Chapter 15

The first thing Elena sees when she regains consciousness is Gavin. He's leaning over her, looking very concerned.

"Elena, thank God. Are you okay?"

She reaches up with her unbandaged hand, touches his face, and smiles. "yeah, I think so."

"I just about went crazy when I was thrown out of the link and you didn't wake up. Do you know what happened? Did they escape somehow?"

"No," she says hesitantly, "they didn't escape."

She struggles to sit up, and is grateful when Gavin immediately slides a supporting arm behind her back. She's still a little groggy, and is reminded of the nights when the dreamscape forced her to view an entire day of Gavin's life. It had been thrilling, especially when she shared an intimate moment with him, but she had awakened much like this in the mornings afterward, disoriented and exhausted.

Gavin's bedroom comes into focus, and she suddenly realizes that they are both still naked. She laughs weakly, and Gavin gives her an odd look.

"Sorry," she says, cuddling into the curve of his arm, "I was just thinking, naked superheroes to the rescue."

The corners of his mouth twitch upwards, but the smile never reaches his eyes. It's then, reading the emotions from his face and not feeling them inside her own awareness, that she notices the absence of the link.

Is it gone?

Panicking, she reaches for him, and their shared awareness opens like a flower in her mind.

{Yes?}

"I just," she sighs in relief, and slumps back against him, "I was afraid it was gone."

"Can you show me what happened?"

She considers it, and then shakes her head, letting the link between them fade to the back of her consciousness. "I'll just tell you, if that's okay. I think I've had enough telepathy for a little while."

"Yeah," he agrees instantly, "no argument there."

She takes a second to gather her thoughts, and then says, "I was getting ready to rip the link out of both of them. I knew you didn't want me to do it, but I couldn't see any other way of keeping us safe. Then, everything vanished."

She pauses, and feels his arm around her give a reassuring squeeze. Even without the link, he knows exactly when to offer her comfort.

"For a while, nothing happened, and I was just floating. I kept trying to find you, to reconnect our link so that you could pull me back, but I couldn't sense anything. I thought maybe the couple, Corinne and Michael, had managed to trick us after all, but couldn't figure out how they had done it."

Gavin nods, "I was afraid of the same thing."

"Then," Elena draws in a deep breath, "I felt something really strange. I'll show you through our link later, because there's no way I'm going to be able to describe it to you, but it was ... Huge. Imagine taking everyone on Earth, combining all of their personalities into one massive being, and that will give you something of an idea what this felt like. I think, no, I'm certain, it was the dreamscape itself."

He stirs, and then asks, " Was it upset with us?"

She stares up at him in surprise. "How did you know?"

He shrugs. "It's just, from everything you showed me, dreamers aren't allowed to really do anything while they're in the dreamscape except watch. Bonded couples obviously have more power, but..."

Gavin shifts, and she feels his arm slide away from her back. She misses the touch of his skin, until he puts both hands on her shoulders and begins massaging away her tension.

"It just felt wrong. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," she says, leaning into his hands. " It didn't use words, but still let me know that fighting other bonded couples in the dreamscape wasn't ever permitted."

"And then," he says, amusement evident in his voice, "I bet you told it that we didn't start the fight."

"Hey," she objects, "who's telling this story?"

"I'm sorry, go on. What happened next?"

Elena sighs. "If I didn't love what your hands were doing so much, I'd smack you."

Gavin doesn't say anything, just digs his fingers in deeper, and slowly starts working his way down her back. It feels wonderful, and she waits a few seconds before continuing her story.

"I tried to tell the dreamscape that we never wanted to hurt anyone, and that it was the other couple who kept trying to kill us. It had to know that already, but I couldn't just hang there without saying anything. Anyway, then it showed both of them to me. I guess," she swallows, "maybe it wanted to let me know they weren't going to be a threat to us anymore? Gavin, it had pulled them both into the dreamscape. Not just the dreamer, but the guardian too."

His hands stop for a second, and then continue her massage. "So, they're both dead then? Here I mean?"

It's Elena's turn to shrug. "I assume so. Unless the dreamscape puts them back into their bodies, they'll be stranded."

"So, they died anyway," he murmurs.

She waits, uncertain whether he'll say anything else, but he remains silent. In the dreamscape, he had been appalled by her decision to kill their attackers. He hadn't tried to stop her, but had withdrawn instead, waiting to see if she would really go through with it. And, if the dreamscape hadn't intervened, she would have.

"Can you..." She turns her head, looking at him over her shoulder, "Can you forgive me?"

"Oh, Elena," he whispers, pulling her against him, "you weren't the one who killed them."

"I would have though," she says, stating a truth both of them already know, "if it hadn't taken the decision away from me, I would have."

He says nothing for a time, and then, bending his face close to her hair, he inhales deeply. "People I love keep asking for my forgiveness today. First my dad, and now you. Yes, I think killing them ourselves would've been wrong, and I also think you would've ended up regretting it, but..." He makes a helpless gesture with both hands. "There weren't any good choices, you know?"

People I love.

"What about you," he asks, playing with a strand of her hair, "forgive me for backing out on you?"

"I think," she answers quietly, "that your doing that might have saved us from ending up like Corinne and Michael."

"It told you that?"

Elena shakes her head. "It didn't tell me anything, it's just an impression I got."

"Well, I'm even happier I did it then, if that's why it brought you back to me."

There's a movement beside the doorway to Gavin's bedroom, and she tenses, wondering if Al has come home earlier than expected. When the shape materializes though, it's Mac, not Gavin's father.

"Hey boy," Gavin calls, holding out a hand to the German shepherd.

Smiling, Elena extends her hand as well. "He agreed to be my protector while you were gone. I think now, he probably loves me more than he does you."

Mac pads over to the bed, sniffs both proffered hands, and then gives Elena's an approving lick.

"Traitor!" Gavin accuses, pulling his hand away before Mac can lick it as well, and rolling on to his back. "Don't you know, girls come and go, but the love in-between a boy and his dog is supposed to be eternal. I'm crushed!"

"Awe, poor baby," Elena says, rolling on top of him, "maybe there's something this trivial girl can do for you before she leaves tonight."

Turning on to her street, Elena is unsurprised to see that the door to Ramon Perez's garage is again open. It had been a little after 4:30 am when she left Gavin's house, so she doesn't have that much time before her parents will be awake. Still, the conversation she wants to have with him is important.

When she arrives at the foot of Ramon's driveway, she notices that the light above the garages work area is turned off, but he is still visible inside. He's sitting on a lawn chair, a battery powered book light clipped to the novel he's holding in one hand.

Across their link, she feels Gavin's renewed concern for her.

{You sure this'll be safe?}

"Welcome home," Ramon says, looking up from his book.

{He's fine. Even if everything you suspect is true, he's just their watcher.}

"Thank you," she answers, and points at a lawn chair leaning against the garage's wall nearby. " Feel like having a quick talk?"

"That would be great," he agrees.

Standing up, he puts down his book, unfolds her chair, and sets it up across from his.

Elena nods her thanks, Sits down, and asks, "Your wife doesn't mind you staying up all night?"

"Gloria's not here," he answers, sitting down as well. "When I recognized Gavin as your potential partner, I suggested that she spend some time with a friend in Maryland. Luckily, both she and Sally thought it was a great idea." He studies Elena closely for a second, and then adds, "Good morning, Gavin."