Participants:
| Scene Title | Just Another Nightmare |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cassidy is woken from a nightmare about her very recent abduction only to find out that Felix Ivanov has been abducted. |
| Date | August 29, 2009 |
Casa de Shelby — Lower East Side
The wind rustles noisily — too noisily to be street level. And it's cold too — very cold. There's only the distant sound of cars to give any indication that she's still somewhere in the city. Of course, once she's properly come to, she'll notice that she's perched upon a rooftop, dangerously close to the edge — close enough to fall.
Coren? One minute she was standing up to Azrael… no, she was home in bed, in Coren's arms. This isn't right. Cassidy slowly forces her eyes open. What the hell just happened? Confusion rules her for a moment… She sways in place as she discovers herself again on the rooftop edge, limbs exhausted. Her whole body goes colder than it already is. She does what no one should…. She looks down which makes her suddenly sway dangerously. With a shriek of terror, Cassidy's arms fly out to her sides and flail some as she works to try and right herself, her pulse thundering in her ears as her fear drives her heart faster.
Just when she thinks she's righted herself, one of her shoes slips over the edge. Her instinct is to crumple down with her body twisting to grab at the brick edging, her other foot catching on it as will. She ignores the bending and snapping of her finger nails as she clings for her life on the brick, the roughness tearing at the pads of her fingers , her body is so tired.
No, not again. goes through her head as she starts working to pull herself onto the roof. Arms shake with exhaustion, but slowly she manages to get herself to the point that she can spill over onto the roof with a triumphant cry. Of course, once there, she just lays there trying to calm her breathing and her heart. That is until she feels the damp cold.
There is a sharp inhale and she suddenly realizes she smells the metallic tang of blood. Swallowing back bile, Cassidy slowly pulls her arms away from her body, her hands come away bloody, her legs drop too and she makes the mistake of looking down. There is a small sound in Cassidy's throat. Oh my God. starts repeating over and over in her mind. The little legos of this fucked up mess falls into place and Cassidy has to stop herself from screaming, biting hard on her lip.
It is no wonder she was cold, Cassidy is covered in blood. Her front red with it, making her shirt cling to her body in a sickening way. She has to screw her eyes shut against the sight, as the words whimper in her partners mind.
When calling her name doesn't work, Coren has to resort to an old and unpleasant solution. It's not a proverbial slap to the face, but a quite literal one. "Cassidy, wake up!" accompanies the sting of the slap. Of course, he considers the nightmare in part his fault. He was the one who had to get up and pace after receiving the news. It's nearly six o'clock in the morning, and he simply couldn't stay in bed any longer. His pacing, however, was soon interrupted by a feeling of terror coming from his beloved partner, which is when the shaking and name-calling began. Once she looks to be coming to, he starts to gently rub her face to soothe the spot he slapped.
The slap does the trick, Cassidy's eyes fly open and she scrambles to sit up, back pressed against the headboard, Eeyore covered legs drawn up. It takes a moment for the haze to clear enough to focus on Coren sitting there. Relaxing, she slumps a bit, her heart is still beating hard in her chest. She brushes strands of red hair out of her face and she starts to say something. There is a frown and a hand lifting to press to her cheek. Brows lift and she gives him a slightly surprised look. "You slapped me." She accuses him, though there is no irritation in her voice.
Coren brushes her hand away and gently rubs at the spot for her. "You wouldn't wake up," he explains, before seating himself on the bed and pulling her into his arms. It should be obvious to her now that something's up, even though he's doing his best to clear his head and not think about it. But trying not to trouble her is just going to, so he says it. "Humanis First has Ivanov."
"I was having a nightmare. The roof." Cassidy murmurs as he pulls her into his arms. She relaxes against him, head on his shoulder, he can feel the effect he has on her as she starts to calm. Well, she was until he told her that. Pulling away from him, her eyes are wide. "What the hell are they doing? First Liz, now him? They trying to destroy the department one person at a time?" A faint memory of the terror she felt, passes between then. She watches her partners face, her worry plain on her face. "Oh god…. Think they are going do to him what they did to her."
Coren knows what she was dreaming, just like last time she had a nightmare. He wraps an arm around her waist and brushes his hand through her hair. "That was my concern. I would love to know what it is they're after, and whether we can expect more of the same. I can't help but be worried about this. Things are getting absurd, and I can't help but wonder if the brass should be made aware of what happened to Liz."
When he starts brushing fingers through her hair, Cassidy rests her head on his shoulder again, her expression thoughtful. "Oh yeah, lets go in and tell them we were lying." She murmurs blandly. "She needs to make that decision. I told her what we told them won't work much longer." She doesn't feel any better about it then he is, but Liz is into things bigger and badder then the two of them imagined. She sighs softly. "God, what else is going to happen." There is a small trill of fear. "First Azrael and now Humanis First. What's next?"
"I think they're going to notice that something happened to her. A good healer can erase the physical scars, but what about the psychological ones?" Coren sighs. "Oh, I don't know. This whole situation has gotten too far out of hand for any of us, I think. At least, any of us alone. We're going to have to stick together on this one."
"Not like we don't already." Cassidy muses softly, her head coming up slowly. She gives him a lazy smile and pats a hand on his chest lightly."I don't think we can stick much closer. And we're covering for Liz. With this new thing with Agent Ivanov. She needs to tell them, I agree." The smile drops away some as she talks. "Cause it almost looks they are targeting law enforcement. It… could be any of us next."
"That's precisely what I'm worried about," Coren says, although more about Cassidy than himself. He's withstood some pretty bad things, although he can scarcely comprehend what Liz went through, based only on his impression from Cassidy.