Taking off his jacket, he folded it to lay over the back of the bench. A half-empty pack of cigarettes fell out of the inside pocket and, after a moment's hesitation, he dug through another pocket until he found a lighter. He had barely lighted up when a baritone voice beside him made him jump.

"I thought that you no longer smoked." Caine sat down next to Peter and stared at him in frank disapproval. "Yeah, well, I thought so, too, Pop." Peter took another puff from his cigarette and absently flicked ashes on the well-worn grass at his feet, staring out over the hospital grounds.

"What troubles you, my son? Kacie and the baby are doing well, are they not?"

"Baby's doing great, and Kacie is getting better...physically." He snorted in disgust. "No thanks to those vampires who keep taking her blood every time I turn around."

Caine smiled at his son's protective indignation. "It is necessary for her treatment."

"I know. They say it's to check the bacteria levels in her bloodstream and make sure her white blood cell count is getting back to normal, but I still don't like it. I can't stand to see her hurt, not even by something that actually helps her." He sighed and paused, taking a long drag on his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and crushing it out with the toe of his boot.

Caine put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Something else concerns you, my son?"

Peter breathed in deeply, and let out his breath slowly before answering. "It's just that...well, it's been almost a week that Kacie's been here. She's been out of ICU for three days, and the doctors say she's getting better. But she-she hasn't laughed; she never smiles; she barely talks...even to me. She-she won't hardly even look at me." He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to do or say." His voice thickened and he shook his head slowly. "I-I keep thinking that it was a mistake for me to marry her."

Caine's grip on Peter's shoulder tightened perceptibly. "You are not yourself, Peter, or you would never say such a thing."

Peter stared down at his hands. "She almost died, Pop. She and our baby. Because of me, because of my past. I-I think of all the bad guys I've put away who could be planning ways of seeking revenge against me." He shuddered and forced himself to look up and meet his father's penetrating gaze. "What about the Sing Wah, shadow assassins, and-and-and other enemies of the Shaolin? Christ, Pop, did I marry her only to get her killed?" He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Chin trembling, he choked, "I-I've been thinking about calling Mike O'Brien."

"Kay Cee's godfather?"

Peter nodded, his throat working. "I-I want him to come and get her and take her back to Colorado. Maybe-maybe he can keep her safe."

"She will not go." Caine's voice was soft but firm.

"She has to," Peter insisted. "The line of Caine is cursed, Pop. No woman is safe who loves us. I'm-I'm going to send her away."

"She will not go," Caine repeated decisively. "She could no more bear being parted from you, than this tree --" He motioned to a new seedling in front of their bench. "-- Could survive without roots."

"I think she-she blames me for what happened. I-I think that's why she won't talk to me." His mouth twisted bitterly. "She can't blame me half as much as I blame myself."

Caine brought up his hand to caress Peter's cheek, tenderly cradling his son's face in the large palm. "Peter. You must stop imagining these things."

The hazel eyes moistened. "Just look at her back, Pop. Tell me I'm imagining those cuts. Look at the needle tracks in her arms from where they keep taking her blood. Tell me those aren't real."

Nodding solemnly, Caine agreed. "Her wounds were deep, but they will heal. Scars will fade. The sickness is being driven from her body." He paused and shook his head, smiling a half-smile. "For you to suggest that she blames you, or no longer loves you, is foolish talk. It comes from too little sleep, too much worry, and --" He moved his hand and gently cuffed Peter's chin. "-- Too little sharing of your fears with your father."

A hopeful light glowed in Peter's face. "You really think that, Pop? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" He laughed briefly at the pained expression on his father's face. "No. No, you're not one to do that." He chewed on his lip briefly before allowing himself a slight smile. Reaching out his arms, he pulled his father into a fierce hug. "Thanks, Pop. Thanks for being here."

Caine patted Peter's back comfortingly. "Whenever your heart reaches out to mine, you will find me. I love you." He pulled away and shook his finger in Peter's face, the twinkle in his eyes belying his stern tone. "But now you must throw those...noxious weeds...away. You poison your own body and you --" He paused to wave his hand through the air, as if to dispel the odor of tobacco. "-- You contaminate nature."

Peter laughed and withdrew the lighter and cigarette pack from his pocket. Examining both with distaste, he grimaced. He emptied the cigarettes into his palm, crushed them, and threw them into a nearby trash container. "You're going to teach me another way to handle stress, right, Pop?"

"There is always another way."

Kacie's body stiffened, and her breath caught and quickened, even though her eyes stayed closed.

"Your body may have been held captive, but he could not reach your soul or your spirit."

Tears trickled down the side of her nose, and her face crumpled as she sniffled, blindly reaching out a trembling hand for his.

"The evil of his life has ended, but only if you refuse to let that evil taint your present and your future."

She was crying in earnest now, clinging to his fingers as she wept.

"You have been very ill, and your heart has been heavy with unvoiced fears. Your child is well, my son is well, and you, the daughter of my heart, are healing. You are safe, you are loved, and now you must rest." He pulled some tissues from the box on the bedside stand and helped her wipe her eyes and blow her nose, as if he were helping a small child.

She carefully rolled over to face him, eyes still shiny with tears. "Thank you, Dad. How-how did you know? Never mind." A ghost of a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Peter always says it doesn't do any good to ask." She shivered and tightened her grip on his hand, closing her eyes as if in pain. "Oh, God. I couldn't stand the thought that that man had...that he..."

Caine smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "He did not. Your mind can be at peace."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the soggy tissue. "Damn it. Seems like all I do is cry anymore."

He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "You are...hormonal. What do you expect?"

She giggled through her tears. "I love you, Kwai Chang Caine."

Peter walked in at that moment, and after one glance at Kacie's tear-stained face, turned worried eyes to Caine. "Pop?"

Caine smiled at Kacie and turned his head to give Peter a reassuring wink before returning his attention to his daughter-in-law. "It is time for me to go. I will visit you again tomorrow." He stood up to leave and gestured to Peter. "You may have my spot."

Peter touched Caine's arm briefly as they passed. "See ya, Pop." Peter quickly forgot about his father and turned his attention to his wife. Leaning over to kiss her, he murmured, "You all right, Hon?" He linked his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand.

"Your father has a way of being very comforting." She sighed wearily and forced a smile for him.

"Can I get you anything, Kace? Is there anything I can do for you?" He anxiously studied her pale face, hoping for some sign, some indication that her spirit was healing along with her body.

She looked into his eyes and raised a hand to feather it through the hair at his brow. "Hold me, please? Really hold me?"

He slid next to her, and she soon was firmly ensconced in his embrace, her head resting under his chin. As they cuddled, Peter sighed and relaxed. "The doctors are really happy about the way you keep improving, Kace."

"Happy enough to let me come home?"

He kissed the top of her head. "'Fraid not, Sweetheart. They said you need to stay at least another week just to play it safe. I told them they were in charge and we'd do whatever they said."

"You're an awfully good patient when you're not the patient, Peter." She snuggled closer, content to lie in his arms.

"You calling me a hypocrite?" he teased softly.

"If the shoe fits." She started to say more, but stopped short.

"What it is, Hon?"

"Peter, just what exactly did you do to save our baby?" Her voice trembled. "The sepsis, it was killing him, and Dr. Albin said it was only because of what you did that the baby didn't..."

"Sh-h-h." He pulled her more tightly to his chest, mindful of the wounds on her back. "Our little one is fine, Sweetheart. You can feel him right now, can't you?"

"He always kicks harder when he hears your voice. Now tell me. What did you do?"

"I don't know how to explain it, Kace." He shrugged. "Somehow, I was able to give him my strength to fight the infection. And-and I was able to take it into my body, instead. It's-it's a Shaolin thing."

"What does this...Shaolin thing...mean for us, for our family?" She shivered slightly. "You won't ever leave me, will you?"

Kissing her hair, he was silent a moment. {I couldn't. Even when I was telling Pop that I wanted to send you away, I knew I could never do it.} He cupped her chin in his hand and tipped her head up until he could look into her eyes. "Where did you get an idea like that?"

Kacie's eyes were large and frightened. "Your father does it all the time. He'd leave you when you were young, and he still does it. I-I don't understand all this Shaolin stuff, and what it means in your life, in our life together. Will there be times when-when you...?"

He paused a moment and chewed his lip thoughtfully before answering slowly, "I do not know. Right now, there is nothing in this world more important to me than you and our baby. I can't imagine anything that could take me away from the two of you, but I really don't know what might happen. That's as honest an answer as I can give you. I'm sorry. I-I know that's not what you wanted to hear."

She patted his chest and sighed softly. "It's enough for now." Her eyelids fluttered sleepily. "I love you, PC."

He snugged her body more securely against his own. "I love you back. Now I want you to close your eyes and go to sleep."

"What am I going to dream about?" She yawned, and when her eyes closed one final time, they were too heavy to open again.

"Mmm, how about the one where you're married to a big, strong, good-looking police detective, and the two of you are having a baby together?"

"I like that one. It's my favorite." Her voice trailed away and, within seconds, her breathing was slow and rhythmic.

As she slept in his arms, Peter stroked her hair with strong, gentle fingers. "Mine, too," he whispered.

To Part 2

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