A/N Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. We have been in and out of town since just before Thanksgiving. Hence my sporadic posting as well as my lack of reviewing. Please forgive me, my computer use was very limited. But I am back home now and we are in the final stretch.

Thank you all for sticking with me! I love you guys! You don't realize how much you miss something like this until you can't do it for a number of weeks!

Kelby

Chapter 104

Quietly Cass opened the bedroom door and slipped in. Roger had the blankets pulled up to his chin and was asleep. She watched him for a moment. He seemed tired a lot lately and that worried her. When they got home from vacation she was sending him back to the nutritionist and have his vitamins re-worked. She watched him stir and shiver in his sleep. The beach rental they had been getting the past few years had air conditioning, but they hardly ever used it. Between the ceiling fans and the great windows they got plenty of breeze. Especially in their room. She walked over and quietly closed the door that lead out to the second floor balcony to cut down on the air blowing on Roger. Silently she pulled off her tee shirt and started to undo her bikini top.

"That's a sight worth waking up for."

Cass picked her tee shirt back up and pulled it over her head. "Hey." She smiled at him. "Did I wake you up?"

"Nope." He stretched first then grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to him on the bed. She put up no fight and sat next to him, leaning on his chest.

"Are you okay Baby?" She asked him, putting her hands to the side of his face, feeling his head.


"Yeah, why?" He pulled one of her hands down and intertwined their fingers.

"You just looked like you were cold."

"I'm sunburned remember?" He grinned at her.

"And you just seem tired a lot."

"I am tired. I'm gonna need a vacation from our vacation. After spending last week with my entire family here. And this week all of us. You try spending two solid weeks hoisting up Collin and Mattie and flinging them across the pool."

"Guess you never should have started that." She laughed at him.

"Well when I started doing that he was only in first grade. He grew some since then."

"Sixth graders tend to do that." She smiled.


"Yeah. Sixth grade. Hard to believe." He told her, shaking his head. Very hard to believe. Every now and then facts like that amazed Roger. Collin was going to be in sixth grade in a little over two weeks. He had turned eleven back in June. Both of those were things Roger had never expected to see. But he did. And he was grateful for every day. He leaned in and kissed Cass.

"What was that for?" She asked as they pulled apart.

"Cause I love you." He grinned. "Where is everybody? It's awfully quiet around here for this crew."

Cass got a small grin on her face. "Actually they all just left. Izzy, Krystal, Jen and Rich took Collin, Mattie and Emily to the boardwalk for dinner and to go on the rides and stuff. They just left because you were still asleep. I can call them and we can go meet them."

"God no! We get a chance to be completely alone for the first time in like forever and you want to ruin it with three kids and Izzy? Maybe you got too much sun." He teased her.

"Good point. So what do you want to do?"

"God, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I really wanna go eat, I'm starved." He laughed.

"Okay. Where do you want to go?" She asked watching him start to get up.

"You said they went to the boardwalk?" She nodded. "Then we're going in the opposite direction of the boardwalk. But first I gotta take a shower."

"Okay Baby." Cass told him leaning back on the bed.

Roger watched her for a second and got an evil grin on his face. He walked over to the bed and scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

"Roger put me down! What are you doing?"

"I decided dinner can wait!" He laughed walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

****************

Roger poured Cass more wine as the waiter brought their dinner. He suddenly realized she hadn't mention Mark earlier. In the almost ten months since Maureen died, Mark had had both good as well as bad times. Things had started getting better after the therapist they made him go to put him on anti-depressants. In the last couple of months, Mark had actually been more like the old Mark. "Did Mark and Jason go with everybody to the boardwalk?"

Cass shook her head. "No Mark and Jason were going to some bar. Something about Bon Jovi playing there before they made it big or something."

"You're kidding." He laughed.

"Nope. The two of them took off out of there all excited like the pathetic little products of the 80's that they are." She laughed.

"That's funny." He took a sip of his wine. "You know, those two have been hanging out together a lot this summer."

"Well Jason didn't teach any summer session this year."

"Yeah." He agreed, giving her a forkful of his pasta. "But maybe there's more to it then that."

"Roger what are you talking about?"

"I don't know." He gave her an evil grin. "Mark just seems so much better. Happier. Jason too. I don't know." He shrugged.

"Are you drunk?"

"No." He laughed. "I was just thinking, you know, maybe there's something going on between them."

"That's it, I'm driving home."

"No." He laughed again. "I mean, they're doing good. And having fun. And together all the time."

"I see." She nodded slowly. "I hate to poke holes in this theory you created in that twisted, deranged and dangerous mind of yours Baby, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Mark's not gay."

"We don't know that for sure. It's never been proven." He grinned.

"Roger, Mark's not gay."

"Well he might be.


"No Roger."

"But-"

"No Roger." She laughed again.

"But what about all that other stuff?"

"He's not gay. They aren't a couple. Granted Mark's happier but he's also medicated, which is helping a lot. And they both have moved on with their lives some. Jason more so than Mark, but still."

"I don't know."

"I think maybe they have found some common ground. Both of them are single. And hanging out with each other is, you know, safe. Especially seeing as how Mark's not gay."

"Yeah I suppose. Mark's good with safe. He does safe well." He nodded his head while looking at her. He knew he was drunk as the words left his mouth. "Like you. For Mark you're safe."

"I suppose." She said softly looking down at her wineglass as she twirled it on the table.

"It's good. You're safe for Mark. Mark's safe for you. You guys will do good together."

"Whatever." She played with her glass some more. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." She told him, finishing off her wine.

Ever since Maureen died, he'd do this once in awhile. Without really saying it, he'd start talking about when he was dead. She always knew what he was referring too. What he meant. And she hated it. He knew she hated it, but he'd do it anyway. Some days she'd talk and some days she wouldn't.

"Okay Baby. I'm sorry." He reached over and put his hand behind her head, pulling her close as he kissed her on the lips.

*****************

Roger poured more of the wine they had bought on the way home into their glasses. Cass hit the button turning the hot tub jets on again as she slid onto his lap. "Hey Baby."

"Hey yourself." She grinned as he started to kiss down her neck.

"So… we still… got this place… to ourselves."

"I know." She laughed as his goatee tickled her neck. "It's amazing."

"Uh huh." He continued kissing her. "We should… make… good use… of our time."

"I think… you're right." She kissed him back.

"Hey Dad! Look what Izzy and Uncle Rich got me and Mattie!" Collin yelled as he and Mattie came out the back door onto the patio.


"Agrr!" Roger pulled back from Cass' neck. "We really gotta work on his timing."

Cass just laughed at him as she picked her wine back up. "What did you get Sweetie?"

"Hermit crabs!" He held up the little cage.


"Great. More animals." Roger mumbled.

"Shhhh." Cass whispered to him. "That's great Baby. Go get ready for bed and I'll be up soon."

"Okay." He said as he slowly headed back into the house with Mattie.

"Well so much for being alone." He grumbled.

"Hey Davis!" Izzy yelled as he came outside. "You hear your kid's got crabs!" He laughed.

Roger rolled his eyes at Cass who laughed at him. Only Izzy would go there.

"You two do have something on in there right?" Izzy asked them.

"Yes Izzy." Cass grinned as she got up off Roger's lap and climbed out of the hot tub, headed into the house.

"Yeah. Just checking." He called to her.

Cass went in and said goodnight to Collin. After she came back down she found Krystal and Jennifer in the kitchen looking at the three hermit crab cages. "Okay, whose bright idea was this?" She asked them.

Krystal shrugged. "I don't know. The kids were looking at them, the guys were drunk. Next thing you know, Izzy and Rich are in a pissing contest at this boardwalk booth and the three of us end up with smelly little crawly things."

"Lovely. And I thought I only had to worry about stuff like this with Mark and Mickey."

"Never doubt the trouble Izzy can cause." Krystal laughed as she walked out the door towards the pool.

"Great." Cass rolled her eyes as she followed her out to make the most of what was left of her vacation. Smelly little crawly things or not.