Break Me One More Time [McLennon]

in which paul sees something he wishes he hadn't

About a week later, after John had gone to sleep, Paul thought he heard someone moving around in the kitchen so he went out to find Barney standing there. "Hey," he greeted. "It's been a few months."

"Sorry," Barney frowned

"No, it's fine," Paul shook his head. "So.. I've been here for over a year now. Of course, it's only been a few months for you, but still. A whole year. That seems so crazy like it hasn't been anywhere near that long, but at the same time I feel like I never grew old in the first place."

"Yeah, well, it feels like it has been years for me." Barney sighed. "I'm outrageously stressed out."

"Yeah, I can tell," Paul said admittedly. "Sometimes seem like a whole different person than the guy I met when I first got here."

"Yeah, I know," Barney gave a small smile. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about John and saving him.. How are you feeling about that?"

"Fine, I guess," Paul shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just really scared that I'm not going to be able to manage it. Like, I keep thinking, what's if I can't do it? What if I can't save him and I lose him again? I don't think I'll be able to handle losing him again."

"Yeah, I figured you were going to say something like that," Barney nodded. "Uhm, I'm sorry to have to do this to you, Paul, but I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Come with you?" Paul knitted his brows together, puzzled. "What do you mean? Come with you where?"

"The F.H.O. Headquarters," Barney said.

"What? Why?" Paul frowned.

"We're holding a meeting to talk about your case and the president of the F.H.O. wants you to be there," Barney said and he was clearly fighting back an anxious look. "He wants to speak with you about your plans and what not."

"Oh," Paul said. "Okay.. Right now?"

"Yeah, you just need to go change your clothes," Barney nodded. "You should put on a suit or something."

"Okay," Paul said and headed to the bedroom he shared with John. He moved silently about the room, even though he knew that Barney's magic would keep John asleep. He put on his best suit and shoes. He tied his tie carefully and before he left the room he knelt down beside John and kissed John's forehead.

"Ready?" Barney said when Paul walked back into the kitchen.

He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"All right," Barney said. "Let's do this." He grasped Paul's shoulder tightly with one hand and snapped his fingers with the other hand.

Paul suddenly found himself swallowed by darkness and he was falling. His heart leapt into his throat and he tried to scream but no noise came out. Then, as quickly as the strange sensation of falling through nothingness had started it was over, and his feet were on solid ground again. The he was falling again, but this time he toppled onto the floor.

"Okay there, Paulie?" Barney asked.

Paul got back in his feet. "Oh, yeah." He said sarcastically, brushing off his suit. "Bloody fantastic, thanks."

"Great," Barney said and pulled back the sleeve of his suit jacket to glance at a very advanced looking watch. "Right, well, we've got a little while until the meeting so we can have a look around. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Paul nodded.

"Okay, come with me," Barney led Paul into a room filled with grey cubicles. "So, this is where all of our reporters are. They write up all the reports for each case we have." The two of them walked up to a woman with fiery red hair and hazel eyes that seemed to light up the room. Her pale cheeks were sprinkled with freckles. "Here, we have Miss Lillian Adams."