"Dustie. Wake up, Dustie. It's time for class."

Tiamat's voice gently lifted me from my slumber. My eyes drifted open, and I stared at the ceiling overcome with wonder.

"Are you feeling okay, Dustie?"

I blinked at the incongruity of the question. I felt so perfect I couldn't bring myself to move for fear it would all evaporate like a mirage. Before I could force an answer from unwilling lips, Doc Andrews spoke for me.

"She's fine, Tiamat. She's still not sure if this is a dream or not."

I jerked away, startled at the sound of another person so close to me. Before she'd spoken, I hadn't even heard her breathing. She just sat there, a slight smile on her face, staring at me. Light bruising surrounded her eyes, her cheekbones stood out from hollow cheeks, and a light sheen of sweat coated her skin.

"Are.." I paused. My voice sounded strange in my own ears. After so many nights woken by terror, I'd forgotten what it sounded like. I took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of air flowing through a throat not hoarse from screaming, and continued. "Are you all right, Doctor Andrews?"

Her smile widened into a grin. "If you can remember my name, I'm fine. You were in bad shape when we met yesterday. I wasn't sure you'd remember me."

I pouted at her. I couldn't help it, my lips just naturally fell into a pout with my face in neutral, and when I felt put out, I found it nearly impossible to hide. "Of course I remember you. I wasn't that bad off."

"Dustie, part of suppressing your nightmares involved seeing them. Not in any kind of detail, but if you were experiencing that every time you closed your eyes, it's a wonder you weren't stark raving mad by now."

The thought of my nightmares sent a twinge through me, but they hung there, far away, buffered so I could barely feel them. "It just started happening a few nights ago."

She frowned when I twitched. She touched my hand again, and the buffered fear dissolved like the clutter it was. I had no idea why everyone was so concerned about me; Doctor Andrews was the one who looked like death warmed over.

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"I don't know what you did, but I feel great!"

Her smile returned. "A good night's sleep will do that. Tell me, what hobbies did you have back on Glaucus?"

I rolled one shoulder at her. "Not too many. I was too busy studying for a social life."

"You didn't do anything at all with your peers?"

"I really need to have a talk with Glaucus." Tiamat's interruption surprised me a little. I'd forgotten she woke me up.

Doctor Andrews pushed herself out of the chair she'd been half lying in. Halfway through the motion she staggered. I swung my legs around, slid from the table, and caught her before she could fall over. Once I moved, I realized how much better I felt after a night's sleep. I thought I might even be up for a game of dodge ball after class.

"Wait, that's one thing I did! I was captain of my dodge ball squad."

The doctor smiled her thanks up at me. Lying on my back I hadn't realized how short she was. The way she slumped with fatigue made her seem even shorter.

"Do you need a hand getting to your quarters?"

"No, thank you, Dustie. I'm just around the corner. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Oh. Tiamat, how much time do I have before class?"

"Just enough to get cleaned up and changed."

"Okay then, I'd best be going. Thanks for all the help, Doc!"

She grabbed my wrist before I could head for the door. "Sorry, Dustie, but we're nowhere near finished. We're just done for now."

I looked down at her, confused. "But... I really do feel so much better."

"That's because I'm still holding the worst of it back. You can't recover enough for me to work with you if you're constantly walking around wondering when your next attack will be."

I should have known it was too good to be true. Still, I felt great, and I had precious few memories of feeling great. The only ones, in fact, were victories on the court.

"Today after class I want you to get with some of the other Cadets for a dodge ball game. There's always a few using the main bay as a court, and if you were good enough for your teammates to choose you as captain, you're good enough they won't regret letting you play."

Silly grins didn't come naturally, but this one stretched my lips without my conscious volition. "You mean doctor's orders are for me to go play?"

She grinned back up at me. "That's it exactly. Tiamat, when do Dustie's classes end today?"

"She's in class until the second hour of second watch."

The doctor's brow creased a moment in thought. "Make sure you finish up before third watch. I want to see you at the first hour of third watch. Tiamat will guide you to my office. Don't be late. We need to get you on the path back to health as soon as possible."

I nodded my understanding. "Classes, dodge ball, meet you at first of third. Got it. Is that all?"

"It's good to see you eager, Dustie. Get to class."

Before I left, I snapped her a salute. Looking surprised by my formality, she took a moment to return it. I spun and sprinted away. My day was looking up. For that matter, if the doctor could sort out my blackouts, my whole life might be looking up. For once, nothing was going wrong.

I really didn't want to think about the odds I could make it through a whole day feeling like that.