Room 507, Tuesday afternoon

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia got back to her room after class and flopped down on her bed, as was becoming habit. She thought about maybe calling Xander to make sure he was okay, but that seemed silly. It was still possible that her dreams were just dreams, however weird they were.

Instead, she called Walter, because she was pretty damned sure he wasn't okay, then lay back on her bed.

Her eye caught the book she'd bought from Mr. Giles, seemingly years ago. She'd never finished reading it.

She picked it up and turned it over a few times. It had been really good. Said a lot of stuff that had seemed true. She propped it open on her pillow and started to read.

Comments

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter stood outside Nadia's door and drew a deep breath before knocking. He was really not liking this turnabout thing. "It's Walter."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia quickly sat up, tucked a scrap of paper in her book, and shoved it aside. "It's open!"

She set her face into her best determined expression.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Determined versus studiedly neutral. Let the battle begin.

Walter came in, shutting the door, but failing to notice that it hadn't latched all the way.

"You wanted to make me talk about something?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever was bothering you last night?" She looked him up and down. "Which I'm pretty sure is still bothering you right now?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter folded his arms and leaned against the wall next to the door. "Nazis. Again."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia watched him quietly for a moment, then pulled one knee up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it, resting her chin on top. "Pippi told you what happened with the man in the sewers,"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

He pulled a stick of gum out of his waistcoat and stuck it in his mouth before holding out the pack toward Nadia. This not smoking thing was inconvenient at times.

"She told me yesterday. I guess it wouldn't have made any difference if I had started a fight at the concert, but maybe it would have."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia shook her head at the gum.

"So that's what this is? You're regretting not fighting those Nazis on Saturday night?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I called Arthur and asked him to put me back to work."

[nadiathesaint]

She noticed that he hadn't said "no". "So, you were already talking about having to go back and do that . . . mission." Her arms were clenched tightly around her knee, but she forced herself to stand up and approach him.

"Do you regret not fighting in the park last Saturday?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Yes. I know Alfred was probably right. He's always right." He looked down to tuck the pack of gum away. "I still wish I'd fought."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia wanted to smack him. She didn't, her arm only twitched slightly, but she wanted to.

"You said there was a full orchestra, out there. You wish you'd gone up against a full orchestra of people you know were killers." She took another step closer to him.

"What if you had lost?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

He was going to try to explain to his friend whom he'd forcibly stopped from killing herself that his life wasn't that important?

He opened his mouth to do it and shut it again. A different answer, perhaps.

"Then I would have lost."

[nadiathesaint]

This time, she really did smack him. Open palmed, aimed right across the jaw and cheek bone.

"What the hell do you think would have happened to me if you had?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Granted, Walter was fast enough to stop Nadia from hitting him, but he didn't.

After he heard her question, he thought maybe he deserved it.

"I didn't, so don't hit me again."

Did that mean he could slap her the next time she was stupid?

[nadiathesaint]

Considering her track record? He probably wouldn't have to wait long.

"That's right. You didn't. Regretting things isn't going to change that fact at all. You want to fight? Then go home. There's plenty of fighting there."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

"I wanted to go home sooner and Arthur said no." He met her eyes. "He said something I think you should think about, too. When I offered him what I know about how the war goes."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia was relieved to hear that Walter's boss wasn't demanding him back, but she didn't let herself show it. She raised her eyebrows.

"I'm listening,"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I know one future. But he said he couldn't use it because it might not be the right future for our world." He searched her face if she understood the point. "Do you see?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia shook her head. "But I'm dreaming things that are happening here, or about people I never would have met if I hadn't come here. I'm dreaming about this world."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"You don't know that! You think you do, but you can't be sure and you can't let it push you over the edge. You're no monster and neither am I and we're going to keep it that way."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia looked down and away. "Parker found the music box." She shut her eyes. "I dreamed about it, and I told her, and she found it." She looked back up at Walter. "How do you explain that?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"You dreamed something real in the present. Not the future. The present is set, but unless you believe in unchanging destiny, I'm not going to believe that your dreams are the only way things will work out."

[nadiathesaint]

"What if that's the point? What if I'm supposed to fix it?" Nadia recrossed her arms. When did this conversation start being about her? This was supposed to be about Walter and why he was upset. "No, don't answer that. I know you don't believe it, anyway."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

And don't think he didn't appreciate getting the subject off of him. "I know that I don't believe we're going to end up as monsters. Take your dreams as warnings, if you have to, but don't look at them as set in stone."