The Ties That Bind

by ValleyA

Peter is trying to deal with the recent events of his life when he meets with friends for an annual memorial, but nothing is as it seems and soon the lives of everyone there are in danger.

1. Chapter 1

1Title: "The Ties That Bind"

Author: Valorie Avants

Disclaimer: KFTLC and its myriad of characters belong to Michael Sloan and others. I am only borrowing them for the purpose of delivering another Halloween tale, to frighten, creep, and generally gross out my cyber-buddies. Sorry, I don't have any candy corn for you to munch on while reading this tale, but you could use your imagination...or even go to the store GG

Canon Characters: Peter Caine, Kwai Chang Caine, Paul Blaisdell, and Lo Si

Original Characters: Gordon, Martin, and Phoebe Kensington, Mike Denton, JD Barnes, and Ray Peterson.

Rating: T for violence (after all, this is a Valnessa Halloween tale VEG )

Synopsis: Peter is trying to deal with the recent events of his life when he meets with friends for an annual memorial, but nothing is as it seems and soon the lives of everyone there are in danger.

Special Thanks: to those who have been patient with me as this story came to life and grew into what it is today. You know, I was pretty disappointed last year that I didn't have a Halloween story to share, but now I know the story is much better because it had to simmer for another year. Now, it's soup time! (Or at least Halloween soup) My thanks to those who beta read more than one version and offered advice. Their suggestions are the spice that makes this story all the more tastier. Any mistakes left in the broth are all mine! So, eat up, guys! GG

"The Ties That Bind"

by Valorie Avants

(This story is set immediately after "Secret Place")

"One can be a brother only in something.

Where there is no tie that binds men,

men are not united but merely lined up."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Chapter One

Peter stood in front of his entertainment center, staring at a framed photograph in his hand. He hadn't moved, except to breathe, for over a minute. With Peter, that was an eternity of stillness. Paul rubbed his tongue along the inside of one cheek. He didn't like what he saw in his former foster son. He didn't like it at all.

Peter was recovering from a bullet wound sustained a week before. Even though the wound was hidden by Peter's white pullover sweater, Paul knew the extent of the damage Max's bullet had done. Peter should have been wearing the arm sling the doctor had given him, but he wasn't. Paul sighed. He wouldn't say anything about it. After all, he wasn't here to nag, he'd come to support Peter during a trying time. Finally, he asked, "What are you thinking, son?"

Peter didn't move for a long moment, causing Paul's concern for him to grow. At last, Peter reacted, his facial muscles taut as if trying to keep a tight lid on his emotions. "I keep thinking I let Max down, just like I let-"

Paul's own reaction was immediate. "Don't say it, Peter. Don't say it, because it just isn't true. You didn't let any of them down."

Again, Peter went quiet. The young man hadn't been himself ever since the hostage situation with Max Forrester went bad. Granted Peter was shot after long hours of hostage negotiations, but this was something altogether different, almost as if his spirit had been more seriously injured than anything done to his body.

"Peter?"

Paul's persistence broke through Peter's withdrawn state. The young man shrugged nervously, appearing embarrassed to be caught staring at his past. "It's just hard to believe it's already been five years," he whispered.

Paul nodded, waiting for Peter to say more. His worry increased when nothing else followed. Peter always had something to say, usually at length.

When the silence continued, Paul thought back a week to the recovery room where he'd sat with Peter as the young man fought to awaken from anesthesia.

The surgery to repair the bullet's damage hadn't lasted long, but it was still surgery, and the drug-induced fog was slow to wear off. Peter seemed to linger in that half-dream state, reliving Max's death over and over, repeating the things he'd said after he'd first collapsed from his gunshot wound.

"It's my fault. I told Max he could trust me. I led him to his death. I just let him die."

The sentiment continued, though the words varied. It cut at Paul's heart more than a knife ever could. What had happened at the water treatment plant wasn't Peter's fault, not in the least, but he couldn't convince Peter of that fact. Back then, Paul wished Peter could quiet his rambling dialog, just because it was so painful to listen to, but now this silence felt far worse.

Peter's guilt over Max Forrester's death was only a week old, but the incident Peter referred to was from five years ago. Yet, the feelings from that time were still so strong, it was almost palpable in the air around them. Paul reached out and rested his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Peter, that happened a long time ago."

"It might seem like that to you, but it's not to me." Peter tried to slough off Paul's hand, but Paul just held on.

Hel bit his lower lip and repeated something he'd told Peter numerous times over the years, though none of it never seemed to stay with Peter. "Men go down in the line of duty all the time. It's one of the hazards of the job."

Peter frowned, pursing his lips together as he stared at the picture still in his hand. "The six of us were so damned green back then, but we couldn't see it. Hell, we thought we knew everything."

Paul smiled sadly, recalling the day that picture had been taken. It was graduation day for Peter and his friends from the police academy, and one of Paul's proudest memories of his son. The photograph had only been a year old when tragedy struck.

Paul spoke softly, praying his compassion would reach through Peter's haze of emotion, "Peter, you don't have to join the others. You just got out of the hospital. They know you're on medical leave. They wouldn't think any less of you if you-"

"I would," Peter said quickly, finally setting the picture down. "I would think less of me for not going and that's the bottom line."

Paul sighed. When he saw that determined edge in Peter's expression, he knew there was no point to arguing the matter further. He moved his hand to Peter's neck and squeezed gently. "I understand why you need to do this. It's the same reason all of you get together to remember Gordy and Marty. Death tends to bond survivors together in a way nothing else can, but I also remember the hell you went through back then. Don't allow yourself to be drawn back imto those dark times again."

Not meeting Paul's waiting gaze, Peter's eyes darted around the room until he finally glanced at his watch. "We better go. I appreciate you giving me a ride over to Marty's. The doc must have it out for me to restrict me from driving for another week."

"It would be one thing if you had an automatic, but the Corvette is a stick, and that arm of yours isn't quite up to shifting gears yet," Paul said as he let his hand drop away from Peter's neck to rest on his shoulder. "You sure you don't want me to pick you up?"

"No, Ray already said he could bring me home."

Peter hesitated, instead of moving toward the door, and that told Paul a lot about how his son truly felt about going to the gathering. The past and the present seemed to blur together as Paul looked into Peter's hazel eyes and saw the same emotional haze clouding them now as back then.

Paul sighed. "Peter, what happened to Gordy wasn't your fault. Just as you're not to blame for what happened to Max."

Peter's gaze narrowed. "Well, I'm alive and they aren't. I guess that says something."

"Yes, it says a lot about your resourcefulness, not your culpability."

"Whatever," Peter said as he dismissed Paul's comment, "Let me grab my jacket and we can go."

Paul turned toward the door of Peter's apartment, but stopped to glance back at Peter. He saw the young man flinch as he bent over to pick up his jacket from the back of a chair. It was too soon for Peter to be moving around like he was, not that Peter would ever admit it.

Paul wanted to offer some tidbit of insight that would knock the burden of responsibility from Peter's shoulders, but everything he could think of sounded contrived, and that would only infuriate Peter more. Despite that, Paul found he couldn't remain silent, not when it was this important.

"You know, Annie wanted to come along with us, but she decided against it, mostly because she thought it would give us a chance to talk, but we aren't talking, are we? Not really, not like we should be doing. All that's happening is I'm trying to make you see my point of view and you are trying to make me see yours. What are we doing wrong?"

The misery in Peter's gaze flared, making him stare deep into Paul's eyes, as if he was searching for some hidden remedy to his pain. A visual connection sprang between the two men, tentatively communicating via that emotional conduit. Peter opened his mouth as if to say something, and Paul waited, hoping Peter would open up to him after a week of tightlipped silence, but he was disappointed to see the words die on Peter's lips unspoken.

Peter looked away. When he turned back, the grief in his expressive eyes was so strong, it almost took Paul's breath away. Peter whispered, "Sometimes, even when you do everything right, it can still go terribly wrong."

Peter turned toward the door and Paul knew right then there wouldn't be any further father-and-son heart-to-heart conversations. Rather than working together, they were playing some emotional form of tug-of-war, except when this game was all over, there would be no winners.

Paul followed Peter to the door, hoping for another chance to talk in the car. He reconsidered that hope when he saw Peter's heavy footsteps, knowing the likelihood of breaking through Peter's dark mood was next to nothing.

oOoOoOoOo

Caine paused at the door to the Ancient's apartment, wondering if he should leave without bothering the old man when the door opened and Lo Si's smiling face greeted him.

"Kwai Chang, I should have been expecting you this evening."

Caine raised a questioning eyebrow.

Lo Si smiled. "You have been in my thoughts tonight, along with Peter."

Not addressing the Ancient's comment, Caine bowed in respect and said, "I thought I would replenish the herbs I borrowed last week."

Lo Si took them from him. "Thank you, but there was no rush to return them."

The old man bowed slightly and when he came up, he eyed Caine carefully. "Perhaps I can offer you some tea on this chilly evening."

Caine smiled. "Tea would be most welcomed."

Kwai Chang wandered through the living room of the Ancient's apartment, not sure if he should stay or leave. Lo Si returned with a tea set, ending Caine's indecision. The old man placed it upon the coffee table before them. "You are worried about Peter," he said softly as he began pouring the tea.

The Ancient knew him too well. Caine nodded without looking in Lo Si's direction. "Peter has taken Max's death to heart. Nothing I do seems to bring him out of his grief."

Lo Si handed Caine a cup of steaming tea. "Then, perhaps, you should not try to force the issue."

Caine looked up from his tea. "What?"

"Peter has been through much in the past few months. Consider all that has occurred: Finding you again; being shot shortly afterward by Tan's henchman, Chan; the loss of a close friend to the Shadow Assassin; my kidnapping by Chan and Jack Wong, and the ordeal that followed; the accidental shooting of the grocery store customer; and now the death of Max Forrester.

"It is a great deal for any man to grapple with, but this is especially hard for Peter with the burden of guilt he carries. That guilt may be the strongest hurdle for your son to overcome."

Lo Si picked up his own tea cup and wrapped his hands around it, pausing in deep thought. Kwai Chang didn't press him to speak before he was ready. Finally, the Ancient said, "Perhaps Peter needs to carry this burden for a time before he can let go of it. We all must follow our own paths to enlightenment. Peter must see this for himself and be open to the process before he can move on."

Caine's gaze narrowed. "There is something more here, something that you are not saying."

"No. Yes." The old man shook his head and took a deep breath. "Perhaps, there is. I am sorry, Kwai Chang, I did not sleep well last night and it seems to be clouding my thinking."

Caine's expression tightened. "Neither did I. There were troubling dreams."

Lo Si brushed at his Fu Manchu mustache. "Yes, there were dreams, frightening dreams, dreams involving Peter. It is significant that we both have seen them."

Lo Si took a deep breath and closed his eyes, only to cringe a moment later as if in great pain. Kwai Chang moved forward. "Master Lo Si?"

When Lo Si didn't answer, Caine called his name again. Without a response, Caine touched his arm, freeing Lo Si from whatever held him paralyzed. When the old man finally spoke, he sounded winded. "Can you not feel it, Kwai Chang? There is an oppressive fury lurking...waiting for its chance to attack."

Caine went silent, searching for what Lo Si had detected. "I do sense something, but I cannot discern its danger. Can you see more than I?"

The Ancient straightened his shoulders. "No, not at this time, but I fear for Peter and perhaps for us, too."

Caine's eyebrow rose in an unspoken question. Lo Si nodded and stood. He spoke as he walked to a window, looking out at the cool evening. "I felt it last night when I was meditating, the dreams confirmed it, and now the sense of foreboding I feel has only strengthened instead of waning."

Caine stood and followed him to the window. "Can you tell me more?"

"I wish I could, Kwai Chang, but much is still hidden behind the cloak of understanding. I only know that we must be ready to help Peter when the time comes."

Lo Si turned from the window and returned to the sofa and his tea. Caine stood in place, deeply troubled by the Ancient's words, and then realized he'd been feeling the same warnings on some instinctive level, but hadn't acknowledged their significance until now.

Trouble was coming. No, trouble had been on a steady surge for months and it had flared again with Max's death. Now, there was more on the way, and somehow it involved Peter once again.

oOoOoOoOo