I almost posted this last night after I finished writing this segment, but I forced myself to wait to proofread it this morning. It took me a while to get into it, but I like how this part went, I think. Please let me know your thoughts on it and leave a review for me! :D

A while later Nikki was startled awake by a crash of thunder. She glanced at her bedroom door hurriedly and realized that the fluorescent light from the hallway was gone. The room lit up blue with a pulse of silent lightning from outside and her gaze shot around the room searchingly as a shadow appeared in front of her window. She lay as still as possible, afraid any motion would let the figure know she was there.

Another flash of lightning brought the figure a few feet closer and Nikki brought her covers to her chin, crouching on her side as she slowly inched her foot out from under the blanket. She glanced once more at the half open door and darted for it, attempting to shove past the dark shape.

"Dad!" She choked out as the figure grabbed her and threw her to the ground. A familiar green glow lit up the room as she hit the floor and she cried out as she tried to pull herself away from the dark figure. She scrambled for the door but just as she reached it, the door slammed shut, blocking her escape. She pressed her back against the wall and turned around as the dark figure knelt next to her. Another flash of blue lightning lit up the figure's face and she struggled even more when she recognized his dark hair and pale features.

"Nikki! Hey, wake up!" Shawn said. Nikki's head spun as the hazy green color of the room disappeared and was replaced by the fluorescent glow of light from the hallway outside her door. She blinked in confusion as she realized that she was still in her bed, Shawn on his knees beside her with his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Shawn?" She stammered confusedly. Relief washed over his face as he slowly released her. A low growl sounded from the foot of her bed and Nikki looked down to see that Hal was glaring warningly at Shawn.

"That's another thing I miss…dreaming." Shawn said, smiling sadly down at her. She studied him carefully and realized that her face was streaked with tears. She quickly tried to wipe them away.

"That was more than a dream…" She said softly.

Shawn's smile fell and he leaned closer to her worriedly. Almost immediately Hal let out a violent hiss and lunged toward where Shawn sat on the edge of Nikki's bed.

"Hal, stop it!" Nikki said gently but forcefully. The cat's eyes shifted between the two people in front of him but he stayed crouched low on her bed, growling.

"That's this thing's name? He's been giving me the death stare for the past thirty minutes." Shawn said jokingly. Nikki glanced up at him in surprise.

"You've…been here that long? Why didn't you wake me?" She asked quietly. He smirked and shrugged.

"You were sleeping so peacefully…up until that nightmare, of course." He said lightheartedly. Nikki suddenly felt embarrassed, knowing how frantic she got from her nightmares. She glanced at her bedroom door which was still slightly ajar, surprised that her father hadn't come in to wake her.

"I'm sorry…I must have sounded like a crazy person." She muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. Shawn laughed quietly.

"Surprisingly, no. I didn't let it get that bad this time." He said reassuringly. Nikki frowned.

"This time?" She repeated quietly. Shawn glanced at her hurriedly and immediately fumbled for a response.

"Well...what I mean is that…" His shoulders slumped dejectedly as he realized that, by her stern expression, she wouldn't accept the lie he was making up. "Well…I've been here before."

"You…have?" Nikki asked, her voice level as she studied him. He nodded and then smiled sadly.

"Something has drawn me to you, Nikki. Even before the coffee shop." He admitted. Nikki's eyes widened in surprise and her heart fluttered in her chest, raising a blush to her face.

"What do you mean?" She asked warily. Shawn's pale face was serious and almost pleading as he leaned toward her.

"What I'm saying is…that, even before you came here to New York, we were looking for someone with your talents. For years no one we encountered could do anything even remotely close to what you can." He said. He offered her a small smile. "And then one day I just got a feeling that things were about to change and…there you were."

Nikki could only stare at the boy in front of her silently, her mind trying to wrap around the thought that he had known about her and her abilities longer than she had even known him.

"….When you say 'we'…who exactly do you mean?" Nikki finally asked, feeling a cold chill run through her. She slowly pulled her blanket up closer to her as she leaned against the headboard of her bed to face him next to her. Shawn hesitated for moment and then seemed to decide to come clean.

"Remember when we were walking together at the cemetery…and I told you about the people my parents knew?" He started.

"The ones who would hold séances and things?" She nodded. Shawn smiled wearily and continued.

"Yeah. Well…I didn't tell you everything about that." He said slowly. Nikki looked at him in anticipation, and his eyes met hers warily.

"What…what more is there?" She asked softly. Shawn smiled at her sadly.

"When I got older, I realized that there was one group of people that my parents would meet with on a regular basis...and that was the group of people that would go with us to the different supposed psychics each time. After a while, I realized that my parents and the others were testing out the psychics that we visited. If they proved to be legitimately able to speak to the other side, they would join our small group and travel around in search of others. When they had maybe a dozen or so, the searches seemed to stop and for a while nothing happened. Then one night, I woke up when I heard my parents leave. I hurried to follow them, because…they never left me without telling me. I followed them all the way to the harbor where the other psychics and participants were meeting."

Nikki stared at Shawn carefully as he explained. His gaze had drifted to the far wall across from where they both sat on her bed and the hard look in his eyes as he spoke sent another cold chill through her as she watched him.

"Something happened there that night. It was like they were summoning something there next to the water…I guess because in a way, the ocean has a sort of unknown power and they were trying to tap into it. I thought it was crazy…but then…ghosts were everywhere. It was like they flew in from the ocean, and it freaked me out because there were hundreds of them – all flying around the circle that my parents and the others were standing in." Shawn said.

"Oh…" Nikki breathed, her fear peaking. His gaze swung to her and his eyes were wide with remembrance.

"I ran when I saw what was going on, but I must have made some sound because the next thing I knew, there were shouts coming from some of the psychics…and the ghosts were suddenly everywhere around me. Voices…cold…and an inhuman green glow…" Shawn muttered as he tore his gaze off of Nikki's face.

"…Green?" She repeated, as she felt her face drain of color. Shawn nodded slowly and his gaze returned to the wall across from them.

"It's like we were all absorbed in it. I've…I've been like this ever since then." He murmured. Nikki's eyes widened.

"You…you died that night?" She asked in disbelief. He smiled at her sadly.

"We all did. And I've been stuck helping them with their quest to find more psychics to build up their power again for all these years…" He said.

Nikki found herself frozen to the spot on her bed as she processed what Shawn was saying. Her heart was pounding fearfully in her chest and as his wary gaze fell on her once more a shiver passed through her.

"You're…you're shaking, Nikki." He said gently as he reached to wrap an arm around her. She hesitantly let him, her mind still flashing warnings at her as she tried to understand.

"So…the reason you've been so close to me…is because you want me to be one of your psychic vessels to give your friends the power they want?" She asked, trying to force her voice to stay level. Shawn smiled down at her and laughed quietly.

"No! With you, they won't need any others. You can be the one to help us…maybe even change the way things have gone ever since that night." Shawn said hopefully. Nikki tore her gaze away from him and wrapped her arms around herself as another fearful tremble overtook her.

"Shawn…I don't know what you're asking me to do…" She breathed. Shawn gently pulled her closer to him and tilted his head to look down at her.

"It's alright…I have confidence in you and your abilities. You have so much power, Nikki. I believe you can help them and…then I'll finally be free of their control." Shawn said. Nikki glanced up at him worriedly.

"W-would I have to give you an answer now?" She asked shakily. Shawn smiled gently at her.

"No…there's no rush. I've waited this long…what's another day more?" He said softly as he pulled her into a tender embrace.

Nikki leaned her head against his chest, still fearful about what he'd just told her. Was he really responsible for the green glow that had haunted her ever since she'd come up to New York? She still had no idea what he was asking of her, but she realized that after hearing of his tragic and terrifying death, part of her did want to help him find peace. As her fear ebbed, her exhaustion caught up with her. She found her eyelids growing heavy as she lay against his chest and after a few moments, they slowly closed.

"I love you, Nikki." Shawn murmured gently as she felt herself drifting back to sleep.