I was jolted out of a nice deep sleep by my girlfriend's screams. The shock of adrenaline had me up and out of bed before I even knew where I was or what was going on. I gave my ring a twist even before my feet hit the floor, then punched my fist skyward and for a moment everything lit up pink.

  My heart was still racing after the fsh of pink faded, while I had my hands clenched into fists as I looked around wide-eyed for trouble. Except there wasn't anything wrong. No Outsiders, no thugs, nothing even looked out of pce.

  The three of us were still in Harper's bedroom, it was half past three in the morning according to my boyfriend's clock, and my friends were ying in bed while I stood there in my magical girl form as if we were about to face a hoard of monsters.

  "Ellie?" the handsome jock asked softly, as he reached over and pced a gentle hand on our girlfriend's trembling shoulder. He lightly nudged her, "Ellie wake up. It's ok, it's just a dream. You're safe."

  She was on her side, curled up almost into a ball as if she was trying to protect herself. It took another few seconds for her to fully wake, then she let out a long sigh as she slumped over onto her back next to Harper and stared at the ceiling.

  "Crap," Ellie grumbled. "Sorry you two. I didn't mean to wake you."

  I shifted back to my normal form, then returned to bed where I y down next to her. As I pulled the bnkets back up over the three of us I replied, "It's alright Ellie. Are you ok though? That sounded..."

  "You sounded terrified," Harper took over. His voice stayed soft and gentle as he asked, "That must have been a pretty scary nightmare, huh? Do you want to talk about it?"

  Our girlfriend cringed and shook her head, "Not really."

  Thinking about what her mom told me at work st week I suggested, "It might help though? Was it about the pne crash?"

  Ellie sighed, "No. Not really. Not just the crash."

  "They're more about the Outsiders," she added in a half-whisper.

  After a moment she continued just as quietly, "Actually they're about the whole thing, I guess? Like... We all know it wasn't weather that brought down the pne, right? It was magic. Judith's magic tore a hole in the fusege, ripped off part of the wing and damaged the tail. And it was her magic that opened the rift, that allowed those Outsiders into our world."

  Harper and I exchanged a worried gnce. Then we both moved closer, to cuddle Ellie on either side.

  Our boyfriend gently reminded her, "Judith's gone now, so's the guy that was helping her. Their secrets died with them. They can't hurt any of us again."

  "That's not true," Ellie sighed. "About their secrets I mean? Bke's mom knows that magic, she's supposed to be some sort of prodigy with it. And her aunt Leslie knows it too. Plus who knows how many other people Judith taught. How many more learned it from Herb? Or James?"

  I slipped an arm around her and gave her a hug as I pointed out, "My mom swore she'd never use that magic again. Even if she did, I know she wouldn't hurt anyone. I don't know my aunt as well, but I don't think she'd use that power for evil either. That's why she told us all about Judith's pns, she wanted us to stop her."

  The anxious tomboy slowly shook her head, "I trust your mom, but I don't trust Leslie. And we don't even know who else might have access to that kind of power. Who knows what they're doing with it."

  Harper hugged Ellie from the other side then asked quietly, "Why does it scare you, Ellie? Even if someone else out there does know how to use magic, odds are we'll never run into them. The only reason we got involved at all was we went looking for it. We travelled how many thousands of kilometers out of our way, specifically to confront Judith about what she was up to."

  "Honestly, I thought you were into that sort of thing?" he added. "Weren't you interested in magic and the occult and all that?"

  Ellie grimaced, then sighed and shook her head. She whispered, "I thought I was. Magic, wicca, occult stuff, I read about it, looked it up online. It was fun, daydreaming about magic and the supernatural. Now I know it's real, and it's deadly. It's not fun anymore. It's terrifying. That magic reached up into the air and tore our pne apart. Ripped chunks off it, like a little kid pulling wings off a fly."

  "Us normal folks are defenceless against that," she added quietly. "We can't see it, don't understand it. Most people don't even believe it's real."

  Then she shuddered, "Same with the Outsiders. Nobody would believe us if we ever talked about them. They'd think we were crazy, or delusional. But after the crash you and I both saw Peri shoot at those things with her magic arrows. What if there's more of them out there?"

  I gave her a gentle squeeze and tried to assure her, "There aren't. We closed the rift Ellie, and we killed every st one that came through."

  She turned to face me and asked, "How can you be sure though? You said the rift was underwater, right? In Lake Hazen. What if some of the Outsiders stayed underwater? I've looked at the maps Bke. That ke drains into a fjord, and from there into the Arctic ocean. All the oceans are connected, so they could turn up almost anywhere."

  Her words actually made me pause. I'd been worried too, when Lily first decred the rift was sealed. She assured me it was, and the fact that the ke had stopped boiling set my mind at ease. I hadn't thought about the possibility of more Outsiders lurking underwater though. Then again, the other magical girls said it was safe too. And if it wasn't, then Cel would have said something when they talked to Lily afterwards.

  I decided to point that out, "Lily heard from Cel after we were rescued, when we got back to Iqaluit. If the rift was still open they'd have said something. And if there were still Outsiders lurking around, I'm sure they'd have warned us about that too. They're some kind of seer, they're the one who sent Violet to come find me in the first pce."

  My girlfriend sighed again, "I know this stuff isn't logical ok? I know it's stupid, but I can't help it. That whole trip was like a nightmare, and it's like I can't just forget about it."

  Harper frowned at her for a few seconds, then finally asked "I know this might not be what you want to hear Ellie, but have you thought about maybe seeing a therapist? They're trained to deal with this sort of thing, like PTSD and stuff like that."

  "Ugh," even in the dark I could tell Ellie was scowling. "My mom's been bugging me about therapy. I don't want to go, but even if I did what would I tell them? Me and my polycule were in a pne crash in the far north because we had to get some magical girls to the north pole so they could fight monsters from another universe? They'd lock me up if I told them the truth. And if I can't tell the truth then what's the point of therapy?"

  Our boyfriend responded softly, "Therapists don't 'lock people up' anymore, that's not how it works. And I know it won't be easy, but if it could help then maybe it's worth a try?"

  I decided to chime in on that topic and admitted, "I've been wondering about therapy too actually. Like you said Ellie, I don't know exactly how it'd work though? Like I couldn't really tell them I was a magical girl and had to help save the world..."

  "At least you could provide proof to back up your story," she pointed out. "Just use the ring, pink out in front of them. Then they'd know you weren't delusional. I can't do that. All I have is some pictures on my phone that could easily be faked, and a bunch of information from a website that reads like a conspiracy nut-job's manifesto."

  Ellie shook her head and added, "So if I tried to tell a therapist what I'm really scared of they'll think I'm delusional and try to convince me that stuff's not real, when the problem is I know it is real. And if I don't tell them the truth, then they'll probably assume I have a fear of flying or something because of the pne crash. Either way, they'll be trying to treat me for the wrong thing."

  Both Harper and I were quiet for a bit after that. I couldn't think of any solutions to the situation our girlfriend described, and I had a feeling he couldn't either. We were all quiet for the next half minute or so, before our boyfriend finally broke the silence.

  "Are you having nightmares too, Bke? Is that why you were considering therapy?" he asked.

  I didn't want to admit I got the idea from Mrs. Vandalen, since that'd mean revealing she'd talked to me about Ellie's nightmares. So I shook my head, "It's not nightmares. It's just, we went through a lot. Fighting the Outsiders was bad, but honestly the pne crash and waiting for rescue was worse for me. And I'm not sure how much I'm 'considering' therapy? I wondered about it, that's all."

  "How about you Harper?" I added. "How are you holding up? You went through it along with the rest of us, are you handling it ok?"

  My boyfriend was quiet again for a second or two. Then he replied, "I'm managing ok. No nightmares or anything like that. If I'm being honest with myself, it's left me feeling like normal life's too dull and boring? That's why I decided on the EMT training instead of regur nursing. Like I said, there's more chance of excitement as a paramedic."

  "Just try not to become an adrenaline junkie ok?" Ellie said as she pulled Harper into a hug. "Please don't start rushing into dangerous situations just for the thrill."

  I nodded, "Yeah. You're too important to us, Harper. Please keep yourself safe."

  He smiled, but from his tone I could tell it was more of a grimace. "Yeah I know. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm not going to start looking for danger or pushing my luck."

  "Anyways maybe we should all try and get some more sleep?" our boyfriend suggested. "Ellie how are you feeling? Are you ok with that?"

  She nodded, "Yeah. I'm ok. After all, I've got you two with me. I know you'll both keep me safe."

  I turned and gave her a kiss, while Harper hugged her again. Then all three of us cuddled a little closer as we closed our eyes.

  Unfortunately sleep didn't come back to me right away. Instead I found myself thinking about everything Ellie said, all the stuff that scared her. And how therapy just wouldn't work, because the things she was scared of would be dismissed as fantasy or delusion by most people. Instead of sleeping, I found myself trying to come up with answers, ways to fix things for her.

  In fact I had a feeling Harper was still awake too, but I didn't want to say anything incase I was wrong. It felt ironic though that of the three of us, the one who'd had the nightmare seemed to be the first one to get back to sleep. Fortunately Ellie seemed completely rexed next to me, her breathing was slow and regur. Which was another reason not to try and check on Harper, I really didn't want to risk waking up my girlfriend.

  So I y there quietly, trying to think up solutions to the cute tomboy's problems. My first idea was regarding therapy. If the three of us could do group therapy together, then maybe I could demonstrate my magical girl transformation to convince the therapist that this stuff was real. Except I knew the other magical girls definitely wouldn't approve of that.

  After the big fight up north they seemed to get over some of their apprehensions about me, but I knew they were still really big on the whole secrecy thing. And the fact that my boyfriend, my girlfriend, my mom, and my sister all knew about me being Rosa was something that still bugged them. They grudgingly accepted it because mom and Amelia were immediate family, while Ellie and Harper were practically unofficial members of the team thanks to Cel and the way they helped out with stuff up north. But I was positive I'd get an earful from Lily and Azura if I went and shared all our secrets with some complete stranger, even if they were a therapist.

  Thinking about that led me to another idea. Instead of therapy, maybe I could reach out to the other magical girls and ask them to help dispell Ellie's fears. Like maybe they could assure her that the rift really was sealed, and that no more Outsiders were lurking around in Lake Hazen or the Arctic ocean.

  Or maybe I could get a message through to Cel, to expin Ellie's concerns about that stuff. I was positive they'd be able to give us a definitive answer. After all, they foresaw Ellie would find the pne that got us to Judith's camp. And they foresaw Harper would be needed to do all the first aid stuff too. So if there were any Outsiders still lurking around I figured they'd know about that too. They might even be able to tell if there was anyone else out there using dark magic.

  After another minute or two I decided that was the best option. I'd contact Lily in the morning, and ask her if she knew how I could forward my concerns and questions to Cel. Or just send everything to her and ask her to pass it on to the seer.

  With my mind made up I was finally able to drift off to sleep again.

  PurpleCatGirl