Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or even a portion of the show. They all belong to Dick Wolf.
A Surreal Dream
He woke up from a deep sleep in easy stages. That in itself was unusual, though it felt good. The sheets smelled good, like a fresh breeze and the window was open letting in a nice breeze. He stretched out from under the blankets and relaxed for just a moment thinking he should…..GET UP! He was late.
His eyes popped open and he looked at the clock. It was 10:00. He was going to be late for…. This wasn't his place, well, it was and it wasn't. He recognized it yet he didn't. He sat up and looked around. There was a head sized indent in the pillow beside his and the blankets had been slept in, but he didn't recognize anything about the room. It was disorienting.
Where was he? He started to get out of bed and realized he hadn't a stitch of clothes on. Okay, what was going on? He saw a dresser in the room with a mans wallet and keys on top and guessed that was for his clothes. He hurriedly dressed in the clothes he found there and went in search of the delicious smelling coffee. His stomach told him that it was breakfast time, even if he didn't know where he was.
The entire place was nicely decorated and homey, but strangely quiet. He was still feeling disoriented as he paced toward the bright airy kitchen. He found a full pot of coffee and a mug next to it on the counter and a note. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Since you have the day off I thought I'd let you sleep in. The kids and I went to the store, we'll be back in a bit then maybe we should go to the lake house for an entire day away. I love you, Me."
Okay, no help there. Maybe coffee would help. He poured it and took a sip. That was good. He had the urge to make a cup for….his brain provided a double image and it confused him. He liked to make coffee for her whoever she was.
He wandered out to the patio and looked out over the backyard. A complete swingset and kids toys were scattered around the yard. He remembered a girl and a boy calling him Daddy. Again a flash of faces that were just a bit out of focus. He really must've had a deep sleep. Why did that seem odd, too? This whole day was feeling out of focus.
Out of focus like a camera that wasn't aimed just right. Cameras, that was where he was supposed to be! But the note said he had the day off. He finished that cup of coffee and went back inside for a refill.
He heard a door open and he went in search of the voices he heard. "You are up. Good morning." A beautiful blonde woman smiled at him. She came over to him and gave him a kiss as she handed him a bag with groceries. "Did you get my note then?"
He accepted the kiss, feeling like he was kissing the (wrong?) woman. That was odd, too, because he also felt she was the one he should be kissing. "I'll put these away." He offered. "Did you buy the store out?"
"No, just got our favorites. I thought we could take this stuff to the lake house, because I know we haven't been there in awhile and they won't have this stuff up there. Is that alright? That we go to the lake today? The kids are all excited about it."
"Uh, sure. I don't remember any other plans for today. How-How long have you been up?"
"A couple of hours. I wanted to get the kids breakfast so they wouldn't wake you up."
"Where are they?"
"They went out back. I told them they could take the pool toys to the lake with us so they went to get them together."
"They aren't by the pool by themselves, are they?"
"Vince, get a grip. You remember I told you we put them away in the pool house when we had that wind storm Wednesday. Are you alright? You seem off. We could stay here today. You don't get that much time off….."
"No. No, it's fine. A day at the lake sounds like fun. I'll get some clothes together…."
"Don't bother. We'll just wear the ones up there and bring them back. We need to wash them and pack them away anyway."
The woman bustled away into the direction of the bedroom and he put the groceries away, knowing where they went, even if his brain wasn't exactly functioning on all it's synapses. It suddenly occurred to him that this could be a plot to make him believe he was someone else.
He hurried into the bedroom and opened the drawer next to the bed looking for his gun. It wasn't there and neither was his….badge? He didn't have either a gun or a badge. The woman bustled by him with a suitcase and put it on the bed. "Will you put this by the front door so we have something to bring the clothes back in? Thanks, darling." She breezed out of the door.
He sat down on the bed to gather his thoughts and put his head in his hands. This was just too odd. He needed some sense of where he was. Maybe if he went back to bed this would all seem more real. He laid back down and pulled the blankets up over him and closed his eyes.He really was tired. Maybe more sleep was a good idea.
He woke up from a deep sleep in easy stages. That in itself was unusual, though it felt good. He pulled the covers back off and sat up to look around. She was still asleep with her blonde hair spilled out over the pillow.
"Morning, Daddy." A bundle of energy bounded onto the bed, a moment later another followed. They tackled him in unison.
Movement beside him and the woman rolled over to look at him with a smile. "Good morning, Bobby. Sleep well?"
He smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss, "accidently" crushing the giggling children between them. "Good morning, my love. You wouldn't believe the dream I had." He said.
Complete