No Time to Waste
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
Chapter 32
Fear/Fantasy
`
When Matt, Miranda, and Jo settled down for the night, everyone was tense. This was the first night that Matt and Miranda would have to at least start the night separated since Matt made his deal with Dr. Gordon. While nobody knew quite what to expect, none of them expected a good night's sleep.
~~~~~~~~
Night. They were running. They had to run. Their pursuers were everywhere. He was tiring. She was tired. "We can't slow down! Keep moving!"
"I can't!" She stumbled to a halt, barely making it to a boulder that came waist heigh to her, where she placed an arm to keep herself from falling. Her other hand was on her gut. Her breathing was labored, at best, and she sounded like she might vomit from exhaustion.
He stopped when he saw her stop, and keep a lookout. He was trying to keep moving, knowing that adrenaline alone was keeping him from being worse off than she was. They had been running nonstop for hours. Somehow, their pursuers were not on top of them. 'That's a first' he thought. But they couldn't rest here, it was too open. "Please, I know you're tired. I'm tired. But we can't rest here. There's nothing to hide in here. We have to find someplace to hide."
"There IS nowhere to hide!" Came the voice that chilled him. He turned back around, and there they were. All in shadows, but he knew who they were. They had them surrounded. He'd have to fight. Probably kill. Probably die. "You're not good enough for her!" came the voice again. Soon, their faces would be in the light. Soon, the worst part of his nightmare would be in front of him again. The part that hurt his soul the most.
But then, something strange happened. The scene started to blur, to swirl, to . . . change. He had never had this happen before. Suddenly, he found himself strong again, and he had a sword, shining in the sunlight. He didn't need to see the rest to know what he'd find, but he looked anyway.
~~
"MATT, WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Miranda was screaming at him, her panic obvious. She had been awoke by their strange connection, to find him thrashing so violently she was almost afraid to approach. She had already shaken him, pried his eyes open, everything she could think of. She'd already kissed him hard twice, but all with no reaction. Jo was also awake, and was about to get the phone.
Then suddenly, he stilled. Jo's panic spiked, and she was about to call the paramedics, when she heard Miranda's voice. "Wait. Don't do it yet."
Her voice was far too calm for Jo's liking right now. "What do you mean WAIT!?! My son goes from convulsions to DEAD calm, and you tell my to WAIT!"
Miranda stood to face her. She tried to remain calm, but it unnerved her to see this woman, whom she admired for her cool under stress, start to lose it. "The pain in my head is GONE! You remember that, the thing that somehow let's Matt and I know when the other one needs us! That's what woke me, but now it's vanished!"
In her panic for her son, Jo took the worst possible meaning. "he's . . . dead?"
"No. He's still breathing. I don't know exactly what's going on, but I know he's alive, and I don't feel the pain right know. It's like . . . I just know his not in trouble anymore."
"Just wake him. We should know what's happened. I NEED to know."
"Let's try together first." Miranda squeezed herself between the wall and Matt's shoulder, while Jo sat on the cot and scooted along it until she was at he's other shoulder. Together, they shook him. Nothing. Harder. He stirred, but didn't wake.
"I think the next step is your's alone."
With those words from Jo, Miranda leaned over him. First, she took his jaw in hand, and shook lightly. "Matt, wake up. Come in, Matt, wake up."
Just as she was about to kiss him again, he stirred. "Yes, my lady, Sir Matthew at your command." he said groggily, his eyes still closed.
The relief they both felt was quickly chased away by incredulity. "Sir Matthew?!?" they said in unison.
Tears of relief, and laughter, were starting to shine Jo's cheeks. "What on earth is going through his head?"
"You've known him longer than I have, I was hoping you could tell me!"
Jo shook her head. "Teenage boys don't generally share their fantasies with mom. Now, please wake him so we can figure out what happened."
Miranda turned back to him, and started to lightly smack his cheeks. She tried to talk in a drill sergeant voice. "Hey! Wake up, Matt. Comeon, Matt, wake up!"
He stirred. "Mmm, huh?" His eyes started to flicker open. "Whazappening?" His eyes opened, and he saw Miranda. He wasn't sure quite what to make of the look on her face, but at the moment, he didn't care. He moved into an embrace with her. "What a relief it is to see you!"
Jo saw the mischievous smile creep across Miranda's face before the girl spoke. "I'm glad we finally got you awake," she paused, then hit him with it, "Sir Matthew."
At those words, Matt nearly broke a record with his blush. "What are you talking about?" he lied.
The door flew open. Sam was standing there, clearly worried. "What's all the shouting about?"
They explained everything they saw, and heard, from Miranda waking to that moment. When they were finished, instead of being embarrassed, Matt was very interested in what Miranda had said about herself. "So you're saying that this thing of ours shut off for you when I settled down?"
"Yeah. It was strange, but I knew you'd be okay. I wish I knew more about this."
"You weren't the only one to have something strange happen. I was having the same dream as before, but just before the final confrontation, it changed. I can't remember ever having a dream change into another, older dream in the middle of the action before. And it wasn't another nightmare, either, but an old fantasy of mine."
"Sir Matthew?"
He blushed again, but only slightly. "My version of the 'damsel in distress' fantasy, with me as a knight in shining armor. It's been awhile since that one showed up. The point is, my nightmare didn't get to the worst part. It just faded away."
"Like my pain. I wonder if that kind of fading is a normal part of our healing?"
"I have no idea," Jo remarked, "and I don't think any of us should speculate tonight."
Sam agreed. "We'll call Dr. Gordon tomorrow to ask. But for now, let's try to get some sleep."
~~~~~~~~
About an hour later, Miranda was being shook awake by Matt. While she hadn't experienced the fading Matt had described, he had been able to rouse her by normal means, which they took as a good sign. Of course, this also meant that Jo wasn't going to let them lay together. While they both had other nightmares that night, neither needed help. They both also had other dreams, and they didn't really want those disturbed.
~~~~~~~~
Jo awoke to the sound of shrill beeping. It took a moment to register that it was a smoke alarm.
"Whazza noise bout?" Miranda asked sleepily as she sat up.
Jo first turned to check on Matt. Out like a light. "Wake Matt while I check." When she got to the door, she felt it. Cool to the touch. Carefully, she opened it. Nothing.
Then she heard Lizzie's voice. "Dad, unplug the smoke alarm before I wake everyone else!"
"Lizzie, why did you try this again after the last time?"
Realizing the comedy of errors that must be taking place, Jo headed full stride to her kitchen. Sure enough, when she got there, she saw Lizzie hobbling around the kitchen, while Sam was at the now open smoke alarm. Smoke and steam were bellowing from the running sink. "Lizzie, no more cooking until you learn how."
~~~~~~~~
The rest of the morning was without incident. Miranda went to be with Lily, who had a rough night herself, while Lizzie, Matt, and Jo got the back patio straightened out for the meeting with Kate. Trying to avoid a 'showdown at high noon' feel to things, the meeting was set for one o'clock. It was just before noon when the phone rang. Jo answered in the kitchen. "Hello." A brief pause. "Young lady, I don't think this is a good idea." A longer pause. "I see. All right, but you had better behave yourself." Placing the receiver on the counter, she walked to the back door. "Matt, telephone." As he came up to her, she stopped him long enough to warn him. "It's Melina."
~~
"Hello, Melina, what do you want?" His voice was stiff. Not threatening, but unfriendly.
Her voice was apologetic. "I know you have good reason to be mad at me, but I thought you should know some things. Mom found out."
Matt winced. "How did she take it?"
"Well, the fact that I made a blubbering fool of myself while telling her helped. But she's upset. Every time I see her look at me now, I can see it. I hurt her, Matt. She doesn't trust me anymore."
"Do you think she should?" That came out meaner than he intended.
A pause. "I earned that. Lanny's parents know, to. We had a big meeting yesterday to talk about it. I swear I've cried more this week than I have my whole life. Anyway, we didn't want you to worry about him," he noticed her wording, "so you should know that we're both grounded until the end of summer. No phone after this call, no tv, nothing except letters."
"Wow, that going to be nearly three months."
"Yeah, well, that's just the beginning." She felt herself start to go again, took a couple of breaths, and continued. "If I'm not pregnant, we're both going to spend to next year in separate military schools."
"Bloody hell, you two really pissed them off."
"PLEASE, Matt, it's hard enough to think about without commentary."
"You're right. I shouldn't be acting like this. What happens after the one year?"
"That's the odd part. They all agreed that, if we still want to be a couple after all that time apart, they'd be okay with it, as long as we keep our pants on."
"Well, that's something at least. You said if you're not pregnant. What if you are?"
"That was the hardest part of the meeting. In the end, they decided not to make the mistake they've seen others make and throw one or both of us out. They can't do that to their grandkid. So, since his place has the extra room, and we want the kid to have both parents, the baby and I would be staying with his family, with mom sending money to help feed me and such. I really don't know how it will all work out, but they want to help, so it could be worse."
"I guess that's as good as could be hoped for. Listen, I know it's going to be rough on you, but I'd like to help, if I can."
"What? After what I did, I thought . . ."
"No, you didn't, but that's not the point. You and Lanny have both been my friends for a long time. I can't just drop you two so easily. I still care what happens to you, and I'd like to try to be friends again, all of us."
"Really? I'd like that."
"Not so fast. We still have a problem between us. Miranda. Can you deal with her being a part of my life? The part you thought was yours? Because if you can't . . ."
"Please don't finish that. I know I've been stupid about this. And I admit, I think I still feel something for you. But it's a pale shadow compared to what I feel for Lanny. I'm sorry I acted like I did, and I had no right to hit her. I was being such a stupid little girl. I wish you and her nothing but the best, Matt. Can you forgive me?"
"I thank you for that, but it's not me you need to say this to. Would you be willing to apologize to Miranda?"
She had to pause for a moment. "Yes, I can do that. But how, this is my last phone call for a while, and I'm not allowed visitors."
"I'll explain things to her, and you can write her a letter. That way, you can be sure to say everything you feel you need to."
"Good idea. Let me grab this pen and paper. Okay, what's her address."
That when he realized that, while he where she lived in relation to the rest of town, he didn't know her mailing address. "Hang on." He searched the address book sitting by the phone, found it, and read it off.
"Thanks. And thank you for listening to me."
"Sure. Good luck."
"I'll need it. Bye."
"Bye." He hung up. Smiling, he headed back outside.
His mother saw the smile. "Everything okay?"
"I can't tell you most of it but, yeah, I think everything's going to be okay."
"I hope things go well this afternoon." Lizzie remarked.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: Lizzie, and you, will find out next chapter.
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
Chapter 32
Fear/Fantasy
`
When Matt, Miranda, and Jo settled down for the night, everyone was tense. This was the first night that Matt and Miranda would have to at least start the night separated since Matt made his deal with Dr. Gordon. While nobody knew quite what to expect, none of them expected a good night's sleep.
~~~~~~~~
Night. They were running. They had to run. Their pursuers were everywhere. He was tiring. She was tired. "We can't slow down! Keep moving!"
"I can't!" She stumbled to a halt, barely making it to a boulder that came waist heigh to her, where she placed an arm to keep herself from falling. Her other hand was on her gut. Her breathing was labored, at best, and she sounded like she might vomit from exhaustion.
He stopped when he saw her stop, and keep a lookout. He was trying to keep moving, knowing that adrenaline alone was keeping him from being worse off than she was. They had been running nonstop for hours. Somehow, their pursuers were not on top of them. 'That's a first' he thought. But they couldn't rest here, it was too open. "Please, I know you're tired. I'm tired. But we can't rest here. There's nothing to hide in here. We have to find someplace to hide."
"There IS nowhere to hide!" Came the voice that chilled him. He turned back around, and there they were. All in shadows, but he knew who they were. They had them surrounded. He'd have to fight. Probably kill. Probably die. "You're not good enough for her!" came the voice again. Soon, their faces would be in the light. Soon, the worst part of his nightmare would be in front of him again. The part that hurt his soul the most.
But then, something strange happened. The scene started to blur, to swirl, to . . . change. He had never had this happen before. Suddenly, he found himself strong again, and he had a sword, shining in the sunlight. He didn't need to see the rest to know what he'd find, but he looked anyway.
~~
"MATT, WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Miranda was screaming at him, her panic obvious. She had been awoke by their strange connection, to find him thrashing so violently she was almost afraid to approach. She had already shaken him, pried his eyes open, everything she could think of. She'd already kissed him hard twice, but all with no reaction. Jo was also awake, and was about to get the phone.
Then suddenly, he stilled. Jo's panic spiked, and she was about to call the paramedics, when she heard Miranda's voice. "Wait. Don't do it yet."
Her voice was far too calm for Jo's liking right now. "What do you mean WAIT!?! My son goes from convulsions to DEAD calm, and you tell my to WAIT!"
Miranda stood to face her. She tried to remain calm, but it unnerved her to see this woman, whom she admired for her cool under stress, start to lose it. "The pain in my head is GONE! You remember that, the thing that somehow let's Matt and I know when the other one needs us! That's what woke me, but now it's vanished!"
In her panic for her son, Jo took the worst possible meaning. "he's . . . dead?"
"No. He's still breathing. I don't know exactly what's going on, but I know he's alive, and I don't feel the pain right know. It's like . . . I just know his not in trouble anymore."
"Just wake him. We should know what's happened. I NEED to know."
"Let's try together first." Miranda squeezed herself between the wall and Matt's shoulder, while Jo sat on the cot and scooted along it until she was at he's other shoulder. Together, they shook him. Nothing. Harder. He stirred, but didn't wake.
"I think the next step is your's alone."
With those words from Jo, Miranda leaned over him. First, she took his jaw in hand, and shook lightly. "Matt, wake up. Come in, Matt, wake up."
Just as she was about to kiss him again, he stirred. "Yes, my lady, Sir Matthew at your command." he said groggily, his eyes still closed.
The relief they both felt was quickly chased away by incredulity. "Sir Matthew?!?" they said in unison.
Tears of relief, and laughter, were starting to shine Jo's cheeks. "What on earth is going through his head?"
"You've known him longer than I have, I was hoping you could tell me!"
Jo shook her head. "Teenage boys don't generally share their fantasies with mom. Now, please wake him so we can figure out what happened."
Miranda turned back to him, and started to lightly smack his cheeks. She tried to talk in a drill sergeant voice. "Hey! Wake up, Matt. Comeon, Matt, wake up!"
He stirred. "Mmm, huh?" His eyes started to flicker open. "Whazappening?" His eyes opened, and he saw Miranda. He wasn't sure quite what to make of the look on her face, but at the moment, he didn't care. He moved into an embrace with her. "What a relief it is to see you!"
Jo saw the mischievous smile creep across Miranda's face before the girl spoke. "I'm glad we finally got you awake," she paused, then hit him with it, "Sir Matthew."
At those words, Matt nearly broke a record with his blush. "What are you talking about?" he lied.
The door flew open. Sam was standing there, clearly worried. "What's all the shouting about?"
They explained everything they saw, and heard, from Miranda waking to that moment. When they were finished, instead of being embarrassed, Matt was very interested in what Miranda had said about herself. "So you're saying that this thing of ours shut off for you when I settled down?"
"Yeah. It was strange, but I knew you'd be okay. I wish I knew more about this."
"You weren't the only one to have something strange happen. I was having the same dream as before, but just before the final confrontation, it changed. I can't remember ever having a dream change into another, older dream in the middle of the action before. And it wasn't another nightmare, either, but an old fantasy of mine."
"Sir Matthew?"
He blushed again, but only slightly. "My version of the 'damsel in distress' fantasy, with me as a knight in shining armor. It's been awhile since that one showed up. The point is, my nightmare didn't get to the worst part. It just faded away."
"Like my pain. I wonder if that kind of fading is a normal part of our healing?"
"I have no idea," Jo remarked, "and I don't think any of us should speculate tonight."
Sam agreed. "We'll call Dr. Gordon tomorrow to ask. But for now, let's try to get some sleep."
~~~~~~~~
About an hour later, Miranda was being shook awake by Matt. While she hadn't experienced the fading Matt had described, he had been able to rouse her by normal means, which they took as a good sign. Of course, this also meant that Jo wasn't going to let them lay together. While they both had other nightmares that night, neither needed help. They both also had other dreams, and they didn't really want those disturbed.
~~~~~~~~
Jo awoke to the sound of shrill beeping. It took a moment to register that it was a smoke alarm.
"Whazza noise bout?" Miranda asked sleepily as she sat up.
Jo first turned to check on Matt. Out like a light. "Wake Matt while I check." When she got to the door, she felt it. Cool to the touch. Carefully, she opened it. Nothing.
Then she heard Lizzie's voice. "Dad, unplug the smoke alarm before I wake everyone else!"
"Lizzie, why did you try this again after the last time?"
Realizing the comedy of errors that must be taking place, Jo headed full stride to her kitchen. Sure enough, when she got there, she saw Lizzie hobbling around the kitchen, while Sam was at the now open smoke alarm. Smoke and steam were bellowing from the running sink. "Lizzie, no more cooking until you learn how."
~~~~~~~~
The rest of the morning was without incident. Miranda went to be with Lily, who had a rough night herself, while Lizzie, Matt, and Jo got the back patio straightened out for the meeting with Kate. Trying to avoid a 'showdown at high noon' feel to things, the meeting was set for one o'clock. It was just before noon when the phone rang. Jo answered in the kitchen. "Hello." A brief pause. "Young lady, I don't think this is a good idea." A longer pause. "I see. All right, but you had better behave yourself." Placing the receiver on the counter, she walked to the back door. "Matt, telephone." As he came up to her, she stopped him long enough to warn him. "It's Melina."
~~
"Hello, Melina, what do you want?" His voice was stiff. Not threatening, but unfriendly.
Her voice was apologetic. "I know you have good reason to be mad at me, but I thought you should know some things. Mom found out."
Matt winced. "How did she take it?"
"Well, the fact that I made a blubbering fool of myself while telling her helped. But she's upset. Every time I see her look at me now, I can see it. I hurt her, Matt. She doesn't trust me anymore."
"Do you think she should?" That came out meaner than he intended.
A pause. "I earned that. Lanny's parents know, to. We had a big meeting yesterday to talk about it. I swear I've cried more this week than I have my whole life. Anyway, we didn't want you to worry about him," he noticed her wording, "so you should know that we're both grounded until the end of summer. No phone after this call, no tv, nothing except letters."
"Wow, that going to be nearly three months."
"Yeah, well, that's just the beginning." She felt herself start to go again, took a couple of breaths, and continued. "If I'm not pregnant, we're both going to spend to next year in separate military schools."
"Bloody hell, you two really pissed them off."
"PLEASE, Matt, it's hard enough to think about without commentary."
"You're right. I shouldn't be acting like this. What happens after the one year?"
"That's the odd part. They all agreed that, if we still want to be a couple after all that time apart, they'd be okay with it, as long as we keep our pants on."
"Well, that's something at least. You said if you're not pregnant. What if you are?"
"That was the hardest part of the meeting. In the end, they decided not to make the mistake they've seen others make and throw one or both of us out. They can't do that to their grandkid. So, since his place has the extra room, and we want the kid to have both parents, the baby and I would be staying with his family, with mom sending money to help feed me and such. I really don't know how it will all work out, but they want to help, so it could be worse."
"I guess that's as good as could be hoped for. Listen, I know it's going to be rough on you, but I'd like to help, if I can."
"What? After what I did, I thought . . ."
"No, you didn't, but that's not the point. You and Lanny have both been my friends for a long time. I can't just drop you two so easily. I still care what happens to you, and I'd like to try to be friends again, all of us."
"Really? I'd like that."
"Not so fast. We still have a problem between us. Miranda. Can you deal with her being a part of my life? The part you thought was yours? Because if you can't . . ."
"Please don't finish that. I know I've been stupid about this. And I admit, I think I still feel something for you. But it's a pale shadow compared to what I feel for Lanny. I'm sorry I acted like I did, and I had no right to hit her. I was being such a stupid little girl. I wish you and her nothing but the best, Matt. Can you forgive me?"
"I thank you for that, but it's not me you need to say this to. Would you be willing to apologize to Miranda?"
She had to pause for a moment. "Yes, I can do that. But how, this is my last phone call for a while, and I'm not allowed visitors."
"I'll explain things to her, and you can write her a letter. That way, you can be sure to say everything you feel you need to."
"Good idea. Let me grab this pen and paper. Okay, what's her address."
That when he realized that, while he where she lived in relation to the rest of town, he didn't know her mailing address. "Hang on." He searched the address book sitting by the phone, found it, and read it off.
"Thanks. And thank you for listening to me."
"Sure. Good luck."
"I'll need it. Bye."
"Bye." He hung up. Smiling, he headed back outside.
His mother saw the smile. "Everything okay?"
"I can't tell you most of it but, yeah, I think everything's going to be okay."
"I hope things go well this afternoon." Lizzie remarked.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: Lizzie, and you, will find out next chapter.