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Chapter 55 - Chapter 55 -Visions, Arguments, and Halley

Karen walked quietly back into their flat. The television still played, and Samuel hadn't moved. Karen quietly went upstairs and changed into some comfortable pajamas that her mother had brought her from Florida.

She returned to the sitting room with the quilt under her arm. She turned off the television and spread the quilt over Samuel. She snuggled onto his chest and felt him wrap his arm around her.

"Karen." He whispered.

"Shhh….sleep, Samuel." She told him and rubbed his chest.

He turned his head into her hair and inhaled deeply.

Karen remembered Samuel's frightened words and him asking if he was really there that afternoon. She slipped her hand under his shirt and the familiar sensation began to run through her arm. She whispered, "You're with me, Samuel. You're safe."

He kissed her head.

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A light flashed and Samuel opened his eyes. He was lying in his bed, facing Karen. He watched her sleep, and a smile spread across his face. "I love you so much." He whispered as he put his hand on her hip. She smiled and a small baby that lay between them began moving.

"Shhhh…." Samuel tried to sooth the small baby.

Karen didn't open her eyes. "Is she really hungry again?"

"Yeah." Samuel told her as he helped Karen roll the baby over towards her. He watched her unbutton her shirt and the baby immediately latched onto her mother's breast.

Samuel moved closer to the baby and kissed the back of her head. "I could give her a feed with a bottle-"

"Nah. This is better for her."

"But, you need to sleep. You have to be exhausted."

Karen smiled, "I'm alright. You can go back to sleep."

"I don't feel right about that. If you're up-"

The baby slurped loudly causing both of them to laugh.

"She sounds like her Daddy." Karen teased.

Samuel rolled over on his back and rubbed his face. "I'm not that bad."

"I didn't say it was bad." Karen smiled. "I find that I miss you slurping at my breasts."

Samuel looked back at her and grinned. "How are you feeling?"

A light flashed and Samuel was standing in a graveyard. The rain was pouring, but he was so heartbroken that he didn't notice. He stood in the rain as a man gave the order for the guns to fire a salute. Then "Taps" was played on a bugle. He didn't look over at the casket, but instead, looked down at his shoes as he fought back tears.

The light flashed again, and Arles was sitting at this drum set. A small little girl sat on his knee and he held her hands in his as he played the drums. She looked up at him and laughed.

The light flashed again, and a small little girl, with a blond braids was wearing a New York Yankees cap that was much too big for her. She was standing on a baseball diamond, holding a small bat. Karen's voice could be heard.

"Okay, Mommy is going to throw it and swing like I showed you when I say go."

The little girl smiled and readied herself.

Karen gently threw the ball and said, "Go!"

The bat connected with the ball and the little girl's mouth dropped open in surprise. Samuel scooped her up, and put her on his shoulders as he ran all of the bases with her. Both of them laughing loudly.

A light flashed again and Samuel was swimming in very deep water. He was holding his breath and was under the water, looking around. He felt peaceful and watched the sunlight come through the waves breaking over his head.

The light flashed again and he was hanging onto a metal pole as tightly as he could. The wind blew violently around him, throwing debris. Something scratched his face, and he ducked his head between his arms. He was frightened, and knew that no matter what, he couldn't let go of the pole as the winds strengthened.

Another light flashed and Samuel was kicking a football to two young boys that he knew immediately. The blond curly haired boy picked the ball up with his foot, and passed it to the other boy with dark hair. "And there you are, Arles!"

Young Arles, bounced it off of his chest and back to the adult Samuel.

He felt himself laugh, "That's it guys."

Young Samuel smiled back at his brother.

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Samuel woke up. He was lying at an odd angle that he remembered he had been in during his time when he was being held hostage. He jumped to get out of his bindings, that wasn't there, only to flip the sofa over he and Karen were both lying on.

He rolled backwards to quickly get back on his feet, ready to fight. As soon as he had left the sofa, the weight from Karen lying on it made it rock forward. She fell onto the floor with a loud thump.

"What in the hell?" Karen's muffled voice asked from the floor.

Samuel realized what had happened and rushed to her. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Anne and Henry both rushed into the room to see what the commotion was. Karen sat up, and for a moment, Samuel thought she was crying.

"Are you hurt? What hurts, Karen? I'm sorry."

But, she wasn't crying, she was laughing so hysterically that she couldn't speak.

Samuel relaxed. "You frightened the hell out of me."

She continued to laugh and lay her head on his chest.

He held her and kissed the head as she continued to laugh. He closed his eyes and mumbled. "Mad woman."

Anne leaned on the back of the sofa that was sitting upright again. "I think you're both crazy. I'll make some breakfast."

Henry barked as he joined her in the kitchen.

Samuel sat on the floor in front of Karen. "You're sure you're alright?"

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He held her and sighed in relief. "I'm so sorry."

She kissed the side of his face. "It's alright. Best alarm I've ever had."

He groaned. "I just don't know what I was thinking."

She sat back on her knees and continued to hold his neck in her arms. "How did you sleep? The sofa reclines, you know. I know you sleep better that way, so that's the reason I had Arles copy one here."

He looked back at the sofa. "Oh. I didn't realize they had those here already."

She smiled, "He says it's how you usually slept before you came here. What made you jump?"

He shook his head, "A dream I was having. I think."

She nodded.

Anne returned to the sitting room. "Samuel. Why don't you see if Arles wants to join us for breakfast? That way, I know he'll eat, too."

Samuel grinned. "Yes, ma'am. I'll do that."

Anne went back into the kitchen.

Samuel looked back at Karen, "I need to go next door then-"

"Before you go, I saw Arles last night. After you went to sleep."

He looked confused. "Okay, why?"

"It was late, we were both still up. You asked me to tell you about anything odd-"

"Yeah." He agreed slowly.

"He had a black bag, probably softball gear, sitting on the table. But, he also had a nice black eye. When I asked him about it, he told me that he thought he had gotten rid of it…and made it sound like there were other injuries."

Samuel sighed and dropped his head. "Oh, I know what's he's doing. I'll handle it."

"He said he's having problems with that….blinking thing he does. Do you think he's done it again and gotten into a fight?"

Samuel grinned at her. "I'll handle it. That's next on my list."

He stood up and helped her to her feet.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he called to the kitchen. "Anne, have you heard from John then?"

"Yes. He said he's at the office, and will be working all day there. He's fine."

Samuel looked back at her in surprise. "All day? After being there all night? Is that normal?"

"Oh, the life of a sailor." Anne told Samuel.

Samuel nodded. "Okay. Well-"

Karen took his hand and the sudden burst of energy that moved into his own hand, made him forget what he was going to say. "I'm going upstairs for a bit. When you return, I need to talk to you."

"Sure." He smiled and watched her walk away. As soon as she had disappeared up the stairs, he groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "I hope that's a happy talk."

XXX

He slid the glass door open, and Henry ran outside to the sunny morning. Samuel pointed at the dog, "Don't get in the water! And come right back."

Henry barked and ran down the beach.

Samuel walked up the steps of Arles' back deck. Legate and Arles were already there, sitting around the table, smoking. From the laughter at nothing, they had been at it for a while.

"Good morning!" Arles greeted him. "Barking at the dog, are you?"

Samuel grinned and put his hands on his hips. "What is this? Wake and bake?"

Legate pointed at him, "Speak for yourself. I've been up for hours."

"Negotiations, still?"

Legate shook his head. "Nah. Summus has returned the delegation to their ship. The Queen never showed up. They are making arrangements for another meeting."

"For her to blow off, again." Arles laughed as he prepared a small pipe. "Come up here, brother! We'll get you caught up."

Samuel joined them. "My mother in law, wants to invite you to breakfast."

Arles took a drag off of the pipe. "Your mother in law is my favorite person at the moment."

Legate grinned. "Mine, too. I'm ready for a bite."

Samuel nodded, "So, what happened with your eye?"

Arles slowly exhaled. "Karen told you, huh? Legate sorted it out for me. My little, heal it box of tricks stopped working."

Legate held his hand out, "Hand me that bowl-"

"Mother in law is next door!" Samuel insisted.

"Of cereal." Legate finished.

Arles and Legate both laughed hysterically.

Arles laughed, "Your Corn Flakes, sir."

"Cheers." Legate said.

Samuel rolled his eyes. "Oh boy. You lot have been at it long enough."

"We got up and trained this morning. What have you been doing?" Legate asked him.

Samuel sighed. "Lying on my ass. It's true. Where's Genie?"

"Sleeping. Dreaming about how pissed she is at me." Legate told them.

Arles smiled, "I'm comforting our brother here."

"What did you do?"

"Ah." Legate insisted and waved his hand.

Samuel nodded. "That bad, huh?"

Legate coughed and pointed at Arles. "You didn't tell me how you got that black eye. What did you do?"

Samuel threw his hand up. "Oh, come on! I know what he did. You do, too!"

Legate shook his head. "Nah."

Arles watched them argue without saying anything. He rubbed his face. "I think I forgot my phone in the flat."

Samuel went with him into the flat. As soon as the door was closed, Arles turned around and faced Samuel. "We're not making a big deal of this-"

"Yeah, we are. How long have you been doing this?"

Arles sighed. "On and off since they took you."

Samuel closed his eyes and sighed. "Arles. You can't do this! Going and fighting for money, hell they let anyone in the ring!"

"I know." Arles smiled and bounced on his feet. "I've gotten some amazing training from it-"

"No!"

"This guy last night. I almost thought he was a Vesuos. I mean, he was fucking tough. But, I finally got him-"

Samuel covered his face and groaned. "I can't believe this."

"I'm here. I'm fine. He's probably in the hospital. I know I heard his arm crack. You know me. Breaking arms is my thing."

"You're going to get your ass kicked and then how are we going to explain that-"

"That's what you're concerned about? Getting into trouble with Dad? Fuck that. There's bigger problems -"

"I'm not concerned about Dad-"

"Good! Because, I was about to tell you to put your tampon back in and deal with this."

Samuel sighed and put his hands on his hips. "So, you're training."

"Hell yeah, I am. Because I'll bet you a left-handed jerk off that those Vesuos are coming back. And I'm not letting them take you, Karen, and certainly not this nephew of mine."

Samuel couldn't help but smile at him. "What if I prefer a right handed-"

"Fuck you. This is my party."

Samuel laughed under his breath. "Arles. Seriously, man. I think you're right. There's no reason to think differently."

"See my point-"

"But, this isn't the way to do it. Arles. This….this could end, badly for you. Have you had anymore problems phasing?"

Arles sighed. "Karen told you about that, too?"

Samuel crossed his arms. "She didn't have to-"

Arles groaned. "I can't control it. No one saw, but it happened. I was driving and…lost control."

"Driving? Really? What sort of car?"

"Oh, a beautiful-"

"Actually, don't tell me. Never mind."

"It's rubbish now. Completely, I doubt anyone can even tell what it is." Arles told him. "Papa made me promise to keep my personal shielding at its highest when I was in a car. I only thought about it, seconds before it happened. Damn lorry driver fell asleep and hit me head on-"

Samuel groaned. "This is so much worse than I thought. Are you kidding me? Where's the car?"

"In a million pieces on a highway in Florida."

"Hang on, where did you get this car?"

"Where do you think, man? I copied it from Uncle Tony. I'll copy another one, he'll never know."

"Anyway. Focus. This shit with you fighting-"

"I think it's a good idea." A voice said.

Samuel looked up and saw the bearded Tony Tyler walk into the room. He had just gotten out of bed, and was still wearing pajamas without a shirt.

Tony shook his head. "It's his life, man. Leave him alone."

Samuel looked back at Arles in shock. "The actual fuck."

Arles laughed, "I know."

They followed Tony Tyler into the kitchen. Tony stood in front of the food replicator and made himself a cup of coffee. "You two make it hard to sleep with all of his yelling."

Samuel cleared his throat. "Right. So, when did you get back?"

Tony sipped his coffee. "I'm not back. So, keep it to yourself I'm here. I don't want anyone to know."

"Where's Stark's ship?"

Tony grinned, "Oh, it's safe. Don't worry about it."

Samuel laughed under his breath. "There are so many other ways to get out of going to a party than this."

Tony rose his eyebrows. "Don't I know it? Anyway, so you're cross that Arles is off training and making some money?"

"No, I'm cross he hasn't-"

Tony shook his head and told Arles. "Smack his ass and call him a princess since he is acting like a bitch."

Samuel rose his eyebrows at Tony. "What?"

Tony looked at Samuel. "You heard me. You used to do the same damn thing. Now, you have this Karen and all of a sudden, everything is about you. You think you're all in charge of us and have to do what you say. Suddenly, you're the only adult here."

"I don't think that."

"Certainly sounds like it. 'Look at me. I'm the first one of us to get married-"

"Legate and Genie-" Samuel started.

"I'm the first one of us to find a woman who can tolerate me. I'm the first one of us to become…..a Dad. So, I'm clearly the one in charge.' "

Samuel looked back at Arles, "Did you tell him?"

Tony grinned. "I fucking knew it. That's the reason you are marrying her, isn't it? She's pregnant."

Samuel took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and glared at Tony. "You know what? I don't want to talk to you about this."

Tony smiled, "Tells me everything I need to know, man."

Samuel took a deep breath and Arles could see his anger. He quickly put his hand on his brother's chest and led him out of the kitchen. "Umm… Legate is probably getting a bit lonely."

Samuel and Arles walked back out on the deck.

Samuel was furious. "Did you tell him? Just tell me."

Arles shook his head. "No. Sam, I swear I didn't."

Samuel put his hands on his hips and grit his teeth.

Legate was baked. He held the bowl up and smiled. "Sammy. You look like you need this."

Arles laughed, "You're not wrong, Legate. But, you need to stop. I'm cutting you off."

Legate nodded, "Probably right. I'm in enough trouble with Genie."

Samuel motioned for Arles to join him as he walked back to his flat.

Samuel told him quietly. "I can't see how you can get along with him, man."

Arles nodded. "Some days are better than others."

Samuel shook his head. "I just….really."

"Man, who cares if that's the reason you two are getting married."

"That's not the reason!" Samuel told him.

Arles nodded. "I know. But, let's face it. That's what everyone is going to think. And getting pissed about it, isn't going to make a damn thing change."

Samuel nodded and ran his hands through his hair.

"Look man. I'm your brother. I'm not going to lie to you about this. I know you and Karen love one another. Who cares what everyone thinks. This is about you and her. No one else. Forget about Tony."

"That's good advice. Forget about Tony."

"How many years have I told you to just ignore him? You know he's just trying to wind you up. He lives for that shit with you. Don't allow him to do it."

Samuel grit his teeth. "Right. Damn, I should have hit him."

Arles grinned, "Yeah, you should. But, what would that have solved?"

"I would feel a bit better." Samuel reasoned.

"I doubt it. But, I agree you should have hit him. And it won't be the last time. He's playing Cloak and Dagger with Stark, and we have front row seats."

Samuel grinned, "Yeah. Me hitting him is the least of his worries. Did he crash the ship?"

"I don't know. He says its fine." Arles shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe the less we know, the better."

Samuel shook his head. "Oh, that fucking guy."

Arles pat Samuel's shoulder. "I'm going to pass on breakfast with Anne and Karen. You need to get to know your family a bit, man. Plus, I need to deal with a stoned Quauthin before our sister wakes up."

Samuel laughed, "Alright."

Arles smiled and turned to go back to his flat.

Samuel jogged up the steps and Henry was at the door, waiting on him to open it. "Good boy, Henry." He told him as they walked in together.

Anne was already busy making something that smelled delightful. Samuel stopped and inhaled deeply. "Oh wow. What is that?"

"Blueberry muffins. Thank you for taking Henry out."

Samuel's stomach growled. "Oh, that smells amazing."

Anne smiled at him. "Go on and tell Karen. They will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Samuel started to walk out of the kitchen. "You're alright? Need coffee, or anything?"

Anne sipped a cup, "Oh, I love this food replicator. Coffee on demand? It could be dangerous."

Samuel laughed at her as he walked upstairs and replayed the argument he had with Tony in his head. By the time he reached his and Karen's bedroom, he had made up his mind to ask her.

"Hey, Karen?" He asked.

"I'm in the bathroom." He heard her say.

The door was opened so he walked into the doorway, "Karen, let me ask you-"

He forgot what he was talking about as soon as he saw her. She was standing in front of the mirror, brushing her long hair. She was wearing a pair of short work-out shorts and a sports bra.

He stood staring at her.

She put her hair up in a pony tail, and looked back at him. "Ask me what?"

His brain had shorted out. He continued to stand and look at her.

She sat down her brush and smiled at him. "Samuel?"

"Hmm?" He asked.

She smiled, took his hand and pulled him closer to her.

He looked her up and down. "What is this?"

"Yoga clothes." She smiled. "I was planning on stretching a bit. My back is sore from sleeping on the couch."

He immediately put his hands on her back to find a problem. "Where does it hurt?"

She smiled, "You're making my skin tingle."

"Oh, I found it. Yeah, that's tight. I can sort that."

He rested his forehead to hers as he worked on her back. "I'm sorry about this morning. What, tossing you onto the floor."

She laughed. "That was so funny. You make me smile."

"My heart nearly stopped. I was certain I had hurt you or our Blueberry."

"Samuel, I'm alright." She smiled, "I love you."

He leaned in and what started as a simple quick kiss, turned into a snogging. He could taste that she had just brushed her teeth with a lemon toothbrush. He finished working on her back, slipped his hands to her shorts, and pushed them down. Either she had her knickers inside of them or, she wasn't wearing them. They fell to the floor.

She grabbed his t-shirt he wore in her fists and held pulled him closer to her as they continued to snog. He picked her up and sat her on the bathroom cabinet. She unbuttoned his trousers and pushed them down.

She whispered to him between their kisses. "Samuel. The door is open."

He didn't stop kissing her, waved his hand, and the door closed without him touching it.

Samuel looked at it in surprise.

Karen never noticed. She was too occupied with stroking him with both of her hands and kissing his neck.

"Door is closed." He told her quietly.

He felt her wrap her legs around him and he continued to kiss her. Between their kisses she asked, "What is the most sensitive part of your body?"

He smiled and continued to kiss her, "Your lips."

She giggled. "That's not my guess."

He continued to kiss her and began to tease between her legs, causing her to grip him tighter. "Oh, there. That's my guess."

He continued, "There are 8,000 nerve endings here in the clitoris."

She started to moan, "Make me feel every one of them."

He grinned, "Hold on in there, Blueberry."

She pulled him into her opening and he continued to tease her as he stroked slowly. The electrical current began to flow between them. Samuel was sure his hair was standing on end as he kissed her.

He whispered, "Is this alright?"

She was already biting her lip to keep herself from crying out.

He kissed her neck and ran his other hand under her sports bra and rubbed her breast. "Oh, I love you."

She moaned as he continued to tease her and slowly stroke, never putting himself deeply inside of her. She grabbed his bum and pressed him deeply inside of her, and held him there tightly as he felt her opening try to press him out.

Seeing her face as she reached her peak was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his life. He couldn't wait to see it again. He cupped her face and rested his forehead to hers. "That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

She panted and smiled at him. "That was…amazing."

He kissed her again and looked into her eyes. "Is there any way that I could tell you how much I love you?"

She held him around his neck. "I love you, Samuel."

"Even if there was no baby, you know I would still be marrying you, right? The Blueberry isn't the reason."

"We're already married. You've promised the Blueberry." She reminded him.

"Well, yeah. But, you want a regular sort of ceremony."

She held him, "I want, us. I really don't mind."

He looked at her and smiled. "Nah, I'm giving you a ceremony."

She giggled as he reached over and grabbed a towel to clean them both up. She realized the door he had closed was too far away from him to properly reach. "Samuel?"

He tossed the towel in the laundry hamper. "I need to do some washing."

She shook her head, "I'll do it. Samuel, how did you close the door? It's feet away."

He pulled his pants and trousers back on. "Superman powers."

"Superman powers?" She asked.

He rubbed her thighs. "Yes. And your Mum sent me up here to tell you that breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"How long ago was that?" She smiled.

"17 minutes and 43 seconds." He laughed.

She giggled and pulled him back to her, wrapping her legs around him again. Between their kisses, she told him, "Let's make it an even twenty."

He held her tightly and smiled, "With you in here without knickers on. I love it."

They snogged another minute more and were interrupted by Anne calling them. She sounded as though she was standing at the bottom of the steps.

Karen shouted back. "We're on our way, Mom."

Samuel stepped back and rubbed his chest.

"I need to find some panties."

"Panties." Samuel mocked her accent. "I love how you say that."

She pulled him back to her. "Are you teasing me, Angus?"

Samuel caressed her face and smiled at her. "Absolutely. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"If I buy Vitex, you're going to need someone here. What to help you, with the baby and such."

She grinned. "This baby isn't due for a while."

He stood up straight and shook his head. "This baby will be here before you know it. She's growing like mad. I need to measure her, because I'm certain our due date is going to be moved up."

"But, she's okay."

He smiled warmly, "She's fine. And she's a she. I'm sure of it. So, go ahead and start with names if you want. Defiantly, a girl."

"I already have a name." Karen told him. "And it's not Blueberry."

He teased, "Maybe we can use that for a middle name?"

She laughed, "No. I was thinking Halley."

He tasted the name in his mouth. "Halley? Like Halley's Comet?"

"What we saw when you proposed to me. Or you remembered that you had proposed to me."

"I count that as the proper time, though. Yes."

"What do you think?" She smiled. "Seriously, you can tell me no."

He laughed under his breath and rubbed her thighs, "I'm not going to say no. I love that. Halley. Halley Bennett. I really love it."

She giggled. "Our Halley."

"But, we should ask her." He told Karen.

She pointed at her stomach, "Be my guest, Daddy."

He kissed Karen's stomach and smiled, "Hey there Blueberry. It's Daddy, again. Mum and Dad think we would like to name you 'Halley.' What do you think about that?"

He held his hand on Karen's stomach and seemed to listen.

Karen smiled, "What is she doing?"

He smiled proudly. "Moving around. She's gotten so big. Do you feel her moving yet?"

"What will it feel like?"

"Butterflies. In your stomach."

"I feel that whenever you touch me, so I'm not sure."

He nodded and kissed Karen's stomach again. "Mummy and Daddy love you, Halley."

He stood up and scratched his chest again.

Karen took his hand, "Stop scratching that."

He sighed.

She giggled. "Our Blueberry, Halley. Do you want to spell it like Halley's Comet?"

"Phhhh. I don't mind. Whatever you want to do."

She smiled. "Then that's settled. And I've thought about this Vitex thing."

He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed them. "Yeah?"

"You said you wanted everything we do in this family to be with love. Are you doing this because of love?"

"Some of it. Not all."

"But, you want to help your Grandfather. I feel that means it's because you love him."

He nodded. "It is. And it's a great deal. And I can fix a really large mess that I know is coming."

She smiled, "Then I say 'yes.'"

He danced his silly way to celebrate.

She giggled.

"Alright. I'll get that sorted."

She laughed as he helped her off of the cabinet.

"Let's get you dressed, yeah?"

She held his hand and they slipped out of the bathroom and she stepped into the walk-in closet in their room. Samuel shouted down the steps. "We'll just be another second, Anne."

"Alright." She called.

Samuel closed the door and leaned on it with his outstretched hand. "So. What do you think about having Anne move here? While your Dad is deployed?"

Karen walked out of the closet wearing a lovely blue and white, v-neck dress that flowed to her knees. She turned and Samuel zipped it for her.

He looked down at his own clothes. He still wore the trousers from the night before with Arles' t-shirt from Plentitude. "Could you hand me an oxford from in there?"

She grinned at him. "Might keep you from scratching your chest."

He smiled as she handed him a brown oxford shirt. "That's true."

She watched him put it on and button it up. "I love this color on you."

"Brown." He smiled.

"My favorite color. You look so nice."

He tucked his shirt into his trousers and held out his hands. "Better? Look like a teacher?"

"Like my Samuel." She said as she wrapped her arms around him.

He kissed her lips quickly. "What do you think? About your Mum moving here?"

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing. Are you sure?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I've spoken to your Dad about it, and he believes she would prefer to have her house here."

"Could you copy it?"

"Of course. And I ….actually had this entire thing planned out to sell you on this but my mind has gone blank again."

She kissed him.

He closed his eyes, "Yeah, that's not helping at all. It's just full of something else."

She giggled. "Good imagination, huh?"

"Very good." He told her without opening his eyes. "Oh, and you love that."

Karen told him quietly, "We're late for breakfast."

He grinned, "I prefer the sort we just had."

She giggled. "Then, how about….midnight snacks, tonight?"

He rose his eyebrows and nodded, "Oh yes. Let's plan for that."

She winked at him as she opened the door and walked out of the bedroom.

The fuss with Tony Tyler and stress of everything was forgotten. He was happier than he could imagine. He rubbed his hands together and danced in his unique, silly way.

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