Cam had just taken the teakettle off the hotplate and was about to pour the near-boiling water into his tea mug when he was interrupted by a knock on his door. He kept pouring.

"Come in."

The door swung open and Blake stepped over the threshold, grinning somewhat hesitantly.

Blake had to give him credit; if Cam was surprised to see him, he didn't show it. There was no I didn't expect to see you here or Blake, what a surprise! Instead, Cam merely smiled and nodded to him in greeting before he said, "Hi, Blake, I was just making tea. Want some?"

"Uhm…yeah, sure," the Thunder ninja replied while he gingerly entered the room.

Pouring water into a second mug, Cam threw his former teammate a glance out of the corner of his eye. Blake looked nervous. This was no casual visit.

"So what's blowing you into the Wind Academy?" Cam asked with a crooked grin as he unwrapped another teabag and stuck it into the mug.

"Oh, a couple of things," Blake said as he plopped into a chair. "I was wondering if you could spare someone from here to take over the classes I'm subbing until Hunter has hired some more teaching staff. I got my itinerary from Factory Blue today and I'm leaving in a few days. "

"That's excellent, Blake," Cam exclaimed but Blake offered way too weak a grin - which prompted Cam to think that the core of the younger Bradley's unexpected visit was somehow linked with his imminent departure.

"I'll make some inquiries with the senseis here," Cam said, "We'll work something out, don't worry." He handed Blake his tea. "Maybe I can take over some classes myself, at least the meditative ones. I'm not very busy over here with just my small samurai class."

That earned him a grateful nod from Blake, but something else was obviously still bothering the former Navy Ranger. Cam sipped his tea, watching Blake play with the string of his teabag for a moment until the younger boy suddenly looked up. "There's something else, too," he said, suddenly looking like he'd rather be in the Abyss of Evil than here. "It has to do with Hunter."

Cam tensed slightly. Had anything happened to Hunter? They hadbeen together only yesterday and he had seemed fine…

"There's something about Hunter you don't know, Cam," Blake continued, and Cam noticed he was holding the mug handle so tight that his knuckles were slowly turning white. "Something no one knows, actually, and believe me, Hunter's not thrilled that I have to tell you about it and if the circumstances were any different he definitely wouldn't want me to be here right now…"

"Blake, what is it?"

Blake blinked. "Right. Uhm…" He took a breath. "Every year for about a week Hunter has these…these dreams. Actually, it's always the same dream."

Cam leaned slightly forward in his chair. "What kind of dream?"

"Well, that's just it, he hardly remembers any of it once he comes out of it, but the little bit he has been able to recall over the years is always the same stuff; voices, a few quick glimpse of some faces…" Blake looked up. "And…fear."

"So these are nightmares, then?"

Blake gesticulated with his tea mug. "Dude, Hunter totally hates to call it that. We always refer to it as The Dream…or just It."

"But you might as well call it that, because that's exactly what it is," a voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the door, causing Blake and Cam to flinch. Hunter was leaning against the doorjamb, knob in hand, glowering at his brother. "And could you please close the door while you are detailing my most personal problem here?"

Blake winced. "Crap. Sorry, bro," he mumbled as Hunter stepped inside the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Cam was silent, but his almond eyes were fixed on his boyfriend's face until Hunter's gaze finally, and reluctantly, flickered towards him. "Hey."

"Hey," the samurai returned the greeting.

Blake was looking at Hunter, too. His brother's eyes were hooded and the grim expression on his face was still in place, but it looked like it had chipped around the edges. He must have gotten through to him, after all. Otherwise, why would he be here?

There was a short, awkward silence, until Cam held up his mug towards Hunter. "Tea?"

Hunter shook his head wordlessly. He was tense, the kind of tension that could undoubtedly be seen and felt by Cam and Blake, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do about that right now. Hands stuffed into the pockets of his uniform pants, he cast a quick glance at the two most important people in his life before he began to pace aimlessly around the room. "So how far have you gotten yet?"

Blake took this question to be directed at him. "Not far yet. Actually, I was just starting to elaborate."

Looking at anything but the two young men in the chairs, Hunter mumbled, "Go on, then. Don't let me stop your flow."

"Maybe there is something you would like to contribute?" Cam inquired in his usual, calm manner, and for some reason it irritated Hunter today.

"No," he said, careful not to sound brusque. "Not yet."

He kept up his pacing in the background, then finally settled onto the windowsill while Blake verbally walked Cam through a quick history of The Dream.

Cam was listening without interrupting and the analytical look on his partner's face made Hunter think of a psychiatrist session for some reason. If Cam were to suddenly whip out a notepad and pencil, he didn't think he'd even be surprised.

At the end of Blake's account, Cam leaned forward in his chair again.

"All right, so what exactly are his symptoms?"

Blake frowned, thinking. "The usual nightmare signs, I guess. Gasps, groans, his body alternates between thrashing and getting really tense, lots of times he reaches out…"

"Any coherent vocalizations?" Cam injected.

"Huh?"

"Does he say anything?"

"Only broken words. Things like No or Don't. Sometimes he'll say Wait or…"

Hunter didn't like it one bit that he had to listen to his brother and his boyfriend talk about him as if he wasn't even there. Yet he understood; Cam needed to get a feel for the situation and there was nothing that he, Hunter, could contribute to this exchange of information anyways. But that didn't make him feel any less distant and left out. Hunter ran a hand through his hair while he stared out of Cam's window. The entire situation felt so surreal; if he put his mind to it he could probably pretend they were talking about somebody completely different. Yeah…

"Did you ever see a doctor about this?" Cam voice floated towards him. The ex-Green Ranger had to repeat his question before Hunter caught on that he was addressing him.

"Yeah, Blake dragged me to one a few years ago. We told him as little as we could get away with about our backgrounds and in the end he suggested psychotherapy."

"I take it you didn't follow up on that advice?"

Hunter snorted. "I half-considered it until we found out how much those shrinks charge per hour. And at that time my secret ninja academy student health insurance unfortunately didn't cover those kinds of treatments."

Cam ignored the sarcasm. "So what did you do?"

"Nothing. Kept on sticking it out every year like we always do." Hunter slid off the windowsill, resuming his earlier pacing.

Cam followed Hunter with his eyes, trying to figure out whether he looked nervous, irritated or embarrassed and came to the conclusion that it was a mixture of all three.

He wished he could envelope his partner in a comforting hug, but that would have been the wrong thing to do; he sensed that the last thing Hunter would want right now was physical contact, so Cam suppressed a sigh and turned back to Blake.

"It's interesting that this happens within a specific time frame every year. Any idea why?"

Hunter was behind his brother's chair at that particular moment, so Cam caught the brief pause in the former Crimson Ranger's pacing and the alarmed look he threw at the back of Blake's head.

Was there something Hunter knew that Blake didn't? Or was it something about his question that both of them didn't want him to know?

But Blake didn't look like he was lying or hiding something when he said, "No. I've always wondered about that, too."

Cam stared into his tea mug for a few moments. A memory from two weeks ago suddenly flickered before his mental eyes. (1) Sentry duty by the Abyss of Evil, a huge oak tree – and Hunter and him rolling beneath it in the grass, wearing nothing but sweat-damp skin. Normally, when remembering this day, it was their actions more than their words that stuck in his mind, but now he did recall something Hunter had said that day.

'Wait, what date is it?'

'I think it's July 16th, why?'

'Oh, nothing. Nothing important.'

They had been making plans to spend more nights together in each other's rooms, and Hunter's question had struck Cam as quite odd. Hunter, though, had brushed it off and quickly and efficiently distracted him by doing things to him that caused Cam to blush even now. Consequently, he had never thought to follow up on that mysterious 'date' question.

But now it apparently had just answered itself.

"How come you've never told me about this before?" Cam asked quietly.

Hunter cast his partner a rueful look and gave a weak shrug.

"Cam, there've always been some things that were solely between Blake and me. No offense, ok? It's just that…" Hunter stopped, a thoughtful look on his face.

Cam waved it off. "None taken."

"You're right, bro, we've shared a lot of stuff throughout our lives," Blake injected, "but I really think it's the best choice to let Cam in on this one.
"Besides," the younger Bradley added with an amused side-glance at Cam. "By now he's practically family, too."

Hunter said nothing; instead he folded his arms across his chest, leaned his back against the wall and turned his dark gaze towards the door. Cam could only hope no one took this ill-timed opportunity to knock on his door, for whoever were to cross this threshold right now would surely be struck dead by Hunter's stare.

Blake had turned back to Cam. "Hunter doesn't mind me passing the torch to you," he continued and threw his brother a pointed look. "Right, bro?"

"Yeah. I'm ecstatic about it," the blond Thunder ninja told the doorframe with an expression on his face that clearly belied his words.

An awkward silence spread through the room until Cam cleared his throat.

"So when do we start this whole thing?"

Blake scratched his head. "Well, it's most likely gonna start tonight, but I'm not leaving until four days from now, so...Friday night."

Cam nodded, his face unreadable. "Friday it is, then."

Hunter took that as their cue to leave and pushed away from the wall. When he passed Cam's chair, he hesitated, but then touched Cam lightly on the shoulder.

"All right, I'll see you then."

Cam automatically reached up, placing his hand over Hunter's. He felt the hand on his shoulder give a squeeze before it withdrew way too fast. When he looked up, his boyfriend's eyes were on him.

"Thanks, Cam."

Cam could tell that Hunter was highly uncomfortable with the entire situation, but his partner made an effort to smile, giving him a wobbly version of his usual crooked grin before he turned and strode towards the door.

Cam looked after him thoughtfully; Hunter's obvious reluctance to any physical contact with him beyond this short hand-squeezing was disconcerting and showed the samurai just how upsetting the whole situation was for his partner. Normally, Hunter was always the more physical of them. He showed it more in private than in public, of course, but even in public he would usually seek out some kind of contact, however subtle.

Across the room, Hunter walked out the door and into the hallway without looking back and Cam had a strong feeling that he had just seen the last of Hunter until Friday.

Blake rose from his chair as well. Contrary to Hunter, though, Blake enveloped Cam in a brief, grateful hug before he turned towards the exit as well. Cam followed him to the door, seeing him out. At the threshold Blake turned around. "Thanks a lot, Cam. I really appreciate this, bro."

Cam almost smiled at Blake's subconscious use of that expression. He had been doing it more and more often since Hunter and Cam had announced their relationship to the rest of the team. The former Navy Ranger made a quick gesture towards the hallway. "Hey, don't take his behavior wrong, ok? He gets like this every year…withdrawn, you know?" He fumbled for more words, but Cam simply gave him a friendly pat on the arm.

"It's okay, I understand."

"I'm glad. Well…I'll see you Friday."

But just before Blake was about to walk through the door, the former Samurai Ranger held him back with a hand on his shoulder. "Blake…" There was one more thing Cam needed to know.

"Why me?" he asked.

Blake regarded him quizzically for a moment as if to ask What kind of question is this? before he replied. "Who better for this job than you?"

"You didn't just ask me to do this because I'm sleeping with your brother?" Two almond eyes behind small, wire-framed glasses seemed to bore straight into Blake's head. Blake met the gaze without flinching.

"I asked you because I know Hunter loves you. And I think the feeling's mutual." The former Navy Ranger looked at Cam pointedly. "You are the only one apart from me he would trust with this – not to mention that you are the only one I would entrust with this task." Blake paused briefly. "This is my brother's life we're talking about. And he's the only family I have left.
"I just know you'll take good care of him," he added before he clasped Cam briefly on the shoulder and stepped out into the hallway to follow his brother.

After a moment, Cam shut the door and went towards his sofa, picking up his cold tea in passing. Mug in hand, he plopped down into the cushions, his brain all the while working ceaselessly to process everything he had been told in the last half hour. He took an absentminded sip of tea, tasting neither the temperature nor the flavor.

Hunter…plagued by lifelong nightmares that he can't rouse himself from, he doesn't recall much of its content even though it's the same dream every year…all he knows is that it scares the hell out of him. And why the annual recurrences at the exact same dates in the first place?

The longer he thought about it, the more unanswered questions popped into his head. Besides, something didn't quite add up; he just couldn't put his finger on it yet. He was hoping he could make more sense out of his partner's strange affliction after he witnessed the dream unfold with his own eyes. Not that he was eager to see it.

Cam sighed. The thought of Hunter having had to endure this every year made his stomach turn. Cam pictured himself having to live with such a distressing handicap every year; thrashing in the throes of a dream he wouldn't be able to remember and therefore couldn't analyze once awake, having to rely on his father standing by his bedside to help him wake up…
Cam grimaced. Not merely distressing but utterly unacceptable. Not to mention freaky as hell.

And that was even before considering that Hunter's condition was one step worse than that for there was the real danger of bodily harm if he didn't manage to wake up on time. Now what sort of dream could have that kind of effect?

Cam combed a hand through his hair; he was only too aware of the enormity of the task set before him. Blake had just essentially placed Hunter's life into his hands.

In the balmy air of his room, Cam shuddered.

The Dream…

"N…No, no!"

Blake's eyes flew open the moment he heard the sounds coming from Hunter's bed. Predispositioned by years of practice to be instantly awake at the first onset of The Dream, he nevertheless displayed no great hurry as he heaved himself from the Airbed. This wasn't new to him, after all. As a matter of fact, over the years he had given up keeping track of how many times he had done what he was about do now.

He padded the short distance over to Hunter's bed and flipped on the bedside lamp.

The sight before him was disturbingly familiar: Under the thin blanket, only Hunter's head and shoulders were visible and said head was moving in rapid and sporadic movements from side to side. Hunter's eyes were not only closed but squeezed shut and a fine film of perspiration shone on his face. Blake could clearly see the cords of his brother's taunt neck muscles, and his quick, shallow breathing told him that Hunter was already well into The Dream. Suddenly, Hunter gave a sharp gasp and his arm jerked out from under the blanket, grasping the air, his fingers closing around an imaginary object and dug so hard into his palm that the whites of his knuckles showed.

"Don't…"

Blake positioned himself next to Hunter, out of reach of the closed fist and gave his brother a few firm shakes on the shoulder.

"Hunter! Wake up, come on. Open your eyes, man!"

After shaking him, Blake backed off. Over the years he had occasionally gotten slugged while shaking Hunter awake, although many times Hunter reacted completely different – actually reaching out, like he did right now, as if wanting to hold on to something from his dream.

But if this is a nightmare, what are you trying to hold on to? Over the years, Blake had often pondered this question. Unfortunately, his brother was no help in this matter; like he had told Cam, Hunter remembered next to nothing after waking up. It was as if his mind suppressed The Dream the instant he went from sleep to waking state.

On the bed, Hunter kept thrashing. His mouth opened as if to scream, but only a tormented gurgle came out. A tremor rippled through him and his body became rigid. Blake shook him again, on both shoulders, more forceful this time. "HUNTER!"

With a last hoarse cry, Hunter's eyes flew open and Blake breathed a sigh of relief.

"All right, I'm here…I'm here," Hunter mumbled. It was a phrase he had begun using a few years ago to indicate that he was awake. Blake sat on the edge of the bed, watching silently until Hunter had propped himself up into a sitting position.

With a heavy exclamation, the blond Thunder ninja leaned back against the headboard, running his hands first over his eyes, then through his sweat-damp hair. Blake noticed that they were still shaking slightly.

"Took you a while this time," the younger Bradley said quietly.

Hunter just nodded, his eyes fixed on the wall while he worked on steadying his breathing. "Yeah. Looks like this year is gonna be a tough one," he said thickly and turned to look at Blake. "I don't know if I can do this, man. I don't know if I can stand having Cam see me like this…" With a frustrated noise he drew his head back. It connected with the headboard with a heavy Thud. Blake winced at the sound, but Hunter simply stared at a spot on the wall, his eyes filled with an inner pain that had nothing to do with the impact of his head.

Seeing his brother like that cut into Blake like a dagger. He shifted on the bed frame. "Bro, I can still call Roger," he said tentatively only to have Hunter jerk his head around, shaking it in the process. "No!"

"No," he repeated, somewhat calmer. "I'll get through this with Cam. But, damn, this just sucks so bad!" Hunter closed his eyes and his chest rose and fell with a heavy sigh before he transferred his gaze back to the wall. "Every year I wonder why this is happening to me, Blake. Some people have to live with cancer, others have to live with AIDS…and I have to live with this, but I wonder why we all have to live with this crap in the first place?"

Blake gave him a wry look. "Very philosophical, bro, but what are you doing comparing this to a disease? You are not sick!"

Hunter's eyes were sad as they refocused on Blake. "I don't know, Blake. Sometimes I just don't know."

Blake was about to protest, but his brother slapped him on the side of his shoulder before he could say anything. "Let's get back to sleep, ok? We both have a full schedule tomorrow."

Blake gave a resigned nod. "All right." He patted Hunter's cheek in brotherly affection, got a weak grin in return and went back to his Airbed. Theoretically, he could have gone back to his own room now, for Hunter never dreamt more than once a night, but he sensed that Hunter wanted him close, and that was fine; he only had four more days to spend with his older brother, and even with the ominous dream hovering over them for the next three nights, he was determined not to let that spoil their time together before he had to leave. He needed the closeness as much as Hunter did.

He was creeping back under his covers as Hunter's voice sounded from his bed.

"Thanks, bro. Night."

"No sweat, man. Night." Blake stared up at the murky ceiling of Hunter's room, waiting for the rhythmic breathing that told him Hunter had fallen back asleep. Thankfully, his brother was always able to do that pretty fast, whereas it usually took Blake a while to find his own inner peace again.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths; hopefully, Cam was up to this task.

To Be Continued…

(1) See "Sentry duty"