Chapter 44 – That Dream

She was staring at the same place. She had been there a thousand times. She loved it here. Not very many people loved it here, but she did. She snapped out of her daydream and went inside. She was ready and all she had to do was meet him. She smiled and asked Marty to send him forward. A few minutes later he came. He was already ready and he held out his arm for her, leading her back outside. Suddenly it was like she was watching from outside her own body. She was watching herself leave the building. She knew this part. She knew this part too well and she needed it to be stopped. She called out her own name, trying to stop herself from walking out the door. She screamed as loud as she could but no-one was listening to her.

"Sara!" She yelled. She screamed again but she was getting quieter. Not good.

"No!" Sara tried her best to follow herself but it didn't work. She could move around but not forward. She thrashed around and bent all the way forward, hitting Nick right in the forehead with her own.

The dark didn't sit well with Sara's uneasiness. She heard a moaning. Who was that? 'Oh my God it's Nick!' she realized.

"Nick?" Just to be sure.

"What was that for?" he asked, sitting up. Sara couldn't see much but she could tell he was rubbing his forehead.

Sara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. As soon as she did she realized she was very short of breath and breathed heavily, closing her eyes to calm herself.

"Are you ok?" Nick asked, still rubbing his forehead.

Sara barely heard him. She was thinking about that vivid dream. That dream. The same dream she had had about a thousand times before. She was so used to it. She had it all the time. But this one was different. It was like when she had first started having it. But that hadn't been in a long time. She tried to remember what exactly she had seen. She shook her head.

"Why? What's wrong?" Nick asked, sounding worried.

"Oh, no…I mean yes…I'm ok. I'm good. It was just a dream. Just a dream…" Sara trailed off, still thinking about that dream. That dream.

"Are you sure? You were screaming." Nick took her hand.

"Yeah. I'm ok. It was just a nightmare. Just a dream." Sara faked a smile that she assumed worked because he said, "Ok."

"Ok. Goodnight," she said as cheerily as she could then lay back down on the pillow. She felt Nick lie down beside her and move closer to her.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked, obviously worried.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

Nick paused a moment. "Ok." He leaned over and kissed her, resting his head close to hers. She closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep, still thinking about that dream…that dream.

SnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickers

"Are you ready for school?" Sara yelled up the stairs.

"Almost!" Charlotte yelled back down.

"Well hurry up!" Sara yelled back, "Your bus comes in ten minutes!"

Charlotte grabbed her backpack and shut her door. She ran down the hallway and grabbed the railing before charging down the steps. Sara met her in the living room. Sara wanted to make sure she was ready.

"Do you have your pencil case?" Sara started her mental checklist while she got Charlotte's shoes on.

"Yes," Charlotte droned.

Sara went through all the things she had given her the night before. "Now, you remember that you are going to be there until three so you have to take your lunch." Sara handed her a kitty cat lunch box. Charlotte unzipped her backpack and stuffed the lunchbox into it.

"Are you ready to go?" Sara asked when she had made sure Charlotte had everything.

Charlotte nodded and smiled. Sara smiled back and leaned forward to hug her. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and took her hand, leading her out the door. They walked down the street to where other children and mothers were waiting. Usually Sara wouldn't walk Charlotte to the bus stop, but on her first day of grade one she wanted to be sure Charlotte was completely comfortable with this. When the bus came she tried to kiss her again but Charlotte pushed her away.

"Mommy," she said under her breath. "Not while everyone's watching."

Sara smiled. "I know, but you have something on you face." She pretended to rub Charlotte's face with her thumb and pulled her in quickly to kiss her before Charlotte could protest again.

"Mommy!" she shouted, laughing but still trying to get her mother to stop kissing her.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop. No get moving." She stood up and watched Charlotte get onto the bus. She saw her sit down in the fourth seat from the front and waved. Charlotte waved back and the bus pulled away. She smiled and started to head back home.

She stepped through her door, locking it behind her. She trudged upstairs, getting into bed beside Nick. They had both had the night off and spent it sleeping. Well almost sleeping because Sara had woken up with the dream. After slipping back into bed she sighed. He didn't like wasting a day in bed but right now she was tired.

"You tired?" Nick asked keeping his eyes closed.

Sara smiled. "I thought you were asleep."

"I was. But you were yelling."

Sara smiled wider. "I was getting my kid to school."

"I know." Nick opened his eyes. "But it was still very loud."

Sara laughed. "I don't think you should be complaining." Sara moved closer to him under the covers and kissed him. "You gave up your right to sleep as soon as you gave me this." She held up her ring and kissed him again. "You know that as soon as you marry me you will have to put up with this," another kiss, "every," kiss, "single," more kisses, "day," deeper kiss.

"And you know that I would love to." Nick rolled on top of her. "But it's still loud!"

Sara laughed as Nick leaned forward and kissed her. Maybe they wouldn't be sleeping today…

SnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickers

The police station again. She asked Marty. He was such a nice man. Nothing, however, compared to the man coming out the door behind the desk though. He was beautiful. He led her outside. She followed. Again, she knew what was happening. She knew what was going to happen. She knew this part. She didn't like this part. But, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop them from walking. She had dreamt this too many times and didn't want to see it again.

She had dreamt it. A light bulb went off. She knew it was a dream. She could get out. She had to get out. But he was still walking. She closed her eyes tight and opened them quickly, trying to wake up.

It worked.

She was sweating. She was scared, she was breathing hard. But she was awake. It was light outside. That was nice. She sat up and looked around. She looked down. Her bare arms were fine. Then she remembered. Nick. Despite herself, she smiled.

"Nick?" she called. She couldn't remember him leaving. She listened a moment. Water running. Downstairs. She took a deep breath and swung her legs over the side of the bed. That dream still scared her, no matter how many times or how many versions she had of it. She looked around. There was a shirt lying on the floor. Nick's button-down shirt. She picked it up and buttoned it up. It was big for her and acted almost like a housecoat. She padded, barefoot, out into the hall and down the stirs, heading for the kitchen. As she got closer she smelt something…pancakes.

She walked silently into the kitchen, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she walked. Nick was wearing jeans…nothing else. Sara smiled as Nick turned and smiled.

"Morning, sunshine," he said cheerily. The corner of her mouth turned into a smile and she looked at the clock. 1:24.

"Afternoon, baby," she said and wrapped her arms around his waist. She took a deep sniff. "I love pancakes," she said, kissing the back of his shoulders.

"I know. That's why I'm making them." Nick reached over and grabbed a handful of chocolate chips from a little bowl on the counter, dropping them in the half cooked pancakes.

"Why are you making pancakes?" Sara asked.

"Because I know you like them and I'm hungry and…I don't know actually…I just kind of felt like it." Sara laughed and started pulling out plates to set the table for their afternoon breakfast.

After the pancakes were finished and they sat down and started their meal. Sara was quiet. She was still thinking about this dream. It hadn't been vivid like this in so long. And she had had two in one day. That never happened anymore either.

"I can see the wheels turning," Nick said quietly, a small smile playing on his lips.

Sara looked up. She smiled a little too. "Sorry. I'm just thinking."

"'Bout what?" Nick asked, his attention going back to his pancakes.

"Nothing really. Nothing important."

"You sure?"

Sara nodded. She didn't want to tell Nick about this. She had already burdened him with a lot of things and didn't want to seem whiny and weak. She was very thankful when the phone rang. It was Catherine.

"Hey, I'm in a jam can you do me a favor?" she asked. She sounded frazzled.

"Yup. What do you need?"

"I was about to leave and we got a double murder called in. I can't leave for a while and I need someone to pick up Lindsay."

"Oh, for sure, I'll pick her up with Charlotte."

"You're the best. Thanks."

Sara was just saying goodbye when the other line beeped in her ear. It was Brass.

"I'm sorry to call you when you could be sleeping, but it's important." He sounded desperate and stressed.

"That's alright. I was already up. What's wrong?"

"Ok, this is really hard to say though…ummm…" Sara was confused. It wasn't like Brass to beat around the bush like this. "You heard about that murder in the jail last week?"

Sara left the question unanswered. She knew he knew she knew what he was talking about.

"Well the detective on that case neglected to tell me that a friend of ours is involved."

"A friend of ours?"

"He saw the murder happen and was able to get an excellent deal for his information. His jail time is over. He is still on parole but he's out on the streets."

"Wait, Brass, who is it?" Sara got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She didn't like the nervousness in the voice of a man who was never shaken. There was a pause on the other end. He knew the reaction he was going to get with this information. He took a breath.

"It's George. George Shempsky is out."

Author's Note: Nothing like bringing back some old characters:)