Love is a Bridge

by laurensnana

Kacie Wells, youngest child of EJ and Sami, has mourned the loss of her fiance for a year, but now something has called her home, she is needed by her mother who is facing a crisis.

Love is a Bridge

Prologue: Kacie Wells, youngest daughter of EJ and Sami has mourned Grant for the year past, but something has called her home..she is needed, and can no longer stay away from home.

The sound of the phone ringing past the fourth time made EJ sigh as he waited for the message machine to come on once more. This was the second time he had tried in the last two hours, and still she had not called him back. He had ways of knowing she was all right, but it was annoying that she would not get on the line with him. Now he was going to have to take sterner measures. This was something he had to talk to her about.

"Hi, you have reached Kacie, and I probably know who you are anyway, but leave your name and number so just in case I don't, I'll have a way to call you back..just kidding..wait for the beep and start talking!" her voice sounded perky, as always, but EJ knew the message like all of her life now was more or less an act. Any time she had to talk to the family, all was well, she was fine, perfectly happy...please don't worry! Kacie saw the caller I.D., normally she would have picked up, but this was one of her bad times, and she did not want her father or mother to be concerned. Some days were like this one, when the effort to try and pretend took too much strength, even Jester knew it was best to just lie at her feet, Mom was not going to be throwing the tennis ball today.

If she had answered, she knew what was going to be asked.."Kacie, can you make it home for Christmas? You know it would make your mother so happy..we can all get together, the boys and Jessica have arranged to be here, all we are missing now is you!" and that was why Kacie did not answer, only her Dad could worm his way into her heart like that, but this year she could not face the thought of that family tableau she would witness.

Justin and Phaedra had a beautiful dark haired baby girl named Melina who might have just started walking. Ace and Eva were parents to a son, they had named after her father, and Jessica and Matthew were soon to be parents to a set of twins. Looking down at the black Labrador retriever who was resting his huge head on her foot, Kacie reached down to scratch him behind his ear. He substituted for family, and most days, he was more than enough. "Hey, you..how come you let me sit here like this..you must have to run off some energy..get your ball!" suddenly alert from his comfortable napping place, Jester was up, tail wagging, running about the confined space of the motor home searching out all his favorite hiding spots for his tennis balls. One large paw dug under the rocking recliner, and triumphantly he grinned up at her with the ball stuck in the side of his mouth. "Ok, good boy, lets go have a run!"

The mountain air was crisp, and when she looked up, Kacie could see the beginnings of the storm edge creeping in. It might be time to head down the mountain, back to the valley if she did not want to be stuck here for a week or more. Others in the campground seemed to have the same idea, as many of them were putting their gear into the storages in their R.V.'s . The couple that had been next to her for the last few days waved at her as she jogged by, throwing out the tennis ball for Jester to run ahead and retrieve. When she passed them by, the woman headed into the camper to make her phone report to EJ Wells. Kacie saw her, and smiled. The gift or curse she had been given was still strong, but her fathers determination to keep tabs on her was just as strong.

Kacie had left her position at the University in Berkeley, bought a used motor home, and set out on the highways, living this nomadic life for nearly a year. She had decided on it the moment she had walked back into her apartment when she returned from Salem and Grants funeral. Just taking her first look at the melon colored walls she had painted together with Grant had caused her knees to collapse and she knew it would kill her to stay in the place where she had so many memories of a love that been cut short. After a month of living on the road alone, she had pulled over one day to look in the paper and saw an ad for a dog that was going to have to be given up by a family that was being transferred and could not keep him. Jester came into her life then, and from that day forward was her constant companion. On driving days he sat beside her, looking at her adoringly as she sang along with the radio, and accepting the fact that she could no more carry a tune than he could as he would howl in sync with her.

Jester kept looking back this day, waiting on her to again throw out the lime colored object of his affection, but after the second throw she stopped..and nothing of his purposeful stare seemed to penetrate her thoughts..he moved closer to her, and she dropped to her knees, as he nuzzled his way into her embrace.

"I have to go back Jester..Mom needs me!"

Chapter II

He tried giving the wheels one more spin before he gave up. The snow and ice were not going to give him any traction, and having broke the shovel handle trying to leverage his way out, he cursed and threw the useless tool out into the woods where it buried itself in the snow. It was eight miles back to the cabin, and four miles out to the road. If he did not freeze to death on the hike to the road he could hope a car would come by and give him a ride back into Salem. Or he could turn back, and try to hike it back to the cabin, again, barring freezing to death on the walk back.

The third choice was to remain with the car, which was now running on fumes, so no chance of using the heater. He hoped the storm would not get any worse, and as soon as he mentally voiced the hope, the first drops of freezing rain stung his face. Looking down on his jacket, he saw that the ice storm was already coating his outer layer of clothing with a thin sheet of ice. His hair seemed to be freezing as well, and he reached up to put his wool hat back on, and felt the strands of his hair with the frozen water. Looking out in the distance, he knew his best chance was to walk out to the road. He opened the car door and got out his bag, then began the trek out to the highway. Taking a pen and piece of paper he also wrote a short note if anyone should find his car buried in the snow bank.

"Hello..this is Dr. Tyler Phillips, and my car slid off the road. I have decided to hike out to the main highway, so if you find the car, I would be very happy to get a lift if you are heading my way! My cell phone is not getting signal, but I will be walking out hoping to be picked up!"

The combination of snow, ice, and rain made the going slow, the sheer pain of the cold soon had a grip on him that he could not shake. The numbness of his feet which should have given him some relief instead turned into a stinging knifelike pain that worsened with each step. Looking at his watch he saw he had been walking about twenty minutes which meant if he had been walking his normal speed, he would have already covered two miles, except he knew he had not been able to move that quickly. He was now having to force his way through drifts a foot or more deep, with shoes that were not designed to withstand this weather. Nike tennis shoes had been fine while he was driving, but not out in the elements like this. He knew from the road conditions there was no chance that any car was going to be coming along to help him out. To make it out he had to keep the frostbite from affecting his feet. Stopping a minute, he thought a second then figured he needed his feet protected more than his upper body, so he stripped off the coat, using his pocket knife to cut lengths off it which he wrapped around his feet. It was down, so he figured it would protect his feet from the wet for a while, maybe long enough to make it the three or so miles back to the main road. The plows would be making the rounds there, as it was a main road into Salem, that would be his best chance. The crackle of the ice breaking branches off the tree tops sent crashing noises all about him, was the only thing that made any noise in the forest as he put one foot in front of the other, measuring his passage by the tenth mile measures he passed. After the seventh one, he no longer saw them as they were all buried under the snow drifts.

Kacie held onto the steering wheel for dear life, as if keeping a death grip on it would hold her and the lumbering motor home onto the road. It had been stupid of her not to stay at the rest area until the storm had passed by, but she wanted to be pulling into the Wells Mansion first thing in the morning as a Christmas morning surprise to her family. Next to her on the other seat, Jester peered out over the road, not a bit worried, just curious as to why his mistress seemed to be so tense. On one side of the road was the mountain side, on the other was the guard rail that hid the dark chasm of the steep canyon. Ruts through the snow had been carved by the passage of the plow, but the way the storm kept piling it on, the path was fast disappearing. She was only going about thirty miles an hour, and when Jester began barking at the dark figure which fell out into the road ahead of her, her braking on the sheet of ice beneath the snow sent her rear end fishtailing towards the guard rail, skidding against it for one hundred feet, tearing part of it out which sent a portion of her tail end sticking out over the dark pit before she was able to stop.

It was a man who was now lying across the road twenty yards from where she had been finally stopped..gently, she accelerated and moved the motor home away from the crevice, stopping it in the middle of the road. She kept the lights on, taking Jester with her to go see what was the matter with the person who she had almost hit. Turning the figure over, she saw it was a man, he was breathing shallowly, his eyebrows and lashes covered with ice, the hair which would have been a sandy brown looking white with the ice. He had to be moved inside, and she was unsure if she could do it on her own. It looked like he might weigh at least one eighty, and he was at least six feet three, which was seventy pounds and a good ten inches taller than she was. Hoping she could get some help from him, she began to gently slap his face, until he did respond, opening one eye which she saw were a shade of hazel flecked with shades of gold.

One side of his mouth shaped itself into a lopsided grin.."would it be possible for you to quit hitting me, and just let me get in the motor home? I would feel a lot better!"

Chapter III

The tea kettle was whistling, and Kacie had spooned the Chai mix into the cups, except one look at her guest who still shivered in his wet things told her he was going to have to come out of them if he had any chance of getting warm. She reached up over the table to the storage bin, and brought out some spare towels and a couple of blankets.

"Look, you really have to get out of those clothes, I can dry them over the heat, you should just wrap up in these blankets until they are done..go back in there"..she pointed towards the small sleeping area that had a door.

"Thank you, but I guess we should introduce ourselves before I undress in your bed chamber..my name is Tyler, Tyler Phillips.."he hesitated a second waiting for her to give her name.

"Oh, sorry, yes of course, my name is Kacie, Kacie Wells." She did not understand why she felt so hot under the directness of his gaze. It was most uncomfortable for her, and sent prickly feelings up her neck. His accent was not quite English, so she thought it must be Australian, to give herself time to collect her thoughts she asked him.

"No, not Aussie, I am from New Zealand, but close relation I suppose you could say..a Kiwi cousin of them is the usual response. And you, Kacie Wells, are you one of the Salem first family Wells?" he looked about at the rather shabby interior of the motor home, having already noticed it had several rust spots on the exterior..and wondered why her old mans money had not provided a classier coach.

"You really need to get out of those things, and maybe with any luck the plows will come by and get us out of here before too long." The feeling of unease she was experiencing was getting stronger. Normally she could get some kind of reading on new people she met, at least enough to know they would not do something like knock her in the head, and steal all her belongings! He seemed harmless enough, but to ask if she was a member of the wealthiest family in Salem after having just met her struck her as suspicious! She looked over at Jester who was sleeping already, curled up on the rug in front of the rocking chair. Apparently he was not going to help her out by maybe just growling to let her know she should remain alert! It had only taken one scratch behind the ear, and one tummy rub from the man to get him to just lie down and close his eyes.

Pointing towards the sleeping area once more, she pushed the blankets toward him. He smiled at her, seeming to enjoy the fact that he made her uneasy as he shut the door behind him. His question had not been answered, but once inside he saw family pictures pinned up on all the walls which told him she was indeed the daughter of EJ Wells. He saw a small snapshot of her mother and father along with several more of her brother, the race car driver and the woman he had married the prior year. Another shot was one of her sister and her husband, with the sister looking very pregnant. He had read some of the papers in Salem, with the charity news, and Jessica was well known in those circles for being an assistant to her father. Next to that, it looked like another brother, with a woman holding a baby boy. The only picture that seemed out of place was of a man in a dark air line uniform. Looking closer, he read the mans name plate, seeing it said Grant Richards. Probably a boyfriend from her past, as he knew if he had a woman who was as lovely as she was, he would not have had her traveling out in these snowy roads alone, he would have been right there with her!

The warmth was coming back into his body after the wet clothes were off, and the blanket secured about his waist. He draped a towel over his shoulders, but most of his chest was still bare. Walking out, he rubbed the towel over his chest, the heat of his body now leaving droplets of moisture on the curly mat of chest hair that narrowed over the well defined abdominal muscles which Kacie was trying not to look at. He handed her the pile of damp clothing, and she quickly set about draping them over the chair to take advantage of the propane heater which she was running. Seeing her try not to look at him appealed to the devil in him making him want to make her look, so he bent to the stove to take the kettle to pour into the cups she had set on the table, seeing to it that a part of his naked body rubbed across her hand. Her blushing face was his reward, and he was reveling in it. For her part, Kacie was now becoming so nervous her hand shook as she tried to stir his Chai.

"Please, join me, and let me try and thank you for stopping to help! Lots of people would have not bothered you know..sometimes it can be dangerous to be a good Samaritan!" sipping the hot liquid, he closed his eyes, thinking this felt like heaven on earth after the three hours he had just spent out in that cold!

"I wonder how long it will be before the plow comes by again?" taking her drink, Kacie had pulled back a curtain to look down the road, hoping she would see the yellow flashing light signaling the arrival of the plow, and the chance to unload her guest. For reasons she could not fathom, she wanted him out, his presence was unsettling to her, but to cover, she decided she would sit down, drink her Chai, and try to find out more about him. All she had to do was concentrate, most people could not stay hidden from her for long.

"What were you doing out here? Where is your car? Why are you out here alone, didn't you see the storm coming?"

"Funny, I had in mind asking you the same things..but whatever you are doing out here in this rather unlikely vehicle, I am very grateful you found me, I was very close to hypothermia, so you probably saved my life!..My cabin is a few miles back that road, I was on my way back to Salem when the storm got really bad, the car went off the road and buried itself in a drift! As to why I am alone? That would be because no one was with me..and no, I did not see the storm coming, it blew in quite quickly! I figured I had lots of time to get back to Salem. Wrong thinking on my part." He put his cup down, then looked over at her appreciatively.

Making no effort to hide his appraisal of her, he took in the trim figure she cut in the blue jeans and the ugly nuk boots. Her hair was cut in a wedge bob, but was thick and shiny with a chestnut color which matched her eyes. The heavy fringe of her lashes was outlined by the wing like slashes of her brows. The sprinkling of freckles on her nose, and the lack of makeup made her seem younger than the twenty five or so years he figured her to be.

"Why are you staring at me like that, you must know it is making me uncomfortable!" she was tired of not understanding why she was so flustered, and hoped by getting it out he would stop what he was doing. She was wrong.

"Sorry, well not really..I am a bit of a flirt, can't help it, it is just my nature..could I have one of those cookies there? Did you make them, they look delicious.." before she could stop him, he had grabbed one of the two inch brown biscuits off the plate by the sink and sunk his teeth into one..which he promptly spit out all over the floor. Finally he had done something which got Jesters attention..those were his biscuits and he did not like anyone messing with them! Jester jumped up from his sleeping space, lunging for his cookie which Tyler was still holding in his left hand.

"No Jester, wait!" Kacie was trying to get the cookie out of Tylers hand, but Jester was singleminded in his quest to retrieve his cookie, and he lept up to grab it, coming down with his paw catching up in the blanket that was wrapped about the lap of the hapless guest. Tyler stood quickly to protect himself from the sharp nails of the dog, but when he did, there went the covering around his waist as Jester grabbed onto the cookie, and the blanket, dragging it with him to head back to the bed to eat his contraband cookie!

Tylers hands went down to cover himself, as he tried to recover at least the towel to hide his nakedness, but it was barely a hand towel, and Kacie was still in shock, as her eyes stayed on him. What was happening was unbelievable! Tyler, however, decided it was now time to turn the table on her, so he stood erect, in more ways than one, and asked her.."So why are you staring at me like that, can't you see it makes me uncomfortable?"

That brought her out of it, as she turned about in the confines of the cabin area to find something to give him as cover. The knitted afgan over the chair was the closest thing, and closing her eyes she tossed it towards him.

"Uh, yes, very colorful, but do you think you might find something that has a tighter stitch? I seem to be poking through the holes of this!" he was now laughing at her distress, finding hilarity in the way she was trying to keep her eyes closed as she tried to find something to cover him up with. The last thing she threw at him were the very sheets from her bed!

"Oh God! Thank God, the plow is here! You must go! Now!" Kacie was leaning out the door of the motor home waving the plow down! As they pulled over, she was pulling him towards the door, never listening to his pleas about his shoes, his clothes..his coat..as he lost his balance, falling out the door to the snowy side of the road as the motor home drove off! The plow drivers seeing him wrapped in a sheet did not say much, just helped him over to the cab of the plow.

"Now mister, it is one dumb man who can piss a woman off that bad that she will dump him out in the snow wearing only a sheet..what in the world did you say to her?"

"Nothing! And she has my medical bag in that contraption she is driving..It has my patients drug therapy in it! Please, it could be a matter of life and death..we have to catch her and get it back!"

Chapter IV

Something in the leather valise the cookie filcher had brought in had Jester sniffing about it, and when his whining got too intense to ignore, Kacie had looked down from her driving perch to watch as Jester began to paw at the bag. She had not noticed it before, but it was, she now realized, the sort of bag carried by her Aunt Kayla who was a physician. Up ahead, she could see the welcoming lights of the AM-PM market and gas station. She pulled in to the lot next to a gas pump, undid her seat belt and reached over to get the bag out of Jester's mouth. He had only done a small amount of damage to the handle, the leather was peeled back to reveal the white braided length for just a bit over an inch.

As she undid the latch on it, opening it to see it was indeed a medical bag, the stethoscope and a set of items for stitching up wounds were visible, along with a tightly bound bag with an aromatic gold and green substance inside it. That was what Jester had been smelling, and his soulful eyes looking at her told her he wanted to investigate it further. A paw came up to scratch at her lap as she raised the baggie up to her nose to inhale the scent of a very powerful bag of marijuana!

"Oh damn! This is an illegal drug! He had the nerve to bring this into our home Jester, we could have been arrested!" then Kacie grinned, "Well, maybe not in Salem! I think I may have to make a visit to the restroom and dispose of this before we fill up. Look here, his identification, he is Tyler Phillips M.D.! This drug dealer type is a doctor at Salem University Hospital, Jester! He should be ashamed..treating people while he is probably high or something! When we get to Mom and Dad's I am going to ask Daddy why the drug screening at the hospital is this lax!" putting the lease on Jester, she put the baggie in her jacket pocket and climbed down to let the dog relieve himself before she went into the stations restroom herself. But Jester was taking his time, which was very annoying.

"Come on Jester, you know the rule, two pees, two poops, two sniffs, get on with it!" but he was stalling, walking around without stopping so he could stay out a bit longer. Finally he had to begin, except he decided the tree on the farthest part of the parking lot was where he wanted to do his business. Kacie sighed, letting him have his lead, he was a pretty stubborn animal, so rather than be out in the weather any longer than she had to, she acquiesced to his pulling in that direction. He had stalled just long enough so that the police car which had been trying to track her down to retrieve the bag for Doctor Phillips had time to catch up, pulling alongside her motor home with the red and blue lights still flashing. When the two officers got out and both began walking towards her, all she could think of was the bag of marijuana she was concealing within her jacket.

Trying to control her fear and nervousness, her hand went to the pocket holding the bag. As the two policemen approached her, Jester also looked up at her pocket. It smelled so tempting, and he remembered how he had wanted to get it out of that bag. Now it was close enough to get without having to chew through some tough leather! Right there in Mom's pocket, he could see a trace of the plastic bag it was in..his nose went up to sniff at it, and he whimpered with longing. So close, it was so close, but Mom kept her hand over the pocket.

"Good morning, ma'am. Cold isn't it? Is that your motor home over there?" one officer greeted her pleasantly enough as he pointed to the vehicle parked by the pump.

Trying her best, but not quite succeeding in keeping her voice even, Kacie only nodded at first, but then knowing she had to say something, she answered, "uh..yeah, it is mine, do I have a lamp out or something?"

"Nah..but would it be possible to show us your drivers license, just for identification purposes..we have a report that a medical bag may be in your possession by mistake..just want to make sure we have the right vehicle..can you show it to us ma'am?

"Of course, just a second.."Kacie was in the habit of carrying her license in her jean pocket, a purse was such a bother in the life she lived. On this occasion, being able to tell the policeman that she had to return to the vehicle to get it from her purse would have been the best course of action she could have taken. Jester had only wagged his tail at the policemen, he still could only concentrate on the fact that inches from his nose was an odor that seemed to make him salivate. What it must taste like! As Mom's hand moved away from the pocket of the jacket to wriggle into the tight jeans, an inch or two of slack was on the leash, and that was enough.

"Hey, whatcha got there boy, whoa!" as the second policeman took the baggie from the mouth of the lab, Jester was not going to give it up that easily. He was not a vicious animal at all, just possessive of items he considered rightfully his. No one took from him his tennis balls, his cookies, and now no one was going to take this heavenly smell away either, he had gotten it fair and square! The light and playful growl he gave was familiar to Kacie, but to the police who now figured they had a thief as well as a drug smuggler, the dog was now a bona fide threat!

"No!!!!! He won't hurt you! Please..put the gun down, don't!" the blast of the gun cut short her plea..and Jester gave a cry of anguished pain as he dropped, bleeding to the asphalt!

Tyler saw that Kacie was kneeling down over the prone figure of her dog, while the two cops he had sent ahead to find his bag were standing back over her with their weapons drawn. He climbed down from the plows cab, and stumbling over the sheets he still was wrapped in he ran towards them.

"Damn, put your guns down, all I asked you to do was get my bag back! Christ, you shot the dog? What in the hell is wrong with you? This dog would not hurt a fly! Let me look at him!" the voice of authority from Tyler made the policemen both holster the weapons they had drawn.

"Kacie, where is my bag, what did you do with my bag?" he had already begun to tear strips of the sheet and to bind up the wound that was bleeding from the chest of her pet.

"It's on my seat..please..let me talk to him" she was pleading with the police to let her next to Jester..while one of the plow drivers retrieved the bag, she knelt next to Tyler who was probing the wound left by the bullet by the time the bag was sitting beside him. "Jest, please, hang on boy! That's my boy, you will be fine!" her encouragement to him caused a pink tongue to come out and give her a lick as he whimpered. Tyler then injected him with a pain killer, hoping that he had given the dosage for a dog this size..this was new territory for him. Not only was he not a trauma or ER physician, he was not a veterinarian either!

" Hold this up!" he gave Kacie a small bag of saline solution, as he ran a line into the veins of the dog. When Kacie saw Jester's eyes close, she thought the worst, and the tears trailed down her cheeks in a flood.

"Hey, now, stay with me, he is going to be ok, the bullet missed his organs, but I regret to inform you that he may never be a father.."reaching over, Tyler took the bag from her an gave it to the policeman to hold up.

"Keep a hold of this, I need to find something else that was in this bag..I have medical Marijuana missing that one of my patients is going to need..where is it?" he addressed Kacie, but the policeman who had confiscated it from the jaws of Jester handed it over without question.

"Good, now I am going to go put my clothes back on..then you and I are going to find a vet in Salem to take care of the dog..now..just so you know, this is a night that I hope to be able to tell my grandchildren about someday!"

It was then that Kacie noticed something else that flustered her about one Doctor Tyler Phillips. He had the kindest eyes she had ever seen.

Chapter V

"Here you go, drink some of this tea, you are probably chilled and in a bit of shock..I put lots of sugar in it, might not taste too great, but it will balance you out", Tyler was giving her the Styrofoam cup with the hot amber colored liquid which she accepted in silence. Her eyes kept going to the shut stainless steel doors of the animal operatory in the vet hospital. Jester had been in there for over an hour, and she still had no word on his condition.

"I know he is going to be fine, the doctor explained to me that the bullet missed his vital organs, but did richochet back off the tarmac to do him a bit of injury in the pelvic area..as I said, he may never father a litter, but I think in a few weeks he will be right as rain..you on the other hand are a mess. I really think you need to call your family and let them know how you are..I mean, I guess they were expecting you to come for Christmas, correct?"

Some of what he said penetrated, she heard that Jester was going to be alright, something about a litter, and finally the words of calling her family. The memory of why she was even here flashed into her mind. Mom! Of course, she had to see her, something was terribly wrong, and Kacie had to be there to help her! For once in her life, someone was reading her her mind as Tyler held out his cell phone. The time on the phone read seven thirty a.m., which meant her father was probably just getting ready for his regular morning run. Once he was through with his stretches, he would not pick up the phone, so she hoped she had dialed in time.

"EJ Wells here!" the voice she got was terse, all business, as the caller I.D he saw belonged to a stranger.

"Daddy, it's me..I am in Salem," she spent a few minutes catching him up, hearing him swear as he heard about the gunshot wound to Jester.

"Those damn idiots! They could have killed you! Can I send Harris to fetch you? Your mother and the others are not up yet..I would love for you to be here when Christmas morning starts!"

"I need to see how Jester is, and I can drive myself there, but Tyler could use a lift I think..can you help him out?"

EJ was not exactly thrilled about the fact that his daughter had been compromised in a situation with drugs by this man, but it seemed he had stuck by her, and Kacie sounded grateful to him for helping her dog. Agreeing to send Harris and Matt over to give him a ride, he also quickly made arrangements for the car belonging to one Doctor Tyler Phillips to be towed into Salem.

"I want you home baby girl, your mother really wants to see you! You do not realize how much we have all missed and worried about you! This will be a wonderful Christmas present for her!"

After hanging up from her, her father began in his usual efficient way to start up his protection efforts. Three agencies were primed to begin an investigation into Doctor Tyler Phillips, with reports scheduled to be emailed to him within two hours. By the time the Christmas turkey was in the oven, he would know everything about the man who was now holding his youngest daughters hand. With all that had happened the past year to her, he would never make the mistake of not being too careful.

When the door from the surgery opened and the Doctor walked out, even the sight of his blood stained gown and his mask did not worry Kacie, the look in his eye that seemed to twinkle told her all was well. Tyler was not prepared for the way she jumped up on him, her arms going about his neck as she cried out her relief! "Oh Thank God..thank God, thank you too..you saved him, I know it! ..and Doctor Lewis! I can't believe it! When can he come home?" her words were a jumble, her voice though joyful, still trembled on the verge of tears.

"He is going to be very sore for a week or so, but if you can follow the regimen of the medications, I probably can release him tomorrow morning..so why don't you go home..it is Christmas, and we have a small skeletal crew on, we really cannot function with you here as well..he is going to be sleeping most of the day..but go on in and see him now..he is awake for just a bit..and I bet you will be good medicine for him!" Doctor Lewis pointed the way, and Kacie ran through the doors to see him before the words were out of his mouth.

Jester was slightly awake, his eyes open, but his mouth full of the breathing apparatus which was still taped into his muzzle. When he saw her, his tail began to weakly beat, and his eyes gave her the adoring look she never tired of seeing from him. His tongue found a way out of the restrictions, and he lapped at her fingers, trying to squirm his way closer to her. The problem was, that movement caused him pain, and he whimpered softly, the shivers in his torso telling the nurse that he needed to be medicated. She put the syringe into his tubing, and he quickly closed his eyes again.

"Don't fret, dear, he needs to be pain free in order to heal..but he is just fine.."the words soothed Kacie, and she felt it was going to be fine to leave her beloved pet while she went home to figure out why her mother was troubled.

Harris and Matthew pulled into the lot, Kacie waved to them, coming over to give them both a hug, and to introduce Tyler. Sorting out the rides took a moment, but soon Tyler found himself seated in the back of the black SUV, heading to his apartment, as Kacie headed off in her motor home. As he watched her drive away his eyes followed her, while the eyes of Harris locked onto him. His job was to always protect the Wells family, and right now, he was sizing up this newcomer. His boss would want to know all the details he could come up with, and Harris never disappointed EJ.

Chapter VI

Kacie crept silently up the stairs towards her parents room. Her mother still kept up her habit of sleeping in as late as she could manage..and now that her family was grown and gone, even Christmas morning would not budge her from her bed before nine a.m. In her childhood days, Kacie remembered how her and her siblings had all tumbled down the stairs on Christmas morning, before the sun was even up, trying to make as much noise as possible to awaken their mother. Their father was always downstairs shussshing them, giving them the special hot tea he made every Christmas morning, with the little bit of Dubonnay whiskey he allowed them. Finally, they would look up and see the beautiful vision of their mother appearing as she smiled down on them, shaking her head at how once again they had robbed her of a few minutes more of sleep! She would descend the stairs, and the all out greedy orgy could finally get underway!

Now the quiet was eerie, but Kacie could see out on the terrace that Tippin and Lorene were seeing to Roman as he sat in his wheelchair, the lap robes draped about his legs as they spooned oatmeal to his lips. Kacie knew her father was probably still downstairs in his gym in workout mode, and would have given a directive that his wife be allowed to rest.

The sight of her mother, looking uncharacteristically tiny and frail in the bed made Kacie catch her breath. Not having seen her mother for a few months made the change in her appearance all too obvious to her, though to others it might have been imperceptible. Jessica had not said a word to her, but her busy life might have meant she did not see her parents all that often either. Justin and Phaedra spent much of their time on the European circuit still, and Ace and Eva were still getting their Eco-system business going in Bolivia. Kacie felt the pangs of guilt at how she had not been here when Mom was finding out hit hard at her conscience.

Sami turned in her sleep, sensing the presence in the room, and her smile widened as she saw her daughter standing there. Pulling back the comforter, she beckoned for Kacie to lie down with her, putting her arms about her, and pulling her close as she covered her over.

"Merry Christmas sweetie, I am so glad to see you!" the voice was quiet and whispery, not what Kacie knew her mother to sound like at all. To hear her mother this way was to hear a vulnerability that had never been part of her mothers make up. Her hand stole over to rest on her heart, but Sami pushed it out of the way.

"Please don't try and read me, Kacie, yes, it is breast cancer, stage IV, not operable, and it is in the bone now. It is pretty aggressive, but the doctors have a treatment plan that will keep me going for quite awhile. So for now, can we all just enjoy Christmas? God, I am so glad to have you here! Look at the time! Everyone is coming in an hour to open gifts! I have to see how Tippin is doing on the dinner with Alfred..I swear, neither of them will hear of anyone coming in to help them, and they are both in their eighties!"

All Kacie could do at that point was pull her mother into a hug, deciding she would go along with the wishes that for now, everything should be as normal as possible. "Hey, no worries, I can help them with dinner..but gifts..oh, mom, I just did not even think about Christmas this year! I did not bring anything!"

Her eyes twinkled with merriment as Sami used this moment to smooth her childs hair, a gesture Kacie had always hated, "Sorry, but genetically, you are not coded to cook..remember even Sophie would not eat your cookies? As for gifts, my goodness, we have enough down there for an army, I will just see that a couple of the gift tags get your name on them.."

To Kacie the way her mother had changed the subject from her health to something as mundane as Christmas dinner and gifts was telling. No one else in the family except her father and her had any idea about her mother's illness, and it seemed as if her mother was set on keeping it that way. The dreams and visions Kacie had been having since the day of her dad trying to call her had been elusive to pin point. Her mother had appeared to her as a silhouette figure, with an area of white jaggedness showing up from her neck to her knees, only the last vision had been interrupted with a flash of color, blue stripped with gold in a circular pattern. Kacie now interpreted the slash of white as representing the tumors and the tentacles of the mestasis of the disease growing within her. The jaggedness of it showed how it was cutting away at her mother's spirit and vitality. It was only the reason for the blue and gold that had puzzled her. She took heart in the faith her mother seemed to have in the treatments set up by her doctors.

"Mom, I am here now, I am not going away again. Whatever happens, you can count on me. I want you to know that.."Kacie was determined not to show her fear, or let the tears that were beginning to well up find a way out to the surface. She had been doing this for a year, it had gotten almost easy.

"Why, sugar, of course I know I can count on you! But I want you here for your Daddy! He missed you so..you always were his baby girl..Jess is his princess, but you are his baby! So you mustn't leave him now, he is going to need you so much! Promise me you will stay with him!" her eyes looked desperate now, as Sami clutched at her daughter, willing her to help her father face his worst fears.

"Don't talk like you are going anywhere Mom, please don't. I am getting a feeling..this is not over..not by a long shot!" pulling her mother into her embrace, her dark head contrasting with her mothers light one, Kacie did not know where or how her words had come from. She only had a feeling of their rightness.

The large frame of her father then took over the room as he shut the door behind him. When Kacie saw his face she saw the strain he had been under the past couple of weeks, the fear he felt shining out of his eyes as his arms reached out for her. She flew into his embrace, resting against his chest, as his lips bent to brush against the top of her head once again. Feeling the dampness of his tears as they dropped onto her hair, she pulled away to look up into his pain filled eyes. To so many others, he had maintained a stalwart front, but looking into the soft liquid velvet brown of his daughters eyes, he gave up being strong, wanting to at last lean on someone else, and he gave in to the urge of letting that person be his baby girl.

"Thank God you are here..thank God, thank God." Was all he could say as he gave in to the sobs he had been resisting.

Chapter VII

Tyler picked up the phone, still dripping wet from his hot shower. Half expecting it to be the hospital, he dreaded what he thought was going to be a request that he come in, probably a beaker that had boiled over or something. His work in the research lab took late hours and a lot of time and dedication. Today, however, he was bone tired, and really relished the idea of being able to sleep uninterrupted for a few hours. It had been a relief to get out of the car the two men had driven him home in, the two had not been the friendliest of characters, and they had questioned him as though they were in some cheap detective movie.

"You always carry dope in your medical bag doc? What is that about?"

The one called Harris had decided to be bad cop.

"Well, it is about wanting a certain grade of treatment substance for some of the patients in my study group. I maintain them on a level of cannabis that enables them to withstand the chemo, while keeping up their appetite. It is a standard and very accepted way to treat cancer patients." Tyler tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He seemed to have to go through this argument on a weekly if not daily basis, both with the hospital chief of staff, who disapproved, and even some of his patients families. When the family members witnessed the improvements in their loved ones, they usually relented, the Chief was another matter.

"Yeah I heard about this, so you treat cancer patients huh? Isn't that a bit depressing?" Matthew was now taking notes discreetly on his Blackberry. EJ had said to get a full report on the young mans duties at the hospital. Both Harris and Matthew knew the fellows job was going to depend on what they and the other investigators had to say. EJ was the Chairman of Salem University Hospitals Board of Directors.

"Treating them is not my main job, I am what is called an ethnobotanist, I mainly do research with certain plants and how they effect cures or at least seem to lessen effects of cancers. The cannabis I had with me is a special blend I have devcloped myself, it has all the properties of regular cannabis, but without the brain cell destruction that unfortunately is a by product of inhaling..as they say".

Matthew had underlined the word "ethnobotanist" before getting out to open the door once they reached Tylers apartment building.

"Well, here you go kid, and don't worry, your car should be here in about an hour..EJ Wells is looking out for you..that is for sure!" Looking down at his watch, Matthew was hoping they could make it out to the cabin, complete the search, and still make it back to the Wells house for the Christmas celebration. If not, he was going to have hell to pay from Jessica.

Tyler had watched as they pulled away, then headed up to take his apartment to fix some hot soup. He had made a couple of Christmas calls to his family, taking advantage of the ten hour time difference. Most times he was happy where he was, but on the Holiday he did find himself missing his parents and his two brothers and one sister. It was a short conversation, he was tired, and they were close to being ready to have dinner, but he did get a word with all of them, and words of love along with pretend promises of he would try to get back home the next year for Christmas, and they pretended to believe him. He took pride in the work he was doing, and that was now his family, that and one strange pet that fit his lifestyle.

"Here now Iggy, a special treat for you, mango!" The iguana was over a foot long before the tail added another three feet to his size. The mouth of the lizard opened up to take the sweet juicy pieces of fruit from Tyler, but this one time, Tyler was a bit slow to pull back, and the ill tempered lizard nailed him.

"Ingrate!" sucking the blood from his finger, he had headed for the hot shower.

Harris and Matthew popped the lock on the cabin door with professional ease. Stepping inside they saw what Tyler occupied himself with in this place. Grow lights were situated over rows and rows of seedlings of marijuana plants, several notebooks recording the strengths and weaknesses of different crops he had already harvested, and down in the basement, the mother lode. The plants there were in full flower, each one bushy, healthy and growing up to eight feet tall.

"Best let EJ know about all of this quick. He will decide if the kid is gonna be busted. If it wasn't the Salem P.D. involved, you would think the level of juice he was using would have set the alarms going off.." Harris was now taking photographs of the entire lay out.

"Nope, he has a fairly large generator out the back, guess he used all his juice from that for growing, and only used the fire place for heat."Matthew took the camera, and aimed it toward the energy source, smiling at the hutzpah of the young doctor. Looked like he was not allowed to do what he wanted as far as his patients supplies were concerned so he took matters into his own hands.

EJ was impatient as he waited for Dr. Tyler Phillips to pick up the phone. The dossier on his desk had already been read by him, and both Harris and Matthew had been debriefed before they had gone to join in the family celebration in the Wells living room. Now EJ wanted some words with the young doctor, his foot tapped in irritation as he waited for him to answer.

"Dr. Phillips here"

"Yes, Dr. Phillips or may I call you Tyler? After today I feel I know you," EJ leafed through the dossier, " This is is EJ Wells, Kacies father I suppose you have already guessed that right? It would be my pleasure to have you join our family for Christmas dinner today, around 6? I shall send a driver for you..and I will not take no for an answer..you were so kind to Kacie today, she sets a great store by that dog..please be ready!"

Chapter VIII

It took a bit of putting together, but Tyler found something suitable to wear. He spent a good deal of his time in scrubs, the rest in jeans and sweatshirts, but when he walked in the doors of the Wells stately home, he cut an impressive figure in his navy pinstriped suit, the only white shirt he had, and his old school tie, which was also a solo piece of apparel. While Tippin stood expectantly, Tyler had a moment of confusion, until he realized the man dressed in the tux wanted to take his coat. Tippin gave him a strange smile, which served to embarrass him a bit. He was unused to the idea of someone in a house who was there to open doors and take coats, this was a new plane of existence to him!

He looked about him while Tippin was doing this duty, seeing that the house was grand alright, the foyer was a large as his apartment. He could see into a larger room which had the twelve foot Christmas tree decorated in a style that could only have been achieved by a professional decorator. When he saw the middle aged gentleman who had entered the room go immediately to fix an ornament which had strayed from its point of perfection, he was sure of his original assessment. When the man turned to see who was waiting in the foyer, he walked over to him, a smile of greeting on his face.

"My goodness..I think you must be our last guest! Kacie has talked about you non stop today! But she did not say how handsome you were! I am Trey, Sami' brother Eric is my husband! So good of you to come..more the merrier I always say!" holding out his hand to be shook, Trey linked his arm with Tyler for just a moment, steering him into the dining room. Tyler had overcome his misgivings and his exhaustion to say yes to the invitation, but in the back of his mind was the thought that it would not be too unpleasant to see Kacie once more. Then when she appeared, walking into the dining room with a woman he presumed was her mother, he felt the dryness of nervousness close his throat for a moment. Trey saw and sensed it, handing him a drink of water, along with a glass of champagne.

"You look good, I mean great, very good, how is the dog?" it was an effort to not stammer as he took in how Kacie looked when she was dressed to impress! She was petite, just a bit over five feet, with a delicate bone structure to her face. Her eyes reminded him of milk chocolate, fringed by a heavy layer of thick long lashes that left shadows on her cheeks when she blinked. The no nonsense wedge bob she wore her chestnut colored hair in was slightly teased up tonight, and highlighted by a sparkly red barrette which matched the strapless red satin dress with a hemline three inches above her knees. Her legs tapered down to the jeweled strappy sandals with the the heels that gave her a hint of height. From her little shell like ears hung a pair of ruby and diamond earrings that swung to and fro capturing the light and reflecting it from the fireplace. Her lips were full and red, adding to the allure and sophisticated countenance she presented. It was a startling change from the fresh faced, totally unsure of herself woman he had first met. It was a change he could appreciate.

"Thank you, you look very nice as well..Jester is fine, coming home tomorrow as a matter of fact.."Kacie saw how he was staring at her, and rather than making her uncomfortable now, she went into a pose she had often seen Paris Hilton in the magazines do, jutting her hips forward, while holding her head erect, she was wanting him to see her from every angle possible. Seeing him shift his standing postion a bit made her want to giggle! Her pose had given him the desired effect.

Until that moment, Tyler had not really taken in the fact that there were lots of others in the room, and Kacie took his arm to lead him over for a round of introductions.

"Mom, Dad, this is Tyler Phillips..or should we call you Doctor Phillips? My mother is called Sami, and my Dad goes by EJ.."

"Uh, well only my patients call me that, Tyler or Ty..I answer to either one". Reaching out, he took the hand of Mrs. Wells, who was taking him in with an up and down glance, and he knew she had guessed he had really thrown together his outfit. She was still gracious, welcoming him to her home, thanking him for all he had done for Kacie. Tyler found himself looking at her with a physicians appraisal, something in the color of her skin, even with makeup on told him she was not feeling as well as she was trying to let on. Her arm kept tight to her husband, almost as if she were leaning upon him. EJ Wells was a tougher nut. His handshake was on the hurting side of firm, and his eyes locked onto Tylers with a fierceness that he wanted to intimidate the young man.

Tyler planted his feet apart, and returned the stare. At that point, from across the room he heard a snicker, which was coming from the wife of Justin Wells, Phaedra witnessed the encounter, and was mentally cheering on the new contender! Perhaps sometime tonight she would be able to talk to him, and let him know that her father in laws bark was always followed by his bite. You had to stand firm with him. That was the only way to show him what you were made of!

Except Tyler had no plans to let this man push him around, just because he was probably the most powerful person in Salem..probably able to get him fired with one phone call. What the hell, he thought to himself, he had been looking for a job when he got this one!

"Pleased to meet you sir, I hear great things about your tenure as the Board Chairman at the hospital..the reputation of University Hospital has improved a great deal!" Tyler hoped the combination of flattery as well as refusing to bend under the power of the stare would get results.

"Oh, improved? And what did you hear about its reputation before?" EJ had a smile that was snakelike now, whatever answer he gave, Tyler knew would be the wrong one.

"Dad, I need to see that Tyler gets introduced to everyone else before we sit down for dinner..excuse us a moment!" Kacie was pulling him away to go and greet the others.

"Again, you have rescued me..thanks! Um..all in all, I would rather be back out in that snow storm than toe to toe with your father..I get the distinct impression he loathes me!" he had laid his hand on her bare back as a way of steering her, but one disapproving look from her father had him dropping his hand away like she was a hot stove!

"You just have to get to know Daddy, he is a pussy cat!"

"Yes, well, so is a Bengal Tiger, so tell me, is the rest of your family going to want to eat me alive as well?"

For the first time in over a year, Kacie felt the stirrings of desire within her, as she looked him up and down, deciding he was definitely easy on the eyes. She decided it was time to let him know how she felt, her lips brushed his ear as she whispered seductively .."Well, not them, but maybe I might!" with that she took his hand in hers, and walked him over to the rest of the family as he looked at her stunned into silence once more.

Bye evenings end, Tyler had managed to charm all the women of the family, Jessica, Eva, Phaedra, Chandler, and Samantha were all beaming at him, he had not made a wrong move with them all night! Trey had given him his card to look him up for some discounts on suits, Eric arranged a racquetball date, Justin talked racing to him for a bit, finding him to be fairly knowledgable on his sport, and when Ace had found out he was an ethnobotanist, it was instant rapport. Harris and Matthew sat back, both observing their boss. EJ was hard to read, but by no means impossible. It was plain he did not trust the young man, but he had not trusted any of the men who had courted his daughters. Matthew had felt that disapproval until Jessica had told her father to butt out of her life, she would marry who she pleased!

When Kacie had made the offer at the end of the night to drive Tyler home, EJ had jumped in to offer his driver, but Kacie seemed to have her own agenda, and would not hear of it! She excused herself to head upstairs and change, while Tyler looked about to find that somehow EJ had maneuvered him into a private area off the library.

"Tyler, I just want to say one thing here..Kacie has been through a very traumatic year, she has experienced a great loss, she is vulnerable..so do not even think about trying to sleep with my daughter!" having delivered his warning, EJ swallowed his brandy in one shot, while pouring one and handing it off to Tyler!

Chapter IX

Tyler took the brandy snifter, swirled it about for a second, then took it down in one swallow, his anger growing by the second as he looked his tormentor in the eye.

"I think I need to make one thing clear to you Mr. Wells, from my perspective your lovely daughter looks to be over the age of consent, and should I get lucky enough to find myself making love to her, you should know it will be her choice, my pleasure, and none of your damned business!"his retort was delivered in a measured whisper, but with a self assurance that made EJ take a second look.

"Touche.. yes, she is of age, but as I said, she is very vulnerable now, I do not think you know what she has been through.."EJ had gained a bit of respect for the young doctor, not many of his childrens suitors had ever stood up to him the way this one had. "There is something else going on as well, something I should like to talk with you about, involving your work. So keep in mind, Kacie is not at a very strong point in her life just now, and your rescue of her dog has given you hero status in her eyes..I would ask you not take advantage of that fact now..not until you are in full command of all the facts."now EJ was treating him as an equal, and Tyler was giving him his attention.

"I respect how much you love and want to protect your daughter, my father would feel the same about my sisters I know."now Tyler felt a bit guilty about the salacious thoughts he had been entertaining on how the ride home from Kacie would end up. He had sisters her age, and the thought of some man wanting to get them into bed as quickly as possible, uncaring about their emotions, which honestly had been his intention with Kacie was sending him packing his bags mentally for the guilt trip. Now he saw her as someone's daughter, someone's sister, with a family that cared deeply for her. His head was hanging down, when EJ began to speak again.

"Thank you for that, and I was not kidding when I said I would like to talk to you about your work at Salem University. My contacts there tell me you have some interesting research going on in conjunction with some actual testing on patients. I have a medical research company delving into the possibilities of cures from species of plants that seems to be paralleling what you are doing..I would like the opportunity to have my scientists review what you have..this could be very good for both of us Doctor."

"Daddy!" Kacie had come into the room, "You must not talk business tonight, it is Christmas, go up to Mom, she looked tired. I put her to bed, but you know she won't sleep until you are beside her!"

EJ nodded, and bent to kiss his daughters cheek. "I know, you are right, hey, drive safely, the roads may be a bit icy..Tyler, nice to meet you, and please give me a call tomorrow to discuss that matter. I think it will be mutually rewarding."

Once EJ was out of earshot, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to dial Harris. "I want you to tail her, don't let her see you, and if she is upstairs in his apartment too long, find a way to get her out!..I don't care! Think of something..let your Christmas bonus give you some inspiration!"

Kacie was a skilled driver Tyler could see. The icy roads did not seem to bother her, she kept a steady speed, without applying her brakes as she flowed into the curves of the road. It was an uneventful ride, just pleasantries of how good dinner was, how much the family had liked him and he them...until Tyler ventured into areas of his curiousity.

"Umm...in your camper the other day when I was undressing, I noticed a picture there of someone called Grant? Could I ask who he is?"the immediate fishtail swerve the SUV went into told him he had touched a nerve. "Whoa! Are you okay, would you like me to drive?" he asked as she regained control.

"No, I am fine..I just did not expect the question..Grant was my fiancé.."

"Was?" the question lingered, waiting for her answer.

"He died.." for a year, Kacie had mourned, missing him so much, but finding as time went by she could think to herself, "Hey, Grant, I miss you, but for an hour today I was able to think of something else."She read up on the psychology of grief and knew what was happening was normal, but now she could not believe what she had been contemplating. It had been her intention to take this man home, accompany him upstairs to his apartment, and as soon as she could, be lying naked in his arms. From the way he had looked at her tonight, and the way his hands kept stealing to her naked back above the dress told her he was not going to resist too much. Now all she could think of was Grant, even realizing on the way to Tyler's apartment she would be passing by the cemetery at St. Lukes where he was buried.

Tyler sensed the change, but he had given up ideas of taking her to bed after speaking with EJ anyway, he really did want to get to know her better.

"Look, would you like to come up when we get to my apartment for a cup of coffee..I promise it is just a cup of coffee..I can introduce you to Iggy..I would really like some more of your company tonight.."his voice was absent of any of the arrogance she had first encountered with him, and the hint of his loneliness breached her defenses. For the first time, her extra senses did tell her something about him..his words were sincere.

"First tell me who or what Iggy is, I am sort of afraid of snakes!" her smile was back, and Tyler promised her Iggy was not a snake, but a close relative.

Harris sat out in the parking lot, numb with the cold, cursing the fact EJ had sent him out on this mission when he could have been lying curled up next to Chandler in a warm bed. Checking his watch he saw she had been in there fifteen minutes..too damn long! He placed the call to his contact, who then began the text message to Doctor Phillips: Please come to Lab, Project 2WQ190 has problems..need assistance.

Starting his engine, Harris saw with satisfaction that Doctor Phillips had ran down to his car, leaving Kacie inside. Now he had to wait to see when she would leave, he just hoped she was not already curled up in the bed of the young man, EJ would be pissed!

Kacie was just cleaning up a bit from the coffee Tyler had made, then stopping to feed a bit of fruit to Iggy. He gently took it from her hands, blinking his eye in complete trust. Kacie wondered what Tyler had meant when he said to watch your fingers..this baby was gentle as a lamb! When she had turned around, she saw that the screen saver for his computer was still lit up, and her attention focused on it. There on the screen was a colorful blue flower, with a circular pattern of yellow on it..she had seen this before, then it hit her! This was the picture she had seen along with the vision of her mothers cancer! It meant something! Kacie knew to always trust in her visions..sooner or later they proved true! She took a moment to print the screen, then hurried down the stairs, just in time to see Harris speeding out of the lot.

"Daddy..Daddy..Daddy..my coming here tonight may be the answer to our prayers!"

Chapter X

Sami stirred in the bed, feeling the warmth of EJ as he slid in next to her, pulling her into his arms. She was in the twilight of wakefulness and sleep, unable to give into the depths of it until she felt his presence.

"Ummm. You feel so nice, what kept you so long?"snuggling her face into the crook of his arm, she waited for him to answer.

"Just a bit of business to take care of..it was a wonderful evening wasn't it darling..a perfect Christmas." Unspoken was the knowledge it probably would be their last one together, EJ could not help but wonder if the rest of the family had noticed the fierceness of the way Samantha had drawn her grandchildren to her, and the way she had tenderly kissed the tummy of Jessica, great with the unborn set of twins.

"Yes, sweetheart, it was perfect. I think I am going to wait until Jessica has the babies to tell the rest of them..another month won't change anything you know."

"Samantha, I don't believe that will be possible, you have to start treatments immediately, and you realize that chemo is not a walk in the park, you are going to be ill, they are not blind!"EJ was alarmed at what he felt was coming next.

"I could just postpone the treatment, what would a month do?" to Sami, it would be a month that Jessica could carry on with her pregnancy as worry free as possible. "She does not need to be stressing about anything like this, and what good will it to..and Justin and Phaedra, they need to concentrate on their career and their child..I want them to go back to Europe. They need to be able to live their lives. As for Ace and Eva, they are so busy now, why burden them with knowledge they can do nothing about?"

The anxiety in her voice touched him, but his fear at losing her a moment sooner than he had to was too hard to bear.

"No! I will not let you postpone the treatment..we don't have to tell them, I will agree to that, if they don't guess, we can just say you have a bad flu or something, but don't ask me to let you wait on treatment. You know the doctors said the tumors could be overwhelming you within a couple of months, waiting is not an option..I beg you, don't do this to us!" the desperation in his voice reached her, and she sought to comfort him.

"Oh, EJ, God, I am so sorry, I don't want to leave you, and I won't give up, I promise you..okay..I will start the treatment, but we must let Jessica carry out her pregnancy without worrying about me..please?" her hand began to trace the familiar outlines of his face, turning him to her and her seeking lips. His sob of need broke her heart, knowing he had been the first person before her children who had ever given her his love without reservation, she resolved that no matter what, she would fight for her life, and the right to keep on living it with him. There were so many years left of love and laughter to be shared, along with a pair of new grandchildren coming along.

"EJ..."as they lay in each others arms after the gentle lovemaking, Sami had to ask him.."Did you foil Kacies little rendezvous she seemed to be setting up?"

"How did you know?" he chuckled softly.

" A mother always knows..but I am glad you did..she is too vulnerable now, she really needs to resolve every thing about Grant..I think she is ready to move on, but before she just starts in on an affair, she should get to know the young man..but he was nice wasn't he?"

"He was alright, I suppose" EJ tried to be noncommittal.

"You like him, I can tell. Good, since I think she does as well. I want her to be happy again EJ, I want all our children to be happy. She deserves it.." Sami gave a weak little yawn, as she drifted off to sleep. EJ lay awake staring at the ceiling, thinking about his coming meeting with Tyler. It was a long shot, but he hoped something would come of it.

While her parents slept upstairs, Kacie had taken her print of the flower into her fathers study. She googled for several minutes before she finally found the right key words to enter, surprised that she had overlooked them. Tyler had printed them in part of the screen saver and when Kacie saw, she knew she had found the keyword. Zerumbitia..and once typed in she found an exact replica of the flower on Tylers screen, and in her dream along with the following text:

This flower is found only in the upper altitudes of the Peruvian Alps, and as a unique feature, it blooms during the wet season from November through July. The Peruvian natives have always revered the plant as it has been known to cure almost anything. Of course that is probably a myth, and the plant was feared extinct in the last decade due to global warming upsetting its delicate need for a certain temperature to facilitate pollination which is only done by a butterfly known as the Zerumb, whose coloring is almost exactly that of the flower.

Looking up to where her parents lay sleeping, Kacie felt her heart begin to pound in excitement. Whatever this flower was, she knew she had been led to it by the power in her mind she had never learned to understand, only to accept and trust. All of this meant something.

Chapter XI

"Hey Boy! Oh, baby you look great!" Kacie knelt next to Jester as his tail thumped heavily inside his metal crate. His pink tongue strained through the mesh of his enclosure trying to make contact with his Mom. As he had promised, Dr. Lewis was letting Jester go home today, only asking that his activity be quite limited. He was to be confined to a crate except for short periods of exercise and to go to the bathroom.

"That is one lucky pup!" the attendant said, as she gathered the items Kacie was going to need. There were several kinds of pills and several dressing pads which would have to be changed twice a day. "This dog should be at room temperature, one centimeter to the left and he would have been! You best not make a habit of going after the happy grass boy!"

Dr. Lewis took Kacie aside to give her the rest of the instructions. "Bring him back in a week, I will take the stitches out then, but after that he should be right as rain, chasing those tennis balls again..maybe a little slower for a bit, but give him a month and you won't know anything has happened!"

Kacie opened up the cage, reaching in to help Jester out, but Harris was there, sizing up both the dog, as well as the petite Kacie, and it was him who carried Jester out to the car. This was another odd duty EJ had set him to, but seeing how happy his God Daughter was at getting her dog back, he could not help but grin. He pulled twelve hundred dollar bills from his wallet to give the receptionist, and when she tried to give him back two of the bills, he waved her off.."Hey, someone comes in who cannot afford something for their wee dog, use that bit to help them out, least we can do for the way you took care of the lass's dog."

By the time they had gotten home, EJ and Samantha had left for the appointment with her oncologist. The first chemo treatments were being started, and Kacie had been sworn to secrecy. Not even Harris was being told by EJ, Sami had been adamant that she did not want anyone in the family to know anything. Kacie read the note from her mom left on her bed.

"Hey Sweetie, hope Jester is doing well. Please let Tippin know anything he will need okay? Your Dad is staying with me all day at the hospital, so don't worry about me at all. Check on Grandpa ok? He seemed a bit out of sorts when I left, but Lorene said I should not worry. I will see you when I get home, and please, if Jessica calls, just tell her EJ took me out for the after Christmas sales! I love you, Mom."

Almost on cue, Kacie heard the phone, and knew before she picked up who it was. "Hi Sis, it's me! Is Mom there, I wanted to tell her about the new curtains I got for the nursery! Maybe she can come over tomorrow and help me hang them! You too, if your doggie can spare you!" Kacie was not sure how she was going to get her mother out of this one, but she was sure that there was no way their mother was going to be up to helping her with nursery decorating chores.

Thinking fast, Kacie offered this excuse, "Oh, no, I heard Mom say she had to go with Grandpa tomorrow to his therapy session..he gets so cantankerous if anyone else is with him..how about I come alone, we should be able to handle a couple of curtain rods on our own..and it will give me time to talk to you, we hardly had a moment last night!"

"Well seeing how your date was monopolizing you, that was hardly my thought, he really is a Dr. McDreamy isn't he? But ok, you come, and Mom can come over the next day to help me put the baby clothes in the drawers..you should see this stuff..it is just sooooooooo cute!" Jessica was cooing, and Kacie was picturing her folding little blue and pink onesies as she spoke. It was hard not to wish Grant were still with her, and they were picking out baby things together as well. Kacie finally got her off the phone, and once she had Jester situated, she had gone downstairs to go talk with Tippin and Lorene.

"Why do I hafta eat slop..all the time slop..slop..slop..slop..if I gotta put these damn teeth in, why can't I use em on a good ole T-Bone?" Grandpa Roman was turning his head back and forth from the spoon that Lorene was holding out. When Kacie saw what was on the spoon, she felt a pang of sympathy for him. It was a green gruel which had been prescribed by the nutritionist for him, but it did not look at all appetizing.

"Grandpa, it' s me Kacie, you know me right?'

"Well hell yes I know you, not everything has leaked out this wiffle ball brain..Where the Sam hill you been girl? Been waiting on you..can you talk this old bag outa some real food for me? Hell, a man could starve in this joint!"

The Alzheimers disease which had robbed Roman of many of his memories and capacities was now in its tenth year after his diagnosis. Some days were good, some bad, but Kacie wondered how the strain of caring for her Dad was going to impact her mothers treatment. She resolved to take as much of the burden from her mother as she could. "Grandpa, how would you like to have some real ice cream? You eat this stuff, and I will bring you some strawberry ice cream..remember..that was always your favorite!"

"Yeah, that sounds good, bring me some ice cream..now who are you again?"his look of confusion brought a tear to her eye, but Lorene just patted her hand in reassurance.

"Go on and get it, sometimes by the time you get back, it has all come back to him..When your mom gets home she usually calms him down anyway, and he will eat anything for her."

The idea that Mom made everything better was hitting home with Kacie. Her father depended on her, Grandpa as well, Jessica needed her, it seemed only Justin and Ace could get along in their lives and Kacie clung to that. Until she saw them coming up the walkway with their wives in tow.

Bending down to kiss her on the head, Justin ruffled her head in the same way he had always used to tease her with as a child. Ace just picked her up, twirling her about, as Eva looked on, holding little Frank on her hip. Phaedra took Elisa out of the stroller, and watched with pride as she toddled over to take a closer look at the Christmas Tree.

"I am glad we caught you here, but where is Mom and Dad? We wanted to find out if we can all get together New Years Eve at Chez Rouge..maybe you can bring that Doc, he seemed like he fits in with us! It will be the last time we can all get together for awhile, whattya think?"

What Kacie thought was.."oh God, Mom will not be able to hide how sick she is now..they want to have a party!"

Chapter XI

EJ held tightly onto Sami's hand, knowing her deep seated fear of needles, he prayed she would not be too afraid when she saw what the procedure was going to entail. Once the anesthetic was administered, they were going to insert a port into her chest area, and from then on no needles would be needed to give her the chemotherapy treatments. She would be sleeping in a twilight phase, but would feel no pain at all was how Doctor Bahliinder explained it.

"It is called a Broviac, and it may be possible to send a nurse to your home to give the meds, wouldn't that be more comfortable for you?" she was a kind faced woman, with a slight accent from her native India.

"Oh..well maybe a bit later on, you see, I need to let the rest of the family know, and as yet I have not had time to tell them..if I do this at home, how would I explain it?"the anxiety in her face as she saw the prep tray was now apparent in her trembling voice.

"Surely, Sami, you do not plan on keeping this secret..you will need your families support, and they deserve to have the opportunity to help as well!" the doctors tone was almost scolding, and she saw that EJ was nodding his agreement.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, and we will be telling the family as soon as possible!" EJ was firm, but his eyes on his wife as she lay on the gurney were soft with his love and compassion. "Here it goes darling, hold onto me, look at me, only me..." he felt her shudder as the needle was inserted in her veins, but within seconds, her face relaxed, and she had fallen asleep before counting backwards further than seven.

Once she was taken into the surgery, EJ looked at the clock, then headed to the elevator to the research area of Salem University Hospital. Tyler had agreed to a meeting, but he had no idea what exactly EJ Wells had in mind.

EJ went right to the point after greeting Tyler with a handshake. "My wife is being treated here, can you please access her file..NOW!"

It was a breach of hospital protocol, and Tyler tried to explain that, but EJ was dismissive, "Yes, I know, but with this hospitals record of paternity switches, cancer records being changed, live people declared dead and organs switched around..I think my looking at my own wifes records will not cause too much reaction, and as Chairman of the Hospital Board, I assure you, your job is safe! Now, pull her up, this is the necessary information you will need!"

The diagnosis that presented for Samantha Gene Wells was not one with a good prognosis. Patients with this stage, and the markers that were shown had a grim outlook. The cancer was in her lymph nodes, as well as invading her bone marrow. If she was not already in a great deal of pain, she soon would be.

"Why was this diagnosed at such a late stage?" Tyler was wondering why mammograms had not found this much earlier.

"Apparently this is one of those which burrowed into the breast tissue, and did not show up, or the radiologist missed it..it happens Doctor Bahliinder says and I assure you, my wife takes good care of herself, this was no ones fault." EJ was not about to let his wife be assigned any blame, and Tyler gave him grudging respect. He knew his father would be the same about his mother as well.

"I have been hearing things about you, and my researchers have access to what you do in here, Mythic Research is closely aligned with Salem University. Can you think of anything that they are not already doing? I will pay anything, do anything..can you help her please?"

Tyler read a bit more on the screen, then switched over to some of his own work. Shaking his head, he opened up more data, scrolling through formularies, keying in information from Samis charts, finally he stopped at a screen where he paused, then shut it down. This was research that had been stopped by the Chief of Staff at this hospital, the funding dried up, but instinct told Tyler it held promise. It was a flower called Zerumbitia, the history of the plant was documented, and many of the natives had stories of how people on their deathbeds had been treated by it, only to be restored to full health. Tales of people growing enormous tumor growths which had shrunk in a matter of days were told in Peruvian folklore. The property that was important in the flower seemed to restore the cells biological propensity to die, which was lost in cells that were cancerous.

"Mr. Wells, I do not want to offer any false hope in this, but are you aware that almost all modern medicines and treatments are plant based? This flower is extinct for all intents and purposes, what I have been trying to do is recreate the synthetic chemical properties of it, but the good Chief here has decided that the work is unimportant and wasteful..but I believe it could help people like your wife, however I do not think there would be enough time to do it synthetically..we would need an actual sample of the flower, something that is not now available. I am so sorry."

"Doctor Phillips, believe me, you will have the funding, you will have the staff, you will have the equipment. If this can be found synthetically, it will be done..so take this as my permission to start immediately..whatever else yo are doing, drop it! This is priority one!" from anyone else, Tyler would have resented orders like this, but he saw the light of loves fire in EJ Well's eyes, and knew that nothing would stop him from helping the wife he treasured. Tyler envied someone who could love so intensely.

"Sounds like a plan to me"..Tyler grinned, "and meantime, it looks like your wife is going to have a rough time the next few days, can I offer you something to help her over the worst of it?" Tyler stood and took keys out of his pocket to open a locked cabinet. Taking out a sack he placed a couple of baggies in it to which EJ looked on in shock. Tyler saw his expression, and offered this explanation.

"This is a very good water pipe, for those not used to inhaling any type of smoke it will help her get it into her lungs..this is going to keep her appetite up, and will lessen the nausea..please..don't let preconceived notions or outdated knowledge influence you..she needs to eat! Being sick makes them not want to eat. Help her out, hell, join her in a few hits! It will relax the both of you!"

"Look Tyler, I am not an innocent, but after so many years of telling my kids not to do this, now we are going to become hypocrites?" EJ recalled how many times he warned his children about the evils of illegal drugs, smiling as he recalled the couple of time he and Sami had shared a joint after they were all in bed. It had made for some amazingly imaginative sex at times.

"No one said to give it to your kids..give it to your wife!"

Chapter XII (kind of speeding things up here, I am just really enjoying where my head is going with this story...)

When the nausea hit her, it was a tidal wave, starting from her head, then undulating down to her stomach, and not stopping there, even though she made it to the toilet in time to catch the worst of it. Her toes even cramped with the violence of force of a sickness she had never known to be possible! Sleep had been fitful, and she felt badly for EJ who tried to comfort her as she tossed and turned in the big bed next to him. He had not awakened when she had lurched into the bathroom, trying to control the urge to retch until she was safely over the commode.

When she looked up, he was standing there, looking white with worry at her distress. Seeing her this ill brought back the memory of how he had come so close to losing her when she had been a pawn for Tony's plan to acquire an heir to rival Justin and Jessica. He opened the linen cabinet and pulled out several washcloths and towels to clean up her mess, wetted some to wipe her face with, and held her to him as she cried with the hopelessness she was now feeling. He helped her struggle to her feet, standing back to watch as she brushed her teeth, then rinsed her mouth, trying to erase the taste of the bitter bile.

When she was quieted again, he bent down to lift her up into his arms and carried her back to the bed.

"You must eat something Samantha, you went to bed without dinner, and if you become ill again, it will not be well if you have an empty stomach.." he saw her face, and the horror it registered at the thought of eating anything. Just the thought brought on the nausea again. Looking again at how small and sick she looked, EJ remembered what he had in the white bag in his side of the closet.

"What in the world is that thing EJ? My God is that what I think it is.."one whiff of the fragrant smoke told her, yes it was what she thought, but when he handed off one end of the hose to her after filling the bottom with fresh water she shook her head back and forth, letting him know she was not up to any experimental drug use.

"Samantha, please, Doctor Phillips gave me this for you to try, this device will filter out the more harmful effects, but the drug is designed to stop the sickness and give you the desire to eat..please, darling..take a hit!"EJ was pleading with her, "Look, I will go first..see...nothing to it..now you!"he had drawn on the hose deeply, holding the end of it out to her, as he inhaled and held the smoke from the pipe.

She was not totally convinced, but as he urged her, she took hold of the pipe and set the tops of the flowers he had broken off to glowing. Four hits each later, both of them were grinning lopsidedly, leaning up against the bed as they sat on the floor. "Shall I call down and have Tippin bring us up some breakfast? I feel rather like having some toast and marmite.."as he contemplated the big toe of his beloved, which he had suddenly found to be fascinating, EJ felt the pangs of hunger hitting him very hard.

"God, that does sound good, and could he bring up some marmalade with the toast as well, maybe some bacon too..crisp ok?" it did not even occur to Sami that she had just said the idea of marmite sounded good. For now, her appetite was back with a vengeance!

Kacie had woke up earlier, going down to the kitchen where Jester was in his crate. He was still a bit sore, but when she let him out, showing him one of his tennis balls, he seemed to have a lot more energy, definitely wanting to go outside for a bit. Tippin was puttering about the kitchen, getting the morning rituals started when the house phone rang him.

"Yes Mr. Wells, I shall put the cook to it at once.." Tippin was listening to his boss list several items to be sent up by tray, scribbling furiously. When he was done he turned to Kacie, "Your mum and dad say they have a severe case of the munchies.." then under his breath he had finished, "they must be up to their old tricks again..will they never grow up?"unperturbed, he continued with his tasks. Tippin had been over twenty five years in this household, and all the secrets of the house were safe with them.

Jester was led around the yard, Kacie letting him stay out for a bit more than his allotted sets of twos.. seeing that he was tiring, headed back inside to give him his meds, feed him, and put him down into the crate again to rest. Finally, she headed for the computer to finish doing her research. She stared for a few minutes at the picture, then began printing all the data she had found. It was important to her to have read everything she could find on it, but she still knew that Tyler was the key.

"Well, this will give me a good reason to call him, and then I can ask if he can join us on New Years Eve..right Jester?" she was trying to calm her nerves as she dialed, what would she say if he said no?

"Hey beautiful, nice to hear your voice, what do I owe the pleasure?" Tyler was pleased to hear from her, and was even more pleased when she invited him to lunch. Kacie had been in his thoughts a lot, but every time he had decided to call her, something in his work would start up, and he would get lost in it. The files on the Zerumbitia were piled high on his desk, and he was excited to get to work on EJ's priority project. "How about the Brady Pub, I am craving some chowder, how does that sound to you?"

It was one of Kacies favorites, and would give her a chance to say hello to her Aunt Hope and Uncle Bo. She did not tell him what she knew about Zerumbitia, but the dream had come back last night, the dream showing her a small village next to a green mountain, misty with a layer of fog, but a valley so beautiful it looked as if it was a picture of heaven laid out for men to find the meaning of peace in. At the foot of the mountain, the meadow lay, dotted with the flowers of Zerumbitia, and small blue butterflies darting from flower to flower. Kacie was sure this was where the flower was, as she was sure this was what her mother needed to erase the tentacles of the cancers invading her body.

Chapter XIII

"Kacie! I did not know you were in town..how come you haven't called us?" Bo was busy behind the bar, but when he saw his great niece walk in alone he came out from behind to give her a big welcoming hug. Hope the walked out from the kitchen, also breaking into a big smile upon seeing Bo and Kacie together.

"How is your mom and dad, we haven't seen them in awhile, how was your Christmas?" the pleasantries offered hid the fact that the history of the Bradys with the Wells had not always been the greatest, no matter that Zach had been saved by Sami, it still did not sit well that it was the DiMera family she had finally aligned with. For the sake of all the kids, truce had been declared, with both sides declaring victory of a sorts.

Kacie answered what she could, but she knew the reason Sami and EJ had not been around not because of any bad feeling, but because her mother had not been well. Hoping they would not dig any deeper, she took a seat to wait for Tyler. By the time he was walking through the door, pausing to hang his coat and scarf up, she had managed to put the papers she had brought with her into an organized sequence that she felt would make sense to him. He slid into the booth across from her, his eyes smiling as he looked at her in her cardigan sweater of pastel yellow. Once again, he felt that she looked heartbreakingly young, with a face that made him want to reach out and stroke her cheek.

It was hard for her not to look him directly in the eye, he seemed so sure of himself, something she had never been. Grant had been her only serious boyfriend, and after she had thrown her self at Tyler Christmas night, only to spoil the whole mood they both seemed to be in by almost wrecking the car driving him home, Kacie wanted this little interlude to go well.

"You look so cute..that sweater almost makes you look like you are fifteen."

This was not exactly the effect she wanted.

"Sorry, I just threw it on, something warm you know..I would not want it to make you nervous or anything..I can show you my i.d if need be". She hoped that would stop his present line of unflattering remarks.

"Oh, I know you are old enough Kacie, I mean you definitely had the right reaction to me that night when you threw me out in the snow! I was playing big bad wolf! Now, we better get something to eat, I have to get back to the lab, got a hot project going..something your father has asked me to work on as a matter of fact."

Kacie looked at her papers, then at him. "I bet I know what it is about..the Zerumbitia..that is it, isn't it?"

His brows wrinkled together as he looked over the menu at her. "How did you know that, did your father talk to you about it?" He was not really happy at the idea of EJ doing that, this was a long shot at best, and it would not do for Kacie to think he was going to find a cure for her mother. If anything, this would not do anything for her mother, but might be capable of helping someone else in the future, he really had no reason to believe it was any kind of miracle cure.

"No..Tyler, I need to tell you something about myself, my work..but we better order the food now, this may take some explaining. How open is your mind? Can you accept that some things which may seem paranormal or unnatural to some, to others are just another sense, like hearing or sight..and are as natural as being able to feel by touch..some can feel by dreaming. I have that ability, pretty highly developed too, it was tested extensively while I worked in Berkeley." Sipping her tea, she looked for his reaction.

"Umm, so you are some kind of seer? Like you read palms or something?" his grin of doubting was accompanied by him putting his hands out to her with the palms up.

"Not exactly, but if I held your hands, and you were not hidden from me, I could tell you a lot about yourself..but..."

"But what?"

"You are hidden from me..so I could not tell you anything..but I can help you find the Zerumbitia..please let me help you. It is the only hope for my mother, and probably many others who suffer from the same type of cancer. I read your papers, you are right Tyler, this flower or something about this flower has the power to cure. You know about my mother, this may be her only chance..I want to make sure she gets that chance."

"You're kidding right?" what she was saying did not seem like sound science to him at all, but some kind of mumbo jumbo and he had no wish to waste his precious time, even for someone as cute as this young woman.

"Tyler, listen to me, I know it is hard to believe, but the butterfly is not extinct, there is a colony of them near this mountain.."she pushed the picture over to him, and he looked at her strangely. The mountain was where the last butterfly had been photographed, shortly before its wings stopped beating. He had seen the butterfly in the collection of Franz Borgest, the noted entomologist and had been told it was the only specimen in existence.

"How can you be so sure?" but she now had his interest if not his full faith.

Over two bowls of steaming New England style Clam chowder Kacie told him her history. Some of it had him belly laughing as she recalled the Great Bear Caper, some he found almost scary as she recalled the pool fairy, while the story of rescuing her sister by not only seeing the plane crash, but being able to pinpoint the location of it was inspiring. What if she could find the Zerumbitia by her dreams..Even if she could not, they would be no worse off than they were now. Her earnest desire to help him, even if it would not end up being the cure for her mother finally melted his defense.

"Look, and I am not promising anything, but if we could make it to Peru to find the flower, there is still no guarantee that it will make any difference to your mother..you have to know that, or I will not agree to this. I have many other projects to keep me occupied."

"No, no promises, I do not expect that, but if I can help you find it, my mother is going to be alright..that is what my dreams are telling me now."

Kacie walked with him across the park to the hospital, talking to him about the project had been easy, but she still had not worked up her courage to ask him about New Years, when Jessica called out to them as she was walking out of the main lobby doors!

"Hey, so good to see you two together, now this makes it easy! Tyler, we would like you to join all of us for New Years Eve at Chez Rouge..dinner, toasting in the New Year, all of that! Course I will be toasting with Sparkling Cider, just had my appointment. This is a go in about three weeks! You are gonna be an auntie again kid!" Jessica knew her sister, and except for Grant, she had never asked a man out in her life.

Tyler gave his acceptance, looking askance at Kacie as her sister blew off down the walkway! "I really hope you were trying to get up the courage to ask me yourself..I love it when a woman goes all aggressive on me!"

Chapter XIV

Chez Rouge was still decorated with all the Holiday splendor with some added touches for New Years Eve. Maggie was there, effusive as always when EJ and his family and entourage walked in. Now well into her seventies, she sported the familiar flaming red hair, which still suited her nicely. Chez Rouge was still owned by the Wells family, so Maggie gave them the respect they were due, glad EJ never brought up the old times, when she had helped Lucas sabotage his first date with Sami.

The group she was leading in to the special banquet room was dressed up in their finest, and Maggie was proud for the restaurant to have such great looking guests for this special night. EJ and Samantha led the way, him in a tux and her in a long deep blue evening gown that complimented her light hair and eyes. Justin, the image of his dad, along with his beautiful dark haired wife Phaedra came next, and he gallantly held out her chair as she seated herself, looking up at him with love setting her dark eyes aglow. Jessica, whose blonde good looks came from her mother, but her height from her father was seated across from her husband, Matt, the advanced pregnancy made her look a bit tired, but she still glowed with happiness. Ace Wells sat next to his wife, Eva, of all the family she looked to be the shyest, and she always tried to stay next to Ace, or EJ, who found her to be very charming. Chandler and Harris also found their way to the table, and the waitress was busy taking the drink orders from the group, only to find she had to start all over when Trey and Eric came in, both resplendent in their evening wear. Trey, of course had added the flourish of a black and red evening cape which was quite its own fashion statement.

They were a few minutes later arriving, but Kacie walked in on the arm of Tyler Phillips. He seemed a bit awkward in his tux, his fingers finding their way to the bow tie as if to loosen its tightness every few seconds, but when he looked at Kacie, he had to be happy he came. She had made sure to dress in a way he that he would not confuse her with a fifteen year old again. Trey had helped her, and the simple black sheath, strapless, with the velvet choker at her neck was simple, elegant, and very sophisticated.

"You know, I once dressed your mother in an outfit like this for a very important merger..it worked then like a charm, and I bet it will still have the same effect! Nothing like the little black dress.." as he pinned up the hemline to show her legs to their best advantage, "and nothing like a littler little black dress!"

Champagne flowed freely, no one had to worry about driving, EJ had taken care of that with the hiring of a large limousine to take them all home. Jessica toasted with sparkling cider, and when it was her turn, she stood and faced her mother.

"Mother, this is for you, the best mother in the world, the bravest, the hardest working, and I know you will be the best grandmother in the world to my new babies, I can't wait to watch you spoil them rotten!"

EJ reached under the table to take his wifes hand, squeezing it to offer his support. All the toasts made seemed to bring a memory back to life or to hint at a future to come, a future that Sami was very unsure of. When at last, the toast honor came to her, she looked about at her family, loving the sight of them, and the memories they had given her. If she never took another breath, this night was one to savor, and for her to return that love, so she stood to give her toast.

"New Years, what a wonderful gift we are given when we can gather like this to celebrate what we have had and what we look forward to. Jessica, you and Matthew already have a beautiful child in Mischa, and now she will have a brother and a sister joining her..I can remember you as a little girl, our little lavender princess..you always had such love in your heart" Look on down the table, her eyes lit on her oldest son, "Justin, the protector, a boy who always looked out for his sisters and kept his little brother out of trouble.I am so happy that Phaedra came into your life, she has been such a wonderful wife, helpmate, and the perfect daughter in law! Someone who cooks as badly as me, but can tear down an engine is exactly the woman you needed! Ace, aah, the little warrior, who knew the heart of a lion resided within a three year old child? Honey, you married Eva you took on a cause that the world needed to take on, and the two of you and your son are going to make a difference!" Kacie waited expectantly as her mother turned to her. They had the secret between them, and Sami wanted to make sure that this night was not spoiled for the rest of her family. The fact that only Kacie and EJ shared the burden of knowledge was bittersweet to her.

"Kacie, my child of the tender heart, you have suffered so much, but you have kept faith in family and God. Your strength is something your gift will always test, but I have faith in you..and you have never failed me!"

Tyler saw Kacie's lip tremble, and her eyes start to tear up, so his hand went to hers under the table in the same supporting way that her father had for her mother. He was so drawn to this family now, wanting to be in the warm circle they surrounded each other with. When Samantha turned to EJ, Tyler listened with both his ears and his heart.

"EJ, all I can say to you besides how much I love you, is thank you for a life that I can say has been lived each day as fully as any life could be. We have made a family that can almost be called a bridge of love, uniting each side to the other, each unit to the other, and I wish I had this same family power as I grew up. I did many things wrong, so did you, but at the end of it all, we are still here, still standing, still loving each other. We can be proud, you and I, for this" she waved her hand about the table, "this is what it is all about. We have a future generation, a generation which will love on, live on, and continue building this bridge!"

It seemed almost on the heels of that speech, the countdown to New Years began, and the confetti flew as well as the kisses of the celebrants. Tyler hesitated just a second, then put his arms about Kacie, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. He first kissed her forehead, which caused her to look up in annoyance, 'damn, didn't the dress do anything to him?' but he then laughed and swooped his lips down to capture hers. His hand went to her face to hold and mold her lips to his, and their softness amazed him. It was like sinking into warm velvet, and he could feel her heart pound against his chest. He felt her weaken, and his put his hand on the small of her back to steady her, but he would not stop the kiss. The lights went back on and he was still kissing her, unaware that many people were staring, and finally laughing loudly.

"Uh maybe the two of you should get a room", Trey leaned in and whispered.

EJ cleared his throat, and that was what brought the young couple to their senses. However it was Jessica who really brought the attention of the room back to her.

"Oh God! My water just broke!"

Chapter XV

Tyler brought the cup of coffee over to where Kacie was sitting. It had been over an hour since Jessica had been taken up to the birthing room, and nothing had been heard. He watched as she sat quietly next to her parents, her eyes intent on her mother. What was she seeing? Taking the coffee from his hand, she offered her thanks then resumed the deep stare she was fixing on her mother.

"Ty, when could you leave with me for Peru?" her whisper had a depth of worry to it, as if something was being made known to her. What she was seeing as she looked at her mother was a life force being lost within a fog. Nothing showed outwardly, but she saw it, and when her mothers eyes met hers, she knew her mother was feeling it as well. It was a fading from existence, like going down a long walkway, with mist that clouded over the way back, only Kacie could see a light to hold to, but she knew her mother did not. Kacie knew her mother had to be shown that light, or she would lose hope.

Tyler was now learning to trust what Kacie said, he did not know why, he just wanted to believe along with her. Taking out his Blackberry, he began to check his calendar and how he could free up some time. It took some doing, but he managed to claim some of his vacation time, then to put some of his projects on hold, it looked like he could get away for three weeks. He hoped it would be enough time to find the source of the flower, as well as identify the properties that could be of help to Mrs. Wells.

The doors to the labor and delivery area opened, and Matthew came out beaming! "Our girl has come through for us beautifully EJ, we have one beautiful little girl, and one boy who looks sort of like you, but I won't hold that against him!" Matthew then offered his hand to Sami, "Hey Nana, you want to come and meet them? Jessica is waiting for you!"

There was nothing Sami wanted to do more than stand up and walk down that hallway to see her daughter and her new grandchildren. Only she could never remember feeling this tired in her life, as if all the muscles in her body had turned into aching threads of cooked spaghetti. Her hand went out to Matthew, but when she rose up, the effort was too much, as she found herself spiraling into a void of weakness that had no end in sight!

"Samantha!" EJ caught her up before she slid to the floor, calling frantically for a nurse to help. He could feel the fever through her dress, and felt the moistness of the sweat that was covering her face as he bent to hold her to him. A gurney was called for, and when the attendants tried to help him, EJ pushed their hands away, only he was going to touch Samantha! He followed behind it as they pushed it down to the elevators on the way to the emergency room.

Kacie had watched this in stunned silence, but when she turned to see her brothers looking at her in their confusion and pain, she knew they had to be told. Tyler was comforting her, letting her know her mother was probably having some kind of after affect of the chemo treatment, and she knew he was right, but Justin and Ace looked so frightened, not knowing what to think.

"Matthew," Kacie took his hand,"I am going to go in with you, we are going to tell Jessica that Mom is coming down with the flu ok? Let me go in for a moment and see the babies and Jess..Justin..you and Ace wait here, I need to speak to both of you when I get out..if Phaedra and Eva need to go tend the babies, let them go ok..but you two stay here for Mom and Dad. I won't be long, Jessica will need her rest anyway.." her voice had authority to it, and Justin who had always been used to being the one who looked after his littlest sister marveled at how roles had now been reversed. She had something to tell Ace and himself, and she wanted to break it to them gently.

"Why didn't Mom come in?" Jessica was lying back atop the pillows, her face looking tired, but peaceful. Hearing the mewing cries from within the glass bassinets, Kacie bent to undo the pink and blue swaddling hiding her niece and nephew from her view.

"Oh, Jess, they are so perfect..do you have the names chosen yet?"trying to avoid her sisters face while she composed herself was hard, harder still when her sister repeated her question.

"Where is Mom, is she coming in soon..I am so tired..I don't know how much longer I can stay awake." The nurse had given her a mild pain reliever and it was working on her. Nodding to Matthew, Kacie leaned in to kiss her sisters cheek.

"Mommy is coming darling, just a little while longer, but go ahead and close your eyes..she will wake you when she comes in," the lie was easy, and Kacie told herself she would tell her the truth when she was strong enough to take it, now, with two newborns depending on her was not the time. Only now, she had to go break it to her brothers, and that would not be easy either.

"How long have you known?" Justin did not want to sound accusing, but he was angry that this had not been shared with him.

"Not long, please Justin, Mom was trying to make sure Christmas was perfect, and she wanted to wait until the babies were born. I'm sorry, I would have told you, but she wanted this holiday to be special for all of us, not all about her illness."

"Yeah, that is Mom," Ace agreed. "God, Kace, I hate that you had to carry this whole load..that was not fair of Mom."

Kacie felt the love both offered to her as their arms reached out to embrace her. The tears of all of them mingled with each other, until Kacie broke away. "Hey, you both need to know, we are not going to give up.."looking over at Tyler she continued, "see him? He know something that will help her, and I am going to help him do it!"

Chapter XVI

"This is ridiculous! EJ, I am not an invalid, and I will not allow you or anybody else to treat me like one, I am getting up and having breakfast downstairs." Sami's eyes were blazing with fury at the way her husband was trying to set the tray up over her lap in the bed. She had been home from the hospital for three days, and was bristling at having to stay in bed another minute.

"Ok, ok, ok, calm down sweetheart, if you want to go downstairs, I will take you now..let me have Tippin set up some breakfast in the dining room." EJ handed over her robe to her, and watched as she swung her legs over the bed to toss it away, as she walked to her closet to get out some regular clothing. The blue velour jogging suit was the first thing she pulled out, dressing as quickly as she could. EJ could not help but notice that it seemed to sag a bit on her, as the weight was melting from the already small frame. It was killing him to watch as she seemed to be fading away, this was too fast. Looking at her, he was less unsure of his decision.

"Dad..this may be her only chance, please let me try."Kacie had made her case about helping Tyler find the Zerumbitia, trying to overcome the doubt in his eyes as she explained she would be going with Tyler to Peru for at least three weeks.

"How do you know this can help or even that you will be able to find it? My researchers have known about this, but the flower is supposed to be extinct..and the idea of you going off with a man you barely know for three weeks..why do you have to go with him?"

"Dad, you know why, come on. I have seen it, my dreams have come back. I know for a while after Grant..I couldn't..but the day you called me..remember..Dad I didn't pick up because I knew you wanted me to come for Christmas. I did not want to be here, watching how happy everyone else was, and that was selfish of me, but it was how I felt. Then I got the vision that Mom needed me..she needed me badly. That was why I came, but until I actually touched her, I did not know. Dad, come on, you know how this is with me, I see what I see. I don't make it up..and I have seen this flower..I have seen the butterfly it depends on as well..so if Tyler can identify what it is in it that can help Mom, why wouldn't you want me to go and help him find it?"

EJ remembered his promise to Tyler, that he would give him whatever it took to help his wife. Now it looked like he would be giving him his daughter, for he knew in his heart, Tyler wanted her. Whether he wanted her for the right reasons was another question. The memory of the New Years Eve kiss he had witnessed worried him. It was not what he would have classified as a friendly kiss, it was a kiss of a man who was making a claim on a woman. EJ only hoped it was a claim of genuine caring and love, not a fleeting moment of conquest. The trusting brown doe like eyes of Kacie had met his more piercing dark eyes as he had nodded his reluctant agreement.

He had watched the doctors working over Samantha that night, poking her with the hated needles, as she had cried over not being able to see the twins right away, EJ had felt a piece of his life slipping away. The idea of sitting with Samantha in their rockers watching their grandchildren play was becoming a dream that would not come true, unless a miracle intervened. This slip of a woman in front of him, begging him to let her mother have a chance to live was the only hope he had left now. Kacie smiled as she read his face, knowing he was trying to come up with another reason, but unable to overcome the picture of losing her mother.

"Thank you Daddy, now, can we borrow the keys to the airplane?"

"Not going to happen my dear, I will have a Mythic pilot fly the two of you into Lima, and our travel department will handle all the other arrangements. You have three weeks, after that, I will send someone in to bring you out..understood? If nothing else, your mother deserves to have you with her for as long as possible!"

Meekly, Kacie had agreed to the conditions, knowing that if push came to shove, she would be able to cajole him into giving her more time. The only problem she was going to have now was explaining how long she was to be gone to Jester.

Jester was up and about pretty well now, and was being thoroughly spoiled by cook who fed him boiled chicken religiously. Grandpa Roman would toss a tennis ball a few feet for him, giving him about as much exercise as he could tolerate at this stage of his recovery.

"Hey fella, come here to me!" the dog trotted over to his mom, a roguish smile on his face and his eyes showing his happiness in seeing her. She bent down to hug him to her, and saw that he knew something was up by the look of concern in his eyes. The communication between her and Jester had been established the first day she had taken him off down the highways they traveled, he was a much of a seer as she was in his own way. Only, she was who he read. His face peered into hers, the black liquid eyes asking her the question "why can't I come too?"

"Oh Jest, that would be great, but you are not healed yet, and when I come back, I want you well enough to run, and swim..like when we were at Lake Arrowhead, remember that? " it was hard, trying to explain, especially when Jester was giving her 'the look'.

All Kacie could think was, "if it is this hard trying to make Jester understand, what is Mom going to think?"

Chapter XVII

The babies had been home for three days when EJ sent the car complete with car seats for Jessica to bring them to visit with Nana. He had seen to the set up of the nursery once again upstairs to Sami's specifications, and his wife was now insisting on helping with the arrangements for the christening, but she had still insisted that Jessica was not to be told just yet. Her excuse for the time in the hospital had been a case of food poisoning, along with a cold, and Matthew had been told not to worry the new mother with any other details as yet.

"I am going to tell her, I promise. But for now, just let me enjoy the visit with her and the babies, she has the names picked out and we are going to have Father Darby here for tea, and to discuss the Baptism." The idea of the rituals of life going on comforted Sami, as she sat smoothing the wrinkles of the gowns that had been worn by Jessica and Justin when they were babies.

Both EJ and Kacie looked at her with doubt in their eyes. She never seemed to think the time was right to let Jessica know.

"Mom, we have to tell her, and it might as well be today, you know she is going to be upset that everyone knows but her anyway, besides, you are going to need her while I'm go.." her voice trailed off as she realized she was being as reticent as her mother. The fact that she planned to be leaving with Tyler in two days time had not been easy for her to bring up. It seemed like every five minutes her mother was reaching out for her hand to squeeze it and tell her happy it was making her just to have her with her now.

Sami had heard her too well this time, "while you are what? Are you going somewhere?" the panic in her voice was audible, and she could see that EJ knew something.

"It seems you both want me to let Jessica in on this while she has two new babies depending on her, but meanwhile, something is being kept from me..don't you think I have a right to know where you are going Kacie, and why do you have to go now?" it was killing both EJ and Kacie to hear the fear in her voice, the one who had been trying to keep everyone else's spirits up was now showing a chink in her armour. Only before Sami could probe them anymore, the door opened, and Jessica and Matthew walked in, each holding one small bundle of pink and blue.

The pride in his eyes was evident as Matthew put his son in his grandmothers waiting arms. "Well, Nana, we thought it was time to introduce you to Ian Matthew Treymayne," then Jessica handed off her bundle to her father, making sure he had her head well supported.

"And this is Samantha Elizabeth Treymayne, but we figure to call her Liza, and hope she will learn to spell the whole thing by the time she gets to first grade!"

Both grandparents stopped all they were doing and thinking for the moments it took to look at the miracles in their arms. Two tiny perfect little faces pursed their lips, and opened their eyes for the briefest of time. It was enough time for two people to fall in love with them, as fully and deeply in love as was possible to be. EJ was remembering how it felt to hold Jessica in his arms for the first time, the way she had looked up at him with her wizened little face, how protective he had felt then. He looked at Matthew and was glad to see the same look on his face. Mischa stood with him, her hand resting trustfully in his. EJ saw that his little girl was well taken care of, well loved, and the same protective look resided on Matthews face.

For her part, Jessica stood by, staring at her mother with a quizzical look on her face. "Mom, you look so tired, are you sure you are up to this? How about I ring Tippin for some tea, and we let Kacie and Lorene get them upstairs to sleep until it is time to feed them. I have a couple of hours to spare!"

EJ waited until the babies were upstairs, and Kacie was back down before he took Sami's hand and faced Jessica. By the time he had finished, once again the tears were flowing, but Jessica was not recriminating against her mother, or her father and Kacie. "Mom, I would have done the same thing if it had been me and it was Liza that had to be shielded..but now I want you to know, I am here for you, in fact, we could move in and stay with you, that would give you so much more time with the babies.." she did not say the words, but everyone knew what the implication was..it would give her time with the babies that could be shortlived.

EJ gave a nod of approval..Kacie did as well..even Matthew seemed to agree it might be for the best. There was plenty of room in the house, and they had thought it was time to start looking around for a larger house for their family. This would give them that time. "Now, Samantha, you wanted to know where Kacie is going, we may as well clear up all the air now."

Sami still looked unsure, until Kacie spoke from her heart, "Mom, you know how it is with me..I can't help knowing what I know, and I know you need this, it is the only hope you have. All I ask is for three short weeks, Dad has made the arrangements. Look, he even got us these tracking devices.." she laughed as she pulled back her sleeve to show the wristband buckled on her arm.

EJ objected, "that is not a tracking device, it is a state of the art GPS system that will let us know exactly where you are at all times..if you insist on going alone with Tyler, I insist on being able to locate you! Your mother has to be able to sleep at night!"

Chapter XVIII

The snow covered peaks of the Peruvian Andes made a majestic sight against the deep sea blue of the skies. The contrasts were startling, with the light blue of the mountain peaks covering in the stark white blanket of perpetual snow against the perfect sky. Tyler looked out, with Kacie standing beside him as they heard the engines begin the descending sounds. The captain called for them to ready for landing, and they sat in the plush leather chairs and belted in. The runway was small, but built to land this type Lear jet, and minutes later they were pulling into the terminal in Lima. The trail to Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas would begin here.

She had slept most of the trip, while Tyler had poured over ancient trails leading to the ruins of the Incas, and this is where he had long thought the Zerumbitia originated, since so much history told of the miraculous cures sought by the Spainiards who trekked into the back country both in search of gold, as well as these miracle plants said to cure plagues, snake bites, and any ills the mind could conceive of. While he worked, Kacie again began to dream.

The meadow stretched out for acres, coming in the center of an area of forest heavy with lush vegetation. The mountain shadows cast parts of it into darkness, a darkness that caused Kacie to moan and tremble within her sleep. Within that darkness was something evil, but in the sunlight there was warmth and life abundant. It was in the sunlight that the butterflies danced. The flowers opened up their faces to the sun, inviting the butterflies to come in, be welcome, and they did. Kacie saw then the butterflies heading to the darkness and her voice tried to warn them away, but it did no good, they seemed drawn to it, and once there, they did not reemerge.

Tyler had heard her distress in her sleep, watching for a moment as she tossed, and mumbled, but could not make out what she was trying to say. He finally decided to wake her up, not ready for how she reacted when her dream was interrupted.

"Oh..no! They mustn't go in there, they cannot come back if they do!" her eyes were fixed on her dream still, not realizing she was awake, and Tyler was pulling her up to sit. When he finally got her fully awake, her face reflected worry, distress, and not a small amount of trepidation. He pulled her to him, patting her back.

"Hey, you were having a bad dream I guess, but it is okay now, are you alright, can I get you some water?"

It was a bit embarrassing to have introduced him to her dreams this way, but feeling his arms about him was feeling rather nice. Her promises to her parents seemed to fade away, and her beating heart was felt by him once again. "Mom, Dad, there is not going to be a romantic tryst going on, I promise..this is to try and find the treatment. I mean think about it, we are trekking in to the rain forest on llamas, probably won't see the inside of a decent bathroom with a shower for a couple of weeks, do you really think we are going to be ripping each others clothes off in those conditions?"

All her father would say was , "Nature finds a way, I did with your mother under similar conditions..all your mother and I are asking is that you be careful, we just do not want you to be hurt".

Now, here she was, one small nightmare and she was in Tylers arms, reluctantly pushing him away. It would have been so easy to just turn her face upwards a bit, she could feel the heat of his stare on her. One kiss, and he would have been pushing her back on the seat of the sofa in the plane, or she would have been pulling him down onto her, it really did not matter. He soon would be reaching down to undo her blouse while she did the same to his shirt. Her imagination gave wings to her thoughts as she felt his hands touching her, his lips seeking her out, as the rest of their clothing fell away. It would have been a heated coupling, she knew her legs would have encircled him, and he would have moaned with her as they found the place they both sought.

"uh..the water..Ty, can you get me that drink of water, I think I need it please" her face flushed with the imagined lovemaking she had just shared with him, her arms let go of him, and she sat straight up, looking down to make sure she was still fully buttoned.

He also stammered, "yeah..uh ..yeah..water..we need some water.." as he walked semi hunched over to the wet bar and small refrigerator. He also remembered the promise he had made to EJ concerning Kacie. As a man of his word, he had given it to EJ that he would not compromise Kacie in any way. It was his plan to prove to EJ that the feelings he had for Kacie were real, and not just connected to a lower part of his anatomy. Only it was going to prove harder than he had ever imagined!

Sonesta Lima Hotel El Olivar in Lima, Peru

The signage of the finest hotel in Lima was visible for blocks away as the taxi pulled up to the entryway. Tyler looked at it askance, he would have been happy in a much simpler hostel, this was something he considered way overboard.

Seeing his look, Kacie grinned, "Yeah, that's Daddy, he has an aversion to cheap hotels or bad accommodations. Since we went to Yosemite that time, first class is his motto!"

Taking one of her cases, while the others were taken by the bellman, Tyler said in amusement, "you must tell me that story over dinner tonight, I hear there is a great deal of local cuisine to be sampled!"

The hotel clerk was fluent in English, and when he gave each of them their key, he seemed a bit surprised. "The requesting travel agent asked for these room assignments, but if you wish I can change them, we have plenty of space this time of year."

"Room 623..that looks out over the city..Room 1223..looks out over the sea..well I guess we have our six degrees of separation..wonder how your father is going to keep this up when we are trekking into the interior?" Tyler was both amused and annoyed at the machinations of EJ Wells.

Chapter XIX

Checking herself in the mirror one more time satisfied Kacie that she looked nice enough to take the elevator down to the hotel restaurant. There had been very little room to pack anything dressy, two pairs of jeans and three sweatshirts plus a couple of pairs of shoes for hiking had been all Tyler had allowed on her list besides extra underwear. So when she saw the colorful outfits in the hotel gift shop she had not been able to resist. The blouse was black with green and red embroidery over the peasant puff sleeves, and it showed her shoulders off along with a bit of her rounded cleavage. The skirt was bright red, tight at the waist, but flaring from the hips, moving like flowing water as her legs moved forward. Black heeled flip flops completed the ensemble, with the fringed black shawl she had flung over her shoulder for effect, not warmth.

She had a colorful comb pulling back her hair from her forehead, which showed off the sharp wings of her eyebrows and long lashed eyes to perfection. It was hard to admit she did want Tyler to sweep her off her feet and take her directly to his bed, but if this outfit did not get her down to his sixth floor room, she considered just knocking on his door wearing nothing but her robe. Taking out her lipstick, she applied a coat of the bright red color that contrasted so well with her coloring and even white teeth. One last look told her she was definitely sexy and she was out the door to meet Tyler for dinner.

He sat next to the fire pit table on the patio, which looked out over the plaza, sipping the local brandy known as pisco, when he saw her come through the archway of purple wisteria flowers. Her smile when she saw him hit him like a thunderbolt, the intensity of it was almost painful, a pain that was unbearable, but so exciting to him. Crossing the patio to him, her hand went out to him as if it were the most natural movement in the world. Taking it, he bent to give it the lightest of kisses before taking in her outfit with a glance starting at her face, working down, then back up again.

"You sure have a way of making jeans and sweatshirts seem haute couture!"

"pshaw..this old thing?' she teased back, but she did revel in his looking at her that way.

A waiter came to take her drink order, and Tyler spoke to him in a fairly fluent Spanish. Her drink came, the same as his, only cut a bit with a lime juice mix. She tasted it, and nodded appreciatively, 'this is good, and the food smells so yummy..do you have any idea what we should have?"

Tyler was captivated once again by her charming way of embracing the world. Everything about where they were fascinated her, the brick fire pit they were seated next to, the fragrance of the flowers all around them, the small quartet of musicians strolling through the restaurant area, playing a set of flutes that gave off a beautiful haunting sound, ethereal sounds played by the men in the colorful costumes of the Inca Indians. Her laughing eyes took it all in, and he was glad to see her laugh so much, it had not been evident most times he was with her in Salem.

When her attention turned back to him, she once again was thinking of food! "Well, I was told the local delicacy is something called cuy, it is served with rice, vegetables, and a special bar b q sauce native to Peru. I do not know how you feel, but I was always told when you travel you should eat as the locals do..so what do you say..cuy for two?"

"I trust you Tyler, cuy it shall be!" and she held out her glass to toast with him, "This is going to be the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us, to our success!" The order was placed, even though the waiter looked a bit surprised at the two foreigners ordering this local dish, and forty five minutes and two more piscos apiece, the silver topped trays arrived.

The browned and fragrant little animal that resided on the bed of rice and vegetables made Kacie stop in mid sip. There was something so familiar about how the little paws curled up over the belly of the rest of the dish, and the little nails were still visible on them. "Tyler, it looks just like a..."her hands reached into her bag to pull out the phrase book to look up the English translation for the word, cuy. Guinea Pig.

"Oh my God, Gilbert! They cooked a Gilbert.." her hand flew to her mouth and she was running out through the archway, to the ladies room near the lobby with Tyler fast behind her. He waited, holding her shawl and purse, ignoring the amused looks of the other guests. When she came out, her comb was gone, it now resided in the commode, her face was beaded with sweat, the lipstick that remained was smeared about her face, and her neatly combed hair was a wreck.

"Who was Gilbert?" as they sat on the edge of the bed in his sixth floor room and he touched the wetted wash cloth to her face, she shuddered as she answered.

"When I was in fifth grade for the summer I was allowed to take Gilbert, the class guinea pig home. I was supposed to take care of him, but one night he got loose from his cage..Nanny looked all over for him, but we never found him until the day we noticed the smell..oh Tyler, he was lying with his little paws up in the air, just like that poor creature on the platter, at the bottom of my toy chest..I cried for days."

She was once more crying at the memory, and now Tyler had another mess to mop up.

"I was so scared, I was going to have to go back to school and tell them I killed Gilbert, it was all my fault, I didn't latch his cage properly..so..so .Daddy.."

"Oh yes, Daddy, what did Daddy do?" Tyler had a feeling he knew, but his comforting her now included holding her to him as she sniffled, and this was too good to give up.

"He went to five different pet stores, he had to drive to two cities nearby to find one colored like Gilbert..he was a beautiful calico colored one, with a white area surrounding one of his eyes, but he found one. So..so..I took the new Gilbert back to school..but Regina Rigsby..she had wanted to take Gilbert for summer, but I got chosen by Mrs. Sombs, she saw Gilbert and started yelling that I must have killed Gilbert somehow!" the memory brought a new wave of tears to Kacie.

"How in the world did she know that? Did one of your brothers or sisters tell on you?" holding her closer, he felt her hiccupping with her anguish.

"No..Daddy got one with a white spot on his left eye, Gilbert had the spot on his right eye!" trying to stifle the urge to laugh, since he wanted to appear wholly sympathetic, Tyler lifted her face to his, looking into her tear filled eyes..

"Darling, I am so sorry, look, I will have some scrambled eggs sent up here, we can skip being downstairs for dinner..I would rather be with you here anyway.."closer, closer, closer, came his lips..until the phone in her purse rang out.

"Kacie, your tracking device shows you are not in your room, your mother just wondered where you were at so late? She needs to be assured you are ok, would you mind talking to her a moment, and if you see Tyler could you have him call me..I have some questions I would like to email to him and they will need answers tonight!"

Mentally, Tyler tacked up the score...EJ Wells 2 Tyler Phillips 0.

Chapter XX

The bus taking them to the rendevous point with their guide bumped along the crater filled road, and Kacie tried to avoid looking over the precipice of the canyon. The yellow and rust vehicle seemed to have a mind of its own on how close it wanted to hug up against the thin wooden railing separating them from the road and a free fall of at least a thousand feet to the ribbon of a river down below. When the bus pulled around to pass the three llamas being led by the colorfully dressed native Indians Kacie threw herself at Tylers chest to hide the view of the truck heading towards them on the road, neither the bus or the truck about to give way. With inches to spare, the llama herders moved a fraction of a foot, which gave just enough room for both vehicles to move past each other.

"It's ok, we made it..barely.."Tyler was just as scared as she had been. Three hours on this bus, with only one stop for a bathroom break was wearing thin. Each hour seemed to bring at least two close calls which did not seem to phase any of the other passengers, but left Kacie shaken, and Tyler doing his best to maintain a façade of nonchalance. At last the signs indicating the Machu Piccu trail appeared. On one side was the train area, the other, where the guides and porters who would accompany the ones who were opting for packing in to the site waited with the llamas.

The leather faced man with the white beard held up the sign-"Wells/Phillips next to the two llamas, one a snowy white animal with large almond shaped eyes that surveyed the world with a surprising calmness. The other llama was smaller in stature, coal black, with obsidian colored eyes that seemed to dart back and forth nervously.

"How do!, how do!..well, looks like Arturo got ya'all up here in one piece..always a fifty fifty shot with him..hehehe" Bert was what was known as a piece of local color. He had come to Peru thirty three years ago, and was known as the best English speaking guide in the area. When EJ had begun researching who he wanted to guide his daughter and Tyler into the interior rain forest are, Bertrard Bellum had been the one name that kept popping up from all sources. He had been a oil field trouble shooter, until one time the flames came a bit too close, while he was a bit too slow. Now the pace of life here suited him fine. Take a few touristas up to Machu Picchu for a couple of days, let em ooh and aah over a bunch of rocks laid out in square patterns as they tried to imagine life in the time of the Incas, tell em a couple of ghost stories about the mountain and its secrets of human sacrifice..pocket the five thousand nuevo sols which translated to a thousand U.S. dollars..and he was set for a couple of months of living high in Cusco.

This job however was the whale he had wanted to land forever. For this two week gig, he was going to get thirty thousand Nuevo sols, and figured not to be hauling these two foul tempered beasts ever again. From the time he had gotten the contract, he had been busily looking up recipes that took llama as the main ingredient. Looking at the two gringos standing there in front of him, he had a fleeting moment of worry. She weren't no bigger than a mite, weighed in at one hundred five at the most, and the man was lugging along with three metal cases, all marked fragile. 'Sheeeet...did he think the trail was padded with feather beds?' but the thought of his rapidly declining bank account bolstered him as he reached his hand forward to grasp the outstretched one of the young man.

"Yes, well then, hello there.. I am Doctor Tyler Phillips, this is Kacie Wells, I believe her father, EJ Wells has made the arrangements with you?"

"Wayaalll.."the drawl was exaggerated as he turned to spit out a piece of the coca leave he had been chewing on,"yes, he hired me on..I am gonna lead you in, cook for ya'll. Pitch the tents, take down the tents..I would say, yep, he has made arrangements...now as to finding this flower, wayllll...that might take a bit o' doing..lots of the locals would like to find those flowers again too!" and that was the total of all words said by Bert as he led them up the hill to the hotel they would spend the next two nights at. To get used to the altitude, they would spend the next two days, hiking around, and learning to chew the leaves that would help them adjust to the thinner air.

Kacie was finding all of the area fascinating and lovely beyond words. The town of Cusco she read in the guide book was the area traveled to by the ancient Inca tribes of the Cult of the Sun. Looking about, she found the Sun part hard to believe, as the rain was just starting, and it was threatening to come down even harder. The beauty of this valley as is conjugated with the mountain peaks and the lush green surrounding the city was breathtaking. Churches seemed to be built on each block, along with lovely Spanish architecture built homes.

"Lil lady, you don't wanna get soaked to the skin, I do suggest you walk a little faster, look a little less..I promise, it ain't a going nowheres.."Bert had taken out the rain ponchos from the pack, handing one each to Tyler and Kacie, then pulling one over his own overalls.

By the time they had made it up the streets to the small hotel labled simply, Hotel De La Cusco, the thin air had shown Kacie how difficult it could make a simple walk uphill here. She was flushed, and her breath was slightly heavier. Bert saw her, and fished into his pocket for the coca leaves. "Chew these, it will help", handing some as well to Tyler.

"Is this cocaine?"

"Nope, this is the leaves you make the cocaine from..quite a difference, these Indians round these parts been chawing this stuff fer centuries, and I aint a never seen anyone get high off'n it..just lets em work a little harder and not get so tuckered.."

Tyler was not hesitant at all, he put the leaves into his mouth and began to chew heartily. Seeing him do that gave Kacie the nerve to put hers in her mouth and start to chew. It took a few minutes, but she felt the lethargy in her legs begin to lessen. Bert took the llamas across the street to the little pasture area, motioning them into the hotel to get all of them registered.

"Aaah..yes Senor Phillips, Mr. Wells has made the arrangements already, here is the key to the young senoritas room, and here is the key for you and Mr. Bertram..."

"Wait, you mean I am sharing a room with him? Oh..no..some mistake here, I need a room to myself.."

"Los Siento..but Mr. Wells has purchased the hotel, and has ordered some extensive remodeling done..all the other rooms are how you say..under construction at this time" the smiling clerk held out the keys as once again, Tyler looked at a smiling but shrugging Kacie.

Chapter XXI

Rolling over for what had to be the fifteenth time in as many minutes, Tyler groaned as he looked at his watch.. damn! Two thirty in the morning, and Bert was making the room curtains move with the force of his snores. He had only gotten to bed an hour before after getting his equipment in order, then testing out whether his computer was going to function. True to his work, EJ had provided a lap top that would send and receive from any satellite signal in the world, and after testing it, he had no worries it would transmit the data to Mythic Labs with no problem.

Punching his pillow in frustration, Tyler decided the roll over method might work on Bert, so he bent over the man and tried to budge him. The dead weight of the mans sleeping two hundred fifty pound form was impossible! Then the bad dream Bert was having kicked in as well, his arm flew out in a fist, and Tyler found himself thrown against the wall from the force of the punch, as Bert took his pillow, and rolled over again to begin the cacophony of freight train roar snoring once more.

"I have to get some sleep.."Tyler decided on a course of action. Taking the covers from his bed, a pillow, he walked across the hall to Kacies room. To his surprise, his soft knock was answered almost before his knuckles had began a second rapping.

"Oh, I knew you would come, I knew it!" Kacie was standing before him, with that sexy, 'I just woke up look' in her eyes, looking all dewy and warm. Her sleeping shorts and tank top hid very little, and his hand stole down to move her top just slightly off of her shoulder. Bending to her, he laid the lightest of kisses on her shoulder, then looked past her to the invitation the warm and cozy looking bed in the center of the room offered to him. Her hand reached down for his, and she led him to it, looking at him expectantly, desiring the feel of his hands upon her, wanting his lips to seek out hers and give her his warmth once more like it had been New Years Eve. He was so tired though, he just stumbled in, and fell downward onto her bed. It took all of thirty seconds and she could hear his soft snore which was drowned out by the lions roar one from across the hall.

She wanted to wake him up, but he had been sleep deprived for the past two nights, both from being up late to work, and from being unable to sleep with the roommate from Hell in the other bed. Besides the horrible snoring, Tyler had confessed that Bert also had the ability to pass gas that made more noise than his snores. Sighing softly, she pulled the covers up over him, crawling in next to him, only first making sure to turn off her cell phone so that Daddy Dearest would not be able to do more than leave a message on her voice mail.

"What did you expect EJ? They are two young, healthy specimens, and it has been a year since Grant...leave them alone!" Sami could see EJ was getting frustrated at not being able to get either Tyler or Kacie on the line, and he had been trying nonstop since he had arisen at six a.m.

"We are on the same time zone, what can they be doing?"

"Come on, EJ, what do you think they can be doing?" Sami threw down the newspaper she had been trying to read.

"He promised me, he would not try anything with her, this is a working expedition, not a invitation to orgy! I am paying him a great deal of money to get the job done!"

Laughing, Sami pulled him down to her.."look, hon, I seem to be feeling frisky after the 'medicine', how about you come here and get the job done!" the odor of the water pipe hung in the air, Sami had started taking a couple of hits on it when she woke in the morning to stave off the waves of nausea, and to make sure she was tempted by the breakfast that Tippin would bring up on a tray. The poor man always looked so disappointed when he would come back up to find she had barely touched the items on it. This morning, though, she had managed to down a piece of the toast, and most of the soft scrambled eggs, so when he had taken the tray back, a pleased smile barely touched his normally taciturn face.

EJ put the phone down, and got back into bed with her, but lovemaking was not what he wanted to do. All he wanted was to cuddle next to her, stroking the planes of her face, memorizing them, just in case these should be all he had left sometime. Reading his mind, Sami settled into the crook of his shoulder, throwing her arm over his chest to pull him ever closer, as his hand softly traced her cheek and brow.

EJ's worries about his daughter were not in vain, but if he had been able to see into the room where she lay, huddled up against a dead to the world Tyler, his concerns would not have been about his daughters chastity, but about her ability to resurrect a healthy male to readiness! As of now, Kacie's frustration was showing itself in some very cruel moves.

"Ow!" Tyler grunted as the sharp elbow hit him in the ribs. Another yelp came from him as the sharp toenail raked his bare ankle! Finally, Kacie pulled all the covers her direction, nailing them under the weight of her body, leaving him shivering, but finally fully awake.

"What the hell do I have to do to get some sleep!"the groan was painful, as well as pleading.

"Kiss me!" she breathed softly, and Tyler looked up to see her poised above his chest, her lips looking soft and moist as they made their way towards his mouth. All his promises to her father were forgotten, but he had never really meant to keep them anyway, that would have been impossible. Putting his hand about her slim neck, he entwined his fingers in her hair, then brought her lips down to meet his. He could feel the warmth of her body against his, and the blood coursed through his veins, heating up every part of him that was touching her. Quickly, he pulled her tank top over her head, revealing the rounded loveliness of her breasts, already showing the excitement of anticipating the touch of his hands and his lips. She bent to him, reveling in the feel of the wiriness of his chest hairs against her, and the way his hands caressed her back, from the wide part of her shoulders, to the small dimpled area above the waistband he was now tugging at.

"Hey! We gotta get a move on Miss Wells! You seen the young doc? If'n you do, tell him to get on down to breakfast, last meal we will see til the sun is about to set..come on now, times a wasting!" Bert delivered his message from outside the door, grinning as he heard the sounds of the couple stumbling about, cursing low, but trying to keep him from knowing what he had interrupted. Once they were on the trail, it would be a lot easier for him to earn that bonus from Mr. EJ Wells, no hanky panky, and he was ten thousand richer once they were back!