“Really? What are they?” Tracy asked as she got to the steps. She paused for a moment, trying to summon the want to go up the stairs for a shower.

Mary Beth came out of the bathroom and went over to Tracy. “Hey, you sleep better?” She asked, her smile was huge and her eyes danced with joy.

“Well enough, I guess.” Tracy replied. She wasn't sure why, but the dream was bugging her. There was that part of her that was waiting for Mary Beth to attack.

“Awesome.” She leaned in and hugged Tracy, who flinched slightly at the touch. Mary Beth didn't say anything, but she had felt the flinch and Sage had seen it. Tracy couldn't see the worried look on both girls face. Mary Beth let go and hooked a thumb towards the living room. “I'll help put away the sleeping bags, if that's okay.”

Big thanks once again to Djkauf for the editing.

One more look into Tracy in Livermore.

December 20th 1982
Livermore CA

The sun was still considering peaking over the mountains of the Diablo Mountains when Tracy awoke to nature’s call. She still felt a body behind her, but none in front of her. There was still an arm over her side, but she didn't mind. She tried to roll over so it didn't hurt her or wake up who ever was holding her, but she failed on both accounts. The pain wasn't too bad, but when she stopped she was surprised to see Emily May holding her and smiling. “Hey there, Cutie.” She said.

“Emily? Where...where's Sage?” Tracy looked over her shoulder. “And Stacey?”

Emily brushed some of the hair out of her face. “Well Stacey's mom has her doing something right now with her sister. They got up about an hour ago. Rachel is helping Brooke up the stairs to the shower Sage got up earlier and you started to cry, so I slipped in to help comfort you....” She began to look a bit worried. “You're not mad, are you?”

Tracy shook her head and leaned into Emily and put her own arm around the girl. “No. But I do got to go to the bathroom.”

“May be a bit of a wait. Sage and Mary Beth were in line at last count a couple minutes ago. And the upstairs one has been in use for a bit now.” Emily May replied. As if on cue, Sage came back into the room.

“Hey, she's awake.” Sage bounded over to where the last two girls lay. “You mind?”

“No, not at all.” Tracy replied, unsure what she was supposed to mind. “Is the bathroom free?”

Sage slid under the top sleeping bag and put her arm over Tracy. “Not yet. But we'll tell you.”

“Why didn't anyone wake me?” Tracy asked.

“Because. After your nightmare, we all decided you should sleep till you got up on your own.” Emily May stated.

“But you may want to get up soon. Aunt Lilian is gonna cook breakfast for us before she has to take off for work.” Sage added

“What about you two? Is your Aunt coming to get you soon?” Tracy asked Emily May.

“Nah. She managed to ask if we could stay with you all till later and she'll get us at four.” Emily May replied. “Hope that's okay.”

“Sure.” Tracy said. “Not my house and you were both nice last night.”

“Good, 'cause we're going to do a board game blowout today.” Sage said.

Rachel walked into the living room. “The bathroom with the shower is open if you want it.”

“Please.” Tracy said as Emily May rolled out from under the sleeping bag. “I'll walk it.” Tracy said as she noticed Rachel moving to the wheelchair.

“Cool.” Sage replied as she slid out from under the sleeping bag too.

“I'll take a shower. I think I could use it.” Tracy stood up and went to grab her bag and Sage stopped her.

“I got it.” Sage said. “You deal with the stairs, I got the heavy stuff.”

“Yes, Mother.” Tracy replied with a huff as she headed out of the room.

“Hey, be good or we can't plan on you for the summer.” Sage reminded her as she picked up her own bag. “And we got some great plans a-brewin’.”

“Really? What are they?” Tracy asked as she got to the steps. She paused for a moment, trying to summon the want to go up the stairs for a shower.

Mary Beth came out of the bathroom and went over to Tracy. “Hey, you sleep better?” She asked, her smile was huge and her eyes danced with joy.

“Well enough, I guess.” Tracy replied. She wasn't sure why, but the dream was bugging her. There was that part of her that was waiting for Mary Beth to attack.

“Awesome.” She leaned in and hugged Tracy, who flinched slightly at the touch. Mary Beth didn't say anything, but she had felt the flinch and Sage had seen it. Tracy couldn't see the worried look on both girls face. Mary Beth let go and hooked a thumb towards the living room. “I'll help put away the sleeping bags, if that's okay.”

“Groovy.” Sage replied. “We'll get showered and we can work on breakfast and a game or two.”

“I'll let 'em know.” Mary Beth left the two of them to the stairs.

“Come on....back to Summer plans. I got plans, everyone else is thinking.” Sage said, trying to get Tracy's mind off of Mary Beth for a moment. “But we're all going to come up with a couple of ideas and see what we can make work.”

Sage took her time, tailing Tracy up the stairs. “What are you thinking?” Tracy asked.

“Well, I want to go camping. You got a lake near your house. That's one plan. We could either camp near the lake, or on your property and swim at the lake in the daytime.” Sage smiled, but Tracy was in front of her and too busy with the stairs to see it. “Or we could go to the cabin where I was born. My parents are friends with the owner.”

“That sounds cool.” Tracy nodded.

“It is. It's up near Donner Pass, north of Truckee There's even a small lake near by. Cold water, but it's not too deep. Then there's always Great America and Winchester Mystery house.” Sage added.

“Never been to either. Went to Disneyland once, but I was like eight at the time.” Tracy said as they kept going up. “Anyone else have a plan?”

“Rachel wants to do a shopping trip a day. Hit all the malls that she can, but that would cost more then camping.”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded.

“What would you like to do this summer?” Sage asked.

“Hang out with you guys.” Tracy paused for a moment to catch her breath. “Too many stairs.” She muttered.

“Yeah.” Sage replied. “Sorry, forgot how many of us have stairs here. But when we made the plans, you weren't hurt.”

Tracy shrugged. “Can't win 'em all.” She finished the journey to the top as Harvey brought Brooke out of the bathroom and to the steps.

“Good, you're awake.” Brooke said with a smile.

“Yep.” Tracy nodded.

“Hey, let's get me down the steps before your arms get tired.” Brooke said, looking back to her ride for the moment.

“Yes, Milady.” Harvey said with a grin.

Tracy watched them head down the stairs, Harvey taking his time so he didn't fall. She headed to the bathroom and asked Sage. “I thought she hated getting help?”

“She does hate it, but with ten people under the roof she understands that she can get in the way and make things worse, plus it's a bitch moving her chair up and down the steps just for the shower.”

“Oh. I see.” Tracy replied as she went into the bathroom.

“Hey, now that we're alone, could we talk about last night?” Sage asked as she followed her in, dropping her bag at the door.

“I don't want to.” Tracy said. Images of the the dream came back and she couldn't look at Sage, not without seeing how she looked in that dream.

“Tracy, I saw how you flinched when Mary Beth touched you. She says she won't well anyone about you and for some reason, I believe her. So please, let me help you.” Sage moved closer and put her arms around her friend. “I heard you call my name, her name and Peter's name last night. You were dreaming about Bruce attacking you, weren't you?”

Tracy didn't reply, she just gave a slight nod as she started to cry. Sage turned her so she could face her. “Was it at the property again?” Sage asked. Tracy only shook her head. “Was it here?” Again there was a shake of the head. She was trying to figure out where all Tracy would think of being attacked. “School? Was it at school?”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded as she cried.

“Bruce attacked you at the school?” Sage asked and Tracy nodded. “Tell me about it. It will help.”

Tracy leaned against her as Sage held her. As she got the tears under control, she began to tell her as much as she could about the dream. “I was at school, in a skirt and Mary Beth had told people, like told everyone. Then Bruce showed up with Peter and Emily May all beat up, plus you. They had beaten you and torn your clothes off. Then Mary Beth turned into Clark, Bruce's brother.”

Sage nodded and leaned back so she could wipe a tear from her friends eyes. “So then it wasn't Mary Beth.” She guessed. “Maybe your mind is thinking that because he knows and so does she, that she is a dangerous as he is.”

“Maybe.” Tracy tried to shrug.

“Give her a chance.” Sage said. “And face it, I'll never give that asshole a chance to lay his hands on me, and I doubt Peter will either.”

“Yeah.” Tracy put her head against Sage's shoulder. “But it just felt so real.” Her tears picked up again and she leaned into Sage's shoulder once more.

“I know.” Sage replied. “But it wasn't real. It was just a dream.”

“I hate feeling like this. So scared.” Tracy said as she stood up, then leaned against the sink.

“I know. Come on, let's get you showered and feeling better.” Sage went over and started the shower for her.

“Okay.” Tracy said.

~o~O~o~

As Tracy and Sage descended the stairs they could hear the sounds of music playing in the living room. They walked into the living room to find the stereo was on to a Christmas station. They were met by Rachel who bounced in place to the beat of Rockin' round the Christmas tree and only stopped when she saw Sage and Tracy. “Hey, instead of two games, why not do one game and we can team up.” She stepped closer and saw that Tracy still looked a bit down. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded.

“Still thinking about last night?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded.

“Is that why you two have been upstairs for a while?”

“Yeah.” Sage nodded.

“I was starting to think the two of you showered together.” Rachel said with a grin.

Tracy's cheeks went bright red. She had never really had a feeling yet for boys or girls. “We only talked. She just stayed in there while I showered. I....I needed to talk.”

“I was only teasing, but good.” Rachel pulled Tracy into a hug. “We're all here for you. You ever need to talk and Sage isn't there, I'll listen. I may not know exactly what you're going through, but I'm a great listener.”

“She's not the only one.” Stacey said as Rachel let go of Tracy and was replaced by Stacey. “We're all here for you.”

“But you've only met me few days ago.” Tracy stated.

“So. Does that mean that we can't call you friend and welcome you with open arms?” Stacey countered. She gestured around at her sister and Brooke. “If we didn't want to hang out with you, trust me, you wouldn't have been here last night.”

“What Stacey's saying is you're a good person, and that's the type of friends we like.” Brooke said with a huge grin. “But if your dream is bugging you that much, maybe we should just forget the board games?”

“I still wanna play.” Tracy replied. A part of her felt good for talking with Sage and it had helped that first night at home as well. She didn't want to be too much of a downer. Plus if they all knew, then maybe they could help in the future.

“Well then let's go to the dining room. We decided to play either Clue and just have two groups of two, or Monopoly.”

“Can we do Clue?”Tracy asked.

“Sure!” Rachel turned and started to head for the kitchen when Tracy called out to her. “But breakfast should be done here in a moment.”

“Rachel? Could you stay for a minute?” Tracy looked around the room. “Could...could I talk to all of you? Sage is right, I want to talk about that dream.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy sat at the dining room table, next to Mary Beth. Two of the girls had teamed up with two others, so each of them could play. Tracy had only played Clue a few times before, so she was glad for someone to remind her of the rules. So together the two of them controlled Mrs. Scarlet. Casey had teamed up with her sister and when they wanted to talk, they turned their backs on the table. Christmas music played on the radio, helping keep the mood light and fun.

Tracy had suggested being with Mary Beth after telling all of them about her dream. She was hoping to avoid any bad blood just in case. Eight cans of soda sat around the table along with a plate of cookies that had been liberated from their hiding spot in the kitchen. Tracy leaned over to Mary Beth and whispered into her ear. “Thank you for being so...understanding about this.”

“No problem.” She replied in a whisper. “I really won’t tell anyone. I am sorry about the dreams.”

“Me too.” Tracy tired to chuckle. She stopped for a moment, watching the game, then she grabbed the pencil and made a couple of notes on the paper in two categories. A simple B for Brooke in the category for the kitchen and a question mark for the knife.

“Really?” Mary Beth asked, looking at the paper for a moment. Tracy nodded.

“Really.” Tracy side with a nod. She reached for a cookie and smiled. “And maybe when we're home we could hang out sometime. Have to be at my place, but still.”

“I'd like that.” Mary Beth said as the dice were pushed in front of them. She took them and rolled. As she reached out to touch the little red piece, she looked at Tracy. “Where to?”

Tracy was counting spaces out from their piece, then she looked to the paper they had. “Billiard room.” She replied and Mary Beth moved the piece.

“What and who?” Mary Beth asked.

Tracy smiled and nodded. They had been staying off the knife idea for a while now, letting everyone else suggest it. “Knife and Mrs. White.” She whispered. There were only a few question marks she had left on the board. One was Mrs. White, one was the knife and the last two were the billiard room and the library. They held onto the Mr. Green, Professor Plum cards and the hall.

“Okay. My beautiful team-mate thinks it was the mean Mrs. White with the knife in the billiard room.”

"Hey!" Sage said. "I'm innocent."

"We'll see, Mrs. White." Mary Beth said with a grin

They waited as the other girls each looked at their cards. It went from Casey and Stacey who had nothing, but the room cards. Then it moved around the table till it got to Rachel who showed them the billiard room card. Tracy checked off the room and nodded. “Accuse.” She whispered.

“Really?” Mary Beth asked. “You sure?”

“Yep.” Tracy nodded.

“Okay, we would like to make an accusation.” She looked to Tracy who smiled.

“We think it was that evil Mrs White, with the knife, in the library.” Tracy stated.

"Oh I'm Evil now?" Sage replied.

"Yep." Tracy chuckled. "Evil in the library with a knife."

“Well, take a look.” Sage said. "You'll see it was Mr. Green all this time."

Mary Beth pulled the little envelope over and under the table she pulled the cards out and showed Tracy.

“Well?” Rachel asked.

Mary Beth laid the cards out on the table and smiled. “She was right.”

“Damn.” Sage swore as she leaned back in her chair. “So damn close. I was thinking it was the conservatory.”

“Couldn't have been.” Emily May said with a smile and she showed the card. “You all kept going into the hall, so I never had to show it to you. Well, all but those two.”

“So? Another game of this? Or something else?” Rachel asked as she looked to a clock on the wall. “It's just past ten, so we still got a couple hours to lunch and even more time till their Aunt gets here.”

“Once more, then lunch followed by Monopoly?” Sage offered. The rest of the girls just nodded.

~o~O~o~

It was just after four in the afternoon when Persephone, Andromeda, Lilian and Jill all showed up at the house. The loading of the two cars took very little time and it left the eight girls a moment or two outside while the older ladies talked inside. Tracy watched as the other seven girls all hugged and exchanged information. She walked over to Mary Beth and put her arms around her. “You got my phone number, right?”

“Yeah.” Mary Beth replied. “Wish we could have had more time, but we can wait till we're home.”

“Cool.” Tracy let her go as Emily May came over and Mary Beth began making rounds.

“Hey, you ever need to talk and I'm there. I may not understand everything, but I think we're in the same boat.” She whispered.

“Thank you, Emily.”

“It's no problem, Tracy.”

~o~O~o~

The girls all slowly made their way into Persephone's house. As they did, Tracy couldn't help but notice that there was no tree in the house. Instead several boxes were on the floor of the living room. Both Rachel's parent's place and Stacey's house had Christmas trees, but not here. She stopped Sage in the doorway as they brought up her chair and opened it up.

“Hey, I...I don't mean to insult you, but do you celebrate Christmas?” She asked.

“Oh yeah!” Sage beamed. “best holiday of the year.”

“But you don't have a tree.” Tracy stated.

“That's one of the things we do on my birthday. We put up the tree, but because it's tomorrow and you'll all be here tonight, we're setting it up after dinner and before cake.” Sage stated.

“You didn't want a birthday party?” Tracy asked.

“You kidding? This is my birthday party. We put the tree up every year on my birthday, then play games till it's late and eat cake. It's like a tradition.”

“Cool.”

'Romy came racing in and began dancing around the girls. “PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA!” She shouted while she danced.

“Wanna guess what dinner is?” Sage asked with a grin.

“Pizza?” Tracy asked, to which the little girl began cheering.

“Kinda my fault. Each year on our birthday, Mom let's us pick the meal. 'Romy heard pizza and she went into happy kid mode.” Sage said with a chuckle.

“It's cool.” Tracy said with a smile as they headed to the kitchen.

“So how about that grape soda that you've been dying for?” Sage asked with a huge grin.

“I'd love it.” Tracy replied.

~o~O~o~

The six girls were setting up their sleeping bags in the living room. Andromeda had begged to be able to spend the night with them as well, but she was unable to stay awake. So the little girl had already been put into her sleeping bag and was lying near the tree. The rest of the girls began unrolling their bags and lying them about the room. As Tracy opened up hers, Stacey stopped her and unzipped it all the way. “Hey, I was wondering if you'd...you know....” She leaned in and whispered into Tracy's ear. “Want someone to hold you tonight?”

“Sure.” Tracy said with a nod. She had felt safe in Sage's arms a night or two before, so she was willing to try it again.

Stacey smiled and took her sleeping bag and unzipped it. She waited for Tracy to lay down, then she pulled hers over both of them and put an arm around Tracy. “I'm glad you came.” She said.

“Me too.” Tracy replied. “It would have sucked the past few days at home.”

“I can only imagine.” Stacey nodded. “I hear there's nothing there.”

“Yeah, it is pretty dead there. Nothing like here.” Tracy said before she let out a big yawn.

“Not many places are.” Stacey smiled. “Go ahead and sleep, I've got you covered for tonight.”

“Thanks, Stacey.” Tracy rested her head against the other girls chest and waited for sleep to claim her.

Two more days in Livermore, then it's back home.