Chapter Twenty: A New Home

Nicole never went back to sleep, she couldn't will herself to close her eyes, knowing he was lurking in the darkness, just waiting for her. She sat in her bed and watched the window. The moon slowly disappeared and the sun started to peak over the horizon. She looked over when Mandy sat up and blinked sleep from her eyes. Mandy looked over at her and gave her a small smile but Nicole could see the pity in it and she looked away.

Mandy didn't say anything and Nicole ignored the other girl as she got dressed and ready for school. Finally the other girl was out of the room and Nicole got up from the bed and looked around. She didn't know what was in store for her this day and she had to admit she was a bit scared being with the new family. Family, her new family, she couldn't quite grasp the concept in her mind; she was going to live with these people now.

She heard someone calling her from downstairs as she looked around her room. She found a dresser on her side of the room and pulled open a drawer. There were some of her clothes in it. Nicole wondered who had gone and gotten them for her, but she quickly dismissed the thought as she pulled out something to wear. Once she was dressed she made her way down the stairs as the other three kids were hurrying out the front door for school.

She sat down at the table and looked around the house. Sadness crept over her as she remembered her mom, wanting desperately to awaken from this dream that had become her life. She felt alone in the house full of people. Dawn put a bowl of cereal down in front of her causing Nicole to look up at her.

"We'll go down to the school today and get you enrolled," Dawn said with a smile.

Great, Nicole thought, another new school to start. She wished she hadn't been moved so far and could continue to go to her old school. She hated starting at a new one and two in one semester was just rotten. She tried to put up a smile but it didn't work and Dawn nodded as she turned away. Nicole spooned some cereal into her mouth and chewed, wishing she was somewhere else.

Her life had turned completely upside down in the last couple weeks, first leaving California only to have her mother murdered and bounced to yet another new home was weighing on her. She wanted to close her eyes count to ten and wake up back in her old home on the old base with her mother smiling at her. She knew it would never happen. This was home now whether she liked it or not. She was stuck in a new city, with a new family, and a new school.

After finishing her cereal she continued to sit at the table before Dawn came in and touched her gently on the shoulder. Nicole looked up at her and waited. Dawn nodded towards the door before speaking.

"Let's get you enrolled in the school and we'll get you in Mandy's class," Dawn said lightly as Nicole simply shrugged her shoulders getting up slowly from the table.

Dawn decided that they would walk since the school was only two blocks from the house, and they headed in that direction. They walked along in silence, Nicole not wanting to talk, and Dawn unsure of how to breech the subject that needed to be discussed. Dawn had looked Nicole over before leaving the house checking on her eye. It was swollen and discolored, showing a nice black with shades of purple mixed in around the side and bottom. The split above was crusted over with a scab.

The walk was short as they came up in front of the building and Dawn led the way to the office. Nicole looked around as they came through the hallway and she stopped behind Dawn when they got into the office itself. A lady behind the desk smiled brightly at Dawn.

"Hello, Dawn, what can I do for you today?" she asked cheerfully, making Nicole close her eyes and shake her head slightly.

"Well, Mrs. Callaghan, I need to get Nicole here enrolled in the sixth grade," Dawn replied putting a hand on Nicole's shoulder forcing her to step up beside her. Mrs. Callaghan smiled at Nicole but didn't get one in return.

"New foster child I see," Mrs. Callaghan said politely making Nicole want to smack her. Of course she was she thought, why else would this woman be enrolling an eleven year old when she already had three children in the school.

The process took close to an hour and Nicole was bored the entire time, wishing she could just escape from these people. Once it was finished Dawn put a hand on Nicole's shoulder and looked at the girl. Mrs. Callaghan smiled brightly again making Nicole sick to her stomach.

"That does it, tomorrow she'll be in Miss Regan's class," Mrs. Callaghan said. Dawn nodded and looked at Nicole.

"That's the same class as Mandy," Dawn said softly. That's just wonderful, Nicole thought, as if they thought her and Mandy had bonded over night and were best of friends now. She feigned a smile but then quickly looked away.

"If you like, Dawn, you can show her around today."

"I think that's a good idea," Dawn said taking hold of Nicole's arm once again and gently leading her from the office. They walked around the school as Dawn pointed out various places Nicole would need to know. Nicole felt like she was falling deeper and deeper away from normalcy and into a black hole.

This was her new beginning she thought, a family of six now, instead of two. She was beginning to think she preferred the two but figured she needed to keep an open mind about having 'siblings' around. She would also have to remind herself that Mandy might be a good friend if she gave her a chance. Everything was spiraling away from her though and she felt lost in a spin that wasn't going to end. She needed something to latch onto but the walls all felt smooth. Then she remembered the numbers on a piece of paper in the house and felt a little better, he was still here, still in the same city.

They were nearing the end of the tour now as Dawn had shown her around the entire school, and Nicole felt like crawling in a hole and hiding. Instead she smiled politely up at Dawn and then the two of them walked back to the house, again the air thick with silence.

After entering the house Nicole flopped herself down on the couch. She missed the plum of sawdust that would have erupted yesterday. Dawn watched her with concern filled eyes as the child studied the fabric of the couch.

"Nicole, do you want to talk about your nightmare?" Dawn asked with such love and concern that Nicole almost started crying when she looked up at the stranger that was now her parent. She shook her head taking a deep breath to control the tears. Dawn bit at her lower lip and sat down next to the child. She reached out and gently stroked her shoulder.

"It's ok to be scared," Dawn said in a whisper. Nicole nodded; she wanted to talk to Gibbs. She wanted to tell him about her nightmare. She wanted him to be here and not this woman, but life was unfair, and when it rains, it pours.

"It was about the faceless man," Nicole said staring at the wall in front of her. Dawn waited to see if she would continue but that was all she said.

"Who is the faceless man?" Dawn asked to prompt her to tell more. Nicole looked up at her horrified that she wanted her to explain who he was. She didn't know that she could.

"He chases me," she said in a whisper as fresh tears escaped. She couldn't continue as the images of her dream flooded her conscious mind scaring her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her knees, which were pulled to her chest, rocking back and forth to try to comfort herself, as the man laughed at her from the darkness.

Dawn wrapped an arm around Nicole's shoulders as the child's face disappeared, being pressed to her arms. She felt Nicole shaking as she battled the images in her mind. Nicole jumped at the touch of the other woman and felt like pulling away completely, but in the end she just sat there rocking, shaking, and fearing the man in her mind that chased her.

Nicole fought to produce other images that could block out the faceless man and his knife, with all the red. She first thought of the boat and forced it into her mind, then Gibbs followed suit. She recalled the last two days, flooding her mind with the memories of the time spent chasing the monsters away. She finally looked up at Dawn and saw the woman almost terrified of the child sitting next to her. Nicole felt more alone than she did before. She didn't know if these people truly could handle what was lurking in her mind.

TBC…