She had not had the dream for several years now. But it has returned and is larger than life.
'Funny', she thought. The dream had even changed itself to her new place. It had always been her on the inside of the house, and them on the outside trying to get in.
Circling... searching... looking for an opening. And Aly was always frantic trying to figure out how to get away without them getting her.
The lions were back.
She got up and made her way to the kitchen for a quick drink of water before heading back to bed. Still a bit uneasy from the dream, she double checked the locks and found the house secure.
Laughing a little nervously, she ran a hand through her hair distractedly and leapt back onto the bed. Pulling the covers up high, she tried to blank her mind to the disturbing dream and get some sleep.
Easier said than done, that's for sure! Aly tossed and turned all night and finally gave it up. Looking at the fan slowly swirling above her, she tried to recall the last time she had had the dream. It had been three or four years ago. And that last time had really been the most disturbing one by far. That time her Dad had been in it and had gotten hurt or killed. She remembered waking up to the sounds of her own screams as she cried over that one.
The dream had often visited her throughout her teens and she couldn't really remember when or why it started. After that last one, she had casually mentioned it to a coworker who liked to profess that he could interpret dreams since he had taken a Psych course in college.
When she had described the dream to him he listened intently to the strange story as Aly droned on in almost a monotone. She didn't like to think about it any more than needed.
The dream was always generally the same. Aly in the house, watching through the windows as the lions circled and clawed, trying to get inside. The dream would always end right when they finally jumped inside. Even when she moved into her current home, she had had the dream and the lions had been outside of this new house. But in that last dream, her Dad had been there outside too, trying to get inside to help her and that is when she awoke crying.
Her coworker instantly told her that the lions were symbolic of chaos in her life. Something beyond her control. He droned on about the different ways this could be applied to her life, but she had already stopped listening to him. Smiling to herself, she thought that maybe he was on to something.
There were some areas in her life at that time that seemed out of control. She was having problems in her relationship, her parents were going through a divorce, work had been hectic... Yes. She felt like it was all making sense.
She felt she had finally seen a small light at the end of the tunnel.
She had not had the dream since.
Until tonight.
Two weeks later...
Roy hung the phone up and grabbed his coat. He hated to check out locations but in this particular instance it was unavoidable. One of the upcoming episodes of his television series was set to have him pose as a psychiatrist. He had only read through the script once but it seemed to be a pretty detailed episode. He wanted to see where they would be and sit in on a session or two if he could arrange it.
He made good time to the office where the crew was already making the preparations for the following day of filming. Greeting the crew members and laughing at the irony of a *Cold Op* in a psychaitrist's office, he bade them farewall as they left for lunch. Noticing the open door to the office he walked through and had a look around. The staff was gone for the day unfortunately, so he would have to get his *feel* for the place alone.
He moved around the desk and sat in the leather chair. Leaning back he let himself try to slip into character slightly and imagine the scene playing out in this office as scripted.
Suddenly, his retrospection was interrupted by an upset young woman who burst into the office and flung herself down onto the leather settee. She seemed visibly shaken and had her arm flung across her eyes in agony. He looked around in concern wondering if he could make his way out of the office quietly.
He rose from behind the desk and started to move around towards the door when he stopped. She was crying softly and the sound of it pulled at his heart. Moving back towards the settee, he took a moment to study her.
She was rather petite, or looked that way all curled up on the settee like she was. She had turned towards the back of it slightly and was lying very still. She had short dark brown hair and he could see where it curled towards her jawline beneath the arm that was still covering her face.
Suddenly, her voice broke the silence in the office once her tears had subsided. "Uncle Mack. It's back."
Roy didn't know what to say. She apparently knew the Doctor here and thought she was talking to him. Roy did the only thing he knew to do. He cleared his throat and took a seat beside her. Lowering his voice and trying to fill the pregnant pause, he said, "Oh?".
She needed no further encouragement. She rolled back onto the settee and pulled her arm down from her eyes. Looking up at the dull tiles of the ceiling, she began.
"My dream... you remember the one." She waited for his reply.
Roy had never been to any sort of therapist or psychiatrist before so he had no idea how to handle this. He cleared his throat loudly hoping she would just continue or hopefully... leave! But no such luck. She took his silence as her cue to continue.
"The lions are back. I can't figure out why. I have had the dream now six times in the past two weeks, Uncle Mack. I thought I had finally defeated them." She laughed and it was not a pleasant sound. More of a derisive laugh, at herself? At the dream? At this whole *therapy* thing?
Roy didn't know.
He sat forward in the chair and decided he had best come clean before she delved into anything more personal than this strange dream that seemed to unsettle her.
"I'm sorry. Please, allow me..." his voice trailed away as she spun over instantly and rose to a sitting position. The shock and surprise were so clear in her eyes he could not help but smile slowly.
She looked past him to the desk behind him, searching for her uncle.
"Who are you?!?" she asked. "And where is Uncle Mack??" She rose from the settee and ran a nervous hand through her hair. He took a moment to let his eyes roam over her and he felt his pulse quicken a beat. She was not as young as he had originally thought. She looked to be nearer to his own age. She was attractive in her own unique way and he felt mesmerized by the depth of emotion raging in her dark brown eyes. He felt himself being drawn into their spell.
Aly watched him with mild curiosity. *Who was this strange man and what was he doing here?* She finally prodded him, "Well?" she said impatiently.
Roy laughed again. Her cheeks turned bright pink at this and he found that he liked that look in her. It brought color to her pale face and made her eyes sparkle.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Roy. Roy Dupuis. And you are..." he let his voice trail away as he moved closer to her, hand extended.
She was speechless. She knew that name. She had heard it before and had seen some pictures of this man. But, the man before her was much more handsome than any photograph she had been shown. His hair was much shorter than she had seen in photos, and his eyes were an odd and changeable color ranging from deep green to a grey-blue. The photos she had seen were mostly black and white, and he had much longer hair in them. *He must have gotten it cut...*
Extending her hand to him, she felt her blood race as he took it into his own warm hand. Nervously licking her lips which had gone suddenly dry, she tried to get her voice past the dry desert that her mouth had become.
"M..My Name is Aly. Nice to meet you Mr. Dupuis." She shook his hand and tried to pull hers back. But he wouldn't let her.
"Please, call me Roy." He smiled and began to circle his thumb across the back of her hand slowly, methodically.
Aly laughed nervously and tried to think of something witty to say. Of course, her brain had stopped working at this point and the motion of his thumb on her hand was tuning all her senses in to him. She looked back down at their joined hands and then back up into his eyes. *OhmyGAWD!! He is a god!!* She hoped he could not read her mind.
Roy finally released his hold on her hand and moved to allow her passage. He watched as she bolted past him, although she tried to appear calm.
Aly had almost made it to the door when she realized that she was behaving like a child. Straightening up, she turned to him with one hand on the door handle. "Well, Mr... Roy" He smiled at her correction.
"It was quite a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry to have burst in on you this way and dumped on you about my silly dream." She smiled shyly at him as he nodded his comprehension.
"No problem, ma Cheri. It was fate." He moved across the room to where she was with a swift catlike grace. Taking her hand once again he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss into the palm, flicking the sensitive skin there lightly with his tongue. Aly felt like she was on fire.
Pulling her hand away as if burned, she turned and made straight for the elevator. Once inside the small compartment, she turned and allowed herself one last look.
He was not there.
That night, Aly dreamed not of lions, but of a mysterious man with changeable eyes.
~~<>~~<>~~<>~~
That night, Roy could not sleep. He tossed and turned and could not get her out of his mind.
Finally, he switched on the light on the bedside table and reachedfor the phone.
Punching the number in impatiently, he waited for the other party to answer. "Hey. It's me. No. Can't sleep. Listen. I need a favor. You know that office where I was today? Oui, that's the one. Call
him up... I need a phone number.... Aly..."
She was awakened from her reverie by the receptionist. 'The doctor will see you now,' she said, and turned on her heel and walked back to her desk. She could'nt help but hear how the nurses shoes squeaked on the linoleum, and the sound went all through her.
*Gawd, I hate doctors offices* she thought. *Whatever possessed me to come here, and think that I can get any answers to my problems?*
She stood up, and walked down a small hallway. At the end, she found the door to the doctors office, with his name clearly marked on the name plate. Lightly rapping her knuckles on the door, she waited, until she was bid entrance. Opening the door, and slowly crossing the threshold, she turned and closed the door behind her.
When she turned around, he was walking towards her, with his hand offered in greeting. His hair gleamed like spun gold, and his eyes were as blue as the most tranquil of lakes. For a moment, she was lost in those eyes, but was jolted out of her state when he gripped her hand. His hand was warm, and the very touch of it send electricity through her.
'Hello doctor,' she began, 'I am thankful you could fit me in at such short notice.' The doctor smiled, and escorted her to a waiting chair. He then moved around the end of his desk, and took the chair behind it. Placing his arms on the desk, and clasping his hands together, he smiled at her.
'Well, how can we be of service to you today?' he asked.
'Well Doctor Payne, I have been having...' She stopped, as the doctor placed his forefinger to his lips, and smiled. 'Please,' he said in a low husky voice, 'call me Bruce.' She could only smile in reply.
This story Copyright 1999, Aly