Chapter 9: My God, this is not a dream!

Summary:

It is not all epic tasks. Loas, like girls, like to have fun! (I adore Cindy Lauper!) Thanks to Sweepeaspatch not only for her (necessary) corrections but also for giving, as always, more life to the story!

Chapter Text

A dreadful drowsiness still invades Richard's mind and he feels terribly overwhelmed. But he takes the opportunity to reminisce about that wonderful dream he had with Camille, and for once no one woke them up!

And those dreams are so special that he knows perfectly well that everything he experienced was real... in the dream. Of course, he has a hard time remembering why Camille didn't come to the shack to "talk". Something serious must have come up, or maybe not serious but important enough to cancel their date.

Because Richard doesn't remember the call cancelling their appointment either. But he feels so happy that he doesn't care. Certainly he has learned certain "techniques" with Camille that he will be able to take advantage of in the near future.

It certainly seems that the Loas have finally granted them their long-awaited meeting. Its wonderful to live in both worlds.

A timeless, magical world where anything can happen. A special world just for the two of them.

But Richard sighs, he can barely move, but as best he can, he reaches out and manages to see the time on the clock on his bedside table.

It's half past three in the morning. He frowns, he'd swear they'd both enjoyed much more time. He's afraid that doesn't speak very well of him. It dampens his euphoria a little.

In any case, he feels tired again, very tired. He takes some water from the water bottle on his bedside table and decides that he should try to get some more sleep. His pride demands that he prove to Camille that he is capable of loving her for longer.

Camille feels free and happy. As she walks along the sandy beach near the "other" shack, she senses that shes going to see Richard and that hes waiting for her. And, of course, she has dressed up for the occasion, a tunic that leaves one shoulder uncovered and clings to her body leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

And she's not really wearing anything underneath, nor will she need to, nor does she think he'll miss it. Erzulie has given her that dress.

A robe for a goddess from another goddess. It's the least the Loas should do for her, for Camille, and by extension, for Richard.

Its already dark, but Camille is not afraid and keeps walking towards a figure sitting on the beach who is staring at her with his mouth open. Its him.

Now she understands that if they have no longer returned to their personal "beach", the beach where they met and fell in love, its because they no longer need it. Probably the Loas, or just Erzulie, or the lizard will lend it to them temporarily to achieve their ends. She doesn't care about that, though.

They have their own beach now, Richard's beach. And its really and truly theirs.

He rises from the sand with some effort. Camille frowns, though she decides to put it aside. Its possible that having come into contact in the real world, that aspect of him has crept into this other magical world.

It's not important. Or so she decides when Richard arrives to meet her, looks back at her in total fascination and, wrapping his arms around her, kisses her passionately.

When they pull away to breathe, he comments:

"I thought I could never hold my own Venus in my arms, Camille. You look... stunning."

"You don't look bad yourself. No jacket, no tie, and you're barefoot. Do you want to save time? We've got all night."

Richard's eyes give off a dangerous green glow at that moment as he stares unblinkingly at her, hugging her tightly again.

"Come in with me, Camille. I don't think I want to talk tonight. We've talked too much already."

He lifts her in his arms as he heads purposefully into the now strangely bright shack. Only the sound of the waves can be heard. Nothing else. As they are already stepping over the threshold, the night grows even darker. No one wants witnesses.

Richard gently sets her down onto her feet beside the bed.

"I know I've asked you before, Camille, how could someone like you want to be with someone like me? I think you've bewitched me, but I don't care."

Camille is about to answer him when he starts kissing her first on the lips and then, without losing contact with her skin, on her neck. And all this while he is already pulling down the only strap of her dress.

Camille does not resist, she cannot. She also kisses him with real ardor when he doesn't distract her with his caresses. Of course, she doesn't waste any time either. She has already unbuttoned his shirt, which was already partially open, and begins to discover what his touch is like.

And she discovers that she likes it, really likes it.

And this time no one will interrupt them...

They dont realise it, but the shack is changing. It no longer shines as it did before, when they met on the beach. Now its Richard's own house. The same one that he has had to clean using all his spare time.

Camille is struggling with Richard's trousers, but she has managed to overcome that horrible belt and that horrible button. And Richard hasn't put up any resistance because he can't, he's ecstatic with Camille's naked body. And he thought she was stunning before!

Letting out an impatient sigh, Camille pulls him down onto the bed and gets rid of the rest of Richard's remaining clothes. Of course, they are both busy discovering each other and getting more and more out of control.

For just a second, maybe a thousandth of a second, Richard and Camille think they hear the sound of night birds storming around the shack again.

But they don't care about that, they prefer to carry on with their business.

Nor have they noticed that the shack is back to the way it was and that his mobile phone is back in working order.

What sound is that? Richard opens his eyes and discovers that its already daylight. And a grin spreads across his face. What a night! He's definitely never experienced a night like this.

With a sigh he picks up his mobile phone and answers the urgent call. It's Fidel.

"Sir, we have a new case." Fidel, who must also be answering the Station's landline, puts him on hold while he takes the other call. "I'm sorry, sir. I had to take the call."

Richard answers him sleepily:

"Don't worry, please continue. I'll get up right now though, shower and get dressed."

The Station phone rings again, Fidel lets out a sigh of exasperation.

When Fidel speaks to him again, Richard interrupts him:

"Leave it, tell me about it at the Station. Find Sergeant Bordey. She was supposed to be on duty."

That must have been why she didn't show up at his house. He still finds it strange that she didn't call him, though. And that he had forgotten.

"I've tried! But her mobile is out of range and she won't pick up the phone at home. Dwayne has already left to come pick you up in the Jeep."

Richard is totally taken aback.

"That's OK, I'll be ready then. "

Fidel hangs up the phone.

"Oh, Richard, do you always get up so early on the weekends?"

When he turns his head slowly as he feels with his hand for the body lying next to him on the bed he is totally paralysed, only managing to say:

"My God, this is not a dream! And Dwayne is on his way here!"

Camille sits up like a contented cat, commenting:

"I thought I could never have a dream like this with you. And that I would enjoy it so much."

Then she hugs Richard, who still can't react, and Camille says in his ear:

"And know that I'm ready to do it again whenever you want, even though we're dreaming, because it seems so real!"

At last Richard manages to say something.

"You bet it was and it IS real! That I can assure you. Not only that, I'm informing you that we have a case about which I still know nothing at all. And since you werent reachable, I've been tipped off. And Dwayne is on his way to the shack because you weren't available to come looking for me!"

Camille finally manages to wake up and, like Richard, all she says is:

"My God, this is not a dream! And I don't have any spare clothes in your shack, Richard! What am I going to do?"

At this point Richard and Camille hate the Loas.

And the lizard watching them from the foot rail, like the mischievous Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" seems to grin from ear to ear without any remorse.

Notes:

Sweepeaspatch, don't you think Richard would have made a great linguistic dissertation on the sometimes amusing differences between one language and another? I can't get that out of my mind...

And... Of course, it will continue...