I'm not Supergirl (Sean)

[Angel Laveaux]

Deep within the night, the moonlight shone on a young woman through her window, highlighting the sheen of sweat on her body and the thrashing she did under the covers. Her animals, two tiny rabbits and a parrot, watched her nervously as she grunted and whimpered in her sleep, clenching the sheets between her fingers. Movements behind her eyelids showed that her eyes were going wild in sleep, even as her mind and heart pounded with adrenaline.

She was deep in a nightmare, one that had started out like a nice dream. She had been in a meadow with her siblings and her new friend Eddie, who had eaten Aiden’s cookies. The two boys were joking around while Kady was helping Angel weave flower crowns, the sun shining down on the quartet. Suddenly clouds rolled in, blocking the sun, and the rain fell in heavy torrents. Everyone was packing when a low growl had appeared out of nowhere, and a pack of wolves surrounded the teenagers. Aiden, being the protective older brother, had ordered the girls to run.

Eddie stood with Aiden as Angel and Kady ran, and she could hear their screams as the wolves got them. Trying to block out the sound, Angel urged her sister to run, keep running as fast as she could even as she heard the wolves chasing them. Kady tripped over a branch and fell, her hand wrenched out of Angel’s, and Angel watched with a cry as Kady was covered with wolves. The large canines looked at her with bloody jowls and red eyes as they advanced, looking at her hungrily. The largest one snarled and pounced, reaching for her…

Angel sat up with a scream, silvery blue eyes wide with terror and her entire body locked up with fear. The soft dawn of a new day painted her room but she was oblivious, panting to get air in her lungs. She stood shakily and got dressed, wearing some jeans and a clean shirt that had some words on it that she didn’t even look at. Brushing her hair calmed her down a bit, but she was trembling as she pulled on some shoes and gathered her jacket.

It was time to see Mr. Neville.

Leaving her room, she knew she looked a bit of a mess, but she didn’t care. She avoided the eyes of people who watched her as she walked, trying to feel and look normal but shaking like a leaf. She located the main office and hoped he would be in. Taking a deep breath, she walked in and nodded at the receptionist before walking up to the door marked with his name. Just his name made her palms sweat, but she wiped them dry before opening the door and taking a step in.

“M-Mr. Neville, may I-I talk to you, p-p-please?”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The psychiatrist started every morning bright and early, unless there were more pressing concerns at home. Like most days, Sean had come to Hammel early, before classes began, to allow him to get settled with his coffee and to tend to a bit of his filing before his scheduled sessions began. As a result, he was in his office, and there were no other students occupying his time; and there were, fortunately, no early morning staff meetings. Those could be draining.

He had been in the middle of reviewing some of his notes from the day before when the door to his office, already ajar, was pushed open further and revealed a student, one he recognized as Angel, standing now in his doorway. She looked like a wreck, between the sheen of sweat, her obvious tremors, and the fact that she hadn’t dressed or groomed properly. The psychiatrist was immediately concerned.

“Of course you may, Angel. Please, come sit down and make yourself comfortable.” He gestured at the more comfortable chairs near the back of his office; he thought those would serve her better than the ones in front of his desk.

The telepath rose from behind his desk to shut the door, once she had come inside fully; they would certainly require the privacy. “Can I get you some water? Or some crackers to settle your stomach?” It was a bit early for the brownies that Josh had made the night before, but if she wanted one, there was a platter on the edge of his desk.

[Angel Laveaux]

He had looked up, and Angel found comfort in that face. He looked like he would understand, why the nightmares wouldn’t go away even when the outcome or situation was at a million to one odds of ever coming true. Even her family didn’t know that she would awaken to her own screams, that she took three showers a day to wash away the dirt, grime, and sweat from her dreams. She followed his gesturing and sat on one of the large chairs in the back, still trembling.

The click of the door made her flinch, since it was so close to her, and she watched, a bit shaken, as he asked her if she wanted sustenance. “Water sounds good,” she said softly, her voice a bit stronger. Crackers made her stomach turn, so she shook her head to those, but her silvery blue eyes caught the platter at the edge of his desk, and she bit her lip. “M-May I have one of those brownies? They look delicious.” Indeed they did, and Angel wished she was in the kitchen, baking.

“I-I’m so sorry that I look a mess,” she told him, blushing a bit. Mr. Neville was one of her favorite professors here at the school, and he was adorable for an older man; she had seen him helping other students, and she had never seen him angry or upset before. “I came here right after I woke up…I couldn’t go back to sleep.” She took a deep breath, to try and calm her racing heart, and looked back at the teacher.

“It was the wolf dream again.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Water it is,” Sean said with a gentle smile. The door now closed to give them their privacy – although not locked since students always had the ability to end sessions and being locked in was a violation of trust. He went around to where he kept the miniature bottles of water and juice that he gave out, and he pulled a bottle out for her.

Handing the water to her, he then nodded again. “Of course you may. And they are; my partner made them for me, and he’s gotten very good at baking.” It had been a romantic gesture, whether Josh wanted to acknowledge it as such, and it was also greatly appreciated. The gentle smile remained on his lips, as he added, “If you’d like, you may have more than one.”

There were more than enough brownies to go around.

The psychiatrist then waved off her apology with a small gesture of his hand and a shake of his head. “It’s quite all right, Angel; I understand emergencies.” He’d helped enough students through them over the years, and it wasn’t as though he had never needed assistance when he’d been a student.

Besides, strange dreams and nightmares were hardly foreign to him.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he encouraged her, gesturing at the chairs around them. He waited to sit until she did, and hearing her explanation, his expression became immediately sympathetic. “Did it end the same way as last time?”