Awake

What you see I can't see and maybe you'll think before you speak…

Tyler had been sleeping. Night after night, the nightmare would start only to be banished by Jamie's presence.

He lay in bed and pondered the meaning behind it.

He had only seen her around town the past few days. She hadn't accepted the invitation to the graduation party yesterday, so there was no real reason for him to be dreaming about her. Unless maybe…

Tyler rolled onto his side and frowned. Maybe there was more to the little southern belle than she let on.

He blinked against sleep, not yet wanting to give up his train of thought, but his eyelids felt like lead. As his lashes fanned against his cheek and his breathing evened, he slipped into a comfortable sleep.

-

-

"What's with you?" Reid asked Tyler the next morning as they entered Bellise Bagels.

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"You've looked like you wanted to kick a door down for the past two blocks," Reid said. "So what's up?"

"Must be the weather," Tyler said, shaking water drops from his hair. It wasn't really raining, but instead misting just enough to get things wet. Coupled with the heat, it was going to be a very dreary, humid day.

"Dude, what do you think about Jamie?" he asked suddenly.

Reid shrugged and picked up a cup of cream cheese. "She's hot. She's nice. Why?"

"Nothing," Tyler said, shaking his head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"I think she's a dream walker," Tyler said as they sat.

"Really?" Reid asked, taking a bite of his bagel. "What makes you say that?"

Tyler shrugged. "I've been dreaming about her. It's not normal, the things that happen."

"What sort of things?" Reid asked with a lascivious grin.

Tyler shook his head. "Nevermind, dude."

Reid sobered and took another bite of bagel. "No, tell me. Seriously," he said, holding up his hands in truce.

"She shows up out of nowhere, usually in the middle of the most intense part of my nightmare, and everything just…dissipates. Like she chases it away."

Reid nodded. "Anything bad happening because of it?"

"No," Tyler said.

"Do you think she's gonna try anything against us?" Reid asked.

"No, I don't think so," Tyler replied. "I don't get that vibe, anyway."

His friend shrugged. "Then don't worry about it, dude. Take it as a good thing but keep an eye open for anything weird. Oh, shit. There's Casey," Reid said, wiping his mouth and looking at Tyler for a face-check.

"You're good. Go get her, Cassanova."

Reid sauntered to the counter and leaned against it while Casey ordered. She looked at him and her shoulders slumped. "Hey."

"Wow, you really know how to boost a guy's ego," Reid said, somewhat miffed.

"Sorry," Casey said. "I've just not been feeling great this morning. Hey, how was your party?"

"Boring, as per norm, but somebody slipped some vodka into the punch fountain and a lot of Ipswich high society got completely toasted. Therefore, it wasn't completely uninteresting. FYI, if you ever want a good laugh, crank up Rockafeller Skank in a room full of drunken snobs."

Casey laughed, despite herself. "You're terrible," she said.

"Every chance I get," Reid said with a crooked grin. "So, d'you hear about the murder? Bet you thought this was a sleepy little town, huh?"

"Yeah," Casey said distractedly. "How awful. That poor woman."

The clerk handed her the bag of bagels she ordered and she thanked him politely.

"So, how about I buy you dinner tonight?" Reid asked, tucking his tongue in his cheek. "Or vice versa, whichever suits your feminism."

Casey smiled. "Hmm…can I get a rain check? I've got to go. Jamie gets hostile if she doesn't eat breakfast. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see ya," Reid called to her retreating back. He walked back to the table as Tyler was closing his phone.

"That was Pogue," he said. "How'd it go with Casey?"

"It didn't," Reid said. "What'd Pogue want this early?"

"We're supposed to go to his house as soon as we can. Sam's got a hinky feeling about that murder."

"Jesus, must be something big," Reid said, defeated. "Come on," he said, standing and snatching his bagel from the table. "Might as well go now."

-

-

"So what's the big breakthrough, Ms. Medium?" Caleb asked as he topped the stairs that led to Pogue's spacious attic.

"The woman who got killed? Her heart was gone," Sam said when they had all taken a seat. "Ripped from her chest. And, get this; her body had been chewed on."

Silence greeted her enthusiastic recount.

"Missing heart? Gnaw marks on the body? Classic signs of werewolf attack, hello?" she prodded.

"What?" Reid asked doubtfully.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, come on Sam," Tyler said.

"Babe, whatever psycho killed the woman could have taken her heart. And her body was out all night so it was probably just some kind of local animal that chewed on the corpse. It wasn't a werewolf," Pogue reasoned.

"Why are you so sure?" Sam asked.

"Because they don't exist," Pogue said with a skeptic laugh.

Sam's mouth opened and closed several times but nothing came out. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You don't believe in werewolves," she said, closing her eyes. They popped back open and she waved her hand in the air. "How can you not believe in werewolves?" she demanded.

"Um…"

"Well, it's..."

"Caleb?" Tyler passed the ball to the eldest.

Caleb raised his hands in a shrug. "Hey, I was a bodiless spirit-thing for a month, so I'm not ruling anything out."

"How'd you get this information, anyway? I didn't read anything about it in the newspaper," Pogue said to Sam.

"Baby, I talk to the spirit world. I called in a favor," she said with a shrug. "Facts were confirmed by both living and dead."

"You talked to the victim?" Reid asked.

"She was a little upset, but she gave me a quick review of what happened. I felt really bad for her. She was so scared."

The room was quiet for a long moment before Tyler stood and walked toward the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Caleb asked.

"Library," he said as he descended the stairs. "I'm going to see what I can dig up on werewolves."

"Werewolves," Reid said with a scoff. "Get's funnier every time I hear it."

Sam got up and headed for the stairs.

"And where are you going?" Caleb asked, frowning. "Shouldn't we be planning or something? You're the one with the insight into this stuff."

"That's all well and good," Sam said. "But I'm not hunting werewolves in canvas shoes." She held up one Converse-clad foot. "I'm going to run home and change into something a bit sturdier. I suggest you guys do the same," she said to Reid and Caleb.

Everyone rose to leave, their footsteps echoing off the empty walls of the attic.

"We should meet back here around six. Think you'll be done with your school stuff by then?" Pogue asked Caleb.

The dark boy shrugged. "I guess I'll have to be."

"You have an interview today," Sam said apologetically. "I totally forgot."

"Werewolf murderer takes precedence," Caleb said with a small smile. "It's ok. If it goes long I'll claim an emergency and get a reschedule."

Sam waited by Pogue until Reid and Caleb drove down the long driveway, then she turned and kissed him on the cheek before heading toward her own car. Pogue grabbed her wrist.

"What aren't you saying?" he asked, threading their fingers together.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked innocently.

"Something has you seriously spooked and you're keeping it quiet."

"Babe, there's a werewolf in town ripping people's hearts out. That'd spook anyone," Sam said, but Pogue shook his head.

"It's something else…" He peered at her hard, his green eyes boring into hers with an unusual intensity. He cupped her chin and brushed his thumb along her jaw. "What did you see when you talked to those spirits?"

Something dark, Sam thought. One of her boys possibly lost to the Power forever.

"Nothing, Pogue," she said, stepping forward and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry so much. It'll give you wrinkles. See you tonight!" she called before he could reply.

-

-

Tyler sloshed through another puddle and swore to himself that if they found Mr. Werewolf, then he would personally take the bastard out. The sun was down, but there was still about 5000 humidity and the drizzle that had lasted most of the day had finally given way to full-on rain.

So now, he was wandering around the Ipswich walking trails in the dark, in the rain, looking for a supernatural monster.

His phone rang, John Fogerty's Born on the Bayou alerting him that it was Sam.

"What's up, chick?"

"Have you seen anything out your way?"

"Nope," Tyler said. "I'm thinking it probably would have been smarter to wander around town instead of woods. I mean, if you're a big monster thing and you want to snatch someone, it isn't likely that—"

He broke off as a limb popped to his left. Something rustled to his right and he swallowed hard.

"Tyler?"

"Hang on a second, Sam," he whispered. His eyes blackened as he called on his Power, and he crept toward a wide oak tree.

He peered around the side of it just as a mass came bursting from the surrounding trees. Three things happened at once: Tyler jumped, slipping in the mud and falling onto his back. A burst of magic exploded from his hand in defense, but was diverted by his fall and flew into the canopy instead. And the bulk that came from the trees slammed into him with a squeak.

"Jamie?!"

Tyler was quick to power down as he looked at the girl sprawled on top of him. She was soaked and had twigs stuck in her hair. Her eyes were wide with fright and she had scratches on her cheeks, as if she had been running through the trees.

"Hey," Jamie said weakly. She cleared her throat and rolled off him, sitting in the muck without a thought about it.

Tyler heard squeaking and realized he had dropped his phone. He picked it up and spoke to Sam, explaining what had happened.

"You almost gave me a frickin' heart attack," Sam admonished. She huffed a breath. "Come back to town, Baby Boy. We'll regroup at Nicky's and see what we should do since the whole divided search thing was a bust."

"Alright," he said and clipped his phone shut. He looked at Jamie and stood up, reaching a hand out to her to help her to her feet.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I was out walking Casey's dog and she ran away. Then it got dark. I dunno. I guess I got turned around. I'm not used to woods being so thick."

"Were you running?" Tyler asked, bringing his fingertips gently to one of the bleeding scratches.

She nodded. "Yeah. I heard Fogerty, which either meant there was someone out here who'd be able to help or someone who'd kill me. Either way I wouldn't be alone," she said with a small smile.

"You looked scared to death," Tyler commented. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," she assured him. "Just, you know, kinda jumping at shadows. What are you doing out here?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Tyler said with a laugh.

"Try me," she pressed.

"Tell you what," he said. "How about I drive you back to town, and we'll talk on the way. Deal?"

"Sure," she said, taking his outstretched hand.

Once they were in Tyler's SUV and on the highway, Jamie looked at him. "So?"

Tyler laughed and pressed his lips together. "I was…hunting."

"Hunting," Jamie said skeptically. "Uh-huh…without a gun?"

"Well, I…yeah."

"Wow, you Ipswich boys are hardcore," she teased. "The guys from where I used to live just sat in stands all day and waited for some poor, unsuspecting animal to walk by. What were you after, Great White Hunter?"

Tyler smiled and his blue eyes twinkled. "I don't know, exactly. But I like what I ended up with."

Jamie laughed.

"Should you call Casey and tell her that you're alright?"

She shook her head. "She wasn't feeling well earlier. I don't want to disturb her," she said, looking out the window and into the soggy night.