Chapter 4

"Do you, Alexander, take this woman as your legitimate wife, to honor her, love her and respect her as long as you both shall live?" the judge asked.

"I do," Alex answered, his eyes bright.

"And do you, Jennifer, take this man as your legitimate husband, to love him, honor him and respect him as long as you both shall live?"

"Oh, you bet I do!" she answered looking at him with a bright smile.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride," the judge said. And Alex did.

*******

"Is she going to be ok?" Katie asked.

"They don't know yet," Lucas answered gloomily. Katie ran her hands through her hair, her expression showing her anger and impotence.

"I thought she had bought a car so she didn't have to ride that infernal bike anymore!" she exclaimed.

"Me too," said a voice behind her. They all turned to see who it was.

It was Alex.

"Alex," Trip said softly.

"Have they told you anything yet?" he asked, looking around, his face dead serious. Lucas walked to him and pushed him on the shoulders.

"What do you care?" he asked. Alex ignored his pushing, and looked at Katie from over Lucas's shoulder. "What do you want here?" Lucas asked, pushing him again.

"Certainly not a fight," Alex answered looking straight into Lucas's eyes. That seemed to cool Lucas down. "Do I need to repeat the question?"

"They said they'll do everything they can for her," Lucas answered. "She's in surgery right now," he added.

"So they said. What about the truck driver?" Alex asked without curiosity.

"He called the ambulance, but he didn't come to the hospital. However, Time Force was there already, I think they took his information," Katie answered.

"Let me know if anything changes, please," Alex told them, and walked out of the emergency room as quietly as he had walked in.

"Now, what's the deal with him?" Katie asked.

"He's scared of losing Jen forever," Trip said, his back turned to the other two.

"Why?" Lucas asked, his disbelief displayed in his voice.

"Because he loves her," Trip said, turning to them.

His gem was shining brightly.

**** Alex called Time Force central on his cell phone.

"Time Force, what can I do for you?" said a woman on the other end, Alex had the hunch she was either a robot or a computer.

"This is Colonel Alexander Drake, I want a communication line to road incidents," he said.

"Hold on, please," the voice said. Music started. It was intended to be cheerful, but was really annoying, like the music they played in carousels. A series of high piano notes, with absolute no esthetics, as if played by a bored (or drunk) pianist.

"Sergeant Samorano," said a woman on the other side. This one sounded alive, "Road incidents," she continued her introduction.

"This is Colonel Alexander Drake," he said. He stopped for a little, to give the sergeant the time to calm her nervousness. It seemed like the entire Time Force was scared of him, he found it didn't bother him, as long as they obeyed. "I need information about a crash, truck against motorcycle, that happened tonight." He heard himself and his voice was rough. He mentally noted himself to change his tone of voice, he was talking to her as if she was a dog and he had to state his authority through his voice.

"Err--, would you wait a second?" the sergeant asked.

"More than one, but not too many," Alex answered. His voice sweetened. A trick learned long ago, made perfect with a lot of practice. Now that he really didn't need to kiss anybody's butt he seemed to be using it less and less.

"Ok, I have it here, apparently a Time Force officer was involved, her name is Jennifer Scotts and she was off duty. Is that the one you are looking for?" The sergeant asked. "Yes, Jennifer Scotts is my protégée and she's one of my direct subordinates. Can you tell me the information about the truck that crashed into her?"

"Sure, the truck belonged to a cargo company, and his route was towards the harbor. The driver claims he didn't see the captain coming, and only heard the thump, so he stepped on the brake and got out of his truck, that's when he saw her, and called the emergency number. When we got there he was about to leave, something very stupid of him, trying to run." "Indeed," said Alex seriously. "Is he in custody?"

"No, we couldn't prove he was running or that it was intentional, so we couldn't take him into custody," the sergeant answered. Alex's eyes shone, the man wasn't under arrest. They shone briefly, but the sergeant couldn't see it.

"I want his name and address," he said. He sensed an: I'm sorry but that's classified information answer coming, so he added, with the dog trainer voice, "Now."

******

Stan Berger was sitting in the Universal Transportation cargo company driver's lobby drinking a cup of coffee. His co-worker Chris was listening to each word.

"And then there she was, out of nowhere, not seeing where she was going. oh, God!" he moaned with regret, "I think she's pretty bad." Chris patted his friend's shoulder.

"She IS," said a voice by the door. The drivers turned around, it was the famous Alexander Drake.

"Hey, aren't you Alexander Drake, the red Ran--" asked Stan but his voice got caught in his throat when Alex grabbed him by the jacket with two powerful fists, that rested very close to his face.

"Yes, I am, and the girl you ran into is my protégé, which means if she dies, you are going to pay, you hear me? If Jennifer Scotts dies, you are going to jail for murder for the rest of your life, and I will make SURE myself that the rest of your life isn't pleasant," he told the truck driver, who was intimidated by Alex's rage (and fame). Alex let go of the man and stared at Stan. He seemed to be waiting for more words from Alex, Probably a: 'if you tell someone about this' but Alex didn't say it.

He had better things to worry about than a cry-baby truck driver. *******

Jen was having the time of her life. The party was beautiful, the music was great.

Alex and she had danced, and now they were sitting at the main table, with Alex's parents and her friends, eating dinner. After that was the cake, then she would throw the bouquet and then they'll leave. At last they'll have their honeymoon.

"Enjoying dinner?" Alex's mother asked.

"It's delicious, Mrs. Drake, thank you so much for helping me choose it," Jen answered. Alex looked at her with a smile.

"I propose a toast," said Alex's father. "To Alex and Jen, and their new life together." He raised his glass. Everybody else imitated him.

"To Alex and Jen!" they all said. Jen and Alex smiled brightly and then kissed. Everybody applauded. Alex rubbed his nose against Jen's, their foreheads pressed against each other, in a gesture of pure love and happiness.

"Are you enjoying this?" Alex asked.

"So very much! And the best thing is that I don't have to wake up for a while, so I can enjoy it completely," she answered.

"Are we staying together this time?" he asked.

"Yes, we are," she answered. She was happy there, and she wasn't willing to wake up.

Not ever.

********

One week after the accident. Jen was still unconscious.

Alex, Lucas, Katie and Trip were by her side day and night, but she didn't react. That day, however, the doctor walked to them, his face puzzled.

"Well, we do have a strange situation here," he said.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked immediately. Alex looked at the doctor, his face almost angry. He was so tired of lies and soothing words.

"Jennifer's body is in perfect health. She should be awake by now, but she's not," the doctor said.

"And that means?" Alex asked, decided not to let the doctor tiptoe around them anymore.

"That she's not in a coma, but in a deep sleep. She's physiologically free to wake up and walk out that door whenever she wants," the doctor said. "Her sleep is too deep, but we have a drug that can bring her back, if you want us to use it, just say so." The doctor looked at them. Alex shook his head 'no' and the others didn't give any opinion. They had all been very nice to him after that first night. "Well, if you change your mind," Alex nodded he understood and the doctor left.

When the doctor was gone, Alex looked at Trip.

"Can you get in her mind and bring her back, without the drug?" he asked. Trip nodded.

"Yes, I can," he assured him. Alex gave him a smile; it was a weird one, as if his face had forgotten how to do it.

"Get to it, then," he ordered, patting Trip on the shoulder softly.

Trip entered the room where Jen lay. He sat next to her and took her hand. He focused with all his might, and soon found himself in New Argentums City's park.

He didn't understand, Jen's subconscious should be a mess of non-connected ideas, it should look like a corridor, dark and confusing, filled with short images that made no sense to him. He had been in human's subconscious minds before; he knew what they looked like.

However, there he was. Standing in the city park, there were other people, and trees, even dogs and birds. He looked around, and started to walk. He was now more certain than ever that he had to find Jen quickly, before she got trapped in her own mind.

******

Jen and Alex were sitting under a tree, eating their lunch. This was their first picnic since they got married, and they were very excited about it. Alex caressed her hair and she caressed his. He had a goatee, he looked gorgeous with it. They kissed deeply, and then stared into each other's eyes.

Suddenly, as if she had sensed something, Jen stood up and looked around. "Someone's here," she said, still looking around for the intruder. She was mad; she knew the intruder was there to take her back; and she didn't want to go.

"Over there, it's Trip," Alex said, pointing at the green haired man.

"Jen!" Trip said, going to her. Alex wrapped his arms around Jen's waist and she held his hand tightly.

"Don't worry, baby, I'm not going anywhere," she told him. He kissed her cheek from behind, as Trip approached them.

"Good to see you are okay," Trip said when he got to her. "Come on, you'll wake up if you follow me," he told her.

"I'm not going," she said. Trip looked at her, worried.

"What do you mean you are not coming?" he asked. "You HAVE to come with me," he insisted.

"I said I'm not going. I'm staying here, with Alex," she answered forcefully, her face showing her anger. Trip noticed the dogs had started barking at him, and the people in the background were now fighting each other and yelling, her illusion was reflecting her anger.

"Jen, this is all a dream--"

"Just how STUPID do you think I am?!" she yelled at him, "I KNOW this is a dream, and I'm not waking up, ever again," she told him.

"You know this is a dream?" Trip asked. "B-b-but, how do you know that?" he asked.

"The same way you know," she told him.

Trip looked at Jen's hand. She had a wedding band. Suddenly he understood the situation, she was married to Alex, and they were happy together.

"You two are married?" he asked. Jen nodded.

"If you came here to bring me back, now you know I'm not going," she said. "Now, get out."

"How are you controlling your environment? Humans can't control their subconscious mind," Trip asked.

"This human can," she said. "Get OUT!" she ordered again. The skies were grey now, as if a storm was coming.

"Jen, how are you doing this?" he asked again. Suddenly it dawned on him. "You have to come with me, quick," he urged.

"GET OUT!" she yelled, and a bolt of lightning hit Trip. He was pushed out of Jen's mind. He could feel the dreamer's vertigo, the feeling of falling into nothingness. Startled he opened his eyes and looked around. Alex, Lucas and Katie were there, waiting for him (and Jen) to come back.

"What happened?" Alex asked. "Why is she still asleep?"

"She's not coming back," Trip said softly.

"What do you mean she's not coming back?" Katie asked, grasping Trip's shoulders.

"She has control over her subconscious mind," Trip said. "She's living in a dream that suits all of her desires; she doesn't want to come back to reality."

"That's not possible," Alex said.

"It is," Trip said. Alex looked at him angrily.

"It's NOT POSSIBLE!" he yelled at Trip, Katie grabbed him, before he could get to the green haired young man.

"It's true," Trip insisted. "She has so much control over it, she was able to kick me out of her mind." Alex looked at him, his face on the verge of tears.

"No way, not her." he whispered. Then he grabbed Jen's hand and pressed it against his cheek, now crossed by a trail of tears. "She has to come back, I can't lose her," he said, looked at Jen's sleeping face.

"Alex, you need to know something," Trip said.

"What?" Alex asked distractedly.

"In her dream," Trip began, "Jen's married to you, and you are both very happy together." Alex looked at him and then back at Jen.

"We have to bring her back," Alex said.

"What's wrong with Jen? Why did you say 'not her'?" Katie asked.

"What if she can control her dreams? She was always a bit of a controller," Lucas commented. Trip and Alex looked at them.

"Some people in Jen's condition (specially the depressed ones) go through what Jen's going. They go to sleep, and they sleep on and on. They have the power to control exactly for how long they can sleep, as long as their bodies remain healthy," Alex explained. "She doesn't have to wake up if she doesn't want to." His face was covered with his tears, his voice sad.

"What's Jen's condition?" Katie asked, looking at Trip.

His words came out in a barely audible whisper, but he might as well have yelled them. "She's a psychic."

Katie covered her mouth with her hands, and Lucas punched the wall.

Alex just looked at Jen.

And Jen slept on.

To be continued.