Part 7
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"What the hell was that all about?" Peter hissed, gesturing wildly. "Where do you get off saying something like that? Do you have any idea how you must have made Kacie feel? Jesus, Kelly!"
"What were you trying to prove by dragging her here today? This was supposed to be a family dinner, Peter. FAMILY! Do you even remember what that is?" Kelly sneered. "You! You show up after weeks of-of-of avoiding us all, and you strut in here acting like nothing has changed, like everything is just the same!"
"If you're upset with me, Kel, I can deal with it, but I could strangle you for talking the way you did to Kacie! What's wrong with you?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "Answer me!"
Annie and Carolyn rushed in, and Annie followed the sound of Peter's voice to locate him. She laid a restraining hand on Peter's arm and pulled gently. "Peter, let Kelly go. You're angry right now and you're hurting her. Let her go. She's-she's been upset lately." Annie tugged harder at his arm until he relinquished his bruising grip.
"Upset? I've been upset? I wonder why, Peter!" Kelly shrieked. "You're never here. You're not the one who sits and looks at Dad's empty place at the table. You're not the one who sees his empty chair in the den every day to be reminded that he's gone. You're not the one who listens to Mom cry every night she gets into that big bed alone. Having Dad go away was bad enough, but you left us, too. We needed you, and you were never here! You're...never...here!" She pounded her fists against his chest until she suddenly collapsed against him sobbing brokenly.
Peter stood mute before her verbal assault, unflinching against her blows. {It's true. I haven't been here for Mom or the girls. I haven't kept my promise to Paul.} He held Kelly tightly as a lump formed in his throat.
Stricken, he stared at Carolyn, who stood mutely watching with sad eyes, cradling her swollen belly with her arms, then turned his attention to Annie, who stoically refused to give in to tears.
"Oh, Mom. I am so sorry. I knew that as hard as Paul's leaving was on me, it was worse for all of you. I'm sorry. I am so sorry." He buried his face in Kelly's hair, incapable of further speech. {How could I leave them, when they needed me so much? How could I do to them what my father has done to me?}
Todd burst through the doors excitedly, his eyes dancing. Grabbing Annie's hand, he placed the phone in it, unnecessarily announcing, "It's for you." He immediately went to Carolyn's side and took her in his arms, kissing her soundly.
"This is Annie Blaisdell." Her words were tremulous as she worked to calm herself. Upon hearing the voice at the other end of the connection, her tears welled up and spilled over. "Paul. It's Paul!"
A voice crackled through the phone, and Annie nearly dropped the instrument. Peter took the receiver from her frozen fingers and listened closely before reaching for the wall-mounted phone and turning on the speaker.
"Can everyone hear me now?" Paul's voice sounded old and weary, and his words were thick with unrepressed emotion. "What's going on there? Carolyn, how's my grandbaby?"
Carolyn's voiced was wobbly and she quavered, "Just great, Dad. Kicking up a storm these days. I think it's a boy and he already takes after you." Todd kissed her cheek, and she clung to him.
"Kelly, are you behaving yourself?" Paul's words cracked and broke. "Not giving your mom too much trouble, are you?"
"No more than I ever did, Daddy." Kelly laughed through her tears. "I love you, Daddy. I miss you."
"I love you, too, Baby. I can't tell you how much I miss my family. Peter, are you there, too?"
"I'm-I'm here, Paul." Peter chewed on his lip, his chin trembling.
"You been taking care of my girls for me, Son?"
Peter's breath rasped harshly in his throat. {What do I say to him?}
Before Peter could respond, Annie broke in. "We've been in good hands, Paul. You can be proud of our son."
Peter swallowed hard and choked, "You know how Mom always likes to exaggerate, Paul. I haven't done as much as I should have." {How do I tell you I've been so bound up in rebuilding my relationship with Pop, I've neglected my other family?}
"You staying out of the hospital these days, Son? No suspensions, either?"
"I've been trying to keep my nose clean, Paul. My-my new captain isn't quite as forgiving as my old one."
"Daddy, when are you coming home?" Kelly asked the question that everyone wanted answered.
"I don't know, Honey. I can't answer that yet. I shouldn't even be calling you now, but I've missed you all so much I just had to hear your voices again." The connection crackled like a handful of crumpling cellophane. "I'm losing my line, so I need to make this quick. I love you all, and I miss you all, and I'm doing my damnedest to get back home to you. Take care of each other." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Now put your mother on the line and leave us alone."
Peter handed the phone to Annie, punching the appropriate buttons to give his foster parents their requested privacy.
The four younger people trooped out of the kitchen, Carolyn and Kelly hugging one another and chattering excitedly while Todd and Peter slapped each other's back. Once in the den, Carolyn sat on the couch with Todd, nestled securely in his arms.
Peter sat in the overstuffed chair, with Kelly sitting on the floor at his feet. She reached for his hand and quavered, "Peter, I'm sorry I was such a bitch today. Mom was right; I had been feeling ugly. But it wasn't just that..."
He tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. "I'm the one who should apologize, Kel. To all of you. You were absolutely right; I-I abandoned you when you needed me, and I --"
"Let me finish my apology first, Peter." She gave him a watery smile. "You know I'm not very good at it and I don't do it very often." Taking a deep breath, she fumbled for words. "I-I was looking forward to having our family together again, at least as much of it as we could. That maybe, for a little while, things could almost seem like they used to be. And when Mom told me you were bringing someone with you, well, I guess I just got upset at the idea that things were changing again, and I, well, I just didn't like it."
"Kel, I --"
"Let me finish, Big Brother. If I don't get it all said now, I'll lose my nerve." She gulped and continued, "I made up my mind that I wasn't going to like whoever you brought, and that I'd make sure she'd never want to come back again." Her eyes filled with tears and she half-laughed. "You remember how I used to love to embarrass you when you brought girls over while you were in high school."
Peter chucked her under the chin with a gentle fist. "I never told you that the reason I'd bring them here was because they wanted to get serious and I didn't. You were the fastest, easiest way to bust up a relationship I ever found."
Kelly gasped indignantly. "You used me? How dare you?" She scrambled to her feet and promptly attacked him.
He fended her off easily, and suddenly the assault turned into an embrace. He sank down into the chair and she propped a hip on the upholstered arm.
"I am sorry, Kel, for being neglectful." His voice grew husky with emotion. "I love you all. You know that."
Annie entered the room and lit it up with her radiant face. "It was so good to hear his voice again."
She perched on the arm of the chair where Peter sat, draping her arm around his broad shoulders and kissing the top of his head. He leaned into her embrace and drew a shaky breath. "Before you say anything, Peter, I don't want to hear a word about you 'not being there' for us. You're a grown man, with your own life, and your own claims on your time. Sweetie, we have never doubted." She traced the lines of his face with her gentle hands. "Not for one moment, have we doubted your love for us. We have always known if we needed anything that was in your power to give, it was ours for the asking."
Peter rested his head against her shoulder, basking in her love. Unexpectedly he bolted upright in his chair, nearly sending Annie and Kelly to the floor. "Oh, my God! Kacie! I forgot all about her!" He looked around wildly, "Where is she? I have to talk to her!"
Todd raised his hand calmly. "She got called to emergency surgery at the hospital just after all the fireworks started. I told her to take the Jeep and we'd pick it up later." He chuckled wickedly. "Though I don't know how I'll get Carolyn in and out of your Stealth without a crane, Pe -- OW!" He rubbed the ache where Carolyn's well-placed elbow bruised his ribs.
Kelly moaned. "I was so awful to her. Things just kept coming out of my mouth, and I couldn't stop." Her face went red in shame. "I'm sorry, Peter. You must hate me for the way I acted today. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again."
Peter pulled his sister to her feet, drawing her close and kissing her forehead. "It'll be all right, Kel. Once I explain things to Kace, she'll understand."
"Besides." Todd chipped in. "I told her the whole bunch of you was certifiable, and that the only voice of reason in the family was me, and I had to marry into it. OW!" He moved away from Carolyn and rubbed his sore ribs with a frown as he scolded in wounded tones. "Honey! Keep in mind this is your baby's father you're abusing here!"
"Kacie was all right when she left? Wasn't she awfully upset?" Annie's voice was troubled.
Serious for once, Todd admitted, "She was a little shook, but she told me she thought it was important that you all had some time alone together to talk things out. I like that woman, Peter. You're lucky that I'm already taken, or I'd be giving you a run for your money. I'm better looking than you are."
Peter frowned in annoyance at his brother-in-law. "We're just friends. Our relationship is strictly platonic." As his family laughed at him he insisted, "I'm not kidding. We're just friends."
When she reached the lobby she checked at the front desk to make sure Todd had reclaimed his vehicle. Picking up the phone, she started to call for a cab when a familiar voice came from beside her elbow. "Hey, lady, need a ride?"
Peter stood looking at her shyly, afraid of her reaction. He searched her features for signs of animosity or resentment, but saw nothing other than fine lines of fatigue about her eyes and mouth. "Rough day at work?"
She stared at him with tired eyes. "Yeah, we lost both patients on the table." She reached for him and leaned her face against his chest as he folded his arms about her to hold her gently.
"Need a ride home?" he asked again. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, nodding with an exhausted sigh. They headed out to the parking lot, Kacie's movements clumsy and slow with bone-aching weariness.
Once in the car, Kacie sank deeply into the seat, closing her eyes. Peter reached across her body and fastened the seat belt for her. "Thanks," she murmured, "You didn't have to come for me. I was going to get a cab."
"It's the least I could do after what I put you through today."
"What happened after I left?"
"After all the yelling was done, we really cleared the air about a lot of things." His voice grew more excited. "And in the middle of it all, Paul called."
She sat up and gasped in delight. "Your foster father? Oh, Peter, that's so wonderful!" She grabbed his hand impulsively. "What did he say? Is he coming home soon?"
"He said he didn't know, but at least for now we're sure he's alive and all right. You can't imagine what it was like for us just to hear his voice again," Peter said huskily. He peered at her in the subdued lighting of the parking lot. "But Mom is still pretty worried."
"About what?"
"About you, and whether or not you can forgive us all for what happened today. Kelly says she wouldn't blame you if you hated her, and Mom and Carolyn figure you'll never come back again. Todd just says he told you we're all nuts."
Kacie smiled as she thought of the Blaisdell in-law. "Todd's nice. Peter, I'm so happy for you about Paul." She paused uncertainly for a moment before adding, "But I don't want to talk about today any more. I'm just too tired. Can we let it go for now?"
"Sure, Kace. It's been a long day."
They drove to her home in silence. Peter shook her gently when they stopped in front of her apartment building. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Drowsily lifting her head, she looked at him without comprehension for a few fleeting seconds before closing her eyes again and sinking back into the seat. Peter felt a surge of protectiveness as he watched her. "I'll take care of you," he whispered.
When they reached her apartment, he took the keys out of her fumbling hands and unlocked the door. He scooped her up in his arms and kicked the door open before carrying her inside. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and she was instantly asleep. He smiled down at her and carried her to her bedroom, where he deposited her gently on the bed. Taking off her shoes and socks, he pulled a comforter over her and softly kissed her cheek. "'Night, Kace," he whispered.
Her only response was a tired sigh as she snuggled her face more deeply into the pillow.
Leaving her apartment, he whistled cheerily as he walked down the corridor. He felt a deep sense of warmth and contentment, and he silently gave thanks for his father, his foster family, and his friends. Especially the new one he had just safely tucked in for the night.