Flame
***
Alex was lying on the bottom of the lake, asleep. I reached out to shake his shoulders, and he was deathly, deathly cold. My throat constricted, but then, slowly, he opened his eyes.
"Alex…" I breathed, and true to dream form, no bubbles escaped my lips. His eyes held mine, confused. I pulled him so he was sitting up, and his body was limp beneath my touch, swaying like weed. I slid my hands down his arms, despairing at their icyness, til I came to his hands. Then I smiled. His right hand was warm. Bhask. Bhask was still holding on to his hand. I took this hand in mine and rubbed at it, smiling at Alex. He looked from his hand to my face.
"Yashie misses you," I told him, kicking away from the lake bottom and pulling him up with me, "you have to wake up now please." I felt the dream dissolving around me, and hurried to wake first.
"Bhask," I hissed, squeezing his hand. He eased away from Ayasha and hovered next to me, eyes fraught, "I found him! Get the Healers to get me out. I don't want him to wake up with me here."
He nodded and ran for the Healers. I could feel Alex waking inside me. I pinched my hand to remind him he was alive.
You keep coming, damn you, I thought. Don't make me come back in here. And then the Healers arrived and put me out.
And this time when I woke up, I was in my body, Yashie snuggled by my side.
"Hey little baby," I grinned at her, unable to resist the temptation to wake her. She scowled at me sleepily, then her eyes opened wider.
"Mummy?"
"Of course it's Mummy," I laughed, hugging her tight. She wrapped her arms round my neck.
"Mummymummymummymummy," she murmured. My baby didn't need a vocabulary, I thought happily, we knew exactly what she meant.
I pulled myself up, and glanced over at Alex, half afraid to look. Bhask sat next to him, holding his hand in both of his. And Alex 's eyes were open, his beautiful blue-grey eyes. Watching mine, and smiling.