Disclaimer: I don't own Perception.

Prompt #10: Garage - Once, he was able to show just how deeply he cared about her. It haunted him long after his mind returned.

Words: 843

I'm a neuropsychiatrist. I know better than to over-rationalize or dismiss my hallucinations.

They're usually a subconscious response to any sort of innocuous or random events I pick up over the course of the days previous to my episodes. I mention Joan of Arc during a case involving a boy who talks to God, I end up hallucinating Joan of Arc. I look at the delusional murals of a schizophrenic and then hallucinate the murder victim who was the focus of said delusions. I think about breaking codes, I imagine a WWII codebreaker. Mob ties to a case, I imagine there to be a mole in the FBI.

So what did I see or hear or say to prompt my mind to create such an incredibly improbable situation between Kate and I?

"Meet me in Millennium Park at sunrise."

As soon as she says it I think, No no no, that's a bad idea. I can't let her go in there alone.

I snatch at her arm, stopping her from leaving me. My words stumble over each other as I try to explain that I can't let her go. That I'm afraid to let her go. That she has to stay with me, right here, right now.

So I kiss her.

Kissing her is both exhilarating and overwhelming. When she kisses me back, I feel like I've hit the lottery. It's like flying and falling at the same time, a delirious sensation with no end in sight. I never want to stop kissing her.

But she's Kate Moretti, FBI agent extraordinaire, and she remembers we're on a deadline first. She pulls back, and I'm left reaching for her lips with mine like a man denied touch for too long. Our eyes meet, searching for explanations and finding the same thought.

We both know that when this is over, we're going to have to talk about what just happened.

I touch her cheek, tender and gentle. I scan her face one last time, etching everything I see - bright eyes, red cheeks, heaving breaths between slightly parted swollen lips - into my memory.

Then I bolt for the park to wait for her.

What really sucks is that I know it didn't happen. I know it. Logically, I know.

But then I still dream about it. I still picture every single moment that led up to it.

I never told Dr. Newsome - Caroline - about the whole thing. All she knows is that I went on a psychological bender. She says that residual confusion is something to be expected. She says that they will pass on their own.

But I don't want them to fade. I want to relive it in person. Not the espionage and murder that led up to it, but the actual situation, that moment when I kissed her and experienced a loss of reality that, for once, didn't scare the life out of me.

I don't tell her that.

Why tell her something that was only going to keep me there even longer?

I never tell Kate about the "moment" that we "shared". All she knows is that she promised to meet me in Millennium Park and didn't show.

I can never look at her the same way. Not after what my mind conjured up us doing.

Everything reminds me of it. The way her lips curl when she smiles. The twinkle in her eyes when she hears that I have a breakthrough. The steely determination of her gaze when someone tells her to back off or slow down. The way she looks up at me. The way her hands pat over my coat and fix my scarf whenever I'm too wired to pay attention to anything. The way she catches me when I begin to pace or ramble off-topic.

She is Kate Moretti. Her hands are callused, but warm. Her body is slim, but packs more power than most can believe. Her eyes are fierce. Her hair is silk. Her lips are soft - maybe, I chide myself. Not that I have any firsthand experience.

I'm the living, breathing Mad Hatter, and somehow she's become my Alice. When I start chasing rabbits, she makes sure I don't stumble off too far into Wonderland. She haunts my dreams and protects me from my nightmares.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking about that "moment". How maybe, if I managed to keep myself out of trouble and if I were very, very lucky, I could recreate it. Minus the life-threatening situations, of course.

That's when I get myself in even worse trouble, because then Natalie pops out and starts dropping her vague hints. Saying things "it had to be Kate" or "don't deny what you already know." I ignore her and focus on reality.

Kate has Donnie. I have Natalie. We don't feel that way about each other.

It's easy to believe.

I've told myself bigger lies.

I'm not so certain about this one, but I like it. Hope you enjoy!

Review please!