When they arrived, Mike and Davy were already consoling Nicole, who was obviously the source of the screams. Peter pushed his way past the other two and knelt in front of where she was laying on the refolded couch.
"What's the matter?" he asked, panicking. He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes, fear evident in his face. Nicole just grabbed him and hugged him tightly around the neck.
"She 'ad a dream," Davy explained to Micky.
"A nightmare, I suppose," Micky replied, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Well, why else would she scream?" Davy replied.
"True. Unless she was having a dream about......"
"About what?"
"Um, never mind," Micky replied. Davy just looked at Micky weird, and Mike rolled his eyes.
"What was the dream about?" Peter asked Nicole. She wiped a few tears away from her eyes and choked back tears.
"Thomas," she replied. "I dreamed that..." she paused a moment to wipe her eyes again. "…That Bob was beating him," she finished. Then she wailed and threw herself back on to Peter.
"It's okay, hun. It was just a dream," Peter replied, consoling her.
"Can you be sure, Petah?" Davy asked. Peter looked up, concerned.
"What do you mean, Davy?" he asked.
"I mean, can you be certain that it was only a dream? With the way Thomas is?"
Peter and Nicole exchanged glances. "I never thought of that," Peter admitted. "Is it possible?"
"Tell me every detail of the dream," Davy said eagerly, kneeling in front of Nicole and looking at her intensely. "How vivid was it?"
"I don't remember much," Nicole confessed. "All I could see was Bob and he was angry over something. Almost a drunken rage. And he was hitting Thomas. Over and over again. "
"Did you feel anything?" he asked.
"Not much. Just anger at Bob, and fear for Thomas. He didn't look well."
"You've experienced what it's like," Micky said. "To see what Davy sees. Was it like that?"
Nicole just shook her head, confused. "I-I don't know," she said. "It could have been, I'm not sure."
Davy nodded. "It's okay," he consoled. "You don't need to get upset over it. I'm sure Thomas will be fine." He looked up and caught Peter's eye. Peter nodded, the message understood. Although it was possible what was happening was true, upsetting Nicole would be unnecessary. Especially when they were sure they would get Thomas out of there alive and well.
