AN: My apologies for taking so long to upload this chapter. I had been severly ill for months and just couldn't find the energy to write. I do hope it was worth the wait.

I do not own Gargoyles. Disney owns them. Gargoyles is a show that I love, and write stories about. I own Crystal, and any other characters that did not appear on the show.

New Life, New Beginnings: Chapter 14

It had been raining the entire day, and continued to downpour throughout the night. There was no point in trying to fight the elements, so everyone was granted the night off. Goliath had decided to brave the elements to visit Elisa at her apartment, with Brooklyn following half the way to make sure nothing other than the weather would slow him down. Hudson had gotten hold of the television and was watching with Bronx by his side, Lex had gone and started chatting on his computer, and Broadway and Angela had made their way into the kitchen.

Not wanting to spend the night in her room, Crystal had made her way to the library, and hoped to find a book that would keep her occupied for the night. Finding an old favourite of hers from her younger years, she curled up on the couch and began to read.

She hadn't been reading for long when she heard the door being opened. She didn't even have to look up to know who it was; the scent was unmistakable. "Hey Brooklyn."

"Had a feeling that you'd be in here," he went and sat down on the other side of the couch. "What's that you're reading?"

"The Importance of Being Earnest." She kept reading and flipped the page. "It's one of my favourites."

"So, does that mean I'm bothering you and should leave?"

She glanced up at him and smiled. "Does it look like you're bothering me?"

"Since you have to stop reading to talk to me, yes."

Chuckling at a point in the story, she replied, "You're not bothering me. I'm just trying to keep my mind busy."

He tilted his head. "Otherwise it would wander and get lost in other thoughts?"

She nodded. "Pretty much." She looked up from the book and saw his quizzical expression. She folded the corner of the page she was on and closed the book. "Lately I've been thinking about what it would be like to be human again. If only for three days or so."

Brooklyn quirked an eye ridge and chuckled. "That's an oddly specific number of days."

She shrugged. "I like the number three. As a kid, I used to do everything in threes." She smacked his arm at the look he gave her. "Plus, I came to New York once when I was younger, but I didn't get to see much. And now, I've been living here for six months, and I've only been able to see it at night." She fingered the pages of the book. "Plus, I'd like to be able to spend the day with a few people."

"And who would those few people be?"

"Well my brother for one. It's hard spending time with him when he's awake all day." She looked down at the book and began fiddling with the corners. "And the other..." She looked up at Brooklyn, blushed, and quickly brought her eyes back down to the book.

Brooklyn pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Well, yeah... I mean..." Crystal shrugged and smiled childishly. "I don't know. You're the one I feel the most comfortable with. And well, I've kinda connected with you the most."

He smiled warmly at her. "Well I'm flattered to know that you would choose me."

She smirked. "Flattery will get you flattened." She hit his arm lightly with the book. "I'm hungry."

He rubbed his arm, acting as if she had hurt him. "Would you like to get something to eat?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She got up from the couch, dropped the book where she was sitting and followed him out of the library.

As they were making their way towards the kitchen, Brooklyn quickly glanced at her. "So three days, huh?"

"Yup. For three whole days, I wish the two of us could be human."

Little did they know that sitting on the couch beside Hudson, was Alexander. The young fay had heard the two gargoyles as they walked past the room, and as he heard the word 'wish', he smiled. Turning around to face the door, he waved his hand around, muttered some words and began to feel the magic flowing through him. He felt a little tired afterwards, so he turned back towards the television and tried not to doze off.

The two gargoyles were only a few steps away from the kitchen when Crystal stopped dead in her tracks. To her surprise, Brooklyn stopped at the exact same moment. "You feel that too, don't you?" she asked.

"You mean that tingling feeling? Along with the dizziness?"

Crystal never got the chance to respond, as a strong wave of dizziness hit her, and everything went dark.

-0-

It was the sound of voices that brought Crystal back to her senses. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her a lot of time had passed, but there was still a good amount of time before the sun rose. Unless, she thought, I somehow lost the entire night and didn't regain consciousness at sunset. Is that even possible? "Ugh, what happened?" she said, her voice shaking.

"Crystal, you're finally awake!" Angela rushed to her side. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess." She noticed for the first time that she was on the couch. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"Broadway and I were in the kitchen when we heard a noise outside the door. We rushed out to see what happened, and we saw you and Brooklyn lying on the floor."

"Oh my goodness, Brooklyn! Is he okay?"

"I'm fine Crys, don't worry."

She looked at the human sitting in the armchair that had spoken with Brooklyn's voice. He had a sharp nose, a long chin, and a very familiar-looking mane of white hair. If she thought he was good-looking when he was a gargoyle, well now, she couldn't help but stare at him. She looked down at her hands to see five fingers instead of four, and knew what had happened. "Guess the phrase 'careful what you wish for' is true."

"Yeah, guess so," Brooklyn said uneasily.

"Wish?" asked Broadway, as he helped his recently turned human brother on his feet. "What wish?"

"I... kinda wished to be human again. Just for a short time though. I never thought that it would actually happen."

Angela gave her a small smile. "Missing your old life as a human?"

"Just a little." She slowly sat up. Not being able to feel the weight of her wings felt a little odd. "Do any of the others know about this?"

"What in th' blazes?"

Broadway couldn't help but chuckle. "Well now Hudson knows."

"Lad, lass, what happened tae ye?"

Brooklyn rubbed the back of his neck; still getting used to not having the weight of his beak to hold. "Maybe we should get everyone together and just explain it all at once."

-0-

"But," Goliath started, "why did you want to be human?"

"It's not that I don't enjoy my life as a gargoyle. But I was born a human, and I just wanted a chance to live my old life again - if only for a short while. My transformation happened so suddenly that I never got to fully enjoy my last few days being human." She looked down and started fiddling with her fingers. "I didn't mean to drag Brooklyn into this."

"This is my fault, Goliath." Alex walked into the room, looking upset. "But when I heard her make the wish, I thought it'd be nice if she could have it come true."

"What I don't understand is why we got knocked out. When Puck did it we barely felt a thing," Brooklyn asked the miniature fay.

Alex shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, but it was my first time casting it. I thought I did it perfectly."

Goliath looked at his human second-in-command, and back at the child. "I can see where your intentions lay, Alexander. But you should have asked first." Goliath took a deep breath to calm himself. "Can you reverse it?"

The thought of being turned back into a gargoyle so soon caused Crystal's head to drop forward. She could feel her eyes begin to water, and she tried desperately to hold back the tears. The chance to walk around during the day and blend in with the crowd just once more was something she had wanted for a while, and she couldn't believe it was being taken away from her so soon.

"Well yeah, but..." he looked over at Crystal and saw how she was reacting. "But I don't think she wants that."

Brooklyn wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and let her lean against him. "It's only for a few days. Besides, we could keep track of that sociopath that attacked her and Lex, and we'd be safer than if we did it as gargoyles."

"Plus there's that guy with the hovercraft," Angela chimed in.

Goliath rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "That would be of great use." He sighed heavily. "Very well, you may remain so for the duration of the spell."

Crystal jumped out of her seat and hugged Goliath tight. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

The two newly-turned humans spent the rest of the night trying to deal with the biggest problem that they would have when they went out: clothing. Crystal had ended up calling her brother to ask if he could bring over some clothes for Brooklyn, since the two of them were almost the same height and build. It would have to do until the two of them could go out and buy some clothes for themselves.

/ / / / / / /

That morning, Crystal had run off to her room, being absolutely sure she still had something that she hadn't destroyed for her gargoyle form. Christian had taken Brooklyn to help him out in trying to put together an outfit that he would like.

By the time Brooklyn joined Xanatos and Fox at the breakfast table, he had finally decided on a semi-tight black t-shirt, loose blue jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. He had combed his hair back into a ponytail, with a few strands falling in front of his forehead.

"Well," said Fox, looking up from her breakfast. "Look who cleans up nicely."

Brooklyn mumbled a few words and sat down at the table. "It's a temporary thing until I can buy something that suits my tastes."

Christian chuckled and sat next to him. "Sorry if my style doesn't suit you, but at least it's something." His face suddenly went serious. "You better take care of my sister, and don't try anything with her. Because if I find out you did anything to hurt her -"

"Oh, hush up, bro. You know very well I can take care of myself," came the response from the door.

Brooklyn's eyes widened, and his jaw nearly dropped. "Whoa."

The time Crystal had spent rummaging through her closet had not gone to waste. She had dressed herself in black, large-heeled boots, knee-high socks, a mid-thigh plaid kilt, and a form-fitting white tank top that showed quite a bit of cleavage. "I told you I still had something laying in that closet of mine."

Her brother shook his head. "I'm just surprised you still had shoes with you."

"Hey, shoes were the one thing I wasn't going to give up. I paid good money for them, and I wasn't just going to leave them for my cousin to use."

"But you were never going to use them!"

She sat down across the table from him, and gave him a look. "Don't tell me you've never heard of a woman who has shoes, and yet never wears them."

Fox tried not to grin and hid her face behind the section of newspaper she was reading, knowing all too well the way her husband was looking at her. Lucky for her, Owen chose that exact moment to walk in, carrying with him a manila folder. He placed it beside David's plate. "Here is what you requested, sir."

"Thank you Owen." He opened it, taking out two small bundles of money and a credit card. "Here's a little spending money for the two of you." He handed the credit card to Brooklyn. "I think I can trust you more with this."

He took the card and looked at the name. "Connor Crete?"

The corner of Xanatos' mouth quirked upwards. "It seemed fitting."

Crystal picked up a bundle of money and handed it back. "Thanks, but I can't accept this from you."

"I don't see why you can't."

"Because I have my own money, and I wouldn't feel right spending yours."

"It's no trouble at all." He pushed the bundle back towards her. "Think of it as a gift."

She looked at the money for quite some time before reluctantly taking it. "Only because you say it's a gift."

Fox put down the paper and finished her coffee. "So what do you two plan on doing today?"

"Going to the mall." They said in unison, as they grabbed some breakfast.

"Christian, do you want to come with us?" Crystal asked as she sat back down.

"I appreciate the offer, but I've got work today." He stole some food off her plate and gave her an innocent look as she scowled at him. "But I'll check to see if I can get tomorrow or the day after off." He moved to take more food, when a fork came slamming down in front of his fingers.

"Keep touching my food and you won't live to see the next hour." She smiled sweetly at him and continued eating.

Christian pulled his hand back, trying not to make any sudden movements. "Well, thanks for the warning."

"Oh, that wasn't a warning," she said as she put the last bits of food into her mouth. "I just happened to miss."

Brooklyn shot Christian a glare, to which he cringed. "I know what I did! Just don't hurt me for it!"

"Just remember, the day you spend with her, I'm going to make sure to tick her off. And believe me, I'll make sure I do a good job of it."

"Oh, would you look at the time!" Christian said as he looked at his watchless wrist. "It's time for me to get to work." He quickly got out of his seat, and made his way through the Great Hall to the elevator.

Brooklyn looked up at Crystal, and saw the mischievous grin on her face. "Why do I have the biggest feeling that you're not done tormenting him?"

"It's because you're right." She stood up and grabbed the last piece of bacon from his plate. "You stall him at the elevator; I'll be there in a minute."

He had no idea what she had planned, but he decided to go along with it. After all, it would be her brother getting tortured, not him.

-0-

After torturing her brother with empty threats for the entire elevator ride down, the newly turned humans made their way over to the mall.

"So Brooklyn, how are you enjoying your first day as a human?"

"I'm enjoying it so far. The sun is so bright, and even in these colder months, I never thought the sun could feel so warm." He smiled and looked down at her. Even with the amount of height her boots gave her, she was still shorter than him. "Thanks for including me in this."

"Aw hey, it was nothing." She blushed and walked closer to him. "I already enjoy spending my nights with you."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer. "So what store would you like to go to first?"

"Well," they walked through the mall doors and headed for the escalator. "There's one that I have to go to specifically, so..." She quickly scanned the area, and saw a store she knew Brooklyn would find something that he would like to wear. "How about you go in there and start browsing, and I'll meet you in a few."

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "All right, see you in a bit."

After making sure that he was inside the store and was out of view, she turned the other way and went into the much-needed store. The bag would give away to where she had been, but she didn't really care. Besides, she thought. I'm hoping there's going to be more to these next few days than just shopping.

-0-

Crystal had taken longer than she had wanted, but got the one bit of shopping out of the way. She made her way over to the store she had pointed out to Brooklyn, but not without noticing the looks she was getting from some of the men she was walking past. After being out of the public eye for years, it felt good to know she could still catch the eye of the opposite sex. Even though it felt good, it didn't really matter to her. She looked around the store, and eventually found him trying on a black leather jacket.

She snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Seems like you've adjusted pretty well."

Brooklyn looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Guess I have, and about time you got back. Where'd you run off to?"

"Oh," she moved the bag with her purchases behind her, "nowhere, really." It was then she realized he was wearing a different outfit. Now he was dressed in black biker boots, black denim jeans, and a white shirt. "I didn't think I was gone that long."

"You weren't." He took the jacket off and folded it over his arm. "I knew what I wanted, and what I wanted was to get out of your brother's clothes."

"Well, it looks good." She looked him over once more. "So you ready to do some serious shopping?"

"Yeah - wait, what?"

Crystal smirked. "You didn't think I wasn't going to take full advantage of my first shopping trip in three years, did you?"

They spent most of the day in the mall; not always shopping, but nonetheless, in the mall. They each had a few bags, and as they walked by a small cafe, Crystal grasped Brooklyn's arm and stopped.

"I have had a craving for a cappuccino for the entire day. You don't mind if we stop here for a second, do you?"

"Go order your drink and find a place to sit. There's something I want to get at the bookstore first."

She nodded. "Sure, just give me your bags, and try not to take as long as I did. Oh, do you want me to order something for you?"

"Nah, I'm good." He handed his bags to her. "Just try not to get in trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

"Hey, those pants were on sale, and she was trying to make me pay full price!" She smirked. "But I'll try." She watched as he walked away, making sure she got a good look at his rear end.

Walking over to the counter, she ordered her drink, found an empty table, and got comfortable. It felt good to be able to finally sit down, not being used to having human feet or the weight of her boots. There was a newspaper on the table next to her so she snatched it before someone else did, and began leafing through it, hoping to find something that she and Brooklyn could do. I wonder if there's a hockey game or something we could go to, she thought.

Taking a sip of her drink, she flipped the page, and suddenly had the feeling of someone staring at her. She looked around, but didn't see anything to confirm that feeling. She tried shrugging it off, but it just wouldn't go away. It was the masculine voice that confirmed her suspicions.

"Hey there, sweet cheeks."

Crystal refused to glance up from the newspaper to acknowledge him, and continued reading. It wasn't that she wasn't in the mood to talk to strangers or have a short polite conversation with someone, but the way this guy approached her just got on her nerves, and she refused to pander to him.

"What's a girl like you sitting here alone?"

She didn't lift her eyes from the page. "What does it look like?"

He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "It looks like you could use some company."

"Well thanks, but no thanks." She kept giving him the cold shoulder, hoping that he would get the hint and leave.

No such luck. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"If you didn't notice, I already have one." The guy was really beginning to irritate her, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before her temper got the best of her. Suddenly, her newspaper was snatched from her hands.

"Listen babe, you're making this harder than it should be."

"Then maybe you should learn how to pickup women." She took the newspaper back. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave."

"Are you telling me you don't want a piece of this?"

She opened the newspaper and began reading again. "No, I don't."

"But there's a piece of you that I want."

She was about to retort when she felt a hand running up her leg. Gasping, she threw down the newspaper and slapped him across the face. "What part of 'leave me alone' didn't you understand?!" She had dealt with guys like this before, but none of them had ever touched her.

He rubbed his cheek and smiled at her. "Looks like somebody's frisky."

The guy was really starting to scare her, which just made her angrier. "Look," she gripped her cup of coffee. "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to make you regret ever laying your sights on me."

He grabbed her wrists. "I don't think so."

"I think the lady asked you to leave her alone."

The guy let go of her wrists and looked up. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Crystal got up from her seat and stood close to Brooklyn. "He's with me. C'mon Brooklyn," she grabbed their shopping bags. "Let's go." She linked her arm around his and started walking away.

"Didn't think whores were the picky type."

That did it. Crystal couldn't take it anymore. Handing the bags to Brooklyn, she smoothed down the front of her shirt and walked back towards the guy, giving him a sultry look, and putting a little more swing in her hips as she walked. "So, you want a piece of me, huh? You want to have a go?"

The guy looked her up and down, and grinned. "Damn right I do. Good to see you came to your senses."

"You're right, I did." Her fist suddenly came swinging, punching him across the face. She surprised herself in seeing that even in human form, she could hurt a guy that was bigger than her. "But first you can go screw yourself!"

Spinning on her heel, she grasped Brooklyn's arm walked away to the sounds of applause from the nearby patrons. Brooklyn was still a little shocked at what she had done. There was no denying her temper, but he didn't think she would actually attack the instigator. He decided to keep quiet, not sure yet of how she would react.

They had just walked outside when she started shaking. "Crystal, are you all right?"

She hugged her arms, and tried to stop the shaking. "Uh, yeah. I guess I'm just a little cold, is all."

He could tell she was lying, but nonetheless, he took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "Is that better?"

She slipped her arms into the sleeves and tightened the jacket around herself. "It is, thanks."

Something had obviously happened with the guy that had shaken her. He had only gotten there when she had said to be left alone, and by then, she was trying to hold her temper. Fear was something she hated to show, and usually resorted to other emotions to cover it up. "Do you want to keep walking, or do you want to take a taxi?" He'd avoid asking her what happened until later. No point in making her upset even more than she already was.

"Could we take a taxi? I want to get back to the castle."

"No problem." Hailing a cab, he opened the door for her, and after getting inside himself, gave the destination to the driver, and hoped that what had happened wouldn't ruin the few special days they had together.

-0-

Crystal had been silent the entire cab ride, and even on the elevator ride up. Out of habit, she walked straight to her room, not even noticing that Brooklyn was right behind her. It wasn't until she was a few steps away from her room that she realized she didn't have her bags with her. She was surprised to see that Brooklyn had followed close behind, but became confused when he wouldn't let go when she grabbed her bags. "Brooklyn, what are you doing?"

"I want you to talk. Last time you got this emotional, you ended up needing a blood transfusion." He moved to run his fingers through her hair, but she moved away. Now he definitely knew something was wrong. She had never backed away from letting him pet her hair. "Crys, I'm worried about you. What happened with that guy at the mall?"

Her body shook as she thought about what happened. "He touched me," she whispered.

He wasn't sure he had heard her right. "He did what?"

"He touched me; ran his hand up my leg." Brooklyn put down the bags and opened his arms for her. She was hesitant, but she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "No guy has ever done that to me; not when I wasn't willing. Gods, Brooklyn, I got so scared."

He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. "Crys, why didn't you just tell me?" He pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "I could have taken care of him for you, instead of you having to go and punch him."

A small smile found its way to her face. "But I felt better having punched him." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Can we go sit down? I'm feeling a little tired."

"Yeah, sure." He started pulling away. "Let me just put -"

"No!" She pulled him close again. "Please, I don't want to be left alone. Can't you just leave the bags?"

What had happened at the mall had obviously affected her more than she was willing to show. "Hey," he picked up the bags. "I'm not about to leave you alone." Making sure to hold her close, he took a few steps and placed the bags in her room. "Never in my life, would I even think about leaving you." He gave her a light kiss on the top of her head. His brain leaped at the strange sensation he was getting now that he had lips. "Now let's go sit down, okay?"

Nodding, and making sure to hold him close, she followed him out.

-0-

A few hours later after sundown, Hudson led Bronx inside the castle and towards the television. "Suppose there's anything good on tonight boy?"

The gargoyle beast panted happily in response, knowing television meant a nice long nap, and maybe some more chewing of the bone Elisa had brought him recently.

When they got to the recliner they saw, to their shock and slight dismay, Brooklyn and Crystal, sleeping. Crystal, sitting in Brooklyn's lap and leaning her head against him, and he having his arms wrapped around her waist.

Hudson smiled at the two. "Come boy," he whispered. "Let's let the two of them sleep. 'Tis been a long day fer them."

After they had left the room and closed the door behind them, Crystal began giggling. "You were right, that was easier than asking."

"Told ya it would be."

Before she could say anything else, Crystal let out a yawn. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought. Then again, being awake for 24 hours will do that to you."

Brooklyn tried his best to hold back his yawn. "Guess you're right. Shall we go hit the sack?"

"Brooklyn," she pretended to act shocked. "Are you saying you want to sleep with me?"

"What?" His eyes widened as he blushed. "N-no, that's not what I meant!"

She lightly brushed her thumb over his cheek. "I know what you meant. It's just fun making you blush. Besides, it's cute when you do."

Her comment just caused him to blush even more. This time, he didn't have his crimson skin to cover it up. "Well the, uh, sleeping arrangements are, umm, up to you."

Just the thought of there having to be sleeping arrangements made her body shiver. But something inside her was telling her to do something, to stop being so scared. "You," her voice came out as a squeak, so she cleared her throat. "You can share my bed with me. It's big enough for both of us."

He took her shaking in a different context. "You're still uneasy about being left alone, aren't you?"

"Yes," she quickly replied, not even thinking about her answer. It was a lie, albeit a small one. She was still slightly shaken from what had happened earlier, but nowhere near as much as she had been when they had gotten back to the castle.

"It's no problem, just as long as you're all right with it." He wasn't too sure about it himself, but if it would make her more comfortable, then he would be willing to do it.

"But then again, since ummm... that is..." She was having a hard time getting the words out. Even though she wanted to spend the night with him, she didn't think it was the best way to make a move.

Crystal being tongue-tied was not something that was seen very often. It usually only happened when she was having conflicting emotions. "If you're not sure about it, I'll just sleep somewhere else. I'm sure Xanatos had a room made up for me."

"Well, I, uh..." She smiled weakly at him. "Thanks for understanding."

"No need to thank me. I just want you to be comfortable in what you do."

She leaned in closer and kissed his cheek. "I know, but thanks anyways."

-0-

Brooklyn was right to assume that Xanatos had had a room prepared for him, but to both their surprise, it was the one right next to Crystal's. Reaching into her room, she gave him his bags, and a kiss on the cheek good night.

Closing the door to his room, he simply dropped the bags and stripped down to his boxers. He quickly climbed into bed, and tried to get comfortable. Being awake for so long, he thought he'd be able to fall asleep quickly. To his dismay, it wasn't so, and he couldn't find a comfortable position.

"This is going to be a long night." he muttered in frustration.

/ / / / / / /

There was an upside to not sleeping; finally being able to finally see the sunrise. He had missed yesterday's, having been so caught up in this new body and the ruckus it had caused within the castle. Brooklyn actually had to pinch himself to ensure it was real. He was so excited at the thought that he nearly walked out of the room with nothing on, and unfortunately, this human form did have its shortcomings. He pulled on his pants from earlier and stepped outside. Dawn was rapidly approaching, so no one was inside. He walked out to the courtyard and looked up at the tower. He could see his clan preparing for the dawn. For a split second he did feel a twinge of sadness of not being up there with them to sleep, but refused to acknowledge it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he was going to enjoy it to its fullest. He held his breath in anticipation, and shielded his eyes as the sun broke over the horizon.

"Tomorrow, I'm waking Crystal up for this."

-0-

That morning, Crystal awoke to the sun shining in her face. Groaning at the fact her sleep had been cut short, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Last time I forget to close the blinds." Giving her head a good shake to clear out any remaining cobwebs, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to have a quick shower. She got out of bed and adjusted her pajama bottoms, as they had twisted and bunched up while sleeping, and began searching through her shopping bags.

"Hmm, that's odd." Not being able to find what she was looking for, she searched the bags again, thinking she had skipped over it. But multiple searches proved to be useless. "Now where the hell did - oh no." She clasped her hand over her mouth. "I gave the bag to Brooklyn by accident! Oh, I just hope he didn't look through them."

Walking over to his room, she gave a few light knocks on his door. "Brooklyn?" Not getting a reply, she opened the door slightly and peeked in. His back was facing towards her, and his breathing looked calm and even, so she figured his was still in a deep sleep. Sneaking in, she crept as quietly as she could towards the bags, and quickly started searching. Looking in the last bag there, she finally found what she was looking for. "Bingo!"

"Crystal, what are you doing?"

"Gah!" The sound of Brooklyn's voice surprised her, causing her to jump slightly and fall backwards. "Brooklyn, I thought you were sleeping!"

"No, I was just listening to some music." He lifted up the ear buds to verify that he had been. "But what are you doing?"

"I had accidentally given you one of my shopping bags, so I came in to get it. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't worry, you didn't. I've been up for a while now."

He wasn't looking at her, but Crystal could easily see how tired he was. "How long have you been up?"

Brooklyn sighed heavily and leaned back. "Since that night when you made the wish."

"What?!" She quickly sat up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were sleeping, I didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh, Brooklyn," she got up and sat on the bed next to him. "If you have a problem, just come and get me. No matter when or where. I don't want you to suffer like this."

He couldn't help but smile. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

She gave him a warm smile and stayed silent for a few moments while she thought of something. "You know, if you want, I can try something that might help you fall asleep. At least, it always worked with me."

He tried to hold back a yawn. "I'm at the point where I'm willing to try anything. What did you have in mind?"

Crystal mentally prepared herself. "Lay back down the way you were when I walked in."

Brooklyn did as he was told. "Now what?"

Taking a silent deep breath, Crystal lay down right behind him and placed an arm on his waist. "My mother used to do this whenever I couldn't sleep. It's the one thing that always worked."

Brooklyn counted backwards from twenty and held his breath until he finished counting. It was the first time the two of them had been this close in this kind of position, and he didn't want Crystal to know how excited it had made him. Once he had managed to calm down, he did start to feel a little drowsy. "Seems to be working."

"I'm glad," she responded quietly. "Now hush, you'll fall asleep faster."

And he did.