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He brought her a cup of his father's tea, and watched her closely until she finished it all. He plumped the pillow behind her head, and helped her ease down to rest. She held out her arms to him, and he slid in beside her, cradling her head on his chest. "You feeling better, Sweetheart?"
She nodded her head against him. "Mm hmm. Now I'm just really tired." She sighed. "Peter, thank you for sharing your fathers with me. They are both so special. You are so blessed to have them in your life."
"Don't I know it!" he answered fervently. "But you forget: We are blessed. They love you, too."
They lay quietly for awhile, before Peter asked shyly, "Would your father have approved of me?"
"My father? Let me see. Before Dad would have let you anywhere near me, he'd have put you through an interrogation like nothing you've ever seen before, and Kevin would have been right in the thick of things, glaring at you the whole time." There was the barest hint of tears in her laughter as she went on. "And then, if they hadn't scared you off yet, they'd have hauled you off on a camping trip to see if you could 'take it'."
Peter could picture the scenario in his mind's eye. "They would probably have thrown me in the river to see if I could swim."
"Or they'd have put you on one of our rankest broncs just to see if you could stay on."
"And then?"
"Then...they would have seen how much I loved you, and they would have welcomed you into the family with open arms. Dad would've tried to steal you from the 101st, and Kevin would have had you out hunting and fishing any time he could coax you away from me."
"Which wouldn't have been very often." He ran his fingers through the hair above her ear, and lay quietly, marveling at the way their hearts seemed to beat as one, in perfect harmony with one another.
"Honey?" she asked haltingly. "What was the name of that doctor you told me about once?"
"What doctor, Kace?"
"The one you said was a consultant for the police department. The one that Captain Simms wanted you to see when you were working on the serial killer case and seeing those visions."
"Dr. Jennifer Harmon. Why?"
"I...think it's time...I worked this whole thing through...with somebody not involved."
"Somebody who's not me, you mean." Even though he tried to sound casual, she could hear the hurt in his words.
She moved up closer and laid her head next to his on the pillow, wanting to look into his face. Reaching up a hand, she tenderly touched his cheek. "When was the last time you had a decent night's sleep? The last time you can remember that I didn't wake you up with my screaming? Honey, it's just too hard on you."
"Hard on me? What about you?"
"You're so torn apart by this, Peter. And I have been, too. We tiptoe around one another's feelings, and we've started watching every word we say, afraid we'll hurt one another. You love me, and you want to save me from the world. But a part of you still loves Epstein. You're afraid of hurting me by trying to do something for him, and you just don't know what to do about it all. Well, neither do I, Sweetheart. Neither do I."
He was speechless. {How the hell does she know what I'm thinking like this?}
"How do I know what you're thinking?" She smiled at the shocked look on his face. "I've told you, Hon. Your eyes talk to me."
"I'm gonna have to get sunglasses like Kermit's," he observed sourly. "I may not always want you to know what I'm thinking."
Her eyes brightened to an incandescent blue. "Oh, Peter. There are times when I look into those hazel eyes, and I just melt."
"I love you, Kace." He rolled up on one elbow to more easily reach her lips. He held himself there and gazed down at her. "What are my eyes telling you now?"
She blinked at him sleepily. "I don't know." She yawned and tried to keep her eyes open. "But my eyes are saying, 'Damn, why'd I drink...that tea?' 'Cuz it always...puts me to..." Her eys closed one last time, and this time the lids remained shut.
"Sleep," Peter whispered softly as he kissed her forehead.
The phone was ringing for the sixth time before Peter roused enough to recognize its insistent signal. Glancing over at Kacie's sleeping form, he snatched the receiver off the hook and hissed into it angrily, his voice still raspy from disuse. "Who is this, and what the HELL do you think you're doing calling at this time of night?!"
There was a shocked silence at the other end of the line before Annie spoke hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I had no idea you'd still be in bed -- I mean sleeping -- I mean -- oh, shit."
{Great way to start the day, Pete. You just ripped your mother's head off.} "Mom, I'm sorry. What time is it?" He looked blearily at the clock radio, eyes suddenly widening in shock. "Eleven-thirty? Eleven-thirty in the MORNING?!" His voice rose in spite of himself, and Kacie stirred beside him.
"Who is it? What's the matter? What's going on?" Kacie sat up and rubbed her face sleepily.
"Oh, now I woke you both up."
Kacie could hear Annie's voice plainly as Peter held the receiver away from his ear so they both could listen.
"It's all right, Mom. We had no idea it was so late..um, early...uh..." Peter shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his thinking.
"Well, I feel silly now," Annie apologized. "I was just calling to see if you two wanted to come over for dinner tonight."
"That would be nice, Annie. Thank you," Kacie accepted for them both.
"I am so embarrassed. I hope I can face the two of you tonight. You go ahead and go back to b...whatever you were d...Oh, I'll see you tonight."
The click on the other end of the line resounded loudly before Peter hung up the phone. He took Kacie into his arms and they slipped back down under the covers.
"How do you feel this morning, Kace?"
"I feel great." She yawned and stretched luxuriously before returning to Peter's embrace. "I can't believe it's nearly noon."
"I can't believe we made it through the night with no nightmares," he commented gratefully.
"Oh, Honey, I'll bet it's the first real sleep you've had in days. I'm sorry."
"Enough of this apologizing stuff." He kissed her temple as he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You haven't been sleeping so well, either."
"Do you suppose, Peter, I could get in to see Dr. Harmon today?"
"I'll call Captain Simms and see if she can't pull a few strings for us," he promised.
"Thanks for being so patient with me, for giving me time to sort things out."
"So you're not still mad at me? For talking about you to Paul and Annie?"
"I guess not, but, on the other hand..."
Peter looked worried. "On the other hand, what?"
"I think maybe...you'll have to convince me not to be mad at you. So..." She pulled herself on top of his chest and kissed the pulse at the base of his throat before working her way to his ear. "Start convincing me."