SHOUOUTS/ANSWERS

Windyfontaine (chs 1-2): Glad you like. Cool. Thanks. Enjoy. Too coincidental? Sorry. Thanks, here you go. I did, thanks.

Tojo1985: Thanks. I hope I can meet your expectations.

Darkness Takes Over: Thanks.

DISCLAIMER

Krueger, Nancy, Rod, and Donald Thompson belong to Wes Craven and New Line Entertainment. Everything else belongs to me. I don't like the way they portrayed Nancy's father in the third movie, so I'm gonna change it. When adults interact, I'll use their first names. When kids and adults interact, I'll use proper names such as "Mr.", "Mrs.", and "Dr.".

After the boy was all cried out, he pushed himself out of the embrace.

"You feel better?" Nancy asked. He nodded. "What's your name?" she continued.

"Luke Garrison," he answered.

"I'm Nancy," Nancy introduced herself. "Can I see what he did to you?" she requested. Luke showed her the cuts.

"Oh, my. Let's get this cleaned up," she suggested. She sat him down in a chair. Neil got the bandage cloth from a drawer and gave them to Nancy, who began tearing them into strips. "When did you start dreaming about him?" she questioned.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but how come you don't think I'm crazy?" Luke wondered, changing the subject. The woman pushed up her jacket sleeve.

"Because he got me too," she revealed. Luke looked at the faint scars. Neil's eyes widened at sight. How the heck did that happen? he wondered.

"You can barely see them," Luke noted.

"Yeah. They would've been deeper if a friend hadn't woken me up in time," Nancy answered, resuming the bandaging job. When she was done, Luke stood up.

"Thank you," he said. Nancy took a pen and a piece of paper out of her pocket and wrote something down.

"I'm writing down my address and phone number. I want you to come to my house later today so that we can talk about this. And if anyone you know is dreaming about anything similar, bring them with you," she told him.

"Yeah, sure," the teen responded. He took the paper and left the room.

"How did---how did you know about the little nursery rhyme?" Neil wondered.

"It's not just some nursery rhyme. That song means trouble," Nancy replied. Neil stared at her in confusion. Then, "Come on. I gotta finish my rounds." Nancy followed Neil out to the hallway. Nancy tried to pay attention, but her mind kept reverting back to the fact that he was still alive. I don't know how you survived Krueger, but I won't let kill anybody else, she thought to herself.

"Ms. Thompson, are you still with me?" Neil questioned.

"Sorry. I---I drifted. And you can call me Nancy," Nancy stated.

"It's all right. Like I was saying, many of the kids have delusions and paranoia. For the most part, you really can't take anything they say to heart," Neil told her.

"Like, what kind of delusions?" Nancy wondered.

"Someone being in the room with them, being chased in their sleep…things like that," Neil answered.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be taking them seriously? I mean, what if they mention a monster in their dream?" Nancy checked.

"If they start talking about creatures in their dreams, we up their medication," Neil told her. Nancy smiled nervously. Great. Give him more power, she thought to herself. "Take the young man who was brought in tonight," he continued.

"What? Luke?" Nancy asked.

"Yes. He displayed classic signs of paranoid delusions," Neil lectured.

"You can't be sure of that. You don't know his story," Nancy defended.

"Why are you getting so defensive?" Neil wondered.

"I'm sorry. A---a close friend and I have had some bad experiences with doctors," Nancy apologized. Neil's brow furrowed in confusion, but he didn't say anything. They went on. At the end of the day, Nancy went out to the parking lot. To her surprise, her father's police car was next to hers. Concerned, she hurried out the vehicle.

"What are you doing here, Daddy? Is everything okay?" she queried.

"Everything's fine, baby. I just thought you'd like to get something to eat," Captain Donald Thompson answered.

"I'd love to. Where do you want to go?" Nancy questioned.

"It's a surprise," Capt. Thompson responded.

"Okay," Nancy agreed. She got into her car and followed her father to Ruby's Café. They ordered a couple of burgers and cokes. For a few minutes, they ate in silence.

"What's the matter, baby?" Capt. Thompson asked all of a sudden.

"Nothing, Daddy. Everything's fine," Nancy answered in surprise.

"Nancy, I can tell when something's bothering you. Please be straight with me," Capt. Thompson requested. Nancy looked down and blew out a breath and looked at the table.

"What is it, baby?" Capt. Thompson prompted. She looked back up.

"Fred Krueger's back," Nancy stated.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

For those of you who like Neil, don't worry. His attitude isn't permanent. I have a reason for it. And yes, maybe it's too soon for them to realize that Krueger's back, but it's just the way it worked out.