a/n: I'm delusional. I actually thought my life would slow down for some reason. No such luck. Here's the latest chapter, and it's one of the shorter ones. It is a nice little transition that wraps up last chapter's drama before moving on to what I'm calling the final arc. Yes, only a few more chapters and this story is done.

Anyway, happy reading, and thanks so much for keeping up with this story and especially thanks to those sending comments. I might be slow in replying these days, but I still treat each comment with much honor.

--

"Pamela, can you hear me?"

Chase watched intently as her head rolled against the pillow for an inch, then stopped. He hung on for a few more seconds, hoping for other signs of life.

"Pamela, time to wake up," Chase said, giving her cheek a light tap this time. A few seconds later the rest of her body followed her head in slight movement.

"Robert?" her grainy voice asked, while her eyes stayed shut. She buried her nose in her pillow, recognizing the familiar spring fresh scent. She always loved that smell, but her foggy mind was trying to figure out why that common comfort and Robert were in the same room. Her eyes cracked open in hopes of uncovering the mystery. "Why are in you my room?"

Chase let out a relieved smile, for any sign of coherence was good. "I bet you feel like crap," Chase replied, examining her pupils carefully with the light pen.

"Understatement." She looked beyond Chase's shoulder to see her husband sitting next to the bed. He didn't look so good either. "What time is it?"

Chase glanced at the bedside clock. "One am."

She looked at her arm, noticing the IV taped to it. She followed with her eyes the bag all the way to the side of the bed. "Am I sick?"

"Drunk," Foreman answered bluntly.

Pamela nodded and closed her eyes, it all coming back to her. She stopped moving her head, for it caused things to spin. "You mad at me?"

"Who, me or him?" Chase asked, pointing to Foreman.

"Both. Probably think I'm a pathetic boozer."

"Pamela, you can't turn to whiskey every time you're feeling lonely," Foreman said still wrestling with concern verses anger.

"And you can't turn to your job."

Chase got up, knowing never to get in the middle of a martial issue. "Pamela, you're going to be fine. Get some rest, and I'll check back with you in the morning."

"I can catch you at work."

"You're not going to work tomorrow. Your office has already been notified that you're taking another sick day. You have the flu."

"No argument from me. Good night Robert." Pamela rolled over to her side as soon as she felt the IV removed from her arm.

Chase turned to leave, giving Foreman an expression of warning to let her rest. Foreman nodded in understanding, giving Chase his cue to go. Foreman sighed and went over to his wife, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He straightened back up and went to leave the room.

"Coming to bed?"

"I was going to take the guest room, give you your rest," Foreman answered.

"Get in bed. You need sleep too."

Foreman cracked a sad smile. "Okay, I'll be right there."

--

Chase sat at the edge of the bed and took Pamela's blood pressure, not saying much of anything since he arrived. The only words he spoke let her know how she was doing physically, and each reading was normal.

"I'm sorry Robert."

Chase was surprised to hear such words. "You don't have to apologize to me."

"No, I don't. Still, I think I've done something to offend you."

"Nope." Chase removed the cuff. "BP is 120/76. You're good."

"No, I'm not Robert. Come on, you've had experience with this sort of thing. I am I drunk? Should I be in some sort of program?"

Chase relaxed his rigid stance, realizing that she was still a friend. "No Pamela. You're not like that."

"Then what's wrong with me?"

Chase took a long pause, struggling to find the right words. He knew the difference between someone using alcohol as a vice and for complete withdrawal. It was hard sometimes to explain that difference. "Nothing's wrong. You're just going through some stress. It's normal. We all have our own ways of dealing. So you got careless. You'll learn from it."

Pamela nodded, accepting that he might be right, but that didn't stop some tears from rolling down her face. She wiped them away and sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to pull it together. "I still wonder how my parents and Eric's parents managed to stay together for all those years. Eric and I barely have two years in and its falling apart."

"It's not as bad as you think. Marriages aren't fairy tales. They're work."

"How about you and Allison? You guys fight. How are you two managing to stay together?"

Chase shrugged. "Easy. We fight. I let her vent her frustrations, and then its all good. When she needs space I give it to her, when she needs support I'm there for her."

"The kids had to change all that."

"The kids have changed everything. We juggle far more in our lives than ever before, but that core understanding in our relationship has never changed, and hopefully never will. If it does, then maybe she'll have to trick me into marriage counseling."

Pamela chuckled slightly. "That was probably a dirty trick. Is Eric still mad? Is that why you're taking care of me and not him?"

"No, doctors have a rule. We shouldn't care for family members unless it's an emergency. Granted I break that rule all the time, but Foreman is more level headed than I am. He's worried sick Pamela. I could hear it in his voice when he called me."

"We do love each other, but how do we learn to talk to one another?"

Chase stood up, giving her a reassuring smile. "That's the mystery for the ages. When you find out, let me know. Just take it easy today, and deal with the issues tomorrow. Allison's going to be by later. You girls can vent about Foreman and me all you want then."

Pamela grabbed his hand, her face full of appreciation. "Thanks Robert."

He gave her a gentle nod and left the bedroom, heading down the large open staircase and into the office. Foreman was behind the desk, trying to focus on papers, but he didn't look like he was getting very far. "She's all set. Maybe you should stay home today too."

"I might come in when Cameron comes over. We'll see if my being here helps or hurts."

"Fair enough." Chase left the office, and Foreman heard the front door open and close.

He glanced at the paperwork one last time and sighed. Work would have to wait. He raised himself up and made that long slow climb up the stairs, careful not to make any jarring noises. If Pamela was asleep, he didn't want to startle her.

He cautiously moved through the bedroom door, only to find an alert Pamela sitting up in bed waiting patiently for him. He dropped his caution and moved farther into the room. "You knew I'd come see you."

"Woman's intuition. We can read you men like a book."

Foreman took his place on the edge of the bed, and gently placed his hand on her thigh. The feeling of the warm blanket covering it was nice. At least she was cozy. "I'm sorry Pamela."

"I am too Eric. I don't know what got into me. Yesterday just felt like the end of the world."

"You're okay, that's all that matters."

Pamela's heart sank, for she could see and feel every bit her husband's concern. The guilt welled up inside and her head dropped in shame. She slid her hand on top of his, the touch swarming her with the warmth that had been missing between them for so long. "What happened to us Eric?"

"I don't know. That quack was right about one thing though. We aren't too far gone."

"I want to go to the mountains."

"Okay, we can do that."

"You aren't going to ask why?" Pamela asked, surprised by the answer.

"I'm sure you have your reasons."

She cupped his chin with her hand, shaking his head slightly while giving him a small smile. "Wow, you do learn fast."

Foreman pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket and worked through the menus with his thumb. "I'm free at seven tonight. Ready to reschedule our appointment?"

She released his chin and grinned. "You bet. It seems I'm free all day."

Foreman put the Blackberry back in his hand. "Good, its all set." He crawled over her to the other side of the bed, reaching out and pulling her toward him before settling down. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

She adjusted herself to mold perfectly with him, and remembered why they fell in love before falling back asleep.

--

"So, you're doing okay?"

"Yes dear, never been better." Pamela adjusted her sunglasses, letting the warm rays absorb every inch of her exposed skin. She reached for her drink on the table next to the chaise lounge she was stretched out on by the pool. She noticed Cameron's skeptical look out of the corner of her eye.

"Lemonade. Don't worry, I'm on the wagon for a while." She took in a deep breath, realizing she hadn't relaxed like this in a long time. "So where are the kids again?"

"Neighbor's house. Since I caught Fred naked in the bushes, his wife has been more than willing to do us some favors. I think it's a price for my silence. Anyway, Emily seems to like her."

"I hate to break it to you, but Emily likes everyone but you."

Cameron lightly scowled, refusing to explore that topic any further. "I start work on Monday. For someone who's been 'sick', you work fast."

"One call to my assistant is all it took." Pamela sunk into the chair further, refusing to think anymore about work. This was the vacation she wanted to have in Japan. She should have just gone to her backyard instead. "Pardon me if I don't talk. I've melted into this chair."

Cameron gave her a long gaze. "You do look okay. Robert said Foreman took tomorrow off. You guys got something planned?"

"We're going to the Poconos. He promised to book me the tackiest room possible. I'm hoping for mirrors on the ceiling and a heart-shaped tub."

"Wow, Foreman agreed to that?"

"The getaway weekend was his idea. All I told him was that I wanted to go to the mountains. That technically could have been done in half a day."

Cameron was still puzzled. "Why the mountains?"

"Because they're there."

Cameron pondered that answer and shrugged. "Good enough for me."

--

Chase was already home with the kids by the time Cameron got back. She had to admit, sitting by the pool all afternoon sipping lemonade wasn't a bad way to pass time, even if Pamela was a little too calm to her liking. Ethan wobbled over to her and clutched onto her thigh in greeting and support.

Her heart melted and she gave him a huge smile. "Isn't it great how far his walking has come in only a few days?"

"Yeah, I think his sister has a lot to do with that." Chase came over and kissed her on the forehead. "She's an evil, I mean positive influence."

Cameron looked across the kitchen to the family room where Emily was playing. She didn't give her an acknowledgement either way. "You don't have the gate up?"

"They're behaving for some reason."

Cameron didn't even want to know why, even though she suspected that it was a conspiracy against her. "Pamela's doing fine. She sent her thanks again for taking care of her."

"Foreman told me about the Poconos thing. Sounds like a good idea."

Cameron lifted up Ethan and squeezed him tight, while he gave her an excited smile. At least one of her kids was affectionate. "About that, it got me to thinking. We need to plan a family vacation."

Chase looked at her confused. "We got back from a vacation a few weeks ago."

"A family vacation. You, me, the kids, some place for family fun."

"Sure, why not. What did you have in mind?"

"I have no idea. I'm sure there are websites that will tell me though."

Chase thought about it some more, thinking the idea was half bad. "We can probably take one at the end of the summer."

"Great, I'll start planning." Cameron felt a tug at her leg. Considering she was still holding Ethan, she was shocked that Emily would give her any sort of acknowledgment. She gave her daughter a big smile. "Yes sweetie?"

Emily giggled and ran away, down the hall that currently wasn't blocked by a gate. Cameron noticed the large smudge on her pants, something that looked like chewed up animal crackers in the shape of a toddler's hands. She let out a small frustrated yelp and handed Ethan off to Chase.

"How about we leave her at home?" Cameron said before walking briskly down the hall after her little hellion.