She looked across at Taylor as they drove, her little blonde head bobbing in excitement as she spoke. He was laughing at her, not out loud, but the way he always looked perpetually amused when she would get excited and animated and go off on a tangent. But he was also reassuring her that she would be fine. She was scared to go to camp, it was her first year going and she wasn't sure if she would fit in.
Then they were stopped, and she couldn't see who it was, she just knew she couldn't get a read on him. She had a bad feeling and she was warning Taylor, but he went anyway, and then it was like the car was flying. She undid her seatbelt, ready to jump out like Taylor told her, but then all of a sudden he was in the car with her and he was driving her and...
There was a plane, and she was with Taylor, then she was ripped from his arms, taken by someone without a face, and then they were driving again, but he was in the back, and he was out... then a room. And then... it was him. She didn't know exactly who he was, just that she was petrified of him, but he needed her. He needed her alive because he needed her for something. He was teaching her, teaching her something... it glowed brightly, hers was gold, woven together with intricate strings of telepathic energy. His was white. She didn't know if that was significant or not.
She had no choice. That much was clear. If she refused, he would kill Taylor. Taylor. Where was Taylor? She was with him, and then she wasn't. Every time she would see him, someone would pull her away. She needed Taylor.
Avery tossed and turned, all of this playing out in her mind, memories long forgotten, burned into her very soul. Tears streamed down her face as she slept, a fearful moan escaping from between her lips, and then she was screaming.
"TAY! TAY! TAYLOR!" she screamed, repeating it over and over, her eyes tightly shut. Her body racked with the force of her sobs, and she kept screaming for her brother. Kept screaming because she couldn't find him, and she was terrified he was gone.
Taylor
Taylor was out of bed before he even registered being awake.
"Avie?!" his voice cracked as he headed for her room.
He opened the door to find her still asleep, but obviously quite petrified. He closed the door behind him so that hopefully the kids wouldn't hear her, before rushing to her side.
"Avie? Avie? Hey!" he took her shoulder.
Avery
Avery's eyes opened with a start and she latched her arms around Taylor's neck, shaking and sobbing.
"He took us, he took us!" she cried, holding onto him fearfully. "The man without a face, and he took you away!"
Taylor
"Avie I'm so sorry," Taylor breathed, hugging her back.
"But it was a long time ago. He's gone now, he can't hurt you. And we're fine, yeah?"
Avery
"Tay, I did something bad back then, I just know I did," Avery buried her face in Taylor's neck, unable to calm herself down.
"I'm sorry you got caught up in that!"
Taylor
"I would rather be caught up in it than letting you go through it alone," Taylor insisted.
"And you only did what you had to do. Nothing bad happened because of it, really."
Discounting the whole Chris-pretending-to-be-him fiasco, and Craig making him do the Adige translations...
Avery
Avery froze when Taylor spoke, and she felt a chill down her spine. Remembering... something. It was there. This must have been what he meant when he'd said worse things had happened.
"Tay," she murmured, still holding onto him. "He didn't have a face, why didn't he have a face?"
Taylor
"I don't know," Taylor pulled back a little and wiped her eyes, assuming she was talking about The Eye.
"Maybe you'll be lucky and not remember it."
Avery
Avery nodded, brushing her hair from her face.
"I was only a kid, wasn't I?"
Taylor
"You were twelve," Taylor affirmed, sitting back on the bed so that he could look her over better.
"And I'll never forgive him for what he did to you. Being so young."
Avery
Avery had a sudden thought and with wide eyes, she fearfully asked her next question.
"Is he still... will he come back for me?"
Taylor
"No," Taylor said firmly, with no room for question.
"He's... passed on. He can't hurt us anymore."
Avery
Avery nodded slowly.
"I just keep having these dreams... and I don't know what they mean, but the man without a face is always there."
Taylor
"I know... it might be hard," Taylor said softly, "but I know what you're going through."
He was of course thinking of his own nightmares.
He reached out and fixed part of her hair that was sticking up.
"It does get better, I promise."
Avery
"Please don't disappear again," Avery said quietly.
"I need you too much, Tay."
Taylor
"I'm not going anywhere," Taylor insisted.
"Besides, do you really think I could go anywhere that my kids couldn't track me down?"
He smiled.
Avery
Avery smiled a little, and leaned forward to hug Taylor again.
"I'm sorry I woke you."
Taylor
"It's no bother," Taylor insisted, unaware that Chris used the same line so many times.
"I'm always here for you Ave, you know that."
Avery
Avery paused for a second, then relaxed into the hug.
"Thank you, Tay."
Taylor
"You're welcome," Taylor rubbed his thumb over her back.
"Hey, it's what I'm here for."
Avery
Avery rested her head on Taylor's shoulder, breathing deeply.
"Tay?" she asked softly. "Sit until I fall asleep?"
Taylor
"I'll stay even longer just to make sure," Taylor assured her with a smile.
Avery
"Thank you," Avery replied, laying back down against the pillows.
She closed her eyes tiredly.
Taylor
Taylor stroked her hair gently, slowly soothing her off to sleep.
He waited until he was sure that she was asleep, stayed for an extra fifteen minutes or so just to make sure her dreams were calm, then carefully slipped back to bed with Natalie.