Chapter Seven

Teresa went outside, stopping at the foot of the steps to let her eyes adjust to the dim light. The moon was out, so it wasn't completely dark. It only took a minute before she could see the white of his shirt glimmering. Patrick was standing just outside the little awning attached to the trailer. He appeared to be looking up at the sky. She sat down at the little table under the awning and waited quietly. After a moment he came and sat down across from her.

She kept her voice soft and calm, trying not to disturb the stillness. "So sometimes you wish you really could be psychic? I didn't know that. That you'd ever believed in it."

He sighed. "Carnies tend to be superstitious. They believe a lot of things. When I was a kid, I... I didn't know any better. Until I learned." She could hear the ache of old grief in his voice.

"I'm sorry. That must have hurt."

He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I know none of it is real. It's just... sometimes it would be useful, wouldn't it? If I really could read minds, see the future. If I could just be sure before we take risks..."

Teresa couldn't hold back a soft huff of laughter. "This from the man who won a million dollars in a poker game, who's been banned from how many casinos because you always win? I think you're pretty good at assessing risk, even without supernatural powers."

He didn't smile. "I learned a few things from my father's gambling habit. Only bet on a sure thing, for one. And never gamble with anything you can't afford to lose." He leaned across the table towards her. "I can't afford to lose you, Teresa. Promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you won't -" He reached out his hands over the table, and she took them.

"Won't die? I can't see the future either, Patrick. But I know now... The other day, if you couldn't get me out, you were going to make Foster kill you too, weren't you?"

He nodded without hesitation. "I won't survive without you. I lost everything once. Never again."

She swallowed hard. Hearing him say it out loud was harder than she expected. "Okay. Let's make a deal. We're neither of us alone any more. Your life depends on mine, and my life depends on yours. So we'll behave accordingly. You have to protect yourself in order to protect me, and I have to take care of myself in order to keep you safe. We'll both be careful for both of us. Okay?"

"It's not a guarantee."

"No. Nobody gets those. But it's the best we can do right now. And remember, being partners has kept us alive this long. Now we'll try even harder, because we've both got so much more to lose. I have confidence in us. We're a good team, remember?"

"Yes, we are." She could feel him beginning to relax a little. "Okay. Deal. No crazy plans for me, and you won't forget how precious your life is."

"I won't forget. I promise." She smiled at him and raised their joined hands to kiss his fingers in confirmation. Patrick drew them back across the table to kiss hers in return. Sealed with a kiss, she thought. And let's not forget why we started this...

"I'm tired. It's time to go to bed. If you dream, you dream." He winced slightly, and she went on, putting as much confidence as she could into her tone. "But I think it won't be so bad now. You'll remind yourself every time before you go to sleep, that I'm safe, I'm alive, that none of the things you imagine has happened to me. We survived Foster, and Red John, and everything else we've had to deal with. Tell yourself that. And try to think about all the good things we can do together in the future. See if you can't dream about those. You have more control over your mind and body than anybody I've ever seen..."

"It seems I can't control my subconscious," he said rather bitterly.

"No. Nobody can, I guess. It's a shame you can't hypnotize yourself. Or - can you?"

"Not out of dreaming. Believe me, I've tried. It never worked in the past."

"Oh. Pity. But if you can let go of some of the fear instead of dwelling on it, maybe that'll help. Like when you were in Venezuela. Or maybe if, instead of just telling yourself not to have bad dreams, you suggested good ones to yourself... It seems to me we, uh, both have a lot more material for good dreams than we used to. If we go to sleep thinking about being happy..."

He smiled. "I still might not sleep much. But it would be much nicer than nightmares." Teresa blushed.

"I meant, focus on a positive future instead of a scary one. Maybe you could redirect your subconcious, even if you can't control it. If you find yourself dreaming about Foster, try to remember it the way it really happened, us getting rescued and being safe, instead of dying."

"Lucid dreaming."

"What?"

"There's a technique where you're supposed to be able to conciously direct your mind while you're dreaming, to change the outcome of the dream. What you just said. It's never worked for me, but I guess I've never really tried very hard. And as you say, I have better material now. And motivation." Patrick smiled at her again, a little shyly this time, and even in the dim light, she thought she saw hope in his eyes. "I never thought I could have this. A life with you. But here we are. So anything must be possible, huh? As long as you're here."

"I'm not going anywhere. Like I said, you're stuck with me. Whatever happens, good or bad."

"For better or for worse?"

His tone was light, but Teresa's heart skipped a beat. It took her a moment to remember how to breathe enough to answer. "Yeah. Something like that. We don't have to deal with stuff alone any more. Neither of us. We'll just have to get used to that."

"Right." He took in a deep breath and let it out, a release of tension she could feel in their still-clasped hands. "Let's go to bed. Somehow I think I'll sleep better tonight."

She smiled and squeezed his hands. "Now there's a prediction I can believe in."

They went inside and got ready for bed. By the time they'd undressed and brushed their teeth and crawled in together, Patrick's exhaustion had caught up with him. He was already half asleep when he murmured, "Night, Teresa. Love you."

Teresa kissed him and stroked his cheek gently. "I love you too. Sweet dreams, darling. Good night."

And it was.

The End