Chapter 37

Nathan stood there in shock for a moment.

"Captain?" Lucas squeaked out, sounding worried. "Is she…all right?"

Nathan immediately snapped back to reality, his old first aid training from the naval academy flooding back to him. He effortlessly lifted Kristin into his arms, looked at him, and gave a nod with his head toward the bed. "Can you move those pillows to the foot of the bed?" he asked.

Lucas obeyed, but he gave the captain a questioning look.

"It's to restore blood flow to the brain," Nathan explained. He carefully laid Kristin on her back, being sure her feet were elevated. He then sat next to her to try and wake her. "Kristin? Kristin?"

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"Kristin? Kristin?"

Kristin wasn't quite sure where she was. It looked…familiar somehow, though she was sure she'd never been there before. At least, she didn't think so. She was on a beach, the warm sunlight washing over her. The sound of the gently lapping waves was soothing to her. In fact, she felt very relaxed.

"Kristin?"

She turned around then and was both relieved and surprised by who was standing there. "Sylvia? I…I never thought I'd see you again." She motioned to the beach. "Where are we exactly?"

Sylvia gave her a knowing smile. "You've been here before," she told her, "in your mind."

Kristin gave her a confused look.

Sylvia gave her a kind smile. "When you were under hypnosis, your mind created this place. This is where you feel safe. This is where no one can hurt you. I brought you here."

Kristin simply nodded. "I tried talking to you earlier, but it didn't work."

"I know; we can't communicate like that right now, though. Things are…complicated."

"You're telling me," she said flatly. "I thought…I thought everything would be all right once you helped us get back to our own time…but they're not."

Sylvia didn't answer; she turned her eyes towards the water.

"Sylvia?" Kristin pressed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You have to tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry. I thought they would be, but…I guess I was wrong."

"That's all you can say? I thought you were supposed to help me?" Kristin sounded harsher than she'd meant to.

Sylvia turned back to her then. "I know, and I will. But I need you to help me, too. You already know what you have to do."

Kristin shook her head. "No, I don't think I do. I-"

Sylvia put her hands on Kristin's shoulders. "Yes, you do. You already said it yourself; no one solved my murder. If you do that for me, I can move on. That's all I want. You promised to help me from the beginning."

Kristin nodded. "I did, but you failed to mention the trauma I'd have because of it. Do you know what it's done to me? I'm a shell of my former self. I don't even know who I am anymore. I'm just so frightened all the time…and I've had these dreams."

"Dreams?" Sylvia said. "What kind of dreams?"

"A-about you…and about Frank Knox. Every time I close my eyes, I dream of Frank Knox, it seems. Except when I dream about him, it's like…it's like I'm reliving it as if I'm you. It's…strange."

Sylvia opened her mouth to speak when a familiar voice could be heard in the distance. "Sylvia, come out, come out wherever you are!"

Both women exchanged frightened glances upon hearing the voice of Frank Knox.

"S-Sylvia, you said nothing could hurt me here…" Kristin said shakily.

"The longer you keep me waiting, the harder it's going to be later!" Frank Knox shouted again.

"Sylvia, what…what's happening?" Kristin asked, her fear elevated. "How do we-"

Sylvia suddenly turned to her. "You have to go."

"What?"

"You have to go," she repeated. "Run!"

"But what about you? I…I'm not leaving you." Kristin protested.

Sylvia turned her around and gave her a gentle push. "I can't risk you getting hurt, too. You're my only hope. If we both stay, we're both in danger. This way, I can still protect you. Go."

Kristin, however, made no attempt to leave. She turned back to her. "No, Sylvia; it doesn't have to be this way. We could-"

"Oh, looky, looky. What have we here? Two little kittens in my trap, hm?"

Both women turned to see Frank Knox looming before them, a rope in his hand.

"Kristin, run!" Sylvia grabbed her hand, and they both ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

Suddenly, Kristin saw a large boulder in the distance. She pulled Sylvia and towards it, and they both ran behind it to hide and catch their breath.

"You…could…have...told me," Kristin said between pants, "that…he'd show up."

Sylvia shook her head. "I…didn't know."

"I thought you said it was safe here."

"It should be…but…"

"Come out, come out, little kittens!" Knox called. He sounded a little too close for comfort.

Kristin stifled a scream. "What should we do now?"

Before Sylvia could answer, Knox appeared from around the corner. "Now the question is: which one of you to take first? Or perhaps both at once?" He sneered at them. "Oh, the possibilities are endless."

Kristin and Sylvia both turned to run, but Knox caught Sylvia's wrist. Kristin stopped and looked back.

"No, Kristin! Keep going!" Sylvia cried.

Kristin hesitated. She'd already left Sylvia once. Could she do it again? She shook her head, answering her own question. She turned to run back.

"Kristin, no! Get out of here!" Sylvia cried as Knox worked to bind her wrists together with the rope. He didn't seem very concerned about Kristin now.

"But-"

"Just, go!" Sylvia cried as Knox ripped her skirt, just like before.

Kristin lingered for a second longer, then turned to run, though she wasn't sure where she was running to.

Sylvia's anguished screams echoed through her ears once again.

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"Kristin?" Nathan had been calling her name, but she'd been out for several minutes. Not only that, he'd noticed she felt much warmer than she'd been before. "Lucas, bring me a cool, wet washcloth, please."

Lucas, who had been looking on worriedly as the captain tried to wake the doctor, immediately obeyed and handed the captain the washcloth in less than a minute.

Nathan gently dabbed at her forehead, trying to cool her down.

A moment later, Kristin awoke, gasping for air and coughing. "Sylvia…I couldn't…save her," she mumbled.

"Shh," Nathan soothed. "It's all right. You're all right."

Her eyes fluttered open, but Nathan noticed the glazed look in them, the way she looked as though she couldn't actually see him. "Sylvia?" she moaned softly, nearly in tears.

"Captain?" Lucas said.

"She's delirious," Nathan explained softly. He continued dabbing gently at her forehead when Joshua entered the room, his medical bag in hand.

"She just had a fainting spell," Nathan informed him. "And I think her fever has spiked."

Kristin continued to moan Sylvia's name as she tossed and turned on the bed.

Joshua nodded and ran the thermometer across her forehead. He clicked his tongue as it beeped.

"What does it say?"

"One hundred and four. We need to get her fever down and fast." He turned to Nathan. "Go run a lukewarm bath." He then hoisted Kristin into his arms, carried her into the bathroom, and lowered her into the bath, pajamas and all.

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About half an hour later, Kristin's fever had fallen to a more manageable level. She was able to focus and was no longer moaning, though she wasn't saying anything much either. Nathan and Lucas looked on as Joshua spoke in soft tones to her. "Would it be all right if we let you change, and we can see about giving you an exam to see what happened?"

She gave a small nod, so Nathan went to fetch her some dry pajamas. The three men then stepped outside the bathroom, so she could change.

"You should probably give us some privacy," Joshua said to Nathan and Lucas.

Lucas nodded and started towards the other room, but Nathan hesitated.

"I'll come get you when we're finished," he assured him.

Nathan nodded and turned to follow Lucas, closing the door behind him.

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Another half an hour later, Joshua knocked on the door and entered Nathan and Lucas' room.

Nathan stood expectantly, but Joshua motioned for him to sit down once again. "We need to talk. She's resting anyway."

"Okay…"

Joshua took a deep breath. "I ran an EKG; she's running a very low heart rate, yet she's still running a fever. I gave her some ibuprofen, so that should help keep it down. But…it's odd, something I can't quite understand."

"What does that mean?" Nathan asked worriedly. He lowered his voice. "Is this because of the Xanax?"

"No, it's not that. This…this is something else. First thing tomorrow morning, we can have her blood checked at the base hospital to see if she has an infection, but I'm not sure if that's the problem. She…she's acting a bit strangely, and-"

"Doesn't this remind you of Lillian a little bit?" Lucas interrupted.

Joshua nodded slowly. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Her behavior…"

"You don't think…" Nathan lowered his voice. "…that this is a possession, do you?"

Joshua shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he assured him. "Something else is going on here."

"Did you notice she said me instead of her?" Lucas suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"After she woke up after her nightmare…when she was crying in the captain's arms, she said, "He raped me," and then she said, "He forced me into that chest." Lucas shook his head. "But it didn't happen to her…not directly anyway."

Joshua thought for a moment. "I think this could be one of two things," he explained. "It could have just been a dream, completely coincidental. But, seeing as how Sylvia is her past life, I don't think it's that at all."

"So what do you think it is?" Nathan asked.

"Since she and Sylvia are two embodiments of the same person, I think she's taken on some of Sylvia's memories. Past life memories are usually suppressed, but in this case, Kristin has come face to face with her past life. It is quite possible these memories are coming to light now; they're no longer suppressed, and that is causing an inner emotional conflict," he explained. "Not only that, she says she spoke to Sylvia in a dream."

"But she can't go on like this," Nathan replied. "Is…is this something that will go away on its own?"

Joshua sighed. "Not likely, but I think-"

At that moment, the door opened.

They all turned to see Kristin.

"Kristin!" Nathan said. He walked toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"You really should be lying down," Joshua gently told her.

"I'm fine," she said, though she didn't look it. "You…you don't need to keep whispering about me, you know."

Nathan took one of her hands in his. "We were just-" He then stopped short when he noticed her arm, since the sleeves of her pajama shirt were pushed up to her elbows. "Kristin, what happened?" he asked in shock. There, on her forearm was a large, reddish-purple mark in the shape of a handprint. He also noticed dark red patches encircling her wrist.

"I, uh…I was going to tell you about those," Joshua muttered. "I didn't have the chance."

Kristin looked down. She hadn't seen them and was unaware Joshua had. "I don't…"

"Her other arm's the same way," Lucas pointed out quietly.

Kristin looked at the handprint marks on her arms and then turned to Joshua. "They're just like the one that was on my shoulder…the one you said wasn't there."

"I…I know; I was going to talk to you about them when you were feeling a bit better. I thought…I thought it'd be too much for you to handle now."

"Do they hurt?" Nathan asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "Not really. My wrists are a little tender, though."

"They look like rope burns," Nathan noted.

"I, um…I think that's what they are," Kristin stated quietly. "In the dream…he…he tied me up."

Nathan looked at Joshua. "You want to shed some light on this?"

Joshua let out a sigh. "I have a few ideas…but I'd like to consult with a friend of mine at Cologne. Besides, it's after three now; I think we all need to rest, and we can discuss it in the morning."

Nathan looked at Kristin, who gave a slight nod of approval, not in the mood to hear speculations at the moment. "Fine," he agreed, "but can I speak to you privately for just a minute?" He ushered Kristin to sit down while he and Joshua walked back to Kristin's room.

While Joshua was putting his instruments away, he asked, "So what's on your mind?"

"Is she in any danger? Those marks?" The concern in his voice as evident.

Joshua hesitated. "I'm not sure."

Nathan panicked. "And you expect me just to go sleep and not worry?"

Joshua sighed. "I know it's not exactly ideal, but I think we can fix it…just not right away."

After a beat, he asked, "How?"

"If she'll allow it, another hypnosis session."

"And what would that do?"

"It could get her to let go of these memories, which I think is what she needs. We'll talk about it a little later, though."

Joshua put the last few instruments back in his bag and zipped it. He then placed a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I'm worried about her, too. Just keep an eye on her. Oh, and don't let her take anymore Xanax, okay?"

"So you do think it's the pills?"

Joshua shook his head. "No, but in this case, I'm not actually sure they're helping after all. See you in a few hours."

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As Joshua closed the door behind him, Nathan let out a sigh. Things seemed to go from bad to worse in just a matter of a few hours; not only that, this was something that couldn't be readily fixed either. He walked back to the other room, feeling at a bit of a loss.

"Hello, again," he said when he walked into the room, trying to sound cheery. He was relieved to see Kristin was still in the chair. She was holding her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"Hi," she said quietly, changing her position then. She motioned to Lucas' bed; the teen was already fast asleep. "I told him he could go back to sleep if he wanted. The poor thing was just exhausted. I…I'm sorry I woke the two of you."

Nathan waved a hand. "It was no trouble…really. I-"

"Well, I should probably let you get back to sleep, too," she told him. She stood and started walking back to her room when Nathan stopped her.

"You don't need to go. I mean…do you want to go?"

She paused for a moment, looking into his eyes. "You look tired," she noted.

"So do you."

She lowered her gaze. "Joshua told me to rest…but I'm not exactly anxious to. I'm tired, but…"

"But what?" Nathan pressed.

"I had this dream, and…" She trailed off.

"I know the dream worried you, but I'm sure Joshua can get to the bottom of this," he assured her.

"I'm not talking about that dream," she replied.

"What?"

"After I woke up, I fainted, Joshua said."

Nathan nodded. "And when you woke up, you were mumbling-"

"About Sylvia," she finished.

"You remember?"

She shook her head. "No, I can't remember. But I had a dream about her." Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought. "Or maybe it was reality. It…it seemed so real." She sighed. "I'm sure you only think it was the result of the fever…and maybe it was. But…"

"Did you tell Joshua this?"

She shook her head. "I don't even know..." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I don't know what's happening to me, Nathan." She leaned forward and buried her face in his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her. "I know, sweetie, I know. Don't you worry; we're going to get this taken care of. Everything's going to be fine. You have to believe that."

She gave a slight nod a few minutes later.

"That's my girl," Nathan told her. "Tell you what; how about we go back to your room? We don't have to sleep if you don't want, but I don't think either of us wants to be alone. What do you say?"

"Okay," she agreed, finally looking up at him. "I'd like that."

Nathan gave her a smile and turned the lights down for Lucas. He then took her hand in his and led her through the door.

"So what would you like to do?" he asked.

Without a word, she led him toward the bed. "How about we just lie here and talk…like we used to?"

He smiled. "Okay." He lay down and allowed Kristin to snuggle in next to him.

"Nathan?" Kristin asked after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"Promise you won't let anything happen to me if I fall asleep…please?"

"Kristin, you know that," Nathan told her.

She nodded. "I know…but every time I fall asleep…" She held up one of her arms. "…things like this happen." Her voice became strained. Nathan could tell she was about to cry. "I'm just so…"

Nathan hugged her tighter and kissed her temple lightly. "Kristin, I promise; I'll be right here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You know you can trust me."

She took a deep breath and nodded. Any tears she had were then swallowed.

"You think you can sleep now?"

She gave another nod. "I'm really tired."

"I'm right here with you; everything will be all right."

Kristin didn't answer. Instead, she placed a gentle kiss to his lips and whispered a, "Thank you." She then laid her head on his chest.

Nathan gently rubbed her back, and it wasn't long before he heard her breathing slow. He was relieved she finally was able to sleep, but he knew the rest of his night would be sleepless. He wasn't sure what was going on with Kristin, and he was afraid that if he did sleep, he wouldn't be able to keep his promise.

A/N: Because I do have so many out-of-fandom readers for this story, I'd forgotten that this story will make a lot of references to the 'Knight of Shadows' episode. If you don't have access to the DVD's or Netflix, you can at least read the episode script here: http (colon, slash, slash) w w w {DOT} angelfire {DOT} com (slash) tv2 (slash) seaQuestDSV2032 (slash) knight {DOT} h t m l. I hope that helps some of you be less confused. Thank you.