The piece of music referenced in this chapter is from Mozart's opera, Cosi Fan Tutte. The aria is 'Soave sia il vento' (it's easy to find on youtube)

Translation into English is: May the wind be gentle, may the waves be calm, and may every one of the elements, warmly fulfil our wishes.

She realized that instead of sitting in a clinic, she was sitting in front of a mirror, brushing her hair. She couldn't help but pause, wondering. "Is this...?" she started, before spotting the reflection of her husband sitting on the bed in the mirror.

"I don't know," he said, looking round. "The doctor said we would suddenly gain awareness, right?"

"Which this seems to be," she replied, standing up to move and sit beside him. "I don't remember getting here."

"Is this how you and the architect worked it out?" he asked, then frowned as he saw her expression. "What?"

"You know, we could just... test it out."

"Test it out?" he said, bemused. "Oh. That. Just like that?"

"Uh huh," she said, standing in front of him, holding her hands out. "Just like this."

He bit on his bottom lip nervously before taking her hands and pulling her down beside him again. "No, like this," he said, quietly. "If this works, I want to be able to feel you before anything else." He kissed her right hand briefly, before moving it down to rest on his leg. She could feel the muscle shudder underneath her hand and gasped, before pouncing on him, pushing him down onto the bed, kissing him fiercely. She moaned sightly as he rolled her over, literally crawling over her.

"I guess it's worked then?" she giggled, before sobering as she saw his expression. The only time she had seen so much emotion on him was when he first held their son after so long trying for a child, when it didn't matter about the wheelchair, or anything else that might label him, because in that moment he was defined by one thing - fatherhood, the co-creator of the tiny bundle of flesh and blood that stared back up at him. She had cried at the sight, and she was having a hard time fighting back tears now. She reached up, touching him gently on the cheek, trying to reassure him.

He stared at her for a moment, before brushing a stray tear away from her eyes with a tender touch. "Thank you," he whispered. "I... I guess..."

She pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him from speaking. "Shhhh," she said. "Thank you's later. Fun times now."

He closed his eyes for a moment, fighting for control of his emotions. When he opened them again, he grinned at her. "Got anything in mind?" he asked, before bending down and kissing her neck. She arched up into his touch.

"You... are distracting me, Arthur Abrams," she laughed. "We have lunch reservations. I planned it, remember?"

"Mmmm. Half an hour late won't be a problem, will it?" he replied, smirking as he began moving a hand up her thigh, pausing at the hem of her dress. "Or would could just skip lunch altogether..."

"I swear to god, you have a one track mind at times," she laughed, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

"I don't hear you complaining about it," he said. "Besides, I'm supposed to be experiencing the full gamut of sensations here. Why not start by comparing something I know well?"

"Don't you think they might notice we're..."

"We're what?"

"You know!"

He couldn't help laugh. "Boning? Having sex? Making love? I think it's okay, Tina, they are kind of expecting it. Besides, we're dreaming. The worst they are going to see is our heart rates going up"

"Well, that and your..." she began delicately

"Okay, so that might happen, but honestly? They are expecting it. It's our dreams. Why would you set us up in a hotel room if we weren't going to do it?"

"Artie?"

"What?"

"Hush." She decided to quieten him down, and used the fastest method she could think of. She palmed him through his pants, but was unprepared for the shuddering gasp he gave. "Artie?"

"I..." He swallowed, trying to regain some control, but Tina could feel where he'd gone hard under her touch. She continued to gently stroke him. "I can remember walking, running, dancing and the like from before the accident, but this? This is new."

"And?"

"And suddenly the thought of me doing all the work is very, very appealing," he said, grinning wickedly.

She led them to a small restaurant, away from the main hustle and bustle of the city, marvelling at the fact that she could happily walk alongside her husband, holding his hand. There had been a moment, when he first stood upright, where they had both cried, just a little. The momentary disbelief that he could really do this, the wonder at him being just that little bit taller than her - something they had already known even from high school days, from sleeping next to each other every day for over ten years, but this? This was far more than that. This was the ability he had to wrap his arms around her, and pull her close to him, tucking her head on his shoulder, fitting like it was always supposed to be like that.

Occasionally she looked over at him in sheer wonderment. It was like something had vanished from him, a mask she hadn't even realized that he was wearing had dropped away, leaving the vibrant, strong, confident person she'd always knew was in there out in the open for all to see. Something twinged inside her momentarily, but she pushed it away. This was beautiful. This was perfect. This was just for them.

The restaurant was a small, out of the way place. The waitress led the couple to a private booth set to one side, set two menus down while smiling at them, then headed away. He turned to her, taking her hand and entwining their fingers together. "I like it. Not many people here, so we can do what we want."

"Behave yourself," she grinned back at him.

"I like the outfit you've dreamed up for me," he said randomly, glancing down at himself. Dark blue slacks, a matching shirt and thin black suspenders. "Close enough to normal, but..."

"Less nerdy?"

"Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked laughing.

"No, I kind of like the nerd look," she grinned. "I fell in love with you despite it." She grinned at his protest. "It's just nice to see you out of it once in a while."

"No, that was earlier, I'm pretty sure of it," he said, laughing slightly. "But you look absolutely beautiful."

"Flatterer," she said, though she was blushing.

"Do I get to know what else you've planned for us?" he asked. She was about to say something when she was distracted. He had moved his foot, wrapping his leg around hers. She could feel the warmth, the life of it seeping through, energizing her as much as it was him.

"You are a dangerous man, Mr Abrams," she murmured, leaning into him. "You take far too much pleasure in distracting my chain of thought."

"Nothing really new there, Tina," he pointed out. "Remember last Glee Reunion?"

"Where you encouraged me to have sex with you in the choir room 'once more, for the memory of it'?" she said, laughing. "All it took were a few words, and a smile. Like I said. Dangerous. And for that, no, you're not getting to find out. Decide what you want to eat, you'll find out later."

He looked at her, pouting. "You're no fun, woman," he said, smiling at her, then taking her hand. "Tee, thank you for this. So much. I know I was all funny about it, but now I'm here... well, it's just perfect."

She smiled softly at him. "It's okay. I was worried about it, but now we're here? It is perfect." She leaned in and kissed him.

"I could stay here forever," he murmured against her lips.

The afternoon involved them walking slowly through Central Park, walking close to each other. It had taken him almost no time to get used to walking again, a fact he put down to having dreamed about it a lot. She couldn't help the smug look she gave as he told her once again that this was perfect, that he could never have come up with this dream on his own, that he would cherish these moments forever, that he wished he could stay here forever.

"Are you trying to make me fat, woman?" he asked as they finished eating their evening meal, leaning back against his chair.

She couldn't help giggling. "I don't know where you put it all anyway," she said. "I've never seen anyone that eats like you and stays slim. Besides, can you even grow fat from food in a dream?"

"I dunno. It's up there with questions like can you get pregnant if you have sex in one?" he asked, suddenly grinning at her, then laughing as she started blushing.

"Artie!" She shook her head, wishing her hair would cover her face. "Some things never change, even after ten years of marriage," she laughed.

"So what now, woman?" he asked, standing up as she did, bouncing up and down slightly on the spot. "That will never get old."

"Next is the whole point of this trip," she said almost shyly. He cocked his head as he looked at her, putting her shawl over her shoulders before they stepped outside. The air was cool, not cold, but enough that she shivered slightly.

"Okay, where to then?"

She couldn't help but smile at him as she kissed him, then tugged his hand. "Trust me."

The building she led them too was close by, nondescript from the outside. "Close your eyes," she murmured at him, one hand on the door. He raised an eyebrow at her, but complied. She carefully led him along a corridor.

"I hear music," he said suddenly, though he kept his eyes shut. "And people."

"Mmmhmm," she agreed, and opened a door. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

He did so, gasping slightly at the sight. "A dance hall?" he said, his eyes wide as he took in the room. There were around fifty people there, some sitting, some dancing. "You created a dance hall?"

She smiled brightly as she took in his expression. "I suppose you could say it was selfish," she said quietly. "I remembered back to high school, your dream, and how much I wanted to dance with you. When this became a reality... it was the only thing I wanted us to do. Together."

He turned to her, cupping her face in both of his hands. She could see tears shining in his eyes. "This... this is just perfect, love," he said. "Perfect."

They were led to an empty table, champagne brought over to them. They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking in the atmosphere before a very familiar song started to play. He smiled at the memory, then looked up as she stood, holding out a hand. "Arthur John Abrams, will you dance with me?"

He didn't speak, merely standing up and leading her onto the dance floor, pulling her close as they started dancing. She just let the whole sensation wash over her. She'd been able to fulfill his dream, the one he'd finally admitted to her all those years ago. It had taken her nearly twenty years, but she'd done it. She shuddered slightly as he bent his head close to her, and started singing in her ear.

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

"Thank you," he whispered again when the song was over. "To be normal again... It's all I ever wanted. I could stay here forever. I'm sorry I was so negative about it in the first place."

She shushed him again. "No. No sadness tonight. You and me are going to dance, then when we are done here, with the couple of hours we have left, you and I are going back to our hotel room, and you are going to make love to me."

"Am I indeed?" he laughed.

"Yup. Time to put those upper body muscles of yours to good use."

All good things must come to an end, she thought to herself as the music she had chosen as the warning music began playing, her favorite aria, Soave sia il vento. An unusual choice, maybe, but when she'd seen the translation for the aria, she knew it was perfect. The pair of them were lying on the bed, tangled up in each other. They were taking simple pleasure from the fact he could entwine his legs with hers. "It's beautiful," he murmured, listening to the music.

"One of the most amazing things Mozart ever wrote," she agreed.

"When did you become an opera nerd?" he asked.

"Heard a few at college, and it stuck with me," she said, then fell silent.

"How long?" he asked, holding her tighter to him.

"Ten minutes," she replied, nuzzling along his jawline.

He was silent for a long time, so long that she looked at him curiously. When he returned her look, it seemed that every cliché she'd ever heard about heart sinking, stomach leaping and all the others happened in that instant. She knew what he was going to say, and that this time he truly meant it.

"I want to stay here forever, Tee."

"Artie..."

He buried his head against her shoulder, trembling slightly. "How can I go back, knowing what it's like? It's not the dancing, it's the whole thing. How you make me feel, how it feels to be able to do something as simple as this. The kids? I could run with the kids, teach them how to kick a ball like my dad did, pick them up properly when they need me to." He was crying, she could feel it even without looking at his face. All she could do was hold him close, try to soothe him. He wasn't normally one to give into his emotions quite like this - he rarely cried. She stroked his hair, whispering what she hoped were soothing words to him, willing for the dream to end.

Tina blinked, slowly coming back to the present. The music had stopped, the dream was over, they were awake again. She lay there, looking up at the sterile ceiling of the clinic, focusing, trying to work out what had just happened. A noise to her right brought her out of her reverie.

It was barely there, but she knew it. The sound of Artie crying.

She turned to look at her husband. He had obviously sat upright as soon as he'd regained awareness after the dream, and was now curled in on himself, in distress. He hated crying in public, but it seemed as if he couldn't help himself.

She couldn't help but wonder if she'd made a huge mistake in setting this up.

She couldn't believe they had only been asleep for such a short time. Less than two hours, and yet it felt so long when they were there. As they got a cab back to their hotel, Tina couldn't help reflect on what had happened. Artie was withdrawn as they travelled. She asked a couple of questions, trying to figure out how he was, but he just gave short answers, and wouldn't initiate conversation. When they got back to the hotel, after Tina closed the door behind them, she watched silently as Artie transferred himself to the bed, for the first time in years looking self-conscious as he did it. She turned away, not wanting to watch him, or offer to help, even though the different height to what he was used to made it awkward. She merely went into the bathroom for a moment, trying to calm her emotions. Glancing around, she was made more aware of Artie's status, as the fittings in the handicapable bathroom rammed it home for her.

Listening carefully, she heard the sounds of the television being turned on, so she glanced at herself in the mirror one more time, before heading out into the main room. Artie looked up at her as she sat on the bed, watching him. He turned the television off, and gave her a weak smile.

"Artie..." Tina began, taking his hand. "We should talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about, Tina," was Artie's reply. No bitterness, no edge, just a weariness in his voice. "It was a dream, it was amazing, it's over now. End of story."

"Artie, please."

"Really, there is nothing to talk about. Even if I could go back, we both know it's not real, we have responsibilities in the real world. Therefore, I don't want to talk about it. How about we get on with the rest of our lives?"

Tina watched Artie, nodding slightly, though she wasn't convinced. She knew Artie, she knew his hopes and dreams. Swallowing slightly, she leaned over and kissed him, not really surprised that he took a second to return her kiss.

After they returned home, life seemed to settle back into a rhythm quickly. With both of them in full time jobs and having two lively, active children, there wasn't a lot else they could do. It therefore took Tina a couple of months to realize that something was wrong. It wasn't anything specific, just a general malaise in Artie. Unless it was with the children, or work, or her (and mostly in that order), he just didn't want to get involved. When she looked at him, it was as if something had died within him the day of the shared dream. They missed a glee reunion, much to the disgust and horror of Kurt and Mercedes. Tina lied, saying that Artie wasn't well, and that she didn't want to leave him. Not that huge of a lie, really. She had to work to even get him to attend Sam's first school concert.

Tina got Artie's parents involved and the three of them took nearly six months to persuade him to see a doctor. Anti-depressants was the answer, it was decided. Enough to just get him back under some kind of control, to give him a chance to gain him interest in life again.

And it worked, or so it seemed. He gained interest in things again. He voluntarily went to Anna's nativity play, where she was playing an angel. He even went out for dates with Tina. But he also started working odd hours, coming home late, business meetings that took him out of town overnight. Tina began to suspect the worst, but she daren't confront him about it, for fear it would tip him over the edge again. So she suffered in silence, terrified that the thing that had given him a renewed interest in life was an affair. As Artie grew in confidence again, she withdrew into herself.

One day he didn't come home.

She didn't realize until late in the evening that she hadn't heard from him all day. She'd sent a couple of texts, but had no response. That wasn't unusual, but when she sent a text, and didn't get a message received pingback, she started to worry, and rang him.

'This cell phone is out of service.'

It took her two hours of pacing and several cups of coffee to get the courage to ring his parents, to try and find out if they had heard from him. Artie's mother immediately got in her car and drove to Columbus to come to help her out, Tina's mother coming with her. They set out to check every spot they could think Artie would be, a task that went well into the next day.

The forty-eight hours until Tina could file a missing person's report were the longest in her life. It didn't stop her from ringing up the police station, hospitals, everywhere she could think of in the meantime. Artie's work told her that he'd run in sick the day he vanished, but they hadn't been worried. Apparently he had been pulling extra shifts, claiming he needed extra money, and had been working away when he'd said he was, so an affair was looking increasingly unlikely.

Anna and Sam picked up that something was wrong, but Tina's parents were happy to look after them, leaving the three Abrams adults to search for him.

Nothing.

The police told her that given her initial suspicions, it was likely that Artie had been having an affair, and simply decided to create a new life for himself. They would do a search, see if there was any activity on his bank account, credit card, etc, but the chances were that he wasn't missing, just choosing not to be found.

Tina decided that she wasn't responsible for the language she used when she yelled at the officer dealing with her case.

Three days later, when Artie's cell phone was found in the Park of Roses, Tina didn't know what to think. It was an odd place for it to be found, but there were no signs of any foul play, so after minor interest from the police, Tina was left to wonder, and wait.

Hours quickly turned into days, then weeks, and before she knew it, three months had gone. Then six. Then twelve. She commemorated the anniversary of her husband's disappearance with Kurt and Mercedes keeping her company, ice-cream, and a whole lot of vodka, hoping to blank out the day. The worst moment came when she wandered into the kitchen, where the radio was playing, and a very familiar tune began playing.

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

She couldn't help throwing the radio across the kitchen.