DISCLAIMER: Women's Murder Club and its characters are the property of James Patterson, 20th Century Fox Television and ABC. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Nikky for the beta!
The 9th Nightmare
By Demeter
My name is Lindsay Boxer. I am a Homicide inspector with the SFPD. I am, however, not a blonde.
Finding proof of the last one slightly calmed Lindsay from the nightmare that had just made her bolt from her bed – again. Until another horrible thought sprang to her still somewhat foggy mind, and she picked up the phone, punching in the numbers urgently with unsteady hands.
"Linds," Jill answered, her voice sounding slightly breathless. "A good morning to you, too."
"Thank God," Lindsay breathed. So *that* had been part of the nightmare.
"Anything specific you need from me at the moment?"
"Um, no. I'm sorry. It's late."
"It's three AM, so... oh no, Lindsay, don't tell me it happened again."
Lindsay didn't know how to answer that.
"Look, you remember that wasn't real, only in the story, right? I'm very much alive and I plan to be for the next sixty years or so," Jill said firmly. "Besides, if you replaced me with annoying Yuki, I'd come back to haunt you forever, you get me?"
The shared laughter relaxed her a little, but Lindsay still felt lost between the realities, even with the comfort of her friend's voice – and her own mirror image. "Speaking of which, the bitch told me to get married."
On the other end of the line, Jill moaned. "Forget about it. California State Laws be damned, you are so married."
"I am?" A number of faces and names danced through her head, finally settling on her favorite fantasy, but that was impossible. Canon was never this kind.
"Go to your bedroom, take a look. Now, Linds."
Simple instructions worked best in the aftermath of those nightmares.
So Lindsay opened the door, almost scared of what she would find, but the sight that greeted her put a surprised smile on her face. "Wow," she whispered.
"Yeah, wow."
The image of a red-headed Cindy Thomas snuggled under the covers pushed the surreal images further away. "By the way, I am not forty yet."
"I know," Jill said patiently. "Now that we got the big things out of the way, can we clear up the rest tomorrow?"
Lindsay was still mesmerized by the moonlight playing over her lover's sleeping form. Her lover. This was the best canon so far.
"Linds!"
"Yeah, sure. At Susie's?"
"Papa Joe's."
She must have imagined that hint of irritation, right? The sound of another voice distracted her from that thought, though. A female voice. Curiosity won. "Who is there with you?"
"I can't tell," Jill said with a sigh. "It's a spoiler."
"Why can't you spoil me? It's my reality, too."
"Linds, I love you, but now... go to bed. Have sex with Cindy. Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow, right?"
"Wait, I did not leave her alone in the hospital to go--"
"Tomorrow."
"Papa Joe's."
"You got that right. Good night, Lindsay."
"Good night. Thank you."
"Always."
Cindy was still fast asleep, so Lindsay decided it would be unfair to wake her. She'd just hold her close to make sure that this was real, too.
Any other canon be damned.
The End