SECOND CHANCES - part 3

“Have I been taking this away from you every weekend that he stays with me?” he asked as he joined them.

“No. Even before he started spending time with you, we only did this once in a while. The cartoons are only on Saturday morning. It’s about the only time I let him watch TV. There are a few other things that are worthwhile. Things like Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers and he watches those once in a while. I try to get him to eat a good breakfast every morning, but about the only time that there’s time to sit down at the table and eat breakfast together is Saturdays, Sundays and other days off school. Even on the days I don’t work, mornings are always a bit hectic around here.”

“Mama doesn’t like to get up in the morning,” Jake observed.

“If I wouldn’t stay up so late at night reading, I might not have a problem with it,” she retorted with a laugh.

Vincent watched the exchange between mother and son and had to smile. Catherine was such a natural. He should have known even before Jacob. She’d always had a good relationship with the children Below, especially Geoffrey and Eric.

When breakfast was done, Catherine sent Jake up to his room to get dressed.

“Are you still willing to let Jake go back with me?” asked Vincent as he carried dishes to the counter while she loaded the dishwasher.

“If you want to. I know you’ve been away for several days. If you need to catch up on anything, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“No, I don’t want to disappoint him any more than I already have, but I was worried that you might think it was too much of a reward after bad behavior.”

“Well, it was related, but I’ve already handed down my punishment. I don’t want to go adding more on now.”

He nodded. “I was planning to take him down to the great hall this weekend and show him the tapestries. If you like I can bring him home tonight.”

“You don’t have to,” she said as she closed the dishwasher and turned it on. “If you planned for him to spend the night, that’s fine.”

She hadn’t been back to Vincent’s chamber since the previous June, but she knew, from Jake’s stories that Vincent had put a twin bed for Jake against the wall in his chamber.

“Will he need anything?” she asked.

“No, he has everything he needs Below. He always wants to change into tunnel clothes as soon as he gets there.”

Within the hour, Catherine was alone in the house. She sat for a time, sipping coffee, then she got up and went to dress to start her day. There was laundry to do and a house to clean. Not to mention the hug to think about. After so long it had been one of the last things she’d expected from Vincent. But she had been badly shaken by Jake’s disappearance and he didn’t need a Bond to see it.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

When Jake got home on Sunday he spent all of the afternoon and a good part of the evening telling her all about what he’d seen.

“Daddy said that the tapestries have been there for years and years,” he told her as he was getting ready for bed. “The man who put them up found them in a little room next to the great hall, and no one knows how long they were there, or where they came from.”

She didn’t shush him, she let him talk, hoping he’d get it all out of his system before school the next day. She didn’t fear that he’d tell someone, he understood the need for secrecy, but accident’s happened.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Catherine was cleaning up the dinner dishes a couple weeks later when she heard a tap on the basement door.

“Come in,” she called out and was surprised when Vincent walked into the kitchen. She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was after ten.

“Jake is already asleep,” she told him as she closed the dishwasher and pressed the button to turn it on.

“I know. That’s why I’m here late. I wanted to ask if he could accompany the children Below on a camping trip, but I didn’t want him to know about it, in case you don’t want him to go.”

“As long as you’ll be there, I don’t see any reason he shouldn’t go,” she told him.

“This is a trip that has been planned by Jamie, Mouse and Zach. I won’t be going. They want to take some of the younger children, ages 5 through 10, on a short trip. There will be about 15 on the trip. Each of the younger children will be assigned to one of the older ones. It was Geoffrey who suggested that Jacob might like to go. They will only go as far at the mirror pool the first night. They will camp there, and do some stargazing, then the next day, they will hike to a shallow pool that is fed by one of the warm springs. They can swim and play in the water and will camp there that night, then come home the third day.”

Catherine looked worried. “I thought you took the children on all these overnight trips.”

“I usually do, but we’ve all been working on plans for the other’s Below to share in the responsibilities. I still take the older children on the longer trips, to the deeper chambers, but others have taken over the shorter ones. Jamie, Mouse and Zach have done this before. At no point will they ever be more than a 2½ hour walk from the main chambers. If there is any kind of an emergency, any one of the adults could make it to them in short time. I’m sure he would enjoy it,” he added.

“I’m sure he would too, but that’s a long walk for a little boy.”

“It’s not really that far,” Vincent pointed out. “They won’t be doing it all at once. They will be stopping for regular breaks. As I said, the organizers of this have done it before… several times.”

She sighed and dropped into one of the kitchen chairs. “I don’t know…” she began.

“They will never be out of reach of the pipes.”

“It’s just that… well, I trust you… don’t get me wrong, I trust Jamie and Zach too…”

“But Mouse?” Vincent asked.

“That’s part of it,” she conceded.

“Mouse has matured a lot in the last few years. He’s realized that impulse control is part of being an adult and he does very well with the children. He even teaches some of the applied science classes. He shows the children how things work and they love it.”

She looked up at him. “You’re sure?” she asked.

“Positive. Geoffrey will be Jacob’s buddy for the trip and he will keep a close eye on him.”

“All right.” She got up and went to the calendar on the wall next to the phone. “What days will this be?”

“This coming Friday and Saturday nights. They will leave on Friday, as soon as Jacob gets Below. They will have their dinner at the mirror pool and spend the night there. On Saturday morning after breakfast they will walk to the other pool. They will spend the rest of the day and the night there then they will head back to the main chambers after breakfast on Sunday. I can bring him back up to you after lunch on Sunday.”

She blocked it out on the calendar and turned to him. “I guess I’ll just have to come up with a way fill the time he’s gone,” she said.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Jake was beside himself with excitement over the camping trip. He talked of nothing else at home for the rest of the week. When she picked him up at school on Friday, he was in a hurry to get home. He was worried that they’d leave him if he was late.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” she assured him. “Your father told me that they’d wait for you. Geoffrey will probably be waiting for you when we get to the house.”

Geoffrey was waiting, and Jake was ready to rush off as soon as they got inside.

“You can’t go yet,” she told him. “You’ve got to go upstairs and change your clothes, and get the backpack you packed last night. If you leave that you’ll wind up sleeping on the ground with no blanket.”

The day after Vincent had told her about the camping trip, she’d gone out and bought Jake a kid sized sleeping bag and pad to go under it. She’d added a few other essentials, and the night before they’d packed it all in his backpack and made sure it wasn’t too heavy for him to carry.

He raced up the stairs.

“He’s really excited about this, isn’t he,” commented Geoffrey.

“He’s talked about nothing else since I told him,” she said with a laugh.

“I remember my first camping trip… I was a little older than Jake. I’d only been Below about a year. We went to the same places that we are going this time, but it seemed like a huge adventure. I thought he’d like it.”

“I hope he does,” she said as she filled the canteen with water from the tap. “He’s never spent the night without either me or Vincent. I hope he does OK.”

“I’m sure he will,” said Vincent as he walked into the kitchen from the basement. He was carrying a picnic basket that he set on the counter.

Jake picked that moment to come clattering down the stairs and into the kitchen. Catherine managed to stop him long enough to get his jacket zipped up and the canteen attached to his pack. Vincent helped him get his pack on and Catherine coerced a kiss out of him.

“Have fun and be careful,” she called out as Jake followed Geoffrey out of the kitchen and down the stairs. She turned to Vincent. “I guess having a threshold in your basement is about as good as having an entrance to Narnia through a wardrobe.”

Vincent laughed and shook his head. “At least to a child.”

Catherine caught her breath and looked down at her feet. Another first, or at least the first time she’d seen it in a long time. Vincent had actually laughed, not as full a laugh as she’d seen that night in their music chamber when it had started to rain, but he had laughed. She realized that only a few people had made her laugh during that same time.

“So, what’s in the basket?” she asked to get her mind off where her thoughts were going.

“You said that you might need a way to fill your time while Jacob is gone this weekend. I thought one of William’s sumptuous dinners might fill some time.”

“I was wondering what I’d eat for dinner tonight. I hate cooking for one and there aren’t that many leftovers in the ‘fridge right now. I was thinking I might have to resort to that pint of chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer.”

“For dinner?” he asked, obviously horrified at the thought.

“It’s a girl thing,” she assured him, “and I don’t do it often. It’s just that ice cream or chocolate can cure most anything and if you combine the two it works even better. When Jenny and I were in college, we always had ice cream for dinner on stressful days; especially exam days, or after a date that hadn’t gone well.”

Vincent started taking covered dishes out of the basket and setting them on the table. Catherine got plates and silverware and set the table then brought over two wine glasses and a ¾ full bottle of white wine and set them down.

“Wine?” he questioned. “I don’t think William’s plain fare quite warrants wine.”

“William’s fare might be plain, but it’s up to the standards of any top notch restaurant in this city! If I didn’t know that I’d probably be dooming everyone Below to substandard cooking, I’d try to hire him away from you… besides, I opened this yesterday and only had a little out of it. Wine doesn’t keep well once it’s opened. We should drink it before it goes bad.”

“Whatever you say,” Vincent agreed. He pulled out a chair and held it for her, then took the one across the table from her.

After dinner he helped her clear the table and put away the leftovers. She divided the rest of the wine between their glasses and handed his to him.

“What have you planned for the rest of your evening?” he asked.

“I thought I’d curl up in bed with a good book,” she told him.

He smiled at her.

“Then I will leave you to it.” He left his wine sitting on the table and was gone before she could think to call him back.

Catherine didn’t get it. He’d brought dinner, and it had been very nice, even a bit romantic, then suddenly he was gone.

Vincent was halfway back to his chamber when he stopped and realized that he was running.

“What am I running from?” he asked aloud. He slowed down and when he came to the junction. He took the turn that would take him to the Falls. He needed time.

He sat for a long time tossing pebbles off the cliff into the river below. If anyone had asked him why he’d taken dinner to Catherine tonight, he would have told them that he was just being nice; trying to distract her from Jacob being on the camping trip, but he knew that he’d hoped to create a romantic atmosphere. He’d hoped that maybe she’d want to sit on the sofa afterward and listen to music or maybe watch something on her TV. Frankly, he wanted an excuse to get close to her.

He’d hugged her the evening after they brought Jake back from Below, and it had surprised both of them. When he touched her he found that her feelings were coming in loud and clear, just like old times, but when he’d let her go, they were gone again. He’d hoped to get close enough tonight to know if she still had feelings for him. But before he’d given himself a chance to do that, he’d panicked and run. He was tempted to go back but it had been over an hour and he was sure she was probably asleep by now.

His walk back to the main hub took longer than his run from Catherine’s earlier. He’d left a book in the study and he stopped to pick it up.

Father looked up from the book he was reading.

“How was your dinner with Catherine?”

“It was very nice,” Vincent said as he picked up the book and turned to leave.

“I’m surprised you’re back so early. It’s not even nine yet.”

Vincent turned abruptly, went back and dropped into a chair across from Father.

“I left Catherine’s over an hour ago,” he admitted.

“That was barely enough time to eat,” Father observed. “Why so early? Did she ask you to leave?”

“No, but when I asked her what she had planned for the evening she said that she planned to curl up in bed with a good book.”

“And you left because of that? In my day that is what a young woman did when she didn’t have anything better to do.”

Vincent leaned his head on the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling.

“I… I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to ask to stay a while.”

“You didn’t used to have that problem.”

“No, I didn’t, but I knew what she was feeling then. I knew that I was welcome, now, after what I did to her, how I hurt her and without the Bond… I don’t know. I have no idea. She might only be putting up with me because of Jake.”

“I doubt that’s the case,” Father rushed to assure him. He didn’t want to tell Vincent anything that Catherine had confided in him, but he also didn’t want Vincent to back out and give it up completely.

“I didn’t really know how much I depended on our Bond before. I missed it when I realized it was gone, but I knew her better then. I’m not sure that I know her that well anymore.”

“I don’t think she’s changed that much.”

“You’ve had more contact with her over the last six years, so I guess you should know,” Vincent admitted.

“Don’t give up, Vincent. Don’t do what I did. I was so defeated that I was sure that Margaret couldn’t possibly love me and I backed away. It was almost forty years before I got my second chance.”

Vincent wasn’t sure that he agreed with Father, but one thing he did agree with him about was that if he didn’t at least try, he’d never know.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Catherine had been trying to come up with a way she could do something for the people Below. They had all been so helpful and supportive for so long. She was already doing a few things, anonymously, but she wanted to do more. Something fun.

Jenny was pregnant and the Maxwell’s were quickly out growing their two-bedroom apartment. Joe was putting in the usual long hours at work, so Catherine was helping Jenny do the prescreening of potential places.

They spent a whole afternoon looking at the houses on Jenny’s list. Only a couple of them were a good fit and Jenny planned to take Joe to see them the next day. They took a cab to Jenny’s. Catherine was prepared to head home, when Jenny asked her in.

“Come on in for coffee, or tea, or a beer, whatever. The girls are with the sitter and Joe won’t be home until later.”

“The girls are with the sitter? How are they going to get home?” asked Catherine as she followed Jenny into the lobby.

“Amanda took them to a play group this afternoon and she’ll drop them off on her way home and that won’t be for another hour.”

“Lucky you, but then I can’t complain either. I’ve got a good babysitter too. I’ve been thinking that I might just hire her as a nanny if I go back to work full time.”

“So, what’s your poison?” asked Jenny when they reached the apartment.”

“How about some tea?” Catherine asked as she took off her coat and dropped it over the back of the sofa.

“No more coffee all day?” asked Jenny.

Catherine followed her to the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the table.

“Not any more… You forget, I don’t work for your husband anymore and I don’t have to burn the candle at both ends.”

“Or the midnight oil,” added Jenny with a laugh. “That is why we are looking for a place that has something he can use as an office. He’s up to all hours almost every night.”

“That was why I could never really complain about the hours when I worked in the DA’s office,” Catherine confided. “He never asked anything of any of us that he wasn’t willing to do himself.”

When the tea was done Jenny joined her at the table.

“Oh, it’s nice to sit down,” she said with a sigh. “I may only be six months, and I feel like I’m as big as a house, but at least it isn’t twins this time.”

“I remember the feeling.” Catherine laughed. “I don’t think I saw my feet for the last month.”

They sipped their tea then Jenny changed the subject.

“So, is Jake enjoying having his dad around?”

“He’s loving it. Sometimes it makes me feel a little redundant. He spends the weekend with Vincent a couple times a month and that is all I hear about when he comes home.”

“Kind of makes you feel like you do all the hard work and he is the one who provides all the fun, sometimes, doesn’t it?” When Catherine looked surprised. Jenny laughed. “It happens in every family. I’m home with the girls all day. I’m the one who dispenses the first aid, breaks up the arguments, disciplines and when Joe gets home he gets to play with them, read them a story and put them to bed. Doesn’t seem quite fair.”  

“You’ve got that right,” agreed Catherine.

“How about you and Jake’s daddy? How’s that going?”

“Fine. We are getting along; we’re civil. At least we are on the same page about discipline, school, that sort of thing.”

“I’m not talking about parenting, although that is important, I’m talking about you… the two of you.”

“I’m not sure there is a two of us, as least not in the context of anything but Jake’s parents.

“Hon, I know you’d like to think that this isn’t about unfinished business, but deep inside you know it is; at least partially.  If this was only about Jake’s relationship with his father, I doubt that you’d give the fact that Jake obviously adores the man a second thought. You never did bad mouth Vincent to Jake and it seems important to you that they have a good relationship.” Her voice grew husky. “What’s going on between you two is about as real and as deep and complicated as it gets.”

Catherine’s shoulders slumped. “I’m that transparent? I don’t want to love him,” she whispered. “There’s really no point. It won’t work. I’m sure he doesn’t want it and even if he did, I don’t think I could ever trust him to make that commitment.”

Suddenly Jenny looked and sounded just like her Aunt Leah. “Hey, life is about second chances. You can’t choose love, Kiddo. It kind of chooses you and it just happens. And most of the time, it doesn’t make any sense.” She shrugged. “Look at Joe and me. Who would’ve ever imagined we’d end up together? I’m Jewish, he’s Italian, Scottish and Catholic. Love isn’t logical and it’s almost always inconvenient.” Jenny paused to sip her tea. “I know you like to pretend you’re tough, but you’re not. You’re scared. It was easy to pretend you didn’t care when Vincent was out of sight, but now that he’s here it’s harder. Isn’t it?”

Catherine nodded.

“I know the idea of giving it another try scares the daylights out of you. And I don’t blame you.” Jenny turned to face her. “If you think Vincent is afraid of commitment you could distance yourself, but I don’t believe you want to.”

“I don’t think that Vincent is afraid of commitment. He’s certainly made a commitment to Jake. If anyone is afraid of anything, it’s me. I’m afraid I’ll get hurt again.”

Jenny set down her mug and squeezed Catherine’s hand as she said, “Are you?”

Instead of answering, Catherine countered with a question of her own. “If he loves me, why did he send me away? Why would he even think I’d be willing to get an abortion?”

Jenny shrugged. “I can’t answer that. I don’t know the man.”  She tapped her index finger on her temple. “Use your brain. Figure it out.”

Catherine shoved her mug aside, causing some of the tea to slop onto the table. She stood and was almost glaring at Jenny. “What do you think I’ve been doing for all this time? If I knew the answer…” Catherine paused. She did know the answer.

Jenny stood and faced Catherine.

“Please. I’d never do anything to hurt you. You know that. I’m only trying to get you to look at things a bit differently.”

Catherine stopped and took a couple of deep, calming breaths.

“I know. It’s just that all this is confusing. I’d resigned myself to Vincent not being around; to being a single parent, then suddenly he’s back in my life. I’m just not sure how far that goes. He’s been very nice to me. He had arranged a sleep over for Jake and he showed up that night with dinner, and it was all going very well, but then he just left.” She walked into the living room and picked up her coat. “I know you are trying to help, but I don’t believe Vincent’s thoughts or feelings are aligning with mine. I think he’s honestly interested in Jake and wants to be a part of his life, but I don’t think I’m included in that equation, except as Jake’s mother.”

“I don’t know him, but I can’t believe that he’d do something like show up at the house with dinner when he knew that Jake wasn’t there. I think there has to be something more. You just don’t give your heart that easily. Even when you were with Bass, you kept your wits about you and didn’t let your feelings blind you to him. And if Vincent doesn’t love you, then I think he’s positively delusional.”

Catherine had to smile at her friend’s blind faith in her. She turned and hugged Jenny.

“Thanks for being on my side,” she whispered. “I’ll think about what you said.”

Once Catherine got home she managed to put the discussion between her and Jenny out of her mind. Jake distracted her and by the time he went to bed she was able to think about the places they’d looked at that afternoon. One of the ones that Jenny liked the best was a brownstone that had a movie room on the top floor. It was only a few blocks from her home, but that wasn’t the reason she reviewed the place in her head. A few days later she was in Father’s study with an idea.

“Your note said you wanted to talk to me about a gift you’d like to give our community?” he began.

“Yes. I’ve been trying to come up with something for quite some time, and when I was looking at houses with my friend Jenny I saw the perfect thing.”

Father looked doubtful. “What could you have seen in a home Above that we could use down here?”

“A movie theater… well, kind of.” She laughed nervously and held up her hands when Father started to speak. “The room in the house was rather elaborate, but I was thinking along the lines of something simpler. There are some pretty big TV’s available. Pair one of those with a VCR and you have a small movie theater.”

Father looked thoughtful for a moment. “And where would we put such a thing?” he asked.

“It would have to be a chamber that would hold more than just a few people… I was thinking that the dining chamber might work. I’ve noticed that you have electricity in there.”

“Wouldn’t it be expensive?”

“The TV would be the most expensive part of it, since it would have to be one of the larger ones available. I’d want to make sure that it and the VCR were both good units, so they’d be reliable. My dad had a lot of movies on VHS tapes. I’ve got them stored in my basement. It would be a great start for your movie library, and you can rent or borrow any other ones you’d like to see.”

“It would be a good way to introduce our children to some of the better classics like Casablanca, some of the old musicals.”

“I loved to watch Gene Kelly movies,” Catherine put in. “I always wished I could dance like that.”

“You’re sure it wouldn’t be a major expense?”

“I’m positive, Father, and I’d really like to do this.”

“I’ll put it up for a vote at the next council meeting,” he promised.

Catherine was pretty sure that Father was leaning toward a “yes” vote, and she was almost positive that everyone else would like the idea too, so she didn’t wait until she heard from him, she ordered everything the next day. It was already in her basement when she heard from him. Cullen took some measurements and within a week he had a cabinet built to store everything.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Opening night of what several Below had dubbed The Tunnel Theater was the Friday before Thanksgiving. The council had spent several days trying to pick a movie for the first showing, but they couldn’t agree. Catherine finally suggested Forrest Gump from her own tape library. Naturally Catherine was invited.

“I don’t get out to see movies very often, unless it’s a children’s movie, so I’m looking forward to seeing Forrest Gump tonight,” she said as she and Vincent entered the dining chamber. “I’ve had this for a while, but haven’t watched it yet.”

“Forrest Gump?” Vincent had obviously never heard of it. He hadn’t heard of many movies so he hadn’t bothered to vote.

No one was in the dining chamber yet so she picked up the tape and read the description to him. “Tom Hanks and Robin Wright star in this romantic comedy. Forrest is a simple man with a low I.Q. and good intentions, running through childhood with his best and only friend, Jenny Curran (Robin Wright). His mama (Sally Field) teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. When Forrest joins the Army for service in Vietnam, he finds new friends Dan and Bubba, wins medals, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, starts a ping-pong craze, creates the smiley, writes bumper stickers and songs, donates to people and meets the president several times. However, this is all irrelevant to Forrest, who can only think of his childhood sweetheart, Jenny. In the end, all Forrest wants is to prove that anyone can love anyone. What do you think?”

“I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds interesting,” he said as he sat on one of the benches that were arranged in a semi-circle in front of the TV.

The rest of the audience started arriving and soon they were all laughing and crying over Forrest’s interesting life.

The younger children hadn’t been included in the evening’s entertainment so Catherine went to the nursery to collect Jake when the movie was over.

“But Mom… I don’t wanna go home.” Jake really enjoyed his time Below whether he got to spend it with Vincent or not.

“You’ll be back on Sunday,” she told him.

He wasn’t all that thrilled to be leaving, but since he knew that Vincent was walking back with them and could probably be talked into staying for a little while, he followed his mother out of the chamber.

Jake was so familiar with the route that Catherine and Vincent allowed him to lead while they walked behind and talked.

 “Forrest’s mother was a wise woman,” mused Vincent.

“Life is like a box of chocolates,” Catherine quoted.

“Yes, and she didn’t put any limits on Forrest, although it was obvious that he was different.”

“Jenny didn’t put any limits on him either, not really. She just loved him, her course took a few detours, but in the end she did love him.”

Neither of them spoke until they reached Catherine’s.

Vincent let Jake talk him into going up with them.

“Thirty minutes, Jake,” Catherine called after him. “You’re already up past your bedtime.”

“But it’s Friday Mom, and it’s only 9:30. I don’t have to get up early tomorrow.”

“I can tell time, Jacob,” she said while she tried to hide her smile,” and read the calendar. “9:00 is your weekend bedtime. Another thirty minutes will make it 10:00.”

“OK.” He headed up the stairs with Vincent following.

Catherine went to the kitchen and made a pot of herbal tea. She was sitting on the sofa when Vincent came down a little after ten.

“Is he asleep?” she asked as he sat on the other end of the sofa.

“In spite of himself,” he said with a smile. He was determined to stay awake, but he didn’t last long after he got to bed. He didn’t even ask for a story. He just told me about the games they played while we were watching the movie.”

“He gets more independent and stubborn all the time,” she commented. “He’s smart and I can’t get away with using ‘because I said so’ anymore. I have to have a legitimate reason.”

Vincent looked at her, and when their eyes met a little thrill went through her. Vincent smiled slightly and patted the sofa next to him.

She hesitated, not sure what he had in mind, but after a moment she moved over a little, leaving about a foot of space between them.

“He questions the rules. Would it be considered an insult if I was to say that he’s a lot like his mother in that way?” he asked.

“I could say that he’s a lot like his father, in that way,” she countered.

Vincent nodded slightly. “Touché,” he said. “He does embody traits from both of us.”

After a moment, Vincent caught her hand, brought it up to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

“Was there a particular reason you recommended that movie?”  

“I didn’t suggest that movie on purpose.” She was suddenly nervous. “I mean I did, but I wasn’t even sure what it was about, except for what I’d read on the box. Jenny and Joe told me that it was good and that I should watch it. They know I like Tom Hanks and this was only one of several that they recommended. It was just the first one I saw in the store.”

“Shh!” He placed his finger against her lips. “It was a good movie. I enjoyed it… I had every intention of apologizing tonight; groveling if I must; even before the movie, it just made it easier, I think… I want to try again… if you want to. I love you, Catherine. I know I didn’t act like it, but I was confused and just foolish enough to think that my feelings; my ideas were the only valid ones. I’m so thankful now that you didn’t do as I asked.”

“If he had been like you?” she asked warily.

“As you pointed out, he is like me, in a lot of ways, and I can be of guidance in those things, but he also has you, and can have a life Above. The best of both worlds, as they say.”

“But if he had been like you?” she repeated.

“I wouldn’t love him any less,” he assured her.

He could see her relax a little at those words. He tugged her hand, then slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. She went stiffly.

“Catherine?” he asked when he realized she wasn’t coming as eagerly into his arms as she used to.

“This is just too easy,” she whispered, as she grasped his shirt. “How can I be sure that it won’t all explode in my face again?”

He looked contrite at her comment. “I would say that you have my word, but I don’t know how much that is worth right now. I know that it will take time to regain your trust.”

“You said that whatever happened, whatever came you loved me,” she said after a long pause.

“I never stopped loving you. I know I failed you, but I never stopped loving you.”

“You didn’t just fail me. You had certain ideas, standards that you held yourself to. You failed yourself. You never promised that you’d be there if I got pregnant. You didn’t remember doing anything that would cause a pregnancy. I’m not sure what your reasons were for not making love to me earlier, but I suspect that it was because of what happened with Lisa. Peter told me that he and Father thought you were likely sterile, so the idea of fathering a child was probably in the realm of very unlikely in your mind.”

“Don’t make excuses for me, Catherine. My behavior was reprehensible and irresponsible.”

“I’m not making excuses… well, maybe I am. I don’t know, but you did have your reasons and those reasons were valid.”

“You said that I kissed you first.” He pointed out as he drew back a little to look down at her.

“You did, but I didn’t have to go along, even though it was something I wanted. I thought that you’d changed your mind. Maybe I unconsciously took advantage of you in your weakened state. I could have stopped you. I probably should have stopped you since I knew how you felt about it.”  

“So you are telling me that you share in the responsibility?”

“Yes, of course I do, and I’ve felt that way from the beginning. You didn’t force me, but when I realized you didn’t remember it, I knew that you might think you had. That was why I told you that we made love before I told you I was pregnant. I knew that we’d have to get over that hump first.  I knew that you probably wouldn’t be happy about either the love making or the pregnancy when I told you, but I knew that it couldn’t be put off. I just didn’t expect your reaction to the news to be so extreme, and so totally out of character.”

He was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“I told you what Paracelsus said when he was masquerading as Father.”

“Do you mean the story about your birth? You know that wasn’t true.”

“I do now, and even then common sense told me that it was lies, but it was still there. I should also have known that it wasn’t Father I was talking to. I think on some level, I did. Paracelsus might have been a master of disguise, but the one thing he didn’t think of was my sense of smell. The man I was talking to, just didn’t smell like Father. Part of me registered that and knew it wasn’t Father. I think that was the only reason I was able to kill him. But the fog I was in due to my illness, his story of my birth seemed to make some kind of sick sense. It was still in the back of my mind, and the instant you told me you were pregnant, that was all I could see. The idea horrified me, and I just couldn’t let that happen.” His arms tightened around her but she still didn’t relax.

“That’s why you were there the day Jake was born?”

“You knew? Did someone tell you?”

“No one had to. I heard someone pacing in the hall. I wanted to call out to you, but I didn’t. I heard you talking to Mary and then to Father and Peter. Later I was just dozing when Lena took Jake out to you.”

“I didn’t know your hearing was so good,” he commented.

“It isn’t, but while I was carrying Jake, and for a short time after he was born, I seemed to be gifted with some enhanced senses. I’d heard that a pregnant woman’s sense of smell is better, but mine was ridiculous. I was on my balcony one day just before I moved and I could smell the hot dogs a vendor was selling eighteen floors down and a block up. And I heard the elevator every time it went up or down the shaft.”

“Have you noticed that Jacob has any enhanced senses?” Vincent asked.

“Peter tested him,” she told him with a smile. “He has good night vision, but not as good as yours. He has excellent hearing, and his sense of smell is good too. He can recognize my perfume rooms away. He freaked out the daycare workers a few times when he told them I was coming and I showed up less than a minute later.”

“He said he still uses a night light.”

“He says that he liked the night light because everything looks spooky without it.”

As they talked about Jake, Catherine gradually relaxed, in spite of still having some questions.

She pushed herself away a little and looked at Vincent.

“I really need some time,” she told him. “This a lot to take in. I’ve been on my own for so long, I need adjustment time.” She stood and looked down at Vincent. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not!” He stood too. “God knows you always gave me plenty of time.”

She headed toward the hall, but turned before she got there, but before she could speak Vincent held up his hand.

“Jake asked me to stay tonight, and I told him I would if it was all right with you, but I understand if you want me to leave.” He picked up his cloak from where he’d left it earlier.

“No, that’s OK. You can stay. You’re always welcome.”

He nodded. “I’ll be in the basement. Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to use the room next to Jake’s?” she asked.

“No, I’m more comfortable in the basement. If I leave the door to the tunnels open I can just hear the pipes, and if I’m needed I’m easy to find.”

She nodded. “OK, good night.” She was halfway up the first flight of stairs when she turned again. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” she promised.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Catherine woke to the sound of blood curdling screams coming from the baby monitor that she still kept in Jake’s room. She hit the floor running and didn’t even take time for slippers or robe. She reached Jake’s room only steps ahead of Vincent.

Jake was still asleep, but he was sitting up in bed screaming and crying. “NO! Go away! Go away!”

Catherine sat on the side of the bed and took her son by the shoulders. Vincent followed her in and sat on the other side.

“Jake,” she said quietly. “Wake up, Sweetie. You’re dreaming. You need to wake up.” She gave him a slight shake that caused him to take a deep breath and open his eyes.

“Mama?”

“Yes, Honey. It’s me. You were having a bad dream. Are you awake?”

Jake blinked owlishly a few times, then yawned. “Uh huh,” he sounded doubtful, as he looked from one parent to the other.

“Do you remember what you were dreaming?” asked Vincent.

Jake shook his head and his brow furrowed, making him look a lot like Vincent.

“Don’t worry about it,” Catherine assured him as she let go of his arms and brushed his hair off his forehead. “It’s OK. Do you think you can go back to sleep?”

Vincent noticed that her hand was shaking a bit and covered it with his when she rested it on Jake’s blanket.

“I think so… Can Daddy stay until I go to sleep?”

She glanced over at Vincent, then back at her son. “Sure, Honey. If he wants to.”

“Of course, I’ll stay.”

Catherine stood and Vincent straightened the blankets and tucked them securely around Jake.

Catherine pushed down the slight feeling of jealousy, she wasn’t even sure that it was jealousy, and made herself leave.

She went back to her room, but after five minutes in bed she got back up, put on her slippers and robe and went up to the roof. 

She wasn’t really surprised when Vincent joined her about ten minutes later.

“Has that happened before?” he asked as he joined her at the wall on the back of the house.

“Yes, but not often. That’s the first time in about six months. Peter says it’s fairly normal for kids to have night terrors. I had them. They usually occur in younger children but it’s not that unusual for older kids to have them. Mine lasted until I was about Jake’s age.” She turned and looked at him. “Did you hear him all the way down in the basement?”

“No, the Bond woke me. I felt his terror. It wasn’t the first time. I felt it happen before, but I guess the distance tempered it. This time, I was so close that I didn’t even think before I jumped out of bed and ran upstairs.”

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve left the baby monitor in his room. With us on different floors, I’m afraid that I wouldn’t hear him if he had a nightmare or was sick and needed me.”

“Has that ever happened? Getting sick in the middle of the night, I mean.”

“Come to think of it, no. I used to throw up at the drop of a hat when I was little, but he hasn’t since he was less than a year old.”

Vincent put his arm around her and pulled her closer. It was chilly, and he was radiating heat even though he was only wearing pajama bottoms and a long sleeved t-shirt.

“I’m glad I was here. Now I know how to handle it if it should happen when he’s Below.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you were too. It can be unnerving. I always have a hard time getting back to sleep afterward.” She chuckled. “He recovers much quicker than I do, and usually doesn’t even remember it the next day.”

His arm tightened and she felt him nuzzle her hair. She loved the feel, but still had doubts.

“Vincent?”

She leaned back to look up at him.

“Yes, Catherine?”

“I need you to be honest with me. Are you doing this for Jake, because you think that a child is better off with both parents?”

Vincent looked surprised for a moment, then troubled.

“I’ll admit that I think it would be better for Jacob for us to be together, but that isn’t my only reason for wanting to be near you, not even my primary one. Some of my reasons are purely selfish. I’m asking you for another chance… for me… and I hope for you too. Jacob would benefit, I think, and I hope you agree and that you want it too.”

Catherine was quiet for so long that Vincent started to worry.

“Catherine?”

“Yes!”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I want this, but I need time.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d said that. He had time, and he was going to give her all the time she needed, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to convince her.

She allowed him to pull her into his arms and this time, she returned his embrace.   

“Are you all right?” Vincent asked Catherine, after a while.

“Yes...” she murmured, unconsciously moving closer. He looked down at her and tenderly stroked away the tendrils of hair that had fallen over her eyes. Her eyes fluttered open to see him gazing at her. He gently raised her face towards his and hesitantly placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Feeling Catherine’s apprehension, Vincent pulled back.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I shouldn't have done that.”

Catherine smiled and hastily tried to explain. 

“No, don’t apologize,” she told him. “It's just that... I don’t know. I’m surprised, I guess. When I got up this morning, I never dreamed…” she looked at him and smiled. “I think I’m in shock. A good kind of shock, but shock nonetheless.”

“We can take our time and get used to it,” he suggested.

“Yes, but right now, all I want to do is stand here with you.”

She relaxed back into his embrace and after a few moments, Vincent suggested that she was getting chilled and that they should go back inside.

He led her down the stairs to the sitting room on the same floor with her bedroom.

They settled on the sofa in front of the gas fireplace. They didn’t speak, and after a while, Catherine felt Vincent drop a kiss on top of her head. That usually marked the end of their evenings before, and she sighed in resignation.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“I just had the feeling that you were going to suggest that it was time for you to go, and I was disappointed.”

“I wasn’t going to do that, but I was going to ask a favor.”

“What kind of a favor?”

“A kiss? Or more accurately… teach me to kiss?”

She sat back and looked at him.

“You’re serious?” she asked.

“Yes. I kiss a lot of people… Father, Mary, Jacob, the children, but it’s not the same kind of kiss. I want to know how you like to be kissed.”

“Just do what you feel,” she suggested.  

“But I really have no idea…” he began, but before he could finish, she’d captured his face between her hands and was pressing her lips to his.

He was still for several moments as she explored his lips, nipping and kissing. Every once in a while her tongue would brush over a spot, but when she found the cleft in his upper lip, his gasp opened his mouth and her tongue found its way inside. Cautiously, he began to imitate what she was doing, and within minutes he was taking over. He lifted her into his lap to get a better angle.

His kisses were delicious. She didn’t want to stop, even when she grew short on air and had to breathe. Sensing her slight distress, he broke the kiss and pulled her close.

“You learn fast,” she gasped out as she hugged him close. “I’d forgotten how pleasurable necking on the couch could be.”

“Necking? Is that what we are doing?” he asked with a slight smile.

“Yes, and I wouldn’t be averse to a little petting.” She hoped he understood the term.

Vincent laughed at that.

“One step at a time, Catherine,” he told her before brushing his lips across hers again. “I have to get my kissing technique perfected first.”

His mouth came down and he was kissing her again.

They cuddled and kissed and talked off and on for the next hour or so, until Catherine actually dozed off in one of the lulls. Vincent didn’t want to wake her, and he almost left her there on the couch, but then he decided that she’d be more comfortable in her bed, so he carefully picked her up and carried her to her room.

She woke as he lowered her to the bed.

“I need to take off my robe, she said then yawned.  

“You were smiling in your sleep,” he said as he bent to remove her slippers. “Was it a good dream?”

“I wasn’t dreaming,” she said.

“Good night, Catherine,” he whispered as he bent to kiss her.

She grabbed his hand as he turned to go.

“Thank you for staying,” she said as he turned back to look at her.

“Of course.”

“I’ve just found you again, and I’m glad you’re here and close by, but I’d really like you to stay here with me. It’s a king size bed, there’s plenty of room…”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t rush things,” he suggested.

“I was just suggesting sleep,” she said with a smirk.

“I know, but... you asked for time.”

“I get it. I won’t push you.” She smiled up at him then raised up and kissed him. “Good night. We will talk in the morning.”

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Morning came much too early for Catherine’s taste, even though it was an hour later than Jake usually woke her.

“It’s time to get up, Mommy,” she heard Jake’s voice telling her as she swam up out of her dreams. “Daddy cooked breakfast and he said we could go on a picnic Below later if it’s OK with you.”

Catherine sat up and stretched then swung her legs over the side of the bed and opened her arms for a hug.

“Good morning. How long have you been up?” she asked.

“Not long,” he told her, but she could see that he’d been up long enough to dress and she could smell minty toothpaste.

“OK, go back down and tell your daddy that I’ll be right there.”

He ran off and she could follow his progress from the noise he made running down the stairs.

When she joined them in the kitchen Vincent was just setting the last of a sumptuous breakfast on the table. He held her chair for her and surprised her with a light kiss before he went around the table and sat across from her.

Jake’s eyes grew large when he saw that.

“You kissed Mommy,” he announced with a grin.

“I did,” agreed Vincent as he passed a platter of eggs and bacon to Catherine.

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“I dunno.” He was suddenly shy and looking at his plate as Catherine served him.

“Why do you kiss her?”

“Because I love her?”

“I kissed her for the same reason.” Vincent looked across the table at Catherine and smiled.

Catherine was loving this exchange between father and son.

“Are you gonna live with us?” Jake asked, getting right to the point.

“Where did that come from, Jake?” asked Catherine.

“Olivia and Kanin love each other and they live together, and so do Rebecca and Pascal.”

Catherine’s eyes flew to Vincent’s. “I didn’t know Rebecca and Pascal. When did that happen?” she asked.

“A couple years ago, but to get back to Jake’s question…” He looked back at Jake. “I can’t live here, Jake. I have responsibilities Below, but I do hope to be spending more time with you and your mother.”

“You can stay any time you want to,” Catherine suggested. “You said that you sleep in the basement because you can hear the pipes from there and it makes you easy to find. If you used one of the upstairs rooms we might be able to set up something. I’m sure that Mouse could invent something.”

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Catherine went looking for Mouse while Vincent and Jake went to the kitchen to pack their picnic lunch when they were Below later in the morning.

“Mouse, I need your help with something,” she announced when she found him in his chamber tinkering with one of his gadgets.

“Sure Catherine. What do you need?” he asked with a grin.

Catherine felt something pawing at her shoe and looked down to see a young raccoon and a kitten.

She bent down to pick up the kitten and the raccoon insisted on being picked up too.

“Where’s Arthur?” she asked looking around as she cuddled the two animals who were obviously best friends.

“Sleeping. Bernice and George wore him out playing.”

“Bernice and George.” Catherine had to laugh at Mouse’s choice of names. “Which is which?”

“Kitten is George and Bernice is the raccoon.”

If the kitten was male that might work out, but if the raccoon was a female Catherine could foresee an all-out war between William and the animal kingdom when Arthur and Bernice became parents, which was very likely to happen.

“Cute,” was all Catherine said as she cradled the kitten and rubbed its tummy and the raccoon climbed up and made itself at home on her shoulder.

“Father says that I’ll have to get them fixed if I’m going to keep them,” Mouse said with a scowl. “But I don’t think they’re broken.”

Catherine had to laugh at that. “Don’t worry about it, Mouse,” she told him. “I know someone who can take care of it. I’ll call and make appointments for them.” She wasn’t sure about keeping raccoons as pets in the city, she’d have to look up the statutes.

“OK good,” he grinned. “What do you need help with?”

“I need a way hear messages in my house. The ones on the pipes. I was wondering if you could come up with something.

“What do you need it for?” he asked, his brow furrowing in concentration.

“Vincent wants to spend more time with Jake, but he doesn’t want to be too far from the pipes in case someone needs him.”

“Could maybe use a microphone,” he suggested.

“A microphone?”

“Did it for another Helper. Pipes run to his basement, but he couldn’t hear messages upstairs. Needed a way to get sound into the house. Put a microphone on the pipe, and ran a wire to a speaker in the house. He can even turn it off if he needs to.”

“That sounds easier than I thought it would be.”

“Pretty easy. Just need the stuff to do it.”

“Make me a list and I’ll get it,” she told him.

He quickly wrote out a list and gave it to her.

“You sure you need all this just to run a mic and a speaker or two?” she asked suspiciously when she saw the list.

“A few extras… just in case,” he said innocently.

Later when the three of them were settled in the chamber of the falls for their picnic, she told Vincent what she’d asked Mouse to do.

“Now the only decision to be made is where do you want the speaker,” she said as she handed a piece of fruit to Jake.

“You could put it in my room,” Jake suggested.

“But it would keep you awake,” Catherine said. “It should be wherever your father is going to be spending most of his time when he’s with us.”

“Mama’s room?” Jake asked innocently.

Catherine sputtered and Vincent laughed.

“I’m pretty sure that Mouse might be able to put in more than one speaker,” he said. “We could put one in your mother’s room in case she ever has to listen for a message, and one in the room in the basement, one in the kitchen, and maybe even one in your room, Jacob. That way you could learn pipe code.”

They didn’t talk about the speaker again until later when Jake had gone to join the other children in the study to listen to Father read stories.

“The only problem with the speaker system,” Catherine was saying as they walked into Vincent’s chamber, “is that there is no way to send a message back. You could hear one sent to you, but then you’d have to go back out into the tunnel to respond.”

“If a response is necessary,” he said as he went around the darkened chamber lighting candles. The last thing he did was put wood in the brazier and restart the fire. “If it is I could just go out into the tunnel to send it.

“Aren’t the nearest pipes to my threshold a good twenty feet away?” she asked.

“Yes, and it’s a dead end pipe, so not all the message traffic can be heard on it. About the only messages sent on it would be directly from the pipe chamber. Everything would have to be relayed from there.”

“And you can hear it from the room in the basement?”

“I can, but only if the tunnel door and the bedroom door are open. I doubt that anyone else would be able to hear it, except possibly Jacob. Mouse’s idea of a speaker system is a good one. Especially with the ON/OFF switch. It’s worked well for another Helper.”

“Then I think that multiple speakers would be a good idea; my room, the kitchen, the basement and Jake’s room. It would be a good idea for him to learn pipe code. Don’t you have a class Below?”

“Yes. Every Saturday morning in the pipe chamber. Pascal and Zach take turns teaching it.”

“I think it would be a good idea for Jake to start attending it,” she told him. “Then once I get this for Mouse and he gets everything installed we will be in business.”

Vincent took the list from her and read it.

“Are you sure this is what he needs?” he asked. “I don’t see where he’d have a use for PVC pipe glue, pipe strapping and 20 feet of ¾ inch PVC pipe for this project.”

“Maybe he wants to run the wire in the pipe to protect it,” she suggested with a knowing smile.

“No, he has flexible conduit and fittings here for that. This sounds more like what he needs to run the new pipes for the shower he’s installing in the bathing chamber that Father and I use.”

She had to laugh. “It’s OK. I kind of figured that he was padding his list. It’s for you and Father. Isn’t there a hardware store that’s owned by a Helper?”

“Yes.” He wrote a phone number on the bottom of the list and handed it back to her to her. “Ask for Paul and order by phone. He’ll deliver.”

Catherine relaxed on the sofa and rubbed her hand over the worn leather.

“I love that you’re using Daddy’s furniture,” she said when Vincent joined her.

“This was your father’s?” He was obviously surprised. “I didn’t know.”

“Yes. I’ve always loved it, but I didn’t have a place for it when I cleared out Daddy’s penthouse after he died.”

“When I decided to open the rear chamber I needed more seating in here. I found this and a matching chair in one of the storage rooms. It’s a large couch and is a perfect fit.”

“Daddy bought it second hand before I was born,” she told him. “It was in his first office when he was just starting out. When he and Jay opened the new offices they used it in the waiting room for a while, but when they could afford to redecorate he didn’t want to get rid of it so he took it home and put it in his office there. He always had it in his home office after that. I spent a good bit of my childhood on it, reading or napping.”

“It’s got quite a history,” he said. “I cleaned it with saddle soap when I first moved it in and I give it a rub with a conditioner every few months.”

“It looks better than it did the last time I saw it. I’m glad you’re using it.”

“I’m glad I found it and have been able to give it a new purpose.” He laughed and stretched his arms along the back of the sofa. “I’ve napped on it a few times, myself. I’ve got the matching chair in my bedchamber.”

She slid across the smooth leather and cuddled into his side and he dropped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

“It’s a good necking couch too,” she said as she slipped her arms around his waist. “I caught my mom and dad a few times and Daddy caught me and a boy once when I was sixteen.”

“Do you think we can get away with it without being caught?”

“Is your chamber still like Grand Central?” She drew back a little and looked at him.

“Why do you think I finally opened the rear chamber?” He chuckled. “My students were always stopping in at all hours dropping things off or picking up books. I may not need a lot of sleep, but when I do sleep it’s nice to be able to do it in private and without being awakened every hour. Father has always had a habit of walking in without announcing himself most of the time.”

“And you can keep him out of your bedchamber?”

“He has his bedchamber separate from the study and everyone always calls out before going in, even I do, and for some reason, since I moved into the rear chamber, he announces himself and asks permission to enter it. I didn’t even have to ask. Everyone is following his example.”  

“Good, then I can take a nap undisturbed?” She asked.

“If you like. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

“Before or after Jake’s nightmare?” she asked. “Not really. It took a while to get to sleep the first time, and I woke up several times the second time.”

“Then be my guest,” he said, rising and pulling her to her feet.

He led her into the rear chamber. She took off her shoes, and stripped down to her jeans and t-shirt, then he tucked her into bed, much like he’d done the night before.  

When he turned to go, she called him back.

“Join me?” she asked, scooting over and pulling the blankets back.

She watched as he thought about it, and this time he decided to stay. He stripped down to his jeans and t-shirt too, then sat on the side of the side of the bed and pulled off his boots before he climbed in. Catherine covered a smile as she cuddled close.

“There is something I’ve been wondering,” she said after a few minutes.

“What’s that?”

“The Bond. You said that you have a Bond with Jake, but it isn’t like ours was.”

“I can feel him, I know when he’s awake, asleep, hungry… the basic things. I’ve occasionally felt his bad dreams or when he’s been hurt, but I can’t really tell where he is, just that he’s close or some distance away,” he explained.

“And our Bond? It never came back?”

“It has to an extent,” he admitted. “The last few days I’ve noticed that I can feel what you feel, when I’m touching you. But it’s not like it was.”

“It’s something,” she said as she snuggled closer. “I wish I had that much with you.” She yawned and he pulled her closer. Catherine rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Hmmm,” she hummed, feeling the tension seep from her body as Vincent began massaging the back of her neck lightly with his fingertips. After a few moments, he shifted so he could reach her better. He moved his fingers into her hair. It was always soft and silky, and she’d started wearing it longer. He enjoyed the feel of it slipping through his fingers, almost as much as Catherine enjoyed having him touch her.

“That feels so good,” she murmured drowsily, as she nuzzled and kissed his jaw. 

Seeing Catherine react so positively to his touch, Vincent couldn't resist kissing her.

Recognizing that some of his shyness was slipping away, Catherine encouraged Vincent by sweeping her tongue across his lower lip.

Vincent moved down to Catherine's neck, enjoying her gasps as he sought out the sensitive spots with his tongue. 

Catherine’s t-shirt wasn’t tucked in and it wasn’t much of a barrier as he slipped his hands under it and stroked her back. He could feel her breasts pressed against his chest, and he knew when she went from enjoying his touch to arousal. He hadn’t told the whole truth about the Bond. The stronger her feelings, the stronger they were communicated to him when he was touching her. Now he didn’t need her quickened heartbeat and breathing to know what she was feeling. He slipped his hand further up her back.

“You have such soft skin,” he whispered, marveling at the feel of the skin beneath his fingers. “And you smell so good...” Vincent continued, nuzzling into the crook of Catherine's neck. 

Arching her back to get closer to him, Catherine couldn't stop the slight trembling as sensation swept through her body. 

“You smell good too,” she whispered. “I’ve missed it.”

“Catherine, wait,” Vincent said suddenly sitting up. 

“Yes?” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Someone is in the outer chamber,” he said just as they heard Jake’s voice.

“Mama, Daddy?”

Vincent swung his legs off the side of the bed and reached back to tuck the covers around Catherine.

“In here, Jacob.”

Jake scampered into the room.

“Whatcha doin’?” he asked as he bounced across the room and jumped onto the bed.

“We were going to take a nap,” said Catherine with a wry grin as she caught Vincent’s eye. “Did you enjoy the story?”

“Grandpa started reading Huckleberry Finn.”

“I was going to go talk to Cullen about a work detail on Monday. Would you like to go with me?” Vincent offered.

Vincent pulled on his boots and put his shirt back on. They left the chamber as Jake started telling Vincent his version of the Mark Twain’s classic.

Catherine flopped back on the bed, and almost growled in frustration, but a moment later she found herself laughing. If she wanted to get Vincent alone for their talk and whatever else, it looked like she was going to have to invite him up to her house and send Jake off to spend the night Below… and it should probably be done before Mouse got the speaker system installed.   

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

 “Mary, may I ask a favor?” asked Catherine from the door of the nursery.

Mary looked up from the baby she was changing and smiled.

“Of course, Catherine. What is it?”

“May Jacob stay Below tonight?”

Mary looked puzzled. “Isn’t he staying with Vincent?”

“Not tonight, but I was hoping to get a chance to… um… talk to Vincent tonight, and I thought it might be easier if Jake was somewhere else. He’s been enjoying his time Below today and I know that he’ll be thrilled to stay Below. He always loves sleeping in the dormitory with the other boys.” She leaned over and tickled the foot of the little girl Mary had just finished dressing. “Where did she come from? She’s adorable.”

“We found her abandoned in the Park. We have no idea why. She’s healthy and well cared for; about three months old. She was wearing expensive baby clothing. We thought at first it might have been a kidnapping gone bad and have had Helpers looking and checking, but we haven’t found anything.” She picked up the little girl and handed her to Catherine along with the baby bottle.

Catherine sat in the rocker and started to feed her.

“I haven’t seen anything in the paper about a kidnapping, but if you like, I’ll ask around. I’ve still got some friends in the police department.”

“Can you do that without saying that you’ve seen her?”

“I can. I’ll just say that I saw something in the paper and was curious. I’ll let you know.”

“Then please do. If she has been taken from a loving family, then we want her to go back to them, but if she was just abandoned for no good reason, she has found a loving family with us.”

Catherine was burping the baby when Vincent found her half an hour later.

“I see you’ve met our little Brigid.”

“Brigid?”

“We allowed the children who found her in the park to name her, and they had just finished one of Brigid O’Donnell’s children’s stories and were arguing over the names of the characters in the book. Samantha suggested that she be named after the author, rather than one of the fictional characters. So she became Brigid.”

Catherine gave Brigid back to Mary then turned to Vincent and smiled. “I was thinking about ordering delivery for dinner tonight.” She linked her arm with his and guided him out into the corridor.

“I’ll get Jacob and we can go back.”

“I’ve arranged for Jake to stay Below tonight. We never did get our chance to talk.”

Vincent looked down at her and smiled. “I left him with Father.”

When they told Jake he was going to stay Below and sleep in the dormitory he was ecstatic and Father was hiding a smile when they left.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Catherine stood next to the phone in the kitchen and looked at the menus she had tacked to the cork board beside it.

“So, what do you want for dinner,” she asked. “I can order, from a deli, Henry Pei’s restaurant, Italian, Pizza, diner food. There’s even a steakhouse not far from here that delivers.”

He was standing behind her and looking at the menus over the top of her head.

“Do you use these often?” he asked.

“Once a week, usually Friday if Jake isn’t Below with you, and on Monday if he is, I let Jake plan dinner from these menus. He enjoys it and he learns a little responsibility. Just like on weekends I let him pick his own clothes.”

“That would explain the purple t-shirt, blue jeans, green sneakers, and yellow sweatshirt he was wearing when he came Below last week. Father said that it made his eyes hurt.”

“More like making his eyes bleed,” she said with a laugh. “I’m just grateful that he wears uniforms to school. Daddy let me pick my own clothes one day a week when I was Jake’s age, but he was smarter than me. He made sure that the only things that were clean and hanging in my closet were things that could reasonably go together, but I still managed to come up with some pretty strange outfits.”

“I wish I could see that.”

“There are pictures,” she told him. “I’ll have to see if I can find them. The school used to take group pictures of the class along with individual pictures. Daddy didn’t know that it was picture day and he let me dress myself. I was about eight. I looked OK in the individual pictures, but they were only head and shoulders. The group photo had me in the front row because I’m short. I was wearing a shirt and a sweater, both green, but two different shades that didn’t go very well together. I had on my black and white striped Pippi Longstocking tights and my bright pink rain boots… I’d forgotten my shoes, so I spent the day in my boots.”

“Now I understand where our son got his fashion sense,” he commented before pointing at an item on one of the menus. “That sounds good.”

After dinner Catherine was at the sink rinsing dishes and Vincent was putting them in the dishwasher. When the last dish was loaded, Vincent stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist and leaned down to nuzzle her neck. He was surprised to feel her stiffen in his arms rather than relax as he’d expected.

“Is something wrong, Catherine,” he asked as he released her and let her turn around.

“I did want to talk,” she told him.

“But this afternoon…”

“Yes… this afternoon. That was wonderful, and I guess I did invite it when I asked you to stay. I was thrilled that you are so much more open to that part of a relationship, but I really do need to talk to you.” She looked doubtful and Vincent could see something in her eyes that he couldn’t quite decipher.

“I’m sorry,” he began. “I honestly didn’t realize that you really did want to talk.” He looked a little embarrassed. “I thought that was just an excuse… to…”

Catherine had to smile.

“You mean an excuse to get you up here and make love to you until the sun comes up?” He ducked his head and used the old gesture of hiding behind his hair that she hadn’t seen a lot of since he’d returned to her life. She reached out and turned his face toward her with her hand on his cheek. “Maybe later… Right now. I need to ask some questions and get a few things off my chest.”

“Of course, Catherine.” He sounded like the old reticent Vincent and she wanted to kick herself. She took his hand and led him out into the living room.

When they were seated, him on the sofa and her in the chair, she searched for a place to start.

“Last night, when I asked you to stay, I really was just asking for the comfort of having you there beside me,” she began. “And this afternoon, it started that way, but then, well, let’s just say that I would have happily made love with you with no regrets afterward… or at least not many.”

“What regrets would you have had?” he asked.

“Only that we didn’t talk first. I haven’t said the words yet,” she told him.

He knew what she meant.

“You said them years ago, before I ever had the courage to say them,” he pointed out.

“But you need to know… all of it. There was a time, many times, after you sent me away that I tried to be angry at you, tried hate you. The times I watched my friends get married and start their happy lives, when I saw them living their happy lives. I was so resentful at times.”

“You had every right to be, Catherine. I treated you terribly. I kept telling myself that I was doing it for you, but it wasn’t entirely true. My reasons were very selfish on some levels… In the beginning, our beginning, I kept thinking about how it would affect me if you were hurt or if I were to hurt you, especially if we were making love. Then after it happened, and you were obviously unharmed and very happy about it, I felt I had to have a reason to keep it from happening again; to push you away so I fell back on Paracelsus’ lies. Even though, by then I knew that it was all lies it still preyed on my mind.

“My logical mind was telling me that none of it could possibly be true, but I used it and even though I was glad that you were refusing to terminate the pregnancy, I still used it as a way to push you away into the life I thought you needed. With the Bond gone, I was able to tell myself that I wasn’t hurting you as much as you were likely to be hurt later when you realized you’d made a mistake by linking your life with mine.”

“And now?”

“Now I know differently. I’ve watched you since then, not up close, but through the eyes of others Below who spent time with you, and you always remained steadfast. You didn’t even date. I knew every time Elliot Burch was back in the city and I saw where he was always out with a beautiful woman on his arm, but that beautiful woman was never you. If you went out at all it was with your friend Jenny, or you went up to Westport to visit your friend Nancy.

“Meeting Jacob when he had his accident was the push I needed. Even when I told you that I thought you were both better off without me; I didn’t really mean it. I didn’t need a Bond to tell me how it made you feel. It was in your face. I saw the anger and the hurt. It was then that I began to think that maybe, just maybe I was wrong. 

“Quite early in this I had a conversation with Father. I discounted what he said and ignored it at the time, but it kept coming back, and over the last few months I’ve replayed it over and over in my mind.”

“What did he say?

“He told me that he’d been wrong in his original evaluation of our relationship. He stressed that he’d been wrong, and he was trying to get me to realize how wrong I was and that I shouldn’t be basing any decisions on his original opinion.”

“But you didn’t listen.”

“No, sadly I didn’t. Not then. After Jacob was born, I would occasionally have a sense of you. I’d had a sense of Jacob from his birth, a little before, really, but every once in a while, I would feel you, and… you were happy. I told myself that you didn’t need me. That everything Father, and Mary and all the others told me wasn’t true. You were getting on with your life. I wouldn’t allow myself to consider that maybe what I was feeling was being relayed or enhanced in some way by the link I have with Jacob and that naturally you’d likely be happy when you were with him; I just chose to think it was the way it was all the time.”

“You’re right. I did have times when I was happy. Mostly in the beginning about the only thing that could make me happy was Jake. Later, I started spending time with friends and working, and I would go hours without thinking of you.” She smiled a little sadly and shrugged. “But then, at some point, it would all come rushing back and it would hit me. I remember one time I was down near the Criminal Courts building, taking care of some kind of business… I don’t even remember what it was now. I’d left Jake with Brooke, and was in a hurry to get home before I got caught in rush hour traffic. I hailed a cab and out of habit gave my old address. I caught myself almost as soon as it was out of my mouth, and gave the correct address, but then for no good reason I burst into tears. I know that poor cab driver thought I’d lost my mind. He kept looking in the rearview mirror and checking on me.” She looked at him and shook her head. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”

“It might be helpful if we were both on the same page, as Father would say,” he agreed.

“We’ve been on the same page,” she corrected him, “often, but never at the same time.” She sighed. “I want to move toward love, but there’s still a little piece of me that is wondering if I should trust you.”

He felt a thrill go through him when she came so close to saying she loved him, but it was stopped dead when she said she wondered if she could trust him.

“What is you feel you can’t trust,” he asked.

“I don’t know… you’ve pushed me away so many times. You’ve told me that I should be with someone… anyone else, but you’ve always pulled me back in some way, then when you pushed me away again, it hurt that much more.”

He’d known that she was hurting, but hadn’t actually felt it and that had made it possible to ignore it.

“Catherine, will you sit next to me?” he asked.

“Why?”

“I want to hold you, I want to feel what you felt and I want you to feel what I feel now.” He opened his arms.

She stared at him for a moment then moved from the chair to the couch, but didn’t move into his arms right away.

“How is holding me going to let me feel what you feel?” she asked skeptically. “The Bond doesn’t go both ways.”

“It does to an extent,” he admitted. “You were able to feel something as early as the time I was taken by that gang and you definitely felt something when Father and I were trapped in the Maze. I was grateful both those times that you’d felt my distress and came to my aid, but I was worried that you might feel other things… the things I wanted to keep private. The rages, the frustration… the arousal. So I did much as you did when Paracelsus took you prisoner. I did my best to block those feelings, to not feel them. I knew that you wanted to have a part of the Bond, that you wanted to be able to feel what I was feeling, but I just couldn’t allow it, not when I couldn’t control those feelings.”

“Oh Vincent.” She went into his arms and snuggled into his chest. “We are a mess!”  

He surprised her by pulling his shirt out of his pants and taking her hand and placing it on his skin. He moved his own hand up under her shirt and rested it on her back. She felt him take a deep breath and relax.

As soon as they were in skin to skin contact he was bombarded with myriad of feelings from her. But first and foremost was confusion. She wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Close your eyes and relax,” he told her. “Try to blank your mind.”

She did as he told her, but she’d always had trouble shutting down. She’d never been able to meditate because of that, but the sound of his heart beating slowly and steadily under her ear helped. She concentrated on that. Suddenly it was as if she’d been immersed in a bathtub… no a swimming pool of… she wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt good. It was light, and warm and soft and she felt loved, and protected. And it felt like forever. She relaxed and snuggled closer.

“Umm, that’s nice,” she murmured.

Vincent smiled. He could sense her better than he had in years. He’d begun by concentrating on her heartbeat too, and he’d been drawn in. He could feel her love, and her curiosity.

“Have you been blocking it all this time?” she asked, without moving.

“No, in the beginning, I think it needed strong feelings from me for you to sense me,” he explained.

“And that was why I didn’t feel anything when Dr. Hughes took you. You were sedated most of the time.”

Yes, and I also think that if you are touching me, touching my skin, you can feel more. Am I correct?”

“I think you are. The skin to skin seems to help. You know, while you were sick and I stayed with you… I only slept if I could do it while touching you. Either holding your hand while I slept on the cot next to your bed, or with my hand on your shoulder or chest if I was on the bed next to you. I guess I realized it somehow even then.”

“Can you feel what I’m feeling?” he asked.

“Yes, but I can’t describe it. All I know is that I feel loved.”

“You are Catherine. Forever.”

“Always,” she prompted.

“Yes, always.”

They sat like that for a long time before Catherine sat up and looked at him.   

“Will you stay tonight?”  

“You want me to?”

“Yes. I’m not asking for anything you’re not ready to give, but I am asking for your presence. I want to sleep in your arms. I need that.”

“Yes Catherine.”

He rose and held his hand out to her, but before they got to the stairs he stopped.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I have my things in the bedroom in the basement.”

“Your things?”

“Ah… my toothbrush and the pajamas I wore the other night.”

“OK, then why don’t you go get them and I’ll meet you upstairs.”

She headed upstairs and was thinking that she was really glad that he couldn’t sense her when they weren’t touching, because she was scared to death that he’d get to the basement and just keep walking until he got to his chamber.

She really began to worry when he didn’t appear in a few minutes. She went about her own nightly routine, washing her face, brushing her teeth, and selecting a nightgown from the drawer that held all her pretty, feminine nightwear; the gowns she hadn’t worn in years. She had just slipped one over her head and was reaching for her robe when she noticed the clear plastic box on the top shelf of her closet. The robe she’d given Vincent to wear at her place. She’d washed it a couple times, then moved it to the plastic box for storage. Even though he’d only worn it that one time, she still couldn’t part with it.

She pulled it out of the box and was carrying it out of the closet when Vincent appeared in the bedroom door. He was wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

“I decided I’d just change down there,” he told her.

“I see that. I was kind of worried you’d changed your mind and left,” she told him, deciding honesty was called for. She held the robe out to him.

“Is this the one you gave me… before?” he asked.

She nodded, “I thought that as long as you’re going to stay, you might like to have it. I’m glad you decided to stay.”

He dropped the robe on a chair then approached and took her into his arms. “I want to stay as much as you want me here.”

He lowered his head and kissed her.

Catherine slid her hands up his chest then slipped her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened and they were both out of breath by the time he pulled away.

“How far are we willing to take this?” he asked, looking down at her.

“How far are you willing to go?” she countered.

“You said that you wanted to sleep in my arms…”

“But if you want more; if you want to pick up where we left off this afternoon, that’s fine too.”

“If you want me to stop at any time, you’ll tell me?”

“I will and the same thing goes for you. If you get overwhelmed and want to slow down or stop, just say so.”

Nodding, he pulled her closer and she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. Relishing the feel of his large, warm hands slowly exploring her body, Catherine let Vincent go at his own speed. He caressed her through the gown, then moved his hands to her breasts.

She didn’t stop him so Vincent slipped his fingers under the straps of the gown and pulled it away from her upper body.

Catherine moved her hands up to cover his.

“Slow down,” she whispered. “Take your time. We have plenty of it, now.”

“I'm sorry,” he replied nervously. “I didn’t mean to rush.”

He’d seemed so self-assured only a moment ago, now he was hesitant again.

“Don't apologize!” Catherine rushed to reassure him.

He bent down to kiss her on the forehead. “I do want you so very much and I love you so very much.”

Catherine flushed at his words. “We have all night and longer and we’re not likely to be disturbed here.”

Feeling Vincent relax a bit, Catherine slowly moved her hands down to her sides and the straps of the gown slid down her arms. It stayed around her waist as she let Vincent continue his gentle exploration.

“You are perfect,” he told her. He slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips across the top of one breast. The feel of his lips on her and his hair brushing her bare skin made Catherine bite her bottom lip and fight to keep her soft cries of pleasure silent.

Vincent’s lips left her breast and he bent and picked her up. It was only a few steps to the bed.

“Don't hold back,” he whispered as he set her on her feet next to the bed. “I can feel what you are feeling. I can’t believe how good I can make you feel,” He nuzzled her cheek.

Vincent's smoky, musky scent, his hair tickling her chest, the feel of him lightly touching her breasts, made the long buried longings stir.

“Can I take the rest of this off?” she asked, gesturing to the gown that was still around her waist.

Vincent stood back and watched as the gown slipped down her body leaving only her silk panties. 

Vincent slowly scanned her body; she was pure perfection, her skin was creamy and flawless.

“You're beautiful,” he whispered. 

“I have stretch marks,” Catherine replied, skimming her fingers over her hips. “Jake grew fast.”

Vincent bent and kissed first one hip then the other.

“Marks of courage; they prove how strong you are.”

He lifted her onto the bed, and followed her.

She lay back and tried to relax. He bent over her to hungrily kiss her neck and face. 

Oh my god, Catherine thought, feeling Vincent move down past her breasts, kissing down to her navel then all the way back up to her breasts. Catherine gripped the sheet tightly in one hand. The other tangled in his hair.

Vincent’s hand closed over the hand gripping the sheets and he looked up at her.

“What's wrong?” he asked as he moved back up her body and paused to prop himself up on one arm to look directly at her.

Catherine hesitated.

“I love you,” he told her, looking down at her and meshing his fingers with hers.

“I know,” she replied honestly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She hadn’t said it yet. She didn’t know why she was so hesitant.

He removed his hand from Catherine's and stroked it over her stomach. 

Vincent had the benefit of the Bond as long as he was touching her, but for all intents and purposes this was his first time. He knew he would have to go slow. All he wanted was to please her.

“Touch me, Vincent?” she asked, her body tense as she waited for him to move his hand.

Knowing what she was expecting, yet still nervous, Vincent bent and kissed her again, then ghosted his fingers over her breasts and down to her stomach. Catherine took a deep breath, trying to contain her delight. 

In her delight at Vincent’s touch Catherine didn’t pay attention to how he was touching her until she realized his hand had slowly traveled between her legs, and was rubbing her lightly through her panties. Inhaling sharply when his fingers glided over her, she was unable to control her movements.

“Is that all right?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Yes!” she hissed softly, trying to contain everything that was slowly building inside her. Vincent understood; her movements and the way she pushed back into his hand revealed everything.

“Vincent, take my panties off please… touch me,” Catherine said suddenly, her desire evident in her voice as the throbbing ache grew.

“Are you certain?” he asked.

“Yes, please!” she moaned.

Catherine raised her hips as Vincent knelt to slip her panties off. After she was nude, Vincent pushed Catherine's thighs further apart and let his lips travel up her inner thigh, kissing and licking, arousing her even more.

Her body trembled beneath his kisses and she couldn't contain the moans that were escaping from her lips.

Looking up, Vincent could see her pleasure in her face. It just reinforced what he felt in the Bond. 

“Am I doing it right?” Vincent asked, pausing after a nibble at the soft flesh of her inner thigh.

“Oh, yes!” Catherine moaned breathlessly.

He moved his hand back to her center and found the little nub with his thumb. He slowly began to massage it.

“Vincent!” she moaned helplessly, unable to keep her body from shaking. 

“Yes, Catherine, let go,” Vincent encouraged softly. He could feel her need to climax.

He had worried about touching her so intimately, concerned about his sharp nails, but he seemed to have found a method of pleasuring her that didn’t put the delicate tissue in danger. He continued to massage her with one hand as he reached for her breast with the other one.

“Vincent, Vincent, oh my!” Catherine panted in a raspy voice, her hand still wrapped tightly in the sheets. 

The feeling of her mounting pleasure was almost too much for Vincent. Her excitement was cresting at such a fast rate that it almost frightened him. He never dreamed he could give her such pleasure. 

Vincent glanced up. Catherine's head was thrown back, her chest was heaving and her stomach muscles were tensing and relaxing with each stroke of his thumb. Her moans turned into cries of pleasure.

Her pleasure mounted and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, feeling the pressure building. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer she erupted. She moaned and shook so violently she practically vibrated. 

Vincent sensed when his attentions became too much for her over sensitive flesh. He stopped his caresses and moved up beside her to pull her into his arms. Her body went limp and she collapsed against him. Catherine curled her trembling body into his as she fought to catch her breath, totally spent from her climax. 

Vincent was still nearly fully dressed. His erection almost painful, and the cotton pajama bottoms did nothing to disguise the fact. Taking her advice from earlier about rushing he turned her onto her side. He curled behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He held her close to him until her body finally relaxed. 

“Are you all right?” he asked after a few minutes. 

“Yes,” she replied weakly, half mumbling into the pillow.

“It's all right; rest for now,” Vincent told her gently.

Too exhausted and overwhelmed by what had happened to argue with him, Catherine relaxed and fell asleep in his arms.

A few hours later, Vincent woke and gazed at the woman who was snuggled contentedly in his arms. He stroked her hair out of her face and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. Catherine's eyes fluttered open and she gazed into his eyes. There was a momentary confusion, then she smiled at him, closed her eyes and moved her lips to his. 

Vincent returned her kisses until she strained against him. He was aroused and uncomfortable again before he knew it. He gently disentangled himself from her and pulled off his pajama bottoms and t-shirt.

“Touch me,” Vincent whispered moving closer to her.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said as she took him in her hands. Vincent's expression was one of indescribable pleasure at her delicate touch. She ran her fingers over the smooth skin. 

“Not too much?” she asked, wrapping her hand around him.

Shaking his head hesitantly, Vincent tried to relax and enjoy her touch. Only in his most secret fantasies had he ever imagined anything like this. She watched as conflicting emotions played across his face.

“I want you inside me, Vincent,” she whispered.

Vincent gently pulled from her grasp and hesitantly stretched out on top of her. His hips pushing her thighs apart, Vincent positioned himself, letting the head of his erection brush against her wetness.

Feeling her body trembling against him, Vincent dipped his head to kiss her.

“Catherine,” he gently coaxed, turning her head so he could see her eyes.  

“Please don’t stop,” she gasped.

“Not now,” he assured her. “Not ever.”

Catherine wrapped her arms around Vincent's broad shoulders, finally giving him all her trust. 

Supporting himself on his elbows, Vincent positioned himself and gently began pressing forward. Catherine's body reflexively tensed beneath him. It had been years. Vincent sensed some discomfort and alarmed, he stopped.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, keeping still. 

“No...” she answered, burying her face in his warm chest. 

“We can stop,” he started to move away; he was shaking now too.

“No!” she said again, but more emphatically this time. She clutched his arms so he wouldn't move. “I'll be fine. It’s just been a long time, and… well… you are rather well endowed. Just go slowly.”

“I'll go slow,” he promised. He wasn’t surprised by her stubbornness. He kissed and caressed her until he felt her relax. 

Catherine had to consciously relax, but she winced as she felt him pushing forward again. She took deep breaths and tried to remember how to block the Bond, just in case.

Vincent murmured softly, and kissed her forehead. He could tell she was holding back, but he trusted her to know what she was doing. He shifted so he could hold her face between his hands and before she realized what was happening she felt him slowly push into her body until she completely surrounded him.

Vincent held himself absolutely still, letting Catherine's body adjust to the invasion, listening to what the Bond was telling him. In her surprise, she’d lost her grip on it and it had come flooding back.

He was alarmed when he saw tears leaking from under her eyelids.

“Are you all right,” he asked, wiping away her tears with his thumb, then kissing away what was left. “Are you uncomfortable?” He knew she wasn’t in pain.

“I’m fine,” she said looking up into his eyes. There was no pain, just a feeling of fullness and the sudden urge to move. 

“The tears?”

“Happiness,” she assured him with a smile.

Closing her eyes, Catherine moaned softly as Vincent began moving in a gentle, steady rhythm. Vincent groaned in pleasure, hoping that he wouldn't climax too soon.

Just when Catherine was used to the slow gentle rhythm, Vincent increased his speed. The slight discomfort had turned into a deep, delicious pleasure.

“Vincent!” she moaned, focusing on the feel of him. Vincent looked down at Catherine’s flushed, heaving chest. She fought to breathe through the sensations sweeping through her body.

“Relax and let it happen,” Vincent urged, coaxing away the damp curls that had fallen across Catherine's face. 

Drawing her arms down from around his neck, Vincent pushed them to rest on the pillows above her head and slid his hands into hers. Feeling her squeeze his hands in response, Vincent increased his speed again. Even though he lacked experience, he more than made up for it with his use of the Bond to know what she was feeling. He was amazed by the way she responded to his lovemaking. He felt her body react in a totally new manner, she started moving her hips to meet his. 

Catherine was focused on only one thing now. It almost felt too good; she needed him to keep moving. If he stopped, she thought she would surely die. 

“Vincent!” she cried out. Her trembling body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and she couldn't stop moaning his name.

The look of pleasure on Catherine’s face brought an unfamiliar satisfaction to Vincent. Capturing her lips with his, he felt her breathing and moans becoming more erratic.

“Vincent! Yes, please don’t stop!” she moaned when he broke the kiss. Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly, her nails almost digging into the palms of his hands. Whimpering in pleasure, Catherine suddenly pulled free of his hands and grabbed his shoulders, urging him to go faster.

“Let go, Vincent,” she gasped. “I won’t break!” 

As Vincent did as she asked, he felt her finally climax, stronger and more profound than the first one earlier in the evening. Her body trembled violently beneath him and she gasped for air as her body succumbed to the most intense orgasm of her life. 

Hearing Catherine's cries of pleasure and feeling her body’s reaction, Vincent was unable to hold back any longer. “Catherine!” he groaned, his body trembling as he erupted deep inside her. 

Still feeling light headed from her climax, Catherine could feel him pulsating deep inside her as he climaxed. Her mind cleared as she fought to catch her breath. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what had just happened. 

After their breathing returned to normal, Vincent withdrew from Catherine's warm body. Lying on his back, he pulled her into his embrace. Still overcome with the feelings inside her, Catherine began to cry softly, desperately trying to hide her face from Vincent.

“What's wrong?” he asked, still not completely trusting the Bond. He gently turned Catherine in his arms to face him. When she still didn't answer, Vincent continued to gently prod. 

“Do you regret this?” he queried.

“No...” she replied, sniffling. “I'm fine, this is just a dream I’d almost given up on... I'm OK, really.”

Thankful for the Bond that would help Vincent understand, she was grateful when he just nodded and began running his hands through her hair. 

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

Catherine smiled to herself. “No! It was just a little uncomfortable at first. It passed quickly. I might be a little sore in the morning, but it will be nothing a nice warm bath won’t fix.”

“Sleep,” he urged her. “Get some rest, you’re tired.”

Catherine relaxed and her breathing became deeper and more even. Vincent thought she’d gone to sleep when he felt her struggle back to wakefulness. She snuggled closer and her arms tightened around him.

“I love you, Vincent,” she whispered before she allowed herself to sleep.

Vincent heard the words and the memories flooded back. He remembered the first time. The time when Jacob was conceived. He remembered making love to Catherine as the sunlight streamed through the French doors and warmed their bed. She’d told him she loved him then, too.  

When Vincent woke the next morning, he was alone, but the faint smell of coffee drifting up from the kitchen told him where Catherine was. The Bond told him that she was happy, and he smiled.

He stretched then rolled to his side to look at Kristopher’s painting. It had been a night of revelations, and he didn’t know what affected him more. Catherine still loved him and wanted him and he’d made love to her and he’d pleased her… more than once. And the Bond! He searched it and it seemed as strong as it had ever been. It told him that Catherine was hungry, but for food this time.

He rose and went into the bathroom where he found that Catherine had put out a new toothbrush for him and a clean towel hung on the towel bar next to her slightly damp one. He turned on the shower, stepped in and let the hot water wash over his body.

In the kitchen, Catherine heard the slight rattle of the pipes that told her that the shower had been turned on upstairs. She smiled and got up to start breakfast. She’d put out eggs and bacon earlier when she’d made coffee. Now she put the bacon on a baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven.

The table was set and she was spooning eggs onto plates when Vincent entered the kitchen. She pretended not to notice him until he stepped up close behind her and lowered his head to kiss the top of her head.

“Good morning,” he said in a low voice.

“You just made it,” she said as she glanced at the clock. She put down the pan and turned around. “It’s almost noon. I sent a message and asked Pascal to let Father know we’d be down after lunch.”

Vincent smiled and dipped his head lower to kiss her. He intended it to be a slight peck, but as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed against him, it deepened.

“The eggs are getting cold,” he said when he finally lifted his head.

“But we are certainly getting warm,” she added.

He backed away, seemingly unconcerned about how his pajamas didn’t disguise anything. Even the robe didn’t help. She turned to pick up their plates and carry them to the table.

“Tea in the pot,” she said as he took his seat. “Do you want anything else?”

“We can talk about that after breakfast,” he surprised her by saying.

She grinned and sat down. “I like this new side of you that I’m seeing!”

They ate in silence. Catherine could tell that Vincent was lost in thought.

“A penny,” she offered after a few moments.

He looked up and smiled. “I think it’s probably worth at least a nickel.”

“I think there’s some change in the drawer under the phone, so what has you so deep in thought?”

“The Bond. It seems to have returned.”

She smiled, then a shadow passed across her face. “Can you still feel Jake?”

He nodded. “He’s still here too.” He placed his hand over his heart.

“It must be getting crowded in there,” she commented, but she was relieved that he hadn’t lost his Bond with his son.

“There’s plenty of room,” he assured her. He hesitated then continued. “… and I remember.”

“Remember?” Then her face lit up and she smiled. “You mean the first time we made love?”

“And it was exactly as you told me. It was beautiful… and over the last few years I’ve also recovered more of what happened in the cavern. Some of it is a bit foggy and it’s still a little out of sequence, but I remember seeing you coming into the cavern.” His eyes were unfocused as he stared over her shoulder and out the window into the yard. “I had been fighting the other part of myself, and when I looked up and saw you coming toward me, he was behind you. I’d seen him like that before, in your apartment, but that time he was leering at you and reaching for you. In the cavern it was different. He was just looking at you with something like longing in his eyes, but I still felt that he was a threat and that was why I came at you.”

“You weren’t charging me?” she asked incredulously.

“No, I was hallucinating, but I knew you. I thought I was saving you from him.” He looked uncomfortable reliving it, but she let him go on.

“You called my name and he came rushing at me. It was like he merged with me and that was when I collapsed.”

“He tried to kill you?” she was puzzled.

He shrugged. “I don’t think so,” he admitted. “But he hasn’t made a reappearance since that day. Do you remember me telling you how peaceful I felt after my illness?” She nodded and he continued. “It was as if that part of me was no longer there; the dark part. But over the last few years, I’ve come to realize that it’s more as if I came to terms with that part of myself. At that moment in the cave when I saw him behind you, I realized that both parts of me loved you, and that it was the dark part of myself that I was able to call on for the extra strength, or speed or even the ability to use the Bond to find you. Maybe that was why the Bond disappeared. That dark half of me was so deeply buried that some of the abilities that it gave me were buried too.”

“And now? With the Bond back, does that mean that part is starting to surface again?” she asked apprehensively. “I don’t want you to have to go through all that again. It was too hard on you; it almost killed you.”

“I don’t think it’s anything that we need to worry about,” he rushed to reassure her. “Like I said, it’s like I came to terms with the things about myself that I didn’t like; that frightened me. That is what it was. I’ve always tried to hide away the things about myself that didn’t seem entirely human. I think Father inadvertently started it. When I was little, I didn’t have as much hair as I do now. The skin on my face was completely bare. Father did everything he could to make me look as normal as possible. He kept my nails clipped short, my hair was a lot shorter. So that gave me the impression early that anything that was different, or about that other part of me, the part that was stronger, faster, had better hearing and eyesight, and could roar was wrong and needed to be suppressed. It started getting worse when I was twelve or thirteen, just before Devin left, all of those things that were different became more pronounced. I know Father only did it because he loved me and because he wanted me to be accepted by everyone, but…”

“… but it’s a rather negative way to raise a child.” She put in when he hesitated.

“That and it was contradictory and confusing later when I was called on to use those things that I was trying to suppress to protect the people I love.”

“That would be hard for anyone to understand, much less a child,” she agreed. 

“Exactly. That is why I didn’t want to interfere with what you are doing with Jacob. You are aware of his differences, as small as they are, but I’ve never heard you say anything to him about any of it. Not even in warning.”

“I think I kind of subconsciously realized where Father had gone a little wrong with you, and I didn’t want to make those same mistakes. Jake is stronger than the other kids his age, and he can run faster, see better and hear better, but I’ve tried not to point it out to him. Sure, I’ll warn him to be gentle with a small animal, or a younger child, but it’s only the warning that I’d give to any child. I’ve never pointed out any of his differences. Not that any of them are that obvious.”

Catherine was sitting back, sipping her coffee and watching Vincent.

“What is it?” he asked when he noticed her gaze.

She smiled and shrugged. “I was just thinking how lucky I am to be getting a second chance.”

“I’m the lucky one. You’re giving me the second chance, with both you and our son, that I only dreamed to having.”

Catherine rose and started gathering their dishes and loading the dishwasher. When she turned back to the table Vincent was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He was on his feet at once.

“What is it?” he asked, pulling her into his arms.

She shook her head and buried her face in his t-shirt, and he was surprised when he heard her chuckle.

“I’m turning into a real wuss,” she complained as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hands. “I was determined not to cry nearly the whole time we were apart. And I was pretty successful; I usually only succumbed when I was alone; in the shower, mostly, but I’ve really been making up for it lately.”

“Go ahead and cry… I hear it’s good for you,” he told her with a smile. “It’s cathartic, and by no means does it mean you are a wuss. I was reading an article in one of Father’s medical journals and it said that it relieves stress, removes toxins and may even lower blood pressure.”

That made her laugh. “Now you sound like Father… or Peter.”

He moved back to his chair and pulled her down onto his lap and they sat like that for several minutes.

“What are we going to tell Jacob?” he asked.

“That kind of depends on how we plan to do this,” she told him. “I know you can’t exactly move in here, not with your responsibilities Below.”

“If Mouse gets the relay installed, I can spend more time here. If you will allow it, I thought I might maintain my chamber Below for nights when I’ve worked late. I’ll still teach and work with the repair crews that need me. I’ll spend my days Below.”

She slid her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“If I allow it? Hell, I’m likely to demand it. I think we should just be honest with Jake and tell him that we’ve worked out our differences and you will be living with us at least part of the time.”

“If you will say, most of the time, then I will agree to that,” he said and kissed her.

They were both getting overheated when they finally broke the kiss.

“And if we don’t stop this,” she said as she stood and tugged him to his feet, “we won’t be heading Below until after dinner.” She gave him a gentle push toward the basement. “You go and get dressed and I’ll go upstairs and get dressed. “You can bring whatever you need back with you when we come back this evening. I’ll make room in the closet upstairs, and you can use the drawers in the armoire. I’ve never put anything in them.”    

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

They passed Jamie who told them that the children were in the study with Father. She smiled when she saw that they were holding hands.

When they walked into the study a few minutes later, Jake was watching the entrance as if he expected them. He jumped up and threw himself at his mother, wrapping his arms around her knees. She glanced up at Vincent as she bent down and returned the child’s hug.

“I missed you too,” she said. “Did you have a good time?”

“Uh huh! We had Sloppy Joe’s for dinner last night, and pancakes for breakfast, and Geoffrey and Kipper took us exploring, and Mary taught us how to braid rags to make a rug. We had macaroni and cheese for lunch, then Grandpa told us that he’d teach us all to play checkers. I love it when I get to sleep over. Did you and Daddy have a sleep over? Did you have fun?”

Catherine turned bright red, Vincent almost choked and Father laughed out loud.

“Well, yes we did, Jacob,” Vincent answered. “Your mother and I talked and we worked a few things out and we’d like to talk to you about it.”

Jake looked at Father who waved him on. “Go ahead, Jacob. We can continue our lesson later.”

Catherine and Jake left the chamber as Vincent turned back to Father.

“I want to talk to you later, Father,” he said.

“You just go ahead. I understand. Enjoy your family. I’ll be here when you need me.”

Catherine was sitting on the sofa and Jake was on a chair in front of her. Vincent joined Catherine when he arrived. He was surprised when he sensed apprehension from the boy.

“It’s all right, Jacob,” he began. “What we want to talk about is good. You can relax.”

“At least we feel it is,” added Catherine.

Vincent turned to Catherine.  

“I think everyone is going to think it is.” He turned back to Jake.

“What did you and Mama talk about?”

“We talked about us; your mother and me and you.”

“And we have some ideas that we want to run by you,” Catherine added.

Jake didn’t speak, he just waited for one of them to go on.

“What would you think if I moved in with you and your mother?” Vincent asked.

He didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

“Really? Like you’d be there all of the time? You could use the room next door to me.”

“Well, I think the arraignments would be a little different,” Catherine rushed to explain. “He will probably share my room most of the time.”

Jake’s brow furrowed, making his look more like Vincent. “But you’ve only got one bed.”

“But it’s a very big bed,” she reminded him. “And most parents usually sleep together.”

Jake thought about that for a moment.

“You’re gonna get married?” he asked.

Catherine didn’t answer, she just looked at her hands. Vincent sputtered uncertainly for a moment.

“We hadn’t actually talked about that,” he admitted. “What do you think?”

“Well, most of my friends’ moms and dads are married.”

“Then…” Vincent hesitated for a moment before he looked his son in the eye. “May I have your permission to ask your mother to marry me?”

Jake as surprised by the request. No adult had ever asked his permission to do anything. He nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! Sure! Especially if it means you’ll live with us forever and ever… Like in the fairy tales. It’ll be ‘happily ever after.’”

Vincent surprised them both by turning and going down on one knee in front of Catherine.

“Would you do me the honor…”

She didn’t even give him the chance to finish. She threw herself into his arms as she shouted. “Yes, yes, yes!”
"I don't have a ring, but..." 
He leaned  away from her and pulled the small leather bag out from under his shirt. He opened it and took out the crystal and held it suspended in front of her. 
She gasped and caught the swinging crystal in her hand.
"You had it? I wondered where it was. I was afraid that I'd lost it forever."
"I went back to that chamber where you saved my life. It was in the sand."
"The chain must have broken when I tried to catch you."
"I mended it." 
He eased the chain over her head and leaned down and kissed her.

Jake jumped up and danced around them, clapping his hands and laughing before he darted out of the chamber shouting. “Mama and Daddy are going to get married!”

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

The wedding had been planned in record time. Catherine and Vincent hadn’t wanted a big celebration. They’d suggested that the ceremony be performed by a Helper who was a minister and it would take place in the Study. Father could be Vincent’s best man and Mary would be Catherine’s maid of honor and anyone Below who wanted was to be invited to attend. They planned for it to take place two weeks from Vincent’s proposal.

But by the time the day arrived, it had grown to the Tunnel equivalent of a royal wedding.

It had been moved to the Great Hall and everyone Below wanted to be there, and at least half of their Helpers attended also. Even Narcissa and Elizabeth were there.

Peter gave Catherine away, and she was not only attended by Mary, but by Olivia, Rebecca, Lena and Jamie. Baby Catherine, who was a year older than Jake, was the flower girl and Jake was promoted to Groomsman, while Olivia and Kanin’s youngest, Samuel, was the ring bearer. Devin got wind of what was going on and he arrived two days before the event and became one of the groomsmen along with Charles. 

The party was still going on when Catherine and Vincent snuck out and made their way back to his chamber.

“You’re sure no one will disturb us here?” she asked dubiously as Vincent helped slid the zipper of her dress down her back.

“They wouldn’t dare!” he said with a laugh, “but just in case I had Cullen put a latch on the door to the bedchamber.” He went over and demonstrated the simple latch that would lock the door from the inside.

Catherine slid the gown down and stepped out of it. Vincent handed her the hanger and she hung it and hung the hanger on the front of the armoire.

“Just when did we lose control of all this?” she asked as she pulled on a robe and went to sit in front of the dressing table Vincent had installed in the chamber for her.

Vincent went to stand behind her and began to help her take down her hair.

“I think that happened about the time our son ran out of the chamber shouting that his mother and father were going to get married.”

She laughed and leaned back against him as his hands dropped from her hair to her shoulders.

“You’re probably right about that. I got the distinct feeling every time we sat down to talk about plans with someone that they were just nodding and smiling and humoring us.”

Over the previous two weeks, Vincent had become a lot more at ease with his own body and she watched in the mirror as he moved away from her and started taking off his wedding finery, folding it neatly and putting it away. When he’d put on the dark blue silk pajama bottoms she’d given him as a wedding present he moved back to stand behind her.

“The last two weeks have been a little like a dream,” she said as she rose and turned toward him.

“I’ve wanted to ask someone to pinch me several times, especially in the last few days, but I was afraid that Devin would take me up on it and leave me back and blue.”

The two of you together are so much fun,” she told him as she slid her arms around his torso and snuggled close. “I feel like I’m getting a glimpse of your childhood.”

Vincent just laughed and shook his head.

“Did he really call you Fuzzbutt?”

“He did. Just before he left I was just starting to get more body hair. It was more like a layer of soft fuzz to begin with. He started calling me that when he first noticed it and it stuck until he left. I’d all but forgotten it until he returned.”

He leaned down and captured her lips.

“Can we change the subject?” he asked when they pulled away from either other.

“Whatever would you like to talk about?” she asked with a twinkle.

“Umm, perhaps words aren’t necessary for the moment.” He bent and captured her lips again.

Later, they never even noticed when Jacob and Luke entered the outer chamber to pick up a book that Father had promised to read to everyone that evening.

“So you’re going to live Below now?” asked Luke as Jake crossed the chamber to get the book.

“Nope. Mama said that Daddy will be living with us in our house, but we’ll be coming down here because this is our other home and he works here. She said that sometimes we’ll come Below for vacations and we’ll go exploring with Daddy. I can’t wait!”

'