A/N: A quick little line to Livvie712 – You're too, too sweet!! Thank you for stopping by to say hi! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.
My trusty PCGirl – I know I told you I might give you a sneak peek – but in the light of morning (and a little editing) I think it turned out just right. Don't worry -I'll still let you be the judge of that. ;)
I told you we're heading towards the end. Well - we're one step closer with this chapter.
Until 49! xox-G
Chapter Forty-eight
The easiest place to hide was in plain sight. He had learned that lesson well. No one would ever expect him to show up here. They thought they knew his plans but they had no idea. He was one step ahead of them. He always would be. It would be fun being able to watch them scramble to try and find him.
The best thing of all is that they had no idea they were all looking for the same person.
He watched Belinda from behind the shelves and noticed her brow was wrinkled with worry. He didn't care about what made her look so concerned. The truth was he'd never cared about her at all. She was simply a means to an end. It was mere coincidence that her fortune was financing his efforts against the people she'd come to care about.
He watched her face brighten just a bit as the man he'd learned was named Quinn walked inside. He watched with definite interest as he leaned over the counter and kissed her.
Oh how cute. He chuckled to himself. It seemed they were in love. He silently slinked towards the door until he was safely outside. In minutes he was once again concealed by the crowd out to enjoy a soft summer night.
Love. What a worthless emotion, he thought with disgust as he walked along the waterfront. He stopped believing in love the day they took his father's life without a thought, the day Caleb let it happen.
It would be so easy to make them pay. Love. He thought again. Even Caleb was blinded by it. It had proven to be his weakness.
He knew it was exactly how he'd destroy him. It would be how he'd destroy them all.
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Alison turned towards Rafe, tears shining in her eyes as she crossed over to him. She lifted his hand in hers and brushed the dirt clinging to it. He winced as her fingers rubbed against the scrapes on his knuckles.
"Oh Rafe." She sighed - her voice full of sadness. "Look what you did. You hurt yourself." She bent her head and kissed his hand gently.
He was surprised by her reaction. When he'd heard her voice he thought for sure she was going to scold him for being here. He ran a hand over her head. "I'm alright." He whispered.
She straightened up, her spine stiff as she turned to face Caleb. She looked from him to her husband and back again. "Are you two finished?" She asked, her voice dangerously calm.
"I don't know – ask Rocky over there." Caleb said with a grin. "Alison. Long time no see. The years have been kind to you. Don't you look lovely?"
Alison glared him into silence. "Don't try and charm me Caleb. I'm immune to it." She rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, you are as guilty as he is. You just love to egg him on."
"I can't seem to help myself." Caleb shrugged. "It's just…so…easy."
"Stop." She whispered as she moved to sit down on a tree stump. She had to keep her wits about her. Everything was so out of control she had to try and bring a little order to the situation if she could. "Please." She pleaded. "Both of you. Just stop."
"Alison…" Rafe began.
"I know you two had to get this out of your system. I know that – but have you finished pointing fingers yet?" She asked, her anger and frustration divided equally for each of them. "Have you finished rehashing the same conversation you've been having for the past thirty years? I mean – HAVE YOU?!?"
Alison's voice began to tremble as she stood again, shaking her hair back off her shoulders and putting her hands on her hips. "I'm telling you you better have because we have much more important things to do right now."
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"I'm sorry." Kate looked over at Colin as she sat up in bed. It was so weird to be back in her old room after so much time.
"Katrina. Don't you dare apologize." He replied as he took her hand in his. "I'm just sorry I couldn't take better care of you myself."
"Stop. Colin, you take excellent care of me. C'mon. We knew this would happen. As soon as they found out you knew that they wouldn't let me out of their sight."
"I know." He sighed as he moved to lay beside her. His arms closed around her, his hands resting on her swollen stomach. He rubbed it gently, happy to be with her even as worry continued to fill his mind.
Kate linked her fingers with his and held on tight. "I'm so scared." She whispered as she shivered a bit.
"I know." He replied with tears in his eyes.
All of the sudden they knew they had been fooling themselves. Terror filled Kate's heart and mind as she quietly lay in his arms - knowing that despite all their optimism she just might not make it.
Katrina decided then and there that her focus was to make sure that her child would be born safe and healthy. That's all that really mattered now. If she wasn't able to stay here with him – at least she could leave Colin with that much.
She closed her eyes and pulled his arms closer around her. Colin felt nothing but helpless, knowing that though he'd be right by her side the fight was really hers alone.
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The bell on the door to the bookshop jingled as it closed behind someone leaving.
Billie was too wrapped up in kissing Quinn hello to notice.
"Are you alright?" Quinn whispered against Billie's lips as he pulled away.
"Yeah." Billie said with a sigh. "I'm fine – but your mom, Quinn. She got so upset. I didn't know what to do so I called your dad. He came and got her."
He ran a hand across her cheek. He'd had to go through this all his life – between his mom and his sister he was more than used to it. "You did exactly the right thing."
She took a deep breath before she asked the question. She didn't know quite how she felt about all this. "Can she really see things?" Billie asked, her voice a bit skeptical.
Quinn nodded and answered her honestly. "She can. And so can Lynnie."
Billie's eyes flew open wide at the revelation. "OH. Well. That's good I guess."
"Having visions? It is and it isn't." He said with a sigh. "The real good thing is that my mom found my dad and Lynnie, she found Ethan. They both know exactly what to do to make it better."
"So do you." Billie said shyly as she stared into his eyes.
The look he gave her told her how touched he was by her words. "I'm glad you think so." He said with a smile as he took her in his arms and kissed her again.
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She turned to face her husband, a tear escaping even as she fought to keep it at bay. Alison swiped it away quickly. "Rafe. I had Chris come. I had them bring her home – to our place." Her next words sounded like more of a command than a statement. "She's going to stay there until we figure out how to fix this."
Rafe's heart broke as he gazed at her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and make it all go away. But he knew that, as much as he wishedhe could- he couldn't. "Shh. OK…"
"I want to be the one who takes care of her." She said then, her voice sounding far away. She looked right at him but her eyes didn't seem to focus.
"OK Angel." He whispered with a nod. He ran a hand over her hair again. "Whatever you want." He was suddenly completely ashamed of himself. Leave it to Alison to get him to focus on what was important. "I'm sorry…"
She shook her head at him and he realized she wasn't finished. Alison turned and faced Caleb again. "I think you should know. Livvie and Rachel are on their way here." She announced.
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "They're what?!?"
Alison tilted her chin at him defiantly. "They're on their way. I called her. Actually, she should be there when we get back. I'm sure you know that she's not at all happy. It seems you left them without saying goodbye."
Caleb knew exactly how angry Livvie was. His voice shook with fury as he glared at Alison. "You had no right…"
"I had every right!!" Alison's voice rose and she returned his glare before she moved towards Rafe again. Silently, she reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his before turning and staring into Caleb's eyes. "I want you both to listen to me. This stops now. When we go back there and walk in that door you will not start this again. Like it or not – we're family now."
Caleb's brows lifted, showing his displeasure with the suggestion. "Hardly…" He said under his breath.
Rafe fought to keep his voice steady as he said her name softly. "Alison…"
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but we absolutely are." Alison cut them both off. "You don't have to like it. You don't even have to like each other. That's just fine. But this isn't about you anymore. It's about Katrina. She's…" Her voice broke as she gave Rafe's hand a squeeze.
"My baby girl has had to come home because she's very sick." Having to say the words made Alison begin to crumble. "I can't have her more upset than she already is." She looked at both Rafe and Caleb in desperation. "I won't let it happen…"
Rafe finally pulled her into his arms and held her tight. She sank against him and began to sob. He whispered softly to her as he rocked her back and forth. "We'll stop. I'm sorry. We'll put it aside. You're right. We need to concentrate on Kate right now."
Caleb looked away and tried to collect his thoughts. This couldn't be happening. To say the whole situation made him uncomfortable was a complete understatement.
As much as he dreaded facing his wife, as he stood there watching Rafe with Alison, he wanted nothing more than to have her with him now.
