A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating today! Hope your turkey is almost as good as mine. :)

Big thanks to the reviewers, you guys were in tip-top shape last chapter.

And of course, a big thanks to Greg for beta-ing. He's going on a very important business trip this weekend, everyone wish him luck!

Read.

XV.

"…then we went to Martha's Vineyard for the day and picked apples. My brother and I raced to see who could fill their bucket fastest, and he tried to cheat by putting branches and leaves on the bottom of his bucket, but I totally saw right through that lame ruse, and I dumped his bucket and was deemed the winner, by ruling of my Aunt Dorie," Valerie rattled off in her usual high-pitched, sing-song way.

Ben, for the most part, had tuned her out hours ago, but he still had to maintain partial attention, because every now and then she would take a breather and ask his opinion about something and he didn't want to be caught off guard. It only made her repeat everything.

"Oh my gosh, I never told you about my Aunt Dorie, did I?" Valerie realized, she gasped and briefly place a hand on Ben's arm, she liked to touch when she talked, "Aunt Dorie made the best apple pies ever created in the world. She was fantastic. I miss her so much. She died. Oh gosh, not in the invasion, of course. She had cancer."

"Of course," Ben muttered, glancing at his watch for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Still three hours to go before watch was over. He sighed, he had hoped Jimmy might come but it was starting to look like that wasn't going to happen.

Ben and Valerie were seated comfortably next to one another in the front seat of an old green Buick on the south eastern corner of the camp perimeter. They hadn't driven it there, it didn't run. It had actually been found in the driveway of one of the houses in the neighborhood and a handful of fighters had pushed it into the street to serve as a watch-post, knocking out the windows for ease of gun use.

"She was bald for a while, and had to wear wigs. She had a whole bunch of them, every color, and every style imaginable. She was so funny about it; sometimes she would take her wig off in public, just to freak people out."

"Valerie?"

"She had this one wig that she called her black woman wig. Oh my gosh, is that racist? It totally was not meant to be racist. But it was this big poufy black afro wig and when she put it on she looked absolutely ridiculous. I think I still have pictures of her wearing it back at camp."

"Valerie…"

"I can show them to you when we get back. Oh, I loved my Aunt Dorie. She was fantastic. I said that already, didn't I? Anyway, she lived in San Francisco, but she had a loft in Denver, and she was always traveling everywhere. She said she was free spirited. My dad said she was nuts."

"Valerie!"

"Oh my gosh, what?" Valerie faltered, her eyes widened in start and she darted quick scouring looks around the area, as she gripped her rifle closely to her body, "Did you hear something?"

"No," Ben replied, emphatically, "I can't hear anything."

"Really? Why?" Valerie wondered. Ben screwed his eyes shut and took a deep, calming breath.

"Just…could we save this conversation for another time?" Ben asked, pleaded, "I have a headache."

"A headache," Valerie repeated dramatically. She suddenly put her hand on Ben's forehead and he startled back against the cloth bucket seat that smelled somewhat of mildew and moth balls. She put her other hand on her own severely furrowed brow as a basis of comparison, "You don't feel feverish…maybe a little colder than normal. Or maybe I'm feverish? What kind of headache is it? Maybe you just need water? Does it feel like a migraine? Is there vertigo? Are you feeling nauseous at all? Oh gosh, maybe we should just head back to camp and go see Dr. Glass."

"It's not that bad of a headache," Ben protested, gently removing Valerie's hand from off his brow and pushing it back towards her. He sighed; she was doing her pitying stare routine. He hated when she did that and he braced himself for the conversation he knew would inevitably follow.

"It's not because of…" Valerie gestured to her neck, indicating the spikes that protruded from beneath Ben's skin and ran the length of his spine starting from the base of his neck and ending somewhere mid-back.

Ben rolled his eyes, groaning, "No."

"Okay," Valerie said, sounding unintentionally patronizing, "Well you'll tell me if it is because of…that, right?"

"Sure," Ben muttered, readjusting his rifle with its barrel pointed out the windshield and leaning forward a bit in his chair to get a better view of the outside.

They sat in silence for a blissful two minutes during which time Ben sort of started to feel guilty for being annoyed with Valerie, she really was a sweet girl with earnest intentions and had always treated him well enough, that is, until Valerie grew restless and asked, "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"

"I'm sure," Ben grumbled.

"Really? Because you just seem like there's something you want to talk about. You know I read people really well. I have good intuition, that's what my dad says all the time. I thought about majoring in psychology, becoming a psychiatrist, when I finished high school…you know…before…but then I also really wanted to do the fashion design thing and I was really good at that," Valerie rambled on, readying to enter a whole new spiel.

Ben grimaced, in that moment, sensing a coming flood of useless information about the spritely girl, made a snap decision to save his sanity and quickly spit out, "What do you know about dreams?"

Valerie faltered, startled by the sudden shift in conversation. She tentatively bit her bottom lip and considered the question.

"I know a lot about dreams, actually," she announced cheerfully, "My Aunt Dorie, you remember I told you about her…"

"Just minutes ago, yes."

"Yes, well, she gave me all these books about dream interpretation. I know all gobs of stuff about dreams and their meanings. They all have meanings you know. Sometimes they can be predictions of the coming future but most of the time they're like windows to our soul, they tell us things about ourselves that we didn't even know," Valerie explained, then smiling broadly up at Ben, she chirped, "Why? Did you have a dream you need interpreted?"

Ben sighed haggardly, gazing out into the dead night. For a moment, he almost wished a few Skitters would appear; give him something to actually do. Valerie probably wasn't the best person to talk about this with, but he didn't exactly have anyone else. Hal would think it was stupid, it was a little embarrassing to discuss with Dr. Glass, and Jimmy would probably just get mad.

"I've been dreaming about this girl," Ben admitted.

Valerie perked a brow at that, laying an arm across her belly and relaxing her rifle in the crook of her elbow, trying not to appear more interested than would be considered normal and platonic.

"Oh. Really? What girl? Anyone…I…know?"

To be honest, Ben was perfectly aware of Valerie's feelings towards him, he'd be a completely oblivious idiot to miss the lurid stares and congenial sighs she directed his way, and then, of course, there was the fact that super hearing had its advantages when it came to finding out all the juicy gossip around camp, especially about one's self. He sort of felt badly about the ordeal, but there was nothing he could do aside from pretend he didn't notice her advances and hope she eventually found someone that could return her feelings and give her the love she deserved.

Now Ben couldn't exactly say he was thrilled when he learned Valerie's friend Mary had a huge crush on Jimmy, but considering Jimmy was a completely oblivious idiot, Ben was fairly certain it would remain non-threatening. Though, oddly enough, Ben never felt badly about the harsh treatment Jimmy unwittingly gave the guileless girl whenever she was attempting to flirt or simply start up a conversation.

Even more confounding, a dark part of Ben sort of hoped Mary would do something daring that would force Jimmy to crush her heart and soul entirely; which, the wish itself made Ben feel bad, because he didn't understand why he disliked Mary so much. Like Valerie she was also very sweet, although, she was incredibly stupid. And not very attractive at all, she had buck teeth. And her laugh was annoying.

That settled it, Ben decided, Mary was just plain awful and she needed to stay away from Jimmy.

"I don't know," Ben explained his eyes still fixated on the vast stretch of silver stars spread out across the pitch black sky, "I've never seen her, only in the dreams. She's blonde, has these very striking gray eyes, young, pale face, real slender, always wearing this billowing white dress."

"Sounds pretty," Valerie commented silently.

"Yeah," Ben confirmed in a soft whisper, lost in the tidbits of imagery he could recall of the long-since faded dreams.

"And…um…how does she…what does she do? Does she say anything? How are you guys together…um…how do you feel about her? Do you…feel…anything…about her?" Valerie stammered question, it was evident in the quake of her voice that keeping up the 'merely platonic interest' façade was growing more difficult.

Ben's brow wrinkled together and he frowned. Feel about her? He hadn't really thought about it before. He tried to reflect on the girl, tried to sort out the swirling emotions that her image aroused in him.

"I feel…something about her, yeah. I don't know. Conflicted, I guess. Like connected, but not…we're usually standing in these odd places. I don't recognize anything, but all the colors are really vivid, you know. We talk…" he trailed off and confessed, "I don't really remember what we talk about. I think it's important, though, the conversations. They seem important."

"There's nothing else you really remember? Like, any objects laying around…maybe an apple or…oh! Birds?"

"No," Ben shook his head, scrunching his brow and trying to picture anything else about the dream, the background, any other people, "I don't really remember much about it." He sighed, "I feel like I know her, or I should…as though we've met before…in another lifetime, maybe. When she's looking at me I feel like she's looking into me. That she sees parts of me that I didn't know existed. That she understands…understands me."

Ben faltered, suddenly looking nervously to Valerie. She was staring at him in an almost awe and it made him uncomfortable. He hadn't realized but his description of the mystery girl might have come off as gushing. It probably was a good idea not to talk about this with Jimmy; it was definitely a conversation that would've ended in violence.

Briefly, Ben flashed on his most recent conversation with Jimmy and he felt his heart crush under the sever weight of his guilt. He could still feel Jimmy's arm in his hand, so slender and brittle, he could've snapped it like a twig, and the realization that, in that split second of a moment, that thought had occurred to him turned his stomach inside out. He glared down almost accusingly at his hand, the one that had roughly dragged Jimmy back towards himself.

I would never hurt you, Ben had promised, but he wasn't sure he believed his own words. He wasn't entirely certain what had overcome him in that moment, he could barely recall reaching out to grab hold of Jimmy, the rage and adrenaline had been pumping furious through his veins, his senses had all been on highest alert, yet his vision, his consciousness were blurred. It occurred to him that he could hurt Jimmy, he was more than capable, and what was more frightening, if that incident were any indication then he didn't know exactly what he would do at any given moment.

"Wow," Valerie finally breathed out. She bit her lower lip, dropping her eyes and reluctantly admitting, "She sounds amazing."

Ben blinked back into their conversation. Amazing? Who? The girl in his dreams? Amazing wasn't quite the word Ben would use for her. Maybe unnerving, or disquieting or to borrow some of Jimmy's favorite phrasing, downright creepy.

"Any theories about what it might mean?" Ben wondered and Valerie was thoughtful a very long time.

"Well, without more information it's kind of hard to figure, but…" Valerie paused theatrically, batting her lashes a moment, then took a deep breath and perambulated an expedited hypothesis, "I think it means your yearning for someone…not necessarily a romantic someone…maybe romantically, I don't know, if there was an apple I would know for certain, but there wasn't one so I don't know, but the white dress may signify innocence…which would mean no romance…or maybe love without lust, I never quite understood the whole 'innocence' thing because love makes me think sex and innocence makes me think children and I don't like the thought of sex and children together, that's just terrible.

"But then, I guess sex does lead to children, so then maybe that's what it means? Oh, but it could also mean marriage – white, not innocence…innocence doesn't mean marriage but a marriage could be innocent, you know? Which marriage, obviously, could still mean a romantic someone. The feelings of connection, though, definitely means you're looking for someone outside of yourself to form a meaningful bond with, someone who you can truly be yourself around.

"And, you know, I can't say I'm too surprised. I mean, it's understandable given your…circumstances. I mean, you're lonely, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it means you are looking for a romantic someone. Not that I'm trying to say you need romance, I'm just saying…it's that you're…you're a young boy with hormones, right, you have needs? And I think maybe the white definitely means like a deep, meaningful love, kind of like one that leads to marriage, a future, which makes sense, because I think you're very mature for your age and you're a very sensitive person and…also, well, you spend all your free time with Jimmy. It's not like you can fall in love with him, right? That is just too ridiculous. And then, of course, you've got those raging hormones not being taken care of, and, not to mention, it's hard to think about the future around him…he's kind of a depressing guy to be around."

Ben was pointing a warning glare Valerie's way and she flustered, suddenly realizing the dangerous ground she may have just trampled all over.

"Oh my gosh! I so did not mean it to sound like that. Don't get me wrong, I think Jimmy is really a nice guy and I get it, I do. He's your best friend, your first real friend since being rescued and all, but let's be honest, he's kind of really a cold person, and he can be harsh, and sometimes he's so mean to you and I think right now what you may want, what your dream is trying to tell you that you want is a warm, nurturing person, someone to help you sort through your emotions. And maybe that's what this girl represents, your desire for someone…warm."

Valerie fell silent, sucking her bottom lip and darting furtive glances up at Ben every so often. He glared out the windshield, trying to push down the swell of anger in him burning like a wild fire.

Valerie was wrong about Jimmy being cold. Jimmy was fettered, broken in the most horrifying of ways, abrasive, harsh, standoffish, impossible at times, yes, but cold, never. Deep inside, underneath the shattered bits of a not-so-happy childhood, there was something undeniably warm about that other boy, a tiny flickering flame that just needed to be kindled and fed before it could grow ostensibly into the roaring fire it had the potential to be.

Maybe Ben could forgive Valerie because she didn't know how endearingly adorable Jimmy could look with his features softened, his breathing sharp and shallow, his cheeks flushed. She didn't know how powerful he could be, a weatherworn limb that refused to snap from the torrential winds that raged around him. She didn't know how vulnerable he could be, the fragility that could be glimpsed behind those endless blue eyes that drove Ben mad with the desire to just hold Jimmy close and never let go and the knowledge that if he tried Jimmy would slip out of his grasp and be gone in the blink of an eye.

Maybe, Ben could forgive her for that slight except that she would never be able to see Jimmy like that, no one was allowed to as far as Ben was concerned, no one except for him. So he would just have to settle for being mildly annoyed at her for not trusting that he saw something there in Jimmy, even if she did not.

As for the dream girl, Valerie was definitely wrong about her. She did not represent his desire for someone else. He was sure of it. He closed his eyes and loathed the hollow ache inside his chest as he flashed momentarily on that faraway dream and that delicate featured face. He wasn't exactly sure what that dream meant, but he was absolutely certain of what it did not mean.

Ben winced, and scowled. Painfully, regrettably, he had to admit that there was one thing Valerie had been right about. It was hard to think about the future with Jimmy. The other boy had already determined that if there was any future for him to have, he would throw it away the instant he had it. And if there was a future for Ben to have…well…he didn't know what it would be. He wanted to believe that Jimmy would be in it, but he honestly did not know, and even attempting to think about it made him sick to his stomach.

Ben looked at his watch again and used the car side-mirror to surreptitiously peek back at camp for any movement their direction. He tried not to let himself be disappointed, Jimmy had never actually agreed to stop by. Ben reached his hand in his pocket and curled it round the compass, which he still had to return because he'd gotten so riled up at the shooting range. He cringed at the memory, snap like a twig, but shook it away because now it gave him the perfect excuse to seek Jimmy out when he got back to camp.

"Ben," Valerie began sheepishly, and Ben glanced at her, a strange sense of dread welling in the pit of his stomach, "I was wondering…if…"

"Do you know much about the four kids that were rescued with me?" Ben hastily cut Valerie off and her words slammed back into her throat. For a moment, she looked as though she'd been slammed with a semi-truck; so startled was she by the sudden shift in conversation.

"I…what? No, I don't know…" Valerie stammered, turning her attention out the window and looking a bit flustered, "I don't think I know any of them."

"One of them is a boy…sort of…about my height, maybe a little taller, dark hair, light colored eyes," Ben pressed on, then muttered dispassionately, "A lot of muscles."

Valerie shook her head and wrinkled her nose at the description, "Wait, you said four right? I guess then, it could be Roman that you mean. I didn't know he was one of the unharnessed kids. He and those other three are always together…they must all be. That would make sense, I guess. But, you know, they don't have the…" she gestured to the back of her neck and looked up at Ben pityingly, "So…they couldn't be, right?"

"Roman," Ben repeated, getting a feel for the name on his tongue. He didn't like it, it tasted sour. It was one of the names Weaver had listed, "What do you know about him?"

"Not much," Valerie shrugged, sinking back and pulling her knees up, resting her heels on the front of her seat, "He's kind of secretive. All of them are. They only like to be around each other. They're kind of weird. He's a little….intimidating. But he's…he's attractive, I guess. A lot of the girls around camp are, like, in love with him. Not me, of course, he's not really my type. I like sweet, smart guys," she darted a suggestive look at Ben which he valiantly ignored, "Kind of like you."

"Why is he intimidating? Is there any reason…?" Ben wondered. Valerie shook her head.

"Oh gosh, no. I mean, I just think he is," Valerie admitted, "I get that feeling from him, you know, that he could be dangerous. There's something not trustworthy about him. He reminds me of a…of a fox. Have you ever seen a fox?"

"Yeah, once," Ben answered absently, thinking about her words.

"They have those beady eyes and sharp little teeth; I bet Roman has sharp little teeth. I can't help but see it every time I see him, evil tiny teeth," Valerie went on, "Anyway, what I mean is, Roman is kind of like a fox, they say cunning right? Like a fox? He's cunning, but not in a good way, in a bad way. Cunning…and sly. That's just what I think, anyway. Like I said before, all the other girls in camp are head over heels for him. They try to get his attention all the time, it's kind of funny to watch, but also, really sad because he can be mean sometimes. Why are you so interested in him all of a sudden?"

"Jimmy was hanging around him today…" Ben murmured, lost in his own ponderings. Valerie perked her brow sharply, then dropped her eyes and fidgeted with the rifle splayed across her lap.

"Oh," she mumbled, "Is that really such a bad thing? I mean, if he's making new friends, I would think that would be good. He's always so quiet and acts like he doesn't need anyone, even though he so obviously does and, you know, that way you could make new friends too, so that you don't always have to be around Jimmy, and I think that would be good for you too, even if you don't think so! Not everyone hates you because of…well, you know. There are a lot of other people around camp, that are really wonderful people, and I think it would be nice if you…"

Ben tuned Valerie out again, relaxing back and letting her drone on and on. Eventually, she leapt from the subject of his branching out and becoming a full person on to other far less relevant things. As her voice became white noise, and he counted down the hours, minutes, seconds until watch was over, he kept his hand covering the compass in his pocket.

Though Ben tried to maintain optimistic thoughts fixed on Jimmy, his mind kept straying to the way Roman had leered at Jimmy, and the way Jimmy had flustered because of it. Worse yet was the girl in Ben's dream, flitting intermittently into those thoughts and fogging his already befuddled mind.

And then there was the crackling, like static, far into the distance where a few nights back Ben had seen that brilliant light though Jimmy swore there had been none. Something was brewing on the horizon, it had been for days, and Ben was beginning to worry he was about to be swept up in a coming storm.

.

.

.

A/N: So, I love Valerie. It may not seem like it, the way Ben treats her, but I do. I kind of just write her so that she cracks me up...but you know, as always, feel free to hate her. Maybe she's a character only a mother can love, I don't know. Anyhow, yeah...so Ben talks about the girl of his dreams...er...in his dreams. Heheh...and he's digging up info on Roman. Fun chapter, to me anyhow, maybe not to you all. I don't know, and I won't know, until you review.

Otherwise, I have to go pretend I'm happy my family is over for the holidays when I'd rather be enjoying my four day weekend by myself writing. Whatever.

Reviewers: IcicleLilly, you still love Roman? I'm glad to hear it. Yeah, Jimmy/Ben showing affection for one another is always a good time. You'll have to wait until next chapter to find how Jimmy reacts to the Ben-late-night-Skitter-hunting-alone thing. WhisperMaw! I was so happy to see a review from you! I'd worried you weren't reading anymore...but you are, and that makes me happy! Roman is...Franklin 5.0 with super strength? I like it. But, you know, always got to have an antagonist or two. Girl, that is a lot of schooling. Not too surprising though, you always struck me as a smart cookie, I am very impressed though. Good luck with your school work. Hoping to hear from you again soon! Sassysavanna190, you first thing: I thought planning everything out was the only way to write a story? People don't do that?! And the second thing, yes, Roman is a little bit. I'm kind of glad the control loss on Ben's part caught you by surprise. Hoping to surprise you guys with a bit more things coming up. Hell, I just wrote a scene that really came as a surprise to me. FacePalmer123, I had wondered where you were last chapter, I was a bit concerned. Glad to hear you liked it! Cookie97, aww...yeah, it was kind of a sad chapter. You're right, Ben and Jimmy have sort of switched roles, and they are supposed to trust one another and communicate more. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. JDMlvr1, it made your heart hurt, aww...yeah, I don't like when Ben and Jimmy fight either. Strange things are going on with Ben, and it's about to get way worse before it can even think about getting better.

And...that's all folks! Gosh, I want some turkey...