Callie drummed impatiently on her steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green. She was hoping she could make it in time to avoid another reprimand from the office at Ari's school. The store manager decided months ago when Ari was enrolled in the after-care program that Callie could work longer. Despite her own management role, she wasn't able to adjust her hours and was once again caught in the position of getting stuck at her shift and late to pick up Ari. Finally, the light turned and she floored it, tires squealing lightly against the surface of the road as she raced off.

By some miracle, she made it with five minutes to spare before the after-care program closed. Ari was sitting at a table looking bored, and frowned at her when she made eye contact.

"Hey, sweet girl, I'm sorry I'm later than expected. We'll grab pizza on the way home, okay?"

Ari frowned in response.

"Okay, fine, you choose."

"Chinese!" Ari responded gleefully with a wide smile.

Callie rolled her eyes and shook her head as they headed to the car.

Ari had been playing her like this for months, ever since she recovered from the mysterious accident. None of the doctors they had followed up with had ever been able to explain what happened, so eventually she stopped trying to get answers. She was forever grateful to Holden for calling in the other doctor who helped Ari wake up. Some of the details were a little fuzzy in her mind, but she hadn't been sleeping well during the ordeal and the entire experience had been overwhelming. Ari caught on immediately to the fact she basically had a free pass and hadn't stopped using it since. Callie was just relieved to have her back, never wanting to feel the terror of losing Ari again.

Callie listened patiently to Ari fill her in about her day as they waited for their takeout to be ready. Just when she thought she couldn't take hearing any more about the girl-drama, their number was called. Ari temporarily forgot about her non-stop flow of words as they headed back to the car.

"My, my, what a couple of pretty ladies," a strange voice called out.

Callie looked around, trying to spot where it was coming from. Whoever had spoken was obscured by shadows across the building, hiding a few feet into an alleyway.

"Mom?" Ari asked, her voice small and timid.

"Come on, let's just cross here," Callie replied, grabbing her tightly and walking to the shops on the other side.

"But our car's on that side," Ari protested.

"Let's walk home, okay? Let's just keep walking. Let's see who can walk the fastest, okay? Ready, go!"

Callie's heart was pounding in her chest, and she kept looking behind. She never saw anyone emerge, no stranger following her. She wasn't even sure what gender the person who called out to them was. The voice had sounded strange. Just remembering it made her shiver without even thinking of what might have happened to them had she stuck around to find out who it belonged to. Luckily, Ari seemed unaware of the potential danger they had evaded and was happily running ahead, proclaiming herself the winner.

Something weird happened. Are you in town? Can you come over? She texted Holden.

Sorry, love. Hands are a bit full right now with a situation.

Callie frowned, wishing Holden had been able to stop by. She would've felt more comfortable with him around tonight, but she knew his job was important.

Sorry to hear. What happened?

She waited impatiently for his response, and when it came, she had to roll her eyes. He was up to his exaggerations again, teasing her with some plot from a movie.

That prophet I recovered got snatched from under me by an angel, if you can believe it.

I can't, but good one LOL!

"How much further? My legs are tired," Ari complained.

"We're almost home, another few minutes. Then you can have as much food as you want!"

The night passed quickly with no further incidents. Callie didn't hear from Holden, but she wasn't worried. He had been incredible to them, especially since Ari's brief stay in the hospital. She kept thinking about the kiss they'd shared, and how she felt about it, but she didn't bring it up with him. They hadn't talked about the kiss. She wasn't sure at first if he was giving her space to work through the trauma of what happened to Ari, but after a few weeks with nothing, she convinced herself he didn't really mean it. She decided he got caught up with the emotions involved and decided the same was true for her. There wasn't anything to discuss, nothing to develop, nothing happening.

As she grew sleepy, she wondered if the dreams she was having had anything to do with potentially unresolved issues with Holden. The dreams were strange, always taking place in the same spot and with the same person, but she had no idea who he was. The only thing she was sure of was the feeling involved whenever she had the dreams. There was nothing she could compare it to, and it was nearly impossible to describe other than to say it felt like it swallowed her whole. Callie checked on Ari one last time before heading to bed, apprehensive but also excited about the prospect of having another one of the dreams. As strange as they were, they thrilled her and seemed to fulfill an emptiness she felt whenever she was awake.

The creaking wood from the porch swing felt comforting as she sat in the darkness. There were no lights, only the moon to illuminate her surroundings. The house was old, a little decrepit, but she felt comfortable and safe. The yard around her was cluttered with objects she couldn't quite make out from where she sat. She could see that some of the piles were as tall as the house, whatever they were.

Even though she couldn't see much, she never felt concerned enough to investigate. That wasn't what this place was for her. This was a safe place, a refuge. This was home. She continued to sit on the porch swing as it moved gently along with the rhythm of her foot, back a little, then released forward a little faster, then back a little again more slowly. She kept one leg on the ground to rock it gently, her other leg pulled up and resting parallel to the ground, her foot pressed against the inner thigh of the leg that rocked her.

She felt the shift the moment he arrived. She didn't look at him. She never looked at him. Sometimes she wanted to, but anytime she had tried to look at him before had failed. When she looked, she could never see his face. Brightness obscured it, even in the darkness. If she didn't seek out his features, there was no added light, just that from the moon. And yet, he shined. She wasn't sure why it was that way, but she had accepted it as such. If she was honest, she didn't need to see his face. She could tell enough by how she felt with him next to her.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come," she said.

"I will always come for you," he replied, his voice low.

"Will you, though? Have you?"

He didn't answer, and she felt conflicted. They hadn't spoken to each other for a long time when it first began, and they didn't usually say much, or even do much beyond sitting side by side. She wasn't sure why. It was comfortable, but she was tired of the same thing.

She could feel the heat from his body as he sat beside her on the porch swing. They were close together; his arm was almost touching hers. She glanced down and saw his hand a few inches away. Emboldened by feelings she didn't understand, she grabbed his hand and held it tightly.

"You are my world," he told her.

"I miss you so much," she whispered as he squeezed her hand back.

"Close your eyes," she directed.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. She had never tried this before, but she had to try. The emotions were too strong to ignore, and her desire of him too great. She propped herself up on one leg on the swing, sensing that on her knee she was just a couple inches taller than him.

"What are you—" he began to ask, but she shook her head no and he stopped his question.

She let go of the hand holding his and moved it to where his shoulder was, her eyes still tightly closed. She could approximate his other shoulder and steadied herself with that hand as she swung her other leg onto the other side of him, straddling him on the swing. She lowered herself down into his lap and felt his hands move to her hips.

"Is this okay?" she asked, and felt his body answer for him.

Slowly, with eyes still shut, she began to move against him. She heard him gasp softly at the sensation. She used it as an opportunity to locate his mouth with her own, and when their lips met, her mind exploded. There were fireworks and explosions of light and all the colors of the rainbow bursting behind her closed eyes at the touch. She pulled away a little and gasped at the unexpected intensity.

"Did you forget?" he asked softly, sounding worried.

"I…yes, but I don't…" she trailed off, confused by his question, and confused by her difficulty answering it.

He brushed his hand along the side of her face. She turned toward it, his thumb moving gently over her eye.

"Your eyes are closed, too?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"They have to be," she answered.

"I think, perhaps, I've also forgotten," he said. "And if I try to look at you, I'm blinded by light."

"That's why I have mine closed," she said sadly. "It happens to me, too."

"Why would we forget?"

"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't our choice," she offered.

"I seem to be able to feel you without consequences," he said.

"Well…maybe not without consequences, entirely," she replied, sliding a little in his lap again and eliciting another gasp from him.

"You feel very good," he confirmed, his hands squeezing her hips.

"I don't even know who you are," she said.

"I cannot recall you, either."

"But the feelings I have, I just…"

"Yes."

With eyes closed, she moved off him only long enough to unbutton her jeans and slide them down with her underwear. She kissed him again, the colors flashing rapidly in her mind like endless kaleidoscopes. His hands reached for her to beg her to return to the spot in his lap until he felt her bare skin. He froze for a moment, unsure of how to proceed.

"Even if we don't remember, and we can't see each other, we know this," she said.

"Yes, we do," he agreed, and followed suit in removing what separated them.

She knelt over him again, feeling him against her before slowly lowering herself down onto him. They both made sounds indicating how long it had been since last they had united in this way. Their pace started slow and quickly built speed. She felt him stand, supporting her weight as though it were nothing to him, and she wrapped her legs around his back quickly. He stepped forward until her back hit a support pillar, then drove into her more rapidly. She was glad she'd kept her shirt on, avoiding splinters in her back against the rough wooden pillar.

He had his hands cupping her butt cheeks, providing a layer of protection against the pillar. As they continued, he moved them again, seemingly unable to contain himself to one spot with her. She felt him sink down to his knees and lay her down slowly onto the porch without breaking contact. He had one hand behind her head now and one at the small of her back. She pulled her knees up more to allow him deeper entry. She shivered when he groaned with pleasure at the change, which caused him to groan again.

"The one thing I know," he panted, pausing for a moment. "Is that I love you. I love you. I have always loved you. Everything I did is because of how much I love you. I couldn't lose you again."

"I love you, too," she said. "I love you."

He resumed his movements and brought them both to the brink. He paused for a moment, and she dug her fingers into his back, urging him onward. He followed the cue and a few moments later they were both done, laying intertwined as they panted and gasped, hearts racing still. Her eyes were still squeezed shut.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

"You hope," she replied, smiling.

She felt him smile, too, as his face rested on her chest. She loved the weight of him on her. She felt safe and secure. He was like the house. She didn't know how she knew that, but even though he was worn, with damage inside, she knew he was home.

"I love you," she said, eliciting another smile from him.

"I love you."

"Mommy," a small voice said, waking Callie from her sleep. "I had a bad dream and I heard you talking."

Callie blinked her eyes a few times, even though she couldn't see anything in the darkness around her.

"Ari?"

"Yeah, I had a bad dream and I was gonna come tell you and I thought you were already awake because I heard you talking. Were you dreaming? Were you dreaming about Daddy? I heard you say you loved him," Ari continued.

"I…yes, it was…just a dream about Daddy. I'm sorry about your bad dream, why don't you tell me about it and then I'll tuck you back in, okay?"

Callie sat up and did her best to focus on what Ari said, but her mind was elsewhere. She was struggling to focus, shocked that her attempt to make something happen between them had worked. She never anticipated it would go as far as it did, certain that something would intervene. Whatever happened had felt so real. She bit her lip, trying to think of who the man might be. It didn't fit that it would be Holden, and she knew it wasn't Dan. None of it made any sense at all, and it left her feeling more confused and lost.

As she sat in the dark of her room, half-listening to her daughter's nightmare, she wished to remember and understand what was happening. She had no idea how much worse everything was about to get, or that by the time she knew the extent of it all, she would be begging to go back to this moment in time and do things differently. Callie couldn't have imagined that getting exactly what she wanted would destroy her life.