Peter stood behind Katie's door for a while, holding a tray, and wondered if he should knock, to let Lou know someone was entering the room. He knew she was decent, Jack and Lisa had told him so, but even if she had not been, it was not like they had not been married for years and he didn't know how she looked whatever her state of dress. But as of late, they had started to build an invisible wall between them where things they had done in the past were not somehow "allowed" anymore or they were supposed to withdraw from things that had been part of their every life before.

One of those things had actually happened last night.

Peter could remember them kissing in the past few times after the announcement of separation, but the further they got from the decision to go different ways and the closer to thinking about finally making it official through the divorce, the less intimacy there was and he knew it was a conscious decision on both of their parts. They had eventually grown accustomed to it because that was part of the process; they couldn't and shouldn't have the benefits of a married couple if they weren't ready to have it all - the good, the bad, the ugly.

But the kiss they had shared last night seemed to take him back few steps. It was not that he was in a hurry to get divorced, not at all, but maybe Lou was. And if she was, Peter didn't want to hold her back as he felt bad for doing that for years now. Peter knew he had married an amazing woman with a lot of potential, and part of the reason why she was so frantic sometimes these days was probably because she had dreamed big but because of Peter's job, she had had to give up on some of her dreams, even though the whole reason for Peter working so hard was to allow her to have the freedom to choose.

He didn't want to hold Lou back, he really wanted her to thrive, but in order for her to do so - in his mind at least - he had to succeed and eventually he had pushed himself right into bankruptcy. And now there had been few years of this awkward waiting state as he had tried to get his feet underneath him again, and that included the possibility of Lou giving up potential opportunities.

Eventually, it was, he thought, probably that waiting stage that had destroyed their marriage and set them on the road to where they were today.

Peter felt bad for keeping Lou from who-knows-what-kind of dreams she may have had, as she had taken on the raising of his family and waiting on him, only for her to realize that she might be waiting forever and he wasn't the man she had thought him to be after all. He wondered if she felt that she had wasted those years with him because she had thought she had seen something more in him than what had ended up being there.

Despite all the problems and fighting, Peter still loved Lou, even though everything had gotten far more complicated than they had intended in the first place. But maybe that was exactly why he loved her; no one else knew him like she did or had shared all the things that had happened to them like Lou. They had an understanding of it all, even if their point of views were sometimes different. But it was the bond that kept them together. That and the girls, of course.

Peter put the tray on the table next to her door and decided to knock. Maybe it was the guilt of crossing the line last night or common decency, but he felt like respecting Lou now more than ever. She deserved that.

As he picked up the tray and faced the door, Lou was starting to become aware of the world around her again as she woke from her slumber. She was still sleepy and it took her a while to realize where she was, but when she located herself, Lou sat up on the bed, immediately full of concern, while not even realizing what had woken her up. She began to frantically look around the room.

"Katie!" she called.

Where was the girl? She didn't see her anywhere! What time was it? How long had she been asleep?!

Hearing Lou call out Katie's name, Peter decided that was his cue to enter the room, if for no other reason than to calm her down and let her know that Katie was okay.

"Hey... Good morning", Peter said quietly announcing his entrance to the bedroom as he pushed the door open with his shoulder and walked in, holding the tray.

A surprised Lou looked toward the door.

"Peter...?" said a frightened Lou. "Katie is gone!"

Peter smiled and shook his head and said softly: "No, she is fine. She got up hours ago and has been with Jack and Lisa. They fed her and have given her her meds as well."

"Oh... Good, that's good", said a relieved Lou, telling herself to calm down. She looked at Peter, remembering he was still here and she had actually asked him to join them for breakfast when she had dropped him off at the cabin last night. "What time is it?" she asked still trying to get her bearings.

"Time for you to eat", Peter just said, sitting down next to Lou on the bed with the tray.

"Where's Katie now? Did you say she was with Grandpa and Lisa?" Lou asked again.

"Yes, she is", he confirmed again. Peter realized that Lou may not have been fully awake so he repeated what he had told her earlier. "She's been up for hours, according to Lisa and Jack. They have given her breakfast and her meds, and she's now trying to turn Remi into a horse with the help of her magic wand. So, I'd say there's nothing you to worry about", Peter replied, hoping it would help her settle down and eat her breakfast.

"Except if she really turns the dog into a horse", Lou said. It took Peter a while to realize she was joking and when he did, it made him smile. It was nice to see Lou actually letting her sense of humor come out again. "Because then we would have a magician on our hands and who knows who - or what - she might zap next."

As he looked at Lou, Peter saw the relaxed smile and the twinkle that had returned to her eyes. He was hit with the realization that things really were getting back to normal and Lou was starting to be her own self again. He laughed, and Lou joined him, easing the tension they had both felt for the past couple of days.

"Well, we'll worry about that when it happens then", Peter replied, going along with her mood.

Lou looked at the tray, wiping her sleepy eyes to really appreciate the view. "Oh gosh, you're bringing me breakfast... That means I've overslept and everyone else has had their breakfast already. I'm sorry. I know I said we'd have it together, like a family."

"It's okay, I don't mind", Peter assured her. "We'll have a rain check on that. I'm just glad Katie's seems to be back to normal and you've gotten some sleep as well. That's two less things for me to worry about."

As Lou took a better position in her child's bed, Peter sat the tray in her lap and she started to eat the food that he had brought her. While eating, she began to think about the day and knew that there was one thing they were both still worrying about.

"I'll find you Mrs. Wheaton's number after I finish this wonderful breakfast". She realized how much she appreciated the service Peter had done for her. "And then I'll call Tricia. After that, I think we should talk to Georgie", Lou said out loud to Peter as she started to plan out their day.

Peter nodded, but he wasn't in a rush. "Just take your time. It's like they say: if you don't take care of yourself, how do you expect to take care of anyone else", he reminded her.

"But you know I can't relax before I've taken care of things", Lou said.

"Well, maybe you- we should learn to work on that. I mean, I feel like this whole thing has made me look at things in a different way; it has made me want to fix things that I just went with before. We don't have to repeat the same old patterns over and over again. I wish I would have realized that sooner and not when things had fallen apart", Peter spoke his thoughts out loud. "Maybe they would not have fallen apart if there had been more solid foundation."

"What are you talking about exactly?" asked Lou.

"Sorry, I kinda spoke my thoughts", said Peter. "I was talking about always being in such a hurry to get things done and done the way I want them to be done that I have missed out on what should have been the best part of our marriage... Things that we work on together and come to an agreement on, instead of charging head first into the situation and winning by my shear will."

This started Lou to thinking. Who was this man sitting next to her on the bed and where had he been all these years. As bad as the situation with Katie had been, it was almost worth it - only because Katie was fine - to see the change in Peter. His words also made her stop and take stalk in the words he had spoken.

"Speaking of repeated patterns..." She felt like there was something she had to get off her chest if she was supposed to relax. "About that kiss last night..."

Peter looked at her, not sure what to say or how to feel about Lou's statement. Could he tell her truthfully how he felt? Would that be fair to her? It had been an impulse kiss, yet it had in many ways caused him to remember times that were best left behind, especially if she did not have those feelings as well. Peter was finding this new communication with Lou something that he realized he missed. But now he had to tell her what she may or may not want to hear. There was no right answer for him here, so he took the one that - even if there were feelings on her part - was what he felt was the right approach at the moment.

"I know. I'm sorry about that. It was just an automatic reaction", he replied. "Like we used to do when we had had a talk and said goodnight. I didn't even realize it was coming until I had already kissed you. It's kind of weird how you store things like that within you and don't even realize how they've become part of you. But, you don't have to worry. I don't wanna cross any more lines and make you uncomfortable. I realize it's not what should happen when a couple is going through a separation. I'll try to keep myself more in check", Peter explained.

Lou nodded as she was not sure what she had expected him to say, but what he had said made sense. She could not help remembering her own thoughts after it had happened.

"Okay", she said deciding to give herself more time to think about that her own reaction, as it seemed it was a little bit different from what Peter had told her. Was it only her who had felt that little spark, had he moved on and it was, as he said, only a reflex? When she did not reply and it appeared that Peter didn't seem to want to push her to give her reaction, she decided to allow herself to mull it over. Maybe it was going to be a process and she would feel the same way as he did eventually, but since it had been so sudden and so surprising, she was still wallowing in her old feelings as they were the only things she had ever known to have toward him.

"Thanks for the breakfast", she said instead, smiling a little bit.

Peter returned her smile. "No problem."

While he had wished she would have told him her reaction, he was happy that she did not seem to be upset with him. It was not always the reaction that he got from talking with her anymore, so it was a good thing.

Lou finished her juice as she thought how much she appreciated his gesture, especially now that something like this wasn't expected in any shape or form. Before, Lou would have hoped for him to pamper her like this, maybe she had even not-so-subtly asked him to do things like this for her sometimes, but now... it was all him. It was strange how bittersweet it made her feel; as if she was only now beginning to get everything she had ever wanted when she had decided to loosen up and let things go.

Maybe, like Peter had said, if there had been more of that freedom, then maybe things would not have fallen apart in the first place.