Author's Note:  For some reason, Word didn't format this chapter correctly.  I tried and tried, but the bolds and italics are all off after about halfway through.  Sorry guys!  The next chappie's all good though!

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            The next morning, Mort picked up the phone and called Dr. Harris' office.  He waited until Alex left for work so he could speak freely.  He bounced Julia on his knee as he spoke.

"I missed one dose – one dose and it all came back," Mort said frantically.

"Calm down," Dr. Harris said.  "Did you get your prescription?"

"Yeah, but doc, this isn't stress, do you hear me?  It's not!  I wasn't stressed in the least yesterday.  My life couldn't be better!"

Mort heard Dr. Harris sigh.  "Can you come in and see me today?"

"I…I have the baby," Mort said, bothered by the fact that Dr. Harris wanted to see him again. 

"Can you find someone to watch her?"

"Yeah.  It's something else, isn't it?  Something more serious?"

"I won't know until you tell me what happened.  Two o' clock O.K.?"

"I'll be there."  Mort hung up with Dr. Harris, then called Karen.  He explained that he had to make an appointment at the doctor's, but was vague about it.

"You too?" Karen asked.

"What do you mean?"  Mort was puzzled.

"Alex has an appointment after school.  Didn't she tell you?"

"She said she…"  She said she had a meeting.  Why would she lie?  "Yeah, she told me.  It just slipped my mind for a minute."

"Oh.  Well, anyway, you can bring Julia by when you need to go."

"It's no trouble?"

Karen giggled.  "Not at all.  Mort, what's the matter?"

"Not feeling the best, but I'm going to get it taken care of.  I'll see you around one-thirty, O.K.?"

"Sure.  Bye."

"Bye."  Mort hung up the phone and put Julia in her playpen – much to her disappointment.  Why would she lie to me?

Maybe she doesn't want to worry you about something.  It's a doctor's visit, nothing more.

"You don't know that."

Weren't you listening to Karen?  Don't you dare start to think that things aren't right between the two of you.

Mort rubbed his temples.  "You're right.  I know she's not doing anything wrong.  I trust her.  Still, why wouldn't she have told me?

I'm willing to bet as soon as she gets home today, she'll tell you everything – if there's anything to tell.

"What should I tell Dr. Harris?"

The truth.

Mort did his best to pass the rest of the morning.  He spent most of it unpacking more of his things.  Alex told Mort that Tristan had an office and that she hadn't gone into it much since his passing.  She then informed him that it was his now.  Mort had yet to go into it without her – today was as good a day as any.

He walked inside and knew right away that he would be able to work there.  There was a large picture window that took up most of the back wall, as well as another, smaller window on the outside wall.  The room was filled with natural light.  Bookshelves were built into the wall parallel to the picture window – he could make full use of those.  His eyes caught sight of a drafting table that was folded up and leaning against a filing cabinet.

"I wonder if he approves of me," Mort said to himself.

He felt almost guilty as he began to fill up the bookshelves, but when he peeked out into the living room and saw Julia, he knew that he had no reason to be.  In one sense, he was taking Tristan's place, but he knew that if he had a family and passed on, he would want someone to love and care for them.

"I wouldn't necessarily want someone that was hearing voices and couldn't control their actions…"

It's not your fault!  You love Alex and Julia and would never hurt them.  Dr. Harris is going to get Shooter out of you.

"He might lock me up if I tell him everything."

He said he's already heard everything.

            "Yeah, but he didn't say what happened to the loony ones."