The others tried to go about their day as quietly as they could so as not to disturb Peter. Mike had made soup for dinner, thinking it might help if Peter was sick. They were all waiting but he never came down.
"Is he okay?" Davy asked, looking up the stairs.
"He'll be okay," Mike sighed, pouring the soup into three bowls. "He just has a fever right now, I'm sure he just needs to rest."
Davy nodded but Micky turned to Mike.
"Can you get a fever from not sleeping?" He asked. Mike sighed and shrugged.
"Probably not," he said, sitting down with his bowl. "He probably got something and couldn't sleep because of that, not the other way around. Makes more sense that way."
Davy and Micky nodded, both looking at each other and then back upstairs, waiting for him to come down. Peter, though, was hundreds of miles away, in his own world. He was walking again and could see the cottage on the hill, the field with wildflowers, it was all right there, just waiting for him.
He had made it into the cottage, running and practically stumbling over his own feet to get to the top of the hill.
Catching his breath and readjusting his grip on the crate, he knocked on the door and waited a few moments before it opened.
"You know, you don't actually have to knock," his partner said, a smile growing on her face as she leaned in the doorframe. "You live here."
"I know," Peter shrugged, slightly embarrassed as he looked down at his feet. "I just wanted to be polite…I'm sorry."
It seemed he was always doing things he wasn't supposed to. Most of the time he didn't even know it was wrong. But she smiled and wrapped her arms around him, having to stand on her toes to reach his shoulders.
"I love you…" she whispered in his ear, planting a kiss on his cheek before pulling away and coming down. She took the crate from his hands and pulled it in, Peter following behind her closely.
"I got firewood," he said as she set the box down on the counter. He pulled the logs out and set them by the fireplace as she continued looking through the apple crate.
"It's only September 4th," she said, pulling out the different leaves and rocks, setting them down on the counter. Peter smiled proudly.
"I know," he said with a slight shrug, looking down. "It was only $1.52, I thought we could stock up early this year. It's gonna be harder to get and more expensive in a few weeks. I just thought it might help…
She turned to him, genuinely surprised and flattered by what he had done. The two of them had been together for quite some time, a few years by this point, but he still was full of surprises.
"Thank you," she said, her smile only growing wider. "I appreciate that, Peter."
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He was happy, he had to admit. For the first time in his life, he had done something right or done it well and it was a good feeling.
"I just wanted to help," he said quietly, blushing, now feeling guilty. He wasn't often allowed to show his emotions and became worried of his own selfishness at that moment. Was it wrong to feel as good as he did right then?
It didn't matter. When she wrapped her arms around him, nothing seemed to matter anymore.
"I love you, Peter," she whispered, grabbing one of the flowers from the crate and pushing it behind his ear.
"I love you too, Luka," he said with a slight laugh as he pulled her close.
Sometime later, Peter was sitting on his bed, staring blankly down as he fumbled with his shoelaces. His mind was in a strange limbo where he had no control over his body at that moment. He watched himself as he finally got his shoes on and grabbed a coat and hat off the nightstand, hurrying down the stairs.
"Pete? Are you okay?" A voice asked and placed a hand on his shoulder, one he recognized to be Mick from earlier in the evening, but Peter couldn't say anything. He couldn't move yet still found himself pulling away from the touch.
"Peter, you should really lie down, you're not looking so good…" Another said and Peter could feel more hands dragging him away from the door. But that didn't stop him, he was able to break free and run out the door, leaving his captors stunned and concerned. None of them even had the time to put shoes on before they jumped up and ran after him.
