A/N: Happy New Year!!

Hope you had a nice holiday! Mine was fantastic. I've had tons of time to write and truth be told I'm now caught up in the ending of the story. That's all planned. How to get there? I'll be the first one to tell you I have no clue!!!

LOL! Yep – Melody, Poor Kyle. The moment of truth has arrived.

PCGirl – I'm glad you enjoyed your present. ;) It was my pleasure to write it.

Ali – thank you so much for your sweet words. You are most welcome :) and your reviews always make me smile.

As does this chapter when I think about it. Boy is Rafe in trouble. heeheehee :)

So. Without further adieu…enjoy! xox-G

Chapter Forty-three

"Becky. You're killing me here. Please. Stop with the pacing." Grant said with a sigh as he watched his sister wear a hole in the floor.

"He's going to kill him." She whispered as she nibbled on her nails.

"He's not going to kill him." Grant replied. He couldn't resist adding. "He just might maim him a little."

Becky stopped pacing and gave him a terrified look. "It's so not fair. You got off way easier just because you're a boy. God. Dad can be such a Neanderthal."

Grant stood and walked to her, ruffling her hair a bit. "Relax Squirt. Mom's in there too. She won't let anything happen to him."

Becky took a deep breath and took a seat. She gazed up at her brother and tried to decide whether or not it was a good idea to ask him. Maybe she should just call Katie instead.

She finally figured she had nothing to lose. She sounded much younger than her seventeen years as she whispered. "Hey Grant? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. You can ask me anything – you know that." Grant replied with a smile as he sat beside her.

"How did you know you loved Chloe? I mean. How did you know it's wasn't just a crush or something?"

Grant's face lost it's color. This would be what she wanted to know. "Becks…"

She kept talking, nearly a mile a minute. "I mean. I know I like Kyle – and I think I like him as more than a friend – you know? And I get the idea he likes me but I might be wrong. I've never really liked anyone before so maybe I'm just being silly. Maybe it's not serious. I mean, Katie went out with Danny first and Mom went out with Uncle Jamal so who says the first guy I actually like spending time with is really the one? No one right? And see if it's not serious then Dad doesn't need to worry. If it's not serious then he's got nothing to worry about. And if he's not worried he won't end up here again. So. That's it. I'm not in love with Kyle." She said as she stared at him, her voice and her gaze both serious.

Grant took her hand and tried not to laugh, despite how uncomfortable the subject made him. "OK. Squirt. Take a deep breath. That was quite a little speech."

"Grant…" Becky pleaded. "Help me."

His voice got soft as he began. "OK. Look. The idea of some guy being interested in you? Let me just say first off that I don't like it much more than Dad does – alright? I know you're not a kid but I'm sorry to say that I still think of you as one. I swear when I look at you your hair is in pigtails and you're wearing some sort of fairy princess costume."

"Grant…" Becky blushed.

He smiled at her. "It's true. But that's not what you want to know is it? Look – honestly? I really can't deal with talking about you and this Kyle kid so let me answer your question. You want to know how I knew I loved Chloe?"

Becky nodded. "Yeah…"

Grant's eyes filled with love as he began talking about his favorite subject. "At first I just though she was pretty – you know – at the time when I started to realize all girls were not like my sisters I realized that I liked looking at her the most.Chloe was different from the other girls in my class. Maybe it was her curly hair or something - I don't really know. But for the longest time I just wondered what it would feel like if I got a chance run my hand through it. Weird huh?"

Becky shook her head at him. She didn't think it was weird. She thought it was incredibly sweet.

Remembering made him realize something. "You know – I always say I don't know exactly when it happened but now that you're asking me I think that I do. It was this day when were like thirteen and we were sitting outside on the swings just talking. I could always talk to Chloe. So anyway this day she just turned and she smiled at me. She didn't say anything – just gave me a smile. And that was it. I was a goner. From that moment on all I knew was that I wanted to see her smile like that at me forever."

Grant shook his head and sighed. Becky hung on his every word. "Then – things got complicated. I got scared and she got tired of waiting and we wasted a lot of time. And it seemed we didn't learn our lesson because later she got scared and I let her go. It's over now but being away from her was like being half alive. If we hadn't gotten our acts together I know one thing for sure. I'd have lived alone for the rest of my life – because without her – only part of me exists."

Becky wrung her hands nervously and looked up at him. "I was watching him walkout the door and it felt like someone slapped me." She said softly. "When he came back in I finally started to breathe again."

Oh brother. Grant thought to himself. This was his father's worst nightmare.

She saw the change in Grant's expression and fought to reassure him. "I felt that way and I haven't even kissed him yet. Grant I swear I haven't even come close…"

"Thank heaven for small favors." He mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Becky asked.

"Nothing." He threw her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Well kiddo. I think you might have your answer."

"Yeah." Becky replied dreamily. "I think I might."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Kyle, honey. Relax. He's harmless." Alison said with a laugh.

"He doesn't look harmless." Kyle whispered back, terrified. "He looks like he can break me in two – even while he's in a hospital bed."

"So. You're Gerald's son?" Rafe barked by way of saying hello.

"Yes sir." Kyle said softly, still scared to death.

"Oh God Rafe. Please. What the hell is wrong with you?" She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a stern look. "Kyle – this is my incredibly rude husband Rafe Kovich. Rafe." She said, continuing to glare at him. "This is the very well mannered Kyle Arceneaux. I believe you might be acquainted with his father. And not only that, you could probably take a lesson or two from him on how to act when meeting someone for the first time."

Rafe held back a smile. He couldn't help but think she sounded like her Nana when she scolded him that way. Once a Barrington – always a Barrington. He thought to himself.

"Hi Kyle." He said, his voice less tense this time.

Kyle drummed up all his courage and tried again. "Nice to meet you Mr. Kovich."

"You too." He said with a hint of a grin. "So. How's your father? I haven't seen or heard from him in years."

"He's not so good, sir." Kyle replied, his eyes full of sadness "I'm sorry to say, he's not good at all."

"Is he ill?" Rafe asked then.

"No – he's…maybe heartbroken would be the right word for it." He said, looking a bit heartbroken himself. "It's my mother, and my sister. They left us a while back. He's not been the same since then."

It seemed there was a big story here. Both Rafe and Alison wondered how much Kyle would reveal.

"What brings you to Port Charles?" Rafe asked as he watched Kyle take a seat next to his beside. "You've been spending a lot of time with my daughter I hear."

"Yeah." Kyle sighed at the thought of Becky. He blushed and caught himself. "I mean. Yes sir. She's been helping me. Your son too. They've been great."

Rafe narrowed his eyes at him. "Helping you what?"

Kyle cleared his throat and tried to explain. "They've been helping me to train. You see. My dad - he just about gave up when my mom left and because of it I stopped training. I know there's trouble – but I don't know what to do to fight it.That's how I started to look for Becky. My dad told me about her years ago. I knew that she already had experience in slaying. So I came here, hoping she would help me."

"And that's it?" Rafe prompted, completely stuck on the wrong part of this equation. All he heard was that Kyle had come looking for Becky. He completely missed the part about trouble coming.

Kyle blinked, not understanding what he meant. "I'm sorry sir?"

"That's all? You just want her help?" Rafe asked again, but to all those in earshot is sounded more like an accusation. "That's all your after?"

Kyle was visibly shaken. He didn't know what to do or say. He stood there stunned speechless.

Luckily there was someone to come to his resuce.

"Oh - kay. That's enough." Alison said as she gave Rafe a glare that could shatter glass. "This isn't going well at all. Alright. Let's see what we can all agree on. Can we agree Becky's a lovely girl?"

Both Rafe and Kyle nodded.

"Good." She replied with a sigh. "That's a start at least. OK. Can we agree she's sweet and kind and exactly the kind of person you would want as a friend?"

"Sure." Kyle said softly, afraid to give more than one word answers.

"Rafe?" Alison glared at him again.

"Yes. Of course." He replied with a frown. Alison looked like she wanted to hit him. He knew he was in for it now.

"OK." Alison was ready to finish this little discussion. "Can we also agree that she's quite intelligent and capable of taking care of herself?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded, a bit confused about all of this.

"RAFE." She said when she realized her husband had failed to answer her question.

"Yes." He grumbled.

"Fabulous." Alison said with a smile, still furious at Rafe but not wanting to make a worse impression on Kyle. "Kyle. Becky's outside. Why don't you go and see her?"

"OK." Kyle tried to hide his sigh of relief. "It really was nice to meet you Mrs. Kovich." He beat a path to the door. He stopped before he opened it and added. "You too Mr. Kovich."

Rafe knew he had to start apologizing – and fast. "I'm sorry…" Rafe said to Alison as Kyle made his way out the door.

"Don't even talk to me." She said as she walked over to a table and picked up her purse.

"I should have been nicer." Rafe added.

"That's an understatement." She growled at him. "I'm going home. Goodnight."

God she was madder than he realized. He fought to get back on her good side. "Angel – hold on."

"Do not call me that." She warned him. Rafe tried to speak again and she cut him off sharply. "NO. Get this straight." She said as she glared at him. "I don't find this cute and I don't find it charming. Getting all riled up because your daughters are in danger is one thing. Being rude and scaring a kid to death simply because you can is another."

She whirled around and stormed towards the door. "You sit here tonight and you decide what's important to you."

"Alison…"

"Maybe one of your children or friends will find it in their hearts to come and bring you home tomorrow because I'm telling you one thing – it's not going to be me." She promised him.

"Alison…" Rafe begged. A few days ago she had called him the best husband in the whole wide world. How on earth had he fallen so far - so fast? Because you're being an idiot. He scolded himself. He fought to find the right words as he watched her reach for the doorknob.

"You'll never learn will you?" She said as she shook her head at him and slammed the door behind her.