Author's note: I started this fic the day after Valentin's dramatic appearance at Wyndemere on Halloween. At the time, I assumed that Laura would have cleared her personal stuff out of the house that night and gone home with Dante and Lulu. I further assumed that Kevin would have helped them with the move (because Kevin), then gone home, then come by the next morning to make sure that Laura, Lulu, and company were okay. So when this opens Dante has already gone to work, but everyone else is home, and Laura is just coming downstairs. Note that Rocco is still little in this story, as I started it before GH SORASed him.
Laura was about to push the den door open when the sound of her daughter's distressed voice on the other side stilled her hand.
"-longer this goes on, the more worried I'm going to be about Mom."
"I think your Mom is coping pretty well, all things considered."
Thank you, Kevin, Laura thought, and realized he must have come by to check on them.
"She's just under so much stress," Lulu went on as if Kevin hadn't spoken. "I mean, losing Nikolas was already hard enough, and now for Valentin to just show up here like nothing even happened…"
"It's a very difficult situation," Kevin agreed, his mild tone a stark contrast with Lulu's agitation.
"Mom was so upset last night. You know-you saw her."
Laura winced. Kevin knew even better than Lulu realized just how upset she'd been. He had been the one to comfort her after Lulu and Dante had gone to put Rocco to bed, and she'd had quite a spectacular mini-breakdown all over him.
"I understand that you're worried about her," Kevin said gently, bringing Laura back to the present, "but to be honest, Lulu, I'd be more concerned about your mother if she wasn't visibly upset. The way she's reacting is normal. Or at least as normal as anything about this situation can be."
"So you think she's okay?" Lulu asked, and Laura could hear the note of pleading underneath the question.
"I wouldn't say any of us is exactly okay right now. We're all still in varying levels of shock. But she's coping about as well as anyone could." A pause. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm about to cross a line, but if what you're really asking is whether I think having Valentin Cassadine show up here is going to put your mother back into a dissociative state, then no, I don't."
"Wait, you know about that? Did Mom tell you?"
"She did, yes."
"Wow. That's… I mean, she doesn't talk about it."
"I know. And you certainly wouldn't be hearing about it from me if you weren't her daughter. But I can see that you're afraid of what all this might do to her, and I don't think she'd mind my reassuring you: Your mother is very, very far from losing touch with reality."
"Thank you," Lulu blurted, now sounding close to tears. "I just can't help being scared, you know? I went to wake her up this morning, and for the longest time all I could do was stand there outside her room thinking What if she won't wake up? What if she's gone again?"
Now Laura wanted to cry herself. She'd had no idea how terrified Lulu actually was.
"A perfectly understandable fear," Kevin said gently. "But an unfounded one."
"Are you sure?" It had been years since Laura had heard that scared-little-girl tone in her daughter's voice, and it tore at her.
"I'm sure."
There came the faint sound of a stifled sob, and Laura almost threw the door open-who cared if they knew she'd been eavesdropping?-but it was instantly followed by a rustle of movement and Kevin saying, "Whoa, easy...c'mere, kiddo."
Laura pushed the door open enough to peek through the gap just in time to see Lulu fall into Kevin's open arms. He caught her and hugged her tightly, murmuring something too quiet for Laura to make out, and she began to cry in earnest. Kevin's broad hand almost completely spanned the width of Lulu's shaking shoulders, and Laura was struck by a wave of deep, nameless emotion at the sight of him holding her child so protectively.
At that instant, Kevin looked up, seeming to feel her eyes on him. Their gazes locked and held, and after a moment he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Asking her, Laura understood, not to interrupt Lulu's catharsis. Asking her to let him handle this.
She nodded slowly and withdrew, letting the door slip silently closed before taking herself to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Not because she particularly wanted a cup of tea, but because it would give her something to do with her hands and hopefully take her mind off wanting to run to her daughter.
It wasn't until the tea was steeping that she calmed down enough to really process what she'd just witnessed. She had known that Lulu liked Kevin-he'd obviously gotten her flight number from someone, after all-but the visible depth of respect and trust between them had surprised her. Lulu didn't admit fear any more easily than Laura herself did, and for her to literally cry on Kevin's shoulder was a tremendous leap of faith.
Very belatedly, it occurred to Laura that what was happening between Kevin and herself wasn't just between them. Spencer liked Kevin enough that he'd written him an actual paper letter and asked her to hand-deliver it. At the time she'd chalked that up to Spencer's flare for the dramatic, but what if what he'd really wanted was to force her to talk to Kevin? That would be a very Spencer-like move, now that she thought about it, if he had somehow become aware of the tension between them.
Lulu, too, had really wanted her to give Kevin another chance. Had gone out of her way to nudge her in that direction several times, actually. And when she'd mentioned agreeing to have lunch with him the other day, Lulu had practically done the dance of joy.
Come to think of it, even Lucky had asked about Kevin on the phone last night. She had called to warn him that Valentin was on the loose, and his first question after ascertaining that she and Lulu were safe had been whether Kevin was there with them. Which had struck Laura as a bit strange, given how long it had been since Lucky had last seen Kevin.
Somehow in the course of the months they'd known each other, Kevin had become part of her family, and she hadn't even noticed. The revelation hit Laura so hard that she didn't realize she was staring sightlessly down into her mug until Kevin's voice spoke from the doorway several minutes later.
"Reading your tea leaves?"
She startled and looked up at him. "No, I- Is Lulu alright?"
"She's fine," he said, coming to lean against the counter beside her. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to feel like the world's worst mother," she admitted. "I didn't even think about how scared she must be-"
"Not your fault," he said.
"I should've talked to her more last night. I should've-"
Kevin turned and took her firmly by the shoulders. "Stop. You had just come face-to-face with your son's murderer and lost your home in the space of ten minutes. You were frantic to reach Spencer's school and Lucky and your mother, and it's completely understandable that Lulu-who was standing right in front of you whole and healthy-wasn't the first person you thought to worry about."
"I still feel terrible. She was crying." Laura brushed her fingers across the damp patch on Kevin's shirtfront.
"She needed a good cry. She's scared and angry and confused, and it's not healthy to bottle all of that up."
"You were really good with her," Laura murmured, feeling again that strange wave of emotion that had swept over her as she watched the two of them together.
"Was I?" He actually sounded slightly uncertain. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about my stepping in like that, but I couldn't just stand there and… I mean, I have a daughter, and if Christina was ever that upset I would want someone to-"
"You did the right thing," she broke in. "And you did great."
Kevin's relief was palpable. "Thank you."
Another late-breaking thought occurred to Laura. "Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that this has to be upsetting for you, too. The man who shot you is running around free, and you've got me and Lulu falling apart all over you without even asking how you're doing."
"Getting to be here for you and Lulu is probably why I'm as calm as I am. I always do better in a crisis when I feel useful."
"I hope you know you're more to me than just useful," she said, looking up into his eyes. "As sorry as I am that I dragged you into all of this, I won't lie-I'm really glad you're here."
"I'm glad I'm here, too. And you didn't drag me anywhere. Wherever you are, that's where I want to be."
"Even when that puts you squarely in Valentin Cassadine's path?"
"Especially then. I don't want you going after that lunatic alone. Not that I doubt you could, but I'd really rather you didn't."
"What makes you think I'm planning to go after him?"
"I've met you."
Laura laughed in spite of herself. "Okay, you're right. The thought has occurred to me. But I haven't gotten as far as having an actual plan, and it's never a good idea to go up against a Cassadine without a plan, not if you can help it."
"I'll take your word on that. But I'm serious, Laura-please remember that you're not alone in this."
She brought her hands up to rest on his forearms and gave them a little squeeze. "How could I forget?"
He lowered his head until their foreheads nearly touched and looked seriously into her eyes. "I'm going to say the same thing to you now that I said to Lulu a few minutes ago, and I hope you'll take it in the spirit in which it's intended: Please be careful."
"I will," she promised. "But you have to do the same, okay? Valentin's original quarrel may not have been with you, but now there's no telling, and...well, like you said, he's a lunatic."
Kevin smiled. "I already promised Lulu that I wouldn't do anything crazy, and I take my promises very seriously."
"Did she by any chance promise you the same thing?" Laura asked hopefully.
"She said she wouldn't go looking for trouble, but that was the best I could do."
"I'm amazed that you got that much out of her. She can be pretty stubborn."
Kevin didn't say a word, but his raised eyebrow spoke volumes.
"I know, I know. Apples and trees. But I'm blaming at least half of it on Luke. It's not as if he's here to defend himself," she added, only realizing after the fact how bitter she sounded. "Wow, sorry. I don't know where that came from."
"Probably from the perfectly reasonable expectation that your ex-husband should be as concerned as you are about protecting your children and grandchildren from Valentin Cassadine," Kevin answered, taking her aback.
"I, uh...well, yes," she managed after a moment. "Though I guess it's possible that he doesn't know."
Kevin studied her eyes, then shook his head. "You don't really believe that."
"No," Laura admitted, "I don't. By now Robert certainly knows, which I'm sure means Luke knows."
"But you don't think he's coming back."
"No," she said again, and tried to fight back angry tears. "If he'd had any intention of ever coming back here, I hope to hell he would've done it when Lulu thought he was dead. But he couldn't even be bothered to call her, so…"
"I'm sorry," Kevin said quietly.
Laura laughed wetly, scrubbing at her face with her hands. "It's certainly not your fault."
"It's not yours, either," he answered, producing a clean handkerchief from his back pocket and offering it to her. "Or Lulu's. Or Lucky's."
"Thank you," she said, accepting both the handkerchief and the reassurance. "I know that. I do. And so do they, I hope. I just wish… Well, I wish a lot of things, actually." She managed a half-smile. "I didn't really mean to get into all this."
"We can change the subject," he agreed gracefully. "Just so long as you know that if you need to talk-about anything-I'm here."
"Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know. I've just gotten so used to not having anyone to talk to about the kids that...well, it may take me a little while."
"You take your time. I'll be here."
"I know," she answered, blinking back fresh tears-the good kind this time. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
He smiled and leaned in to press a soft kiss to her forehead, then straightened and reached matter-of-factly for her over-steeped tea. "I think this is probably beyond salvaging at this point. What do you say we start over? Assuming you wouldn't mind making it tea for two, that is."
"I definitely wouldn't mind."
They made two cups of proper tea and installed themselves in the breakfast nook, where they spent the next half-hour discussing a variety of things having nothing whatsoever to do with Valentin Cassadine. Then Lulu wandered in carrying Rocco and asked whether anyone else was hungry, and somehow that turned into Kevin making pancakes while Laura fried bacon and Lulu ran herself ragged trying to keep Rocco out from under their feet.
By the time they sat down to eat Lulu was filching bacon off Kevin's plate as if she'd been doing it for years, and Kevin was elaborately pretending not to notice. Rocco thought it was hilarious, and Laura found herself doing more laughing than eating until Kevin noticed and gave her a little nudge, nodding toward her plate.
Dante called to check on them about halfway through breakfast, and Lulu put him on speakerphone, saying "Falconeri residence, breakfast chaos in progress" as Rocco attempted to launch a syrupy bite of pancake across the room with his blunt plastic fork.
Dante laughed. "How much of it is he wearing this morning?"
"Only about a quarter, actually. He really likes Kevin's pancakes."
"Kevin's there?"
"I dropped by to check on everyone here and ended up staying for breakfast," Kevin answered.
"He means he ended up cooking breakfast," Laura interjected.
"Whatever you're doing, man, I'm glad you're there," Dante said, sounding relieved. "That's great."
"Why, did something happen?" Lulu asked.
"No, no, I just feel better knowing there's-" He seemed to catch himself. "You know, knowing there's more people in the house."
"Knowing there's a man in the house, you mean," Lulu said, laughing at his attempt at a save. "Normally I'd pretend to be offended by that, but today I'm not even going to try." She smiled across the table at Kevin. "Honestly, I was pretty glad to see Kevin at the door earlier myself."
"I hope in a couple of hours you might be seeing me at the door," Dante answered. "I'm gonna try to knock off early and come on home."
"That would be wonderful."
"I'll do my best. In the meantime…" He cleared his throat. "Kevin, what are your plans for today?"
Kevin glanced uncertainly from Laura to Lulu and back.
"You're welcome to stay," Lulu said.
Laura nodded.
"Thanks," Kevin acknowledged, and in direct answer to Dante's question added, "I believe I'll hang around here until you get home."
"Thanks, man, I appreciate that." There was some noise in the background on his end. "I gotta go. Love you, babe. Kiss the little guy for me."
"Just as soon as he's no longer covered in syrup," she answered, and Dante was still laughing when she hung up.
When Lulu took Rocco to the bathroom a few minutes later to scrub the syrup off his face-napkins just weren't cutting it, apparently-Laura noticed that Kevin looked a little nonplussed.
"Kevin, you okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that."
"Dante asking you to stay? If you have somewhere you need to be-"
"No, no, I'm happy to stay. It just surprises me a little to think he'd be that reassured by my presence. I mean, he's a cop, and I'm..."
"The guy who used himself as a human shield to save my life," Laura finished for him when he trailed off. "You don't need a badge to be brave, Kevin, and Dante knows that."
Kevin had the grace to look slightly abashed. "You're right. I guess I'm just not used to thinking of myself that way."
"Afraid you'll lose geek points if word of the heroics gets out?"
He stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing. "Yes," he finally managed, "that's it exactly."
"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure the cape and tights are optional."
"God, I hope so."
Lulu returned to find them still laughing, a much less sticky Rocco perched on her hip. "Do I want to know what's so funny?"
"I think you kind of had to be here," Laura answered, and to her surprise Lulu accepted that, glancing back and forth between the two of them and smiling.
They cleaned up the breakfast mess and adjourned to the den, where Rocco surprised all of them by clambering up into Kevin's lap the instant he was settled on the couch.
"Well, hi there," Kevin said, and made a funny face that made Rocco laugh.
"I think he wants you to read to him," Lulu said apologetically. "That's where Dante sits when it's storytime."
Kevin glanced around and spotted the small stack of children's books on the end table. "One of these?" he asked Rocco, who nodded. Apparently Kevin had made his list of people it was fine to sit on, but hadn't yet been promoted to okay-to-talk-to status.
Kevin held the books up one at a time until Make Way for Ducklings got him another nod, then got Rocco settled where he could see the pictures and began to read. "Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey…"
Laura sat back in her chair and closed her eyes to listen along. She knew the story by heart, of course-it was one she'd read many times to her children and grandchildren-but Kevin was an expressive reader, and his little asides made her smile as he occasionally paused to point out some detail or other of the illustrations to Rocco. He also asked a few questions, but took it in stride when Rocco declined to answer.
Until finally, when the policeman arrived on the scene, Kevin said, "Look, Rocco, that man is wearing a uniform. What do you suppose he does?"
And Rocco softly said, "He's a policeman like Daddy."
Laura opened her eyes in time to catch both Kevin's smile and Lulu's expression of surprise.
"That's exactly right," Kevin said. "Do you know what he's feeding the ducks?"
"Peanuts."
From there on the reading turned into a running dialogue between Kevin and Rocco, who by the end of the story had abandoned all traces of shyness.
"Another?" he asked the moment Kevin closed the book.
Lulu shook her head. "Rocco, Kevin's probably-"
"I don't mind," Kevin said. "Really."
So he read another and another and another until finally, somewhere about midway through Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Laura felt herself beginning to fall asleep. Lulu was already out and had been for a while-Where the Wild Things Are had done her in-and instead of fighting it Laura let herself drift off. God knew she hadn't gotten much sleep last night, and Kevin's voice was soothing, and he certainly wasn't going to let anything happen to Rocco.
When Laura woke some time later she was amused to find everyone asleep. Lulu was still curled up in the chair opposite Laura's own, sleeping the sleep of the righteous. Laura had suspected that she hadn't been the only one who'd had trouble sleeping last night, and she was glad to see Lulu getting some rest.
But the most adorable sight that greeted her was Kevin stretched out on the couch with Rocco sprawled over his chest, both of them sound asleep. Kevin had his right arm draped over his eyes and his left arm wrapped protectively around Rocco, not that Rocco seemed to be in any danger of moving anytime soon. Neither of them stirred when Laura eased herself out of her chair, retrieved her phone from the kitchen, and took a couple of pictures.
She nearly dropped her phone a moment later when she heard movement outside the front door, but a quick glance out the window revealed Dante's familiar car, and a moment later the door swung open to reveal Dante with a load of grocery bags.
He started to speak, but Laura folded her hands and tipped her head against them, making the universal hand-sign for a sleeping child, and he caught himself, nodding his understanding.
Laura followed Dante into the kitchen to help put away the groceries, and once the door was closed behind them he quietly said, "Where's Lulu?"
"Everyone's asleep," Laura clarified. "Kevin was reading to Rocco, and by the end of it we were all out."
Dante laughed. "Little Man warmed up to Kevin pretty quick, then, huh?"
"Considering he's currently asleep on top of him? I'd say so, yes."
"I know it's not really my business," Dante said, suddenly very intent on rearranging the contents of the refrigerator, "but for what it's worth, I think you picked a winner there."
Laura had to suppress a laugh. Whatever higher power had decided to meddle in her life today was pretty heavy-handed with the hints. Okay, okay, she thought. I get it.
Aloud, she said, "Your opinion is worth a lot to me, actually, and I'm glad you feel that way."
Dante looked surprised, then pleased. "Thanks. I just think he's a stand-up guy. And hey, if Rocco likes him…"
Laura smiled. "You really should go look at the two of them. They're adorable. Not that I'm at all biased."
"Does Kevin have kids?" Dante asked curiously.
"A grown daughter, yes. Christina. But she lives in France, and I don't think he sees her as often as he'd like."
"He have any family around here?"
"Not that I know of."
"Wow, that's gotta be tough. I hope I don't have to say this, but he's welcome here anytime. You know that, right?"
"Thank you. I appreciate that, and I know Kevin will, too."
They finished with the groceries and stepped back out into the den, where Dante huffed an almost-silent laugh at the sight of Rocco asleep on top of Kevin, murmuring, "Once he's got you pinned to the couch like that there's no escape. He does it to me all the time."
"I thought it was better to just leave them be," Laura murmured back.
Dante nodded and turned his attention to Lulu, his expression suddenly tender as he watched her sleep. "She, on the other hand, is going to have an unbelievable crick in her neck if we leave her like that. I think I'll see if I can get her to bed without waking her." He paused. "Honestly, if I can, I may crash for a while myself if you don't mind keeping an eye on Rocco. Nobody got much sleep last night, and I'm just about done-in."
"Of course," Laura agreed, and watched as Dante easily lifted Lulu, cradling her against his chest as if she weighed no more than Rocco. She stirred but didn't wake, and Dante carried her carefully toward their bedroom, leaving Laura alone in the den with her sleeping grandson and…
The gears in her mind ground to a halt as she realized that she no longer had any idea what to call Kevin. Friend no longer seemed like enough, though that was certainly still true. Boyfriend made him sound like someone who should be leaving notes in her locker over at the junior high. Significant other was too sterile, lover too graphic (and technically inaccurate, at least for the moment).
It annoyed her that the English language lacked a word for...whatever exactly they were.
What really scared her was that there was a word she could easily imagine eventually applying to Kevin. Not in the near future, but someday, when they were ready.
Husband.
The one word she'd promised herself she would never have a use for again. I'm just not the marrying kind anymore, she'd thought more than once. It would be well and fine to fall in love, even to live with someone, but marriage? No thanks. She'd been there and done that, and it always ended badly.
But Kevin practically had Husband Material stamped on his forehead. Kevin was the guy women her age were talking about when they complained that "all the good ones" were gone. Kevin was...well, someone she could imagine herself saying "I do" to someday.
Of course, that optimistically assumed that Kevin was still the marrying kind. It was entirely possible that what he'd been through with Lucy had put him off the idea for good. From what she knew of the situation, she could hardly blame him.
Laura snapped out of her reverie as Kevin began to stir, shaking her head at herself. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. They'd barely been back on speaking terms for a week. Now was hardly the time to be thinking about marriage.
Kevin blinked at his surroundings in sleepy confusion for a minute, his eyes finally focusing on Rocco's blond hair an inch from his chin. Laura could see the moment he remembered where he was, and then she watched as he brought his hand up to ever-so-lightly touch the top of Rocco's head, almost as if he needed to make certain he was real.
"Hey," she murmured softly, not wanting to startle him.
He turned his head to smile at her and whispered back, "Hey. I take it storytime turned into naptime for all concerned?"
Laura nodded. "Dante came home about twenty minutes ago and carried Lulu up to bed. They're napping, and we-" She smiled. "-are watching Rocco."
"Doesn't look like he's going anywhere," Kevin observed, glancing down.
"No, but you must be feeling a little squashed. Do you want me to take him?"
Kevin shook his head. "He's fine where he is. It's been a long time since I held a sleeping child."
"Apparently you haven't lost your touch. Or your knack for story-reading."
"Oh, the reading I still get a lot of practice at."
Laura looked at him curiously.
"I hang out in the pediatrics ward sometimes on my lunch hour. There's nothing like reading to or coloring with a child to take your mind off the adult world and all its problems."
"I'll bet the kids adore you."
Rocco woke before Kevin could answer, sound asleep one moment and fully awake the next. "Mommy?" he asked, pushing himself up on his little arms to look around in alarm.
"Mommy's asleep," Laura answered calmly, and held out her hands to him. "Come here to Grandma."
Rocco allowed her to pick him up, flinging his arms around her neck and settling his head on her shoulder, and Laura breathed a silent sigh of relief. Sometimes absolutely no one but Mommy would do, and Rocco was more than capable of screaming loud enough to wake Lulu.
"Snack?" Rocco asked hopefully.
"Yes, it's snack time. Do you want grapes or Cheerios?"
"Chee-yos."
Laura smiled at Kevin as he levered himself to a seated position. "You're more than welcome to join us for snack time, but I know you probably didn't plan to spend the day here. It's alright if you need to go."
"And miss the Cheerios?" Kevin asked, feigning horror. "Perish the thought."
A few minutes later Rocco was perched on Laura's lap at the table, happily chasing Cheerios around the tray in front of them with his small fingers while Kevin looked on in amusement.
"Is this a daily occurrence?"
Laura nodded. "Apparently Cheerios taste better when you have to chase them down. Dante thinks it has something to do with instincts that go back to the cavemen."
Kevin laughed-more, she thought, at her eyeroll than at the sentiment itself. "I don't think he's quite ready to graduate to spear-hunting mastodon yet."
"Forks before spears," Laura agreed, making him laugh again.
"I've really enjoyed today," Kevin said after a moment. "I mean, obviously I hate the circumstances, but it's been nice to feel…"
"Like part of the family?" Laura suggested gently when he trailed off. "You're allowed to say that, you know."
His expression made it clear that he hadn't known, not for sure. "Thank you. You have a wonderful family, and I appreciate that you don't mind sharing them with me."
"At this point I think my family would mutiny if I didn't share you with them," she answered, reaching out automatically to steady the tray as Rocco bumped it. "Lulu especially. She mentioned you at least once in every single e-mail she sent me while I was in France."
"I'll have to remember to thank her for that."
"Did I tell you that Lucky asked about you when I called him last night? Whether you were there with us?"
Kevin looked startled. "No, you didn't. Was he hoping I was or hoping I wasn't?"
"Just hoping you were okay, I think. Lulu must have recruited him for Team Kevin while I was away."
His brows rose. "Team Kevin?"
"I wouldn't put it past her to have shirts printed."
He laughed, then asked more seriously, "Are they driving you crazy?"
"No, no, I don't mind it. I'm glad they care. And I'm very glad they like you. I'd much rather have them be a little over-enthusiastic than upset."
"I have to admit I'm relieved. Lucky's the one I've been worried about seeing again. Having the guy who used to be your shrink suddenly be dating your Mom is bound to be a little awkward."
Laura shook her head. "You have nothing to fear from Lucky. You saved my life, Lulu adores you, and you're not Scott Baldwin."
Kevin's brows rose. "Not a fan, I gather?"
"Nope."
"Knew I liked him for a reason."
They were interrupted by Lulu's appearance in the doorway, which distracted Rocco from his quest to capture the final, elusive Cheerio. "Mommy!"
She came over and scooped him up. "Hey there, big guy. Have you been a good boy for Grandma and Kevin?"
Rocco nodded.
"Good as gold," Laura confirmed.
"Did you thank Kevin for reading to you?"
Rocco shook his head. "It was nap time."
"Can you say thank you now?"
"Thank you," Rocco parroted obediently, turning to look at Kevin. A beat later he surprised them all by spontaneously adding, "You read great." His difficulty with the letter r turned it into wead gweat, but Kevin didn't laugh, or even look amused.
"Well, thank you, Rocco," he answered. "You're a great listener."
"Are you a policeman?" Rocco asked out of nowhere.
"No. I'm a doctor. I work at the hospital."
Rocco's eyes lit up. "Like Doc McStuffins?"
Kevin smiled, and Laura was surprised to realize he'd actually understood the reference.
"Not exactly," he said, taking Rocco's question as seriously as he might have taken another adult's. "I'm a psychiatrist. Do you know what that is?"
Rocco shook his head.
"It means the people I help aren't hurt or sick. They're sad or angry or upset, and I help them figure out why."
That appeared to be cause for serious consideration, and Kevin kept quiet, giving Rocco time to think.
"You fix...bwoken feelings?" he finally asked.
"Yes. That's a very good way to say it."
Rocco nodded, apparently satisfied, and returned his attention to Lulu. "Blocks?"
She laughed and lowered him to his feet. "Yes, you can go play with your blocks. Ask Daddy if he wants to play with you."
Rocco took off down the hall, leaving the three of them staring after him.
"I'm sure you know this already," Kevin said after a moment, "but that is one seriously smart kid you've got there."
"So it's not just parental pride run amok?" Lulu asked. "I mean, obviously we're sure he's a genius, but you really think…?"
"Several standard deviations above the mean," Kevin said confidently.
Lulu blinked. "Wow. Okay. Should we be doing something special with him?"
"I'd say whatever you're doing is working just fine."
"Thank you." She glanced toward the door. "I'd better go make sure the tower-building has some adult supervision. Kevin, Dante asked me to tell you that he's grilling steaks later, and there's one in there with your name on it, so don't rush off."
Kevin sighed dramatically. "Well, since you twisted my arm…"
"I'll tell him you're staying. In the meantime…" She paused, laughing at herself a little. "Okay, I tried to come up with a more subtle way to say this, but I give up. The three of us will be building block towers for the next hour, and Rocco's playroom is very far from the den."
And with that pronouncement Lulu turned and vanished down the hallway in Rocco's footsteps.
Laura closed her eyes and dropped her face into her hands. "She really wasn't raised in a barn. I promise she wasn't."
Kevin chuckled. "Whatever she might lack in subtlety, she makes up for in consideration. Because honestly, I'll take an hour alone with you any way I can get it."
She looked up to meet his eyes, knowing he would see her blush and deciding she didn't mind. "That does sound pretty good, doesn't it?"
He stood and stepped around the table to extend his hand to her. "Shall we?"
The playfully formal gesture made her smile, and she allowed him to draw her to her feet and lead her back into the den, where he hesitated.
"Let's sit on the couch," Laura suggested so that he wouldn't have to, and pointedly sat down in the middle, not wanting to risk the possibility that Kevin's sense of propriety might land them on opposite ends.
He took the hint and settled right next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "This okay?"
She snuggled into him and smiled, knowing he would hear it in her voice. "Very okay."
"How likely do you think it is that we're actually going to get a full hour of privacy?"
"I'd say the odds are running about five to three in our favor," Laura answered, and added in the most innocent tone she could manage, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's occurred to me that we sort of skipped the making-out-like-teenagers stage of a relationship."
Laura suppressed a laugh. "And now you're thinking we could circle back and see what we missed out on, is that it?"
"Mm-hmm. Only if you're amenable to that idea, of course."
The laugh escaped. "Oh, I think I could probably be persuaded."
She sat up to look at him properly, fully intending to tease him some more, and found that she couldn't. Not when he was looking at her with such unguarded emotion, everything he was feeling there in his eyes for her to see. He didn't look away, and Laura realized after a moment that he was letting her see, that his defenses were down on purpose.
It had been a long time, before Kevin, since anyone had been so vulnerable with her, and Laura silently vowed to treat his openness as the precious gift it was. She brought her hand up to touch his face, and he sat quietly and allowed her to trace the line of his brow, to brush her fingertips through the soft silver hair at his temple, to cradle his jaw in her palm. Finally she leaned in and kissed him gently, pressing her lips to his once, twice, again-
On the third time he opened to her, and both of them groaned as the kiss deepened, taking on a life of its own. Kevin's hand found its way into her hair, his warm palm cradling the base of her skull, and Laura allowed her head to grow heavy in his hand, letting him adjust the angle of the kiss to suit himself. His free hand settled against her side, his thumb just grazing the outer curve of her breast, and Laura gasped against his mouth.
"Too much?" he murmured.
"No, it's wonderful. You're wonderful."
She felt him smile, and then he leaned back, gently drawing her down with him. Understanding what he wanted, Laura let herself fall. They stretched out along the couch, laughing a little at themselves as they got tangled up and had to pause to sort out whose knees and elbows went where. But when she finally settled fully against him, the effort was definitely worth it.
Kevin seemed to think so, too, if the way his breathing caught was any indication. His hands slowly traced the curve of her waist, and Laura felt her entire body react, craving more of his gentle touch.
"Please," she murmured, seeing desire in his eyes that easily matched her own.
"Kiss me again," he answered, and she did.
It turned into exactly what Kevin had half-jokingly suggested-the two of them making out like teenagers. Well, except that Kevin was far more adept at this than any teenaged boy had ever dreamed of being. Laura privately admitted to herself that if they had been in the backseat of a car parked out by some secluded back road, she would have been very tempted to let him go all the way.
As it was, though, they were on the couch in the den of her daughter's house, and both of them knew this couldn't go too much farther than it already had. The question was, did she want to let that frustrate her, or did she want to enjoy this-just this-to the fullest possible extent?
Wisely, she chose the latter. Of course, it helped that just this with Kevin was better than plenty of actual sex she'd had. They might have only spent a single night together, but he had a very good memory for how she liked to be touched. He also had deft, gentle hands-gamer's hands, she thought irreverently at one point, and nearly laughed-and a gift for reading her body's subtle cues.
She gave as good as she got, and for a long, glorious while they were as fully involved as two still-clothed people could be, kissing deeply and driving each other crazy with slow, teasing touches. Laura's self-control held until Kevin broke the kiss and nuzzled his way back to her ear, warming it with his breath before drawing her earlobe into his hot mouth and sucking softly.
All at once she didn't care where they were or who might walk in. She made a low, desperate sound in the back of her throat and rocked against him-
-and Kevin's hands dropped to her hips, stilling them firmly. "We should stop," he said, his voice ragged.
The unspoken while we still can reverberated in the sudden silence, and Laura was torn, knowing he was right and desperately wishing he wasn't. Moving away from him was going to physically hurt. Reluctantly, she began to sit up.
Only to have Kevin gently draw her back down. "Whoa, whoa, don't go anywhere. Just...settle."
She wasn't sure that was going to work-her body didn't want to settle, and from the feel of things neither did his-but she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes and forced herself to be still. His hands came back up to the relatively safe territory of her upper back, and after a few minutes she did begin to relax.
It helped to remember that they didn't have to put the fire out entirely. Just...bank it. For a more appropriate time and place.
"I have to find somewhere to live that's not with my daughter," she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
Kevin laughed, the motion shaking them both. "You're forgetting a very important fact, you know."
"I am?"
"Mm-hmm. I have an apartment. Which you are more than welcome to visit any time you like."
"Soon?" she asked hopefully.
He laughed again, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. "How about you let me cook you dinner tomorrow night? Assuming that, you know, all hell doesn't break loose between now and then."
"It's a date," she said, and felt Kevin tense.
Which concerned her until she, too, heard the footsteps coming down the hall. "It's Lulu," she said calmly, turning her face toward the door but otherwise staying right where she was.
After a moment Kevin relaxed, too, and he was the one who answered when Lulu tapped tentatively on the doorframe, calling out before Laura could. "It's alright, Lulu, we're awake."
Lulu stuck her head into the room, her expression clearly proclaiming that sleeping was not what she'd thought she might find them doing. "Hey, uhm, Dante's about ready to start on the steaks."
"Can we help?" Kevin asked politely.
Lulu shook her head. "No, no, you two stay put. You look...comfortable."
Lulu withdrew, looking a little nonplussed, and Laura pressed her face into Kevin's shoulder and snorted. "'We're awake'? You're terrible!"
"It wasn't a lie," Kevin said innocently. "I'm awake. Aren't you awake?"
"Very, very awake," she confirmed, and pushed herself up to give him a mock-severe look. "For the record, you may not do that to my ear again unless you have immediate plans to follow through."
"I'll make a note of that," he answered solemnly.
"Good." Now she smiled at him. "You're dangerously good at this, you know."
"Not from anything resembling recent practice, I assure you," he said wryly.
"Must be natural talent, then," she answered, and couldn't quite make sense of the sudden flash of...something...that crossed his face. "Kevin? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no. Just the opposite." He reached up to brush her hair back from her face, his eyes tracking the movement of his hand rather than meeting hers. "I'm glad you think I'm… I'm glad you're happy."
Laura was momentarily puzzled. Had he thought she wasn't happy? She didn't think she'd done anything to-
Understanding dawned, and she could've smacked herself in the forehead. She might not have done anything, but Lucy sure as hell had. Her betrayal had blindsided Kevin, shattering in an instant everything he'd thought he knew about Lucy, their marriage, her feelings for him...and apparently his own worth as a man. To the point that even now, two and a half years later, he was surprised to hear how much Laura enjoyed being with him.
A wave of fierce protectiveness swept through her, and she decided then and there that this particular insecurity was going to die today. "Look at me."
He did, but his earlier openness was gone, replaced by an uncertain, guarded look that made Laura want to tear Lucy Coe limb from limb.
Instead, she focused on Kevin, tipping her head into his hand and saying simply, "I love the way you touch me. That first night-"
Kevin's eyes widened, and Laura could tell she'd surprised him. We really need to talk about this, she realized. Because while the morning after had turned into a disaster, she didn't regret that night. And Kevin deserved to know that.
"You were so patient with me. So gentle. And I didn't even know I needed that. But you did. There were a lot of things that night that you just knew."
"You have very expressive eyes," he answered softly, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone. "All I had to do was pay attention."
Laura blinked back tears. "God, you really have no idea how amazing you are, do you?"
Kevin smiled crookedly. "Apparently not."
"You're just going to have to take my word for it, then. You are a gifted, giving lover, Kevin Collins. The way you touch me, the way you look at me, even the way you say my name… You make me feel like a woman again, and that's something I thought I'd lost for a long time. So don't you ever question whether you make me happy. Because you do."
He drew her head back down to his shoulder and hugged her hard, and she could hear him fighting some tears of his own. "Thank you," he finally murmured.
There were a few more things Laura wanted to say, but they could wait. Kevin was a very private person, and she didn't want to risk pushing him beyond his emotional borders in the middle of Lulu's den. He had heard her, and for now that was enough.
She lay quietly, gently running her open hand over his shoulder and upper arm, until his deathgrip on her relaxed and his breathing returned to normal.
"Better?"
"On a number of levels," he answered softly. "I-"
But whatever else he might have said was lost as Rocco came bursting into the room. "Come see, G'andma! Come see!"
Dante was two steps behind him, out of breath and looking apologetic. "Sorry. Future Olympic sprinter right there."
Rocco, to his credit, stopped on his own when he saw Laura and Kevin lying on the couch. "Sowwy. Was it naptime?"
Both of them laughed, but this time it was Laura who said, "No, it's alright. We're awake."
"I built a tall tower," Rocco said proudly, and after a moment added, "Daddy helped."
"This sounds like something we should see," Kevin said, and Laura smiled at him as she sat up, silently thanking him for being okay with the interruption.
After apologizing again, Dante went to light the grill, leaving Rocco to lead Laura and Kevin down the hall to his playroom to view the block tower. Which was, Laura had to admit, an impressive feat of block engineering. She told Rocco what a good job he had done, then listened in amusement as Kevin engaged him in a serious conversation about the tower's structure, asking him things like why it was bigger at the bottom than at the top.
Boys and their toys, she thought, and caught Kevin's eye over the top of Rocco's head, indicating in pantomime that she was going to see whether there was anything she could do to help with dinner. Kevin nodded, and Laura took herself to the kitchen, where she found Lulu standing at the island, literally up to her elbows in a giant bowl of salad greens.
"Need a hand with anything?"
"You know that's an offer I won't turn down." Lulu glanced up and saw that Laura was alone. "Rocco with Kevin?"
Laura nodded, then belatedly considered that perhaps she should have asked before leaving her daughter's child with her- Dammit, she really needed to decide on a word. Boyfriend would do for now. "Yes. They're in the playroom discussing the finer points of block engineering. I hope that's alright."
"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, I know the list of people you trust to watch Rocco is fairly short."
"Yes, it is. But Kevin is definitely on it." Lulu laughed a little. "My worst fear there would be that we'll go back to get them for dinner and find that they've actually built a working time machine. Or cloned themselves. Or something."
Laura snorted. "I wouldn't put it past them. When I left Kevin was-I kid you not-explaining the geometry principles behind the construction of the Great Pyramid. And Rocco seemed to be listening."
"That doesn't surprise me." Lulu pushed the bowl toward the center of the island so that both of them could reach it. "Speaking of Kevin, Dante told me Rocco fell asleep on him earlier. I am so sorry I missed that."
Laura wordlessly pulled out her phone and pulled up the better of the two pictures, then turned it to show Lulu.
"Oh, my God, they're adorable. Send that to me, please? Better yet, put it on Facebook so Lucky can see it, too."
"I don't think Kevin would mind my sending it to you, but I'll have to talk to him before posting it anywhere. I'm not sure how he'd feel about that."
"Ask him. It's too cute not to share."
"You do realize, of course, that that's going to require me to confess to taking the picture in the first place, right?"
Lulu laughed. "You got yourself into that one, Mom."
The two of them finished up the salad and got the rolls into the oven, and when Dante gave them the five minute warning on the steaks, Laura headed back to the playroom to tell Kevin and Rocco that it was dinnertime. She found them in the hall bathroom instead, already washing up for dinner. Kevin had Rocco up on his little step-stool in front of the sink, both of them soapy to the elbows.
Laura stopped in the doorway. "Are you two scrubbing for surgery?"
"We've been crawling around on the floor in search of lost blocks," Kevin answered easily. "A little extra handwashing seemed prudent."
Rocco paused in his rinsing to look up at Kevin. "What's…" He hesitated over the unfamiliar word, then said it slowly, visibly forcing himself to pronounce the r properly. "...prudent?"
"A smart thing to do," Kevin translated, and gently added, "Keep rinsing. I'm pretty sure your grandmother is here to tell us it's dinnertime."
"Indeed I am," Laura confirmed, and leaned against the doorframe to watch as Kevin and Rocco finished their ablutions and dried their hands. Rocco was watching Kevin closely and mimicking his every move-right down to using his left hand to turn off the water, Laura noted, and had to turn away to hide her smile so that her grandson wouldn't think she was laughing at him.
"Daddy puts me on his shoulders," Rocco said when they were done, looking up at Kevin expectantly.
Kevin looked consideringly from Rocco to the door and back again. "I think we'll be too tall for the doors, champ."
"Can we twy?"
"Sure. We'll do an experiment." Kevin lifted Rocco onto his shoulders, holding him securely, and walked slowly up to the doorway.
Laura stepped back and watched as Rocco leaned first one way, then the other, discovering for himself that the trick that worked when he was on Dante's shoulders didn't work with Kevin.
"What do you think?" Kevin asked after a moment.
"Not pwudent," Rocco answered, making Kevin laugh.
"Sadly, I concur. What we need is someone shorter…" He made a show of looking around, turning slowly in a circle while Rocco giggled.
Laura gave him a baleful look when he turned back around to look at her. "Kevin Collins, was that a short joke?"
"Shorter. I said shorter."
She snorted and held her hands up to Rocco, who mercifully managed the transfer without kicking either of them in the head. The three of them returned to the kitchen to amused looks from Lulu and Dante, who were just putting the last of the food on the table.
"Docto' Kevin is too tall," Rocco announced matter-of-factly, and allowed Kevin to lift him down from his perch atop Laura's shoulders and set him on his booster seat.
They all settled in at the table, Lulu and Dante on one side, Laura and Kevin on the other, Rocco on the end. Rocco's presence meant that their conversation over dinner would not revolve around Valentin Cassadine, and Laura was grateful. She knew that today was probably the calm before the storm, but she'd learned long ago to savor peace while it lasted. Right now four of the people she loved most in the world were here with her around this table, and she had every intention of enjoying their company.
Kevin fit in seamlessly, navigating the dividing line between polite dinner guest and honorary family member with such grace that he made it look easy, though Laura privately doubted that it was. His own table manners were beyond reproach, but when Rocco dropped his fork Kevin didn't hesitate to crawl under the table to retrieve it, give it a quick wash at the sink, and return it to its rightful owner (with, Laura noted, a softspoken admonition to be a little more careful).
"You really didn't have to do that," Lulu said when Kevin sat back down.
"Consider it nostalgia on my part. It's been a long time since my daughter needed help hanging onto her cutlery."
"How old is Christina?" Lulu asked curiously.
"Twenty-three," he answered, and wryly added, "Going on forty-five."
"An old soul?" Laura asked.
"You could put it that way, yes," he answered, smiling fondly. "If I believed in reincarnation I'd swear this isn't her first rodeo. She's just always been very...self-contained."
"God, we'll scare her to death," Lulu blurted, and looked as if she wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
But Kevin was laughing. "I think you'll find it would take more than your family to scare her, Lulu. She spent most of last summer backpacking in Peru-alone. I was terrified out of my mind, but Christina had the time of her life."
"Oh, well, good. We're just kinda the Wild Bunch, you know? Especially when it's all of us together."
"Can you top a Thanksgiving that involved three kitchen fires, four long-lost relatives who turned out not to be relatives at all, a small-scale explosion, and having the police called to your house twice?"
Lulu blinked. "Actually...no."
"Then I hate to break it to you, but the Spencers have nothing on Clan Collins-Coe-Baldwin. I'd tell you the story, but Christina's rendition of it is much more colorful. She was fourteen at the time, and she remembers every detail vividly."
"And you don't?" Laura asked, thinking it sounded like a pretty unforgettable scenario.
"I was the one wielding the fire extinguisher every time Lucy set the kitchen on fire, so I was spared the full effect of everything else that was going on. It was actually Scott and Serena who ended up dealing with the police."
"Wait, I've heard this story," Laura realized aloud. "Scotty's part of it, anyway. He thought the gendarmes were about to haul him off in handcuffs."
Kevin nodded. "That was after the pressure cooker blew up."
"Wait, all of this really happened?" Dante asked, looking skeptical.
"Every bit of it. On a single day, no less."
"I have to hear this story," Lulu said. "Tell Christina that the next time she visits you we need to get together."
"I'll pass along the message," Kevin answered, and Laura was relieved to see that he didn't seem upset by Lulu's presumption. "Though this Christmas is my turn to fly to Paris, so that could be a while."
"You switch off, then?" Lulu asked.
Kevin nodded. "Last year she came here and spent the week before Christmas with me and the week after with Lucy. This year it's our turn to do the traveling, so Lucy will be in Paris the week before Christmas, and I'll be there the week after. Which means I'll be away on New Year's Eve," he added, turning to look at Laura apologetically. "But it was that or miss your birthday, and I really didn't want to do that."
Laura was astonished to learn that Kevin even knew when her birthday was, much less that he had re-arranged his holiday travel plans-and apparently negotiated a week-swap with Lucy-to avoid missing it. "Thank you," she managed after a moment. "I appreciate that. But how did you…" She trailed off, seeing Lulu's guilty expression. "Oh, I see. A little bird told you."
"In her defense, I did ask."
Laura reached for his hand and gave it a little squeeze, hoping that the gesture would convey how touched she was by his consideration in a way that didn't require her to say it out loud in front of an audience. From the way his expression softened, she was pretty sure she'd made herself understood.
Rocco, who had long since finished his dinner, chose that moment to grow bored with the adults' conversation and attempt to climb down from his booster seat.
"And that's my cue," Lulu said, standing and catching him up in her arms. "Please excuse us. Bathtime awaits."
Laura and Kevin helped Dante clear the table, and Dante asked Kevin whether he would mind staying a little bit longer.
"No, why?"
"I'd like the four of us to talk after we get Rocco to bed. Kind of have a council of war, figure out what we're going to do about Valentin."
Kevin glanced questioningly at Laura, and she nodded. Kevin was involved in all of this whether she wanted him to be or not, and it was better that they all be on the same page.
Kevin returned his attention to Dante. "Sure, I'll be glad to stay."
The four of them adjourned to the den when Lulu returned, and Dante told them what his morning's research had turned up, which was just what Laura had feared. Valentin Cassadine really was a free man, subject to no further legal action either in Greece or on American soil.
"I just don't understand how that's possible," she said, doing her best to control her anger. None of this was Dante's fault, and it wasn't fair to kill the messenger. "He shot Kevin front of a roomful of witnesses! He tried to kidnap Spencer!"
"Look, nobody involved in this is claiming he's innocent. Believe me, the people I talked to in Greece sounded every bit as frustrated as I feel. But sometimes justice and the law can be pretty far apart from each other, and...well, this is one of those times."
Laura couldn't decide whether she wanted to cry or scream and throw things. Fortunately, Kevin spoke before she could do either.
"I'm less concerned with how he's able to be here and more worried about what he wants. Somehow I doubt that taking possession of Wyndemere is his highest ambition."
"Yeah, he doesn't really seem like the type to move in and settle down and keep his nose clean," Dante agreed.
"Do you think he's after us?" Lulu asked, and Laura saw her daughter's gaze drift toward the stairs. Toward Rocco.
"No," Dante answered, and sounded like he meant it. "But I think he's here for a reason, and I think he'll run over anyone who stands in his way."
"So we what, just lie low and let him get away with everything?" Laura demanded, unable to believe her ears.
"We wait for him to show his hand," Dante answered calmly. "Based on the guy's history, it won't be long before he does something else illegal that we can arrest him for. But I'd rather that something not be harming any of us."
Dante was right, and Laura knew it, but she didn't want to wait. She wanted to do something. "Well, I for one am going to talk to Alexis tomorrow. There could still be something wrong with that document he forced Nikolas to sign."
"There could," Dante agreed, though he didn't sound hopeful. "Certainly there's no harm in checking. In the meantime, I think we'll all be fine as long as we don't do anything crazy." He looked pointedly at Kevin, who raised an eyebrow at him in return, looking almost amused.
"Do I look like a vigilante? I don't even own a gun."
"No, but I've seen how protective you can be of someone you care about." Dante tipped his head toward Laura. "And I imagine you're feeling about like I'm feeling on that front. So I'm telling you straight up-it's not a good idea."
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, and Laura got the sense that they were having an entire conversation on some channel her antenna didn't receive.
"Understood," Kevin finally said, and Dante sat back and nodded, apparently satisfied with that.
The four of them agreed to remain in close touch, checking in with one another regularly when they weren't together just in case something happened. It made Laura nervous to see that Dante seemed particularly concerned about Kevin, who lived alone and was therefore potentially more vulnerable.
Apparently Kevin sensed that, because when Dante and Lulu went up to bed (thoughtfully leaving Laura and Kevin to say their goodnights in private), the first thing Kevin did was wrap his arms around her and reassure her that he would be alright.
"Please just promise me you'll be careful," she whispered against his shoulder. "If anything happened to you…"
"I know," he murmured. "I feel the same way about you. And yes, I promise to be careful. Would you feel better if I texted you when I got home?"
Laura nodded, grateful that he had offered. She hadn't wanted to ask-he wasn't a child-but knowing he was safe would make her much more likely to actually sleep tonight.
"Okay. You'll be hearing from me soon, then." He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "And in the morning, too. And you're coming to dinner, right?"
That made her smile. "Absolutely. What time?"
"Sevenish?"
"I'll be there."
Their goodnight kiss got a little out of hand, not that Laura minded, and by the time Kevin finally dragged himself out the door she was very, very ready for it to be seven o'clock the following evening. She watched out the window until he was safely in his car and out of the driveway, then locked up and set the alarm system.
Twenty minutes later she was lying awake when her phone's screen lit up, signaling the arrival of Kevin's promised text: Home safe. Get some sleep. Tomorrow comes faster that way.
She laughed and sent back, Thanks. You too.
