Room 406, afternoon into evening

[izzyalienqueen]

Isabel has not been having the best time of it the last week or so. There'd been the horrendous trip to LA, coming back to find out that Jack was in trouble, and then fighting with Greg. The only thing that could make things worse would be a call from Max with more of his particular brand of stupidity.

Too keyed up to even attempt sleep, Isabel sat on her bed and floated the nerf balls from the day at the beach with Cedric and Jack through the air in a complicated pattern. It was easier to focus on that then think about how closely the argument she had with Greg paralleled why everyone was mad at Jack.

The door was open.

Comments

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin was out stretching his legs.

He was in no way avoiding thinking about what would be happening in the next few weeks.

Really.

He smiled at the floating balls. "You've been practicing," he said.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Hey stranger! Long time no see on the fourth floor!" Isabel said with a genuine smile. "I have. It's fun."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"I'm glad to hear it," Anakin said, leaning against the doorjamb. "Living on the first floor is too quiet."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You can come in you know," she said. "There's no need to lurk in the doorway. I can't imagine living on the first floor. I like having people wander by the door."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"I'm normally good with quiet, but it's a little too much," Anakin said, coming into the room and sprawling out on the floor. "How are you?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I've had better weeks," Isabel admitted. "I just got back from spending a week helping Angel in LA."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin sat up straighter. "It didn't go well?"

It wasn't really a question.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She shrugged. "The demon died eventually. So that's all that matters."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Not necessarily," Anakin said. "How are you?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'll be okay," Isabel promised. "I just need to get some sleep. I didn't get much when I was out there. It's hard to sleep when you're worried about a demon coming into your dreams and killing you."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin hissed in a breath. "I'll bet," he said, eyes sympathetic. "I've had my fair share of nightmares, but nothing quite like that."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It was the most bizarre and horrible thing. They would just go to sleep in their beds peacefully," Isabel said, getting lost in the memory. "And then the wounds would just appear. You wouldn't see what caused it. That's why Angel needed me there. To bring him into the dreams so he could actually fight it."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Sounds terrifying," Anakin said softly. "I'm sure Angel appreciated the help."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"He did," she nodded. "He just felt bad because it was so scary and awful. And of course he felt guilty because we couldn't save everyone."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"I hate when that happens," Anakin said. "Because you want to save everyone."

He looked up at Isabel. "How does it work for you? Can you block out nightmares?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel closed her eyes, "I wanted to. But I couldn't and I had to get us out or we would have been in her dreams when she died. I don't know what would have happened to us then."

"I didn't have to worry about the demon getting into my dreams that much. He was tied to the kids because of the ritual," she explained. "But my own nightmares....I can't stop them."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry," Anakin said, and he really meant that. "The things your own head can come up with can be worse that what you've actually faced."

And that was definitely the sound of experience talking.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It's just been an endless loop, the look on her face. The way the demon laughed as he reached for her," Isabel said. "She knew. She heard me call to Angel and Logan. She knew we were leaving her."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin moved closer to Isabel. "I'm so sorry," he repeated. "That's going to be hard to live with for a while, even though it was the right thing to do."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Logically I know that," Isabel said, sliding carefully off the bed to sit on the floor. "But emotionally? Yeah, it's a doozy. But I'll deal. I really don't have a choice do I?"

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin reached out to take Isabel's hand. "Not really," he said quietly. "I know some blocking techniques to make it a little eaisier to deal. They helped Angel a few months back to get some distance on a problem he was having." He bit his lip. "If you want, of course."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"If you think it'll help?" Isabel said, squeezing his hand. "I'd like to learn."

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin nodded. "I've had some pretty bad nightmares in the last few months. This helps."

He blew out a breath. "Have you ever meditated before?" he asked.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Not particularly seriously," she said, smiling at the memory of Amy Deluca trying to lead Maria, Liz and herself to find their inner balance. Somehow the giggles kept them from finding it.

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Anakin said, closing his eyes. "I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing."