It was an incredibly vivid dream, so real Alex would have sworn it was actually happening. Gregory leaned down over her, kissing her sweetly as if he didn't intend for her to wake up. Running his hands through her hair like he used to when he was in law school.

Then her dream was shattered, Gregory vanished as she woke up. His face faded away, back into the depths of her subconscous. Expecting to find the ceiling of Olivia's bedroom when she opened her eyes, Alex gasped and pulled back when she saw him.

Gregory was real.

Real and deeply confused. "Where's Olivia?" His brown eyes were nearly panicked.

Alex swallowed the hurt down into the pit of her stomach. "She's right here." She assured him gently, pulling down the blankets Olivia had pulled up to her chin.

Gregory circled the bed, kneeling by Olivia's side. He reached for her cheek with infinite gentleness, pulling back his hand when he realized how heated her skin was. "She's burning up. What the hell did you do to her?"

Alex pulled the blankets back up over Olivia's shoulder, leaving the bed and taking Gregory's arm. Dragging him to the back corner of the bedroom and staring him down. "Exactly what she asked me to do." She whispered back angrily.

He grabbed her arm and she fought free of him with effort. Alex had forgotten how strong he was when he was angry. "What are you talking about?" He demanded, the volume of his voice rising above a whisper.

Alex hushed him with a hand over his mouth. "Apparently you've forgotten how well she reads your mind."

Gregory's eyes burned at her and he pulled her hand away, bending back her arm. "What are you getting at Alex?"

"Fertility drugs sound familiar to you?" She shot back as she yanked her hand away. Gregory couldn't bully her. She knew how to deal with him. "You pulled off the first round without her knowing about it, can you blame her for trying to do the same thing?"

That did it. She had knocked him back enough to watch the anger drain from his face. His eyes darted back to the bed. "She didn't..."

Nodding slowly, Alex pointed to the top drawer of the desk. "There's two little glass bottles in there that say otherwise. She gets two more shots-" She paused to look down at her watch. "In an hour. I can teach you how to use the needles and you can do it yourself."

All the residual anger drained from his face an he ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain his control. "Shots?"

"You got lucky Greg." She informed him briskly. "The drugs you gave her were nothing compared to this stuff." Taking the bottles carefully from the drawer she handed them to him, letting him feel how tiny they were. How seemingly insignificant. "The one on the left is the one that gave her the fever. Rog says it'll wear off when it clears her system on Sunday. The one on the right is a sedative, something to keep her mind seperated from her body so she won't remember being delirious all weekend."

Taking them from his limp fingers, Alex left the drugs out on the table as she sat down on the floor. "Not so easy when it's out of your control, is it?"

Gregory shook his head as he sank down on the floor next to her. "I had no idea."

She rubbed his knee sympathetically. "That was the idea. Pretend as if nothing had happened when you came home Sunday." Tilting her head up to check that Olivia still slept, Alex smiled gently. "She really loves you."

Again playing with his hair, Gregory sighed heavily. With his anger abated, he felt his exhaustion caress him with needy fingers. "I know." His voice barely carried the short distance between them.

"That's what scares you." Alex finished as she reached for his hand. "Olivia's endless capacity to forgive you."

"I look at her and wonder what I'd have done." He let her entwine her small fingers with his as he stared at Olivia's back beneath the blankets. "If I could have survived the kind of cruelty I'm capable of."

Being present for Gregory's tears was like being allowed to touch his soul. The rarest sign of trust he had to offer.

Alex filled her face with warmth. "Maybe you should just consider yourself lucky." She rocked forward on her knees and kissed his cheek, taking the wetness of his tears on her lips. "Go get changed. I'll get Olivia her shot and let you get to bed. I'm sure she'll sleep better knowing you're here."

He caught her as she stood up, making her pause as he read what was in her heart. He had known her too long not to see her feelings like printing across her face. "Thank you."

Gregory leaned down to kiss her forehead as he stood up. "Thank you." He repeated again.

Alex closed her eyes, not trusting the tears to stay back by any other method, but even that failed her. Her eyes stung as she filled the first needle. She wiped at her eyes in frustration as she moved to the second bottle. Sitting by Olivia's side, she studied quiet face beneath her. "You're both lucky."

Removing Olivia's blanket made her groan softly at the temperature change. Alex rested her hand on her forehead, "It's all right. Your darling came home for you. I think I was a little hard on him though." She traced a neat circle with the alcohol swab on the pale skin just inside Olivia's right hip. "He needed a good smack upside the head, but that stays between you and me."

Olivia's eyelids fluttered as Alex finished the first injection. Her whisper was barely audible, and Alex leaned close to hear her. "I hope you didn't hit him to hard."

Fiercely wiping her tears away, Alex tucked Olivia's wild hair back behind her head. "I think his head is hard enough to take it."

Wincing as the second needle sank into her flesh, Olivia bit her lip until Alex was done. "You're right." She whispered slowly, her words fading in and out. "...heart...soft."

Alex stared down at he as she dropped the needles into the garbage with the others. "His heart is soft." She deciphered after a moment. "I think you've gotten under his shell."

Olivia tried to force her eyes open, but she settled for finding Alex's leg and resting her hand there. "Weak spot...I'm his weak spot." Her fever was enough to even make her hand radiate heat. Shivering got her eyes open a crack. "Cold."

Alex pulled the blanket back up, but the heat from it had escaped. Crawling into bed next to Olivia, she shared her body heat. "You'll warm up in a second."

With her head resting on Alex's arm, Olivia managed the barest of smiles as her eyes closed again. "Where's Gregory?"

"Getting out of his clothes." She explained simply, rubbing Olivia's arm. "He's been in that suit all day, all night too. Turned his plane around for you. Right in the middle of the Atlantic."

"Sounds romantic." Olivia yawned weakly, snuggling into the warmth of Alex's presence. "Are you sure it was Gregory?"

"You can ask him yourself." The shower came on, sounding like rain and Alex smiled sleepily. "When he gets out of the shower."

Olivia moved her head just enough to indicate no. "I'll be asleep."

Letting her eyes close was blissful, and Alex wondered if she'd still be awake when Gregory finished in the shower. "I think I will be too." She admitted as she started to give in to her own exhaustion.

What would Gregory make of them both asleep in his bed? Alex smiled even as she started to drift off.

"He'll have to share." Olivia answered for her. "It'll be good for him."

Even half-asleep, the thought of Gregory sharing anything, much less his bed, made Alex laugh. Her heart rising a bit as she faded into sleep.

Gregory took his time in the shower, partially due to the need to let himself relax - partially because he was too exhausted to do anything quickly. He certainly got more sleep when he was on the outs with Olivia. It was more than a fair trade to have her though. Sleep could always be made up later. Shutting off the water, he reached for the towel he had left out on the counter. He dumped his clothes from the day into the hamper in the closet and retrieved his pajamas.

The gray pair that Olivia thought made him look like going to bed was a serious endeavor. One of the little things about her that always sprung to mind at the oddest moments. Gregory rolled his head over his shoulders, wishing the tension out of his neck. He could relax, Olivia had been in good hands the entire time. Alex had taken good care of her.

And he had kissed her. In his concern, Gregory hadn't even thought about his mistake. As with all things, it would need to be to be dealt with. He dug his fingers into a knot just above his shoulder blade as he crept back into the master bedroom. It took his eyes a moment to adjust, even coming from the soft light of the bathroom. The darkness was so complete, swallowing color and only allowing him the gray outlines of figures in his bed.

Neither woman moved as he approached the bed, proving his speculation that Alex had fallen asleep. This time she had wisely left Olivia in the middle, leaving his side of the bed empty. He paused, envying their surrender. His mind was still running at full speed. Gregory reached down and straightened the blanket over Olivia's shoulder. Smiling at the way she rested her head on Alex's arm, he brushed his hand across the hot skin of her cheek. "I don't know if I could do what you're doing Olivia."

"You are so precious to me." He shook his head slowly, tracing the her hair into curls on the pillow. "I don't know why it's so hard to say when you're awake." Sitting down slowly, he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I wonder, if I tell you how brave you are, would you still let me hold you when you're afraid?"

Gregory's voice dropped, becoming barely audible over the sound of the ocean outside. "What do I do when I'm afraid?"

Olivia slept on, innocent of his concern. Watching her was becoming painful, he couldn't take the fever from her body any more then he could find the man after her. The man asking him to choose. Leaning down nearly close enough to brush her ear with his lips, Gregory tapped the anger he built himself around. Using it to drive the fear back. "There is no choice Liv."

It didn't matter that she didn't know the question, because that was the only answer.

Fleeing the bedroom, he found his way to the kitchen, suprised to find it full of activity. Sean and Ethan took turns over the stove, while Roger leaned back on the counter with a full cup of coffee.

"Gregory! Thought you'd be in bed by now." Roger started with a far too cheerful smile for the hour before dawn.

Sean tossed a look over his shoulder, trying not to yawn. "How's mom?"

"She's sleeping. Alex took good care of her." He replied as he tried to figure out what Ethan and Sean were doing in the kitchen, much less awake.

Ethan answered the silent question as he turned around, still scrambling his eggs as he tossed his dad a grin. "Are you going to have toast ready? Because these are just about done, and Sean's sausage isn't far behind."

Roger set down his mug, jumping across the kitchen to the toaster. "Forgive me, I was lost in my coffee. Too old for all-nighters, ay Richards?"

Ethan set his eggs back on the stove and headed to the cabinet for plates. "Are you going to join us?"

Gregory took a moment to realize the young man was talking to him, and it took another moment to wonder if he was hungry. "All right."

"More toast dad." Ethan reminded firmly as he divided his pan of eggs four ways unto the deep blue plates. "How's the sausage?"

"Looking pretty good." Sean dropped it next to the eggs on the plates as Ethan dove into the fridge for some jam. "Nice eggs."

"Years of practice." The other young man replied as he emerged from the huge refridgerator. "Rose has a lovely kitchen, makes it a pleasure to cook in."

Roger finished with the first round of toast and knives flew to get it buttered while it was still hot. "I bet you're wondering why I've got the juniors here awake at this hour."

Gregory thought about the coffee, but he knew he'd never get to sleep that way. He settled for juice. "I was about to ask."

Ethan and Sean pulled up their stools to the counter and attacked their food as their father's looked on. Roger started on his second cup of coffee, dipping the crusts of his toast into it. "I'm taking them to England. Got through the board we were going to meet and told them I'd come anyway, I'm reasonably capable of running a meeting."

"Ethan's going to show me the Baxter Estate." Sean pointed out as he gulped down his second piece of toast.

Ethan stopped shoveling down his eggs for a moment and elbowed Sean. "You should tell your father what else you're going to do."

Gregory poked at his food with his fork, looking expectantly at his son. "What else are you going to do in England

Sean stared at his plate for a moment, then he looked up to give his father a huge smile. "I've been accepted to East Chesterfield undergrad. I just need to interview for the program-" Ethan elbowed him again and Sean elaborated as his face went pink.

"The pre-med program."

Feeling a rush of pride, Gregory returned his son's nervous smile. "That's great Sean. That's really great." He watched the blush continue to spread on Sean's face. He did have the gentle temperment to be a doctor, didn't he. "May I tell your mother or would you like me to wait and let you do it?"

Sean flashed a bright smile before going back to his breakfast. "You can tell her."

Roger patted Sean on the back warmly. "Do her good to get some happy news. I do think you're going to love it. Not that I'm an unbiased opinion."

"It's a good school Sean. Even if they let the likes of Roger be faculty."

Roger threw his toast at Gregory and the kitchen dissolved into laughter. "You're just jealous because they let me influence the minds of youth, and you just prance about your office all day feeling self important and yelling at secretaries..."

As the trio of men departed for the airport, Roger pretending to complain how it felt like only yesterday he had been flying for England, Gregory finally went to bed. Crawling in next to Olivia without even bothering to feel awkward knowing Alex was on the other side of his wife. Somehow, it made him feel better knowing Olivia was surrounded. Protected on both sides.