Dream Theory - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

“What do you need my help with?”

Gripping the steering wheel so hard that it creaked in protest, Yang eased up her grasp and tried to explain the situation in a way Casey could understand.

“Long story short - one of Dreamscape’s theorists hacked the system and is brainwashing people.  She got a bunch of interns to kidnap me, and now she’s trying to kill Blake in a dream.”

“...what?  Brainwashing people?  Wait - Blake?  But isn’t she -?”

“Really no time for this.”  After hitting the breaks and sliding around the corner, Yang floored it down the next street.  “I’m looking for Dr. Lyla Webb - early thirties, light brown hair, green eyes, walks with a limp, but is extremely dangerous around a Dreamscape.  We need to find her as soon as possible.”

“We can put out an APB -”

“No,” she interrupted.  “I’m not sure who to trust right now, which is why I only called you.”

“Ok…”  

The pause on the other end of the call gave Yang reason to worry.  He probably thought she was crazy.  Maybe he was calling her in right now -

“Yes.  Of course I’ll help - Redd too - just tell us where to go.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yang felt a pinprick of hope appear.  With Casey’s help, maybe they had a chance.  Maybe they could end the sequence before something bad happened to Blake.

“Ruby will send you some addresses.”  Accelerating around a line of cars stopped at a traffic light, she blew through the intersection and spotted her first location up ahead.  Nothing more than a regular apartment building, but she didn’t expect Lyla to hide somewhere conspicuous.

“Ruby’s with you too??”

“Long story - just radio me the second you find anything.”

“You got it.”

After the car screeched to a stop in front of the building, Yang jumped out and sprinted into the lobby.

“Ruby,” she spoke towards the microphone in her hand while racing into the stairwell.  “I’m at the first address.  Send some of the others to Casey - he’ll check them out.”

“You got it.”

Two flights of stairs later, she found herself in front of apartment thirty-seven.  Against her better judgment, she rang the bell and waited.

And waited.

Just as she was considering breaking down the door, she heard slow footsteps padding towards her.  A few seconds later, a young man pulled it open while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Hel...lo.  Wow.”  Blinking several times, he rubbed his eyes again before smiling.  “Uh, hi.  Is this my lucky morning or what?”

“Depends - are you going to let me in so I can look for someone?”  When Yang flashed her digital badge from her arm, his eyes widened.  “It’s very important and very time sensitive,” she prodded when he didn’t immediately respond.  Fortunately, he quickly stepped aside and motioned her through the doorway.

“Hot and a cop?”  Following as she rushed into the apartment, he seemed to have no issues with her searching every room.  “Maybe someone did slip something in my drink last night…”

Ignoring his rambles, Yang swept the apartment as fast as possible.  The living room was a mess, the kitchen was a mess, and the entire apartment reeked of alcohol.  Another young man was asleep on the sofa, so deeply asleep that he didn’t even stir when she hurried past him towards the bedrooms.

“You’re probably looking for my roommate,” the first boy commented while Yang quietly opened a bedroom door and found another sleeping boy and accompanying girl asleep inside - no Dreamscape.

“He’s always in trouble...wouldn’t surprise me at all.”

Yang checked the second bedroom, which was empty.  As was the third.  

Out of bedrooms, she flashed a smile and rushed back to the door.  

“Nope, not him.  Thank you.”

She didn’t bother closing the front door while sprinting back to the staircase and hurrying down to the waiting vehicle.  It unlocked when she got close enough, allowing her to jump inside and immediately set off for the next address.

“First one’s a dud,” she told Ruby while racing through the streets.  Traffic was picking up now that the day was beginning.  Pretty soon, most of the city would be awake and heading to work, making this search even more difficult.

Receiving a second call, she glanced at the caller before tapping her fingers to answer.

“Just got the first address.  No one here but an elderly couple.” 

“Dammit.”  Nearly missing her turn, she slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel left to cut between two opposing lanes of traffic.  “Try the next one.”  

“On it.”

“Ruby,” Yang said as soon as Casey dropped off.  “You need to narrow these down.”

“I’m trying!  I can’t just snap my fingers, you know.  This stuff takes time!”

“We don’t have time,” Yang stressed before swerving around a car backing onto the street in front of her.  With hardly a pause, she accelerated and continued her path.  “Weiss?” 

There was too much traffic, or the addresses were too far apart, or both.  This was taking too much time.  Time they didn’t have.

“Weiss?” she asked again when she didn’t get an answer.

“She’s still sleeping,” Weiss finally replied.  “But...something’s wrong.  Her breathing is really shallow, and her hands are getting cold.”

Fear raced through Yang’s veins while every alarm she had started ringing - loudly.

“Can you take her pulse?” 

“I have.  It’s low and slipping.  I don’t know what it is - she’s fine, but she’s fading.”

Yang didn’t need more explanation than that.  It shouldn’t be possible, but dream theorists constantly made the impossible possible.  And with two theorists as talented as Blake and Lyla…

If Lyla won - if Blake died -

Yang regretted every doubt she voiced in Blake last night.  She regretted not fully embracing Blake’s return.  She regretted everything, everything she did that wasn’t telling Blake how much she loved her.  Because she loved Blake so fucking much - it couldn’t end this way.  It wouldn’t.  Not if she had anything to say about it. 

Spotting the abandoned building occupying the next address, her adrenaline doubled while she coaxed the engine even faster.  

Empty, rundown street.  Very few pedestrians.  Broken streetlights.  Taped-over cameras.  If she was looking for a spot to hole up with a Dreamscape and go after an ex-colleague, this was it.

But the building was dark, and it looked like no signs of life had been here for quite some time.  Still, her pulse quickened when she stopped the car and hurried to the front door.  

One of the windows was broken, but the door was locked - a rudimentary lock that she snapped off with a twist of her wrist before tossing it into the bushes.  With the door now open, caution won out as she pushed forward and snuck inside.

“Light,” she whispered, clenching her fist before a beam of light came from the palm of her hand.  Aiming it ahead of her, she swept the entryway just like she’d been trained, searching every corner for signs of life before continuing further into the building.  Normally, she’d have a phaser in her free hand, but that wasn’t an option today.  Instead, she remained on high alert, realizing that any attack meant she would immediately lose her source of light.

The entryway and two rooms branching off of it were empty.  Empty of life but overflowing with trash, forcing her to choose her steps carefully to avoid making too much noise.  The staircase leading upstairs, however, would be impossible to traverse silently. 

The building must be a relic from the old times because its wooden interior was rotting out to match.  Several of the steps already sported broken boards, and the rest looked one step away from snapping underfoot.  

Sticking close to the wall, she scurried up the steps, keeping her footsteps as light as possible to minimize the duration of the creaking.  As soon as she made it to the upstairs landing, she again searched every corner for life.

Then she heard something.

Nothing more than a shuffle of fabric sliding across the floor, but in the silent house it stood out like a shout.  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end while she crept towards the sound, which had come from behind a partially-open door on one side of the landing.  Kneeling down right outside, she held her breath and listened.

Soft, small movements.  Shallow breathing.  But not much else.  And she didn’t have time for more reconnaissance than that.

Shoving the door open and striding inside, she pointed her light in the direction of the sound while her muscles coiled in preparation of a fight.

The junkie lying on the floor groaned and covered his eyes when the beam of light hit him.  The other two occupants of the room didn’t even acknowledge her presence.  From the stack of spent cartridges on the ground, she understood why - they were all stoned out of their minds.  

Ignoring them, she searched the rest of the room, found nothing, and hurried out.  She didn’t bother silencing her footsteps anymore while racing through the other rooms and finding nothing but more garbage and more evidence of drugs.

“Ruby, there’s nothing here.”  

Spinning in a circle in the last room, Yang searched for anything worth mentioning.  Empty, empty, empty.  Another dead end.  With nothing else to see, she raced back to the car and tore off for the third address.

“Send in a tip on that location,” she said while racing through the streets.  “It’s a drug house.” 

When Ruby swore under her breath, Yang did her best to remain calm.  Or as calm as possible.  She couldn’t drive any faster.  Ruby couldn’t work any faster.  They just had to pray Blake could hold on long enough to give them a chance.  She had to give them a chance.  Somehow.

A soft chime announced the arrival of an audio clip, which she immediately played.

“Just got to the second address - no one here.  Heading to the third location now.”

Desperation clawed at her chest, but she did her best to breathe normally.  She reminded herself that Blake was one of the best dream theorists out there.  Regardless of how good Lyla was, Blake could hold her own.

Still, she couldn’t escape the feeling of dread that Blake’s last words had instilled in her.  She knew, deep in her soul, that Blake would sacrifice herself to end this, to ‘repent’ for her wrongs.

Yang couldn’t let that happen.

“Ha!” Ruby suddenly exclaimed, making Yang jump in surprise.  “I hijacked some drones!  I’m sending them to the other locations now - starting at the bottom working up.”

However small, the words were a relief.  Any extra set of eyes would help.  Plus, the drones could tear through the skies a lot faster than Yang could tear through the streets.

Still, she made it to the third destination in no time, skidding to a stop in front of another apartment building that looked no different from the first.  Wasting no time running inside, she found the right apartment on the ground floor and rang the bell.

The first clue that this wasn’t the right place was the childlike voice coming from within.  Still, she had to check.  She had to make absolutely sure that Lyla wasn’t here.

When a young girl, no more than seven, opened the door, her heart sank.  But she threw on a smile and knelt down so they were at the same eye level.

“Hey there,” she said, trying to slow her rapid breathing from the sprint here.  “My name’s Detective Xiao Long - I work with the police department.  Are your parents around?”

“Violet?”

The little girl turned around as her mother walked towards the door.  Standing up, Yang smiled again and flashed the badge Ruby built into her arm.

“Detective Xiao Long,” she repeated.  “It’s - uh, it’s important that I check your apartment really quick.  I’m just - looking for a...friend.”

With the little girl watching closely, Yang didn’t want to raise alarm if she didn’t have to.  Fortunately, Violet’s mother caught on quickly, pulling her daughter close and motioning Yang inside.

“Please stay here,” she said before hurrying into the living room. 

A child’s cartoon show played on the video screen, and a set of blocks were arranged on the floor.  Spotting nothing of interest, she poked her head into the kitchen and saw nothing but some dishes on the table before heading towards the bedrooms.  There were three doors - two open and one closed.  

The rooms with open doors were empty, but she put her ear to the door of the third room before quietly turning the knob and pushing it open a crack.  The room was dark, but the light of the hallway illuminated a bed and a single person sleeping.  A Dreamscape sat on the nightstand, but in the bed was a teenage boy - not who she was looking for.

“Ruby,” she spoke into her hand while rushing back to the front door.  “She’s not here either.”

“I’m trying to narrow it down, but she’s scrambled everything.  Doesn’t exactly make it easy to track her.”

“Thank you,” Yang told the woman standing by the door.  “Everything’s ok - nothing’s out of place.”

Once the woman looked relieved, Yang flashed another smile and hurried outside.  With each subsequent address revealing nothing, her hopelessness and sense of defeat grew.  She knew that, if given enough time, she and Ruby could find anyone.  It didn’t matter how well they covered their tracks or how much their masked their identity - they would be picked up eventually.

The problem was that they didn’t have time.  In a life-or-death situation, every second mattered, and they were wasting far too many seconds chasing dead ends.

“Wait,” Ruby suddenly said while Yang set off for yet another address.  “Every Dreamscape has a backup energy source, right?  So they run even if the power goes out?”

“I think so,” Weiss answered, her tone sounding far too worried for Yang’s liking.  “A failsafe to prevent sudden disconnects.”

“So if the power goes out, I should be able to pick up any Dreamscape still running.”

“Ruby...please tell me you’re not about to do what I think you are.”  Silence took over the call - Ruby too busy following her idea to answer.  

“Ruby,” Weiss repeated in a firmer voice.  “You said you don’t know what it will do.”

“Yeah, but…”

When Yang turned the next corner, everything suddenly went dark.  The street lights went off.  Lighted signs flickered to black.  Even the cars on the street went into safe mode before coasting to a stop.

Before panic set in, however, everything lit up again.  The only evidence that anything out of the ordinary happened were the pedestrians looking around and actually taking time to talk to one another to confirm their eyes hadn’t just played a trick on them.

“What just happened?”  Regaining control of the vehicle, Yang sped around several cars that were slow to start back up.  Weiss’ answer was a heavy sigh.

“She just EMP’d the city...” 

“Did not!  I power cycled a few neighborhoods, and now I have a map of every Dreamscape that’s currently on.  Just need to cross reference...”  A second later, a location pinged on Yang’s map.  “There!  That’s her - she’s got to be there.”

“Are you sure?” Yang asked, glancing at the address before focusing on the road.

“As sure as I’ll ever be.”

That was good enough for her.

Slamming on the brakes, she jerked the wheel hard to the right, throwing the car into a slide before stomping on the accelerator and booking it in the opposite direction.  She hardly saw the buildings and cars flying past, her eyes always trained forward while following the highlighted path.

“Do you realize how illegal that was?” Weiss scolded Ruby while Yang cut through the streets, driving as if her life depended on it.

“Yeah, but...I know a good attorney.” 

“You’re going to need one...”

As soon as Yang saw the next address - an apartment building in a burgeoning tech hub - her adrenaline and anxiety kicked into high gear.  The streets in this neighborhood were already redone, with lights embedded in the pavement, while every storefront glowed with the promise of the ‘next great thing.’

This was where Lyla decided to hide - Yang could feel it now.  Everything about it made sense.  The concentration of both people and technology minimized suspicion because everyone behaved suspiciously here.  Holomasks were the norm.  Voice modulation was prevalent.  Even the stores accepted those untraceable credits created to keep buyers ‘off the grid.’

Leaving the car one more time, she rushed towards the front entrance while dialing Casey. 

“I think we found her - meet at my location.”

“Got it.”

As soon as she ended the call, she sent him the location of her beacon and ran through the door - only to be immediately stopped by a security bot.

“Identification, please.” 

Instinct told her to shove past the barrier, but she knew the inconspicuous-looking bot packed enough punch to knock her out if she didn’t comply.  So she stopped and flashed her holobadge in its face.

“Detective Xiao Long,” she said, and the machine backed down and moved out of her way.

“What can I assist with, Detective?” 

“I need access to Apartment Seventeen.” 

“I’m sorry, but that tenant has specifically requested no visitors, regardless of credentials.”

Gritting her teeth at the response, Yang pointed to a spot on the floor.

“Stay here and wait for my backup,” she instructed before running to the staircase and up to the third floor.  As if she needed more confirmation that Ruby found the right place - denying police entry was an offense in and of itself.  The renter of this apartment really didn’t want to be disturbed, and she was about to find out why.

The locks on every door were more advanced than most of the buildings she visited, but the one outside Apartment Seventeen had been upgraded.  Fingerprint, retina, passcode, probably voice check and secondary authentication via memory chip.  Whoever was here really didn’t want visitors.

Unlike with the lock in Taven Bishop’s room, however, she had more than enough assistance with her - in the form of the coding overrides Ruby had programmed into her arm.  Like having a mini-Ruby right there beside her, she set her hand on the lock and watched her palm glow red while Ruby’s work set in motion.  A hundred million different algorithms analyzed the device and located its weaknesses, then systematically overrode the security or, if that didn’t work, pulled it apart.

The instant the lock screen flashed green, she tore the door open and rushed inside.  Quickly scanning every corner of the entryway, she found no threats or signs of life.  Same was true of the living room and attached kitchen - clean and orderly, but empty.

The furniture matched the bare, white walls.  Fresh flowers sat in a vase on the table.  The lights were on, but there were no personal effects of any kind.  No dishes left in the sink.  No slides or memory chips discarded on the countertops.  It looked exactly like the advertisements for spec apartments rented out by the day - fully-furnished getaways for those looking for a short-term place to stay.

It was also quiet, with not a sound to be heard outside of the pounding of her heart in her ears.

After confirming the living room and kitchen were empty, she crept down the hallway leading to several rooms.  The first door was open - the restroom, again without any personal effects.  The second door was also open - an empty bedroom that didn’t look like it had ever been used.  The third door was nearly closed but not quite latched.

Taking a deep breath just outside, she knelt by the floor and listened for sounds.  Again, nothing.  At least, nothing she could hear.  While staying low to the floor, she pushed the door open and peeked inside.  

Her heart raced through her chest the instant she spotted Lyla laying on the bed inside.  A cane rested against the wall by the bed, and a Daydreamer sat on the nightstand, but it was her - she was here.

“Ruby,” Yang whispered into her hand.  “She’s here.  Make sure Casey’s on the way.”

Without waiting for a response, she stood and walked over to the side of the bed.  Lying here like this, Lyla looked peaceful and at ease - Yang could only imagine the nightmares playing out in her mind.

She needed to wake Lyla up, but Lyla wasn’t wearing a Dream Disk.  With the Daydreamer, she didn’t need one - so how did the sequence end?

Her next thought was to pull out a cord or something, but the Daydreamer had no cords running in or out of it - how was it even on?

“Lyla,” she called out, but there was no response.  “Shit.  Ruby, how do I pull her out?”

“That’s a question for Blake, not me.”

“Dammit.”  

Looking between Lyla and the machine sitting beside her, Yang tried to figure out the best course of action.  She didn’t know what type of trouble Blake might be in, so she had to assume the worst.  Blake’s life was in danger, so she would act appropriately.  She had to end the sequence now.

Grabbing Lyla’s shoulder, Yang shook her to see if that did anything.

Nothing.

“Wake up!” she shouted, hoping the words might somehow reach her subconscious.  Again, nothing.

For a normal person, that would work.  A normal person would wake up.  But not Lyla - not if she was determined to stay in the dream.

Giving up the hopeless acts, Yang searched for anything to help.  There was no instruction manual for the Daydreamer.  There was no button on the machine to forcefully stop the sequence.  There was nothing - nothing to end this quickly.

She could destroy the machine, but chances were that did nothing.  Blake and Lyla’s subconsciouses were probably far from here right now, and destroying it could prevent them from returning without side effects.  If the Daydreamer served as a portal, she needed to leave it open just in case.

Spotting Lyla’s bag sitting on a chair by the door, Yang grabbed it and dumped the contents on the bed.  A phaser fell onto the bedspread, which she snatched out of instinct before a thought crossed her mind.  After determining that the weapon was operational, she glanced at Lyla and felt her heart leap into her throat.

“Weiss, how’s she doing?”

“She’s hanging in there, but...her breathing is really slow, Yang.”

Yang immediately looked at the phaser in her hands, then away.  It was always a matter of last resort, but if it meant saving Blake’s life…

She would do anything to save Blake’s life.

“Ruby, look up what happens if someone dies while using a Dreamscape - what happens to the dream?  Does it end?”

Silence on the other side of the line.  

“Ruby.”

“You can’t be serious,” Weiss replied in Ruby’s place, her tone filled with disbelief.

“Neither of you need to know why I’m asking, but I need to know.  Ruby?”

Again silence, and Yang was about to ask again when Ruby finally answered.

“Based on recent articles, Dreamscape put in security features...the sequence will kick any co-dreamers out.”

As expected, Dreamscape thought of everything.  Blake thought of everything.

“Thank you.”

“Yang,” Weiss cut in, her voice now pleading.  “You know the law here as good as anyone - you know I can’t get you out of this.  She’s still breathing; you still have time.  Please, please find another solution.” 

Yang’s hand shook with adrenaline and nerves, but she took a deep breath and tried to think.  She didn’t have much time, but she had time.  Seconds, maybe, but sometimes that was all she needed. 

Looking at Lyla once more, she stuck the weapon in her pocket and ran into the living room.  She felt frantic now - desperately searching for anything that might circumvent Lyla’s determination to remain dreaming no matter the external factor.  If Lyla refused to wake up when someone shook her or yelled at her, there had to be another way - something she hadn’t thought to protect herself against.  A natural, human reaction that she would never expect to happen while she was dreaming.

The moment Yang’s gaze fell upon the vase of flowers sitting in the living room, an idea appeared.

“What the hell.”  

Grabbing the vase, she pulled out the flowers and tossed them aside while rushing back to the room.  As soon as she reached the bed, she turned it over and threw the water in Lyla’s face.

Lyla gasped awake, sitting straight up in bed and sputtering while wiping the water from her eyes - a reaction any human being would have.  It was several seconds before she cleared her eyes and noticed Yang - with the phaser pointed right towards her chest.

“Don’t move.”

For what felt like the longest time, Lyla stared.  Her eyes searched Yang’s before finally looking down at the phaser and back again.

“Save dream sequence?” an automated voice called out to them, breaking the silence and drawing their attention.  

“Yes.”

Keeping her eyes on Lyla the entire time - even though Lyla didn’t look like she wanted to move anytime soon - Yang moved over to the machine and set her hand on top of it to collect the memory file.  Even after it was saved, Lyla still stared.

“Is this real?”  Lyla’s eyes swept the room another time, looking suspicious and wary of everything in it.  That’s when Yang heard heavy footsteps in the hall, growing closer by the second.

“This is very real,” she replied before gesturing with the weapon in her hand.  “But if you want to test it out, just try me.”

The instant she felt a tugging sensation on her mind, she slammed her hand down on the Daydreamer, crushing it to pieces and forcing the feeling away.  After looking at the destroyed machine, Lyla gave Yang a smug smile.

“You’re finally learning.”

“And you’re not.”  Putting the phaser away, Yang pulled Lyla to her feet and looked around for something to bind her hands.

“How did you pull me out?”

“Yang!”

Hearing her name from the living room, Yang called out “In here!” before turning back to Lyla.  Seconds later, Casey and Redd rushed into the room followed by their assistant bot.

“I don’t think it takes a detective to figure that out,” Yang replied before releasing Lyla to Redd.  He already had a pair of cuffs out, which fit around Lyla’s wrists and tightened until she couldn’t possibly hope to use them.  Next, a techblocker went over her head, preventing any attempts to access unseen technology without them knowing it.  

The bot was already collecting Lyla’s belongings for processing and scanning the room to be recreated in court.  The broken Daydreamer, her bag, her phone - everything went into a safe container for transport.

“Lyla Webb,” Casey said, standing in front of Lyla once she was ready for extraction.  “You’re under arrest.  Charges to be determined within twelve hours.”

“I think you’ll have a hard time proving anything,” Lyla replied, although her confidence seemed thin at best.

“We’ll see about that.”  When Casey took Lyla’s arm to lead her out of the apartment, she leaned away.

“My cane,” she said, gesturing towards the cane leaning against the wall.  “I can’t walk without my cane.”

When Casey shot Yang a look, she grabbed the cane and held it up for closer inspection.  She’d never thought about it before, but what features could be hidden in a cane?  

The answer was probably similar to the features that could be hidden within a prosthetic arm.

“Sorry, Lyla,” she said while handing the cane off to Redd.  “If you need help walking, Officer Collins is more than strong enough to carry you.”

Faced with that decision, Lyla scowled and straightened her shoulders.

“No, thank you,” she quipped before being led out of the apartment.  

Yang glanced at the bot, who’d already wrapped up the bedroom and moved on to scan the rest of the apartment, before hurrying after them.  A police cruiser and transport were parked in front of the building, drawing several news drones and plenty of pedestrians behind the temporary barrier, craning their necks in hopes of catching the drama firsthand.

Jogging down the steps, Yang caught up to Casey as he motioned for Lyla to get into the back of a transport and closed the door behind her.

“Book her as extremely dangerous,” Yang said, watching him key in the codes to fully tint the windows and shut down every piece of technology in the backseat.  “And don’t let her anywhere near a Dreamscape.”

“Got it.”

With Casey securing Lyla for transit to the department, Yang ducked away and immediately called Ruby.

“Please tell me that worked,” was the first thing she said.

“It worked.  I’m up.  I’m...ok.”

Hearing Blake’s voice, Yang felt tears of happiness prick at her eyes while waves of relief washed over her.

“Thank god,” she breathed out.  Her hand still shook with adrenaline, fear, and desperation, and she realized she still had Lyla’s phaser tucked in her pocket.  Taking it out, she looked it over and felt a chill run down her spine.

She understood what she almost did, and she understood the repercussions of that decision.  That was the scariest part - she knew exactly what would have happened to her - and she’d been willing to do it anyway.

Were she and Blake really that different?  When push came to shove, they were both willing to do anything...for each other.

“Weiss?” Yang said, watching Casey give an explanation to a news drone before waving the machine off.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She couldn’t think of anything better to say than that.  How could she adequately thank Weiss for being the voice of reason at a time when she was ready to throw reason off the table?  Weiss just saved her life, in a way.

“You’re welcome.”  

The brief answer suggested Weiss wanted to discuss it as little as Yang did, and that was just fine - for now.

“Hold on.”  Spotting Casey opening the door of one of the squad cars, Yang flagged him down and walked over.  

“I’m coming with you,” she told him when he gave her a curious look.  “I’ll charge her.”

“Are you ok?” he asked instead of responding.  His eyes flitted to the cuts on her arm before returning her gaze.  

“I’m fine - just a few scratches, nothing major.” 

“Is Ruby ok?” 

“Yeah, she’s fine.  She’s at -”  Before Weiss’ name slipped out, Yang stopped herself and shook her head.  “She’s hiding out somewhere safe.” 

Visibly relieved by the answer, Casey nodded and managed a smile.

“And...Blake’s alive?” 

Yang felt a flurry of emotions at that statement, both from the surrealness of Blake’s return and the turmoil surrounding their latest brush with Lyla.

“Yes.  She is.”

After nodding one more time, Casey straightened his shoulders and put on a determined expression.  

“I’ll take care of Dr. Webb.” 

“Casey, we don’t know who might be involved in this -”

“Do you trust me?” 

That word…

Trust was hard to earn and easy to lose - but what role did she play in making it that way?  Couldn’t she try harder to trust someone?  Or try harder to understand someone’s mistakes? 

Sometimes, wasn’t it worth taking a leap of faith?

“I do,” she replied with a nod, feeling even more relieved when Casey looked newly determined in his quest.

“Then let me take care of this,” he repeated.  “I’ll charge her with instigation, attempted kidnapping of an officer, attempted murder of an officer, destruction of property, endangerment -” 

“Jesus, Casey.  You know half of those won’t stick.” 

“But it’s a mandatory four-day hold, minimum.  Not even Weiss Schnee could get her out early.” 

For a long time, Yang just looked at him, struggling to understand why he would do this.  Was he really going to risk his career for her?

“Take the day,” he added, his eyes pleading her to accept the offer.  “Make sure Ruby’s ok, spend time with Blake, and come in tomorrow ready to claim all the glory.” 

When Yang hesitated - still unsure she wanted him to stick his neck out for her - he lightly nudged her away from the police cruiser.

“It’s not a negotiation, Detective,” he added with a grin.  

Finally smiling, she gave him a fake salute before hurrying back to Weiss’ car.

“And where’d you get the car??” he called after her.

“A friend!” she replied before jumping into the vehicle and firing up the engine.  Her heart was speeding up again - this time with anticipation as she flew away from the building.

“Blake?” she asked, knowing the call was still ongoing.  “Stay there, ok?  I’ll be back soon.”

“I will.”

“Good.”  Turning the next corner, Yang gripped the steering wheel as the most incredible feeling flowed through her.  Relief, freedom, love, and longing.

“I love you,” she added, feeling the word with every fiber of her being - stronger than she’d felt it in a long time.

“I love you too…”

Hearing the words in return, Yang smiled and felt tears of happiness sting at her eyes.  Nothing lifted her spirits faster than hearing Blake say those words, because Blake wouldn’t say them if she didn’t feel them.  That, more than anything, assured her that they could work things out.  They could reclaim what they once had and return to the lives that had been abruptly put on hold.  

She might not know what would happen next - scratch that, she definitely didn’t know what would happen next - but she knew that she loved Blake.  After what she just went through, she’d never been more certain of anything in her life.

Loving someone meant finding a way to forgive them for their mistakes.  So that’s exactly what she was going to do.