For three days Dee stared with glassy eyes at the ceiling of her cell. To prevent her from possibly hurting herself or the nurses assigned to care for her during an involuntary spasm, she was secured to her bed. Everyday Matthiessen checked on her to see if she had come out of her catatonic state.

In Dee's mind looped a movie reel of the day at the carnival, only this time Edward Nigma came out of the booth and asked her out. Manchu replied to Eddie's invitation for her as she was too petrified to say yes herself. He took her around the carnival that night. At the top of the Ferris wheel, he kissed her. Late that night he dropped her off at Jiaoshu's. The next day she received a bouquet of flowers and an invitation to dinner.

A flash of light blinded her.

She rode in a convertible with Edward driving. The top was down, the sun was warm, and the wind whipped through their hair. They were laughing and happy. They were off for a holiday at the beach. He ran a small, but successful puzzle company. She still worked for the Jade Tiger Triad, but no longer took jobs unless absolutely necessary. Instead, she helped train the children.

Another flash of light.

The sun warmed her bare shoulders as she snuggled closer to Edward's naked body under the sheets. The closeness and delight of just being near him gave her goose bumps. He teased her and ran a finger lightly over her arm, bringing up more goose bumps, making her blush and giggle. In return, she lightly tugged at his chest hair and told him he was the worst and meanest man alive. They laughed together and remained in bed until hunger drove them out.

~ ~ ~

Edward Nigma was also caught in fantasy as he drooled all over himself. For amusement the orderlies and guards had sat him up, taking bets on how long the thread of spittle would get before it broke. Had he been in his right mind, each and every one of the men would find themselves dangling from a meat hook, the victim of a puzzle knot that grew tighter with each new breath. Instead he drooled on, while dancing with Dee in his mind.

All of her training left her light on her feet and nimble. Under his hands he felt the cool soft of her silk dress. Her body was warm against his and the smell of peaches wafted around him in a gentle cloud. He sighed and smiled as they swayed together.

So much time had passed since they first met at the carnival. He always regretted not asking her out that day. Only pure luck had brought them together once more. This time he was not going to waste the opportunity to know the girl who had so easily figured out his cheat. A mystery surrounded her and he took delight in working on the puzzle of who she was and how she worked. He was able to tell when she was nervous and he could gauge some of her moods already.

The music swelled and he swirled her around. Her giggle and sigh gave him a pleasure he had never known before. He longed to do more than hold her and give her the occasional kiss, but he respected her boundaries and need to work up to such a step. With all the work he had deciphering who she was, he could wait. Everyday was new and presented a different challenge.

From a professional aspect, she was the perfect compliment to his brains. She fought well, though her first couple of fights had been off. He didn't always do well working with new people, so he understood.

Forgetting about work, he turned his attention back to the girl in his arms. A girl happy to be in his arms without him offering more than conversation. A girl who didn't hound him for more money than she had earned, claiming he could deduct it from the next score. He couldn't help but smile as she nuzzled into his chest and gave him an affectionate squeeze.

~ ~ ~

He had been alert, at first when undergoing treatment. Quickly he found himself slipping into that other realm between reality and giving up to die. Now reality dragged him back and he fought to stay in the safety of his realm.

"...finally coming around. Tell the doctor."

No! Don't tell the doctor! Edward begged in his mind. He was unable to form words, his tongue swollen from dehydration.

Over the next hour he was given liquids, including clear broth that tasted of dirty mop water, and some crackers. As he sucked down the liquids, he noticed the time on the nurse's watch. It was early afternoon and he was positive Matthiessen would be by shortly, or he would be taken to the doctor.

Memories of his fantasy were slipping fast and he desperately clung to any fragment he could. It was not uncommon for him to entirely forget these trauma-induced dreams, and it usually didn't bother him. This time it did though. He wanted the memory of dancing with Dee and her holding him, even if it had never (and probably would never) happen.

He was still sipping the hot broth when an orderly and a guard came for him. They allowed him, at the nurse's request, to take the broth with him. Edward sat patiently in the seat across from Matthiessen as the cuffs and shackles were put on.

Yes. Protect the doctor from dangerous and unstable me. Don't worry about protecting the likes of us from dangerous and unstable him. Eddie blew across the mug of broth and sipped it. He would have liked nothing more than to throw the steaming liquid in the man's face. Disgusting tasting or not, he needed the nutrition and continued to drink.

"Are you ready to talk today, Edward?" he finally asked once the mug was empty.

"Talk? Like we did... How many nights ago?"

"Dee talked. Well, three days ago she did."

"What have you done to that poor girl?"

Matthiessen smiled. "Would you like to see her?" Without awaiting an answer, he flipped on the TV. A growl erupted from his patient's throat as the view into Dee's cell became clear. Her wrists and ankles were tied to the bed and she was covered only with a thin gown. She visibly trembled with cold. "She's been catatonic as long as you. Passed out when she saw you getting your treatment."

If looks could kill, Matthiessen would have disintegrated by now. Edward was not a violent man by nature, but the moment at the moment, an all out assault on the doctor was what he wanted. On his feet and straining at the chains, he shouted, "Why did you do that to her? She did nothing wrong!"

"Now, now. You weren't there. She tried to hurt herself. As her doctor I was merely showing her what could happen if she had outbursts like the one you're having at this very moment."

He got the hint and sat back down with a snarl. "You're one sadistic bastard! You ought to be locked up in here like the rest of us! At least we know we're insane at some degree."

Clicking his tongue, Matthiessen replied, "If you know you're insane, you'd hide it and stay out of here."

"And act like you? You get off on all this, don't you? Too week and stupid in everyday life, so you found a profession where people were at your will. Hurt them in ways that only someone with a medical degree could. I'm certain that you would be in here for harming people illegally if you hadn't gotten your degree."

The intercom buzzed and Matthiessen answered it.

"Lemma is coming out of it now, sir."

He smirked at Edward. "Excellent. Get her ready to see me shortly. And would someone please get the girl to bathe? I won't have her stinking up my office!"

"Yes, sir."

Matthiessen closed the connection. "Oh, you're wondering, aren't you? You see, every time we went near her with more than a cup of water, she thrashed about horribly. Like a cat when you dangle the beast over water."

That's exactly why she's acting that way, fool. "Kitten" is more than just a pet name for her!

"Something she said the other day interested me. She said you didn't like women. The proof for that is obvious in her medical records."

"Did she say that? That's interesting." His voice was disbelieving.

"Yes. And she talked about how she thought you were interested in her for the fact she was a virgin. Once she found you didn't like women, she said she felt better."

Edward nodded. Either Matthiessen was making things up, or completely twisting her words. It didn't matter. Letting the man blather on, Eddie turned his mind to breaking out.

~ ~ ~

Even in her weakened state, Dee had pushed Matthiessen to the edge of his patience. He leaned into her face as she giggled in delirium at his words.

"What you don't know, little child, is that you mean nothing to a man like Edward Nigma. You're dispensable. He'll use you for his own personal plaything, until one day he tires of you. Then he'll just set you aside and go on to the next and the next. Where does that leave you? Nowhere. Just a has been looney, now permanently locked away. Or will you take your own life as many do when abandoned by a former lover? Whatever you decide, it all comes down to one question: Is he really worth it?"

Her giggling had stopped. For a moment, she almost looked worried and upset. Then her mind latched on to the one fact the man didn't know: The carnival. If two people didn't forget each other after so brief a meeting eight years prior, there had to be something there.

"No comment? Or does it make sense to you?"

"I have no comment because that speech was full of lies and hot air! There is nothing to comment on. And the only thing that makes sense to me is that you're a lousy shrink!"

It took much of his control not to hit the woman. But he wanted to. Wanted to feel his fist smash into her sneering face. She stared defiantly at him, challenging him to hit her. Instead he buzzed for the guard and had her taken back to her cell.
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