Chapter 7: Family Heirlooms & Nightmares

The next day came and went very quickly as soon as Connor and Cassy woke up to start their day. It was 6 O' clock when Cassy woke up, noticing the man holding her as she smiled and noticed how innocent he looked when he slept. Seeing strands of hair in his face, Cassy started stroking Connor's hair before kissing his forehead and tucking it behind his ear. Feeling warmth upon his face, Connor stirred awake and smiled at Cassy, who only blushed when she saw her comrade, technically lover now, watching her. Connor kissed her lips once more before he went off to shower with her following suit before the others came.

After they had hopped out of the shower, they began to dry off before Connor made his way to a mirror to slick his brown hair back while Cassy soaked the water out of her hair with a small towel. Afterwards, Connor put on some pants before he noticed Cassy beginning to comb her hair before he shyly asked, "May I?"

"May you what? All you have to do is ask me nicely."

"May I comb your hair for you?"

"Yeah, because I don't see why not." Cassy remarked as she handed Connor the comb and sat down with him behind her. Cassy clutched the towel tighter to her body, fearing Connor might see and reject her, but Connor reassured her that she was beautiful and that he wouldn't look at her in 'that' way unless she wanted him to, which soothed her a little. As gently as possible, Connor ran the comb through Cassy's long tresses, the comb gliding meticulously through the strands of auburn while Cassy closed her eyes peacefully. Connor smiled at the woman, thinking of her beauty and as he combed her hair, he noticed her fiddling with an object of some sort, so he decided to ask her about it, "Cas, what's that you got there in your hands?"

"Oh, this?" Cassy questioned, holding up her hand with the strange object in it, or on it technically, as Connor nodded in an understanding manner. Cassy gave a smile before explaining, "My family gave me this ring as a sacred heirloom. They told me it would give me good luck and strength throughout any trials I had to take." Connor stopped messing with Cassy's hair to inspect the ring: It was gold with one large sapphire upon the thin band and to him, it was beautiful. He looked at it closely before stating, "The stone 'Sapphire' is upon it. That must mean you were born in September."

"I was on September 18, 1984. Astrid had one just like it, but hers was an Amethyst stone instead of a Sapphire. That was my sister's birthstone for her birthday on February 22, 1986."

"February 22nd? That's Jackie's birthday too!"

"Really? I never knew that!"

"Well, it is..."

"What about you, when's your birthday?"

"Oh, mine is January 18, 1964, meaning my birthstone is Garnet."

"Garnet? Well, that's a pretty, red stone."

"Really? I always thought it was ugly."

"I don't find it ugly although I favor mine greatly."

"Well, I think it's beautiful, just like you," Connor smiled as he finished combing out the rest of Cassy's hair, remarking that for a man, he did a good job with her silky tresses. When he told her he was finished, she put it up in her usual braided bun style before hopping into her yellow jumpsuit. With a smile upon her face, she left the room as Connor thought more about her and her ring, wondering what other jewelry would look good on her as he went off to train.

Cassy slept in bed but her rest was anything but peaceful since her foresight returned days ago. She clutched the sheets as she whimpered, tossing and turning to the images in her head: There was an ivory building with thousands of windows, hallways, and rooms. There were computers and beeping monitors all over the place, as well as hospital gurneys and ill people in pale scrubs surrounded by nurses in white. Inside one of the rooms was Cassandra with two police officers, one male and one female. The female led Cassy to a steel table covered by a white sheet as the male prepared to lifetime the cover, stating, 'We found this person in a boat off the coast of the beach. The boat was named Voyager Siren and there were two people on it. From looks alone, we believe this is your sister, Astrid, but we need you to clarify that for us. Can you do that, miss?'

Cassy hesitated as she nodded, 'Yes, officer.'

'Are you ready to see the body? Do you need time?'

'No, I'm okay. Just show me.' The officers nodded before peeling back the cover, revealing the face some the dead girl. She was only in her Tweens and was very cute for her age. She had red hair and fair skin, but her eye color was unknown, except to Cassy. As soon as Cassy saw the body and gasped, she broke down into a fit of sobs as the female officer embraced her. The male officer covered up the body before leading Cassy out of the room, crying her poor eyes out after seeing her little sister, her best friend since birth, now dead and gone forever. Astrid was never going to graduate, never going to walk down the aisle or see her children, but Cassy might have that chance. Cassy wished it was her that died and not Astrud. Astrid was gifted in defense and protection over others and what good was Cassy? Knowing the future is one thing but predicting someone's death and seeing it come to be with your own eyes is another thing, something Cassy wished she didn't have. Like Connor, Cassy believed she killed her family and she wasn't about to forgive herself, not after all that.

Meanwhile, Connor laid in his bed for the night, sleeping as peacefully as possible after many restless nights of stress and bad memories until a whimpering sound jolted him awake. His eyes darted around the room as he sat up in bed, trying to find the source of the sound as goosebumps formed on his flesh. He started to imagine who would be making such a noise this late at night, 'Was it Cindy? No, it was too adult to be her! Summer? No, it was too innocent, and it couldn't be Marsha so it has to be-' Before he could finish his thought, a blood-curdling scream was heard, coming from Cassy's room! Connor threw himself out of that room as fast as he could as he came to Cassy's door and burst through, finding his beloved curled up on the bed, crying into a pillow to muffle the screams and sobs. Connor shut the door behind him before he pulled her into his warm arms, hushing and soothing her as he stroked her hair, "Shh. It's all right now, Cas. You're safe because I'm here."

"I-I'm sorry! I-I'm so s-sorry! I killed them, I killed them all! Mom, Dad, and Astrid!" Cassy choked in between sobs as Connor comforted her, "Shh. It's okay. Was it a nightmare?"

"Y-Yes. It should've been me! A-Astrid's beautiful face on cold steel and covered by w-white sheets! It was me, it was me!" Cassy started to clutch onto Connor tighter as she trembled against him before he suggested, "Care to tell me? Sometimes it helps to get it out there."

"It was those awful memories of long ago, the visions shown to me reappeared after many years. I-I'm frightened, Connor. What if those visions show you or anyone here getting hurt or killed? I couldn't bear it a second time!" Cassy was choking back as many sobs as possible to prevent crying in the Concussion's arms. Connor tried his bet to be understanding as he comforted the girl and replied, "No matter what happens, you must promise me that you will tell us what your visions show. I know you fear that we'll get hurt, but sometimes, life must go on. You can't let the past keep you from accomplishing your true potential. With some help and support, you'll make it through this because I know it works. It's still working and I feel like the old me again because of it."

"How did you accomplish such a feat?"

"My family and teammates helped me, but no one had a better medicine than you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Your image in my dreams, after you came here, comforted me in my sleep. They reassured me that I'd be safe no matter what, and in a way, you helped me heal. For that, I want to thank you but now, I want to help you heal, if you'll let me." Cassy breathed deeply before she stared into Connor's eyes, those warm eyes of blue that comforted her as she sighed sweetly, "Yes, my love. You may do anything to heal me. I trust you now and I love you."

"I love you too, Cas. What do you say we get some sleep? I promise I'll stay to protect you and my image may comfort you in your sleep, so do you trust me?"

"Yes, Concussion. I do." With that, Connor wrapped his arms around Cassy as he covered them up with a nearby blanket, allowing the woman to snuggle into him as he watched over her. That night, his image came into her head, comforting her as she slept so that no nightmares would plague her mind. With a gentle smile on his face, noticing her peaceful slumber, he kissed her chastely on the cheek before he drifted off to sleep for another day...