Chapter 38

The moment she walked into the store, Caitlin spotted Will perched up on a step ladder, stocking shelves with large bags of dog food. From this angle, she could view his whole body and she stood in a quiet moment of appreciation, scrutinizing his buff physique, his long muscular legs, his cute little bubble butt, his lean torso and his ripped arms as they reached for the uppermost shelf.

'A little birdie told me you had a break coming up' she called out as she drew nearer.

He glanced down, pleasantly surprised to find her standing there, holding a bag of fast food and a tray of drinks in her hand.

'Blondie! What are you doing here?' he asked, beginning his descent down the ladder.

'I just thought you might want to share an order of onion rings' she replied with a grin. 'And I got us a couple of chocolate shakes.'

His feet hit the ground and his eyes met hers, mischievous and full of life. 'Chocolate shakes, huh? We've only been seeing each other a couple of weeks and you already know all my vices.'

She shrugged and gave him an eyebrow wag. 'So, can you take a few minutes?'

'Yeah, yeah, let me just tell my manager I'm taking a break' Will responded as he headed over towards the back of the store.

Caitlin looked around; she'd been in the store lots of times to pick up food for Raffie but now she had a much better reason to hang out there. Within seconds, Will was back and he escorted her through the back room out to a small grassed area with a picnic table.

'So, this is where you guys hang out' Caitlin said, taking a seat and setting the food down on the table between them.

'There have to be some perks to being employed as a clerk in a pet store' Will replied self-deprecatingly.

'So, what brings you out here, anyway?' he asked, reaching for a burger from Caitlin's outstretched hand.

'I was at the hospital visiting Sara and then I remembered you were working tonight and I thought you might like some company for your dinner break' she explained.

'Good thinking' he replied with a grin. 'So, how is she?'

'Fine, she only has to stay over one night but her hospital room was packed, Hope and Liam were there and Emily, Cody, Peter and Elizabeth. It was all a little too much so I thought I'd sneak out and come and find you.'

'So the surgery went well?' he asked, reaching for his drink.

'Yeah, she's all bandaged up but she seemed in good spirits. She'll need to rest for a few days but she should be back on her feet in no time. Mr. C was doting on her, like he always does, and she was actually letting him…'

'Those two are amazing together' Will agreed wistfully. 'When I was a kid, I used to find any excuse I could think of to hang out at their place. I'd never seen a happily married couple before I met Mr. and Mrs. Caffrey and I always thought Liam was so lucky to have parents who were so in love.'

Caitlin looked across at him, circumspect; he'd been opening up to her more and more and she appreciated the fact that he trusted her enough to share his thoughts and feelings with her.

'When I first moved in with them, I thought it was all an act - there was no way people behaved like that, all that good-natured ribbing and all those fleeting looks and touches. But, believe me, they're always like that' she commented with a laugh, watching Will's reaction.

'It wasn't so great at your place growing up, I take it?' she added, detecting a look of sadness in his eyes.

'My dad always worked long hours when I was young. He was hardly ever home and when he was home, all my parents ever did was fight. And my mom… well, she's got way too much time on her hands. She goes to a lot of charity things but her heart's not in it and she used to fill those empty hours with a continuous happy hour.'

'Does she still drink?' Caitlin asked.

'Yeah. But it's all very… cultured and sophisticated, you know. She'll start at noon with a few martinis at some luncheon she's at and then she'll come home and have a few more before dinner… and then, there's wine with dinner and she'll have a couple of nightcaps after that. Truth is, I've never seen her falling down drunk but I'm not sure I've ever seen her stone cold sober either. She's always got a good buzz on.'

'Well, my mom's an ugly drunk' Caitlin mused. 'She's loud and boisterous and she draws attention to herself. I hate that.'

Will seemed to grow uncomfortable with the subject - surely, there were more interesting topics than both their mothers' love affairs with booze.

'This is great, Caitlin!' he said, taking a huge bite of his burger. 'Thanks for coming by; I was starved.'

'So…' she began, looking into his eyes. 'How did it go?'

'How did what go?' he asked innocently.

'Will… stop it!' she replied with an eye roll.

He laughed, enjoying the fact she was so easy to wind up.

'It was fine. It took longer than I thought, though. My appointment was at 10:00 and I met with a counsellor for about thirty minutes and we chatted about my interests and goals. She had some good questions… got me thinking. And then, they set me up in a small room and there was a written questionnaire that took about an hour to fill out.'

'Was it hard?' she asked.

'No, I just did what you suggested, I tried not to overthink things and just answered instinctively. They gave me a follow-up appointment next week to discuss the results.'

Caitlin smiled; she was happy for him. She'd managed to talk him into visiting the university's counselling services to discuss a possible change of major. Once there, they had suggested some career counselling to see where his skills and interests lay and he'd decided to take the plunge and make an appointment for some proper testing.

'I'm really happy for you' she said.

'Well, don't get ahead of yourself' he warned. 'I haven't done anything… yet.'

'Yes, you have. You've decided to find out what's out there and you've opened yourself up to some new possibilities. I'd say that's a pretty big first step.'

'Thanks to you' he replied, taking her hand. 'I never would have had the nerve to do it if you hadn't encouraged me' he said.

She looked at him from under her thick lashes, self-conscious at the praise.

'So, are you going to eat that last onion ring?' she asked, reaching for it.

WCWCWC

The constant parade of visitors had left Sara exhausted and by 9:00, she was practically begging Neal to go home and get a good night's sleep. She would be released from hospital in the morning and she would be getting back to her life… her new life as a bionic woman.

'I can stay a little while longer' Neal offered as he lingered by her bedside.

'Why? I'm about to nod off any second' Sara argued.

'I love watching you sleep, you know that' he teased.

'Yeah, so you can make fun of how I drool' she responded wryly. 'Forget it, Caffrey. Go home and feed the dog and come back for me in the morning, okay?'

Neal could see he wasn't going to make much headway and truth was, he was pretty exhausted from hanging out at the hospital all day. It certainly was tempting to think about going home, putting his feet up and getting a bite to eat before turning in.

'You sure?' he asked, doing his due diligence.

'One hundred percent' she replied without hesitation. 'Go. You've been sitting in that hard plastic chair all day and I don't want to have to put up with you complaining about your back acting up again, old man.'

He chuckled at her awkward attempt at humour and leaned in to kiss her goodnight.

'All right. You get a good night's sleep, Repo. Tomorrow is the first day of your new life.'

She nodded. 'Goodnight' she replied with a sad smile.

She wasn't sure what lay ahead but Neal was along for the ride so that made everything a lot easier to face. She watched as he walked to the door and turned back to look at her longingly, hesitating to leave. She shooed him away with her hand and he relented, stepping out into the warm evening air.

WCWCWC

Neal lay back on the couch, letting the random sound of the television wash over him. He was tired, too tired to get his sorry ass off the couch and up to bed. He glanced across the room, recalling how less than twenty-four hours earlier, he was swaying with Sara in his arms, without a care in the world. He sighed loudly and he'd just sat up, intent on moving the party upstairs, when he heard the front door open.

'Hey, you're still up' Caitlin said, coming into view.

'Hey there' Neal replied. 'I wondered where you'd gotten to.'

'I just went over to see Will at work, bring him some dinner. So, how is she?'

'Damned if I know. She says she's fine and physically, I suppose she is but… this whole thing has really thrown her for a loop' Neal admitted, sounding defeated.

Caitlin took a seat across from her foster dad. 'You know Sara, once she starts moving around and doing all the things she used to do, she'll snap out of it. She just hates being sidelined.'

Neal seemed to perk up. 'You're right. There's plenty to keep her busy, the wedding is in less than three weeks and then there's Liam's birthday this weekend and the twin bachelor parties…'

'Oh, yeah…' Caitlin said with a faraway look in her eyes.

'What? You know something, don't you?' Neal said, ears perking up.

'Hey, hey. I'm sworn to secrecy, we all are so don't even try' Caitlin laughed.

Neal scowled; he hated being on the receiving end of surprises.

'So, how's Will?' Neal asked, reluctantly accepting he wasn't going to get any dirt from her.

'Good. I suggested he look into getting some career counselling to see if he might like to change his major. He had some testing done today.'

'That's a great idea. He never really wanted to study law in the first place. I know Liam tried to get him to change his mind lots of times but… well, it looks like you might have the magic touch' Neal commented.

Caitlin looked away, slightly embarrassed yet pleased to know she might be having a positive influence on the young man - he was certainly having one on her.

Neal's face grew serious and he leaned forward. 'You might want to listen to the answering machine. Your mom left a message earlier tonight.'

Caitlin just sighed. 'I am so over her, Mr C' she moaned.

Neal's hand reached out to touch hers, closing the gap between them. 'For what it's worth, she sounded sober.'

Caitlin shook her head; she was constantly in a tug of war of emotions where her mother was concerned and she didn't know how much more she could take.

'Do you think I should give her another chance?' the young woman asked, her face pained.

'I have no opinion on the subject' Neal replied wisely, just as he'd told her many times before. 'I just want you to be happy, Caitlin.'

'How did you know the time had come to forgive Grandma?' she asked, thinking of Neal's own tortured relationship with his mother.

'Everybody's different, sweetie. I was estranged from my mom for over thirty years. If it hadn't been for Sara pushing me into it, I never would have reached out to her' he mused as he thought of his mom and how much he missed her.

'But you did in the end' Caitlin reminded him.

Neal nodded and smiled. He'd wasted so many years, angry at his mom and he was grateful for having gotten to know her again over the last few years of her life, for having had the opportunity to have her close by and the chance to share his life with her.

'I was lucky… but every situation is unique and your mom isn't my mom. You need to do what's right for you' Neal said, getting to his feet.

He could see the look of anguish in his foster daughter's eyes. 'Honey, you're a great kid and you have great instincts. Just listen to your heart, that's all I can tell you. That way, you'll never have any regrets.'

He leaned in to kiss the top of her head. 'I'm off to bed before I keel over' he said.

Caitlin watched him leave; she was so lucky to have these wonderful people in her life. She looked longingly at the telephone nearby and sighed loudly.

WCWCWC

What should have been a quiet time of recuperation was quickly turning into a veritable circus as the Caffrey home became a revolving door for visitors over the next few days. Neal had to put his foot down and insist that Sara get the rest she needed as guest after guest paraded through the Caffrey home, all of them arriving with gifts and the very best of intentions.

At night, Sara made use of the pain medication to help her sleep although her rest was fitful as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. She'd been instructed to sleep on her back with her arm under a pillow to keep the strain off her stitches. For the most part, she was sticking to the program but Neal had to constantly remind her not to lift her left arm or pick up anything even remotely heavy as Sara struggled to keep herself in check.

The extended family took turns watching over her, making sure someone was always there to see to her needs. Liam had lots of time on his hands, most of which he spent with Cody, making up for lost time. Hope was over a lot, making tea for her mom and just chatting about the exciting weeks that lay ahead for the mom-to-be. Emily was there too, hovering and trying to gauge the need for her presence; although she and Sara were truly enjoying their time together, she'd had to compete with all the other visitors who were vying for Sara's attention as one by one, they came by to cheer up the patient.

By Saturday, Sara was moving around more freely which made Neal's job a lot harder, considering he was busy trying to pull together a decent birthday dinner for their son.

'Honey, please stop doing that' he said to her as she sat at the kitchen island, chopping up some vegetables.

'Neal…' she said, taking a deep breath in order to reign in her frustration. 'I didn't hear the doctor say anything about not being able to chop up some vegetables.'

He dropped what he was doing and walked over, getting in her face as he spoke.

'Maybe not. But he did say you needed to keep from moving your arm too much and that you needed a lot of rest' he declared, grabbing the knife forcibly out of her hand.

'Ughh!' Sara bellowed. 'I am so sick of this. I want to do what I want to do.'

Neal exhaled, doing his best to keep his temper in check; he was trying, really trying to see things from her point of view.

'And you will, baby, you will… just, not today' he replied.

She glared back at him and grabbed for the literature the doctor had given them, lying in a pile on the kitchen counter next to her. She let her eyes linger down the page, finding what she was looking for and she gave Neal an irritated glare before returning her gaze to the sheet of paper in her hands.

'However' she read pointedly, her voice serious. 'It's important to keep your arm mobile by gently moving it to avoid getting a frozen shoulder.'

Neal stared right back at her and grabbed the sheet of paper from her hand, a little too roughly for her taste.

'Avoid activities that involve heavy lifting or rough contact to give your leads time to firmly attach to your heart tissue and allow your incision time to heal' he countered with an angry look of his own.

'This does not constitute heavy lifting, Neal' Sara said loudly as she held up the cutting knife she'd been using and waved it menacingly in his face.

'You are the most… obstinate, pig-headed —' Neal began, his voice growing louder.

Sara's eyes grew in anger. 'And you are the most condescending, sanctimonious… you are smothering me, Neal!'

'Smothering you?' Neal continued, infuriated. 'Well, excuuuuse me for caring about you.'

Unbeknownst to the feuding couple, Emily had been witnessing the spectacle from the nearby family room. What had begun as their usual good-natured sparring was evolving into an out and out blowup of mammoth proportions. She'd never seen Sara and Neal go at it like that, nor did she have any interest in seeing it now, especially when one of them was brandishing a knife.

She stood from her seat in the family room and headed for the nearby kitchen, intent on doing some damage control.

'Hey, I've got an idea' she suggested, making her way to stand next to her sister. 'Why don't you and I go for a little walk and let Neal finish up in here. Raffie looks like he could use some fresh air and it's a beautiful day out there.'

Sara glared at her sister and turned back to stare at Neal, anger oozing from every pore of her body.

'Fine' she said curtly, throwing the knife down before standing and turning on her heels.

Emily followed suit, glancing surreptitiously over her shoulder only to find Neal giving a good sturdy kick to the poor, defenceless garbage can as its contents spilled over onto the kitchen floor.

Happy times…

WCWCWC

The two women strolled through the quiet Prospect Park neighbourhood, Raffie trying his best to keep up. It was a glorious early summer day, the sun was shining brightly and Sara began to slowly let go of the anger and frustration that had been building for the last couple of days.

'Is he always like that?' Emily asked as they walked.

'You mean cloying and annoying?'

Emily scoffed. 'No, I meant sweet and loving.'

'Oh, is that what you call that little display of… whatever that was' Sara replied mordantly.

'I'll admit Neal can be a little… overbearing at times but I can see it comes from a place of love' Emily reminded her sister.

Sara scoffed in response, not quite ready to let go of the last remnants of resentment.

'Look, Sara, I think this whole thing has really scared Neal. He wants to do everything he can to make sure you get better and he thinks that's what he's doing when he… hovers like that. Maybe this whole thing has even conjured up thoughts of his own mortality. Men are funny that way.'

Sara concentrated on breathing in and out; she was furious with Neal for coddling her. She was a strong, determined woman, certainly capable of making her own decisions and looking out for herself. She looked up at her sister, taking in her words of wisdom and realizing Emily had her own experiences to draw from.

'You never talk much about Mike' she said, referring to Emily's late husband. 'What was he like?'

'Actually…' Em replied with a wistful smile. 'He was a lot like Neal. Sweet, kind, thoughtful and he was an amazing father.'

'It's sad that you two had so little time together' Sara mused.

'I was lucky to have found him' Emily replied. 'I was pretty damaged by then and he… he helped me build myself back up.'

Sara looked at the bittersweet smile on her sister's face. 'I guess I shouldn't complain about Neal just because he cares too much sometimes.'

Emily shrugged. 'I wouldn't if I were you. I found out the hard way that it can all be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Having someone to watch over you… well, not everyone has that in their lives. Neal would do anything for you, Sara, anything to keep you safe, to make you happy and my guess is he's feeling pretty crappy about arguing with you right about now.'

'Good' Sara said spitefully before catching herself. 'I don't mean that. He just… exasperates me sometimes and the irony is… when he's going through a rough time, I tend to dote on him too.'

'I rest my case' Emily said, taking her sister's arm.

WCWCWC

The guests had begun to converge on the old homestead by the time Emily and Sara returned from their walk and except for a brief exchange of tentative smiles when their eyes met briefly, Neal and Sara didn't mention what had happened and simply carried on with the business of getting ready to welcome their guests to Liam's special birthday dinner.

Hope sat on the back deck with her aunt Elizabeth and uncle Peter, their voices hushed while Cameron, Mozzie, Liam and Cody were settled in the family room around some innocuous video game - overgrown adolescents, the bunch of them. Meanwhile, Caitlin was in the kitchen marinating chicken alongside Neal who was busy concocting his famous ribs rub and finishing up a potato salad.

'I'm going to go change before everybody else gets here' Sara announced to no one in particular as she headed upstairs.

Neal glanced over at his sister-in-law in an attempt to find out if his wife had thawed at all since they'd left the house. Emily gave him a subtle head nod in the direction of the stairs.

'Why don't I take over here' she suggested as Neal smiled back in appreciation.

'Thanks' he muttered as he followed his wife up the stairs.

He found her looking through her closet for something to wear and he tiptoed in and perched himself on the edge of the bed, trying to get a sense as to whether or not his presence was welcome — or would even be tolerated.

'Hi' he murmured as she turned to face him.

'Hi' she smiled back.

'Can I… can I give you a hand with anything?' he asked.

She appreciated him making the effort to ask first and not just assume she needed the help. 'I… yeah, that would be nice.'

Neal got to his feet and joined her, both of them facing the large closet where Sara's numerous outfits were displayed, all in a perfect row, hanging off wooden hangers.

'Maybe you can unzip me' she said softly as she lifted her hair out of the way and turned her back to him.

Neal reached for the zipper of her dress and slid it down, watching as the dress instantly fell to the floor and Sara stepped out of it. Without a word, he leaned down to pick it up and he grabbed a hanger, proceeding to hang it up in the closet, alongside the rest of her clothes. It was a pretty floral pattern dress and would have been perfectly suitable to wear for the occasion but, knowing Sara, she'd probably decided days ago what she wanted to wear for their son's birthday celebration.

'I was thinking this one… or this one' she said, pointing to two dresses as she stood there in her lace bra and panties.

She was sporting a fairly large dressing on her incision which would remain in place until she saw the doctor again the following week. Neal's eyes were drawn to it, followed by his fingers as he gently traced the outline of the bandage. Seeing her relax, he leaned in and placed a tender kiss on the bandage, a kiss so soft she couldn't feel it through the thick gauze.

'I'm sorry' he murmured. 'I was out of line. I've been treating you like a child and you're a grown woman… a very capable grown woman I might add and you can certainly decide things for yourself.'

'I'm sorry too…' she countered with an impish smile. 'Mostly for waving a knife in your face.'

Neal chuckled. 'I guess I can be a little… overbearing at times' he admitted, looking remorseful.

'You think?' she countered with just a touch of sarcasm. 'Look, I know you're only doing this because you love me but sometimes… it feels like you're smothering me. Do you think maybe you could love me just a little bit less.'

'No can do' he said, growing emotional and reaching over to caress her cheek.

'But I do promise to give you a bit more space' he added, his voice soft. '…if you promise to be careful.'

'And I promise to be careful… if you give me a bit more space' she replied with the same loving look in her eyes.

They laughed and hugged gingerly, Sara's left arm curled up protectively against her body to keep from causing any more pain.

They slowly untangled and Neal looked over at the two dresses Sara had been contemplating.

'So, what are we going for here, quiet sophistication or casual chic?' he asked as he studied the choices.

'Tell you what' she replied, placing a sweet kiss on his cheek. 'Why don't you decide?'

TBC