My White Christmas

[misa]

White. Everything was white. She hadn’t seen a white Christmas before or since her time in Russia and yet, she now felt sure she never wanted to see another. Because this was beyond beautiful, it was beyond a joke. The walls; the ceiling; the floor; the doors; the curtains surrounding her on two sides; that all too familiar sterile, blank hospital smell; the crisp, neatly tucked in sheets of every bed in the ward; everything was white. And now the view as well. Misa made a mental note to throw away her white shoes as soon as she escaped this place.

The only sound she could hear was the faint ringing of complete silence, white noise. The room sounded white – how, for pity’s sake, was that even possible?!

The ward was off limits to anybody who wasn’t injured or recovering, and, with it being Christmas and therefore classes being off and half the castle’s residences gone home, that left Misa alone.

Dylan had been kicked out last night and Misa was beginning to wonder whether she was going crazy without him. But was fearing for your health in any sense, not the sign of a healthy mind? Which meant she couldn’t be going crazy and could therefore stay sane without Dylan, which made her think herself insane, meaning she was obviously sane and could stay here and in her right mind to wonder whether the lack of Dylan was making her go insane. Misa made another mental note; to not read the sequel to Catch-22.

But, by far the worst thing about her winter wonderland would have to be the tiredness. She was completely drained of energy after the incident and she reckoned there was still a fair amount of painkillers in her blood. She felt sleepy all the time. She had managed to ward it off since she woke to find Dylan at her bedside but, sleep was calling her whether she wanted it or not. She almost wished Nurse Gornray or one of the carers would notice and maybe prescribe her some sleeping tablets – the dreams never seemed to happen under medication – and of course, now she was willing it to happen it wasn’t going to. She could feel her eyelids opening and closing on the white world around her as she blinked, slower each time until finally she couldn’t will them apart again and she was gone to her dreams, fear in her heart and soul.

((ooc://guys, my ordering is really poor but so as not to confuse anyone this is happening before Steve's escape...I think, and after Toreth's arrival in the hospital wing)

[misa]

"This is not happening!" Misa cried, her voice little less than a shout as such as the sun rises, Ken'ichi was standing there as bold as brass - as solid as a person could be. She walked up to him, irrationally angry, and made to slap him hard in the face. He caught her wrist and it just annoyed her more, when did her dreams get permission to fight back? Angrily she attempted to wrestle herself free from his hold but, Ken'ichi only held her tighter with both arms.

"Stop! Calm down, you'll tire yourself out, if you haven't all ready," He said, his face pained as he restrained her. Seeing this Misa took several minutes to regain her composure and finally wrenched herself from his grasp.

"How can I tire myself out, this is a dream - my dream- remember?!" She gestured wildly with her arms at the whiteness surrounding them. God, the white was even invading her dreams. Was this her dream, though? It sure as heck didn't feel like it. "Or is it? What's happening, why are you doing this to me?" She whispered fiercely, tears she hadn't even felt coming spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Ken'ichi said sadly, shaking his head. The honest regret on his face made her blood boil but, she forced the anger down, taking deep breaths as she tried to keep a hold on her emotions, "I wish I wasn't here, too. I wish you could just be allowed to get on with your new life. I tried but, I need you to help me first."

He met her eyes then and Misa gasped, a hand rushing up to her mouth. His left eye was horribly swollen and a disgusting assortment of purples, yellows and black. "How on earth...?" She whispered but, he just shook his head again.
"I can't say, you know that." In that moment Misa knew she couldn't be mad at him anymore, this was not Ken'ichi's fault. How could it be? He was dead...He had to be, she had seen him die. She was the one who had sat by his body for as long as possible, trying desperately to get a pulse. Maybe, that was why all this was happening, the dreams, the pains. Perhaps, it was because she didn't do enough for him then, when it had mattered. And the only way to stop it? To do what he needed of her now. Then, the could both be free. She reached out and lightly touched his distended skin.

"What do I need to do?" She asked shakily, wishing with all her might that she had Will's healing abilities.
"I need you to find out about a person." He said hesitantly. It certainly wasn't what she'd been expecting but, she chose not to comment, she wanted to know where this was going, "I need you to become her friend, get to know her well."

"Who?" She asked, intrigued and now desperately clutching to the remnants of the idea that this could just be a side-effect of the stress and emotional trauma she'd be under.
"Madeleine Baudelaire." He said and her heart stopped beating. She didn't know Madeleine's surname...so, if he was a figment of her imagination, how could he know? Which only left one answer - this was real.

His...spirit? Was being tortured and she was the only one who could help him. But,
"Why?" she asked, monosyllabism was all she felt capable of. Why Madeleine, what did she have to do with any of this?
"I don't know yet but, you need to gain her trust. Tell her -" He seemed to almost shut down for a moment before her eyes, confusing her even more. "-Tell her that Shaun misses her."

And then he was gone, before she could ask who Shaun was or why that would make Madeleine believe her, and she was sitting up fast in her hospital bed, drenched in cold sweat, feeling more tired than ever before.

It was snowing again.