Where The Winds Blow

By Anne Olsen

Author's notes

This is the fourth story in the 'Tears in Heaven' universe. It can be read on it's own but mention is made of events happening in the previous story 'All That Glitters.'

Thanks

First and foremost to Amethyst Maiden, resident evil beta reader and co conspirator for her comments and encouragement, and for making me get this as right as it can be. One day I'll get the hang of all this fun American slang, promise. Special thanks also to Caroline, for her support and help on some of the more fun descriptive bits *winks.

And thanks also to Wendy and Michele for nagging.

Dedication

Happy birthday, TPFICT. This story is being posted in celebration of the list's 6th birthday.

Disclaimer

The characters of Jade Weston, Megabyte Damon, Kevin Wilson, Lisa Davis, Adam Newman and Ami Jackson belong to Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV Television. So do General William Damon and Colonel Masters (who appear in name only)

Alex and Jamie MacDonald belong to me and should not be used without permission.

The evil beta takes no responsibility for the crazy Kiwi spellings in this fic.

Telepathy is indicated by [ ]

Feedback to anneo@paradise.net.nz

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All the shadows blue, in the winter moon,

The stars within the darkness,

They remember you, and they sorrow too,

With all the winds that blow.

You were my soul and my silence,

You were my hope, my lightness,

You were the sword at my side.

Through all the winds that blow.

- Duncan Sheik (The Winds that Blow)

February 2000

Chapter One

Jade snuggled back against Megabyte and sighed contentedly. She felt him run his hand through her long blonde hair, and turned as she felt a gentle telepathic touch in her mind.

Blue eyes met her own, as Megabyte stared at her with a grin on his face, a few strands of hair falling forward over one eye. He reached up and brushed those strands off his face, not noticing them returning as though with a mind of their own. "Are you okay with this?" he asked her out loud. He gazed hungrily at her and she could tell he wanted the same thing she did.

"You have to ask, Megabyte?" she asked. "After everything we've been through, you have to ask?" Of course she was okay with it. She'd been waiting for this moment for years, for the moment when he finally wanted her as much as she had always wanted him. She stood there for a moment, just looking at him. The slightly longer hair suited him, she decided, even if it didn't want to always behave. Behave. Like she wanted any part of him to behave?

As if in answer he leant down and cradled her face in his hands, drawing her close, his lips searching out hers. She put one hand up to his face, feeling the slight roughness of his skin under her fingers as she traced the outline of his cheek. As she breathed deeply taking in the smell of his aftershave, Jade felt her heart pump faster. She'd been waiting so long.

She closed her eyes, opening her mouth slightly as she waited in breathless anticipation for the sensation of his lips against hers…

"Comfy there, Jade?" Was that a touch of sarcasm she could hear in Megabyte's voice? Jade frowned, her fantasy world suddenly dissolving into reality.

As she opened her eyes she noticed Kevin watching her. He turned his gaze away hurriedly, studying the squares on the picnic rug intently, and Jade slammed her mental shields down. Had Kevin picked up on what she had been thinking? Picturing herself and Megabyte acting out one of her favourite romantic novels maybe hadn't been a particularly bright idea after all.

She felt her cheeks grow warm as she remembered where she'd been so rudely interupted. Okay she knew Kevin wouldn't pry, but when her emotions ran high, her shields didn't tend to be as strong as they should be. Then of course there was that small matter of Kevin's empathic abilities…

"Your arm is sticking into me, kid," complained Megabyte, shifting her weight against him. "It's keeping me awake." Jade turned and glared at him, annoyed with herself as much as with him. Her gaze lingered on him, hunting for any sign that he had an inkling of what she'd been thinking about, no correct that, dreaming about. She took in again those twinkling blue eyes, the way his hair tended to fall forward. She resisted the urge to lean over and push it back so she could see his face more clearly but thought he probably wouldn't appreciate the action or the thought behind it …Stop it, Jade, she thought. You're just going to make yourself feel worse.

"You mean we've come here to this lovely park and all you want to do is lie back and sleep?" she asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice as she edged over closer to Kevin and the picnic basket. Suddenly the snuggling of her daydream and the way she had been leaning against him in reality, her head nestled against his chest had seemed poles apart. True they both involved the physical contact with him she enjoyed but somehow that sense of romance had been lost the moment he'd opened his mouth.

"Well I didn't see you complaining until a couple of minutes ago did I?" Megabyte moved around, shifting his back against the tree trying to find a comfortable spot. Of course she hadn't been complaining, she'd been too busy enjoying her daydream. But she was hardly going to tell him that was she? Jade watched him for another moment, noticing the way the muscles between his shoulder blades rippled and flexed, each wiggle stretching his thin shirt taut. Her eyes travelled over and up a bit. Nice abs she thought appreciatively and those legs... Jade might have gone about them for quite some time had she not caught Megabyte glaring at her again. Flashing him a sweet smile, she mentally sighed and put her eyes elsewhere.

Kevin grinned and took another swig of orange juice. "Can't you two just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet of this place?" He propped himself back on his left elbow, holding the bright red plastic cup with his free hand, examining the liquid inside as his grin seemed to grow even broader. Jade reached out, trying to get a hint of what he was thinking about, as the air around her seemed to rise a few degrees. He looked directly at her, strengthening his shields as he fixed an innocent look on his face. How much had he overheard? Or more importantly how much had Megabyte overheard?

"Nope," replied Megabyte, as Jade watched him carefully for any telltale hints that he'd picked up on any of the fun thoughts that had been going through her mind. She mentally crossed her fingers. With the way her shields were at the moment it would be a miracle if he hadn't. Instead to her relief, he grinned back at the smaller British boy with one of those lop sided grins she loved so much. "There's only so much peace and quiet a guy can take. Hey I'm all for taking it easy, but after a while you start to miss…"

"Having withdrawal symptoms from your computer already?" interrupted Kevin, a smirk on his face. She had to wonder if that smirk was directed at Megabyte's last comment or at her. Stop trying to read too much into it, she chastised herself. Kevin wasn't like that, she was just feeling guilty, that was all. And honestly, should she feel guilty for entertaining romantic thoughts about someone who felt the same way about her? Since she had been shot, Megabyte had been acting differently towards her, but it had been mainly when they had been alone, and they weren't alone often enough for her liking. If only he'd show those feelings in public. Sometimes she wondered what the hell was wrong with him. Was he deliberately trying to annoy her, or did it just come naturally?

She knew damn well the feelings she had for him were reciprocated because when he had reached out to her telepathically when she'd lay dying in his arms a few short weeks before, she had heard all the thoughts running through his mind. Megabyte had been so worried about losing her that he had dropped the pretence of not caring. He had feelings for her. Megabyte Damon actually had feelings for her. Jade still had to pinch herself to make herself believe it hadn't been a dream.

After she had recovered, Megabyte had back-pedalled, refusing to admit that what she had picked up on was true. "Of course I was worried about you, squirt. So was everyone else," was about as much as she could get out of him. Still the odd time the other Tomorrow People weren't around, she saw the way he looked at her, the little gestures he made towards her. A couple of times he'd come so close to saying what she was longing to hear, but they'd been interrupted by the arrival of one of the others and he'd backed off again.

"It wasn't my fault Jade didn't want me to bring my laptop was it? Now that's my idea of a good vacation." Megabyte raised one eyebrow in typical Megabyte fashion, and wiggled his back against the tree again. Jade deliberately looked away, before her thoughts wandered the way they had the last time he'd done that. She reached over and poured herself a drink of juice, enjoying the feel of the cold liquid seeping through the plastic cup. As she put her lips to the cup, she looked over at Megabyte again, watching the way the ends of his mouth curved up as he shot a grin her way.

Jade took a long sip of her drink, trying to focus on how cold it was, on how the droplets of moisture clung to the side of the cup as she wiped them away with her fingers. She'd heard stories about how guys took cold showers, maybe a cold drink might work the same way. It had to, or this was going to be a very long afternoon.

"Well I like it." Kevin's statement shook Jade out of her reverie. "Besides I thought a day out doing 'normal stuff' might be what we all needed after the last week or so. I needed to get out in the fresh air after a day in that hospital bed and I thought you guys could do with the break as well."

Kevin's idea had been a good one, she had to admit that. Poor guy, with what he'd overheard he must be feeling like the proverbial gooseberry. She stifled a laugh. Hope springs eternal.

"You mean a break from psycho bad guys?" asked Megabyte, stretching his legs out in front of him and yawning. "Yeah I've had enough of that for a while. At least until the next one comes along."

"I'd prefer not to think about the 'next one,' as you so nicely put it," complained Jade. The last one had been enough to last her a lifetime thank you. It had nearly cost her life to be more precise. She shivered, the thought giving her the effect she'd been trying to desperately achieve for the past few minutes. Nothing like the memory of a near death experience to bring you down to earth again. She decided to try and get the conversation onto a more positive track, as she noticed Kevin had suddenly become silent as he became lost in his own thoughts, a look of regret or sadness fleeting over his features. "Kevin's right. It's lovely here, and what's more it's summer, not like at home."

"Summer? Really? I hadn't noticed." Megabyte leaned back and closed his eyes, shading his face against the sun with his hand. He looked so peaceful sitting there in the half shade of the tree, stretching out those long legs as though he hadn't a care in the world. It wasn't fair. If only he would come out and show her how he felt she could be sitting snuggled up close to him with his arms around her. She rolled her eyes. Guys, sheesh. What was it with them and that sort of stuff anyway?

Kevin grinned. "Don't waste your breath, Jade. Sit back and enjoy yourself. That's what I'm planning on doing."

Jade smiled at him, grateful for the support. Of course Kevin knew what she was feeling. Even if he hadn't read her mind, he was a powerful empath. No way could he miss picking up on the feelings she'd been trying to hide for most of the time they'd been here. Hell, for most of the time he'd known her if truth be known. By the time Kevin had reappeared on the scene she'd been well and truly smitten by the American.

Jade glanced behind her, making sure Megabyte had drifted off to sleep, and tried to get mind back on track. Back to what she'd been trying to get up the nerve to talk about over the last few days. "Kevin, can I talk to you about something?" She pulled at a few blades of grass to hide her nervousness, marvelling not for the first time at how green everything was in this country. The sky was so blue and clear too, she thought idly as she watched the white clouds chase each other across the sky. It was lovely and warm, but not too hot. In the distance she could hear children yelling excitedly to each other as they splashed each other in the river at the far end of the picnic area. Maybe she could talk the boys into a swim before they left. A swim. She gazed over at Megabyte again, realising that that one thought had successfully ruined all her great intentions of keeping her mind on the task at hand. Swimmers, or better yet a speedo. Grrr. She felt a large grin work itself over her face, and hastily took another sip of the drink she'd put down earlier. Count to ten, Jade, count to ten really slowly.

"Yeah sure." Kevin smiled. "I sort of guessed there was something on your mind…besides Megabyte that is." Besides Megabyte. Yes, that comment summed it up didn't it?

Even though Kevin had his silly side, which mainly seemed to show itself when he got involved in one of Megabyte's 'schemes', he was someone she felt she could talk to. She knew she could always go to Adam or Ami if needs be, but…well Kevin was her own age, and for some reason she tended to use him as a bit of a sounding board. He always seemed to know what to say, to be able to reassure her. Kevin was dependable. The fact that he and Megabyte were close friends too, helped. After all, these days it was mostly Megabyte she talked about. Poor Kevin, sometimes she felt guilty prattling on to him the way she did.

"I've been dreaming," Jade began, then paused. No. Dreaming wasn't quite the right word. As she hunted for how to get across what she wanted to without it sounding too weird, she noticed the little pile of grass in front of her seemed to be growing. If she picked much more of the stuff, she'd be leaving a marker for the world to see where she'd been sitting.

"Dreaming?" asked Kevin. "Everyone dreams, Jade." He drained the last of his juice and started to examine the shiny green apple in his hand while he waited for her to explain. Sure everyone dreams, she knew that, but this was different, way different. Jade felt a wave of frustration wash over her as she realised this wasn't going to be easy to explain without giving away details she'd rather keep to herself.

"I'm not sure dreaming is the right word to use exactly. When I close my eyes and go to sleep, it's more like I'm dreaming other people's dreams, rather than my own." Jade frowned. No that wasn't quite right, either. Come on think, how could she explain this properly so that Kevin could get the idea she was trying to put across?

"Other people's dreams?" Kevin looked puzzled. "What makes you think that?" He put down his apple, and gazed at her intently. He was wearing that look which meant his curiosity was piqued, and once that happened Jade knew he wouldn't leave it alone until he worked out what was going on. She wouldn't be able to change the subject now, even if she wanted to.

"Last night I dreamed I was in the middle of a scene from that film Megabyte likes so much."

Kevin shuddered, rolling his eyes. "'Attack of the Killer Cucumbers'?" Funny how mentioning that film seemed to invoke the same response from all the Tomorrow People.

Jade shook her head, resisting the urge to giggle. "I said dream, not nightmare. No, the other one. 'The Matrix'."

"Maybe it was because you sat through it with him six times?" pointed out Kevin. "I warned you about that at the time. Remember?" She seemed to remember him watching it with them at few of those times too, come to think of it. However now probably wasn't the time to mention that.

Jade nodded. "I know you did, Kevin. Believe me, I know. No the weird thing about it was that Megabyte was there."

"And that's weird in one of your dreams?" Kevin stifled a laugh, then tried to look serious after seeing the look on Jade's face. Thanks, Kevin. Just how much had he seen of that daydream earlier? Jade felt her colour rise again, and tried to ignore her growing embarrassment. "Sorry, Jade. Go on." Kevin took a bite out of his apple, the crunch sounding loud in the sudden silence between them as Jade wondered if she was really doing the right thing sharing some of her more embarrassing secrets.

She swallowed and spoke slowly, trying to collect her thoughts into some semblance of order. "It's not the first time either, Kevin." She felt herself blush, and spoke quickly trying to get the words out before she lost her nerve. "I've been finding that if I think about someone when I go to sleep I dream about them, or rather see what they are dreaming. And before you say that's impossible, the night before last I dreamt about Batman."

She watched Kevin intently to see what his reaction would be to that statement. He sat there for a moment, his apple seemingly forgotten and she could see his mind ticking over. Yes, she thought that particular bit of information might get him thinking. It had certainly been the decider for her that the situation had got out of hand, and into the very weird. "Yes that does sound more like something Megabyte would dream about, not you. Nasty mental image that. I'm not going to ask what it was he was doing in this dream. Knowing Megabyte, that's a scary thought, really scary."

Jade shuddered, remembering what had happened in that particular dream. Scary was an understatement. She still couldn't believe that Megabyte would actually dream about stuff like that. Over active imagination was an understatement, to say nothing of overactiveMind you, she couldn't talk considering where her thoughts had been wandering lately. She noticed Kevin watching her again, and decided to answer before her mind went off on one of those tangents again. "You don't know the half of it, Kevin. Dreaming about 'The Matrix' last night, that was much easier to handle."

"You were dreaming about 'The Matrix' last night?" Megabyte's mind brushed briefly against her own and then withdrew as she turned to see him watching her, an expression of annoyance on his face. She glared at him for a moment, as she tried to ignore the questions racing through her mind. How much had he overheard? What had she been thinking when he'd eavesdropped on her thoughts? The nerve of him, sitting there listening and then reading her mind. Who the hell did he think he was anyway?

"I thought you were asleep." She met his intense gaze, and tried not too successfully to glare back. She could still get lost in those brilliant blue eyes so easily, even if he had invaded her privacy. She sighed. Weston, you've got it bad, you know that don't you? She shifted nervously, trying to ignore the guilt growing steadily within. She hadn't done anything wrong, she told herself. It wasn't her fault he had weird dreams.

"Like anyone could sleep through that. Right, Jade." Megabyte frowned as he repeated his last question, suddenly becoming serious. Serious Megabyte. Uh oh. Not a good sign. He'd definitely heard more of the conversation than he should. "You were dreaming about 'The Matrix' last night?"

Jade knew she was blushing, and mentally kicked herself. No way was she going to admit she'd make a mistake. It wasn't as though she'd done it on purpose or anything was it? She let her gaze linger on him for a moment. God he was cute when he was serious. Jade, keep your mind on the subject at hand. Getting sidetracked now was so not the way to go. "Well it's not surprising the amount of times I sat through the thing with you is it?"

"I don't remember you having an interest in Batman movies." As Megabyte glanced between herself and Kevin, it was becoming obvious that he'd been awake a lot longer than he'd let on. Had he been listening in deliberately? Come to think of it, had he been asleep at all, or just making out he'd been? Come on, Jade, you don't think he'd really do that do you? The thoughts chasing each other through her mind suddenly came to a resounding halt.

He wouldn't, would he?

"You were supposed to be asleep!" Jade felt her cheeks grow even warmer. How much of the conversation had he overheard?

"Enough to know something weird is going on," Megabyte retorted. She knew it! Damn him. After all that time she'd spent daydreaming about him, he had to go and ruin it with a couple of well-chosen words. Why did she even bother?

"I never said that out loud," Jade realised. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to eavesdrop on other people's thoughts?" She could forget the fact he'd listened in once, hell she even did that herself, totally unintentionally of course, but twice? Get real. Like she was going to let him get away with that amount of crap. Who the hell did he think he was, just casually listening in to what she'd been thinking like that?

"Right, Jade. You were practically broadcasting. I'm surprised Adam didn't hear you over in Australia." Yeah right yourself, Megabyte. Like Adam would be rude enough to actually be listening in. He was missing the point, as per usual. Like she would be stupid enough to broadcast a comment like that anyway?

"So how come I felt you in my mind before?"

"You're dreaming, Jade. And it sure sounds like you've had lots of practice at that lately doesn't it?" Jade decided she didn't like that sarcastic tone in Megabyte's voice. What a nerve. Don't play the innocent with me, Marmaduke Damon. Why guys always had to twist things around to put the blame elsewhere was beyond her. No way was she putting up with that today. He could get stuffed.

Kevin coughed. "So how long have you been having these dreams, Jade?" Jade turned and looked at him, feeling guilty that she'd almost forgotten he was there once Megabyte had started in on her. Poor Kevin. His dark eyes reflected how much the redhead's words to her were upsetting him too. It was times like this that she was so pleased that she wasn't empathic. The vibes coming from the American must be magnified one hundred fold for him, compared to what she was picking up on. Damn Megabyte for listening in, she thought again. How dare he?

Jade tried to ignore the vibes she could feel coming from Megabyte as she answered. Hopefully he'd picked up on those last couple of thoughts. Serve him right for being so rude. What was his problem anyway? It wasn't as though she visited his dreams that often. "About a week I suppose, maybe two. Ever since I was shot, come to think about it."

Kevin nodded, looking thoughtful. "I had a feeling you were going to say that. I think it might be a side effect of Max healing you. We don't know much about their powers, remember." She wished she could be as calm and unflappable as Kevin seemed in these situations. He always seemed so in control. Maybe one day she'd have to ask him what his secret was.

Megabyte snorted, his brow furrowing as he rolled his eyes upwards. "So if Jade has this cool new dreamwalking power, my privacy has gone out the window. Great."

Jade felt her temper flare. "I'm sure I have much better things to do than dream about you every night." What was his big hang up about privacy anyway? It wasn't as though his dreams were that interesting. Well, yes they were, but no way was she going to tell him at this point. Overacting just a tad wasn't he? Sheesh.

"So why don't you go invade someone else's dreams then?"

Jade noticed that Megabyte's face was turning an interesting shade of red. Good. Maybe he was finally getting the idea through his thick skull that she was annoyed with him. Uh oh. From the anger radiating from him, she got the impression he was way angrier than she'd first thought. Why? It wasn't as though she'd done this on purpose. If she had she could understand the reaction. Maybe. But she hadn't and she had to get that fact across to him before she had any hope of him seeing sense.

"I didn't mean to, Megabyte. Honestly I didn't. I mean how was I to know that if I looked at your picture as I was…" Jade's voice tailed off as she realised what she was saying. Not the brightest thing to come out with. Like that little snippet of information was going to help. If anything she had the feeling she'd just made the situation worse.

"As you were what?" asked Megabyte. The redhead had risen to his feet and was glaring at her. His eyes were unusually bright and Jade knew him well enough to know the danger signs. When he got like this there was no reasoning with him at all.

"Come on, Megabyte. Don't you think you're over reacting just a tiny bit?" One look at his face told Jade that last comment had been a big mistake. She hurriedly answered his last question instead of waiting for his reply to hers. "If I look at someone's picture as I go to sleep I dream about them." There the whole story was out. He'd just have to deal with it.

"You mean you invade their dreams. Get it right, Jade, why don't you?" Jade hated that tone in his voice; it really grated at her. How could she have had all those romantic dreams about him? She must have been crazy. He was behaving like a pig. It was times like this when she could sympathise with Millie's stories of what it was actually like to live under the same roof with him.

"I'm only learning about this, okay. Give me a chance. I mean it's not as though I'm doing it on purpose, is it?" Jade knew how weak that excuse sounded and that he wouldn't buy it, even before it was out of her mouth. But how could she explain something she didn't even understand properly herself? Surely he must realise that?

"Aren't you? Sure sounds that way to me." Megabyte kicked Kevin's dropped half-eaten apple and watched it sail towards the concrete gas barbecue. He turned to look at her again, and she saw a momentary look of worry in his eyes, a look that was gone so fast that she wondered if she had imagined it.

"What if I promise not to do it again?" Maybe that would help to reassure him. He's wondering what else I saw while I was in his dreams, she realised. Jade knew that everyone had things they'd rather not share with others, but this was ridiculous. Everyone needed to share his or her problems somewhere, with someone. She wondered idly whom Megabyte confided in when he needed to talk things through.

"What makes you think I have problems?"

"Stop listening in on my thoughts. It's rude." Jade stared at him in disbelief. He still didn't get it, did he? Here he was going on at her about not respecting his privacy and he didn't even have the decency to practice what he preached. As she hunted for words to help reassure him, she idly wondered why she was even wasting her time trying. He was so convinced he was right that he probably wasn't interested in any excuses she might come up with. Anyway why the hell should she be feeling she needed to excuse what she'd done? He was impossible. "Besides I didn't mean problems as such, just the stuff you don't talk about much."

"Well I sure have a problem now that I didn't before, you listening in on my dreams. Now that's what I call rude." Jade wondered if she would ever learn that getting into an argument with Megabyte was so not the way to go. All that seemed to happen is they went round in circles while she dug herself deeper into a hole she couldn't climb out of. Still he had started it, not her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"Kevin, what do you think?" Kevin would be able to calm Megabyte down, Jade was sure. After all he seemed to understand the American Tomorrow Person better than any of them. How he'd put up with Megabyte all these years and stayed so calm was beyond her.

"Kevin?" Where the hell was he? Jade felt a twinge of guilt for an instant. He'd been trying to help her and Megabyte had driven him away with his ranting and raving. Typical. "Megabyte, did you see where Kevin went?"

"Maybe he got out while he still could?" suggested Megabyte in the tone she was sure he reserved for the times he deliberately wanted to get up her nose. Don't even try and play the innocent here, it is so not going to wash this time. "It's not safe around here if you want any sort of privacy, is it? Not even while you're asleep…"

"That's not fair and you know it!"

********

TBC