I&#39;m A Darker Dream That Has No Ending

Sam came barging right into the room with a pencil in his teeth, a tape measure in one hand, and a notepad in the other, so intent on his work that he didn't notice Phoebe right away -- which was to say, as he started jotting down measurements on the windows and dimensions of the room, that he was really intent.

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Cole followed behind him. "Maybe we should knock down the wall between the closet and our closet so we have a direct entry to the room from ours," he was saying.

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Phoebe didn't think the knocking down walls was necessary and if she had to she would put her foot down about that.

For now, though, she was content to stretch out on the bed without making a sound and just watch and listen to the two of them.

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"Long as we don't put the crib in the closet," Sam said around the pencil in his teeth. "And I want to put in a window seat, what do you think?"

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"Definitely," Cole said. "A lot of sun comes in through that window. Should take advantage of it."

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"Yes, we can have a window seat in here. No, we are most definitely not knocking out a wall," Phoebe said from where she was reclining on the bed.

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"Awwww," protested Sam. He decided to try the puppydog face on her. Hey, sometimes it worked.

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"But if the baby's crying you can get to her faster," Cole protested. "By five seconds!"

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Phoebe shook her head firmly. "No."

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"Five seconds could make a huge difference," Sam insisted.

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Cole nodded. "And what if there was a fire or something in the hall? You could still get to her through the closet."

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Phoebe glared at them both.

"First of all, you can shimmer. If there is a fire in the hall, you can shimmer to her. Second of all, we are not knocking down any damn walls when it is a few second walk from our door to this one." She stood up on the bad with her hands on her hips. "No."

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"Smoke detectors," Sam blurted out. "I need to install --"

That was when the look Phoebe was giving them sank in, and he shut up and glanced quickly at Cole.

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"But --" Cole started to protest, then shut up as well at Phoebe's glare. He gave Sam a helpless look.

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Phoebe was still standing on the bed. "No knocking down of walls, agreed?"

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Sam's shoulders sagged just a bit. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "But the window seat's still okay, right?"

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"No knocking down walls," Cole agreed. But that didn't rule out a doorway necessarily.

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"The window seat is a very good idea." She dropped back down to the bed with a bounce.

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Sam gave Cole another nervous glance, and he got the feeling they might have to watch themselves for the next eight months or so -- which was why, even though he was thinking about that doorway loophole himself, he didn't say anything about it.

"I can start on that tomorrow then," he said as he fumbled the notepad open to a blank page and started to scribble. "Let's see, smoke detectors . . . stuff for the window seat . . . we're gonna need to pick out paint and stuff, too, gods, what am I missing?"

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"I need an estimate of when you think we'll have the room painted and re-carpeted," Cole said. "So I can set a date for the furniture delivery.

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Phoebe's lower lip trembled a little.

"I can tell you both what you're forgeting or missing," she said quietly.

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