Mysteries and Miracles
Chapter 4: Velma's Nightmare
A/N: Here it is, the next chapter. This is a Shelma chapter and there are only three main players in its entire twenty one hundred words. I hope that it isn't boring. Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter: SpongeAddict how can I possibly continue to live up to that assessment? Many thanks for your kind words. Daphnefred4ever again, sorry about the lack of Fraphne in this but I promise you it's coming.
Later that evening Velma stood in the bathroom changing into her nightgown. She looked at herself in the mirror appraisingly. The nightgown had been a present from Shaggy before they had even considered themselves a couple. It was orange, her favorite color but it was a lighter, peachier orange than she usually wore. Shaggy had commented when he'd given it to her that he had thought that it suited her when he saw it. As she looked at herself in the mirror she had to agree with his assessment, even if at the time it had been a rather intimate gesture considering that back then they had been friends.
She exited the bathroom to see Shaggy staring out the window onto the darkened landscape of the hotel grounds. She cleared her throat softly. He turned to her and smiled. "Like, I knew you'd look great in that," he told her.
She felt herself blush. At the same time she looked down, realizing that he hadn't seen her wearing it before, even though over the past five weeks she had worn it at least twice. She really had been keeping her distance from him. She felt bad about shutting him out but at the same time she wasn't ready to do some of the things that she wanted to and that was why she couldn't be this close to him. She inched closer to wear he was standing "What are you looking at?" she asked.
Shaggy gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him "I think there's like something out there," he remarked.
She laughed "Shaggy, you're just letting that story get to you. There's no ghost. So there is some guy in a costume going around casuing damage to the hotel but the Mathis brothers checked the hotel. There's no one here now who isn't supposed to be and that includes ghosts."
Shaggy shook his head but decided it was best not to discuss ghosts at the moment. Considering the real monster that Velma had faced, one Chuck Joyce, then if she wasn't afraid of staying in this hotel, he had no right to be voicing his fears to her. He guided her to the sofa with him and together they sat down. "How are you like feeling?" he asked. Her after a brief silence.
She leaned back against the sofa cushions and sighed "Not bad," she replied, knowing that he was referring to her healing injuries.
Shaggy pulled her against him "I've been like worried about you, you know," his voice was low, gentle, the words washed over her and warmed her.
She leaned into his embrace "I know," she whispered "But… I…"
"Like, I know," he smiled softly at her "I'm like not really ready to do something like that either."
"I wish I was," Velma murmured as she leaned her head upon his shoulder.
Shaggy's eyes widened just a bit at her admission "Well, like one of these days we'll both be ready," he told her as he gave her a kiss on the lips.
Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and the kiss deepened. Before the two of them knew what was going on Shaggy was lowering her onto the sofa and she was sliding her hands up his shirt. It was only when Shaggy accidentally put too much pressure on one of her healing ribs and she gasped that they broke apart.
"Like, I'm so sorry," Shaggy said quickly, his eyes darting around the room, landing on anything and everything that wasn't Velma's face.
Velma put a hand on his shoulder "It's alright," she whispered, even as she was mentally cursing herself for letting things get so out of hand. Her other hand rested over the rib that Shaggy had pressed down upon. She really wished that she could take a pain pill but if she hadn't been able to control herself while she was completely in her right mind she didn't' want to take one and then wake up the next morning naked, curled up next to Shaggy and wishing she could remember what had happened.
Minutes later the two of them went to their separate beds. Scooby Doo who had been asleep through the whole thing shifted as Shaggy climbed into bed to make room for Shaggy's feet. Shaggy reached up to turn off the light. Before he did he turned to look at Velma "Like, goodnight Velma," he whispered.
"Goodnight Shaggy," Velma said softly as she snuggled down under the blankets. After Shaggy turned off the lights she blew him a silent kiss in the dark.
XXX
Chuck Joyce stood above her. "You little bitch," he cursed her as he kicked her "No one stands in my way and lives."
Velma wanted to close her eyes, wanted it to be over but she couldn't so much as look away as Joyce continued to beat her "Stop…" she begged as pain brought tears to her eyes.
"Shut your mouth," Joyce stomped on her ribcage and she could hear the bones as they snapped with a sickening noise. "I'll kill you. And then I'll kill the rest of your worthless friends."
"No…" Velma whispered as the pain became so intense that she couldn't take it anymore.
The next moment the scenery around her changed. She was standing in a graveyard. She was looking for something, no someone. Scooby was beside her, looking worried. She looked around. The gravestones were tall, imposing, looming over her and Scooby. She knew that the others were there somewhere.
She took a step forward only to have Scooby whimper and try to pull her back. She patted the dog on the head "Come on Scooby," she encouraged "We have to find the others."
She didn't know why but she felt a growing sense of urgency deep inside her. Something was wrong, very wrong and she had to find the others. She and Scooby made their way through the graveyard. It was when she reached a gnarled looking old tree that she finally located one of her friends but as soon as she spotted Fred, she wished she hadn't.
He was hanging from a limb of the tree, all the color drained from his face. She could tell immediately that he was already dead. She was too late. She wiped tears away from her eyes as Scooby whimpered beside her. "Come on," she said with a sniffle "Let's keep looking."
It wasn't long before they found a stream that was running through the graveyard. They followed it for a few minutes before Velma noticed something. There, lying face down in the stream was Daphne. Velma and Scooby hurried to pull Daphne out of the water but when they did it was obvious to both that she was gone from this world.
As Velma stood there, crying as Scooby whimpered beside her a loud yell reached their ears "Zoinks!"
"Shaggy!" Velma yelled as she and Scooby ran in the direction of the scream. As they ran they heard Shaggy continuing to scream for help. Velma could hear another voice too, a demonic sounding voice that laughed maniacally. She ran faster "I'm coming Shaggy!" she yelled.
Suddenly she was thrown back against a headstone. She looked around for Scooby but he was suddenly nowhere to be found.
"Look who it is," the malevolent voice growled at her.
She attempted to climb to her feet but was pushed back down "Let me go!" she yelled.
"I don't think so," the faceless voice told her "You're done for."
As Velma tried to get up and was continually pushed back against the hard headstone she saw Shaggy in the distance. He was lying on the ground, motionless. She struggled to her feet once more and managed to push through the invisible force that seemed intent on keeping her hostage. She ran to Shaggy and found Scooby lying beside the young man. Scooby had a knife sticking out of his back and was as motionless as his master.
Velma dropped to her knees beside Shaggy. His eyes were closed and he was cold to the touch. She refused to believe he was gone. He couldn't be gone. She tried to revive him but to no avail. As she began to sob the demonic laughter started up again "You're all alone," the voice cackled in delight.
XXX
"No…" Velma murmured in her sleep.
Scooby was on the bed curled up beside her and whimpering worriedly. Shaggy stood beside the bed "Velma," he was whispering "Like, wake up."
Scooby nuzzled Velma "Velma, rake up," he pleaded. Scooby didn't like seeing Velma so distressed. It made him sad and now all he wanted was for her to wake up so that he could make her smile.
Velma's eyes opened and she saw Scooby looking down at her "Scooby," she cried as she flung her arms around the canine. Hot tears poured down her cheeks as she held Scooby tight.
Shaggy slid onto the bed beside Velma "Like, it was just a bad dream," he told her.
She turned to Shaggy and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder and continued to cry "Oh thank God," she whispered as Shaggy ran his hand up and down her back and Scooby curled himself protectively around the both of them.
Shaggy pulled her as close as he could without hurting her "It's alright," he told her "Like, it was just a dream Velma."
After several minutes of crying Velma pulled away and looked up at him "It wasn't just a dream," she whispered "It was a nightmare," she wiped at her eyes with her nightgown "I… Fred and Daphne and then, Scooby and you…" it was almost impossible to get the words out, each syllable was punctuated by a would be sob that she attempted to hold back. She found herself choking on every other word.
"Like, everyone's fine," Shaggy told her.
Velma leaned against Shaggy's chest and wrapped her arms around him. She couldn't get the images from her nightmare out of her head. But after a while her eyes managed to drift closed.
Shaggy looked down at Velma as she rested in his arms. He was glad that she hadn't been sharing a room with him for the past five weeks or she would have noticed some of the nightmares that he had been having. He had woken up more than a few times in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. On many occasions he had crossed the hallway to peer into Velma's room just to make sure she was actually still there, that she had indeed survived that horrible afternoon. It was on those nights that Scooby Doo acted as his counselor. Right now was no different.
"Rhaggy," Scooby poked his head over his master's shoulder "Ris she rokay?"
"Yeah Scoob," Shaggy replied "I think so. Like whatever she was dreaming must have been like intense," he observed.
"Reah," Scooby lifted a paw to brush through Velma's sweat soaked hair "Rintense…"
Shaggy sighed "You know Scooby, I like hoped that we could just forget about Joyce when they arrested him. You know, the way we eventually forget about most of the creeps we deal with."
"Rits Rever Rhat Reasy Rhaggy," Scooby commented.
"Like you've got that right Scooby," Shaggy remarked "But I was like hoping that things would like get back to normal."
"Normal," Scooby cocked his head "Rhat's normal ranymore?"
Shaggy shook his head "Like I don't even know anymore Scooby."
Normal was girls and boys in separate rooms. Normal was not having feelings for one of your best friends that went far beyond the realm of friendship. Normal was different than this but Shaggy had to admit that there were certain things he liked about this new normal. He only hoped that the nightmares weren't a permanent part of their life from now on.
Velma murmured something in her sleep and Shaggy smiled down at her. He eased her back down onto the bed and tried to pull himself away. At that moment, Velma's grip on his shirt tightened and she mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Please don't leave me."
Shaggy had to laugh to himself. When she was asleep Velma didn't seem to have the same problem with being in the same bed with him that she did when she was awake. He slid under the covers beside her. Scooby draped his body over the both of them. Shaggy reached up and turned out the light again. He snuggled down next to Velma. Kissing her forehead he whispered "Like, I'm not going anywhere Velma. I love you."
A/N: So I don't like to think of myself as a review begger but I've consistently been getting two reviews per chapter, I'm kind of curious to see if this chapter could get three. Maybe it's my own fault for updating so quickly *sigh*. Well let's try to get three for this chapter.
