Like Teacher, Like Student /// A Doctor Strange Fanfiction

Chapter 4

Casey mentally checked out.

She just couldn't handle everything. Her grandpa was gone, her parents had been magic-wielders, there was a demon was a grudge, a guy in a cloak, magic was real, her life as she knew it was over, she would never see Gramps again, he was gone—

Vaguely, she registered Strange pulling her to her feet and guiding her over to a set of stairs where she could sit out of the way. While he called the police and put some kind of illusion over the street to make the scene less otherworldly, Casey sat like a girl carved out of granite, heavy and cold. The cloak tightened around her shoulders as if it was hugging her, but she felt like someone else was being comforted by its warmth, not her.

Her tears stopped abruptly as she stared at the spot where her grandfather had disappeared. This wasn't happening. It was a nightmare, it was just a nightmare, right. Right. Yes.

She was going to have to tell her grandpa about it when she woke up. He was probably going to think she needed psychiatric help or something, but hey, maybe she did. This was a pretty disturbing dream, after all.

Eventually the cloak unwound from her shoulders and drifted back over to Strange. The cloak probably came from watching Aladdin. There was a certain Magic Carpet feeling to the cloak, so that part of her dream was most likely inspired by that movie.

She wasn't sure where the sorcerer came from, but maybe the monster came a horror movie she had watched back in October. This was all explainable.

"Casey?"

She looked up at her salt-and-pepper haired figment of imagination. "Yeah?"

"The police are going to be here soon..." He sat down on the step beside her. Wow, what a detailed dream. He even looked concerned. "I'm going to tell them that your grandfather chased a thief out of his shop and lost his life in the pursuit. That's more believable than what really happened."

"Okay." It wasn't like it actually mattered anyway, seeing how this was a dream world. Strange could tell the imaginary police whatever bogus excuse he wanted because Gramps was just fine and this was all a wisp of a night terror that would disappear in a few moments.

Casey considered pinching herself, but she doubted that would work. She would just be pinching her dream self anyways, which most likely wouldn't force her to wake up.

"Is there anyone I should call? Maybe an aunt or an uncle?"

"Nope. It's all right. I'll go home in a little while." AKA, she would wake up and it would be back to normal.

Stephen reached over and touched her arm for a second. "I think we should call someone."

"No, nah, it's fine." She stood up and skipped off the steps, spreading her arms wide. "This is just temporary, anyways." When he simply stared, his eyes all sympathetic, she turned away from him and walked forward, pretending to balance on a crack in the pavement. "It's okay. This is all just a dream or something."

"I think you're in shock."

Casey ignored him and focused on balancing on the crack. Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Except her mother was already dead. And so was her dad. And she didn't have any family besides her grandfather, so of course she would have a nightmare about losing him, too.

"Casey, I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened."

"It didn't."

Soon the wail of police sirens filled the air, and then the place was swarming with cops, firemen, and the EMS. All the emergency vehicles apparently fit inside her dream world. She sat on the back of the EMS and let the EMTs look her over while Strange told them his version of what had happened to Gramps.

She had a feeling that if she took off her glasses, he wouldn't look anything like how he actually appeared. Illusion magic or whatever was in play, or it would've been if any of this was real.

There were too many details. There was no way a dream could be this elaborate, but Casey wanted to cling to the idea that all of this was fake. That it couldn't be happening. She overheard Strange's explanation and knew there was something about fake bodies and stuff. Some kind of staged scene that he had created to cover up the truth.

But no, no there wasn't anything true here. Because that would mean that Gramps really was never coming back...

The police wrapped her in a blanket, took her down to the station and asked her a few questions. She answered them quietly, repeating back the answers that she had heard Strange give earlier. They asked about her family, and she shook her head, not wanting to answer any more. There wasn't anyone, not that it mattered.

When they were finished with her, they let her sit in a waiting area with a cup of coffee that was didn't drink. It was hot, almost burning her fingers through the Styrofoam.

Casey looked down at the coffee and then stuck her pointer finger into the searing heat. Apparently that fire proof spell had worn off. Pain bit at her finger, but she kept it in the drink, trying to force herself to wake up.

It hurt so much. And she still didn't wake up.

Trembling fingers reached down and pulled the cup out of her hands. She looked up to see Strange standing there.

"I did some mystical paperwork finagling, and now I'm your long-lost uncle," he said, bending down so that he was on her level. "Your grandpa asked me to look after you, so I'm going to do that." He shook his head slowly. "Not that I have any idea how to do that, mind you. But my first rule is that you're not allowed to hurt yourself."

Casey looked at her burned finger and then up at him. "I still want it to be a dream."

"I know," he said. He sat the cup down on a desk. "Come on, you need to get some rest."

She forced herself to stand up, wishing that she didn't have to take the next few steps. She wanted to argue, to say that he wasn't responsible for her, that she could take care of herself, but right now, she wasn't sure she could.