I had this dream. Weird of course and as usual I have no idea how it ended. Still the start and some of the story was in my dream. Details were added. Name and origin of the female have been changed to protect the innocent. This was written as Hangman prize(s) for akaeve over at the NFA Community.
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The reality of the dream
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There wasn't anything on TV. Cathy kept going through the channels though. It helped with the boredom. It had been a long day at work and then Tom had to be a jerk to her, again. Why did she stay with him? She really should break up with the guy. So what if she wasn't a blond and she didn't have big, fake boobs. If Tom didn't like her brown hair, her healthy voluptuous frame and her real sized boobs then to hell with him.
Another channel and then another channel went by. Suddenly something seemed interesting and caught her eye. It was some sort of hospital room with a lady who had baby in her arms and three nurses beside her. Something else caught her eye. She turned around and was shocked to see the woman with the baby and the three nurses sitting in her own living room. They were all watching her with shocked eyes. This was weird. Her mind was playing tricks on her.
She turned back to the TV, turned it off, took a deep breath and turned back around. One by one the nurses started to fade away and disappeared. Her eyes came to rest on the woman with the baby. Nothing happened. She was still there. Shocked and gripping the baby in her arms rather tight. Cathy took a step closer to her but the woman stood on steady feet.
"Who are you? How did I get here?"
Cathy shook her head. "I honestly don't know." She watched as the woman quickly passed her and then seemed to hurry away. Cathy had to know what was going on. She threw the TV control on the sofa and hurried after the other woman. She ran through the front door, slammed it shut after her and as she got outside she halted in yet another shock. There was a hospital right outside her apartment but that was impossible. There had never been a hospital there. Cathy saw the woman hurry inside the hospital and she decided to follow. She half ran inside and almost right away she almost bumped in to the woman with the child. "What is going on?"
The woman looked at her and shook her head.
"Miss Greger, where have you been?"
Cathy recognized that voice. She saw him walking up to the woman next to her. NCIS. No way.
"Agent Gibbs, I.. I do not know."
Agent Gibbs? Wait, what?
Gibbs looked at Laura Greger. She seemed confused and who was the woman next to her? "And you are?"
Cathy shook her head. "No, no this isn't real." She started to back away, turned and quickly ran back outside.
Something was going on. "Dinozzo, stay with her." He motioned to Laura. He hurried after the unknown woman who must have something to do with all this.
As she came outside she stopped in her tracks. Her apartment was gone. The whole landscape had changed. She tried to breathe. This was surely a dream and she would wake up any moment now. She felt a presence beside her but did not bother to turn.
Gibbs observed her carefully. Whoever the woman was she seemed to be rather upset. He waited.
Ok, calm down. She turned to the man beside her and she had to ask. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"
He eyed her carefully. Who had told her his name? "Yes?"
She shook her head. "Ok, this is just… not real." She wondered how he would react but she had to try. She raised her hand and touched his arm gently.
He lowered his gaze to see her hand on his arm. She squeezed gently. He wasn't sure what was going on but obviously this woman was more confused the he was.
She removed her hand from him arm. "This is not real." She started to walk back to the hospital. Whatever was going on she would be home soon. Agent Gibbs was not real. She knew that. This had to be a dream.
Gibbs was right behind her and continued to study her. She didn't seem to be acting.
Once inside the hall she found a chair and sat down. She buried her head in her hands not knowing what to do.
Gibbs walked over to Laura Greger who was watching them. "Who is this woman?" He motioned for the brunette on the chair.
"I don't know."
He decided to try a different approach. "What happened?"
Laura took a deep breath. She had no idea. "Suddenly I was in someone's living room with the three nurses that were in my room. She…" Laura pointed to the woman on the chair. "…seemed shocked to see us and then…." Would Agent Gibbs believe her?
"Then what?" ´He urged her on.
"She turned off the TV and the nurses vanished into thin air. Like magic. I know it sounds crazy but that's what happened." She looked back at Agent Dinozzo and then towards Agent Gibbs again.
Tony eyed Gibbs over Laura's shoulder. This was weird.
"Not to mention, me and the nurses were on the TV. We were in the hospital room but on the TV screen too and at the same time in the living room. I.. I can't explain it but it's true." Laura looked out and remembered something else. "Also when I left her apartment it was right next to the hospital but now it seems to be gone. Her apartment building was right outside there and now it's not." She clutched her baby closer just happy to be back. "I'm not lying."
"I believe you." Gibbs answered. He did not know how this could have happened but he did believe her. Laura Greger had proved to be an honest woman through all the mess their just closed case had proven to be. She had been honest with them from the get go when everyone else had lied, so he believed her. "Tony, take her back to her room. She needs to rest."
Tony nodded but so badly wanted to stay and find out more.
Laura took one last look at the other woman on the chair while remembering her own confusion. "Agent Gibbs, take care of her. Whatever is going on she shouldn't have to go through this alone."
"She won't have to." He said right before Tony started to lead her away. He turned and watched the brown haired woman stare out in space. Her face was white and she seemed lost. He grabbed a chair, brought it up next to her and sat down.
Cathy blinked and tried to focus. "I don't know what is going on." She answered before the question was asked.
"I know." He said. "What did you mean when you said 'this isn't real'?"
She turned to face him and wondered what she should say. "I…" she knew better than to lie to Agent Gibbs. "Where I come from you are just a character on a TV show. You are not real. Neither is Tony, Tim, Ziva, Abby, Ducky or the rest." She was a little amused to see the familiar raise of an eyebrow at that but she did not let it show.
This was different. "Ok, well I can guarantee you I am real." With that he reached out and placed his hand over one of hers.
She looked down at his hand. "I know." She whispered rather low.
She really looked so lost and he did want to help her. He removed his hand from hers. "Tell me about myself."
She looked back up at him. "I beg your pardon?"
"If I am a character on a TV show then you have watched the show so you must know a little about me. Tell me about myself." He gave her a small smile to let her know it was ok.
"I… I don't watch all the time but I do know a little, yes." She took a deep breath trying to ignore those pretty blue eyes. "You've been married four times. Divorced three." She did not go on as she was sure he would pick up on that she knew about his first wife and daughter
She knew about Shannon and Kelly. Not many people knew about them.
"You build boats in the basement which makes people wonder how you get them out of there." She did not get far as he spoke up.
"How do I get them out?" He had to ask.
She gave him a small smile then. "Just break the bottle."
He chuckled at that. He never had answered that question when people had asked.
She looked at him and had to ask it. "How can this be real? How can you sit there and be real?"
He shook his head. She wasn't faking this. "I don't know but how about you tell me your name?"
She had to laugh a bit at that. "Oh, I'm Cathy O'Brien." She held out her hand.
He smiled and took her hand in his. "I'm Jethro Gibbs but then you already knew that." He took notice how her whole face lit up when she smiled. He stood up and she did the same. "I guess this means you are coming home with me."
He didn't even know her although she was aware of his chivalrous side. "No, I can't…."
He spoke up again before she finished the sentence. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" He knew she did not but he wanted to give her a chance to say it.
She shook her head. "No, I don't."
"Then it's settled. Besides since you know about me you most likely know about my house to so no surprises for you there."
What else could she do but accept her fate? Since she had on more than one occasion wished that Agent Gibbs was real so she could get to know him she might as well take advantage of the situation. No matter how it came about and not matter how long it would last. She saw Tony Dinozzo walking up to them and waited for either him of Gibbs to say something.
"Dinozzo, meet Cathy O'Brien." Gibbs motioned towards Cathy.
Cathy held out her hand. "Hello."
Tony shook the woman's hand. "Hi, I'm…."
"She already knows who you are."
Tony looked at Gibbs as he released Cathy's hand. "So eh, What Miss Greger said happened is real?"
Gibbs sighed. "Yes and we have no idea how it happened. Drop us of at my place and then head back to NCIS, finish up and go home. Tell the others to do the same."
Tony knew not to ask anything else and started to walk away. This was some unreal situation here. Some sort of Twilight Zone episode.
~POOF~
It was so unreal and yet so real at the same time. Two hours ago she had been at home alone and now here she was sitting in Agent Gibbs' living room. A living room she had until now thought was made up for a TV show. How wrong she had been. She heard the man himself talk on the phone. She couldn't hear what he was saying but she suspected it had to do with her.
"Ok, thanks McGee." Gibbs shut the phone and walked out to the living room. He sat down and simply looked at the woman that was seated on his sofa.
"What?" There was something unnerving about the way he looked at her.
"McGee checked all kinds of records and you…." He wasn't even sure himself what to say. According to McGee she didn't exist but he was looking at her. She was there.
"I'm not real here am I?" She asked him since she had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say.
He shook his head.
"So in my world you don't exist and here I don't exist. Which one is real?" She said out loud and sank back in to the sofa.
"I don't know but I do know that I'm real and so are you. We can go from there." He tried to cheer her up. He could not imagine how it must be to be in a place you really didn't belong.
She kept staring at him. "How?"
"Well you don't have anywhere to go so you'll stay here. I have a guest room you can use. We need to buy you some clothes and food…"
She sat up and tried to protest but got nowhere.
"You need clothes and food. No arguments about it." He said in a loud but kind voice.
She sank back in to the sofa again. "Fine."
He smirked a bit then. "Good"
TBC…