"Are you?" He stops, remembering the sound of her voice, and his eyes begin to well with tears.

"Why…how are you here?" His voice is only a whisper.

"I don't know." She looks off to the side.

"You aren't just a vision are you? Just…something in my head…"

"Others see me." Her voice and tone are both short. Hardly any emotion. He comes closer, clearing a space on the table; he sits in front of her.

"Are you alright?"

Flashback…

In a small coffee shop, two people sit. The windows shine dim street lamps onto the dirty tables and into the smoky air.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" He sits back and folds his arms across his chest, patiently awaiting her answer.

"Do about what?" She shoots back rudely, her usual opaque emotions in full force. He sighs, and asks again, having gone through this many times before.

"You wont tell me what's wrong," She starts to open her mouth, but is cut off. "and don't deny that there is something wrong…so what are you gonna do about it?"

"I'm fine."

"Raven…"

"James!" She says, disgusted with his questioning.

"Fine, if its what you want, I promise, I will not speak another word of this but understand that when you wake up screaming in my arms that it isn't normal." His tone is harsh and his voice, raised. She looks away out into the street, the shadows of passerby's shutting out the light ever so often. A tear runs through her black eyeliner and down her cheek.

"I'm worried about you." She whispers, watching the cars pass by through the rain, the leaves blowing violently. He reaches across the table and rubs her arm.

"You don't need to worry about me. No ones gonna hurt me again." She takes a deep breath, and he continues. "But I'm really concerned about you."

"Why…"

"Because I don't know what they'll do…but they'll never hurt you…they know that you have nothing to do with this…they wouldn't dare…"
"But I have these…visions, dreams…that they hurt you…" She looks at him, her eyes still running, she pauses. "And you don't make it." She is defiant against her own words. He closes his eyes because he knows that at any time, her dreams could become his nightmare as well as her own.

"They wont." He rubs his thumb across her chin. "So…" Putting both elbows on the table, he smiles at her. She looks him in the eyes and begins to cry harder, her fear for his life overwhelming her. He tries to ignore her for the sake of not breaking down himself, and continues on. "Tomorrow is Halloween, and what shall we do darling? Pass out candy? Make love?" She makes eye contact with him again.

"Don't cry…that's what you're thinking." She laughs and wipes her eyes. Leaning the same way so that they are eye to eye, he kisses her. "I wanna go to our place…and I want to make love…until neither of us can see straight." He laughs and locks his legs with her beneath the table. "I love you." She whispers.

"I know." They smile.

He reaches to touch her face, and she jumps.

"Is it ok to touch you?" He asks, already moving his palm down the left of her face. She lifts her own hand and presses it against his. "You're warm."

"Am I supposed to be cold…"

"You are if you're a dead body." She closes her eyes.

"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry James." She begins to sob and blood tears stream from her eyes. He doesn't turn away despite his gut reaction to the crimsoned rain, but wipes them with his thumb and pulls her to him, taking a seat beside her.

Flashback…

Two men hold James back by both his arms as another spits in his face.

"You're a weak shit now, huh?" The man punches him in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. "Too good for us all…got a nice job now…got the girl…tryin' to live an honest life?" A kick to the ribs, sharp stabbing pain, it hurts now to breathe. The brutal man squats down in front of him, and the other men pull James up so that they are face to face. He takes James' chin into his hand. "Tell me…how is she? We didn't scare her much last week…did we?"

"What did you do to her?" More pain with every word, his mind flies with all the possibilities of hell they would and could have put her through.

"Oh…she didn't tell you?"

"You bastard…"

"We just paid her a little visit while you were away…though I have to admit…she doesn't react well to forcefulness…screaming."

"Did you make her cry?" The rage mounts in his voice. The man begins to laugh uncontrollably.

"You should have been there…it was great." Slapping James in the face somewhat hard, he smiles. "Don't call us, we'll call you." The men let him go, and all get into a black window tinted street-racing car. He stands after they drive off, and with shaky steps, makes it back to his Ninja motorcycle.

            Pushing open the apartment door, Raven runs to meet him, but stops short seeing his blackened eye and only the visible cuts and bruises. All she can do is hold her hand to her mouth.

"Are you ok?" He asks, carefully and slowly pulling off his jacket. He almost doubles over as he brushes his own chest with his arm. He runs and catches him before he falls.

"Me? Oh my god James…" Helping him to the couch, she begins asking him questions. "What happened? Who did this to you? How long have you been like this?" Laying him down, she kneels beside him on the hardwood floor.

"Baby never mind it, I'll be ok." She lifts his shirt, a bit against his will, and looks over all the abrasions.

"I don't doubt that they bruised your ribs…" She grabs a white tee shirt from the table and touches his lip, drawing away the blood. "They didn't kick you in the head or anything did they…did you fall?" He shakes his head to the best of his ability. Her eyes fill with tears. "Then I can let you go to sleep." She touches his face, then, laying her head down against the sofa, takes his hand. Little does she know, that she falls asleep before he does, as he rubs his thumb across the top of both her hands which tightly grip one of his own.

"Don't be sorry…" The blood from her eyes soaks his white collard shirt. He lies down and opens his arms welcoming her. She is unsure. He rubs a hand down her waist and across her thigh, then kisses her hand. She lays down knowing that she'll be gone by the time he wakes. Pressing his head gently onto her shoulder, he kisses her neck. "I miss you."