"Well," Leo remarked as he looked around the penthouse apartment that he shared with Greenlee, "this place still looks the same."
"I haven't had the heart to change anything." Greenlee replied as David and Anna entered behind them, "I couldn't even move your old pillow off the bed. I wanted everything to be just like it was when you left."
"Hmm." Leo said with a smile, as he sat on the couch with Greenlee, "Sometimes, I thought that I would never see this place again."
"Well," David remarked, sitting down himself, "you're back and I don't think that any of us are going to be letting you out of our sights soon."
"Greenlee won't, anyway." Anna commented.
"You're damn right I won't." Greenlee agreed, leaning up against Leo, "I'm never going a day without you again!"
"Ditto." Leo replied, putting an arm around her.
"Well," Anna inquired, "I suppose I should ask the obvious question about where you've been for the past 8 months, and why you never contacted any of us during that time."
"Hmm. I guess now is the right time to tell that tale." Leo replied, getting up and walking over to the fireplace, "What I remember about the aftermath of the actual fall is rather sketchy. I was in the water, and was trying my hardest to get out. However, my jacket got caught on something, so I had to take that off."
"So," David interrupted, "that's why we only found your jacket!"
"yeah." Leo replied before continuing, "In a daze, I just kept grabbing onto logs and holding on for dear life. I blacked out shortly after finally making it to shore down river from the falls. When I woke up, I was at the Chateau du Pres."
"France?" David questioned as Leo nodded, "How in the hell did you..."
"I don't know." Leo admitted, shaking his head, "Guy had sent a couple of his bodyguards to escort Greenlee and me to France. I'm guessing that when he heard about what was happening, he sent them to find me and bring me back to him."
"But why?" Anna asked curiously, "What would the Count want with you?"
"Parts of Proteus' organization were/are still active." Leo explained, "For my own safety, Guy wanted me to stay secretly with him until the whole Miller's Falls incident blew over. Also..."
With a sigh, Leo turned away from the other three and stared at the pictures on the mantle. Anna, Greenlee, and David exchanged confused glances before turning back to Leo.
"Leo?" Greenlee urged.
"We had another paternity test taken." Leo reported, still facing away from them.
"Let me guess." David said softly, "Negative?"
"Well," Leo sighed, resting his arm on the mantle, "two blue-eyed people rarely make a brown-eyed one, correct?"
"Yeah." David confirmed sadly.
"But," Leo replied, before turning around with a huge smile on his face, "it's not impossible, is it?"
"What?" David stammered, "It came back positive?"
"Oui." Leo nodded as Greenlee jumped up, "Guy du Pres really is my father."
"Oh, Leo!" Greenlee said, hugging him tightly.
"That's wonderful." Anna commented with a smile.
"I'm so happy for you, man." David said, clapping Leo on the shoulder, "I know how important finding your father has always been to you. Did he treat you all right?"
"More than all right." Leo said with a smile, "I kind of didn't want to leave him. However, he said that he would snap if he heard me say the name Greenlee one more time."
That night, as the reunited couple spent their first night together in eight months, all was not peaceful. Deeply disturbed by the dream he was having, Leo kept tossing and turning in his sleep.
He was in a place that was nothing but darkness. However, a sudden beam of light burst through the ceiling, and he could just make out the form of Greenlee standing in the light. Smiling as she stepped forward, she motioned for him to come with her. The minute he took a step forward, he could feel something grab his leg and pull him into a pool of water. As he sank and watched Greenlee disappear from sight, he could hear someone laughing at him as he fought desperately to get free. Terror filled him as he realized that he knew one person and only person whose laugh matched the one that he heard: his mother!
Gasping for air, Leo shot up straight in bed and found himself drenched with sweat. He looked around the room slowly, before massaging his temple area. The only light in the room was the alarm clock on Leo's side of the bed, which read the time 3 AM. Greenlee, unaware that anything was happening outside of her dream world, was still sleeping peacefully by her husband. Sighing, Leo put a hand on Greenlee's shoulder and gently rubbed it.
After feeling around for some clothes, he found the pair of jeans that he had worn the previous day and slipped them on over his boxers. He then made his way quietly out to the front room, where he decided to make a phone call. Dialing the number from a slip of paper he had removed from his pocket, Leo sat down on the couch as he waited for the other person to pick up.
"Count Guy du Pres?" the French-sounding voice said on the other line.
"Hi Dad." Leo greeted.
"Leo!" the Count replied happily, "I thought I would have heard from you yesterday, my boy. But I can understand if things were busy."
"Yeah. How are things with you?"
"Ah, the same. How is Greenlee?"
"You have to ask?"
"No." the Count replied with a chuckle, "No, I suppose that I don't. Reyes did a good job protecting her, did he not? How is he?"
"I, uh, haven't spoken with him yet." Leo answered briskly.
"You must tell Greenlee the truth about him." the Count urged, "And about those e-mails."
"Don't worry, father." Leo assured, "I'll get around to doing that. Oh! Anna and David had a little girl, who they named Leora."
"Give them my best." The Count said before groaning, "I hate to cut this phone call short, my son. However, my work is piling up as we speak."
"Probably not as much as my phone bill is." Leo chuckled, "Au revior, Dad."
"Au revior, mon fils." The Count returned before hanging up.
After hanging up himself, Leo set the phone lightly back down on the table. Sighing, he looked around the room. It would still be a couple of hours at least until Greenlee got up for work. Laying back on the couch, Leo tried to decide how to spend that time. As he eyed the kitchen carefully, a huge smile slowly appeared on his face.
To be continued....................
"I haven't had the heart to change anything." Greenlee replied as David and Anna entered behind them, "I couldn't even move your old pillow off the bed. I wanted everything to be just like it was when you left."
"Hmm." Leo said with a smile, as he sat on the couch with Greenlee, "Sometimes, I thought that I would never see this place again."
"Well," David remarked, sitting down himself, "you're back and I don't think that any of us are going to be letting you out of our sights soon."
"Greenlee won't, anyway." Anna commented.
"You're damn right I won't." Greenlee agreed, leaning up against Leo, "I'm never going a day without you again!"
"Ditto." Leo replied, putting an arm around her.
"Well," Anna inquired, "I suppose I should ask the obvious question about where you've been for the past 8 months, and why you never contacted any of us during that time."
"Hmm. I guess now is the right time to tell that tale." Leo replied, getting up and walking over to the fireplace, "What I remember about the aftermath of the actual fall is rather sketchy. I was in the water, and was trying my hardest to get out. However, my jacket got caught on something, so I had to take that off."
"So," David interrupted, "that's why we only found your jacket!"
"yeah." Leo replied before continuing, "In a daze, I just kept grabbing onto logs and holding on for dear life. I blacked out shortly after finally making it to shore down river from the falls. When I woke up, I was at the Chateau du Pres."
"France?" David questioned as Leo nodded, "How in the hell did you..."
"I don't know." Leo admitted, shaking his head, "Guy had sent a couple of his bodyguards to escort Greenlee and me to France. I'm guessing that when he heard about what was happening, he sent them to find me and bring me back to him."
"But why?" Anna asked curiously, "What would the Count want with you?"
"Parts of Proteus' organization were/are still active." Leo explained, "For my own safety, Guy wanted me to stay secretly with him until the whole Miller's Falls incident blew over. Also..."
With a sigh, Leo turned away from the other three and stared at the pictures on the mantle. Anna, Greenlee, and David exchanged confused glances before turning back to Leo.
"Leo?" Greenlee urged.
"We had another paternity test taken." Leo reported, still facing away from them.
"Let me guess." David said softly, "Negative?"
"Well," Leo sighed, resting his arm on the mantle, "two blue-eyed people rarely make a brown-eyed one, correct?"
"Yeah." David confirmed sadly.
"But," Leo replied, before turning around with a huge smile on his face, "it's not impossible, is it?"
"What?" David stammered, "It came back positive?"
"Oui." Leo nodded as Greenlee jumped up, "Guy du Pres really is my father."
"Oh, Leo!" Greenlee said, hugging him tightly.
"That's wonderful." Anna commented with a smile.
"I'm so happy for you, man." David said, clapping Leo on the shoulder, "I know how important finding your father has always been to you. Did he treat you all right?"
"More than all right." Leo said with a smile, "I kind of didn't want to leave him. However, he said that he would snap if he heard me say the name Greenlee one more time."
That night, as the reunited couple spent their first night together in eight months, all was not peaceful. Deeply disturbed by the dream he was having, Leo kept tossing and turning in his sleep.
He was in a place that was nothing but darkness. However, a sudden beam of light burst through the ceiling, and he could just make out the form of Greenlee standing in the light. Smiling as she stepped forward, she motioned for him to come with her. The minute he took a step forward, he could feel something grab his leg and pull him into a pool of water. As he sank and watched Greenlee disappear from sight, he could hear someone laughing at him as he fought desperately to get free. Terror filled him as he realized that he knew one person and only person whose laugh matched the one that he heard: his mother!
Gasping for air, Leo shot up straight in bed and found himself drenched with sweat. He looked around the room slowly, before massaging his temple area. The only light in the room was the alarm clock on Leo's side of the bed, which read the time 3 AM. Greenlee, unaware that anything was happening outside of her dream world, was still sleeping peacefully by her husband. Sighing, Leo put a hand on Greenlee's shoulder and gently rubbed it.
After feeling around for some clothes, he found the pair of jeans that he had worn the previous day and slipped them on over his boxers. He then made his way quietly out to the front room, where he decided to make a phone call. Dialing the number from a slip of paper he had removed from his pocket, Leo sat down on the couch as he waited for the other person to pick up.
"Count Guy du Pres?" the French-sounding voice said on the other line.
"Hi Dad." Leo greeted.
"Leo!" the Count replied happily, "I thought I would have heard from you yesterday, my boy. But I can understand if things were busy."
"Yeah. How are things with you?"
"Ah, the same. How is Greenlee?"
"You have to ask?"
"No." the Count replied with a chuckle, "No, I suppose that I don't. Reyes did a good job protecting her, did he not? How is he?"
"I, uh, haven't spoken with him yet." Leo answered briskly.
"You must tell Greenlee the truth about him." the Count urged, "And about those e-mails."
"Don't worry, father." Leo assured, "I'll get around to doing that. Oh! Anna and David had a little girl, who they named Leora."
"Give them my best." The Count said before groaning, "I hate to cut this phone call short, my son. However, my work is piling up as we speak."
"Probably not as much as my phone bill is." Leo chuckled, "Au revior, Dad."
"Au revior, mon fils." The Count returned before hanging up.
After hanging up himself, Leo set the phone lightly back down on the table. Sighing, he looked around the room. It would still be a couple of hours at least until Greenlee got up for work. Laying back on the couch, Leo tried to decide how to spend that time. As he eyed the kitchen carefully, a huge smile slowly appeared on his face.
To be continued....................