head; he knew the answer to that. It was him, or a past version of him. He just didn't like that his memories seemed to now be interacting with the real world in a tangible way.

"Then, after another twenty minutes, I tried again," Lacey said, "and you didn't protest, so I figured it was all right. But you didn't snap out of it. So I put my other hand on you, and you still didn't snap out of it. I've been holding you," she said, tipping her head towards her hands, still wrapped around his arms "for a full ten minutes."

Logan blinked, trying to get straight what she was saying. Her fingers were digging into the flesh on his arms, and he tried to pull free from her grasp. "You can let go now," he said, but she shook her head.

"No. Not for a while. I don't want you to accidentally slip away again. I want to make sure you are firmly rooted in the here and now, so you best get comfortable."

Logan realized her voice was tinted with fear. He scooted over to make room for her on the sofa. She kept one hand firmly on his arm, and maneuvered so she was sitting next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. Once there, she breathed a sigh of relief, and Logan thought he felt tears dropping on his shoulder, but he didn't mention them.

"I suppose you want to know what it was so important for me to see?" Logan said.

Lacey shook his head against his shoulder. "Not right now. I'm still too stressed out. Besides, I want to give you time to think about it. It must be really important," she said with a strained laugh, "I want you to find the right words for it."

"Okay," Logan said, and settled back into silence. He noticed how warm he was where Lacey was pressed against him, and that he could feel her heart pounding in a rhythm that almost matched his own.

He blinked at the growing twilight, listening to the sounds of the night. "It seems like there is a storm coming," he said. "In more ways than one," he added to himself.