TITLE: THE ONE CONSTANT
AUTHOR: MINN
DISCLAIMER: I STILL don't own nothin' - mores the pity - just playing. No character was really harmed during the typing of this nonsense. The creators of Third Watch are, of course, gods. And so are the actors who portray the characters!
I'M STILL foreign, so cut me some slack if I use a phrase or two that don't make no sense.
GREETINGS and huge thanx to Angie (Glad to be back, babe!), Helena (get your tissues out, precious), Juls (Ah the beach...it was wonderful...), DreamLoveBreathe, Winterwolf, Lifesaver55 (I'm still hurrying!), Kate Anderson (Abandon you all? Would I be so cruel?...umm, don't answer that...), Ljae, Deliani, Meeko, mauriceboscorelli, AnnaDelAmico, Lauren Metal (Welcome to the troops! Aww, you're too kind - and I'm glad I'm back too!) and Jazz (Welcome too! Believe me, patience is a virtue when it comes to this little epic!) for taking the time to review so kindly - please forgive me if I've missed anyone. And to everyone else who's enjoying this as much as I am writing it - Cheers!!
AND IF you're ever on line over at 3rdwatch.net and see the thread "TWINZ talk crap Tuesday" is active, drop on in and say 'hi' 'cos that's where you'll find me hanging out - and I would love to chat!
Now on with the show...
----
THE ONE CONSTANT
Part 18
Fred sat on the couch watching as Gracie, freshly bathed and revelling in her clothes-free state, kicked and cooed on the padded sheepskin that lay at his feet.
Setting the phone back on its cradle Faith joined her husband, placing a warm kiss upon his cheek as she sat down close beside him.
"She's all bathed," he murmured proudly.
Faith reached down and tickled her daughter's tiny feet. "You'll be wanting a feed soon, won't you honey?"
Gracie responded with a broad smile of delight.
"Who was that on the phone?" Fred asked referring to the call Faith had just taken.
A warm smile spread across his wife's lips.
"Emily asking if she could stay over at Carly's tonight."
The grin on Fred's face broadened. "You said yes, right?"
"No," Faith deadpanned. "I ordered her home immediately."
Fred's expression sagged.
Faith nudged him, laughing. "Are you kidding? Of course I said yes!"
"So we have the place to ourselves tonight?"
"As long as Charlie doesn't fall out with Ryan and come home early again, yeah," she murmured, giving her husband a wicked come hither look. "And apart from Gracie..."
"So no screaming, Mrs Yokas," he grinned, gathering his wife in his arms. "We don't wanna wake the baby."
Faith began to giggle. "When was the last time you made me scream?"
"Hey!" Fred squeezed her tighter.
"I'd better feed Gracie," she chuckled.
"She's fine," Fred mumbled, nibbling on his wife's neck. "She'll tell you when she's hungry."
Faith glanced down at her daughter who lay contentedly kicking her little legs about with blissful abandon. "So you don't wanna have an early night?"
Fred stopped what he was doing and leaned back, a dopey grin lighting his face. "Now there's a thought."
Faith smiled broadly and then sat gazing at him.
"What?" he asked, noting the contemplative look on her face.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Faith murmured.
"I know," he shrugged.
She gave him a gentle shove. "I'm serious!"
Fred laughed. "What can I say? I'm a wonderful guy."
"You are," Faith agreed, hugging him to her. "There's not many men who..."
As her sentence went unfinished Fred leaned back from her, a quizzical look on his face.
"Who what?" he asked softly.
Faith looked away and considered her words carefully. "Who would have forgiven his wife for...all the stupid things she's done," she murmured, gazing down at her daughter before fixing her eyes upon him once more. "And then made it so she never had any regrets about her decision to stay in the marriage."
An affectionate grin tugged at the corners of Fred's mouth. "Seriously? No regrets?"
"None," she answered softly.
He enfolded her in his arms and held her close. "That's exactly how I wanted it Faith," he told her softly. "I wanted you to feel you made the right decision. You have no idea how much."
"Thank you," she whispered, softly touching her lips to his. "For everything."
At their feet Grace Eve began to let her mother know that it was time for dinner.
----
Early one morning a few weeks later Faith woke to find Fred standing by Gracie's crib gazing fixedly at the little girl as she slept.
Rising quietly she ranged up beside her husband and wrapped her arms about him.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" he whispered.
She shook her head. He kissed her and pulled her close.
"She's so beautiful," Fred murmured softly, his voice thick with emotion. "Just like her mother."
Faith smiled up at him, noting quietly that he looked tired.
"You OK?" she asked, reaching up one hand to lightly stroke his cheek.
"I couldn't be better, Faith," Fred said gently, gazing into her eyes. "Grace is going to be an amazing young woman."
"Yeah? You can tell already?"
Fred watched her, the love in his eyes so plain and clear. "I had the most incredible dream, Faith."
Faith was struck by the air of serenity about him and the look of unquestioning and unwavering trust in his eyes told her he had once again experienced something profound.
"You wanna tell me about it?"
He smiled beneficently. "He showed me how well everything turns out," Fred said softly. "It made me happy."
"He? As in Jesus, right?"
Fred nodded. "To every thing there is a season, Faith, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." He drew her closer and they stood locked in a warm embrace for some time. When Fred leaned back to gaze into her eyes, Faith saw tears were brimming his.
"Fred?"
"It's OK," he murmured, noting her look of concern. He touched his hand gently to her cheek. "He loves you both so much, Faith. I never imagined how much. And he's always gonna be by your side because you're everything to him, you and Gracie. To be what he has to be he needs you both with him. I understand that now."
Faith frowned slightly. "Fred?"
"I love you Faith," he whispered, "I always have and I always will. It's all gonna work out for the best, I promise."
"I love you too, Fred," she murmured, a small sense of disquiet beginning to stir within her, "but you're startin' to worry me."
He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Faith. Trust me."
He brought his lips to hers once more and held her tight.
They had made plans for the weekend to spend some time together as a family. Friday night, however, a heavy storm blew in and by mid Saturday morning it was clear they would have to forgo their original intentions in favour of activities that didn't involve venturing outside.
It turned out to be the kind of weekend fond reminiscences in old age are made of.
In an effort to stave off the sort of cabin fever endless hours of TV had no hope of curing, an impromptu picnic lunch on the living room floor got things rolling. It was followed up by an afternoon trying to make sense of board games none of them had seen for years that all seemed to be lacking essential pieces.
Improvisation became the name of the game, pieces and rules from other games playing substitute roles they had never been designed for to great, and sometimes confusing, effect.
As the afternoon slipped towards early evening discussion turned to where the old photo albums had been stored. As they hunted, Faith remembered there were still some shots left on a roll of film that had been waiting for an excuse to be used up. Digging the old camera out of the draw it languished in, she soon had the family rifling the apartment for batteries with enough charge left in them to run the camera's flash. Then each of them took turns holding Grace and playing photographer.
As she fed Grace, Faith watched and listened to her older children and their father as they went through the albums they had finally found, sharing their memories of each picture. Faith imagined a day stuck indoors playing silly games and going through photo albums might have bored her thoroughly modern children, but they seemed to have taken the greatest delight in every small thing.
It was Fred, however, who wore the biggest grin, one that spoke volumes for the pleasure the day had brought him.
What they had experienced, Faith realised, were moments of genuine connection, moments that were an all too rare occurrence in modern family life. She had never felt closer to her husband or her children.
That night they retired to bed all basking in the glow of a great day shared as a family.
Faith didn't know what woke her. Her first instinct was to check Gracie.
Rising quietly she crossed over to where her daughter lay sleeping softly in her crib, a picture of angelic contentment. Faith watched the gentle rise and fall of the little girl's chest and listened with overwhelming relief to every soft breath.
Having satisfied herself that all was well with her daughter, Faith turned away and stood in the middle of the room, listening.
The storm outside had abated and the unusual stillness of the room began to trouble her. Faith stood listening, straining to hear the smallest of sounds.
"Fred?"
Silence stared back at her.
"Fred?" she called again, stepping forward hesitantly.
She approached her husband's side of the bed. There was enough light for her to see his outline lying there before her. For some reason a small charge of panic began to creep through her.
"Fred?" she whispered. Faith could feel herself beginning to shake.
She leaned forward and reached out to touch her husband's hand.
It was cold and lifeless.
"Fred?!" Her voice was shrill and distraught.
Fumbling with the switch on the lamp that sat beside the bed she snapped it on, blinking as the sudden flood of light hit her eyes. The sight of the ghostly pallor of her husband's skin and the blue tinge of his lips filled her with horror.
"No!" she moaned, exhaling raggedly. "Fred?"
Faith sank down onto the bed beside him and made a brief, yet futile attempt to wake him. "Fred?...oh god...you can't leave me now...not now...Fred? Please..."
With heavy sobs racking her body, Faith lay herself across her husband's cold, rigid form and cried.
-----
TBC - oh man...*wanders off to re-read Grace*...dunno 'bout you lot but I need a happy-fic fix...
AUTHOR: MINN
DISCLAIMER: I STILL don't own nothin' - mores the pity - just playing. No character was really harmed during the typing of this nonsense. The creators of Third Watch are, of course, gods. And so are the actors who portray the characters!
I'M STILL foreign, so cut me some slack if I use a phrase or two that don't make no sense.
GREETINGS and huge thanx to Angie (Glad to be back, babe!), Helena (get your tissues out, precious), Juls (Ah the beach...it was wonderful...), DreamLoveBreathe, Winterwolf, Lifesaver55 (I'm still hurrying!), Kate Anderson (Abandon you all? Would I be so cruel?...umm, don't answer that...), Ljae, Deliani, Meeko, mauriceboscorelli, AnnaDelAmico, Lauren Metal (Welcome to the troops! Aww, you're too kind - and I'm glad I'm back too!) and Jazz (Welcome too! Believe me, patience is a virtue when it comes to this little epic!) for taking the time to review so kindly - please forgive me if I've missed anyone. And to everyone else who's enjoying this as much as I am writing it - Cheers!!
AND IF you're ever on line over at 3rdwatch.net and see the thread "TWINZ talk crap Tuesday" is active, drop on in and say 'hi' 'cos that's where you'll find me hanging out - and I would love to chat!
Now on with the show...
----
THE ONE CONSTANT
Part 18
Fred sat on the couch watching as Gracie, freshly bathed and revelling in her clothes-free state, kicked and cooed on the padded sheepskin that lay at his feet.
Setting the phone back on its cradle Faith joined her husband, placing a warm kiss upon his cheek as she sat down close beside him.
"She's all bathed," he murmured proudly.
Faith reached down and tickled her daughter's tiny feet. "You'll be wanting a feed soon, won't you honey?"
Gracie responded with a broad smile of delight.
"Who was that on the phone?" Fred asked referring to the call Faith had just taken.
A warm smile spread across his wife's lips.
"Emily asking if she could stay over at Carly's tonight."
The grin on Fred's face broadened. "You said yes, right?"
"No," Faith deadpanned. "I ordered her home immediately."
Fred's expression sagged.
Faith nudged him, laughing. "Are you kidding? Of course I said yes!"
"So we have the place to ourselves tonight?"
"As long as Charlie doesn't fall out with Ryan and come home early again, yeah," she murmured, giving her husband a wicked come hither look. "And apart from Gracie..."
"So no screaming, Mrs Yokas," he grinned, gathering his wife in his arms. "We don't wanna wake the baby."
Faith began to giggle. "When was the last time you made me scream?"
"Hey!" Fred squeezed her tighter.
"I'd better feed Gracie," she chuckled.
"She's fine," Fred mumbled, nibbling on his wife's neck. "She'll tell you when she's hungry."
Faith glanced down at her daughter who lay contentedly kicking her little legs about with blissful abandon. "So you don't wanna have an early night?"
Fred stopped what he was doing and leaned back, a dopey grin lighting his face. "Now there's a thought."
Faith smiled broadly and then sat gazing at him.
"What?" he asked, noting the contemplative look on her face.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Faith murmured.
"I know," he shrugged.
She gave him a gentle shove. "I'm serious!"
Fred laughed. "What can I say? I'm a wonderful guy."
"You are," Faith agreed, hugging him to her. "There's not many men who..."
As her sentence went unfinished Fred leaned back from her, a quizzical look on his face.
"Who what?" he asked softly.
Faith looked away and considered her words carefully. "Who would have forgiven his wife for...all the stupid things she's done," she murmured, gazing down at her daughter before fixing her eyes upon him once more. "And then made it so she never had any regrets about her decision to stay in the marriage."
An affectionate grin tugged at the corners of Fred's mouth. "Seriously? No regrets?"
"None," she answered softly.
He enfolded her in his arms and held her close. "That's exactly how I wanted it Faith," he told her softly. "I wanted you to feel you made the right decision. You have no idea how much."
"Thank you," she whispered, softly touching her lips to his. "For everything."
At their feet Grace Eve began to let her mother know that it was time for dinner.
----
Early one morning a few weeks later Faith woke to find Fred standing by Gracie's crib gazing fixedly at the little girl as she slept.
Rising quietly she ranged up beside her husband and wrapped her arms about him.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" he whispered.
She shook her head. He kissed her and pulled her close.
"She's so beautiful," Fred murmured softly, his voice thick with emotion. "Just like her mother."
Faith smiled up at him, noting quietly that he looked tired.
"You OK?" she asked, reaching up one hand to lightly stroke his cheek.
"I couldn't be better, Faith," Fred said gently, gazing into her eyes. "Grace is going to be an amazing young woman."
"Yeah? You can tell already?"
Fred watched her, the love in his eyes so plain and clear. "I had the most incredible dream, Faith."
Faith was struck by the air of serenity about him and the look of unquestioning and unwavering trust in his eyes told her he had once again experienced something profound.
"You wanna tell me about it?"
He smiled beneficently. "He showed me how well everything turns out," Fred said softly. "It made me happy."
"He? As in Jesus, right?"
Fred nodded. "To every thing there is a season, Faith, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." He drew her closer and they stood locked in a warm embrace for some time. When Fred leaned back to gaze into her eyes, Faith saw tears were brimming his.
"Fred?"
"It's OK," he murmured, noting her look of concern. He touched his hand gently to her cheek. "He loves you both so much, Faith. I never imagined how much. And he's always gonna be by your side because you're everything to him, you and Gracie. To be what he has to be he needs you both with him. I understand that now."
Faith frowned slightly. "Fred?"
"I love you Faith," he whispered, "I always have and I always will. It's all gonna work out for the best, I promise."
"I love you too, Fred," she murmured, a small sense of disquiet beginning to stir within her, "but you're startin' to worry me."
He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Faith. Trust me."
He brought his lips to hers once more and held her tight.
They had made plans for the weekend to spend some time together as a family. Friday night, however, a heavy storm blew in and by mid Saturday morning it was clear they would have to forgo their original intentions in favour of activities that didn't involve venturing outside.
It turned out to be the kind of weekend fond reminiscences in old age are made of.
In an effort to stave off the sort of cabin fever endless hours of TV had no hope of curing, an impromptu picnic lunch on the living room floor got things rolling. It was followed up by an afternoon trying to make sense of board games none of them had seen for years that all seemed to be lacking essential pieces.
Improvisation became the name of the game, pieces and rules from other games playing substitute roles they had never been designed for to great, and sometimes confusing, effect.
As the afternoon slipped towards early evening discussion turned to where the old photo albums had been stored. As they hunted, Faith remembered there were still some shots left on a roll of film that had been waiting for an excuse to be used up. Digging the old camera out of the draw it languished in, she soon had the family rifling the apartment for batteries with enough charge left in them to run the camera's flash. Then each of them took turns holding Grace and playing photographer.
As she fed Grace, Faith watched and listened to her older children and their father as they went through the albums they had finally found, sharing their memories of each picture. Faith imagined a day stuck indoors playing silly games and going through photo albums might have bored her thoroughly modern children, but they seemed to have taken the greatest delight in every small thing.
It was Fred, however, who wore the biggest grin, one that spoke volumes for the pleasure the day had brought him.
What they had experienced, Faith realised, were moments of genuine connection, moments that were an all too rare occurrence in modern family life. She had never felt closer to her husband or her children.
That night they retired to bed all basking in the glow of a great day shared as a family.
Faith didn't know what woke her. Her first instinct was to check Gracie.
Rising quietly she crossed over to where her daughter lay sleeping softly in her crib, a picture of angelic contentment. Faith watched the gentle rise and fall of the little girl's chest and listened with overwhelming relief to every soft breath.
Having satisfied herself that all was well with her daughter, Faith turned away and stood in the middle of the room, listening.
The storm outside had abated and the unusual stillness of the room began to trouble her. Faith stood listening, straining to hear the smallest of sounds.
"Fred?"
Silence stared back at her.
"Fred?" she called again, stepping forward hesitantly.
She approached her husband's side of the bed. There was enough light for her to see his outline lying there before her. For some reason a small charge of panic began to creep through her.
"Fred?" she whispered. Faith could feel herself beginning to shake.
She leaned forward and reached out to touch her husband's hand.
It was cold and lifeless.
"Fred?!" Her voice was shrill and distraught.
Fumbling with the switch on the lamp that sat beside the bed she snapped it on, blinking as the sudden flood of light hit her eyes. The sight of the ghostly pallor of her husband's skin and the blue tinge of his lips filled her with horror.
"No!" she moaned, exhaling raggedly. "Fred?"
Faith sank down onto the bed beside him and made a brief, yet futile attempt to wake him. "Fred?...oh god...you can't leave me now...not now...Fred? Please..."
With heavy sobs racking her body, Faith lay herself across her husband's cold, rigid form and cried.
-----
TBC - oh man...*wanders off to re-read Grace*...dunno 'bout you lot but I need a happy-fic fix...