Nightmares

Chapter One

Jaime was running faster and faster, but going nowhere at all, like a guinea pig on an over-sized wheel; like Rudy's lab rat on a treadmill. The crack of Rudy's whip filled the air. "Faster, Jaime! You can do a lot better! Faster! Faster!"

"Rudy - I - can't - run anymore," she protested, feeling ready to drop.

"Yes, you can! You will!" Rudy laughed contemptuously. "You'll do what I tell you - I own you!"

The whip blazed a trail of fire across her back, and Jaime woke up screaming.

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Steve was instantly wide awake. "Sweetheart? What is it? What's wrong?" Jaime's teeth were chattering, and she seemed nearly catatonic, except for the silent tears streaming down her face. "Jaime?" This state alarmed him even more than her screams had. "Are you sick? I'll call Rudy."

"No...I'm...ok. Bad dream, I think."

Steve pulled her into a strong, warm embrace, tenderly rubbing her back until he felt her body relax. "Maybe we should have Rudy check you out anyway, just to be safe."

"Steve, really - I'm ok. I'm just sorry I woke you. Let's both go back to sleep." She stretched out, rolled over and after a few minutes forced her breathing to become slow and regular, feigning sleep. Soon, Steve was slumbering peacefully beside her and, although she hadn't intended it, Jaime also fell asleep.

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"You don't own her, Wells!" Oscar yelled in a blind fury. "I do! Keep running, Jaime." He grabbed Rudy by the collar. "She's my robot; bought and paid for!"

"She wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for me!" Rudy insisted.

"Well, good for you, Doctor Frankenstein, but she's my monster now!"

"I...can't...breathe..." Jaime protested.

"Shut up," Oscar ordered. He turned the treadmill to 'maximum'. "That'll keep you busy."

"Please...stop...can't breathe,"

Both men glared at her, their faces red with anger. "Shut up and run, robot...robot...robot..."

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"Jaime, wake up, Sweetheart." Steve was really worried now. She wasn't waking up on her own, and he was having too much trouble rousing her. As he held her in his arms, he could feel her heart pounding like a jackhammer.

"Please stop," she mumbled. "Can't breathe."

"Jaime?"

"NO!"

Steve wrapped his arms tighter, in case she came out swinging, but she was sobbing and completely hyperventilated instead. Several long minutes went by and Steve was about to call Rudy's complex for an ambulance when she finally caught her breath and was able to speak.

"I'm alright now," she said in a weak voice, leaning into his body for support.

"No - you're not. Jaime, I was having trouble waking you up, and it felt like your heart was gonna pound right out of your chest. Dreams aren't supposed to affect you physically. Not like that. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"What time is it?"

"It's 5:30. C'mon."

"Steve, listen. How about -"

"I am not negotiating about your health. I'll carry you if I have to."

"It's just...so early, and -"

"Your choice." Steve picked her up from the bed, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.

"Ok - alright - I'll go. Can I get dressed first?" Jaime asked.

"I guess so." Steve ran a hand through her hair and softly kissed her cheek as he set her down. "I love you, Jaime. I can't stand the thought of anything hurting you." He was dressed in under a minute. "I'll call and let them know we're coming."

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Steve glanced repeatedly at Jaime as he drove. She was a little pale, but otherwise seemed ok. Still, he couldn't help thinking about the hypnotherapy - using sodium pentothal - that had restored Jaime's memory. It appeared to have been highly successful, but he couldn't stop thinking about Doctor Taylor's warning of the possible side effects.

"In a small percentage of cases," she'd explained, "the triggering incident proves to be too much to handle and the patient slips into psychosis..."

Steve glanced at Jaime again. Of course she wasn't psychotic. But he knew her better than she knew herself at the moment, and even though she hid it well, he knew Jaime was scared half out of her mind. He couldn't shake the awful, sinking feeling in his gut that something was horribly wrong.

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