Unfounded Fears
Part 16
Paul slowly climbed the stairs of the front porch. He really didn't remember driving home. He had spent the entire trip trying to figure out how he had gone from inviting Peter on a quiet trip to the cabin to becoming host to boys night out at the lake. He had desperately wanted to request that Kwai Chang Caine and Lo Si not come on the trip, but he did not want to hurt Peter's feelings. He had done that enough times over the past day. So he smiled pleasantly, nodding his head, while his heart broke.
"How was Peter?" Paul had been so lost in thought that he had not heard Annie open the front door.
Paul walked inside and brought his wife into a quick hug, "He's fine."
"Did you talk?"
"We talked."
"Did you invite him to the cabin?" Annie followed up quickly.
Paul let a small laugh escape, "As Kermit would say, 'Oh yeah'."
"And?" Annie pushed.
"We're going. . .we're all going."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Lo Si and Caine invited themselves to the cabin."
Annie couldn't help the astonishment in her voice, "You're joking?"
Paul gave his wife a dirty look, then realized it was in vain. "I wish I were. I made the mistake of asking Peter if he'd like to go to the cabin in their presence and the next thing I knew, Lo Si had said that Caine and he would join us." Paul walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't very well tell them they couldn't come. . .not without hurting Peter."
Annie tried to keep her face straight, but after having lived with Paul's foul mood over the past day, this development was priceless. She sat next to her husband fighting to keep her reaction inside. It didn't work. The humor of the situation overwhelmed her and she found herself giggling.
"Thanks for the support, Annie. It's not funny." Paul said in a wounded voice.
"Paul Blaisdell, it's absolutely hilarious. Do you realize that if you hadn't been such a jackass over the past day none of this would have happened? I think this is exactly what you deserve after what you pulled with Peter."
Paul felt a hint of anger rise up. Then it faded. What could he say? She was right. She was always right. He pulled her close to him and smiled, "It is kind of ironic, isn't it."
"Yep." Annie answered.
****************************
"Master?" Kwai Chang Caine had finally convinced Lo Si to walk to the cafeteria with him to obtain a desperately needed cup of tea while Peter's nurse attended to his personal needs.
"Yes, my friend."
"Are you well?" Caine's voice sounded mystified.
"Yes. Very well, indeed." Lo Si answered, a small grin on his face.
"You are sure?" Caine didn't want to doubt the old man, but the Ancient's recent behavior had brought the question to light.
"Very sure, Kwai Chang Caine. I have never felt better."
"But what you did was. . ." Caine was at a loss for words.
"Rude?"
Caine was taken aback, "Yes."
"It was necessary," Lo Si responded simply. "In time, you will understand. And besides, a trip to the woods is always good for the chi."
"Ah. . ." Caine answered.
*****************************
Peter was alone. Paul had left, rather abruptly, a half-hour before. His father and Lo Si had excused themselves to go to the cafeteria and the nurse had finished assisting Peter, moving on to other duties. Peter raised his arm and stretched. Pain once again shot through his left side, but it was not as intense as it had been earlier in the day. Peter then raised the arm in front of him and over his head, mimicking a casting motion. The pain made a reappearance, but once again, was tolerable. He grinned to himself. Nothing was going to keep him from enjoying this trip to the cabin.
He settled back against the raised bed and allowed his thoughts to drift over the events of the day. What had started out as despair in the morning had ended up turning into relief by the afternoon. Peter was grateful to the powers that be that he had not angered Paul irreparably. He had been so scared that his foolishness had disappointed his foster father to the point that Paul would push him away. The gnawing fear that had assaulted the pit of his stomach reminded him that he never wanted to feel that way again. Peter Caine could handle many pains, but rejection was not one of them.
Peter glanced at the clock. It was late afternoon. In a few hours he would be allowed to leave the antiseptic smell of the hospital behind and enjoy the fresh mountain air of the woods surrounding the cabin. How would it go? Caine and Paul had never spent time together outside of their few encounters when police matters arose or when Peter's safety was an issue. He had never witnessed conflict between the men. How could there be conflict when both men would retreat anytime the three were in the same room together. Paul would become a captain. . .an acquaintance, while Caine became a displaced father. And at the center of these reactions was Peter, who did not know what either wanted from him. The cabin trip could change all of this. It could bring a sense of perspective to the three. It could give Peter the opportunity to reestablish his relationship with each of the men whom he knew as 'father.'
"Hey, Kid, you up to visitors?" Kermit Griffin's voice brought Peter out of his thoughts.
"Hi. Come on in," he waved the ex-mercenary into the room.
"You're looking better. How are you feeling?" Kermit sat down heavily in the chair next to Peter's bed.
"Better. Much better."
"Still sore?" Kermit's eyes narrowed, trying to assess if Peter was covering up his pain.
"A little. But it's just muscle stiffness I think."
"Yeah, right."
"It is. Doc has cleared me to go home tomorrow morning. No sign of internal damage."
Kermit smiled, "You were lucky, Pete."
Peter's eyes dropped to stare at the sheet which covered him. "Yeah. . .I know." Deciding a change of subject was in order, he smiled at his friend, "Paul came by."
Kermit examined the look on the younger man's face. There was a sense of relief and joy intermixed in the hazel eyes. Inside, Kermit could feel the same emotions, but he could not allow Peter to see these. Hiding his reaction behind the ever-present sunglasses, Kermit kept his face impassive, "Knew he would."
"We're going to the cabin."
"Good. I think you two need the time together."
"Pop and Lo Si are going as well," Peter grinned.
This time, Kermit almost lost control over his closely guarded expressions, "What?"
"Yeah, we're all going up. I can't really believe it myself. The only time we've all spent that much time together was when we helped Kyle. And that was. . .different."
Kermit grinned and shrugged, "I'm sure it was. It's a little difficult to concentrate on building relationships when people are shooting at you."
Peter nodded, "Yeah." His face suddenly lit up again, "Hey, why don't you join us?" As soon as the suggestion left Peter's mouth, he saw the look of displeasure crossing his friend's face and he knew what the answer would be. "Never mind."
Kermit chuckled, but said nothing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook. "Del Barton's arraignment is tomorrow. D.A. has an airtight case, but still needs your statement. You ready to give it now?"
Peter pushed himself up straight in the bed and nodded, "More than ready. I want this case wrapped up."
End Part 16
To Part 17