It didn't take Rhys long to fall asleep, lying on his back, legs crossed at the ankles, hands folded neatly upon his chest. He had borrowed yet another book from the Rhydin Library, this one on lucid dreaming, and had been practicing with little success over the last few nights. It was something he had to master if he ever wanted his freedom.

An amber crystal hung from a cord about his neck and lay against his chest, rising and falling with each slow, even breath. He wasn't really focusing on anything in particular or expecting anything significant, but for some reason, his mind kept circling around the thought of Riley, missing her and wishing he could ask her for advice. The transition from waking to dreaming was seamless. One moment, Riley was in bed in Tokyo, lying on her side curled loosely around David, with the soft thrum of traffic outside their hotel window like the ebb and flow of the tides and the bluish light cast from the TV screen limning the furniture and their bodies like moonlight cast across a beach. Her last conscious thought was of Rhys, which was odd, since she didn't normally think about him at night. But she did this night, and wondered if he was all right. He'd been agonizing over Lelah ever since she walked away from him, telling him she needed time. Time was the one thing he felt he had so little of. Once again, he'd thrown himself into the hunt, determined for it to be over, determined to have his freedom, one way or another. In retrospect, it shouldn't be any surprise that Riley fell so quickly asleep. She and David had been working hard for the past few days, constructing housing for the 150,000 people made homeless by the earthquake and tsunami. In three days, they'd erected five houses and had begun work on a sixth. It was hard, physical, strenuous work, but it was so rewarding. He traveled through memories, glimpses of this or that, and suddenly found himself at Coney Island, of all places. The place held both good and bad memories. He smiled a little at the good memories, especially those that included Riley. The dream was so real, he almost felt like he was really there. She'd teased him about wearing sneakers that day, and he found he was wearing them again, along with a Batman t-shirt and jeans. The sun was shining and he could feel its warmth on his skin, the sounds of the carnival all around him, the smell of popcorn and cotton candy and fried dough. It made him feel like a boy again, his childhood ending too early, before he had a chance to experience such simple things as this. The scents of summer hit her nose - funnel cakes, corn dogs, fried Oreo cookies - and she realised she was standing on the midway at Coney Island. She frowned and turned a slow circle, head tilted back, caramel eyes raised to the heavens. As she turned, the rides and games and booths coalesced around her - first the Wonder Wheel, then the Cyclone, the carousel and her favourite - Dante's Inferno. She smirked and made her way towards the haunted house, wondering why she was chilly, despite the summer sun pouring down over her. The key to lucid dreaming, he had read, was for the dreamer to control the dream, no matter what happened. Rhys looked up at the blue, cloudless sky, smiling in the sunshine, and took a deep breath. He felt strangely happy here, even though the place was tainted with bad memories. He suddenly wanted to do all the things he'd never had a chance to do as a boy, and he broke into a run, laughing with joy. Familiar laughter caught her ears and she followed it, slinking in and out of the shadows cast by the rides and the booths. She'd been to Coney Island exactly once in her life - two summers ago, on Rhys's 30th birthday. It had started out as a wonderful day, but like most days while in Rhys's company, had quickly turned black. To be fair, being with David had also been fraught with its own dangers. The only relationship she'd been in that hadn't had been the one with Danny, but that might have been because it had been so short.

She paused in the shadow of a balloon pop game booth and peered around the edge of it, and caught sight of Rhys as he sped past her and her natural instinct to chase kicked in. She was soon hot on his heels, silent as Stalking Death. And there it was, the Haunted House, leering before him like it was taunting him, and he halted in his tracks. It wasn't where he wanted to go. He'd had enough of ghosts and monsters and demons, real or otherwise. He wanted to get some cotton candy and ride the bumper cars, pumped up on sugar and adrenaline, but there it was, like some ominous omen. He didn't notice Riley lurking nearby, but turned on a heel, away from the Haunted House, but there it was again, as if he couldn't escape it no matter how hard he tried. She stopped when he did, pleased to see Dante's Inferno in front of them. She crept up behind Rhys now, sliding through the shadows until she was close enough to reach out and touch him. She grinned wickedly and said in a soft voice, "Boo." Startled, he turned to find Riley standing behind him clad in her theater costume, corset and fishnets, and another smile spread across his face. Dream or not, he was happy to see her, his eyes roaming over her body, even though she was married. Hell, it was his dream and if he really could control it, maybe he'd get lucky...at least in his dreams. "Fancy meeting you here. Nice outfit." She glanced down at herself and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "This is your dream, isn't it?" She closed her eyes, concentrated on soft flannel, worn denim, old canvas. When she opened her eyes again, she was wearing one of Rhys's old flannel shirts, a pair of broken-in blue jeans and her favourite black Chuck Taylors. A grin of triumph and she said, "That's better. Also' You're it!" She slugged him hard on the ball of his shoulder and sped away. He looked obviously disappointed at the change of costume. He was enjoying seeing her in next to nothing, though she no longer belonged to him. Her reaction surprised him, however. "What does that mean?" he asked, in reply to her question, but then she was grinning and tagging him - no, slugging him - practically daring him to follow. He rolled his eyes. "What are you, ten?" he called after her as she sped away, sighing a moment before dashing after her.

He reached across the table for her hand, not wanting anything more from her than that, knowing she no longer belonged to him but wanting to make the shift from lovers to friends. "Is that really true or is it just part of my dream?" She shrugged, took his hand gently. "I dunno. You're the one dreaming it." He wiped a hand across his face and drew a breath. "I'm teaching myself lucid dreaming." "Then chances are this is real, right?" She paused and took a sip of her coffee, finishing it off. "What are you going to do about the girl?" He sighed again. That was the question. "I don't know. She said she needs time, but..." He broke off, licking his lips. "I feel happy when I'm with her, Ri." "Time's something you're afraid you don't have?" She smiled softly. "Good. You need that. You deserve that." "Yeah, but I screwed it up. I told her we'd go slow and then....I was confused. I kissed her and she asked me if I liked it. Why wouldn't I like it' I was trying so hard to go slow, to give her time." She sighed unhappily. "You're a guy. You do stupid things. You can't help it. She should know that. What happened after you kissed her" Did you make a dumb joke or something?" "What if she falls in love with me and something happens to me?" He shrugged again, remembering. "I said something about my mojo. I was kidding, Ri! I didn't mean anything by it. I was trying to make her laugh, but it backfired." "So, this girl kisses you and the first thing you do is make a joke about it?" She stared at him. "She's a beautiful girl, so chances are she's crazy insecure. Don't make jokes." He leaned against a propped up hand, shoving his fingers into his hair. "God, Ri....She's gorgeous. What the hell's she see in me?" "Probably the same thing I saw in you," she said in a soft voice. "You're like a knight from the Renaissance period. Chivalrous and gentlemanly and chauvinistic." She smirked at him. "Women respond to that. Especially the damaged ones, and I'm gonna guess that she's pretty damaged. Most actresses are in some way." "I thought I was the damaged one," he muttered partly to himself. "So, what do I do now?" He felt lost. He'd never really been very good at holding onto a steady relationship. He'd been with Riley the longest and had even lost her.

"Now, you respect her wish for time. Don't crowd her or harass her. But at the same time, don't let her forget about you, either. When did this happen?" "I know I haven't known her that long, but I care about her and..." He trailed off again, almost afraid to say what he was thinking. "A few nights ago." "Send her some flowers. Write a note that says, 'Thinking about you'. But nothing else. Don't call, don't go to see her, don't accidentally show up somewhere she'll be. Okay?" "Thinking about you? That's it?" He looked at her a bit skeptically. "What if she finds someone else?" "She's not going to. She'll be thinking about you. And if she does, oh well. You can't win 'em all." She paused for a moment and looked down at the table, then looked back up at him. "Besides...isn't it a little...dangerous for you to be seeing a norm right now?" "You think I haven't thought about that?" he asked, sounding just a little bit defensive. "When's it going to be safe, Ri" When the...." Air quotes. "...gates of hell are closed" What happens then" Life is uncertain. I could die crossing the street." He sighed again and leaned back in the chair, knowing she was right. "Does she know?" He snorted. "Are you kidding" She'd think I was nuts, just like everyone else. It's too much. It's not fourth date material. Hell, it's not date material at all. At least, you understood. You saw it first hand. I don't want her to see it. One way or another, I have to finish this. And then, maybe I can have a real life." She wet her lips with her tongue and shook her head. "You can't keep it from her. It's not fair to her. You're putting her life at risk, Rhys. You owe it to her to either finish it before it gets serious between you or teach her how to protect herself." She sighed unhappily. "You can't keep it from her," she said again. "I tried to tell her, Riley. What do you say' Hi, my name is Rhys and I hunt demons for a living. I really like you, but if you date me, your life could be in danger" The truth is I have no business being with anyone. Not until this is over. God, I just..." He sighed, sadly. "I just want what everyone else has, you know?" "Yeah, actually, I think you should level with her. She deserves to know. Give you two an honest chance at happiness, Rhys, and level with her. Don't hide things." Her voice lowered, became tinged with sadness and regret. "That was our downfall, you know?"

She shot up out of her seat and punched him right on the tip of his chin. Then she sat back down and picked up the remainder of her muffin, munching happily on it. She shrugged. "I would." He winced, the punch knocking his head sideways, and he brought up a hand to rub his chin. He pushed his jaw from side to side, making sure nothing was busted. "Shit. You've been practicing." She grinned. "It's David's fault. He's teaching me baguazhan." "You'd go to Disneyland with me?" He was backtracking a little, just realizing what she'd said and then he was on to the next statement. "Bagua....the hell is that?" "Yeah, I'd go to Disneyland with you. David and I went there on New Year's Day this year. It was my first time." She polished off her muffin and then stood up. She went around the table and leaned down to kiss the crown of his head. "Baguazhan is the martial art that David teaches in the Studios. You should go check out a class or two." She straightened and then petted him. "I think I'm waking up now. I need to tell you something important, though." He followed her with his eyes, touched by her show of affection, which oddly didn't make his hands sweat or set his heart hammering. Instead, he felt only a warm sense of affection and companionship. There was a time when he would have pulled her into his lap, but that time had passed. "Ri..." he started. "You're like my best friend." "You're in trouble," she said with a little smile. Then she took his hand and put on a very serious, sober face. "Listen to me. This is very important. Are you listening" David and I could die if you don't listen." The smile faded and he furrowed his brows, his expression turning dead serious, vowing to remember whatever it was she was going to tell him when he awoke. "I'm listening." She started fading and her voice sounded as if she were at the bottom of a well. She spouted a desperate flow of Japanese, her eyes scared and lost. He tried to draw her back by sheer force of will and realized with a jolt that she wasn't just a part of his unconscious, that she was just as real as he was and was somehow simultaneously dreaming along with him. He wasn't sure how it was happening or how he knew. "Wait, Riley! Don't go yet!" He reached for her hand which seemed to be quickly fading. And then she was gone, and Rhys awoke with a start, jerking forward and shoving a hand through his hair, practically mirroring her movement and her voice. "What the hell..." His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked around the room, one hand closing on the amber stone he wore around his neck. He slid off the bed and went to the kitchen, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen and jotting down as much of what she'd told him as he could remember, some of it phonetically. He'd learned some Japanese while in New York, but it was mostly the basics. He didn't have time to think on the dream now. He had a feeling time, as always, was of the essence. He hurried off to find someone who could translate what he remembered of her message.

(A huge thanks to Riley's player for the above scene. Thanks so much!)