A/N - I love, love, love this show. Honestly, I think I'll cry if it gets canceled. XD Anyway, I feel that there needs to be more Perception fanfic with my new favorite pairing. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Perception.

"Leave me alone!" Daniel Peirce shouted at the latest hallucination.

Normally his hallucinations were related to his most recent case or reminiscent of someone he had met at some point in his life—not that any made such a lasting impression that he could pinpoint whom the delusion reminded him. This latest visitor reminded him too much of someone he had been trying to forget.

"Please, Daniel, listen to me." The woman begged, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

This girl was blond with freckles that covered every exposed inch of skin—her neck, her arms, her nose, her forehead, and her shoulders. Minus the skin imperfections, she could have become a model. If she had actually existed, that is.

"Daniel…" She pleaded again.

"Stop talking!" He screamed, slamming his hands over his ears and spinning away from the woman. He heard her bare feet padding on the floor as she followed. "Just stop talking."

Sinking into the chair at the kitchen table he buried his head in his hands, trying to block out her voice—that all too familiar voice. After a few minutes of welcome silence, a hand touched his upper arm.

Daniel jumped to his feet. "I said…!"

He trailed off when he realized it wasn't the visitor standing there. Instead it was Lewicki, looking concerned—though that was his default expression. Those knitted eyebrows and wrinkled brow were as natural to him as breathing. Daniel was relieved to see his assistant standing over him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Daniel responded, running a hand over his face.

"There's no one here." Lewicki said, maneuvering around the kitchen. Daniel heard the familiar click of the dial on the stove. Then there was the clink of the mugs in the cabinet and the sound of the tea kettle being set on the glass top. Lewicki was making tea.

"I know that." Daniel said, irritated. Of course he knew that no one was really there. Only he could imagine up such an…abomination.

Lewicki held up his hands as if to say that he was only doing his job, and Daniel knew he shouldn't be so short with the young man. As much as he mistreated Lewicki, he really needed him. Who else would separate reality from fantasy for him?

The silence was comforting.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on him. He's here to help you." The woman was back.

Daniel turned to look at her.

She had Kate's eyes. It was unmistakable—that same dark color and that same determined glint. Yet, why was he imagining this stranger with Kate's voice and eyes? And why was this girl trying to discuss his relationship with the FBI agent?

"Professor Peirce?" Lewicki asked, waving a hand in front of the professor's face. When Daniel turned to him, he asked again, "What type of tea do you want?"

"Chamomile." He was going to need that if he wanted to sleep that night.

Lewicki nodded and returned to the stove. Once the tea was made, he took his own mug and disappeared upstairs without a word. It left Daniel with his thoughts and the Kate imposter.

"Why are you bothering me?" He questioned finally, his voice filled with desperation.

"Because you are inhibiting yourself, Daniel." The girl told him. It gave him goose bumps how well he was able to recreate Kate's voice in his mind. He wondered if it would work so well with Lewicki. The thought made him shudder. He did not need two Lewickis. "She likes you—much more than consultant and agent, and much more than professor and student. Though, we both know it's been years since you taught her. Kate always was your favorite student. Now, you won't even let yourself get close to her. Why?"

"Because it would be unprofessional."

"Because you never let anyone get close." The hallucination returned immediately. Daniel knew he was arguing with himself, and even when he went over the same arguments in his head, he always lost. This time would be no different. Yet, this time instead of begrudgingly accepting his own fears and trepidation, he would have to watch a figment of his own imagination gloat when she won the debate.

"You like her."

"I do, but as a friend… as an FBI agent." He said, sipping his tea.

"Daniel, don't play dumb. I am a part of you. We both know what you're really thinking." The girl said. "And you're irritated that I know you so well."

Daniel stood, taking his tea with him as he moved to the couch. As he walked, he caught a glimpse of Lewicki watching him from the stairs. His assistant disappeared once he knew Daniel saw him. He wasn't sure if Lewicki was checking on him out of concern or curiosity.

"Just because I thought you up doesn't mean you're right. Hallucinations lie. Last week I was being harassed by Joan of Arc who kept insisting that there was a God and that I believed in him. I don't. She lied. Just like you are now."

"I'm not lying, Daniel. You love her." The hallucination said bluntly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't love her." He said quietly, nervously. "You're crazy."

The girl laughed. "I'm not the crazy one, Daniel."

Then she was gone.

The silence was nearly deafening with all the new thoughts in his head. Was the girl mistaken? Or did he, deep down, love Kate? That seemed too strong of the word for someone he had only so recently reconnected with. She was just relearning how to deal with him while learning about the extent of his schizophrenia—something he hid from all his students and played down around anyone who wasn't Lewicki. Even if he did love or at least like her, it was futile anyway. No one loved a crazy man.

"Daniel?" A voice said behind him.

"I DON'T LOVE, KATE!" He roared, turning to face his blond-haired pain-in-the-neck. He stopped abruptly, feeling a rock in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't his hallucination.

Instead, it was dark hair, baby-faced Kate looking at him, and she looked a bit shell-shocked at his outburst. That did it. She would leave now, freaked out by the messed up Daniel Peirce. There was a reason that his best friend was all in his head—everyone else ran off.

"Lewicki let me in." She told him, hesitantly, pointing towards the front door. "Are you alright, Daniel?"

"Uh…yeah."

That was a lie. He wasn't alright.

He just realized that he was in love with Kate.

A/N - Good? Awful? Let me know.

Also, if you have any ideas for another story, please let me know in a PM or reveiw. I could use some inspiration.