FULL CIRCLE

Chapter 56

Miles unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn and looked up at the clock, surprised to see that it said 11:00! They'd been so busy talking that he'd completely lost track of the time. He yawned again
and knew he was feeling way too tired to to drive back to the hotel. That would be dumb idea number two since number one had been mixing his pain meds and alcohol.

"You know, Miles, you're more than welcome to spend the night," his father suggested.

"I didn't think I needed your permission to do so," Miles replied. "If I wasn't about to fall asleep any minute, I wouldn't be planning on staying here tonight." He turned to leave the room. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Miles," John McCabe said. He stood watching his son, relieved that they may have finally taken the first steps in reconciling their shaky relationship.

Miles made his way up to his room and pushed open the door. It was neatly cleaned and the bed was even turned down. In the adjoining bathroom he found everything neatly laid out and for a moment he wondered if he'd stepped into the wrong room. But everything else was
just as he'd left it when he'd returned to Medical School after his mother's funeral.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, he studied his reflection, noticing that he still appeared a little pale. Splashing some cold water on his face, he reached for a towel.

Miles had just finished wiping his face when a knock sounded on his bedroom door. When he opened it up, he was suprised to see Rachelle standing there, a set of clothes in her hands. "Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Come on in," Miles told her. "I was just getting ready for bed."

"I borrowed these from John," she said handing him a pair of drawstring sleep pants and a T-shirt. "I thought they might be more comfortable to sleep in than your clothes."

"Thanks," Miles said. "But how did you know I was planning on spending the night? I only just decided a few minutes ago."

Rachelle smiled. "I saw you head upstairs. Actually I got everything ready earlier today and I was hoping that you'd decide to spend the night. If only because of Kayla. She thinks the world of you. And you," she looked at him with an upraised eyebrow, "obviously seem to like her."

"I don't think anybody could not like her," Miles commented.

"I'd like to get a picture of the two of you together before you leave. I promise not to do anything silly like what I did with the bow," Rachelle said.

"Dad told me about your family. I was sorry to hear about your loss,"Miles said softly.

"I guess that gives us something in common, losing someone special in our lives. You lost your mother and I lost Jake and Steven."

He didn't correct her by saying he'd lost someone else. It was still too painful to think about Lilith. "I guess it does at that," he agreed.

"You know, something tells me that you must have finished up whateveryou were doing in SanFrancisco. You just strike me as the sort of person whose work comes first. Just like it did with your father," she told him.

"Did? I can see that you and Mikayla have certainly made a difference in his life," Miles commented.

"There will come a time when you find someone and you realize that work isn't everything anymore," she replied.

He wasn't going to answer that so he raised his own eyebrow and asked, "What were you doing when you met dad?"

She smiled an answered, "I was a psychologist. In fact I was one of the speakers at that drunk driving seminar. Goodnight, Miles."

"Goodnight," Miles replied. He watched her leave and then quickly changed into the sleepwear. turning out the lamp, he crawled into bed and lay staring at the ceiling. He wanted to really find a reason to hate Rachelle. But she was making that hard, being so nice to him.
Sighing he rolled over in bed and drifted off to sleep.

A/N Ireralized later I'd almost repeated a conversation. But I doubt Miles remembered the first one.