So much left unsaid

Disclaimer: Not mine - never were, never will be.

A/N: Okay, no J/K in this one. Enjoy some Helen/ Will conversation instead ;-)

The Fire and the Wood

Promises

(Helen tells Will about the ride in Kevin's car.)

When dinner was finished and Joan had left for her room, Will and Helen went to the living room where they sat down on the couch.

"So you got Kevin a car?" Will asked.

"Yes," Helen nodded, "I got Kevin a car."

"The ugly vehicle that stood outside?" Will continued asking and Helen nodded again.

"Yes, that ugly vehicle. It was cheap, it's roadworthy and it has hand-controls. Will, please don't be angry, I just had to, I couldn't..."

Will smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay."

"Really?" Helen asked. "Because I thought you didn't want us to get him a car and let him buy one on his own."

Her husband smiled again and said, "Back to the chicken and egg paradox? No, it really is okay. But how did you get him to take it? He was really into doing it all alone, wasn't he?"

Helen grimaced. "Yeah, he was. And of course he didn't want to have it."

"But you talked him into it."

"I reminded him of the promise I made," Helen said, "And I told him that he wasn't going to stop me from keeping it."

"Do you believe you can keep it?" Will asked, knowing what his wife was talking about, remembering the day she'd told him about Kevin's question and her promise.

"Kevin asked me today, if he'd ever feel normal again," Helen said. "I didn't know what to say, so I told him that he would. I promised him."

Will raised his eyebrows. "How can you promise such a thing, that's beyond your control?"

"He was so desperate," Helen whispered. "I didn't know what to do; I had to give him this promise."

Will wrapped his arms around his wife in a comforting hug and said, "You can't fix everything for him. Sooner or later he'll have to live his own life again."

She nodded slowly and breathed through his shirt, inhaling his scent. "He asked me if he'd ever feel normal again, he didn't ask for anything special. He just wanted to feel normal and I have to make that possible, I simply have to."

"Things will become normal again," Will said. "But it'll take a while."

"I know," Helen said, "But I'm not sure if he can wait so long."

"He'll have to. Like us. We'll all have to wait until normalcy returns."

She shrugged, waking him from his memories. "I still hope. I will do anything possible, even if it involves getting a car from impound." Looking at her husband she added, "Don't you think we've waited long enough for normalcy to return?"

"I guess that's not on us to decide. Kevin must know when it's time for him to move on."

Helen sighed, "But I can push him a little, can't I?"

Will smiled and kissed his wife before he said, "Yes, you can. I think it won't do any harm. And now he has that car and he's with Luke eating out..."

"It's great, isn't it?", Helen asked and watched Will nodd. "I've been on a drive with him today too," she told him. "We got burgers and the girl in at the drive through counter was flirting with him. That felt a little normal to me."

"Girls flirting with Kevin? That's indeed a normalcy from before the accident. Do you think that's why..."

"... he went out for dinner again? Yeah, I guess. I don't think he's ready for a girlfriend though."

"Give him some more time," Will said. "Kevin's girlfriends will return to our house sooner than you like them to. And then he'll get his own apartment and move out and..."

"Stop it," Helen interrupted him, raising her hands. "I don't wanna hear that now. Can't I be happy he got a car and went out for dinner?"

"You can," Will nodded and hugged her. "And you should." He kissed her again, then stood up and asked, "Share a glass of wine with me?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Please."

He reached for her hand and pressed it. "I love you, you know?" Will said. "I love our family."

She smiled at him. "Yes, I know."