Spilling Guts

Part 104 - "I'll go."

Perhaps seeing Will lay stiff on the ground had done something to him. Or the adrenaline of catching his partner had fine-tuned his decision-making process. Either way, Louis had made his choice. Once he had made sure Will had been delivered safe to Med Tech, he left.

If I stay with him I'll end up saying something stupid, or making things worse, Louis reasoned with himself. When I've got a handle on how to approach him without causing another screw up, I'll be back.

You're running away.

I'm running in a different direction, towards a different problem. Not running away.

Louis knocked on the door to the case room Megan and Teegan had set up for their use. They had been staying late, wrapping up the case of Parker Lenore and the threads connected to her. A lot of things had led back to Parker. He might as well lead one of his own back to her.

Teegan opened the door, jacket folded over one arm. Ready to call it a day. Megan and Teegan didn't have inboxes to get to. They had managed to pull one over on Cetz and negotiate clean inboxes so they could focus on more serious projects. Louis hadn't been that lucky.

Perhaps that was part of why he had come to his decision.

"Hey," said Louis.

"Hey yourself," said Teegan, waving him in. "You look haggard. Need coffee?"

Louis entered. "Nah."

Megan, sitting at a table splayed with multiple photos and a map, tilted her head and looked suspicious. "No coffee? You?"

"Been a day." Louis figured he'd get this over with, so he could go back to procrastinating his paperwork and trying to burn the image of Will out of his head. He held up the sticky note that had haunted him since Megan and Teegan asked their question. "I'll go."

***

Balcuwitz graduated from pencil to crayon, leaving violet dashes between his office and Med Tech.

If janitorial doesn't like it, then there should be color coded arrows on the walls. That might help me get from place to place without ending up in circles.

Instead he sat in the recovery room of Med Tech and helped Will navigate his own circle of walking nightmares, with Rachel in the same room. Balcuwitz had asked Will if he wanted privacy for their session, but Will wanted her to stay.

So Balcuwitz offered her a candy from his Jalapeno dish.

She stared at the dish. Was he not supposed to bring it? It's part of his trademark now. Why not? Balcuwitz gave her pleading look.

Rachel took a toffee and sat quiet in the chair next to Will.

Balcuwitz had double checked to give Will a cinnamon disc, not cherry. He had learned from the first time and taken it to heart. "What do you remember?" he asked Will.

Will blew his nose, slowly going through a box of tissues, nose getting redder with each use. "Being in the elevator with Louis. We were going to share fries and dessert."

Balcuwitz nodded. Sharing food was a good sign of communicating with one another. Good for them. But Will's eyes lingered on the doorway; expectant, questioning.

Why wasn't Louis here?

"Do you remember the contents of the nightmare?" asked Balcuwitz.

"Heights," said Will, readily. "That swooping sensation you get in your gut when an elevator moves too fast, I think that's what triggered it. I thought I was back at the Luvor again. Top floor with the windows blown out." Will's knee shook; trying to keep a deep-set fear smothered. "Honestly, not as bad as other nightmares."

Balcuwitz nodded, but stuck a mental pin in Will's shaking knee. He hoped Will's remembering of his dream was a good thing. Perhaps, through necessity, Will was adapting a technique for lucid dreaming. "Did you see anything else?"

"No. I felt, someone's hand on my back. I think I was being pushed." Will trailed off, balling a tissue in his hand. "Aw... damn it. What happened to the tiramisu?"

Balcuwitz couldn't answer what happened to Will's dessert. But he hoped somehow they could come up with an answer to his night terrors.