Dreams That You Dare To Dream
Part 5C
By Cathy Roberts
glroberts@bigfoot.com

See Part 5A for "Thanks you"'s and disclaimers.



The next morning, Carol headed out alone. They had come up with a plan. It had taken most of the night for them to discuss
their various options and the only idea that had any merit was one Kerry brought up. Back in their own world, Carol and Susan had been friends, and it wouldn't be unusual for them to have lunch together. If the Carol and Susan of this world were friends as well, then Susan would accept a lunch invitation from Carol.

Once Carol had Susan's acceptance, then they could figure out a way to tell her about their misadventure and seek her help
in getting Carter. Right now, she was their only link to the Carter family.

Carol walked through the ambulance bay doors, then stopped short. Doug was standing behind the desk, his attention on the
computer. This Doug looked like her Doug, only slightly older. He slowly turned and their eyes met. Even here she could feel that jolt of familiarity. She told herself that it was a good thing that her Doug was waiting for her back at the hotel. She waited as he came toward her, a warm smile on his face.

"Hello, Carol. I heard that you had come by yesterday."

"Yes. I'm here on vacation. I was looking for Susan. Is she around?"

"She's in the lounge. So, I take it that you're happy?"

Carol smiled and nodded. "Very much so," she answered. At least she wasn't lying to him. She was very happy with *her*
Doug. Very happy indeed. "I'll catch you later." Carol went into the lounge, feeling his eyes linger on her as she walked away
from him. Did the Carol and Doug of this world share the same heartache and sorrows as she and Doug did? She hoped not.

"Carol, I was hoping you'd come back," Susan said as she gave Carol a big hug. That answered the question of whether or not
they were friends here.

"I wanted to see if you were free for lunch," Carol said.

"For you? Name the time and place and I'll be there."

"Great. I heard that your family had a bit of excitement yesterday."

Susan nodded. "That's an understatement. I'll tell you all about it at lunch, okay? I'm running late and if I don't log in on time
then Mark will have my head."

"Okay. Meet me at noon at Magoos?"

"I'll be there. Wait for me if I'm a little late, okay?"

"I will." Carol watched Susan leave, then she headed back to the hotel. It was time for them to plan what she was to say at lunch.



When John woke up, he remembered Bobby telling him he could get up today. So, he got out of bed. Someone had left a robe draped over the sofa at the foot of the bed and John gratefully put it on. He then wondered just what he was going to do for clothes. He had been in a hospital gown when he came to in the E.R., and he wondered if they had been able to undress him without cutting his clothing. He and Bobby appeared to be about the same size, so maybe he could borrow something of his to wear.

Once out in the hall, John headed for the back stairs, knowing they led to the kitchen. He was pleased to find he was right about that. At this rate, his memory would be back in little to no time. His Gamma was seated at the counter, reading the newspaper and drinking tea. She smiled when she saw him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

He gave her a hug and a light kiss on the cheek, which she seemed to appreciate. It just felt right for him to greet her that way.  "Yes, I did. So, what does a person have to do to get breakfast around here?"

"Get up on time," Bobby said as he entered the kitchen from a different door. He also gave Millicent a hug and kiss.

"Have you eaten yet?" John asked.

Bobby shook his head. "Not yet. I just got out of the shower."

"Then I guess we're both out of luck then," John grinned at him.

Millicent got to her feet, chuckling. "I think I can manage to cook something for the two of you. Any requests?"

"I was thinking about waffles. I love the way you make waffles, with the pecans in the batter," John said.

"That sounds good to me," Bobby added with a smile. It was good to hear John talking about things he remembered. Bobby was glad it was his day off from work because it would give him all day to spend with John. Provided that their parents didn't come downstairs to monopolize John's time. Bobby could understand why they chose to stay overnight, but a part of him resented having to share his brother with them. He wanted to make things right with John, and he couldn't do that if they didn't let him out of their sight.

"Will Mom and Dad be back today?" John asked as he watched Millicent gather together the needed ingredients for the waffles.

"They never left last night. They did get up early to take care of some matters, but they'll be back before lunch." Millicent
began to measure out the ingredients.

"Good. Bobby, I need a favor," John said. "What I'm wearing seems to be the only clothing I have. I don't know about you, but hospital gowns don't quite cut it for me as far as fashion is concerned."

"We can see if you can fit into my clothes. We look to be about the same size. If so, then tomorrow we can go shopping for
new clothes for you."

"Why not today?"

"You're still recovering. I don't think we should push things. I can assure you that what I have in my closet will be more than
appropriate for hanging out around here."

After breakfast, John discovered that Bobby was right, and that he could wear Bobby's clothing. He chose a few items, then
went to shower and get dressed. He wanted to walk around outside and he hoped that Bobby would walk with him. The longer he stayed here, the more familiar everything seemed to him. Plus, there was the matter of the missing tree house. He smiled as he remembered playing in that tree house. Laying there against the cool wood on a hot summer day, feeling the breeze brush across his body as it made its way from one open doorway to the other. Lemonade. Lots of lemonade. And cookies. Listening to the girls yelling from the ground that they were being unfair and to put down the rope ladder or they would tell Gamma. Laughing at the girls until they started to run off, then throwing the ladder down to them. Staying up there until twilight, just watching the way the estate changed looks as the day faded. Clambering down so they could chase fireflies across the lawn. Those had been good times. They had been happy and carefree back then. What had happened to change all of that? Was it merely growing up? Did becoming an adult mean that you gave up all of your childhood hopes and dreams? Did it mean giving up enjoying the simple pleasures that life had to offer?  He hoped not, but he couldn't remember the last time he had sat down to enjoy the tartness of an ice-cold glass of lemonade.



Carol laughed at Susan's joke. It felt good to be here with her in Doc Magoos. Too good. It was so easy to forget that this was not home. This woman sitting across from her was not her friend. It was time to get down to the real reason for the lunch.

"Susan, I need to tell you something. You won't believe me, I know you won't, but what I have to tell you is the truth."

"You and Tag have split up, haven't you?" Susan asked, her face serious. "I knew it wouldn't last, Carol. You...well, face it,
you just love Doug Ross too much."

Carol smiled. "You're right about Doug, but not about Tag. I never married him."

"Yes, you did. I was in the wedding party, remember? It was a huge church wedding, with a fantastic reception."

"Tag walked out on me, but we had the reception anyway. Hell, it was paid for."

Susan shook her head. "You're kidding around with me, right? I was there, Carol. You guys got married and then he took a job in San Francisco. You've been gone for years."

"Susan, I'm not from here."

"You were born and raised in Chicago. So was I."

"I didn't mean Chicago. I meant this planet. World. Whatever." Carol went on to explain the vortex and parallel universe travel to Susan. She knew she wasn't doing a great job of explaining it, but she kept talking. When she stopped, she looked at Susan, waiting for reaction.

"That's a good joke, Carol."

"Susan, in my world, you didn't marry Bobby Carter. You couldn't. No one could. Bobby Carter died from leukemia when he was a child. You left here and moved to Phoenix to be near your sister Chloe and her daughter, Susie. Tag left me at the church and I eventually got back together with Doug. We're very happy now. I came to this world with him, Kerry Weaver, Elizabeth Corday, and John Carter."

"Corday? That's the woman who was pretending to be a doctor and she went in to speak with John." Susan suddenly looked
wary. "Who are you really?"

"I'm really Carol Hathaway. But, not the Carol you know. And, in my world, Elizabeth Corday does work at County General.  The John Carter who ended up in the hospital with amnesia is our John Carter. We need to see him, Susan. We can't get home without him."

Susan shook her head. "I don't know what kind of a scam this is, but you had better stay away from my family. My husband has finally got his brother back and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to change that."

"Look, we're staying at the Somerset Inn, come with me and you can meet Doug. My Doug."

"Doug is getting ready to end his shift. There's no way he...oh, you have someone to impersonate him, too, don't you? You
guys must really be after a lot of money if you're going to this much trouble. Well, it won't work." Susan got to her feet. "Stay away from my family, Carol, or whatever your name is. Or I will call the police and have you and your accomplices arrested."

Carol watched as Susan rushed out. She had hoped that things would go better, that Susan would believe her and take them
to Carter. Maybe she had been overly hopeful. She paid the check, frowning as she realized that their money supply was getting low. If they had to stay here much longer they would need to sell some more gems. Or get jobs and earn money. Carol headed outside and was met by Doug and Kerry. She shrugged and shook her head to their unspoken questions.

"Well, I wasn't really expecting her to believe you," Kerry said.

"I had hoped she would," Carol said as Doug wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Let's get back to the hotel and let Elizabeth know what happened. We'll just have to think of another way to get to Carter," Doug said.

The women nodded and the three of them walked away.



Susan's brow was furrowed with puzzlement as she watched Doug Ross walk away with Carol and another woman. The short redhead looked familiar, but Susan couldn't quite place her. Carol, or whoever she was, had to be lying, right? Parallel universes weren't real. They couldn't be.

"Did you and Carol have a good lunch?"

Susan jumped at the sound of Doug's voice. He laughed. "Sorry. I didn't know you were that deep in thought."

"It was okay. We caught up on a lot."

Doug nodded. "So, did she say anything about me?"

Susan almost nodded, remembering the look in Carol's eyes as she admitted she still loved Doug. But, she caught herself in
time. Wrong Carol and wrong Doug. If the woman could be believed.

"I need to get back to work. I'll see you later, Doug."

"Right."

Susan went back to work, but her mind just wouldn't let go of the strange conversation from lunch.



John's walk around the estate had been delayed because his parents arrived with his sister Barbara. They had gone to the
airport to meet her, which is why they had left so early. As Barbara threw her arms around him, John found himself thinking that while she might look strange in a suit and heels, she still carried herself with a confident air. Some things never changed.

So, the family spent the morning in the study, huddled over photo albums. While John didn't recognize everyone in the photos, he was able to name most of the family, and even recall where and when some of the pictures had been taken. But, there were some photos that set his teeth on edge. Bobby's graduations from high school, university and medical school were some. Bobby and Susan's wedding pictures were others. A voice in the back of John's head kept whispering that those photos couldn't be right. They couldn't have happened. He pushed that voice aside. He'd been hearing it all too often throughout the morning.

It wasn't until after lunch that Bobby and John managed to get away from the house. They walked down to the lake, not doing a lot of talking. For each of them, just being there together was enough. When they headed back to the house, John stopped where the large oak tree had stood.

"Why did Grandfather cut it down?"

"Do you remember when you asked me last night about your room? And I told you that the last time I saw you, I was the one
in the bed?"

John nodded. "Yeah.  I remember that. I can remember standing there in the doorway, watching you. You were so pale and I was afraid that you were dying. Someone made me leave, but I didn't want to go."

Bobby nodded, then gestured for John to follow him over to the bench that sat in the shade of the nearby birch tree. After they
were seated, he said, "I remember that, too. You were sent to bed, but when they went to wake you up the next morning, you
were gone. Some of your things were missing, but you didn't leave a note or anything, so no one was sure if you had run away or been kidnapped. As each day passed and no one called demanding a ransom, they began to believe that you had run away.  The police were looking for you. Private detectives were looking for you. But, they all said pretty much the same thing: if you had ended up in the city, you could disappear forever among the street runners. That's why Dad is so adamant about rounding them all up off the street. He built his entire campaign around that. According to him, the street runners cause all of Chicago's
troubles. They abduct children, steal everything that isn't nailed down. Street runners are a menace to every law-abiding citizen and we shouldn't feel any pity for them. They should be rounded up and put to work, made to earn a living and become a productive part of society. His real reason for going after them is because he's always believed that you ended up with them. And they kept you from being with your family where you belonged."

"I don't remember living with people like that, Bobby. I can remember living in a very large house with Mom, Dad and Barbara. Coming over here to visit. I used to ride my bike here to spend time with Gamma and talk about what I wanted to do with my life. I can remember being at a school somewhere. A boarding school maybe? And a horse." John smiled. "I remember a horse."

"You always loved to ride. I don't know how you can remember all that, though. Unless you're remembering from before you left. But, we never went to boarding school."

"I know." John was quiet for a few more moments. "Why were you in my bed like that?"

Bobby looked at John quickly, then looked away. "We had been playing up in the tree house. Just you and me. You had found a frog and you brought him up there. I wanted to see it and you wouldn't let me. You were afraid that I'd let him go and that he would jump through one of the doors and die. I started picking on you, telling you that you were such a baby and worrying over nothing. That it was just a stupid frog and what difference did it make. That made you angry. We started scuffling. I was trying to get the frog from you and you were trying to hold on."

"And the frog got squished," John said, nodding. "I freaked out because there were frog guts all over my shirt. You laughed
at me and I got angry with you. I can't remember ever being that angry with you. I shoved you really hard and you fell out
the door. I thought I had killed you."  The last sentence was a whisper and there were tears in John's eyes.

"You and everyone else," Bobby said. "They hustled me inside, but all I had was a broken arm. Not even a concussion. But,
they didn't tell you that. They just made you leave the bedroom. All you wanted was to make sure that I was okay. I think that's why you ran away, Johnny. You thought you had killed me and you ran away." Bobby was crying now.

John stared at him, not noticing that the tears were now falling from his eyes. He remembered that day. But, he also remembered more. He remembered the doctor talking his parents aside and whispering to them. Then his mother screamed and shouted "No" over and over again. The doctor took Bobby away in an ambulance and the next morning John heard the word "leukemia" for the first time. He would later find out that the doctor had discovered the leukemia while examining Bobby.  They all said that it turned out to be a good thing that Bobby had fallen from the tree house because it made them find out about the disease in enough time to treat it. Not that it did any good. Bobby died barely a year later. That last memory made John tremble. Bobby was dead. Had been dead. So, who was this person sitting beside him?

John got to his feet. "I'm not feeling so well, right now. Can we go back inside? I think I should lay down."

Bobby nodded, wiping away his own tears as he stood. "Sure."

As they went into the house, John found himself afraid for the first time since he opened his eyes in the emergency room. Very
afraid.



Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to will away the headache that had plagued her all day. She was still feeling tired from the last world, and so far, her worry for Carter was preventing her from getting any decent rest on this one. She knew that Kerry had to be even more tired. She had certainly been dragging on that desolate planet, and not from a hangover either. Even if no one would believe them about that.

"I think that we need to take a break for dinner," Doug said.

"We haven't thought up a viable way to get to John," Kerry protested.

"We will. But, right now we need a break. Carol and I can go out to get us something to eat while you and Elizabeth rest."

"I don't need to rest, Doug. I need to get to Carter," Kerry firmly stated. The truth was, she longed to lay down on the bed
and close her eyes for a few minutes. But, getting Carter was more important. She had to make sure that he was all right,
the hospital records notwithstanding.

"Doug's right, Kerry. We can rest our eyes while they go out for dinner. Maybe after we take a break, we'll think of something."

Kerry was about to debate the issue with Elizabeth, but in her head she knew that Doug and Elizabeth were right. It was time to take a break. She nodded and Doug and Carol got up.

"Any preferences? Chinese? Italian? Pizza? Hamburgers?" Doug asked as Carol counted out their money.

"I think it's going to have to be very cheap hamburgers," Carol said. "We're running low on cash."

"A hamburger is fine for me. As long as it comes with pain medication for my headache," Elizabeth said.

"I think we can manage that. Kerry?" Doug looked at her, thinking that she needed the same thing as Elizabeth.

"A hamburger is fine."

"Hamburgers it is then." Doug opened the door and stopped short as he nearly walked into Susan Lewis. She was about to
knock on the door and looked as startled as Doug.

"Susan, what are you doing here?" Carol asked.

"I was thinking about what you said at lunch. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Doug stepped aside to let Susan enter the room, then he closed the door.

"How did you find us?" Elizabeth asked.

"Carol told me the name of the hotel. I knew the police were looking for an Elizabeth Corday and had not yet found her, so I
didn't even try to ask for you at the desk. But, I lucked out on my first try when I asked what room Doug Ross was in. They didn't blink an eye when I asked, they simply told me the room number."

"So, why are you here?" Kerry asked.

Susan looked at her closely, then knew that she had seen the woman around the hospital earlier that day and the day before. "I
want to hear more proof that you all are not from here, and that the John Carter at my house belongs to your world and not this
one."

"Have a seat and we'll do our best to convince you of the truth," Doug said.

Dinner and headaches were all forgotten as they all realized that this was their best chance for getting to Carter.