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(A woman wrapped in a very warm looking throw blanket and wearing a thicker jacket seems to be sitting outside in the late evening, very early morning darkness.)

Maybe, I should...

No, that won't work... and I really...don't want to force that...

(She is tapping her chin now, deep in thought.)

Oh, right. So, if anyone's awake right now...I need a favor again. (She looks very troubled, she's very worried about something and it shows on her face. ) And don't mind my appearance, I kind of got woken up...and well, it doesn't matter, does it? Okay. Good. (She yawns.)

But seriously... (Marie yawns again and leans back in her seat. It's only now that she truly looks like she is in need of some rest. During the day, she usually appears sunshine and smiles - someone full of energy, almost having too much of it. But, right now? She is in some serious need of rest, preferably a good night's sleep. But, if someone mentioned it to her. She would shrug them off and say that she'll just make sure to drink an extra strong cup of tea and try to nap later on. Or sleep the next night.)

I'm asking this for someone else, a friend... but, what's the best way to handle nightmares?

It can be anything to stop them from happening to even calming down after having one. Anything you can think of...I'm stuck and I need some help thinking of ways to deal with this. Well, in any case, if you don't have any good remedies for how to handle nightmares... would anyone mind talking to me for a bit? I don't think I'll be able to fall back asleep anytime soon...

(A slight shrug.) But, if anyone's out and wants company and doesn't want to talk over this thing...I'm sitting outside of my apartment. I definitely wouldn't mind having some company right now.

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(Marie was used to being around people who weren't so good at being comforting. If she had known that he was at least trying to be comforting, she might have given him an encouraging sign like a slight smile.)

Sure, I'll be there. (A half an hour, give or take. She figures that gives her enough time to pull herself together, maybe even a cup of tea. Or she'll just take her time walking, getting a little bit of extra air.

She stands up, carefully removing the throw blanket from around her.)

See you soon.

The lights of the Archway illuminated her figure in the midnight. Ted's body language was closed, though more for the weather than any sort of emotional reticence. When he saw her, he brightened up into a smile. Talking was perhaps his favorite pasttime, but politeness meant offering the other a chance to go first. To invite that chance, he opened with an inanity.

"So. Rough night?"

(Marie glanced up when she had heard Ted's question. She had been thinking, though she would liken it more to zoning out and shivering slightly, as she waited for him.)

...Yeah, somewhat. It's...it's not really that different than normal, it's just getting to me tonight more than it usually does.

(She sighs.)

And trust me when this is something I consider normal. It's a really good night when I don't get woken up... (A pause.) Oh, right. Names. I'm Marie and you are?

He was always forgetting those. He kind of liked that people didn't know him from the controversies surrounding him, but simply as a normal man.

"Ah, Ted. That..." He struggled to find words. Truthfully he'd rather embark on a heroic quest to find the source of the nightmares and slay it. Maybe enter some sort of dreamscape to do battle with allegorical demons.

But this was talky time, so he'd walk that route, however unfamiliar.

"That must be difficult. This happens often?"

It's nice to meet you, I mean...forgetting the..um, uh...circumstances.

(Marie frowns at the question, but she nods and quietly answers it with a simple.) Yeah, it's...often enough... it's very often, if I'm going to tell the truth. And believe me when I say that I'm used to the wake up calls by this point. That part isn't the problem at all...

(She then continues after a moment.) And, I wish there was something I could do to get rid of whatever's causing it, but since that's impossible for me...well, I could live with finding a way to ease whatever it is...they end up causing, instead. I mean, if I have to be practical about it... and I hate being practical. Hate it.

(Marie huffs slightly and she is very thankful that it's still fairly dark out because she turned a very slight shade of red.) And, well, it sucks... it sucks seeing someone you care about suffer.

And he is not talking to me about it. And it seems that my idea to write things down isn't working, it might be making it worse, I don't know...

Oh, I'm...rambling again. It happens sometimes...when I get nervous and this whole thing is...making me nervous.

Ted knew 3 goals of problem-conversations: sympathy, validation, and solutions. Women typically didn't like that last one, and with her comment about hating practicality, that clinched it. Better shoot for the first two.

"I know what you mean. I've tried to help or rescue people I've cared about who suffer. When it's self-caused, I'm almost always rebuked for being judgmental or not minding my own business. Naturally it was their business that made me worry."

He laughed a little. "Hah, ramble all you like. We share that foible in common. Out of curiosity, the one you're talking about...is it a man?"

(She could probably handle hearing a solution or two - it's just questionable if she will actually follow through on doing whatever it is she is told to do. More likely than not, the idea will get tucked in the back of her mind and she will instead act on instinct - for better or for worse. Especially if an idea presents itself to her.)

He's never exactly told me to mind my own business. He just tells me that he's okay, to go back to whatever it was I'm doing. Well, normally... I mean, I've never been called self-centered or anything. At least, not that i can remember. Never anything bad.

But yes, naturally it was his business that makes me worry. It takes a lot otherwise. (Like money problems, impending homelessness, those sorts of things, but even so...his were the ones that would make her up in the middle of the night and force her to ask for help.)

(But that just reminds her of the one time she really pushed what she thought he should do. That he should start writing things down and from that he snapped a bit at her. She hadn't forgotten that moment.)

Well, that's good. It seems like most people I run into here are better at not letting so many words out. I was getting a bit self-conscious about it. (A slight chuckle sounds and she might smile faintly, but then vanishes just as quickly.)

...Is it a man? (She nods.) Yeah, he is.

"Heh. I figured, with all the masculine pronouns." Ted spent a lot of time in his head, and he really wanted to work on making his social skills less awkward. A lofty goal. He invoked an internal mantra: There's no place I'd rather be. There's no one I'd rather be with.

"If I could put forth a theory? It's funny; you know my parents were always reading books by self-help gurus and other masters of the soft sciences. Can't imagine why, for they seemed well-adjusted enough. Anyway, one of their favorites was Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus.

Aside from different original planets, a primary difference was how they solved their problems. Women, since time immemorial, would seek the community and talk things out. Men would go into their caves, and only emerge when they felt they had a good grip on things. So you have women seeing men as overly private and reticent, whereas men see women as intrusive and chatty. Another plank in the war of the sexes.

But compounded with that difficulty is another. Us men hate to display weakness. It's a target for our enemies and discouraging to our friends. We want so much to be the strong ones, masters of our stoic destinies. A deeply ingrained impulse, perhaps, spanning hundreds if not thousands of years. We especially hate to look weak in front of women, of all things. You seem to combine both in one, which might explain his reluctance.

Of course, this is all theory, but one I can personally verify through experience. I work a dangerous job alongside three women, and I can't tell you--nor them--how much it pains me to not be superheroic about the whole thing. So I think that's probably why he doesn't wish to confide in you. He doesn't wish to burden, nor to weaken your confidence in him. To accept help from you would be to admit his own powerlessness in the face of overwhelming adversity. And no man wants to do that; the prouder of us would sooner die.

Again, all assumption. I've only heard about him briefly. And of course I don't mean to dispirit you. But, if nothing else, there's a certain noble, if a bit proud, impulse at work here." He spared a bit of self-deprecating laughter. "You see you're not the only rambler."

A theory? (She nods.) Sure, I suppose I'd be okay with hearing it. I'm stuck on ideas...

(Marie listens to it. nodding on occasion. But she looks more concerned with every word she hears.)

Let me get this right...

You're saying we're effectively at a standstill, no, wait...a stalemate because how women handle problems is different than how men solve them? (She frowns.) And, you're saying, this is because men prefer figuring things out on their own and the fact someone like me would be worried and want to help...that's seen as being a burden or even the fact I don't believe in him or trust him or something?

(A pause.)

...So I shouldn't have asked about what to do like this? I should have left it alone?

(A sigh sounds.) And I suppose he and I are at an impasse? Because I feel...that I'm a burden when I can't help. Right now? It's impossible unless I know what exactly is wrong.

I mean it's been a long time and nothing still has gotten better...I can't really just sit by and do nothing and hope for the best? (Then she shakes her head.) If I missed something, mind telling me?

Oops! Looks like he may have screwed this one up, if his facial expression was any indication. Ted, at least, found some comfort in understanding things, even if it didn't bring him any closer to his goals. A kind of mental closure, if nothing else. Apparently that wouldn't quite do it here.

"I think...it's noble of you to ask for help. Different paths of problem solving are no reason to abandon any one of them." He paused for a moment, trying to think what could be said to make things easier. It seemed they were well into the 'solution' part of problem-conversations, which was untrod ground for Ted. All this, on top of being a stranger. This woman really seemed to take him seriously, which was a dangerous undertaking.

"Take everything I have to say with a grain of salt. Believe you me, trying to help people who refuse to help themselves is my primary vexation, so I struggle with the same sorts of things." He paused for a moment.

"In times like these, just letting someone know that you're there can help. If and when he decides to look outwards, he'll have you at the ready. I recall another proverb, too: if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Insanity is expecting different effects for similar causes, and all that." Another pause, and he broke into a short laugh.

"Goodness! What a maze. You see why I prefer prayer over figuring things out. It's the one surefire course of action that will never backfire. We could do that now, if you want." The atmosphere seemed appropriate. Christmas was coming, and the cold evening air promoted a king of internal warmth. "What's this man's name, by the way?"

Noble? I've never heard it put that way - now nosy, that one I've heard before. I think I also was called apathetic as a kid, but I can't really remember that too well.

(She might shrug a bit at that.)

Damn, I think I was born under that proverb. (She frowns for a moment, before cracking a slight smile.) I've been called the walking definition of insanity by a new "friends" in the past...

So, take everything you tell me with a grain of salt and you're saying that I should just let him know I'm there and leave it at that. So, yeah, I suppose if I keep forcing it, I won't get anywhere...I might not get anywhere anyway so just offer to be there and let it be? Or am I missing something else? I mean, I know, if I offer...he could. I just hope he does and trusts me enough.

(Marie takes a slight breath at the mention of prayer.) I'm not really sure how prayer will help, especially for someone I don't think even believes in that sort of thing... I mean, I'm not exactly...religious...agnostic, really. I can't rule anything truly out, but...are you sure this isn't wasting anyone's time. If whoever is even listening and even cares enough to do that?

His name? Why do you need his name? (She feels like she has given too much information out already and she feels her guard coming back up. It's nothing personal, but she has her reasons.)

"Heh, well, either it's noble or it's being a busybody. But somehow I don't think you'd walk into winter's night to gossip." Hopefully she understood that Ted was making fun.

"No, I don't think you're missing anything. You know the saying: 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.' But you can make sure the water's there, at any rate.

As for his name, it'd simply make it easier to address the prayer. We could go with 'troubled man', if you prefer." He chuckled a bit at her hesitation. "Well, belief does help. God likes it when you're confident. But I'm sure He listens and cares, even to the meek. It's certainly not a waste of time to me, and definitely not to Him. God, that is. He has a lot of time on His hands, I'm sure. All that's left is yourself. It can't do any harm, I know that much."

There's no real in-between for that and no, I don't care enough about gossip to be standing outside in the middle of the night during winter. (She smiles and she seems almost cheered up.) Never have, never will with that.

(Marie then frowns again and adds.) And I wouldn't gossip about someone I care about either. In fact, I don't even like talking about this problem that much because I know it's his business... but, well, I supposed I felt like I should do something for once that isn't pushing him to write it down.

But, you...you're probably right. I can't force him, but I can at least just put it out there that I'm around to talk or whatever it is he needs.

(Marie shakes her head.)
Confidence? I'm plenty confident he doesn't listen or care. At least, not about this. Maybe only the things that matter to more than one or two people. Though, he wasn't doing good work at helping anyone out in my world to begin with... (She then pauses for a moment.) but, since you sound so sure about it and I really can not do anything else right now - alright. Just this once, I will try prayer...

But, only because you're telling me that it can not do any harm...

All you need is a name? (She looks uncomfortable, but she eventually mutters it.) It's Jason.

He grinned gamely. "Certain about His nonchalance, eh? And here I thought you couldn't prove a negative. Oh well, we'll shoot for positives now." Ted pat his seat. "This bench is a good height for our business; let's kneel." He did so, joining his hands and watching for her to do the same. He assumed he'd be doing the talking, which was just as well, given the lauds he'd gotten for his mouth. Ted cleared his throat.

"Dear God, please heal Jason. Remove from his mind all nightmares. Bring him peace, for thou art the prince of peace. Hallowed be your name. Not as we will, but as you will. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen."

After a few silent moments, he turned towards Marie. "Anything you wanted to add?"

(She pauses at being asked to kneel and for a moment she looks unsure, but she soon shakes her head and lowers herself to match Ted's level and shuts her eyes as if she was concentrating.

She only makes a movement when Ted asks if there was anything she wanted to add. Her eyes opened and she glances over.

She doesn't say anything for a half second, but then nods.)

Yes. (She then finds herself beginning to speak.) God, if you're really listening, he needs not only peace, but happiness to go with it. He deserves it, mistakes and all... he's trying to change, doesn't that mean something? If not him, then me. Do it for me.

He smiled. Were he in a stricter mood he'd lecture on asking for happiness apart from Him, or the foolishness of assuming one deserves anything, except hell. It was mercy and grace all the way down. But even he had enough tact to hold off on the theology for now. Doesn't mean he wouldn't tease a little.

"Now was that so hard? Not half bad for a prayer; what it wanted in accuracy it makes up for in frankness. And I sincerely hope He grants it." That was as good a conclusion as he could as for. "Was there more you wished to say to me?"

(Marie, in all honesty, was a foolish woman when it came to certain things. She never considered what was exactly "proper" or "smiled upon" in most matters, but instead did what she felt she wanted to do.

It is probably why she ends up in the trouble that she does end up in.)

It...it wasn't hard, it just wasn't that easy. (Minus the fact the words came spilling out.)

More? (Marie takes a moment to think but then shakes her head.) No, not that I can think of right now.

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