Waking Up Again

Mel's POV

I woke up with a heartfelt groan. It felt so good to be in my own head again! Oh freedom, finally! Freedom from…Then the sorrow-filled reality struck me. Wanda. She wasn't here. Oh.

Somebody was moving towards me. I could hear him; feel him, like a burning presence sliding lithely across the room. Jared was here! JARED! Jamie too, he'd be able to see me!

But Jamie wouldn't see Wanda. Ah, my mind was spinning so fast, I felt sick. All the cooped up emotions that I could only express to Wanda was rushing all out now in a blur. Light and dark; hope and despair; joy and misery.

"Melanie? Mel? All's fine, Mel, I'm right here," he said as his hand found my hand; his lips pressed against mine slowly and gently. The longing I felt for him raced through my body, and I found myself crying.

"Shh, honey. I'm here," he cooed softly, running his hand through my hair. His tone was so gentle, so caring. Nothing like it had been when I was in the prison of my own brain. When Wanda was in charge… what she would not have given to hear Jared speak like this.

I wondered where she was now. Was she in soul heaven? Was there even such a place? Or was she off to another planet despite her request? I had seen the expression on Doc's face when he'd put her, us, to sleep. He'd been planning for something to happen. Wanda had just been too immersed in emotion to notice.

I heard other voices, two males and one female. The voices were low, but one of the men was raising his voice.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO, DOC! WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO?" Ian wailed. I made the mistake of glancing at him, but that made things worse.

He pounced on me, shaking me. Kicking him full out in the gut, like all the times I'd envisioned. He fell with a "thump", and yanked me down along with him. Jared tried to pry us apart, but Ian jabbed my precious Jared in the face! I gave him a knuckle fist to the face, then another one in the stomach. He doubled over, finally seeming to lose his will to fight. I straightened myself slowly.

"Melanie!" Ian spat out my name like it was a foul word. "Where is she?" he hissed. There was something else in his voice, buried underneath all that rage, deeper. Sorrow, desperation, longing.

"I don't know where she is, you little…" I snapped. I glared at the two people by the wall, who had watched the fight with shocked expressions. Now, they looked nervous, of course they were. They'd never heard such harsh words come from my mouth before.

When Jared knelt beside Ian, Ian's gaze which was originally fixed to the floor, snapped to him. There were twin fires blazing on his face. So much rage, so much fear. Fear that Wanda had left him behind; that she'd come to harm; but most importantly, fear that she'd denied him.

Oh great. He was simultaneously scared, angry and hurt. It was the perfect condition for a madman to rise from!

"Ian, I know where she is. In fact, Doc does too," Jared spoke softly. From the other side of the room I heard a moan. Ian was abruptly furious again.

"NOT HERE! THAT'S WHERE SHE IS!" he roared.

"She's right here," muttered Doc softly.