Days later found the couple in Miami, their last stop before going home.
"I need to do this alone."
"I know. I'll be right here when you come back."
Kermit lowered his shades, understanding what she hadn't said. "I won't be gone long."
"Better not be," Karen replied, placing a kiss on his lips, a promise sealed with tenderness.
Kermit walked between the tombstones, glancing briefly at the names of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. David's marker had fresh flowers in the cement vases on each side of the stone. Their parents were laid to rest nearby. He visited them first, laying a bouquet at the tombstone they shared.
Kneeling at David's grave, Kermit was quiet. He shut out the sound of birds singing and leaves blowing in the wind. He gathered his thoughts and feelings of anger, hatred, and abandonment of his family and friends, and shared them with his brother.
Karen waited for her lover's return, ready to finish the journey they had started together. The next stop would be the hardest for the ex-mercenary, for unlike David Griffin, Peter Caine would be able to see and feel Kermit's emotions.
Peter woke as he heard his mother walk quietly down the hall. His bedroom door had been left open since his dismissal from the hospital.
The memory of being held captive and unable to leave the room still clutched at his heart, though, with the help of his foster parents, it was not as bad.
The doorbell chimed, announcing another well-wishing visitor. Peter decided to get up and greet whoever it was. It was time to get back to being his old self.
Recognizing his captain's voice, Peter froze on the last step before the foyer. He felt another presence with her - Kermit. It had been over a week since Peter had last seen his protector, over a week since he learned of Kermit's own vulnerability, a trait the older man had hidden so well from the rest of the precinct.
"Annie, I need to see Peter," Kermit requested after giving Annie a hug.
"I thought I heard him a minute ago, let me go get him," she offered, though she knew exactly where he was. Her acute sense of hearing never failed her, especially when it concerned her children.
Peter walked the last step. "I'm here." Allowing his mental shields to go down, Peter searched out Kermit's spirit and found his friend had gotten rid of some of the guilt he had been carrying. Peter greeted Simms, though he couldn't hide the blush that covered his cheeks. There were some memories of being undressed by this woman, her seeing him at his weakest state. Looking into her eyes, he saw only friendship and respect.
"Can we talk?" Kermit asked as Peter moved to shake his friend's hand.
"You two go on out to the deck. Karen and I will get something to drink. Have you two eaten yet?" Annie asked as she reached for Karen's arm, leading her toward the kitchen as the men walked through the house to the porch.
Outside, the air was crisp, causing Peter to go back inside and get a jacket. He had slipped into sweats getting out of bed, but they were not keeping him as warm as he liked. Kermit didn't seem to mind the cooler temperature.
"Where's Paul?"
Peter looked around. "Said he had a meeting this morning and he'd be back about lunch time."
"He's staying, then?" Kermit watched Peter's face and eyes for the younger man's true feelings. Seeing a slow smile spread over Peter's lips, Kermit knew the answer.
"Yeah. We had a long talk while I was still in the hospital." A laugh escaped Peter's throat, broadening the grin. "Actually, I think I did most of the talking at the top of my lungs. The nurses were glad to see me leave and Mom was glad to have me and Dad home. We're going to rebuild the cabin together. Pop came back home last week and said he'd help with the building if we needed it, but I think I'd like to do it with just Paul. We have a lot of time to make up for and a lot of questions that still need to be answered."
Kermit didn't miss the title Peter bestowed on Paul. "I'm glad everything worked out. Hear anything about Larsen?"
"Marley and Bussy caught him. They've taken him out the witness protection program and have him in the federal pen. George is going to testify that Larsen killed Maria and paid to have me..." Peter couldn't bring himself to say it, though he knew he had to come to terms with the abduction and addiction.
Seeing the effect the memory had on his friend, Kermit tried to help him through it. "I went and saw David yesterday. He needed to know that what happened to him was not his fault. It's not yours, either, Peter."
Swallowing hard, Peter turned away from the scenery of trees and dead leaves on the ground to look at Kermit. "Nor was it yours. Do you still blame yourself for what happened?"
"You've learned a lot from your old man, haven't you?" When no answer came, only the patient waiting Peter had slowly learned to exhibit, Kermit said what was in his heart. "When I was playing mercenary, I used to tell myself that the innocents that died didn't matter. As long as the goal was met, there would be no more killing of children. I guess denying it had affected me to where I didn't feel anything." Silence continued from Peter. This was more than Kermit had told anyone except Paul and Karen.
"That started to happen when David was killed. David didn't have a choice in what happened to him, and neither did you. I made a promise to my best friend that I'd protect his family. It was the same promise I made David. I never promised those people in those forgotten lands anything, so they didn't matter. I was wrong, and I failed everyone. When I went to visit David's grave, I told him how I felt, the guilt I carried."
"You don't feel that way anymore," Peter stated. Kermit had no barriers now to shut the out Shaolin cop.
"No. I am sorry I couldn't help you more."
As Kermit had dropped his barriers, so had Peter. Shutting his eyes, he told Kermit what he had been unable to tell his foster parents. "Kermit, I never once blamed you, and I still don't. I remember you reaching out for me when I was supposed to jump. You were there when the pain was too bad to bear. You stayed by me and protected me the best you could against a man who was determined to kill everyone in his way. To remember the burning candles and the injections is hard. I wake up at night with Paul sitting on my bed telling me everything will be all right. Hell, I can't even sleep with my door closed. I'm sure Paul knows why; I just can't admit it to him. I wake up and think I hear George coming back after me. So if the door is open, I know I can run away. The memories here -- ," Peter touched his temple. "-- Are fading. They aren't as bad, but they still scare the hell out of me. When I see the fire, have the nightmares, I remember you sitting there with me. You helped me more than you'll ever know."
When the women came out onto the deck, Peter and Kermit were embracing each other. Karen leaned over to whisper in Annie's ear, "You were right. Let's let them have some more time alone." They went back into the house, silently closing the door behind them, and letting the two men they loved come to terms with themselves and each other.
