A/N: Thank you for the reviews and glad to hear you are enjoying the story! Hope you like this new chapter! -Cat

Chapter Thirty-Six

"No!" Pogue sat up right in bed as the alarm went off. Victoria took a deep breath as she opened her eyes as well, trying to her best to adjust from the dream. She looked at his back as she glanced at the bed beside him, sitting right beside her legs under the comforter, "Jesus," He exhaled.

Victoria pushed her hair out of her face and slowly sat up, beside him. Pogue ran his hands over his face. Victoria looked at him blinking the sleep out of her eyes, "Are you ok?"

He took a deep breath, "Yeah, just..." He cleared his throat, before looking at her, "Jack really didn't want her to go out on her own."

Victoria nodded, tension and fear still tight in her chest, "I never thought about that,"

Pogue looked at Victoria before sitting back against his pillows, "What? My unending desire to be completely over protective of you?"

Victoria looked at Pogue, memories of her getting home and the few interactions they had, making more sense now, the run in at Nicky's or him finding her and Reid out by the track. She smiled at Pogue but she shook her head, "No, the fact that we might see what happened to John Putnam."

Pogue pursed his lips and Victoria lay back down beside him, "It's weird, it has always just been a part of our history. It's scary to think of him as a friend just as close as Tyler or Caleb, or Reid." Pogue said shaking his head.

Victoria looked at him, "Do you think we will see the rest of the night? I mean, we know she didn't succeed in trying to convince Goodie."

Pogue shrugged, looking at Victoria beside him, "Or maybe it was just too late to make a difference. Like Jack said if he used in front of his captors." Pogue took a deep breath, "I think we will see it all, over time. We have the rest of our lives after all."

Victoria nodded. Pogue suddenly smiled at her, "What?" She chuckled.

"Good morning," He said simply.

Victoria smiled, "Good morning,"

"You ready for today?" He asked.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "As I will ever be."

They pulled up to the front of Spencer Academy on Pogue's bike. He pulled into his normal parking spot and kicked down the stand, before sitting up to help Victoria off the bike. She took off her helmet which was beautifully painted in green and silver, her favourite colours. She shook out her pony tail and looked up at the front door. "Oh god," She said looking back at Pogue just as he took his helmet off.

"What?" He asked before following her line of sight and he noticed Caleb standing on the front steps, right in front of the doors, arms crossed, and obviously waiting for them. "Oh," Was all he managed.

"Do you think they would still let us graduate if we just called in sick for the rest of the week?" Victoria asked hopefully. Pogue simply looked at her raising an eyebrow, "Fine, fine, I know." She fixed her bag on her shoulder, the handle crossing over her chest, before turning to walk into the school.

Victoria felt the anxiety pound in her chest as she reached the top step. She looked up and met Caleb's confused and dark expression with a fake bright one of her own, ready to say good morning in what she hoped would be a happy voice but before she could, he cut her off, "Victoria, we need to talk."

"Good morning to you too," She said crossing her arms over her chest.

Pogue stepped up beside her, "Dude,-"

But again, Caleb cut him off, "Look, I don't know what's going on with you guys lately, but I need to talk to my little sister."

Victoria bristled at him talking about her like that. Like he was her keeper or something. She also didn't appreciate his tone in talking to Pogue, who hadn't done anything other than help her out and be there for her. "Fine, you wanna talk, then let's talk."

Caleb shook his head and walked past Victoria down the steps. Victoria looked at Pogue who looked pissed. He looked down into her eyes. "It's ok," Victoria said brighter than she felt. She smiled up at hm, "I can handle him."

Pogue looked down into her eyes with a serious expression on his face, "You sure?" He asked. Victoria simply nodded. Pogue reached out, his hand going to the low of her back and leaned into her kissing her briefly on the cheek before pulling back to look at her. "Call if you need me."

Victoria nodded again, "I will," With that, Pogue turned and walked into school, hefting his bag higher onto his shoulder, ambling away from her in his usually lope.

Victoria took a deep breath before turning and dashing down the stairs and grabbing her brothers jacket sleeve and pulling him across the parking lot. "What the hell is the matter with you?" She hissed as she stopped them under an enormous leafy oak tree on the other side of the parking lot.

Caleb turned and crossed his arms over his chest, his expression dark and stormy looking. "I could ask you the same thing. We head up to Boston and you are with Reid and we come back and you are with Pogue? What the hell Tori?"

Victoria felt her hackles rise at Caleb's nickname for her. She glared back at hm, "Don't over simplify things. You have no idea what's going on, so don't pretend to preach at me. And maybe if you actually, oh I don't know, maybe asked me what is going on rather than attack me like I kicked a freaking puppy-"

"Have you even spoken to Reid? He is a mess, a mess I have been trying to deal with since this whole thing started to implode our lives!"

"Reid is a big boy and it seems he can make his own decisions so he should deal with the fall out himself." Victoria snapped back, trying her best to not use, even though the anger that was ripping through her body was a fast and furious one. "And don't you dare talk about this 'whole thing' like it was planned or like Pogue and I don't care what's going on. We didn't choose this ya know!"

"Well, from the looks of things neither of you is suffering to badly. Showing up here on his bike, hiding out in his house? Reid is left out in the cold, just like the rest of us. So you tell me what am I supposed to think?"

Victoria could only hear her own heart beat pound in her own ears. How dare he? How dare he insinuate that she is off just having a good time and not taking this seriously. Like she didn't try her damnedest to make things work with Reid, like she didn't doubt every fibre of her being to try and make it work.

Without really thinking about, or even really knowing, what she was doing Victoria just reached out. Her hands reached up and took Caleb's face in her hands, her finger tips in his hair, he tried to step back out of her hold but was too slow, and caught off guard from her movement. Before she even knew she was using the images started to flash in front of her eyes.

She could feel Caleb's massive power at the tips of her fingers. Feel it pulsating as he started to use and she knew the same images were flashing in front of his eyes.

Sabine looking into Jack's eyes as they were saying I do. Anne running down a corridor to meet Henry for a brief moment alone. Mera crying as she watched Cassius ride away on campaign. Sabine laughing as Jack through Elizabeth up into the air. Jack arguing with Sabine over whether they should build a bigger cabin. Mera kissing Cassius in the wading pool in their villa. Anne holding her breath as Henry rode in a joust. Mera crying thinking she wouldn't be given to Cassius in marriage. Sabine trying not to scream as she brought Elizabeth into the world knowing Jack was just in the other room, worrying about her...

"STOP!" Victoria felt her hands get knocked down from Caleb's face as he stumbled back out of her hold.

Victoria and Caleb stood panting looking at each other and she knew. Knew he had felt everything, every twist of emotion, every agonizing, confusing moment of it. Victoria took a step towards her brother who was still looking quite shaken. "Don't you dare tell me I am not taking this seriously. Don't you dare. You have no idea what we have- what we go through." Victoria took a deep breath, feeling the tears well in her eyes, "Don't you dare judge me." With that Victoria shook her head.

She turned and walked back towards the school to see Tyler, Pogue and Reid all standing on the steps of the school. Obviously they had all felt her use and Caleb as well, and come to see if everything was ok. Victoria took a deep breath and crossed the parking lot shaking out her hands, leaving Caleb standing stock still behind her.

Tyler walked by her, "You ok?" He asked heading towards Caleb.

"I'm fine." She said briskly not meeting his eyes.

Then there was Reid standing at the base of the stairs. He did look like a mess. He stepped forward as Victoria came closer, "Vicky, I need to-"

She shook her head, her eyes hard as she pulled herself together to look into his eyes. "You don't need anything from me." She went to walk past him but he dodged in front of her.

"Please, I have to explain, we need to talk about-"

"I have nothing to say to you." She felt her hands start to shake. "Just leave me alone."

"Victoria, this is you and I and we have been through-"

Victoria knew her eyes were black as she struggled to control her anger, "Oh don't worry Reid, I know what we have been through. But this, this is too much."

"Reid." They both froze as Pogue's voice came from the top of the steps, cold and hard. A warning.

"I know," He looked frantic, like he was going to cry, "I know I am a fuck up, and I don't deserve this but please you are the only thing-"

Victoria took a step towards him, "I am nothing as far as your concerned. I am nothing to you. And if you ever felt what you say you felt for me, in any kind of real way, you will move out of my way and leave me alone." She practically snarled. He looked heart broken, his face crumbled at her words. She took a deep breath and shook her head feeling the tears she was struggling to hold back break through and roll down her cheeks, "Just, let me go. Please." She looked away from his eyes, blinking her power back deep into her.

She could almost feel him let out a haggard breath, before he stepped out of her way. Victoria didn't hesitate, she dashed up the stairs towards Pogue. He looked at her concerned. Victoria shook her head, "Just get me to class please," She asked stepping into his arms as he wrapped one around her shoulders.

"Sure," And he turned them around and walked them into the school.