"Don't Open That Door," Foo Fighters RPS, Dave/Taylor, Taylor/Chris, Kurt/Dave, Rated Adult17+

[sailorhathor]

Fandom: Foo Fighters RPS
Rating: Adult17+
Word Count: 80,543 so far, 24 of ? chapters completed
Chapters in this Post: 21-23
Category: Slash, Horror, Implied Het
Pairings: Dave Grohl/Taylor Hawkins, Taylor Hawkins/Chris Shiflett, Kurt Cobain/Dave Grohl, Surprise Pairings
Summary: After several scary encounters in his home, Dave is convinced the ghost from his Seattle house followed him to his current one. He enlists the help of Taylor and a Ouija board to try to get to the bottom of things, but it only results in one of them being possessed by the thing in the house. The very dangerous thing in the house.
Warnings: Some of the sex scenes have dubious consent issues because one of the persons involved is possessed by a ghost and not fully in control of himself at the time. At least two sex acts are non-con or attempted non-con. Everyone is married to their real life spouse in a semi-open marriage (this will be discussed in the story). Language (lotsa F-bombs; this is Dave and Taylor we're talking about). Horror elements.
Author's Notes: Will be noted as we go along.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional, which means that while the characters may be loosely based on the public personas of real people, the story itself is completely ungrounded from reality and is in no way meant to reflect the private lives, actual practices, or activities of any persons named. (Modified from the disclaimer at Rockfic.com.)




Chp 21: Enough Space

Word Count: 3,548

Almost ten. Was that too late to call someone? Would it be rude?

Dave did it anyway. "Hey Eddie. Can I talk to your wife? ... I'm sorry, I know it's late, but... Great, thank you. What? ... No, I'm not going to have a house warming party for my ghost. Keep that up and I won't invite you."

Petra came to the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Petra, it's Dave. I have a question about my ghost problem I was hoping you could answer."

"I can sure try."

"Could a person serve as that belonging of Nicky's you were referring to? Because - "

Petra hissed through her teeth, as if the mere thought of what he was suggesting was painful. "Oh, no, Dave, that would never work."

"Why not?"

"Dave, you have to burn it," she explained. "At the conclusion of the spell, you have to burn Nicky's belonging to ashes."

Well, that settled that. "Damn. Back to the drawing board, then."

Petra spoke to him in a soothing tone, almost like patting his head from down the block. "You'll figure it out. Don't try so hard to force it. It will come to you."

"Okay." He sighed. "Thanks, Petra."

His phone rang almost as soon as he hung it up. Caller ID: Cara. Chris's wife. Yippee, this is exactly what he needed to finish off his night just right! Dave put his head in his free hand and answered the call. "Hey Cara."

"Uh, hi Dave. Can we talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure. I take it Chris got there okay?"

Clearing her throat, Cara replied, "Yeah, he got here. But there's something really, really wrong."

Dave rubbed his eyes with his thumb and first finger. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"Because when we met him at the airport, he scooped up as many of our kids as he could fit in his arms and burst into tears."

There was a long pause as Dave tried to gather himself before he burst into something himself, but for him, it was hysterical giggles. This story had been hard enough to tell the first time. "Really? Is he okay?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Dave desperately wanted to snap at her, bite her head off, Get on with it so I can collapse into bed! But she had no idea what had happened, the crazy things that had happened... "What did he say to you?"

"Chris said something had happened at your house and he wasn't ready to talk about it, but he was just so glad to be alive. Dave, he's a wreck. Everybody's worried about him. Does this have anything to do with Taylor falling down the stairs?" Cara asked.

That fucking mad laughter again. Dave deliberately bit the inside of his mouth to stifle it. "Ow. Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"So? And why did you say ow?"

"Because I bit the inside of my mouth."

Cara took her turn to pause, then started to ask, "Why did you - "

Interrupting her, he said, "Cara, it's not my place to tell you what happened. Chris would want to be the one to tell you, in his own words."

"Come on, Dave, you can at least tell me something."

"It's a really long, involved story. Not the kind of thing I can tell you over the phone, trust me."

"Did you fire him?"

Dave closed his eyes, willing himself not to get angry. "No, I did not fire him. I'm very happy with Chris's work. Cara, please, just let things lie for now. Chris will tell you in his own time."

She could not let it lie. "Dave, my husband spent the day with us, thanking God over and over that he was alive to be with his family, and bursting into tears several times. It's scaring our children. 'Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy?' The last time he started crying, I made him lie down, and he begged me to hold him. He's now napping all curled up in a ball." Huffing, Cara demanded, "Whatever you know, you need to tell me, now!"

At that, the resolve that had been holding Dave together crumbled enough to let in a little of the madness he had been fighting. "You wanna push the issue, Cara? Okay. I'm telling you, it's a crazy story, but just try to keep up. Taylor and I used a Ouija board to make contact with the ghost in my house. But see, you have to read a prayer before you do it or someone could get possessed."

"Possessed?"

"Yeah, by the ghost. Pay attention, Cara. Anyway, I didn't believe in the stupid prayer and whadda you know, the ghost possessed Taylor. You wouldn't believe who the ghost turned out to be, either. Austin Nicholas Kelly. Does that name mean anything to you?"

".....What? Dave, what are you talking about?"

"What happened at my house. That's what you asked, right?"

"Uh... I guess." Cara wasn't sure what was happening. Ghosts? Possession?

"Okay then. The ghost used Taylor's body to chain me down to a piece of furniture and proceed to tell me that he was obsessed with me in life. See, that statue Jordyn and I bought had a spell put on it by a witch, and the ghost used it to put Taylor's soul to sleep so he would have total control of his body. The ghost planned to take me away and make me his sex slave. This is what your husband walked into on Sunday afternoon." Now that he had gotten going, Dave was a runaway locomotive. He could not stop. "Did I mention that he found my gun and threatened everybody with it?"

He could hear Cara swallow. "Chris?"

"No, the ghost. He said if anybody got out of line, he would shoot Taylor in the head and possess Chris instead. But he was lying. We didn't know that at the time, though. Your hubby came over to check on us like you asked him to - remember, Taylor was acting weird on the phone? He was possessed then. And Nicky got the jump on him and bashed him over the head with a beer bottle. Nicky is the ghost."

"Oh. Uh huh."

"That's how Chris got the cut on his forehead. You did notice that, didn't you?" Dave asked, as if this conversation was totally normal.

"Uh, yeah, I saw that. Dave, do you feel alright?" Cara said.

"Not really," he replied, laughing a little. "So anyway, Nicky got the jump on Chris and threw him down the stairs. While he was all disoriented, Nicky chained him up too. Then he spent another night threatening and terrorizing us and fucking with our heads until he decided that none of this was going to work and he would just have to kill us all. That's why Taylor stabbed himself, to drive the ghost out and back into the statue, so he couldn't kill us. That whole story about Taylor and the wheel of cheese was a cover. I mean, now that you've heard the whole fucked up story, don't you agree that the cheese story is a little better?"

Again, Cara paused a long time before answering. "Yes, I guess it is. How is Taylor anyway?"

"He'll be alright. There was some internal bleeding, but they took care of it." Dave realized he wasn't done. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Dave, I... I don't know what to think."

"When Chris wakes up, you ask him. I guarantee you, Chris believes it. If you were here, I could take you right to Nicky and you could see he exists." Dave snapped and knocked himself in the forehead with his open palm. "I totally forgot to tell you about Kurt's ghost being here too!"

"Dave, stop!"

He looked up. Jordyn stood there, a worried, stricken look on her face. How long had she been standing there, listening?

Dave said, "Jordyn's here. Talk to her for a while," into the phone, then tossed it on the couch and headed for their bedroom.



Even though he put the pillow over his head, Dave could still hear a little of what Jordyn was saying on her end of the conversation. For what he could tell, she was backing up his story. Dave didn't want to talk about it anymore, didn't want to tell this story anymore. He just wanted to sleep. Sleep in his own bed.

But now, not even his bed was safe. His bed held memories that made him feel conflicted.

Your fear is even sexier than your anger.

Taylor's tongue, moving over sensitive skin...

Dave shivered. He wanted the hard part to be over. All this talking, all this discussion... Couldn't he just have Taylor in his arms again?

He felt Jordyn sit on her side of the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Without removing the pillow from his head, Dave answered, "The whole world is tilted on its axis."

"I know the feeling." She laid down and turned over on her side, facing her husband with a pillow for a head. "Will you come out of your pillow fort? I wanna talk to you."

"Oh Jordyn, I have had too much talking today. And there will be so much more tomorrow. Just let me rest."

"I only want to ask you some questions. I only want honest answers."

"Fine." Dave took the pillow and put it under his head. "You answer one for me first."

"Okay."

"What did you and Kurt talk about?"

Jordyn shrugged. "I told him he broke your heart."

"Why?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't."

Letting out a long sigh, Dave turned over on his back and studied the ceiling. "I wasn't the most hurt by what he did. Frances and Courtney, they were the closest to him."

"That doesn't mean you weren't affected. Dave, do you think I don't understand who you are? Do you think I haven't been listening?"

He looked over at her in the dim light. The light from the bathroom through the partially open door was the only light in the room. Dave could see her face, but he couldn't read it. "What do you mean?"

"I married you knowing that you've been with as many men as you have women. I know you're bisexual. You can pretend you don't care, but I know how you felt about Kurt and how it hurt you when he killed himself, and that you wanted to grieve with the world not just as his bandmate, but as his lover. But you couldn't tell anyone. A secret like that..."

"...it's too explosive," Dave finished. "Few would have understood. Especially with Courtney ripping me apart in the press. Playing the victim. 'Kurt was my husband, and that slut Dave tried to steal him away.' I didn't want any of that."

"That doesn't mean you can't talk about it in private."

A small laugh escaped him. "You know how I am about feelings sometimes."

"Yeah, I know. But I also know that before we got married, you told me that you had feelings for Taylor. Beyond friendship feelings. You wanted to make sure that I could deal with it in case he ever returned those feelings, because you would want to be able to act on them. You wanted me to share you." Jordyn shook her head at the memory, smiling a little. "At the time, I thought it sounded crazy, an open marriage where a wife shares her husband with his boyfriend. But then I realized that I love you for everything you are. I don't want to suffocate you by asking you to repress your natural feelings. I married you knowing that this could happen someday."

Dave listened, already beginning to feel guilty for how understanding she was being.

"So many years passed that I was starting to think that nothing was ever going to happen between you two... and then we both find out that you've already had sex with Taylor." Jordyn took a deep breath and let it out. "I have to admit, it was a shock."

"Tell me about it."

"This brings me to my major question... when you were talking to Cara over the phone - "

"More like ranting at her," Dave mumbled.

"Alright, ranting at her, you said Nicky wanted to take you away and make you his sex slave."

He thought he knew where this was going. Dave visibly tensed up.

Jordyn finished, "Did he do anything to you through Taylor's body?"

The silence that followed told Jordyn everything she needed to know, but she still wanted him to say it. He kept too many things bottled inside. Dave draped an arm over his eyes. "Jordyn, I would rather talk about this with Taylor and Alison present."

"Dave, if I'm going in there to talk about something this huge, then I want to be prepared for it. Did he... did he rape you?"

Even Dave was surprised with how fast the tears came. "Almost."

"Oh God, Dave." Jordyn reached for him, and he went willingly into her arms. He let himself cry for a little while because he knew how it would have altered everything if Nicky had been successful in raping him through Taylor's body. The crying jag only lasted a few minutes, then he pulled away, sniffling and reaching for the tissues on the nightstand. "You alright?" she asked.

"As alright as I can be. Jordyn, there's more. We're already talking about this and you want to be ready for tomorrow, so I might as well tell you now. Nicky's attempted rape wasn't all that happened." It kind of seemed like she was already expecting this, but it still filled Dave with dread to tell her.

"What do you mean?"

He fiddled with the sheets, kicking them off his feet. "His eyes changed color," Dave said.

"You told us that."

"No, I mean they rapidly changed color."

"I don't get it," Jordyn said.

This was even harder to explain than he anticipated. "Nicky was really aggressive. He wanted... he wanted sex any way he could get it. Sex with me. But I didn't want to because Taylor couldn't consent to using his body that way. I had no desire to do anything with a ghost who was trying to steal my friend's body." Dave stopped talking for a long time, having trouble saying the "But..."

Jordyn took his cue. "But you did want to do things with Taylor."

Nodding, he said, "Yeah. And then Nicky said he could let Taylor out a little, but still keep control of his body. To prove it, his eyes started changing color from blue to brown, rapidly. It wasn't the way I wanted any of this to happen, but if I resisted... if I didn't keep him busy... and there are still three people we can't account for. I tried to keep Nicky within my sight."

Jordyn touched his hair near the temple, running her fingers through it. "Don't think about that now. Okay? Just... are you saying you and Taylor had sex again?"

He nodded. "And I wanted him. I wanted Taylor so bad."

She swallowed hard. "Are you going to leave me?"

Dave finally looked at her, then took her in his arms. "No. No, Jordyn, you're the mother of my kids and I love you. We have a beautiful life together. I'm asking you to... Why does saying this make me feel like a total asshole?"

"Because marriages aren't usually like this." She sighed. "It's like we talked about all those years ago. You want me to share you."

He also ran his fingers through her hair. "Is that wrong?"

Jordyn thought about it. "No. I knew this when I married you. I knew you may not be done with men. I agreed to accept that this is part of who you are. To love every part of you, not just the easy parts." She kissed him, closing her eyes. "It's just, I think the thought of you out there, doing things with him that I can't be a part of... I might get jealous."

"But who says you can't be a part of it sometimes?"

Despite herself, Jordyn smiled a bit, then pulled it back. "What do you mean, Dave?"

He grinned with mischief in his eyes. "Taylor and I briefly discussed the possibility of foursomes." Touching her cheek, Dave asked, "Is that something you'd be interested in trying?"

A little too enthusiastically, telling him more than he'd asked, Jordyn said, "So Alison and I could fool around?"

Dave's eyes widened. "You want to be with Alison?"

Jordyn, stifling a giggle, rolled her eyes. "I, um... yeah, I could be persuaded to try it."

"Jordyn... are you telling me we're the premier bisexual rock n' roll power couple?" he laughed.

She shook her head, then again rolled her eyes. "Yes, no, I mean, I don't know, I'd say it's more bicurious at this point. That is a thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's a thing." They both giggled. This was more than he could have hoped for. "What brought this on, baby?"

"A few too many glasses of wine, last year in Hawaii." Another giggle. "Alison told me about her sexual escapades with Taylor, how she dominates him with, a... did Taylor tell you anything?"

Dave played dumb. He wanted to hear her describe it. "Something about a fuzzy paddle?"

"Oh, the spankings are only the tip of the iceberg. I guess Taylor isn't done with men either, because - wait, we know that's definite." Jordyn cringed a little. Dave frowned. She tried to hide her reaction behind a smile. "I guess Taylor likes anal sex a lot, because he asked Alison to fuck him with a dildo. It's called pegging."

"Jordyn, are you sure you're going to be okay with this?"

Nibbling at her bottom lip, she shrugged. "I'm sure there will be times that I feel jealous and hurt over it. Something like this is never going to run like clockwork. But we can work at it, can't we?"

"Yeah. We can." Dave hugged her to him. "Finish your story."

"Well, Alison described some of her sexy outfits and I couldn't stop picturing her in them, with those lovely long legs... she was out by the pool that day in a bikini and that was the first time I felt... the first time... I wanted her." They giggled together; this was becoming a habit. "We talked about a foursome so I could see her in her bustier, and, well, we were both really tipsy and... we... shared a kiss."

Grinning, Dave purred in appreciation of the mental picture.

"Ever since then, I've wanted to take things further, but I... I didn't know how to bring it up."

"I'm sorry you didn't feel comfortable bringing it up to me."

"It wasn't just you, it was all of us. There are four people involved here. Not to mention we have kids." Sighing, she finished, "Do parents really do these kinds of things?"

"Do parents play in rock bands? Do parents appear in magazines? Some do," Dave assured her. "Do you think Alison will be open to it?"

"I think so. There were vibes. And that kiss." Her hand ran up and down Dave's chest. "It's worth a shot."

He glanced down at her hand. It had been a long, terrifying day. Dave didn't want to talk anymore. His nerves were still wound up and he needed something to release all the built-up tension. And those mental pictures she had conjured up with her tantalizing story... "Taylor and I can watch, right? You know men." Dave kissed her then, the kind of kiss she knew well.

"Of course you can watch. That's why it's a foursome, right?" Jordyn kissed him back. Within seconds, she was pulling his T-shirt off over his head, careful not to disturb the bandage he'd put over the word carved into his chest. Jordyn kissed it. "My poor baby. Are you sure you're in the mood for this?"

"After the day I've had, I need exactly this." Dave shared several deep, aroused kisses with his wife, pressed tight against her. "Would you describe to me what you'd like to wear the first time we share our bed with Taylor and Alison?"

"Hmm..." she purred. "How about that slinky red number with the beaded top?"

Growling, Dave positioned himself between her legs and rubbed himself against her body. "I can't wait."



Chapter 22: Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace

Word Count: 2,789

Sleeping naked in the bed he shared with Jordyn, Dave had the first of the dreams Petra had mentioned. This one didn't reveal as much as the second one, but it gave him a bit of useful information.

He found himself dressed, in a dark hallway, light coming from under a door in front of him. A pinpoint of light also came from the tiny keyhole in the knob; Dave knelt down on one knee and peered into it. Two people inside the room, a man and a woman, were arguing.

"You're scaring our boys, Chris!" It was Cara. Dave could only see her lower half as she paced the room, but he recognized her voice.

And there was Chris's lower half, following her. "I'll be alright in a couple of days, I just, I need some time with my family. There's something I need to tell you, Cara." He took her arm. "Please, stop and talk to me."

"I am talking to you. I'm starting to think you've all lost your minds, or maybe I have. You should have heard Dave on the phone. He sounded completely disturbed. But Jordyn backed him up, every word. If Jordyn hadn't said he was telling the truth... Still, am I really supposed to believe all this loony bullshit?"

Dave looked down, afraid she might back up and he'd see her face, the expression on her face. How did one tell this story and not sound disturbed? It hurt, to hear his friend's wife say things like that about him.

"Yes, Cara, you are supposed to believe it, because it happened, and I believe it too."

Dave heard a chair creak as she sat down. He looked through the keyhole just in time to see her raise her bowed head and gesture dramatically with her hand. "Fine. Fine, I accept that it happened. I can't wrap my head around most of it, but it happened. What do you need me to do?"

Chris knelt before her and took both of her hands. "There's something else." He swallowed hard and wet his lips. "This ghost, this Nicky, he... I don't know, he seemed to enjoy messing with our heads, and manipulating Dave into doing... sexual things with him."

"But, he was 'possessing' Taylor, right?"

"Yes."

"So it's kind of like Dave and Taylor messed around."

Chris sighed. "In their case, yeah."

"How are Jordyn and Alison going to take that?" Cara wondered aloud, in a gossipy tone.

"I don't know, I hope they will be understanding about the circumstances. Just like... I hope you will be."

Cara looked at him through an evaluative squint. "Why would I need to be understanding?"

"Because Nicky forced himself on me."

She didn't say anything at first, but eventually replied, "Nicky... forced himself on you. Nicky."

"Yes. Taylor wasn't involved at all. He was completely asleep at that moment. He wanted Dave to have sex with him, so he made like he was going to force me into it unless Dave volunteered, and... and he touched me. And then later, to punish Dave for hurting his feelings, he gave me... he gave me oral sex." Chris looked down, still feeling guilty even though it wasn't his fault. "I didn't feel right not telling you. I hope you understand that I didn't want this to happen, but I couldn't stop him. My hands were chained up."

"So, Taylor giving you... I'm sorry, Nicky... Nicky giving you a blowjob was Dave's punishment?" Cara said, sarcasm and anger in her voice.

Chris nearly exploded. He took Cara by the elbows and leaned closer to her. "Is that what you think? Do you really think we made up this crazy, elaborate, terrifying story as a cover so we could all have a big kinky sex party?!"

Cara could not currently see past her initial reaction of anger; she immediately assumed this was her husband's misguided way of excusing whatever new encounter had happened with Taylor. "No, Chris, I think Taylor Hawkins is some kind of sex addict and he's never going to stop trying to put his hands on you!"

At that moment, Chris's reaction startled even Dave. He pulled Cara up off the chair seat half an inch, squeezing her elbows, and yelled, "Don't you say anything against Taylor! He risked his life to save Dave and I! If he hadn't stabbed himself, the ghost would have killed us all, and instead of being here with my wife and my babies, I'd be back there on Dave's couch with my chest full of stab wounds, waiting to be discovered! DEAD! Can't you understand that?! Can't you understand that I didn't want any of this to happen?" Chris was breaking down in tears, releasing his hold on her. Cara listened and watched, her face full of shock. "I didn't want it. I begged him to stop. But he wouldn't stop. He enjoyed it. Nicky liked fucking with our heads." Sobbing into her lap, he finished, "I thought of you the whole time. Please tell me you don't blame me, Cara."

Her hands were shaking as she ran her fingers through his hair, shushing him. "Shhh, it's okay, I don't blame you." Something in his reaction finally convinced her that even if the story was utterly unbelievable, Chris 100% believed it was true. Cara stroked his hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and cried into her lap. "It's not your fault."

Dave had to turn away. His friends were hurting, he was hurting, and all because of that monster in the cage. He stood up and walked the dark hall, hearing voices behind another door. This one wasn't locked. Dave stepped through it into someone's party, a Halloween party by the looks of it, and glanced around at all the people in costume. The crowd was quite thick, so thick that when he heard Nicky's voice, he couldn't fully see him, just a head and set of shoulders across the room.

A girl in a slutty nurse costume covered in fake blood handed Dave a red Solo cup full of dark amber beer. "Drink up, dude. It's Halloween."

Dave did, and laughed, "Halloween, and me without a costume."

From across the room, Nicky laughed the too loud and too enthusiastic laugh of the drunk college-age student. He also held a red Solo cup, his other arm around a guy who had his back to Dave. Nicky, dressed as a Ghostbuster, spoke to a dark-haired friend about their plans for that night. "Then we can wrap the quad in toilet paper."

The friend laughed. "Are you really going to drag this guy around with you all night?"

"That's a fine way to talk about my boyfriend. What do you think, Manny? You wanna spend Halloween with us?" he asked, chortling his way through the question.

The friend laughed so hard, he sputtered beer when he tried to take a drink. "Manny," he repeated, like the name was funny.

Manny said nothing.

Dave's attention was stolen away by the sound of someone crying. The sobs were hysterical, inconsolable. He walked toward another door, another way out.

The girl in the bloody nurse costume grabbed his hand. "Don't go. We're about to bob for apples."

Dave shook his head. "I don't want those apples." He gestured toward the metal container full of water with shiny red fruit floating in it. "They're made of plastic."

The sobs of someone he knew again drew Dave's attention, and he headed toward the door. It wasn't Chris he was hearing now.

It was Kurt. Why was Kurt crying?

This door led back to the white space, the pocket limbo dimension created by the magick surrounding the statue. Except, something was different. The light of the dimension was more light yellow than white. Something about the quality of the light hurt Dave's eyes. He walked toward the sound of Kurt's sobs, and found him sitting in a large chair that Dave wanted to describe as a throne. It wasn't made of metal, but fuschia fabric with silver spikes sticking out of it; there was barely enough room for Kurt to sit on it for all the long, sharp spikes. The "throne" was darkly majestic, and there was something horrible about it. It wasn't a throne anyone wanted to sit on.

Several of the spikes were skewering heart-shaped boxes of three or four different shades of red. Dave sort of understood the symbolism of that. Heart-shaped boxes had personal meaning to Kurt and Courtney. He'd written that song about it.

Dave moved until he could see Kurt's face. That's when he noticed Boddah standing next to the throne. "How'd I miss you?" he wondered. "Is this one of those dreams where I don't notice shit until I'm supposed to?"

Boddah, his face covered by the cloak hood, turned slightly as if he was acknowledging Dave's presence. The reaper chattered to Kurt, who sobbed harder.

"How am I supposed to do that, Boddah? No one's ever going to forgive me for this. No one!"

Dave took a good look at Kurt. He realized that the ghost he'd been interacting with for the last few days did look older than the Kurt he was looking at now. The Kurt on the throne had a youthful but haggard face, but that wasn't the most dramatic thing about him. The most shocking thing about this Kurt was that he wore a leather collar so overrun with spikes that he could barely move his head up and down. There were rows upon rows of them, some longer and skinnier than others just to fit them in.

Turning his head, Dave looked at what Kurt was looking at. The space in front of him was like a floating TV screen, except there was no TV there. On this spiritual viewer, Kurt could see people, some Dave recognized and many he didn't, and they were all crying. Freaking out, screaming, crying, asking why... and then he saw Courtney. Behind her, Kurt's mother was also sobbing, holding Frances and sobbing. Courtney, of course, took the cake. Took the most cake.

She was going through a box of clothes. They looked like Kurt's clothes. Courtney started throwing them around and screaming, crying, cursing. "How am I supposed to decide what to keep and what to throw away of my husband's things? How does a person decide that? He should be here, be here to wear these things. Damn you! DAMN YOU, KURT! DAAAMN YOOOU for doing this! DAMN YOOOU!"

Kurt sobbed harder.

"Fuck you, Kurt Cobain! Fuck you and you're goddamn Jesus complex, leaving me behind with all this because you're too weak to stick it out! Fuck you, fuck you, oh God..." Courtney buried herself in the pile of clothing, rolling around in Kurt's shirts and sweaters and pairs of jeans and bringing them to her chest and face. "Some of these still smell like him," she keened, and collapsed into tears.

Kurt shook his head as best he could. "Did you see that, Boddah? Do you still think she could ever forgive me for killing myself?" Gesturing to the screen, he said, "Kids have been committing suicide because I killed myself. Do you understand that?"

Dave realized he was looking at Kurt's ghost within a few days of his suicide. When he was just beginning to face what he'd done, and what he'd have to do to redeem his soul.

The thought that his actions had caused kids, kids who loved and understood his music, to commit suicide was too much for Kurt to currently face. He curled into his lap, hands covering his head. "What have I done? What am I responsible for? Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

Dave forgot that this was a dream and no one could see him. He reached out to stroke Kurt's head, to comfort him. At that moment, Kurt wailed, "Dave!"

He pulled his hand back like he'd touched a hot stove.

Kurt continued, "And what have I done to Dave? People don't know about us, they don't know how I played with his heart. I'm a married man with a jealous wife. How did I think that whole thing was going to end? What did I even want out of it? Maybe I ended my life so I didn't have to make a choice. Do you think that was part of it, Boddah? Oh God, I'm nothing but a horrible, selfish, piece of shit!"

Shaking his head, Dave reached out again and touched Kurt's hair. He could feel the soft blonde strands under his fingers, but he didn't think Kurt could feel him. "No. No, that's not all you are."

Kurt raised his head and wailed, "What have I done, GOD WHAT HAVE I DOOONE?!"

Dave woke up with the sound of Kurt's voice in his ears, his face wet with tears. He knew there was a meaning to everything in it, even the cryptic statements about plastic apples and thrones of spikes, but exactly what it all meant, Dave couldn't be sure. What he did know was he was happy to have a wife who could put her jealousy aside long enough to experiment with her husband and see where it took them, and he was glad to have the chance to show Kurt that forgiveness, complete forgiveness, was possible.



Teddy bears, balloons, flowers, none of it seemed right. "What do you get for a grown man who's in the hospital when you want to say get well?"

Jordyn looked around the hospital gift shop and picked up a plant in a 'Get Well Soon' mug. "Would he like this?"

Dave nodded. "It's masculine enough. Of course, Taylor is also a bit of a hyperactive kid too... we better top this off with some balloons."

Taylor was partially propped up in bed, awake and grinning at his wife, who sat nearby, holding one of his hands. A tray of dirty dishes had been pushed aside when the meal was finished; Dave couldn't be happier to see that his friend was able to eat his breakfast. "Hey!" Taylor called as Dave and Jordyn entered the hospital room. "I farted this morning and the doctor is pleased."

"What?" Dave laughed.

"Apparently, when you've had abdominal surgery, it's a really good sign if you can fart afterwards. It means your guts are working properly."

"Alright!" Dave slapped him five.

Taylor winced a little when he leaned into the gesture, then settled back in bed, rubbing lightly at the bandage on his abdomen. "Of course, I'm still tender. Are those for me?"

"Get well soon!" Dave and Jordyn said together, and presented him with the plant and the balloons.

"Thanks, you two," Taylor said with a smile. He gave the things to Alison, who deposited them on the windowsill with Taylor's other gifts. "Alison also helped me take a walk down the hallway. I'm firmly on the mend."

"The doctor said he should be in here for a couple more days," Alison added. "...depending on the psych evaluation."

"Uh oh." Dave made sure his wife found a seat, then settled into one himself. "They evaluating the reason for your carved up arm?"

"Yeah. But I doubt anyone will find me suicidal, since I didn't do it."

An uncomfortable hush fell over the room. And they'd been having such a nice visit... already with the Nicky talk.

Taylor broke the silence. "I'm not going to make it to Hawaii this year. I'll still be in here."

"That's too bad."

"We're just glad you're going to be okay," Jordyn said.

Taylor looked at her. The tension in the room increased. A million things that needed to be said hung in the air.

Now Alison tried to get the conversation going again. "Taylor and I have been talking, and he corroborated your story... about Nicky Kelly."

Nodding, Dave asked, "What do you remember?"

Taylor turned his eyes to Dave, a smoldering, half-lidded gaze. "Everything," he said. "I remember everything."



Chapter 23: Rope

Word Count: 2,874

Taylor turned his eyes to Dave, a smoldering, half-lidded gaze. "Everything," he said. "I remember everything."

Because she was on the wrong side of him, Alison could not see the look Taylor gave to his friend, but Jordyn could. Her husband was right. Taylor was completely on board with the foursome thing.

"Except a few short moments of amnesia," Alison filled in. She squeezed Taylor's hand lightly and he looked at her. "Right?"

"Right," he said, and gave her a kiss.

When the eye contact was broken, Dave let out a breath he'd been holding. Yes, Taylor remembered everything... except? "Wait, there are things you don't remember?"

"Yeah. They all happened in the house, except one."

That was encouraging, wasn't it? "Tell us about them."

"Well... most of what I experienced while being possessed by Nicky was like a dream. I could see out of my own eyes but I wasn't in control of my body. Someone else was speaking with my mouth. There were times when I could do what I wanted, but only when Nicky also wanted to. Or when he would let me. For a while, I didn't know what was happening. I had a feeling that something was very wrong, very, very, wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I'm not sure why a ghost needed to sleep, maybe he was actually recharging or whatever dead people need to do, but there were times when Nicky slept and I slept too. During those times, I had wonderful dreams of some of my best memories. But there were other times when I was asleep, and Nicky was awake." Taylor shuddered, any trace of a smile fading from his face. "He would put me in this nightmare world where I was present for memories of his crimes. I could hide my eyes, but I couldn't close my ears." Falling silent, he stared off into space with a sad, disturbed look on his face. Alison stroked the hair at his temple behind his ear. "I didn't have anything there, I just had to wait until it was over. Nothing but - "

"But the cat," Dave said. "Munchie the cat. He kept you company."

"Oh yeah, you were there that one time."

Dave and Taylor met each other's gaze. Something unspoken passed between them, as it had a million times before. It was that connection they had, a connection both Jordyn and Alison knew that no matter how much their husbands loved them, they would never be able to rival.

The moment passed, and Taylor continued. "When I was stuck in this nightmare world, I don't know what Nicky was doing."

"How many times did it happen?"

"About six, seven times. Usually, when I came back, Nicky was still in bed, or cleaning something, or that night he got drunk, drinking too much. These times, I think he was just playing with me. Torturing me. But there were other times when I think... I think he was trying to hide what he was doing from me. So I wouldn't... wouldn't scream so much. He didn't like my screaming. At least not then." Taylor shuddered again.

Alison, stroking his hair and shoulders, asked, "Honey, what do you mean?"

With a hard swallow, Taylor tried to explain. "Nicky seemed to like it when he put me in the nightmares and it drove me to scream. But any other time..."

Obviously, Taylor hadn't said this much when he was just speaking to Alison, because she exclaimed, "Oh, Taylor," and hugged him.

Dave got up. "Tee, I'm so sorry - "

"No! Not yet!" Taylor pulled his wife's arms from around him and laid them aside as gently as he could. He put up a hand to tell Dave to stop, and motioned for him to sit back down. Dave did as he asked. "I can fall apart later, right now I've got to get all this out. We have to make sure Nicky didn't have any time to hurt anyone else."

Alison couldn't help it; she still stroked Taylor's hair, close to tears now. He tried not to look at her, because he knew it would make him break down.

Dave cut in with a question. "So, all these times it happened in the house, it started in my house and when you came back, you were still in the house."

"Yeah," Taylor confirmed with a nod. "Those times, the only people he hurt were you and Chris."

Dave shifted in his chair like he was uncomfortable. "What do you remember about Chris being there?"

"Well, none of it's good, since he ran off to Hawaii to be with his family."

"He really wanted to be here, and he told me to tell you that he wants you to get better soon, but yeah, he went to Hawaii to be with Cara and the boys. Nicky really shook him up, man," Dave explained.

"I can understand that, and I don't blame him. I wish we were all in Hawaii instead of this damn hospital." With a frustrated sigh, Taylor pounded his fist on the bed rail before continuing. "What I remember is Chris coming over and Nicky beating him up before handcuffing him to the railing in your art room, where Chris was lying on the couch. I was screaming that whole time, 'Leave him alone, let him go, stop hurting him!', but of course, Nicky didn't listen. It bothered him when I did that.

"Soon after, Nicky's trying to get Chris's phone out of his back pocket and he's practically groping him and all, 'You got pretty eyes,' and I started yelling again, telling him to leave Chris alone, and Nicky threw me into the nightmare for a while. When I came back, Nicky was heading out to my car to run errands."

"What else do you remember regarding Chris?" Dave asked. As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he regretted it. Either Taylor remembered the blowjob or he didn't, and either way could be a minefield to navigate.

"Um... I remember Chris hiding himself against the back of the couch, like he hoped Nicky wouldn't notice him anymore, and heading over there to... I'm not even sure what Nicky had planned. He put me in the nightmare world," Taylor replied.

Oh shit... Taylor didn't even know.

Alison's eyes darted back and forth between Taylor and Dave. What had Nicky done to Chris? Did her husband really not remember it? "Tell them what happened on errand day," she said.

"Oh, yeah," Taylor agreed, nodding. "Nicky went to a drug store, and then drove into Los Angeles, to the Arts District. To something on Mateo Street. As soon as we turned, he sent me into nightmare land. Next thing I remember is getting back in the car. Nicky was giggling to himself for half the trip back."

When he mentioned Mateo Street, Dave and Jordyn looked at each other, a bit alarmed with how this was shaping up. "The gallery," Jordyn exclaimed.

Dave looked at Taylor and Alison and filled in, "The gallery where we bought the statue is on Mateo Street."

A knowing but shocked expression came to Taylor's face. "Then this really was done to you. Someone trapped Nicky's soul in the statue and then steered you toward buying it. Whoever it is, Nicky knows them. I bet he went to visit them."

"Before, I might've said let's not jump to conclusions, but yesterday, Nicky told me he made a deal with someone to make this whole thing happen. It's someone from the gallery," Dave declared. "It has to be."

"The witch?" Jordyn suggested.

"Oh God, what if our witch did this whole thing? We need her help to send Nicky back to Hell. If she's in league with him..." Dave shook his head.

"What is this about now?"

Taylor had been in surgery and out for the night when they got this part of the story. Dave explained about the witch and her spell.

"What would happen if we exorcized the statue without her help?" Taylor asked.

"Nicky could go free."

Alison put a hand to her head. "This is all so crazy."

Pulling her in for a hug and a kiss to her temple, Taylor said, "I know, baby. I know."

"Don't worry," Dave said. "Kurt assured me he would bring me a dream that would reveal everything. I just have to wait for it."

"Well, let's hope the witch isn't Nicky's little friend. Or we could be really screwed," Taylor added, and sighed.

The group fell silent, lost in thought. Jordyn looked over at Dave, and he instantly knew where she thought the conversation should go next. "Alison, can I speak with Taylor alone for a few minutes?"

He rubbed Alison's shoulder. "Hon, you haven't had anything to eat yet today. Why don't you and Jordyn go find the cafeteria?"

A little wary, Alison looked from Taylor to Dave and stood up. What was causing that hesitation that fluttered in her stomach? "Okay." She picked up her purse. Jordyn smiled at her, and it made her feel a little better. After bending to give Taylor a kiss, Alison followed Jordyn toward the door. "We'll be back in half an hour or so."

Taylor gave her a nod. Once the door closed behind them, Dave moved to the side of the bed, sitting in the chair Alison had occupied. "I wanted to speak to you alone so I could find out how much you told Alison... about us."

"Nothing yet."

"Jordyn knows." Dave put his forearms on the bed rail and looked down at the bed, unable to meet Taylor's eyes. "Where do you want to go from here, Tee? What do you want?"

Tapping one of Dave's arms, Taylor said, "Put the bed rail down."

He did.

"Now come closer." Taylor grabbed the front of Dave's shirt and slowly pulled him toward him.

Dave closed the distance between them. They came together in a long, passionate kiss. Arms encircled each other, and they took their time, not coming up for air until they really had to. "We gotta slow down," Taylor whispered. "I just had surgery. But I want you so bad. No ghost, no threat of death, just you and me, together."

"Do you still want the foursome too?"

"Oh yeah, baby."

"Do you think Alison will go for it?"

Shrugging, Taylor replied, "I'm not sure. She was pretty upset after what happened with Shiflett. Since then, I've been in the doghouse more times than I expected to be. I'd say our odds are 50/50." He took his arms from around Dave's neck and picked at his nails, suddenly fidgety. "I know Nicky did something to Chris. There's no way he didn't. When he went over there, it was right after we, ah... well, I was naked at the time, so I'm sure me and Chris didn't play checkers."

Dave rubbed his bare shoulder, trying to get him to relax a bit. "It wasn't you. It was Nicky." Sighing, he told him what Nicky had done. "He held Chris down and gave him a blowjob."

Taylor put a hand over his eyes. "Oh God. Poor Chris. No wonder he ran off to Hawaii."

Dave rubbed his shoulder again. "Shiflett will be okay. Just give him time." Trying to approach the next question delicately, he asked, "Did Alison tell you about the discrepancy, the eight versus eleven people?"

He nodded. "I don't think he ever had time to kill and dispose of three people. I mean, yeah, Nicky threw me in the nightmare world at times, but it didn't feel like I was ever in there for the time it would take to do something like that." Taylor laid his arm over his eyes now, sighing deeply. "I hope. I just hope I didn't miss something."

"Don't second guess yourself." Dave took hold of his arm and lifted it off his face, kissing the back of Taylor's hand. Then he gently placed the arm by Taylor's side. "If Nicky did kill someone, you can always plead insanity. Everyone thinks I'm insane when I tell this story."

A small laugh escaped Taylor at first, but then suddenly, he began to cry.

Alarm in his eyes, Dave pulled Taylor gingerly into his arms. "Hey, I'm sorry. It was a bad joke. Why are you crying?"

Taylor wrapped his arms around Dave and sobbed into his neck. "I'm not crying because of your joke. It just came over me because of what Nicky did to my life. The only good thing is finding out that you feel the same way about me as I do about you. Everything else... I freaked out Shiflett, I may've killed three people - "

"Tee, stop it. You didn't do anything. Nicky did it."

"But will the police see it that way? Will Chris?"

"Stop. Whatever happens, it will all work out." Dave stroked his hair.

Instead of making him feel better, this seemed to upset Taylor more; he sobbed harder. Dave asked him what was wrong. "I can't stop seeing it. These scenes keep playing in my head, over and over. I keep hearing their screams, the sound of the electric saw he used to cut up their bodies... I keep hearing them pleading to be let go, 'I just wanna go home, please let me go home!' I tried to shut it out, I buried my face in the cat's fur, but I still knew what he was doing to them. Why did Nicky hate me so much? Why did he show me those horrible pictures?" he cried.

Tears pricked at Dave's eyes. "Nicky hated you because I love you, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't become you. He thought if he killed your will, he could keep your body, but you were too strong." Dropping a few soft kisses on the side of Taylor's head, Dave continued stroking his hair. "Oh God, Taylor, I'm so sorry. So very sorry he put you through that."

They cuddled, Dave gently rocking him and singing to him, until Taylor's sobs calmed to sniffles. Dave watched him wipe his eyes and then leaned in for a comforting kiss. "Are you okay?"

Lying back on his pillow, Taylor got a tissue and blew his nose. "It will take some time." Sheepishly, he added, "Once I get out of here, will you go to the pound with me and help me pick out a black and white cat?"

Dave had to laugh a little. "Like Munchie?"

He nodded.

"Will it really make you feel better to have a cat that looks like Munchie?"

Taylor nodded again. "To help me sleep."

"Okay, no problem." Dave hugged him once more, and they held each other, trying to make up for lost time.



When Jordyn and Alison returned from the cafeteria, the first thing Alison noticed was that her husband's eyes were red, like he'd been crying. She wondered what he'd been talking to Dave about. "Hey honey. We're back. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Dave stood up and offered Alison her chair back. "Thank you," she said, and took it. "Did you two finish your conversation?"

"Pretty much." Dave looked at his wife, then cleared his throat. "Alison, we have something to speak to you about."

"Oh?"

Taylor put up a hand to stop him. "Dave, let me handle this." He took Alison's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. "Baby, stuff kinda happened while I was possessed by the ghost." He also cleared his throat. "Sexual stuff."

She tensed up, and frowned, but didn't take her hand back. "Like what?"

"Uh, although I don't remember it, apparently Nicky gave Chris a blowjob. That's why he threw me into the nightmare before he went over to the couch. He knew I would start yelling at him to stop if I was present." Taylor searched her face for a reaction. "Chris didn't want it, and I didn't want to do it. This was completely different from... well, from before."

Taking a deep breath, Alison said, "I'm not going to get mad. I saw Nicky Kelly with my own eyes. I believe that this possession thing really happened. Part of me wants to call this cheating, and believe that the whole thing was an elaborate setup so you could get yourself another piece of Shifty, but... that's even more ludicrous than the idea you were possessed." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It wasn't your fault."

A nervous grin came to his face. "Hold onto that attitude for the next few minutes."

Chp 24: But, Honestly