Fanfiction, what are you doing? Notifications are down, alerts; down. Stats; down. Everything...down.
Chapter 20, enjoy
Warnings: None, passing metion of non-con and unaliving is all.
Can You Keep A Secret?
Chapter 20
A Reunion..Of Sorts.
"She asked for you," Diesel blinked, looking over to Alejandro and Carlos and then to Stephanie's sleeping form, "She asked for you and then went to sleep, hasn't woken up since. It's like she wants to sleep.
"Okay, from the beginning, tell me what's going on?" Diesel was so confused but then his listened as Carlos and Alejandro spoke to him and then his confusion was gone and in its place was this ganwing feeling in his stomach, "Give me a minute, please."
Diesel walked out the room and into the kitchen and took out the book and whispered, "Ver, she's not dead, Gleti, right? How is she…I don't know... being then?"
"….I don't know, but before she fell into the state she was in now, she told me, she would be waiting for me, to find her in a place where only dreams could be found.'
Diesel looked at the book and then thought on Carlos and Alejandro's words. Brittany told Stephanie to check on her, who she was, they hadn't known. Stephanie had gone still for almost three minutes and then she was screaming at Carlos for him to get Diesel, to save her, to save the strange woman. He hadn't thought the woman might be hiding in someone's mind! He thought she was hiding as a person, reincarnated or whatever, but now this made fucking sense too much sense. It made sense as to why maybe, perhaps Stephanie was actually housing the woman's spirit? Soul? Hiding in someone else's mind, sort of set up a shield, a decoy!
Diesel walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. He crouched in front of Stephanie's sleeping form and said, "I know who she's talking about but…I have no idea how to reach her."
'I think I can help you,' Diesel and Alejandro turned to see Brittany, standing in the doorway of the living room, her face set, 'I think I know a way to get to her, it's just a hunch, though.'
Several minutes later, Diesel was sitting back on the couch, with Stephanie on the other end of it. Brittany was in between the two of them. She grabbed at Stephanie's hand and then turned to Diesel and held her hand out for him to take. There was some hesitation but he took it.
'Close your eyes and drift away,' Brittany's voice filled his head, 'Go to sleep, go find them both…'
Diesel closed his eyes and relaxed his body, letting his mind fall deep in a lull. For a moment, it felt like he was being sucked through a tube, maybe that was all in his head but then he heard someone tell him to open his eyes and he did.
He found himself in a field of dead roses, the world was grey, everything was grey and dying. It spooked him quite a bit and he made to leave but then sobbing from a distance had him turning to it. It sounded like Stephanie and he wanted to know what she was crying about. With that want in his mind, Diesel set off to find her, walking through roses that turned to dust as he stepped on them.
He found the source of the crying and indeed, it was Stephanie, crying over a figure, holding them close to her body. The man walked over to Stephanie and then crouched beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Stephanie jumped and turned, on edge but then relaxed, seeing Diesel. She looked down at the figure in her arms and whispered, "Diesel, save her, please…"
Diesel looked at the woman and schooled his features. There, in Stephanie's arms was the same woman his family protected, had been protecting throughout the ages. However, she looked to be in a worse state than her real form in the structure that housed it. Her dress was grey, her body looked frail and weak. She looked dead but Diesel knew, she wasn't dead, he didn't know what was happening to her, but she was not dead.
"I got her Stephanie," Diesel said, reassuring Stephanie, "I will save her, I promise."
He was so nervous, he didn't know what would happen, Diesel held his hand out, hesitating for a moment, looking at the woman's face before cupping her cheek. It was like a spark went through him, flaring to life, deep within his soul as he touched the woman, looking down at her in wonder. The ache that he felt, was gone, and in its place was contentment, joy. This woman that his family watched over, was here before him and he needed to hold her, to hold her close to him.
He didn't even pay attention to Stephanie as he grabbed the woman and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. It felt so right to hold her, he moved a limp curl from her slack face and then leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead whispering, "Wake up, my darling creature, your Wandering Warrior has returned." What in the hell made him say that?! Why did he say that?!
Whatever it was, it worked, because the woman's eyes were moving behind her eyelids and she let out a sigh, her body filling with life. Maybe it wasn't his words that made her wake, maybe it just him who made her wake up. She opened her eyes and turned to look at the man's face with soft honey-colored eyes. The woman's eyes brightened and her hands came up to grip Diesel's shirt.
"You…you are here," The woman whispered, looking at Diesel, a look of wonder on her face "I saw you, once, and this ache filled me…this ache for you, every time Stephanie spoke to you, I watched you and your smile, Diesel."
A smile cracked on Diesel's face as the woman whispered his name and then they were holding tight to one another. Diesel pulled away from the woman and then she was leaning up to kiss him deeply and the feeling utter rightness filled him up so much that he leaned into the kiss. The kissing would have gotten hotter, if it wasn't for the fact that Stephanie coughed and made them both look up.
"Sorry," Diesel said to Stephanie who was wiping at her tears, "You okay, Steph?"
"Y-yeah," Stephanie said, looking to Diesel and then to the woman, "Heidi, you're awake, I'm so happy."
"Heidi? That's your name? I like it," Diesel said, looking from Stephanie and to the woman, "I really like it, suits you…"
Diesel hadn't felt like this for any woman. He wanted to wrap this woman up in his arms and never let her go. She was so beautiful, so lovely, it was like a limb he lost, ages ago, had regrown and he hadn't known he was missing it. Diesel gently ran a hand through the woman's hair, and looked to Stephanie, asking, "How long have you known Heidi?"
"All my life, she's been with me since I could remember," Stephanie said, looking over to Diesel and Heidi, "Did you two have a relationship before," Stephanie blinked and said, "Oh…my goodness, it's so strange, you two act like you know one another."
"To be honest," Heidi said, looking to Stephanie and then to Diesel, "I've never met the man before in my life, I think, I don't remember anything else but the minds of a few people and I don't know how long that has been."
What?! Diesel looked to Heidi and then stuttered, "Y-you don't remember anything?"
"No, I just remember a lot of darkness and then, from time to time, I was able to make friends with some people, in their dreams, like Stephanie," Heidi moved out of Diesel's arms and looked at them both, "I don't really know who I am, Stephanie was the first of them to give me a name, I've never even had one!"
"…Do you remember someone named Vercingetroix?" Diesel asked Heidi who shook her head, frowning.
"That is quite a name, but I do not remember or know of anyone with that name," Heidi said, looking to Diesel, "Is he a friend of yours?"
"Sort of," Diesel sighed, wonderful, he was sure the woman had no memories of anything! "Do you remember why you're in someone's mind?"
"….Danger," Heidi said, looking at Stephanie and Diesel, "I am scared of someone, but I do not know who."
"It's okay, Heidi, I'm here now, and I swear I'll protect you, both you and Stephanie," Diesel said looking to the two women, "And Brittany," Diesel added when Stephanie opened her mouth, "She's the one with the target on her back."
"You're not dying now, right Heidi?" Stephanie asked the woman, earning a head shake, "Oh good. You had me so worried that you died-"
"I cannot die, the closet to death I can get to is deep hibernation," Heidi said, looking to the duo, "I must confess, I had been contemplating deep hibernation. When I first saw Diesel through your eyes, Stephanie, an ache I had never felt formed and ate at me…and do not take this as me blaming you for this, but I felt your emotions and feelings for Carlos and it was too much for me. I decided sleeping would be easier for me to handle this, than me going on and-doing something drastic like taking over your body to interact with the man."
Diesel saw Stephanie wilt, as Heidi spoke and the woman said, "Heidi, I didn't know how badly this all affected you. I was so caught up in my own, whirlwind of romance, I-I didn't even know you could feel what I felt."
"Hey," Diesel said, looking to Stephanie, "You didn't know, and you're not being blamed for this situation."
"Absolutely, there is no blame from your side, Stephanie," Heidi said as she made her way over to the woman and hugged her, "I still adore you, I still think you are a very strong person, you did nothing, I promise you."
"But me doing nothing is what got you into this mess!" Stephanie let out a sob, returning the hug, "I don't want to lose you again, Heidi."
"You won't, I'll fight tooth and nail, if this is the first and last time I get to see this man," Heidi assured Stephanie, hugging the woman, once again, her words making Diesel balk, openly.
"This will absolutely not be the first and last time," Diesel said to Heidi, making the woman look over to him, a look of surprise on her face, "We'll figure it out, Heidi, I'll come back for you, and then finally, when we have the chance, take you back to your real body, and wake you there."
"…My real body?" Heidi and Stephanie asked at the same time, and Diesel ran a shaky hand over his face and sighed.
So much explaining to do, he supposed.
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
"She's someone I knew since I was a child, when I went to sleep, instead of dreaming, I instead spent time with her, in her world, or whatever place she made," Stephanie looked down into her cup of coffee and took a long sip, "She was the-is the woman I really consider my mother."
When Stephanie woke, Carlos had given her a loo and said she had some things to explain. She really did, but she didn't know if the man would accept her explanation as to why she needed to get Diesel. It turned out, while Diesel and Brittany had been asleep for only ten minutes, Stephanie had been asleep for a full day. She had been so concerned about Heidi that hadn't wanted to leave the woman's side, least she truly died.
They sat at the kitchen table now, with Stephanie explaining about Heidi, about what she had done to help Stephanie throughout her childhood and then how she apparently helped them in the bunker.
"I don't understand, you said from age 16 to now, she wasn't around, that went you slept, you didn't dream or the like," Carlos said to Stephanie, who nodded her head, "If she's been there all this time, but quiet, why didn't she interact with you."
Stephanie gripped the mug in her hand and sighed, closing her eyes. Now that she knew the truth from Heidi, it all made sense but still, it hurt and it made her feel weird, "When I was 16, there was a boy, who I only knew from a distance, he was a football player, very popular. His name was Joe Morelli. I only interacted with him for a bit, as a child but then sort of forgot about him. I guess he didn't forget about me, because when I was 16, and working part time at the Tasty Pastry, he came in one night and…well, I don't want to say rape, but…it was rape, he raped me."
"Babe," Stephanie felt Carlos grab at her hand and Stephanie shook her head.
"I have to continue," Stephanie said, looking up, "He raped me and then a week later, wrote about it, on the high school bathroom walls, like I was cheap thrill. Helen caught wind of it and we fought that very night. She slapped me and called me a whore and told me she wished I wasn't her daughter. It was rough…and in that moment, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with the woman I truly considered my mother."
"I took all of my father's sleeping pills, to commit suicide, I thought if I did that, Heidi and I could be together forever," Stephanie laughed bitterly, "She saved me, that night and I guess, when she did, she used up all she had and made me forget about everything about her. It was for my safety."
There was silence around the table and then Brittany's phone said, 'If murder wasn't a crime, I'd kill your egg donor, what a cunt.'
Stephanie looked over to Brittany and smiled at her, "Thanks, you were always a true friend," but then Stephanie frowned and said, "Wait, I have a question, Brittany, I heard you in my head, when you told me to check on Heidi, how was that possible?"
Stephanie watched Brittany set her phone down, playing with the area between her fingers before she sighed and then her voice filled everyone's mind, 'It's called telepathy, found out a few months back, I'm able to do it, I kept it between Alejandro and Diesel, because I didn't know how to explain it to you all, but they understood.'
"Telepathy, you can speak to us with your mind? Also, what do you mean, only they could understand?" Stephanie asked Brittany, who looked to Alejandro and Diesel, "Brittany?"
"She's an Unmentionable," Carlos said, suddenly, making Brittany turn to him, almost scared, "My brother is one, I worked with a few, back when I was taking government contracts, however, I didn't expect you to be one."
"Things can trigger gifts," Diesel said, looking around, "Trauma responses, strong emotion reactions, it's just the right spark that's all that's needed to make things wake."
'Our last moments in the bunker trigger them, but they didn't start showing up until way later on, and it's only psychic abilities, such as seeing the past and future and telepathy, nothing too glamorous."
"You make some of the coolest sounding things, sound so boring," Stephanie sighed to Brittany, who shrugged, "How does it work?"
"My left eye sees the future and my right eye sees the past, I have to close one or the other to make it work," Brittany quickly covered both eyes, "It can be bad, when I'm trying to scratch one eye. It can be triggered easily."
"So, that doesn't explain why you needed Diesel," Carlos said to Stephanie, an eyebrow raised, "You said you needed him to save her."
"I can sort of explain that, but not too much," Diesel said, "No, Stephanie isn't cheating on you, the woman in her head, my family has history with her, and she sort of knows me, it's very complicated, that's all I can say, for now."
"And Brittany was needed why?" Alejandro asked Diesel , who shrugged his shoulders, "Why did you need to help?"
"Um, that woman, I saw her twice, heard her twice, I saw her in Stephanie's past, and she came to me, once, or a part of her did. The part that did, was her magic? I don't know," Brittany rubbed her eyes, "She said she didn't mean to give it to me, but I made it my own, but still, it's a part of her, and I thought, maybe if a part of her can be like a connecting bridge? I don't know but it worked, right?"
"It did, she's alive and well and Diesel and her got to talk," Stephanie said, with a bright smile, "We just have to figure out what we can do to make sure that Diesel is still able to talk to her and see her."
"Well, you're not about to use Brittany like a battery," Alejandro said, placing a very protective arm around the woman, "We'll figure something out."
"It's not safe for Heidi to be using her magic," Diesel said, thrumming his fingers on the table, "Honestly, it's not safe for any of you all to be using anything, I'll go look around in the family estate for something that could help."
"I'm sorry if this all surprises you, Carlos," Stephanie said, turning to look at the man, as everyone else got up to leave, "Heidi's…well, I adore her and when I saw her like that, I had to save her. I know, maybe I should have told you about her, but she doesn't like many people, better yet, anyone knowing about her. Told me she was in danger, didn't know who to trust. I know you're not just anyone but-"
Carlos made Stephanie shush with a kiss to her lips, "It's okay, Babe, I understand, nothing evil about wanting to keep someone close to you safe and protected."
"I almost…made her hibernate, which is the closet thing to death for her, I don't want that to happen again," Stephanie said to Carlos, tears filling her eyes, "I love her too much, she's a good person."
"It won't, we won't let that happen," Carlos said, hugging Stephanie to him as she began to sob, "It's okay, we'll make sure of it."
TBC...
Can't fight feelings or destiny, sometimes!