(Italics are parts of a dream.)

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Cal was drinking alone at his desk when he felt someone come up behind him.

"Hello, husband," A feminine hand came to touch his shoulder, the touch alone stinging his skin the familiar voice hurt his ears. Turning around, he came face to face with the person he hated most. And feared most.

His body jolted in an immediate response to flee. But after a few seconds, he felt the tension slowly ease, remembering she existed no more. She was dead.

"Oh, right." He chuckled bitterly. "You aren't really here. You're dead. This is just a dream—a nightmare."

"Aren't I?" She whispered in such a soft, melodious voice that it was sickening. How he hated knowing that she could always sense the fear in his eyes, as if she was boring through his mind. "But I will always be alive in your mind, my forever love." Stroking his hair with her slim fingers, she leaned close to land a kiss on his head.

Cal jolted up from his chair, wincing in utter disgust. "Get away from me."

Isleen stood, still smiling, unaffected. "Whether I am dead or not does not matter. What matters is... there." As she gestured behind him, Cal froze in horror seeing the rest of his office had disappeared and suddenly been replaced by a nursery. One that looked exactly like Junior's nursery when he was a baby.

He stiffened as he spotted Junior, sleeping soundly in a crib that strangely accommodated his grown body.

"Our baby!" announced Isleen in a delighted tone, as if she was delivering good news. "I'm here to see him."

"No!" Cal squeaked, his instincts telling him to rush over and shield Junior from this demon, but his legs were rooted to the spot. His eyes watered. Not Junior, please, not him. "You will not touch him. You do not touch him, Isleen."

"My own son? How impertinent." Slowly gliding across the room like a ghost, she stopped over Junior's crib. The child was fast asleep on his tummy, his face tilted to the left, facing him. His expression was peaceful; unbothered.

Cal's tears made their way down his cheeks as she bent over to caress a small patch of Junior's back. He was too powerless to save himself, now he also lacked the power to save his son.

"I will never hurt my son, my Prince. I love him like I love you. He's a part of me, as he is a part of you."

"No," Cal shook his head quickly in disgust. "Junior is mine."

Straightening herself, Isleen faced him with a wide, unwavering smile that Cal would love to punch off her face.

"Haven't you paid any attention to your son lately? He's starting to show his true nature... He only thinks of himself, he has a temper. He cannot make or keep friends. His actions brought harm to other people. Can't you see he's becoming more like me?"

Cal snorted. "You cannot manipulate me into believing this. You will not. He isn't like you and never will be."

Isleen let out a cold, ringing laughter. "You'll see it for yourself. The things that I did," Flicking her fingers, her figure slowly morphing into that of Olivia's before she transformed back into herself. "He is capable of doing too!"

Shrugging, Cal began to feel his body shuddered with panic. "No! He isn't—he couldn't! He was a victim of your exploits, as much as I was!"

"Who do you think met him in the forest? You could try to hide him from us, my Prince, but could you forever hide him from himself?"

The temperature in the room dropped significantly. Cal's lips quivered in vain as he couldn't find it in himself to retaliate. No, that couldn't be true. It was all lies! Lies!

"You cannot sever the ties between a child and its mother!"

"I never consented to you being his mother! He's a part of me that you had stolen, just like you did with everything else! My body, my honour, my sanity!"

"That is a part of your delusion. You're a coward. None of those ever really belonged to you." Her smile faded into a look of contempt. "Just like your son."

"No, he's mine, only mine. He isn't vile like you!"

"He's my son!" She howled, lunging towards him aggressively, grabbing him by the collar and slammed his head against the wall. "He's my son, you idiot. He's my son. He'll grow up like me, and he'll become me."

Cal bit his lip, arms hanging limply on his sides. Succumbing to his doomed fate, he willed his eyes and ears to shut as Isleen continued chanting: 'He's my son, my son, my son!'

Why was he always allowing her to treat him like crap? Why was he always so helpless against this wench?

Maybe, he deserved it.

His head lolled to the side, catching a glimpse of Junior, still sleeping soundly in his cot.

Junior!

He had to save him... His son. He should never have to suffer the same way that he did. He must protect him. He had to fight back.

The sight of Junior alone was enough for him to regain his strength. His arms trembled as he first raised them, but they slowly steadied, putting a distance between the wretched woman and himself.

"He's " growled Cal, fingers slowly closing around her throat. "You may have hurt me but you shall never lay a hand on him. Not while I'm here!"

Isleen gasped, her eyes opening wide as she choked.

Realizing he had finally seized control, Cal grimaced. "Get lost, you bitch!" He spat before kicking her in the gut.

***

Cal told Dr. Jaeyr about the encounter in his therapy session the next day.

"So, you've seen her again?"

"Yes, in a dream this time," replied Cal. Unlike someone who had experienced a nightmare, he kept a calmed expression, a tranquil smile, and a sense of pride. Truly, he felt like a hero who had slain the monster. "But this time, I was able to fight back. I did more than anything I was capable of doing when she was alive. It felt good. I got rid of her."

The Doctor leaned forward in her chair. "Did she mention anything about your wife? Your current wife, I mean."

"No," Cal answered with certainty. "It was weird, I would have assumed she would but she didn't even mention anything related to Gigi. It felt like she was specifically targeting Junior." Cal explained as if he was answering a question he had on his own mind while the Doctor fiddled with her notes.

"Not that I believe she could still reach out from the grave or anything like that, but you know... After Gigi got into that accident, it turned out that someone was attempting to kidnap Junior. Somehow my subconscious decided to connect the dots."

"Though assuming from how calm you are, Junior is alright, I believe?"

"Oh, yes yes. He's safe and at home." Cal smiled serenely. "He was just being a boy and he was sorry for Gigi. I'm pretty sure I did worse things at his age back in the day. I was quite the rebel, you see."

"My current conclusion would be that your symptoms might not be associated only with your intimate activities, but more correlated to the things you fear. Which mostly revolve around intimacy, but not limited to," explained the Doctor.

"So, would it be alright if I... try to be intimate with my wife?" he swallowed in anticipation as he waited for the response.

"Honestly? I wouldn't suggest it. I feel like it would be safer for you to complete your fifth session before I were to ask you to try anything remotely intimate. Why the sudden urge to get intimate with your wife, Cal?"

"Lots of people are dying..." Cal pressed his lips with a slight frown, shaking his head. "Not lots maybe, but some people. They died very young, and when Gigi got into that accident... I wouldn't want to live in regret if death separated us before I could show her how much I love her."

"Well, do you feel mentally fit to get into such intimacy?"

"I feel marvelous!" he declared with confidence. "It feels like I've gained back some control. If she reappeared, in my dream or anywhere else, I would put her in place again; send her back to the purgatory where she belongs. Would it hurt so much to try?"

"It would be risky," warned the doctor.

"I know... But it's worth the risk."

"I will not formally recommend it, still, but the choice is yours. I think that concludes today's session." The Doctor ended leniently, closing her journal. "You've been taking your pills, right?"

"Regularly." Cal rose up from his seat, grabbing his coat. "Thank you, Jeanine. See you in two weeks."

***

As he returned to Gigi's chambers, he was surprised to see his wife already awakened and seated in bed, with Junior in her lap and clinging to her.

It looked like they were having a moment.

There was a glint in Gigi's eyes as they caught him. She had a gleaming smile that didn't look like what you would expect of someone who was sick and put on bed rest for two weeks.

She looked beautiful even in her sleep but when she was awake? She was shining.

"Sire, you're home!"

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

(PS: 'Isleen' is pronounced like 'Eileen', without the 'S')