Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 16:02:28 -0500 From: Lilywhite Lilith Subject: Dreaming While You Sleep Hello all... This is my first contribution to the list, so please go easy on me! I was inspired enough by the short stories inspired by songs that I decided to write on of my own. This little vignette takes place during "Last Knight", after Nick has left Tracy's bedside. Possible spoilers for "AtoA" and of course, "Last Knight". Disclaimers: Nothing in here is mine but the story. The characters belong to Jon Perriot and the song belongs to the guys from Genesis. Please send any comments/flames/helpful hints to me at . Enjoy. - Kim at Pitt. "DREAMING WHILE YOU SLEEP" Dreaming while you sleep, Dreaming while you sleep, Memories to keep Are you dreaming while you sleep? It seemed unreal. The hospital room where Javier Vachon kept his vigil at the bedside of Tracy Vetter was illuminated only by the light over her head which pooled around her head and shoulders and threw the rest of the room into an eerie darkness broken only by the digital displays of the machines which were keeping her alive. Vachon's sensitive vampire senses were rudely assaulted by the harsh hospital smells of disinfectant undercut by disease, which almost entirely smothered Tracy's special scent, which he had once inadequately described to her as "apricots and callalilies". The doctors had just made rounds, and Vachon had listened unobserved outside her room as an intern, obviously unaware he was being overheard, jokingly described her prognosis to his colleagues: "Well, she has a bright future ahead of her - as an organ donor!". Vachon considered finding that intern later and requesting the pleasure of his company for a midnight snack.... As he was immersed in that thought, alarms from the life support monitors began to sound. All my life I'll be haunted by All my life just one moment in time All my life - until the day I die And it will live inside of me A crash cart followed by several doctors and nurses came barreling through the door, and the room immediately became organized chaos. Oh I will never be free all my life Trapped in her memory all my life ''til the day that you open your eyes Vachon stood unobserved in a corner of the room as the doctors and nurses did their best to save her. He wondered why he hadn't gone against what he knew were her wishes and brought her across when he had had the chance. "Clear!" shouted someone. Closing his eyes as Tracy's body writhed and convulsed as the shock went through her, he prayed he would get another chance. He imagined her waking into his life, her blue eyes turned golden green with the first hunger. He wondered if she would ever forgive him. The flurry of activity suddenly stopped. "All right... let's call it," said the doctor in charge, unaware that Vachon was there. He snapped off his rubber gloves and tossed them into a biohazard bag. "I'll notify the family." All my life you lie silently there All my life in a world so unfair All my life - and only I'll know why And it will live inside of me. Vachon stood over her bed. He slowly pulled the sheet down until he could see her face. Her head was swathed in bandages, and he knew that underneath them her beautiful blonde hair was gone, shaved away in preparation for the desperate surgery done in a valiant but ultimately futile attempt to save her life. At least her face looks peaceful, he reflected. Her eyes were closed, and she looked for all the world as though she might wake at any moment. It was, he knew, how he would always remember her. "Good-bye, Tracy." He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Cara mia." He pulled the sheet up over her face and walked out the door. Why didn't I do it? Why didn't I bring her across? Nagging thoughts tormented him as he spent hours aimlessly roaming the corridors of the hospital. His love for her had been the force which had kept him alive, which had given him the strength to recover from his injuries and escape the grave which she had dug for him. The hope of one day being with her had literally given him the will to live again. His thoughts turned to all the other women he had known - those he had loved and lost, those he had killed himself, and those who had been both. He thought of Urs, to whom he had given so little thought about bestowing the unwanted gift of immortality and the consequences. He knew he could not bear to have Tracey hate him for eternity, and he also knew that he had just allowed the one true love of his long long life to slip away. The worst part was, he had never told her how he felt about her. And I will never be free all my life Trapped in her memory all my life 'til the day you open your eyes - Please open your eyes. He would have his eternity with her. "Cara mia," he whispered. He closed his eyes. Javier Vachon opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight. [END]