Poor Claire. That's what he'd always thought; Poor old Claire. It really wasn't fair on her, was it? Dan didn't know anything about it. Why he'd really left the city. And now, Detective Peter Baker was sitting in his car, a silver sedan, and watching the pretty, Greek brunette dart around after VJ. He smiled, suppressing a laugh as Ryan snuck up from behind her and sprayed her with a hosepipe. She didn't shout at him; just laughed, her face, her smile, filling every air molecule.
That was half the trouble, he mused- everyone would think poor Claire. But really, he was the victim. Unable to be with the one person he loved more than anything? That was unfair. His mind slipped, imagining the conversation they could have with Dan...
"I'm sorry, it's just-" Leah looked down at her lap, twiddling her removed wedding ring between her first and middle fingers. Peter reached into her lap, lacing his fingers about hers.
"We've working so h-," Dan tried to speak, tears breaking his voice. He blinked hard twice and managed to continue. "We worked so hard on this marriage. Our marriage, Leah! Our marriage is it-"
"Dan, it's over," Peter said harshly, becoming frustrated that his normally intellegent brother couldn't see his life crashing down around him.
"I've heard that from you before," Dan snarled, finishing his whiskey and standing up. The yellow chair twitched slightly under his kick, not splintering as he'd like. Why did Peter do this to him?
Because you always get there first, the real Peter sighed to himself, closing his eyes with his head tucked back against the headrest of the car. The sun was still bright, and his aviator sunglasses weren't helping his pounding headache. He busied himself looking at the photographs of her, turning each over again and again, like a junkie seeking a cure to their addiction. So this was what being obsessed with someone really felt like?
"I adore her, Dan, you should at least try to be supportive of our relationship!" Peter was shouting now, in his thoughts. He picked up his glass and refilled it, making his a double. Ironic, he thought.
"I should be what? Sup- Supportive? Are you- Is your brain leaking?" Dan said incredulously, putting his hands in the air. "You are sleeping with my WIFE!"
"Ex-wife," Leah put in quietly, seeing them square up either side of the table.
How would it feel? Feel like she actually loved me? Peter smiled at the thought, putting the photo's away in the manilla folder. It didn't matter that she was with Dan. He would understand, forgive his brother, he did before. Amanda hadn't been a mistake. She was beautiful, flirtatious, funny and unavailable, maybe that's why he'd wanted her? Taken her...
"I don't under- I really... I thought that, once we were over Dudley and you were pregnant and-"
"Dad? Are you alright?" They all turned and saw Ryan stood by the door.
"Yeah, son, just, go back to bed, I'll come tuck you in," Dan muttered with a small smile and Ryan walked off back to bed.
My nephew, Peter muttered. Am I really ready to do this to him again? Take away his new found mother? Can I do it?
Will Leah do it?