Chapter 2

Greta opened the basket and let out another of the wisps. She smiled as it surged and changed, getting larger as it was released, becoming the nightmare. The nightmare of a firefighter who'd had some bad experiences over his years.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim finished getting ready quickly and decided to head in to work early. He walked to his door and opened it.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony woke up feeling great. For once, he hadn't had a nightmare. Ever since he'd become involved in all the crazy stuff Tim was dealing with, he'd had nightmares fairly regularly. Not every night, but frequently enough that any night without them was considered wonderful by default.

He got ready for the day, thinking that this was a good sign of how things would go.

It was a good sign, but it turned out not to be a good sign of good things. It was just accurate. Something out-of-the-ordinary...

Just as he was getting ready to leave for work, his phone rang. He answered and was shocked by the shouting going on.

"Tony! The fire! The fire won't stop! I don't know where it came from but it's everywhere!"

Tim was shouting at the top of his lungs. Tony could hear Jethro barking loudly, but he couldn't hear any other sound indicating a fire. None of the roaring or anything.

"Where are you, Tim?" he asked.

"Home! I'm home! I opened the door and the fire was everywhere!"

Tony wasn't sure about what Tim was saying, but Tim had experienced strange and disturbing things before. Who was he to say otherwise? He ran out of his apartment, got in his car and headed for Tim's place.

"Fire! Fire!"

Tim was almost shrieking in his terror...and then, the phone disconnected. That only spurred Tony to go faster.

When Tony got to Tim's apartment, he was surprised to see one police car parked out front. He was worried that Tim's screeching had something to do with the presence of the cops. He ran into the building and up to Tim's apartment. There were a few people standing in the hallway, peering into Tim's open door. Quickly, Tony pulled out his badge and made his way through the crowd and saw the backs of two Metro cops.

"Hey, NCIS, Agent McGee works with me. What's going on?" Tony asked, keeping his voice reasonable.

The Metro police turned around, and Tony could see Tim sitting on his computer chair, looking wigged out...and, strangely, a bit embarrassed.

"Your colleague woke up the entire building screaming about fire until his neighbors called us, worried that he was dying. We came in and he was standing in the middle of the room, looking out of his mind. We talked to him, and it was like he just woke up or something."

"Hey, Tony," Tim said, smiling weakly. "Sorry if I bothered you."

Tony smiled back, although he could see Tim's fear.

"I was going to be ready early anyway. I slept well."

"Lucky you. I didn't."

"Are you going to need him for anything?" Tony asked.

The cops shrugged. "I don't see that we do since he's clearly in his right mind right now, but no more screaming, all right, Agent McGee?"

"Not in my plans," Tim said.

The cops nodded and left, telling the people in the hall to go about their business. They closed the door behind them.

"What happened?" Tony asked as soon as they were alone.

"I opened the door to leave and there was a fire. It was everywhere around me and it was like I couldn't even think anymore. ...and then, it was over...just like that." Tim sighed. "I can't even explain it."

"A nightmare?"

"Only I was awake."

"Sounds familiar."

Tim smiled. "This wasn't like what happened a few months ago. It's not like when we were trapped in my head. This isn't my dream."

"So...what is it, then?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure Greta has something to do with it."

Tony groaned. "Great."

"Yeah."

"You think it'll happen again?"

"I have no idea. I didn't know it was going to happen the first time."

"For a knower, you've sure been saying you don't know a lot."

Tim smiled. "My skills as a knower don't extend to dreams."

"But you...absorbed or whatever the dreamer. Wasn't that to help with that?"

"Not to know dreams, but so that I could use them better. I think."

"You think?"

Tim sighed. "I just don't know. There are times when everything is clear and I know what I'll have to do, but sometimes...I feel like I don't know anything at all. Like now. Why did I see that? What for? I don't know!"

He leaned forward and closed his eyes, looking dejected.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Greta smiled as she pulled another wisp out of the basket and blew on it gently.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at it.

"Hey, McGee, did you–?"

Tim suddenly straightened, looking confused.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

"That sound. It's coming from back there."

Tim got to his feet and started to walk into his bedroom. Tony looked around for the...something or other he thought he'd seen, but it seemed to have vanished, or never to have been there in the first place.

"From under the bed," Tim muttered, almost to himself.

Suddenly, Tim let out an inarticulate shout of terror and nearly ran Tony over in his efforts to get away. Tony was surprised to see him cower behind his computer chair. He looked back into the bedroom, trying to see what Tim was hiding from.

There was nothing.

Tony strained to see that other world that he could sometimes notice (and usually tried not to).

He still saw nothing.

"What's going on, McGee? What do you see?" he asked.

"Can't you see the monster?" Tim asked, his voice soft and shaking.

"No. There's no monster here, Tim. Not in any reality."

"Yes, there is! In mine, there is!" Tim said, his voice rising close to a shriek again.

Tony knelt down in front of Tim.

"Hey! There's nothing there!"

Tim barely seemed to hear him and so Tony grabbed him and shook him.

"Tim! Look at me! Nothing is there!"

Tim looked at Tony for a second, seeming utterly bewildered...and then, he looked back toward the bedroom. ...and then, back at Tony.

"There's nothing there," he said in surprise.

"No. There's not."

Tim got to his feet. He walked hesitantly to the door of his bedroom and looked inside. Then, he looked back at Tony.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I'd like to ask you that," Tony said. "All I saw was you freaking out."

"I heard something and then...there was a monster coming out from under the bed."

"A monster under the bed? That sounds like a little kid problem."

"Yeah, it does. Why would I be seeing monsters under the bed, Tony? This doesn't feel like anything...of...my normal. I don't know what's going on."

Tony grimaced. "I don't like it when you don't know, McGee. That's a sign that there's something even weirder going on than usual. I don't like that!"

"I don't like it, either," Tim said, "...but..."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

A wisp floated out of the basket. Greta blew on it, stirring it on its way.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

When Tim became aware of his surroundings, he was lying on the floor and Tony was holding him down, looking frightened.

"What's going on?" Tim asked.

"Stop asking me that."

"But...but...I..."

Tony pulled Tim to his feet. Tim looked around. For a moment, he thought he knew...but then, the feeling was gone and he was adrift without a clue of what was going on.

"Tim, this isn't good."

"I know. I know, but...but I can't explain it."

"I don't know if you should go into work with this..stuff going on. You already had your neighbors calling the police. You were screaming at me through the phone."

Tim smiled weakly. He only vaguely remembered the police coming in. He didn't really remember calling Tony. It was a strange situation. He didn't know why he was suddenly having waking nightmares. The dreamer part of himself wasn't telling him anything about this.

What am I supposed to do? he asked silently.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Greta smiled at the question. He had the answers inside him, but he wasn't finding them. He wasn't even touching that power he had.

"'In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems,'" she said, repeating the same rhyming couplet that had become a theme for her dealings with the knower.

He needed to remember that. It was important and he was ignoring the truth of the statement. It was vital that he stop pushing that to the side and embrace what he was.

And she'd get him to do it if she had to force him.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim wanted to leave all this behind. He hated how he was feeling here. He was certain it had to be part of the supernatural aspect of his life, but it was like there was a curtain, a veil, blocking him from understanding it.

"Tim, what are you going to do?" Tony asked.

Tim looked at Tony. He really couldn't think of anything to do besides what was normal.

"Go to work?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tony asked, looking a little worried about the idea.

"No, but I really don't have any other idea at all. Tony, until something presents itself to me as an idea...I think I just have to go along with it."

"And if you freak out again?"

"At least someone will be there to talk me down."

"McGee..."

"Maybe I'm just going crazy, Tony," Tim said. "After everything I've had to deal with...maybe I'm just losing it."

Tony shook his head. "No. No way."

"Who knows? If this was anyone else, we'd think he was crazy."

"No."

Tim sighed and shook his head. "I can't see anything else that I can do but go to work...and hope that was it."

"You really think it is?"

"Not based on my usual luck."

"You sure about going to work?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. I think so."

"Okay. I'll keep my eye you."

Tim smiled. "I hope you will."

They left the apartment.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Greta opened the basket again. She searched through the nightmares and let out two wisps. In moments of desperation, humans would reach out for any possible solution. Often, they would be surprised by solution that came to hand. The knower would learn.

She smiled.