Marty had been sitting on the couch for the better part of the evening, as his wife was making dinner.  Although normally active during the evening, outside exercising and shooting hoops, he’d spent this night just sitting around, staring off into space.  There had been many things going on at work that were troubling him, and this day, they’d all come to pass, it seems.  A few students, along with a fellow teacher had arrived in his room with outrageous claims towards him.

The two students were young girls, no older than 16 years of age.  As they came into the room, they’d immediately started yelling at him, throwing off claims of sexual harassment and rape.  The instigations towards him had completely shocked him.  Although he coached the basketball time these two girls played on, he’d never once been alone with either of them, let alone the two of them.  He, of course, immediately responded, saying that he had nothing to do with any of the claims that were thrown against him.

Unfortunately for Marty, this other teacher had decided to side with the girls, having been the father of a daughter who was unjustly harassed when she was in school, not 5 years before.  Having all three of them against him, Marty tried to put up an argument, saying that he’d never been anywhere near the girls at the times they said he’d harassed them, but it seemed that Fate was working against him.  Time and time again, his words fell upon deaf ears.

There was to be a staff meeting the following day to speak about all of these claims, and he was feeling very depressed about it.  He’d never been accused of anything bad in his life and now, he was under the suspicion of harassing and raping two teenage girls.  It was preposterous, and yet, it felt like he was fighting a losing battle.  He’d become very scared that evening, scared that he was going to unjustly go to prison and become marked as a sexual predator.

Casey, Marty’s wife, had heard about the claims towards him, and tried to comfort her husband on the drive home, letting him ride passenger for once, and talking with him the entire way there.  She showered him with praise, telling him of how good of a person he’s always been, and how he could never have committed such a horrible act.  Nothing seemed to work with this situation, though.  As they got home, he immediately planted himself on the couch and looked out into the distance.

Not wanting him to feel lonely and depressed, Casey had finished making dinner very quickly and, still wearing her nursing scrubs, sat down next to him, throwing an arm around his shoulder.  She pulled him into her side and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.  She felt like she was the only one in the world who could help him get better, and she’d planned to do so that night.  She softly whispered in his ears, trying to help him cope with all of this a little better as she spoke and prepared things for the rest of the night.

“Marty, listen…I know you better than anyone else in the world.  I know how good of a person you are.  You have a kind hard and a happy personality.  All of these accusations…they’re something I know you’d never even think of doing!  Seeing you here so depressed about this meeting proves to me that you never did any of those things.  If you had, things wouldn’t be affecting you so badly.  I’m your wife, and I love you very much, but seeing you like this is really sad.”

She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he was going to do anything in response to her words.  Much to her satisfaction, he did do something.  It wasn’t much, but it was a couple simple statements.  ‘Thank you, honey.  Thank you for putting up with this sour attitude I have.  But…can I be alone for a little while…please?’ 

The words were something Casey was not used to hearing.  In the 5 years they’d known each other, Marty had never asked to be left alone.  If anything, he always asked for her to stay near him, so he had someone to talk to and be near.  These rumors and accusations were tearing at him a lot.  She felt terrible for him, and wanted to do something nice for him. 

Thinking about everything he seemed to enjoy, an idea came to her mind.  If she couldn’t help brighten his mood with words, she’d simply have to brighten it up with something else.  She almost got a huge grin on her face, but she tried to hold it back as she stood up from the couch, placing her hand on Marty’s shoulder.  He looked up towards her for a second as she nodded towards him. 

“Alright, Marty.  If you’d like to be alone for awhile, then I’ll leave the room for a bit.  Just remember, you’re not alone in this.  I’ll always be right here, by your side.  We’re a team, and have to stick together.  Now, I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me.”

She ended the conversation by smiling towards him and slowly walking away.  He hadn’t said anything in response to that last statement, but Casey was alright with that.  She knew all too well how much Marty loved skirts and sandaled heels.  She was definitely going to be gone for a little while, but she would be back with a sight that even a depressed Marty couldn’t possibly ignore.  She wiggled her butt around as she walked out into the hallway, unaware that she’d accidentally nudged a new piece of technology she’d brought home the week before, given to her as part of the medicine miniaturization program the state was starting in the local schools to help miniaturize the size of medical supplies, allowing infirmaries to hold more.

Marty had been sitting, looking at the hard, wood floor as he started thinking about what he’d just done to Casey.  He was depressed and, despite how much he loved her, he was letting his depression get the best of him and completely ignore a lot of what his wife was saying to him.  Although still depressed, he pushed himself out of the couch and wanted to go and apologize.  He didn’t feel any happier about what she’d said, but he knew it was the right thing to do. 

However, before he even had a chance to move away from his position in front of the couch, he was engulfed by an immense flash of light, causing his body to feel tense and his nerves stinging him all over.  He tried to scream, but by the time his mouth had opened, the feelings rushed into his head and he lost consciousness…