DIMENSIONS PART 4: The Real World
PG-13 to be safe...chap. 1 has all the legal yadda yadda's A/N: Sorry this took so long folks, got hit with a major case of the Winter Blah's...followed by severe illness that started on Thanksgiving...took the docs at my ever-so-wonderful charity hospital up to the middle of Feb. to find out the problem. Seems my gall bladder wanted a divorce! But I'm back now, healing slowly but surely, so hopefully that means I'll be updating more frequently as health, time, & family permits. In the meantime, please bear with me!
I also bring some of the "normal" Springwood cast back in this chapter, including Doc. As with the Loretta issue in Chaps 1-3, I can't remember if Doc had a "real" name or was called anything else in the movie. So once again I'm making up a name for story purposes. If anyone knows Doc's "real" name, please let me know! Or better yet, flood my Husband with LOTS of hate mail until He lets me rent the movies again--or better yet until He BUYS me the complete box set on DVD!*EG*His e-mail addy is..... *********************************************************************** "Katherine..."
That hateful, insidious voice. Raspy, like sandpaper, yet still managing to be slimy, as well. It sent a thrill of terror snaking down her spine. She turned a corner of the building she worked in, hoping to find sanctuary in her office. Instead, she found herself in an all-too-familiar boiler room. And that damned voice! It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Katherine..."
She whirled, not knowing what she'd face, fear lending her determination. "I'm Maggie, you bastard! Maggie Burroughs. I won't let you take that from me!" Sobbing from frustration, she turned again, ready to run, to look for a weapon, anything--only to run face-first into her greatest fear. She screamed again as Freddy caught her and pulled her close, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"I'll take more than that from you, betraying little bitch," came the soft snarl, an evil breath feathered across her cheek. Freddy's bladed hand lifted to pass over her in gross mockery of a caress: oddly father-like, undescribably obscene. Maggie could only cringe and tremble under his touch. "I'll take everything you took from me. And more. Now give Daddy a kiss...." His face loomed closer; closer..his breath carried the scent of Death. Maggie screamed....
*********************************
...and bolted upright in her bed, drenched in sweat and shivering. She gasped for several seconds that seemed like an eternity, then tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. A large, dark, meaty hand grasped her shoulder and she screamed again, loudly, and clawed at the figure at her side. Her efforts were rewarded with a masculine howl of pain, then she was dragged forward until she was touching another body. A gentle press on her head until it was resting on a solid chest. Still in the throes of her dream, she fought down the deja-vu-inspired panic that threatened to drown her, until she realized that the voice chanting her name was a smooth, softly pleasing bass; not the chilling growl she was expecting. No blades on the hands holding her; these hands were dark brown, firm yet gentle, the hands that had lulled her to sleep almost nightly for the past 3 years. Maggie twisted her head and stared up into the kind, craggy face of her most cherished friend.
"Doc," she breathed out, relieved. The loving concern on her face brought every event of the past 3 years rushing back: killing Krueger, the frenzied rush from town to avoid questions. That first night as they huddled together like frightened children, she and Tracy clinging to each other desperately. And through it all, Doc. Doc, holding them both, whispering reassurances through even his own fears. Doc, coaxing both women to eat, to keep their strength up, forcing a cheerful smile as they fled to yet another town or state at Maggie's insistance. Letting both women believe that the constant moves would allow them to outrun their nightmares even as he noted and privately cried over the darkly circled eyes, the bones showing through under-fed skin, the flaring tempers and tears as both women, normally bold and vibrant, retreated into frightened, childlike dependance. Maggie burrowed into his broad chest, bursting into tears, thinking only that she let him down yet again, after all he'd done for her and Tracy both.
Doc was lost in his own thoughts. For the longest time he let the women dictate their movements, wanting them to heal on their own terms. They'd shared whatever bed they could find, Maggie and Tracy clutching at him as if he could save them from any danger. He thought of those nights when they mocked sleep, lying on top of the covers, fully clothed...never allowing themselves to relax. He was as patient with them as he could be, for as long as he could be, but a piece of him died each time one of them woke up screaming. It was time they started living again. So he'd put his foot down, startin with them finding one spot and putting down roots. Then he'd asked Maggie to marry him. Each point he made he'd tried to make sound more logical than anything. There was no need to keep running, they weren't being sought after anymore. In fact, after a cursory investigation, it was like they never existed. His mistake lay in letting them choose where they wanted to live. Doc was stunned when both women agreed that they should return to Springwood. Though he hadn't been with them their first time to the hell town, he'd heard enough stories. Enough to know that returning was a bad idea. So imagine his suprise when both women stubbornly clung to their conviction. With a heavy heart, he helped his girls pack up, and away they went.
His suprise was even greater when they arrived in the ghost town to find it not so...ghostly. Springwood was a town in rebirth, and the fact that it spurred positive changes in both Tracy and Maggie made Doc feel as if things could finally be turning for them all. He'd spoken at length with Maggie about adopting Tracy outright, not just to keep the courts from possibly taking her from them, but because he'd come to see her as his own daughter--as he knew Maggie did--and he'd give his life for her. And that was the reason he gave Maggie for his next step--proposing to her. It had nothing, of course, to do with the fact that taking care of her daily, and holding her nightly, had allowed him to see her better than she saw herself. It had started out so innocently, survivors clinging together for warmth, support, and survival, but if he allowed himself to be honest, he knew that his heart had been hers from the moment she'd looked at him with that determined face as they'd discussed a way to end that bastard father of hers. But he couldn't tell her that; Maggie's heart had hardened, forever, he feared. So he made it sound like a convenient proposition, a way to keep Tracy with them, a way to keep the Survivor's Club together. And it had worked. Like a charm, it seemed, since things actually had picked up after the simple courthouse wedding. Tracy had calmed down and decided to go back to school. She was actually doing well, too, and not fighting--as long as people kept their hands off her, that was. Maggie also seemed to be doing better. She'd gotten a job, along with him, at the local shelter, and they volunteered at the soup kitchen nearby. And with the town still in the process of renovation, real estate was ridiculously cheap. He'd gotten a beautiful house on an acre of land at the outskirts of town for his girls, overriding both their protests that it was too big. They were a family, he'd said, and families had nice houses, nice things. Secretly, he hoped that a return to "normal" life would thaw out and heal their hearts, allow them to be a real family, and hopefully allow a real marriage between him and his heart's desire. And maybe, in time, even a brother, or sister, for Tracy to help raise and love...
Doc's attention was brought back to the present by a muffled sob. He cursed silently to himself as he cuddled his heart close to his chest. He'd been so optimistic about their future together, before Maggie's nightmares returned. Please, Lord, he prayed silently. Please, just give us this time together. Let us be happy for a change. Please. "Maggie?" he questioned. "Baby? Feeling any better?" He rubbed her back slowly to calm her, trying to give her his strength.
Maggie stirred in his arms, catching a glimpse of the wedding set she wore. It almost brought a fresh wave of tears, knowing the sham their marriage was. Her Doc was so kind and gentle with her, so patient, but she knew well that he was only being a good friend, keeping their "family" together the best way he knew how. She didn't know exactly when her feelings for him had changed, but she knew they had. Even the stone that rested where her heart used to had expanded a bit to include him, to the point where the moment he'd slipped the cheap engagement ring on her finger, stammering words of assurance along with the logic. Dear, sweet Doc, she loved him more than her own life, but she didn't know how to tell him, how to be the woman she was before, the woman who could give her heart. He deserved so much more...she looked into his earnest face again, trying to sniff back her tears. She was going to do better, damn the nightmares! She cursed her father again for taking everything from her, then found herself doing something she'd not done since childhood. It had been years since she'd considered herself a religious person, but now she sent an urgent prayer heavenward. Lord, I know it's been awhile, but it's me, Maggie. Please, please, if You're really up there, please let me learn to be the woman Doc deserves. He deserves so much more than what he has. let me be what he needs. Please. She sniffled again, realized Doc was talking to her, then cleared her throat to answer.
"I..I'm fine, Alan, " she replied, taking his left hand and kissing the wedding band on his ring finger. Again, she reflected that though their previous jobs might not have afforded him a more expensive wedding set, had she not come into his life with her problems, at least he could've given his heart, and those rings, to someone who could give her heart in return. She also reflected on his name, noting she still felt strange calling him by his first name. It had taken a year and a half for her to call him anything but Doc. Tracy still called him that, though she'd taken to teasingly calling him Daddy on occasion.
Doc noted her reply and reactions with the skill born of a man in love. "Hush, love," he murmured, stroking her hair softly, lulling her back to sleep. He mulled again over the past three years, mostly the past few months. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. There could be a number of reasons Maggie'd started having the dreams again. It didn't have to mean that HE was back. The shiver sneaking down his back was only intensified when Tracy quietly entered the room. Maybe she was just coming in to say good night. He stubbornly maintained that theory though he knew his bedside clock said 4:30 a.m. Okay, maybe she'd heard him and Maggie talking, and just came in to check on them. She'd stopped sleeping with them well over a year ago--going from sharing their bed, to sleeping on the couch in their room, and, finally, to a room of her own. It had been hard, but Tracy had regained herself more and more with each triumph. Please, Lord....please...He forced himself to look at her face and his heart sank. She wore the frightened little girl face he remembered all too well.
"Mom...Daddy..can I sleep with you guys?"
Maggie, lulled back to sleep, was blissfully unaware of the exchange. Doc, however, fought down his conflicting emotions and rising panic. He was thrilled at the "Mom...Daddy" part. However, that it took a nightmare to bring the words out of her in a tone that wasn't sarcastic or teasing...he felt like he'd swallowed fire, and it was burning a hole in him. He gently settled Maggie on her side of the bed, easing over to her side, patting the space between them. Oh shit, he thought as she padded like a five-year-old to the foot of the bed, crawling between them and snuggling as close as she could. I won't let you do this again, you bastard, he thought as he cuddled his girls. I won't let them take you from me. Maggie whimpered in his sleep and he felt his world go to hell.
Little did he know that evil eyes were on him, and that his world was about to get a lot worse. *********************************************************************** Sorry again that this took so long folks, and bites as it's been so long. Also, though I'd intended this to be a short story, but with everything in my head right now, it looks more like either a REALLY long story, or perhaps even a novel-length fic. Right now I want it to start out slowly & build up to something really special, so please be patient with me, and R/R, PLEASE, and be kind to the sick woman! : D
PG-13 to be safe...chap. 1 has all the legal yadda yadda's A/N: Sorry this took so long folks, got hit with a major case of the Winter Blah's...followed by severe illness that started on Thanksgiving...took the docs at my ever-so-wonderful charity hospital up to the middle of Feb. to find out the problem. Seems my gall bladder wanted a divorce! But I'm back now, healing slowly but surely, so hopefully that means I'll be updating more frequently as health, time, & family permits. In the meantime, please bear with me!
I also bring some of the "normal" Springwood cast back in this chapter, including Doc. As with the Loretta issue in Chaps 1-3, I can't remember if Doc had a "real" name or was called anything else in the movie. So once again I'm making up a name for story purposes. If anyone knows Doc's "real" name, please let me know! Or better yet, flood my Husband with LOTS of hate mail until He lets me rent the movies again--or better yet until He BUYS me the complete box set on DVD!*EG*His e-mail addy is..... *********************************************************************** "Katherine..."
That hateful, insidious voice. Raspy, like sandpaper, yet still managing to be slimy, as well. It sent a thrill of terror snaking down her spine. She turned a corner of the building she worked in, hoping to find sanctuary in her office. Instead, she found herself in an all-too-familiar boiler room. And that damned voice! It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Katherine..."
She whirled, not knowing what she'd face, fear lending her determination. "I'm Maggie, you bastard! Maggie Burroughs. I won't let you take that from me!" Sobbing from frustration, she turned again, ready to run, to look for a weapon, anything--only to run face-first into her greatest fear. She screamed again as Freddy caught her and pulled her close, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"I'll take more than that from you, betraying little bitch," came the soft snarl, an evil breath feathered across her cheek. Freddy's bladed hand lifted to pass over her in gross mockery of a caress: oddly father-like, undescribably obscene. Maggie could only cringe and tremble under his touch. "I'll take everything you took from me. And more. Now give Daddy a kiss...." His face loomed closer; closer..his breath carried the scent of Death. Maggie screamed....
*********************************
...and bolted upright in her bed, drenched in sweat and shivering. She gasped for several seconds that seemed like an eternity, then tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. A large, dark, meaty hand grasped her shoulder and she screamed again, loudly, and clawed at the figure at her side. Her efforts were rewarded with a masculine howl of pain, then she was dragged forward until she was touching another body. A gentle press on her head until it was resting on a solid chest. Still in the throes of her dream, she fought down the deja-vu-inspired panic that threatened to drown her, until she realized that the voice chanting her name was a smooth, softly pleasing bass; not the chilling growl she was expecting. No blades on the hands holding her; these hands were dark brown, firm yet gentle, the hands that had lulled her to sleep almost nightly for the past 3 years. Maggie twisted her head and stared up into the kind, craggy face of her most cherished friend.
"Doc," she breathed out, relieved. The loving concern on her face brought every event of the past 3 years rushing back: killing Krueger, the frenzied rush from town to avoid questions. That first night as they huddled together like frightened children, she and Tracy clinging to each other desperately. And through it all, Doc. Doc, holding them both, whispering reassurances through even his own fears. Doc, coaxing both women to eat, to keep their strength up, forcing a cheerful smile as they fled to yet another town or state at Maggie's insistance. Letting both women believe that the constant moves would allow them to outrun their nightmares even as he noted and privately cried over the darkly circled eyes, the bones showing through under-fed skin, the flaring tempers and tears as both women, normally bold and vibrant, retreated into frightened, childlike dependance. Maggie burrowed into his broad chest, bursting into tears, thinking only that she let him down yet again, after all he'd done for her and Tracy both.
Doc was lost in his own thoughts. For the longest time he let the women dictate their movements, wanting them to heal on their own terms. They'd shared whatever bed they could find, Maggie and Tracy clutching at him as if he could save them from any danger. He thought of those nights when they mocked sleep, lying on top of the covers, fully clothed...never allowing themselves to relax. He was as patient with them as he could be, for as long as he could be, but a piece of him died each time one of them woke up screaming. It was time they started living again. So he'd put his foot down, startin with them finding one spot and putting down roots. Then he'd asked Maggie to marry him. Each point he made he'd tried to make sound more logical than anything. There was no need to keep running, they weren't being sought after anymore. In fact, after a cursory investigation, it was like they never existed. His mistake lay in letting them choose where they wanted to live. Doc was stunned when both women agreed that they should return to Springwood. Though he hadn't been with them their first time to the hell town, he'd heard enough stories. Enough to know that returning was a bad idea. So imagine his suprise when both women stubbornly clung to their conviction. With a heavy heart, he helped his girls pack up, and away they went.
His suprise was even greater when they arrived in the ghost town to find it not so...ghostly. Springwood was a town in rebirth, and the fact that it spurred positive changes in both Tracy and Maggie made Doc feel as if things could finally be turning for them all. He'd spoken at length with Maggie about adopting Tracy outright, not just to keep the courts from possibly taking her from them, but because he'd come to see her as his own daughter--as he knew Maggie did--and he'd give his life for her. And that was the reason he gave Maggie for his next step--proposing to her. It had nothing, of course, to do with the fact that taking care of her daily, and holding her nightly, had allowed him to see her better than she saw herself. It had started out so innocently, survivors clinging together for warmth, support, and survival, but if he allowed himself to be honest, he knew that his heart had been hers from the moment she'd looked at him with that determined face as they'd discussed a way to end that bastard father of hers. But he couldn't tell her that; Maggie's heart had hardened, forever, he feared. So he made it sound like a convenient proposition, a way to keep Tracy with them, a way to keep the Survivor's Club together. And it had worked. Like a charm, it seemed, since things actually had picked up after the simple courthouse wedding. Tracy had calmed down and decided to go back to school. She was actually doing well, too, and not fighting--as long as people kept their hands off her, that was. Maggie also seemed to be doing better. She'd gotten a job, along with him, at the local shelter, and they volunteered at the soup kitchen nearby. And with the town still in the process of renovation, real estate was ridiculously cheap. He'd gotten a beautiful house on an acre of land at the outskirts of town for his girls, overriding both their protests that it was too big. They were a family, he'd said, and families had nice houses, nice things. Secretly, he hoped that a return to "normal" life would thaw out and heal their hearts, allow them to be a real family, and hopefully allow a real marriage between him and his heart's desire. And maybe, in time, even a brother, or sister, for Tracy to help raise and love...
Doc's attention was brought back to the present by a muffled sob. He cursed silently to himself as he cuddled his heart close to his chest. He'd been so optimistic about their future together, before Maggie's nightmares returned. Please, Lord, he prayed silently. Please, just give us this time together. Let us be happy for a change. Please. "Maggie?" he questioned. "Baby? Feeling any better?" He rubbed her back slowly to calm her, trying to give her his strength.
Maggie stirred in his arms, catching a glimpse of the wedding set she wore. It almost brought a fresh wave of tears, knowing the sham their marriage was. Her Doc was so kind and gentle with her, so patient, but she knew well that he was only being a good friend, keeping their "family" together the best way he knew how. She didn't know exactly when her feelings for him had changed, but she knew they had. Even the stone that rested where her heart used to had expanded a bit to include him, to the point where the moment he'd slipped the cheap engagement ring on her finger, stammering words of assurance along with the logic. Dear, sweet Doc, she loved him more than her own life, but she didn't know how to tell him, how to be the woman she was before, the woman who could give her heart. He deserved so much more...she looked into his earnest face again, trying to sniff back her tears. She was going to do better, damn the nightmares! She cursed her father again for taking everything from her, then found herself doing something she'd not done since childhood. It had been years since she'd considered herself a religious person, but now she sent an urgent prayer heavenward. Lord, I know it's been awhile, but it's me, Maggie. Please, please, if You're really up there, please let me learn to be the woman Doc deserves. He deserves so much more than what he has. let me be what he needs. Please. She sniffled again, realized Doc was talking to her, then cleared her throat to answer.
"I..I'm fine, Alan, " she replied, taking his left hand and kissing the wedding band on his ring finger. Again, she reflected that though their previous jobs might not have afforded him a more expensive wedding set, had she not come into his life with her problems, at least he could've given his heart, and those rings, to someone who could give her heart in return. She also reflected on his name, noting she still felt strange calling him by his first name. It had taken a year and a half for her to call him anything but Doc. Tracy still called him that, though she'd taken to teasingly calling him Daddy on occasion.
Doc noted her reply and reactions with the skill born of a man in love. "Hush, love," he murmured, stroking her hair softly, lulling her back to sleep. He mulled again over the past three years, mostly the past few months. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. There could be a number of reasons Maggie'd started having the dreams again. It didn't have to mean that HE was back. The shiver sneaking down his back was only intensified when Tracy quietly entered the room. Maybe she was just coming in to say good night. He stubbornly maintained that theory though he knew his bedside clock said 4:30 a.m. Okay, maybe she'd heard him and Maggie talking, and just came in to check on them. She'd stopped sleeping with them well over a year ago--going from sharing their bed, to sleeping on the couch in their room, and, finally, to a room of her own. It had been hard, but Tracy had regained herself more and more with each triumph. Please, Lord....please...He forced himself to look at her face and his heart sank. She wore the frightened little girl face he remembered all too well.
"Mom...Daddy..can I sleep with you guys?"
Maggie, lulled back to sleep, was blissfully unaware of the exchange. Doc, however, fought down his conflicting emotions and rising panic. He was thrilled at the "Mom...Daddy" part. However, that it took a nightmare to bring the words out of her in a tone that wasn't sarcastic or teasing...he felt like he'd swallowed fire, and it was burning a hole in him. He gently settled Maggie on her side of the bed, easing over to her side, patting the space between them. Oh shit, he thought as she padded like a five-year-old to the foot of the bed, crawling between them and snuggling as close as she could. I won't let you do this again, you bastard, he thought as he cuddled his girls. I won't let them take you from me. Maggie whimpered in his sleep and he felt his world go to hell.
Little did he know that evil eyes were on him, and that his world was about to get a lot worse. *********************************************************************** Sorry again that this took so long folks, and bites as it's been so long. Also, though I'd intended this to be a short story, but with everything in my head right now, it looks more like either a REALLY long story, or perhaps even a novel-length fic. Right now I want it to start out slowly & build up to something really special, so please be patient with me, and R/R, PLEASE, and be kind to the sick woman! : D
