Chapter 2

6years later

"Hey, Ivy!" Neil called as he walked along the other side of the lily pond.

"Hey Neil" Ivy called back, smiling as he shot her a big grin before turning back to his father, and pointing over to the small group of Willow trees that were planted last year.

Today was when family and friends of the residents got to visit but Ivy was alone. Every year for 6 years Ivy had refused to invite her mother. She knew she was being childish, holding a grudge against her but the though of seeing her again tore at her heart and maybe it was selfish, but she was putting herself first.

Ivy never expected to be there so long but after the first few weeks she knew she was in for the long haul. The drugs they gave her didn't work. Talking about it to her doctor didn't work, although she was eternally grateful Dr Carr had handed her treatment over to Dr Harper after her first two weeks.

She was resigned to forever having this curse. And the longer she spent at Stone Brooke she more she realised she was safer there. Being on the outside was too dangerous. What if she had an accident when she was driving? What if she burnt the house down while cooking because she couldn't stay focused long enough? No, Stone Brook was the best place for her. Dr Harper agreed.

If she was being honest the outside world had started to scare her. A year ago New York City had been attacked.. People said it was aliens. Said they'd come down from a hole in the sky and destroyed half the city, taking countless lives. Ivy had listened as the nurses spoke of a group of hero's who saved the day. They called them real superhero's, capes and all. Apparently they called themselves Avengers or something. Ivy had a little laugh at that. Superhero's and aliens? Really? She was glad she stayed away from telly if that was the crap that was being spewed out.

Ivy let out a long sigh and tilted her head to the overcast sky. She loved coming outside and sitting by her lily pond. Well it wasn't her pond, technically it was Stone Brookes lily pond but Ivy had secretly claimed it for herself. It was the only place she felt at peace. Sometimes it felt like it was the only place in the world that kept her sane.

It was at the pond, 6 months ago, Ivy first saw him. She'd easily slipped into the story and was grateful when she wasn't instantly met with screams. Instead she was in some kind of lounge room, a glance out of the huge floor to ceiling window told her she was in New York, somewhere high up. Facing the window was a comfy cream sofa. As Ivy glided closer she saw over the back, startled to see a man sprawled across it, sleeping soundly. He was handsome in a rugged way that Ivy instantly decided she loved.

He was older then her, maybe by 15 years or so. His skin was tan but it looked like he hadn't seen the sun for a while. His hair was dark and curly, greying slightly at the temples. It was messy, like he'd ran his hand through it repeatedly. Her eyes trailed down his face, taking in the dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn't shaved in days but she found herself trying to reach out to run a finger down his jaw, her heart dropping slightly when she remembered it wasn't possible.

When Ivy woke she was upset to know she'd never see him again so two weeks later when she fell into another story and saw him, this time in a lab, the jolt of shock knocked her awake.

From then on she'd see him at least every couple of weeks. Sometimes he'd be in a lab, working with vials of liquids or tinkering with some kind of machine. Normally when he was with the machines he'd be joined by another man with a weird circle of light in his chest. I was during one of these times she discovered the man she kept seeing was called Bruce and he was some kind of doctor. When she woke from each story she found herself waiting impatiently for the next.

Neil was the only person Ivy had ever told about her stories of Bruce and he was the only person she told about her sad stories. She was petrified of someone finding out about them, and taking her away to use as some lab rat. She figured the sad and scary stories were easier for people to here about on the news or online so she kept them secret. Only ever talking about the boring things she saw when she had to have a session. She knew that they knew she was lying, it was obvious from the screams some of the stories brought on.

Neil had been there with her in the library one day 5 years ago, when especially bad story hit her. It had been extremely quick, only enough for one scream, but he'd sat next to her and held her hand through it. He waved the nurses away when the came running in, explaining that he'd snuck up behind her and scared a scream out of her, saving her from being given a sedative. Ever since then whenever Neil saw Ivy slip into a story he'd sit next to her and hold her hand, waiting for her to wake up.

A large drop of rain falling on her forehead pulled her from her thoughts of Bruce. Sighing Ivy stood from the bench and started making her way inside. Absentmindedly she wondered down the hallway, trailing her hand along the wall as she went. Maybe she'd try and read a book in the library or see if any inspiration hit her in the arts room.

Humming a tune to herself she turned the corner and gasped loudly.

"Bruce…"

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"Thanks for letting me come by." Bruce said picking up his satchel from its place on the floor by his feet.

"You know its no problem." Dr Lydia Harper smiled warmly. "I hope my paper helped with your research." She said, motioning to a folder on the desk and standing up form her comfy desk chair.

"It certainly gave me a lot to think about" He stood, following her to the door and holding it open for her.

"Good things hopefully" She laughed.

"Of course." He smiled. Bruce had been doing research into split personalities in the hopes it would help him get The Other Guy in control. Dr Harper was an expert on the matter and he'd reached out to her after reading one of her papers.

As they walked down the hall they made small talk and Bruce watched as a young man came around the corner towards them. He gave Bruce a curious look as he walked and Bruce was sure he saw the beginning of a grin as he passed them.

As they rounded the corner that led to the reception they stopped.

Dr Harper smiled and shook his hand. "Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything else, Dr Banner."

"Thank you again for taking the time to talk to me Dr Har-"

"Bruce…"

Instantly Bruce's eyes gazed in the direction of the voice. Stood in the hallway to his left about 5 feet away, opposite the one he'd just walked down, stood a young women. She was short, at about 5'3 Bruce guessed, and slim, at least he thought she was, he couldn't really tell with the baggy knitted jumper she was wearing. Her strawberry blonde was up in a messy bun perched on top of her head. The thing that caught Bruce's attention though was the utter shock in her bright blue eyes as she stared at him.

"Ivy…" Dr Harper approached her, gently laying a hand on her arm. As soon as she did though Ivy jumped, startled. She turned her wide eyes to Dr Harper, mouth moving wordlessly. "Did you have another story Ivy?" The older women asked softly.

Slowly Ivy shook her head, her eyes fixing back on Bruce for a second before she suddenly turned on her heel and ran down the hall, disappearing through a set of large wooden doors at opposite end.

Dr Harper sighed and made her way back to Bruce. "I'm sorry about that Dr Banner."

"Don't be" He smiled tightly. "I get that a lot"

Dr Harper was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes well, I supposed you do." She replied then shook his hand again. "Have a safe drive Dr Banner." She smiled, leaving him and returning to her office.

Bruce glanced back down the hallway Ivy had been stood in and watched the double doors at the end for a few seconds before he shook his head and started to make his way to the main doors.

"Its not because of who you are ya know."

A deep voice startled Bruce and he spun around to see the young man that had passed him a few minutes before, this time he was definitely grinning. "Excuse me?"

"Ivy. She wasn't shocked because of who you are." He stated. "Its because of her stories. That's what she calls them."

"Her stories?" Bruce asked, not hiding his curiosity. "I'm sorry, who are you exactly?"

"Neil!" The young man said happily, stepping forward to shake Bruce's hand excitedly. "Nice to meet you!"

"Er, yeah. Likewise." Bruce smiled slightly. "You were saying something about stories?"

"Yeah. Ivy's stories. Doc Harper can't say anything but I can." He said, almost proudly. "Ivy is my best friend. She tells me everything!" He exclaimed. "Even about her stories. I always like the ones your in."

"Me?" Bruce was completely lost, "You mean she writes stories…?"

"Yes you and no, she doesn't write. She dreams them."

Bruce watched Neil carefully. "She dreams about…me?"

"Oh yeah!" Neil laughed. "She dreams about lots of things. Bad things sometimes…" He trailed off, frowning at the floor. "I hate those days. She's always so sad…" He brightened. "But she's always happy when she dreams of you. You're the first person that's ever been in her dreams more then once. Why is that?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I don't know." Bruce said honestly, running a hand through his hair. "So that girl, Ivy she…she has dreams about people? Real people?"

"Well your real aren't you." Neil rolled his eyes then frowned. "You are real right?"

Laughing lightly Bruce nodded. "Yes Neil, I'm real." He said, touch Neil's shoulder gently to prove it.

"Hmm, that's good then" Neil smiled.

"Yeah it is" Bruce returned the smile. "So, Ivy?" He prompted.

"Oh yeah! I forgot." Neil grinned. "Ivy has dreams of things. Real things that happen in real life. Most people here don't believe her so she doesn't talk about the sad ones. Because if they knew she thinks they'd take her away and do experiments and stuff."

"That's understandable" Bruce mumbled, glancing back at the doors Ivy had run through. "Why are you telling me this? Won't that upset Ivy?" Bruce pointed out.

"Oh definitely" Neil nodded enthusiastically, "But she's been dreaming of you for 6 months. She never dreams of the same thing twice. I said that already didn't I?" He asked distractedly before waving it off, "It doesn't matter. She has dreams of you. The ones with that Tony guy are the best! I know he's Iron Man of course, but Ivy doesn't believe aliens actually attacked last year or that you're a superhero. She always laughs it off." He sighed. "And she never ever watches telly or listens to the radio. So that's why its not you being a superhero that shocked her. Its seeing you in the flesh that's shocked her." He explained at last.

Bruce stared dumbly at the man. He didn't doubt it for a second. How could he? He'd fought aliens. One of his friends was a Norse god for Christ's sake. Someone having visions was a walk in the park. But the idea fascinated him. He had so many questions forming in his head, ideas he wanted to try. He stopped that train of thought sharply. No, no he couldn't do that to her. That's exactly what she was scared of. He was torn. He should probably just leave, forget he'd ever seen her but he already knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Hmm. Well tell Iron Man I said hey! bye!" Neil interrupted his thoughts, turning around and disappearing through another set of doors.

Bruce stood staring at the dark wood doors for a solid 5 minuets before he slowly made his way back to his car. He didn't bother starting the engine when he was sat inside, his mind racing. He was so confused. He was startled from his thoughts when his phone started blaring AC/DC from his jean pocket.

"Damn Tony…" He mumbled, leaning to the side awkwardly to retrieve the phone.

"Must you use AC/DC for everything?" He asked when he answered, bypassing a hello.

"I must" Tony said blanky. "Someone's crabby. Did they try and keep you?"

Bruce let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Funny. Lets just say things took a weird turn."

"Weird?" Tony perked up. "Do tell."

Bruce was silent for a few seconds before he started talking, almost without realising. When he had finished telling Tony about his chat with Neil and Ivy's reaction to him he fell silent.

On the other end of the phone Tony let out a quiet whistle. "I'm pretty sure weird isn't the right word to explain that. Do you believe him?"

"I think so. I mean it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's ever happened." Bruce sighed. "I don't know why…but the look on her face…"

"Well then get back in there." Bruce could almost hear the eye roll in Tony's voice.

"Yeah…yeah I will." Bruce said, glancing toward the stone building. "I don't even know if I'll be able to see her…"

"Eh, I'm sure you managed to drag some charm from somewhere"

Bruce chuckled a little and shook his head. "I'll see you later" He said, starting to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Wait!" Tony called loudly.

Sighing Bruce brought the phone back up. "What?"

"This Ivy girl, is she hot?" He asked curiously.

"Goodbye Tony" Bruce said firmly, hanging up quickly. He took a deep breath then climbed out of the car making his way back into the building to find Dr Harper.

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Thank you for reading :)

CJ