Welcome To My Nightmare

Lenna smiled. “But when he is four years older than you and you are what 9 years older than me, then he is thirteen years older than me and that is of old.”

Lenna was hungry, and got restless.

Gosh I wish Aly wouldn’t be here. I wanna be alone, why do I always have to drive with anyone? I just want that they all leave me alone. I don’t need them. I am... Wait not we are a team right?

“Aly we are a team, friends? Right? I mean we not just saved Rome because I gave you all not choice, right? We would have saved each of us.”

Lenna felt uncomfortable, something wasn’t right here.

"You're the second person to say that. I guess we're friends or teammates. I never thought I'd be accepted in this group."

Lenna looked at Aly.

“Why not, because you are a new hunter? I started to feel like a teacher anyway with Raws and Rome and I bet you are a better student then those two. I like having another girl in the team and at the same someone who knows how to protect me and not trying to turn me into a second Barbie. And I like you since you don’t try to arrest Rome or any of us anymore.”

I think I do.

Lenna smiled at Aly.

"More because I'm FBI--but yeah, I guess because I don't know the world you live in."

She sighed rubbing her face.

"I still feel like I'm in a dream sometimes. Though, you're right, it could be worse--we could be turned into sorority girls." She started to open up.

“Um, I’m sorry to say this but you were FBI. I don’t see a way for you to go back. But you know what, it sounds weird, but the FBI saves people, right? Hunters do the same thing. We just don’t hunt gangsters, we hunt much scarier monsters, and the weapons are also a bit different. All you need to do is study a bit, I’m a patient teacher. And the easiest thing in my world is, just believe there is nothing not possible.”

Right teach her how your world goes and you are free.

Lenna closed her eyes for a brief second. Where did those thought come from? She was free, and really glad to be in such a great team. Lenna pulled into the parking lot behind Caleb’s truck.

“I am starving.”

"What a lucky bastard you are, Daly," Rome teased as they were pulling up to this diner Caleb was apparently obsessed with. Maybe they had a military discount and a seniors discount you could combine. Rome laughed internally at his own joke before explaining: "I get stuck with the evil chick in my dream, while you're tapping actual flesh and blood--hot flesh and blood, I might add. Hot ice-queen-flesh-and-blood." He grinned at Caleb's growl, and continued, trying to be serious about this, because he hated it when other people excused themselves from seizing the day on account of being too shy, too lazy, or too 'good': "Betcha wish it wasn't just a dream, huh? I mean, that's a perfectly natural thing to admit, man. No shame in it."

Also, if it was determined that Caleb had no plans, Rome was totally making a move.

"Well, she said it was nothing, and I guess that's her call. But, being the man left single by this, it's my privilege to remember every single detail," Caleb replied with a crude half-smile, "And you're damn right about the hot part. You should've seen her in nothing but my shirt."

Rome appreciated the mental picture, was reminded of her arresting him wearing nothing but the Victoria's Secret line. Which had been awesome. And totally bore repeating. So what if she was a little older than him? He liked women with experience.

A lot.

But, it was part of the Bro Code. He had to make sure the Prior Claim wasn't actually Claiming, and he was getting enough mixed vibes from Caleb that he was ready to call off the mission at the slightest indication. Rome was ruled by his dick: but that didn't make him a dick.

"So...you needing a wingman or anything?" he grinned sophomorically.

"Not one who doesn't shave yet anyway," Caleb answered with a chuckle, "If she says it means nothing, it means nothing. And means I can pick up the waitress."

It was like Rome was probing to see if Caleb was interested in Aly. Which, given she was fine and he had eyes and a libido, he was. But not in the "I saw her first!" sense. In the "I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating toast" sense.

Rome sat in the diner at one of those round corner booths, a platonic arm around Elenna, a cautiously hinting arm around Aly, feeling generally very safe, content, and happy. Mainly because there was a plate of three eggs, two sausage, two bacon, hashbrowns, and three pancakes headed his way, and he had a cup of coffee with four sugars and one cream sitting in front of him, and he was warm, and definitely wasn't dreaming.

Having Mom and Dad back had been nice, but...also weird. Rawson was his familial constant, not them--not even when they had been alive--and, hell, not even Raws so much anymore. Which reminded him:

"Hey, I gotta go take a leak, guys, lemme out."

"I ain't movin'," Caleb offered jovially, as Georgie turned up her nose: "Okay, do you have to announce it?"

Rome laughed. "Fine, screw you guys," he said, and crawled under the table.

He locked the door to the single bathroom and pulled out his phone. It rang, once, twice, three times, four, five...

"Sh*t, Raws, answer the fracking phone!"

A mechanized voice answered him: "You have reached--It's R. You know what to do--Please leave a message after the tone."

Rome took a deep breath:

"Dammit, Raws, you better as hell not be dead. In case you decide to care, I just spent last night getting sidelined by a djinni who made me think you were dead, so frack you very much for giving me the time of day. We're in Chicago. If you could pencil in a visit. So I can kick your ass."

He hung up, angry tears stinging his eyes. He was just about to rejoin his friends when his phone beeped. (1) Message Received. It was from Rawson.

Glad you're okay. I'm fine. Got another job lined up, call you when it's over. I sent some money to your account from the last one.

The rush of relief was followed quickly by a rush of rage, and he barely refrained from punching a hole in the wall or throwing his phone. Instead he put the toilet seat down and sat down, checking his bank account online. He had always been well-off, but now there was an extra twenty-five grand riding pretty in there that was frankly embarrassing. So now Rawson was sending him guilt-money? Rome wanted it gone. Maybe he could buy a Ducati and drive it into the Chicago River.

Sure his food was getting cold, and positive he would have more energy to be pissed when he had eaten, Rome put the gameface back on and returned to the table.

"What took you so long?" Aly asked.

Rome shrugged. "Hey, this one doesn't want details," he pointed an accusing finger at Georgie. "And who the hell's been stealing my bacon?"

Aly leaned back enjoying her coffee. Her breakfast was late arriving so she'd grabbed a piece of bacon from Rome's. He returned and threw his arm around her like she was his high school prom date. She was about the shrug him off when she noticed Caleb watching. She scooted closer to Rome letting his hand slide down her back.

The group was loud and jovial as they ate their breakfasts, sharing stories of the hunt to which she felt unable to contribute. Though she'd hunted her share of pervs, none of the stories were appropriate for the breakfast table. So she sat back and listened to the lost episodes of the Twilight Zone.

Lenna didn’t bother to have more than a black coffee with three sugars. Lenna had Rome’s laptop in front of her. She was skipping through the news.

I don’t wanna sit here and have friggin pancakes. There are people that need our help.

Lenna didn’t really care where Rome went, she had a guess. It was time that he called Raws again and probably just found a couple more dollars on his account. She knew that this was Raws weird macho way in saying ‘I love you’, but still. She didn’t join the conversation about past hunts. She looked briefly at Aly, but something held her back. She didn’t want to talk.

I haven’t checked the news in New York for a very long time. Let’s see what’s up in Chestertown.

No one died recently she knew, no weird death, her Foster father still had the usual Used-Car-Shop commercial, and her Foster mother still head her room decorating commercial. One girl she was in School together got married. How can you get married with 19? That is insane. When she suddenly read another name she knew, North Warren Central School.

“WHAT?! No that can’t be!”

Lenna stared panicking at the laptop screen.

"Whoa!" Rome yelped, choking on his cold coffee. "What the--what's up, chica?" Elenna sounded really worried, and he leaned over to look at the laptop. "What's going on?" Rome did a double-take, looking at the plate of pancakes he had ordered for her which she hadn't even touched, though he was half-way done with his. "And aren't you eating anything?"

“What? No I’m not hungry. I don’t wanna eat, but thanks.”

Lenna pushed Rome aside to read the article about her school.

“Rome that is my High School, they found a couple of gallons of blood in the cafeteria. Rome that can’t be good, please we have to go. I just feel that this is our kind of problem. Rome please, let’s go.”

Lenna tried to climb over the back of the bench. She was already planning the quickest route to the one town she didn’t want to go back.

“Rome let go of me, I don’t wanna have any breakfast or coffee. Please guys, come on.”

Elenna's freakout had caught Caleb unawares, but not so much that he was caught like a deer in the headlights like Rome. He kept his fork, loaded up with half a hash brown, in one hand in case it was just a shock email, while his right drew and deployed one of his folding knives under the table. When Elenna started talking about the cafeteria in her old school, Caleb stealthily returned the knife to his pocket and returned his fork hand to eating, keeping his ears tuned to what Elenna was saying.

As for Rome and Allison, Caleb had decided to back off. Allison didn't want him, Rome could have her. He sighed heavily into his plate and waved Elenna back to her seat.

"Elenna. Sit down. Plan this out. Rushing in could be fatal," Caleb tried to sound reassuring, but came across more like a DI.

Aly almost broke Rome's arm as his hand rested on her thigh, but then she realized it was just to prop himself higher to see the computer screen. She moved and he jolted to regain his balance. Then she leaned over and put her hand on Lenna's shoulder.

"Hey, it'll be ok. Probably some senior prank gone wrong--but we'll go and check it out to make sure."

Lenna stared at Caleb. “What the f*ck. Rushing could be fatal? This is my school, my um people I know. We are so going, like now, if you have to get a box for your food. Move it. NOW.”

Lenna climbed over Rome to get out, she didn’t care if he gets bruises or if she hurt him. She needed to go back. She turned to Aly.

“We can plan this on the way there. We have at least 16 hours drive ahead of us. Please, Rome."

Lenna was standing next to Rome being close to tears.

“Aly, really? You are coming with me? Thank you so much.”

"Yeah, I'm going with you." She glared at the men. "And so are they."

Aly signaled for the to-go boxes and scooped what remained of her omelet into one. Then she scooted over to get out.

She shoved her hair behind her ear.

"Let's roll." It felt corny coming from her, but the others moved nonetheless. Maybe she was starting to become one of the team.

Rome threw up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Geez, we're going, chill." Rome rolled his last pancake around his last link sausage and crammed it in his mouth. With it still hanging there he pulled out his wallet and threw down fifty dollars like it was nothing--which it was, now--and more than enough to cover seven meals at less than five bucks a pop.

He held out his hand to Elenna for the keys. "I'm driving. You research." She went pale and pouted, clutching something in her pocket. "Or we're staying here, finishing our breakfast like civilized people, and planning it out here. You want to go now, fine: you're researching--" he jerked a finger at Aly, "she's planning, and I'm driving. Are we clear? I'm not sleeping for, like, a month, anyway."

“Fine you drive, but drive more careful. My boy hates it when you drive him with a tough hand. Be nice. And you know the rules, no eating or drinking while you drive.”

Lenna took slowly the keys out of her pocket and handed them to Rome.

“Let’s just go, okay.”

Lenna pushed Rome into the driver’s seat.

“We need to stop by the motel and pick up out stuff and then we need to go.”

Lenna let Aly get into the back seat and climbed in the passenger seat. She pulled one of her big books from under the seat, she was buried in the book before Rome even started the car.

"Goddammit, this car is trying to kill me, I swear," Rome said, tugging at the seatbelt which had a habit of attempting to strangle him every time he applied the brakes. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the girls in the back of the car. "She asleep yet?" he asked Aly.

"Yeah," Aly replied, taking the book gently from Elenna's slack fingers.

"Thank God. I've never seen her this obsessed--and let me tell you, that girl can get obsessed." Rome glanced at a nearby sign and at his watch. they had only been on the road for eight hours and already he was seeing signs of civilization again. "Awesome, we're making good time. Might make Buffalo before someone calls a halt."

Aly grinned tiredly. "Won't be you, though?"

"Not a chance." Rome gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than was necessary. "And then I'm making Lennie drive this piece of crap car."

Aly leaned back in the cramped back seat. The constant motion of the car and readjusting her position so she could feel her legs combined to give her the worst feeling in her stomach.

"Rome, I know you don't want to be the one to call it quits."

The car pulled into a hotel parking lot and he let her outside. Almost the second she stepped out of the car she felt normal again. She looked up from the ground at the tall building behind her.

"Wow, you know how to find em."

He flashed her a suggestive smile. She gave him a tight grin that said never for her. He paid for all their rooms saying it was on his brother. She didn't ask and didn't want to know what kind of illegal activity was done to get the money.

***

Aly set the remote down and sighed. The Ben & Jerries she'd ordered from room service was gone. There was nothing on TV. Sleep was out of the question.

"Why do I always shoot myself in the foot with men?" She asked the pillow she clasped to her chest.

Rome plastered a grin to his face as Aly opened the door. “I couldn’t sleep," he said, by way of explanation, trying to sound as vulnerable and lonely as he actually genuinely felt, "and I saw the light on under the door.... Mind if I come in?”

Aly looked skeptical. She was wearing a blanket over what Rome fantasized was a sexy negligee, and she tightened it around her shoulders self-consciously. It was always the hot ones that were self-conscious. “What do you want?”

“Someone to keep me company while I avoid sleeping. And someone to share this expensive tequila with,” he said, producing a brown paper bag as evidence. “I also got some Prosecco, since I’m still unsure what kind of girl you are,” he winked. Before she could stop him, he pulled, out of his pocket, a flashdrive: “I have illegally downloaded episodes of 24, Prison Break, The Unit, Lost, Stargate, and Gilmore Girls—again, ‘cause I don’t quite have you pegged yet. So am I allowed in?” He flashed her a transparently fake-nervous-fake-innocent-goofy grin.

She pursed her lips together, but didn’t say anything, as she turned away, leaving him to follow. He cracked open the liquor as she unpackaged the plastic cups by the coffee pot. Rome liked making sure everyone was sleeping comfortably on Rawson’s swag.

“So…what kind of girl are you?” he asked, playful without commiting.

“Tequila and 24,” she answered curtly.

This woman clearly needed to unwind.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rome said, unconsciously mimicking Voyager’s Tom Paris. He poured her at least a triple shot and handed it to her, pouring a double for himself.

She eyed the drink dubiously. “If you’re trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me, it won’t work.”

Rome looked wounded. “Hey, now! Remember the last time we were in a hotel room together I was not the one taking advantage of anyone. Do you know to this day I can’t look at a pair of handcuffs without getting a boner?”

She spit out a mouthful of Tequila in shocked laughter. He grinned and laughed and poured a little more into her glass, and by the time they were done laughing both glasses were empty.

Aly tossed back another shot while Jack Bauer interrogated another terrorist. It only served to remind her what she'd left behind to the point where she'd wished she'd chosen his purloined collection of Battlestar Gallactica.

The room spun now at just the right angle to push her further into his embrace. She still had inhibitions though so she stood up in between episodes and paced.

"You know the last time I kissed a man that wasn't for work was over a year ago?" He had to help her pour another shot through the nervous laughter.

"So you mean I wasn't special?" Rome feigned insult as he helped her pour. "But maybe you'd better take it easy," he said suddenly, pulling the bottle back and taking her cup from her. "I got some limeade, too: we're making you a fake margarita, you wanna keep going like this."

He liked Aly when she let loose. Loose Aly liked talking, and wasn't afraid to do it.

24 was making them both uncomfortable, so he changed it to Stargate after replacing her drink with something a little lighter.

"Aly," he said. "Aly, Aly, Aly," trying to get her attention, he eventually took both of her hands and waited for her to make eye contact. "You know why I'm here, right?"

She giggled and rolled her eyes.

"No, look at me, Aly. That dreamworld really screwed with both of us, right? I'm just making sure you're okay. I'm serious, Aly: you feel free to kick me out any time you need."

As tipsy as she was and as smooth as he was being, Rome seriously doubted it. He wished he'd had less to drink. He had gotten so good at The Game that he wasn't ever sure when he was playing anymore.

But he was pretty sure he meant that. Yeah, no, definitely the truth about kicking him out: he didn't want to take advantage of her, of course, and he was pretty good at reading that sort of thing. And, yeah, he wanted to make her feel better. It wouldn't hurt him, certainly, but the main goal was making sure she stopped being so awkward around Caleb, awkward in hunts, just generally lost and awkward, like her world had been turned upside down (which it had). This was her life now, and he wanted her comfortable with it. This was her welcome party. It wasn't much, but it was definitely better than the one he'd had.