Hi and thanks again for sticking with me. Thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed. Here is the second part of "The Future". I thought it would be the last chapter, but it looks like I was wrong again. So there should be at least one more chapter, possibly two depending on how the next one unfolds.

The Future – Part II

12:55pm

Less than ten minutes after leaving CTU, Bill and Karen each pulled into parking spaces in front of a small diner. It was unusual to find parking right in front of the place at lunch time, but the events of the previous day kept many people at home and off the streets. Those that went to work were eating lunch at work rather than venturing out and into restaurants. A restaurant that was usually bustling with a lunch crowd at this time of day was, instead, largely deserted.

Bill and Karen found a corner booth that secluded them from the few other patrons. It was nice just to sit down some place quiet to decompress. They each ordered coffee and breakfast and found themselves chatting comfortably.

"How long have you been with the CIA?" Karen asked.

"It feels like my whole life," Bill said with a smile. "I started with the Agency right out of college. I've been in counter terrorism for about 12 years. How about you? How long have you been with Homeland?"

"I was recruited from the FBI at its inception right after the September 11th terrorist attacks. I'd been with the FBI for about 14 years at that point. I was bored and I wasn't moving up. Homeland made me an offer so I took it. I was stationed in Washington until a year ago when they asked me to take a temporary assignment in LA. Two of my kids are in college and the oldest one graduated from college and is out on his own. My husband was away a lot, so it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Karen, I don't mean to get too personal, but I also don't want you to think that I make a habit of hitting on married women. You wear a wedding ring and you just mentioned a husband, but your Homeland profile says that you're divorced."

Karen smiled and looked down. She was obviously embarrassed. "You've done some research. That profile isn't open to just anyone. You had to dig to find it."

"When I was told that two people from Homeland were coming to CTU to assist in the operation, I had Chloe do a little investigating. She can get into most backdoors without being noticed."

"Well, the truth is that the profile is a little premature. Actually, my divorce won't be final for at least another week," she said finally allowing herself to smile a little and to meet Bill's gaze. "This is going to sound silly, but I still wear my ring because when I came to LA, I was still married. Brian and I didn't legally separate until after I came out here. It was supposed to be a temporary assignment and I didn't really want to have to explain to people that I was only going to work with for a few months that I had separated from my husband. Frankly, it was months before I could even say the words out loud without crying. When Homeland offered to make the position permanent, I decided to take it and stay here. At that point I kept put the ring on every morning out of force of habit. It also kept me from getting any unwanted advances."

"I'm sorry. I've obviously stepped into some unpleasant territory. You don't have to talk about this," Bill told her.

"No, no, actually for the first time I can remember, it feels good to talk about it. It feels good to come clean and not live a lie."

"I take it that the divorce wasn't your idea," Bill speculated.

"Not at all. Brian and I had been married almost 25 years. We met when we were freshmen in college and we started dating. He was my first and only love. My world revolved around him. We got married as soon as we graduated and we started our family. We have three children, Jacob is 23 and Nathan is 18 months younger. Danielle is the baby; she's 19. I thought we were happy. Brian was in the Air Force for a few years. He flew fighter jets. When he got out, he got a job as an airline pilot. We settled near Washington and I got a job with the FBI. We were your typical American family. I'm not going to say that we didn't have some rough times, but overall, we were happy. The kids eventually grew up and went off to college and, like I said, I got the offer for the temporary assignment in LA. Brian flew a regular route to and from Paris so he was gone about three days a week anyway, so a few months in LA didn't seem like much of a hardship. In fact, I thought that it might be good for us. I suspected that he was having an affair with his copilot, a woman named Joyce Adams. She was younger than me and very pretty. She seemed to call our house more often than necessary and she seemed to be too attentive to Brian. I hoped that maybe the whole thing would burn itself out in a few months and that Brian and I could put our marriage back together." Karen stopped for a moment to take a bite of her pancakes. "I was in LA for about a month when I got an email from Brian that he wanted a divorce. The SOB couldn't even call me or fly out here and tell me to my face."

"So, you were right about the affair but wrong about it burning itself out."

"Yes and no. Brian was having an affair but not with his copilot. He was having an affair with his navigator, a man by the name of Blake Harvey." She stopped for a moment to allow the statement to sink in. "I wasn't dumped for another woman."

"Karen, I'm so sorry," Bill said softly. "I had no idea or I never would have brought this up."

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. Like I said, it feels good to talk about it. Brian and Blake had apparently been involved in a homosexual relationship for about twenty years. Blake had been Brian's navigator since he started with the airline. They had always been friends. Blake had been at our house dozens of times and every time he came over, he had a different girl on his arm. Everybody thought he was the ultimate swinging bachelor. The only good thing about it is that they were in a stable relationship. There weren't any other men, so there was no risk of disease. I thanked Brian for that," Karen said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. "Now the two of them share an apartment in Paris and I'm alone in LA. That's the story. I'm sorry if I sound a little bitter. I try not to be, but it's hard. I never even considered cheating on Brian in 25 years and I come to find out that our whole marriage was a lie. He used me for a convenient cover and then he had his fun, his real love, on the side. In the meantime, I was at home raising our kids and working full time and missing him when he was away. I have to tell you, it hurts."

"I'm sure it does. You have every right to be hurt," Bill said sympathetically.

"So, now I'm trying to figure out how to start all over again. And the first thing I need to do is to admit to myself and to the rest of the world that I'm not married any more." With that, Karen pulled her wedding ring from her finger and put it in her pocket. "There, now you don't have to feel like you're hitting on a married woman," she said with a smile.

Bill smiled back. "It's a start," he said as he flagged down the waitress to refill his coffee cup.

The two continued to talk through breakfast. Both were amazed that after the way they met a little more than 12 hours earlier that they were sitting together, chatting amicably. Bill fully expected to be unemployed by now and Karen had expected to be running CTU.

With breakfast finished and the check paid, Bill looked at his watch. It was almost 2:30; they had been sitting there for over an hour and a half but the time had flown by. "Wow, I didn't realize how late it was. I really have to get going." Bill wanted to stop by Elise's school and pick her up since he hadn't seen her in over a day. Classes ended at just after three so he still had enough time to make it to the school.

Bill held the door for Karen as they stepped outside. "Bill, this is all new to me and I hope I'm not being too forward, but I was wondering if we could see each other again."

"I'd love to," Bill answered smiling.

"I really like to cook and I don't get much of a chance since I live alone now. Would you like to come over for dinner next Saturday?"

Bill thought for a moment. He wanted to scream "yes!" but he couldn't. That was the night of the mother-daughter dance at Elise's school and if she wasn't going, he wanted plan something special so that she didn't spend the whole evening bored while her friends were having fun.

"I'd love to, but I'm going to have to get back to you on that. I may have other plans that evening."

Karen looked crestfallen. "That's okay, I understand," she said nodding and trying to smile.

Bill closed his eyes for a second. He needed to tell Karen the truth. She needed to know about Elise before this went any further. "Karen, there's something you need to know about me."

Karen stopped walking and looked at him. "Please tell me you're not gay," she said seriously.

Bill smiled again and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "No, I'm not gay. I'm very definitely not gay." He watched as a look of relief came over Karen's face.

"Thank God!" she exclaimed quietly. "What do you need to tell me?"

"I have a 12 year old daughter," Bill said matter-of-factly.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed. There aren't any pictures in your office," Karen said looking surprised.

"I don't keep pictures of Elise in my office because… At the risk of sounding naïve, I don't want her to be a part of that life. My professional life is full of terrorists and conspiracies. Elise is my sanctuary. She's teddy bears and soccer games and beautiful smiles. I don't want those two lives to ever meet," he said almost wistfully.

"Your CIA profile lists you as single,"

"Oh, so you did some research, too." Bill said with amusement.

"I was supposed to come into CTU and take over. I needed to know who I was up against," Karen explained smiling back.

My profile is correct. I'm single. I've never been married. That was Elise's mother's choice, not mine. I wanted to marry her."

"Where does your daughter live?"

"She lives with me. I have sole custody of her."

"Where's her mother?"

Bill thought for a moment. He wasn't sure how much to tell Karen but decided that the whole story could wait for a later date. "That's a long story. The short version is that her mother left right after she was born. She didn't even want to have Elise. I convinced her not to have an abortion. Even after Elise was born, her mother wouldn't have anything to do with her. I'm not sure that she even looked at her. I took her home from the hospital and she's been with me ever since."

"You've raised her by yourself?"

"I had some help from my parents when she was small and my sister helps out after school and when I have to work late or overnight, but otherwise, yes, I've raised her myself."

"That's impressive, Bill. I don't know many men who would do that."

"It seemed perfectly natural to me. Her mother didn't want her but I did. I briefly considered putting her up for adoption a few weeks after she was born. I'm sure you understand how overwhelming dealing with a newborn can be. I was working full time and living in a foreign country and I started to wonder what would be best for her. I thought maybe it would be best for her to have two parents who both loved her and would both be there for her. But after I thought about it for a day or so, I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand to know that someone else was raising her when I loved her so much. It was the best decision I ever made. And if that changes things, I mean, things between you and me, I understand. I'd like to see you again, Karen, but you have to understand that I come with strings attached."

"Are you asking if the fact that you have a 12 year old scares me off?

"I guess I am," Bill told her honestly.

"Not at all. I want to get to know you better, Bill. If my past doesn't scare you off, your daughter certainly doesn't scare me off."

Bill's relief was obvious. "Then let's get together again. That night might not be good, but let me check with Elise. If not, we'll just come up with another date. I'll call you," he told her as he opened her car door for her.

Bill watched Karen drive away and then got into his own car. His mind was full as he traveled the 20 minutes to Elise's school. So much had happened in the last day and a half and very little of it was good, but it had certainly ended on a bright note. He circled the block twice looking for a parking space and eventually was lucky enough to find one right in front of the high school, across the street from Elise's middle school.

The high school dismissed 15 minutes earlier than the middle school so the sidewalk and street were bustling with teenaged girls on their way home. Bill pulled out his cell phone to call his sister so that she would know that he was picking up Elise.

"Janie," he said as she answered.

"Hey G-Man," she said fondly. Jane frequently used the slang term for government agent to tease Bill about his occupation. Bill adored his sister, but Jane was politically quite liberal, a fact that drove the staunchly conservative CTU director crazy. "Did you save the world again? Did you have to take out any third world dictators?"

Bill resisted the urge to tell her that had it not been for his agency, nerve gas would have killed her the evening before. "Not today, Jane. We're saving that for next week," he retorted smoothly. He had long ago discovered that it was easier to play along and pretend that her politics didn't bother him than to argue with her. "I'm on my way home and I thought I'd pick up Elise."

"That works out well, I have a lot of papers to grade, so I'll just stay here for a while. Besides, you need to spend some time with Ellie. You need to talk to her."

"About what? What's wrong?"

"She moped around all last night. She's really upset about this mother-daughter dance. I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't open up."

"I don't know what to say to her, Jane. I can't make her mother suddenly appear. Even if I could, I'm not sure that I'd want to." In his mind Bill saw Ava sitting in the holding cell and winced.

"I know. And maybe part of it was that you weren't there last night and a lot of scary things were happening. Besides that, she's a pre-teenage girl. Their moods swing like a yo-yo. She might be fine today."

Bill sighed, "Nobody told me when I brought her home from the hospital in that pink blanket that it was going to get this complicated."

"Stop kicking yourself, Bill. You do a great job with her, not withstanding the fact that you're turning her into an ultra-conservative," Jane added. Bill ignored the dig. "You're a wonderful father and Elise knows that. This is a rough age. She just wants to fit in and be like the other girls. She doesn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," he replied. He looked up and saw a trickle of students leaving the middle school. "I better go. The middle school just let out. Elise should be out in a minute. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, G-Man. Keep your chin up, you're doing a great job," Jane said encouragingly.

Bill stepped out of his car and walked around to the passenger side. He leaned against the door and scanned the crowd of girls leaving the school. Elise came into view. She was smiling and talking to her best friends. She didn't look like a kid who had been moping around. Jane was right about mood swings and young girls.

Bill watched her as she said goodbye to friends whose mothers were picking them up. Then she checked the street for traffic and started to cross toward the high school. He knew her routine. She would head up to Jane's classroom and work on some homework while her aunt finished up for the day.

"Elise," Bill called as she started across the street.

She looked up at the sound of her name. Her smile brightened as she caught sight of her father. "Dad! What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way home and I thought I'd come and pick you up." Bill was so grateful that she was alive that he had to resist the urge to hug and kiss her. He knew that public displays of affection by a parent were a giant no-no for a 12 year old.

"Why are you coming home so early?"

Bill laughed. "It's not early; it's late," he told Elise as he opened the door for her. "I haven't been home since yesterday morning." That wasn't quite true. He had been home for a couple of hours during the night when he was relieved of his command, but it wasn't worth explaining.

"You worked all night! You must be exhausted."

"Yeah, I could use some sleep. Maybe I'll catch a couple of hours before dinner while you do homework." Bill checked the traffic, waited for an SUV to pass him and then pulled away from the curb. "How was school today?"

"It was okay. I had a math test."

"That's right. How did that go?"

"Alright. I know of a couple problems that I missed, but I think I got at least a B."

"Good. All that studying paid off," Bill commented. He watched her demeanor. She didn't seem quiet or sullen in any way. As far as he could tell the storm must have blown over. He decided to test the water. "Ellie, I was thinking, I know you've been wanting to go down to San Diego and do some sightseeing. Why don't we go down the weekend of the mother-daughter dance? We can leave after school on Friday and come back on Sunday. We'll just get away for a couple of days."

"I guess we could do that," Elise said noncommittally. "Do we have to?"

Bill raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "No, we don't have to. I just thought you might like to have something to do that weekend."

"Katie Guthrie decided to have a sleepover for the girls who didn't want to go to the dance, so if it's okay with you, I'd like to go to the party," Elise informed him. Katie was the captain of Elise's soccer team and had been her best friend since she and Bill moved to LA.

"That's interesting. When did this come up?"

"Just today. Well, Katie tried to call me last night, but I wasn't at home. I really do need a cell phone, Dad," she added. It was a battle that had been going on for a year now and Bill realized that Elise was starting to get the upper hand. "Anyway, you know Katie. She hates dances."

"She does? I didn't know that."

"Oh come on, Dad. Katie's a jock. She's not into dances," Elise informed him as if it should be common knowledge.

"You always go to dances with Katie. Since when isn't she 'into' dances?"

"She only goes 'cause I do. Since I'm not going to this dance, she said she's not going either. So her mom said that she can have a sleepover for any of her friends who aren't going to the dance."

"Who else isn't going?"

"Annie and Grace said that they aren't going to the dance if Katie and I aren't going. Colleen's mom is going to be in San Francisco training for her new job, so she's not going either."

"So, you'd be happy just to go to Katie's party?"

"Yeah! That'll be more fun anyway. Can I go?" Elise asked eagerly.

"Of course you can go," Bill replied amazed once again at how something that seemed so important just a day earlier wasn't even a blip on Elise's radar screen now. The mother-daughter dance now all but forgotten, Bill and Elise settled in for the rest of the drive home.

"Guess what, Dad, did you know that Aunt Jane has a new boyfriend?" Elise asked, her voice highly animated as she divulged this new secret to her father.

"Really? How do you know that?"

"He called last night while we were making dinner. I was closer to the phone, so I answered. It was Mr. Nelson, the Latin teacher. Aunt Jane got all giggly and took the phone back to her bedroom. They're meeting Saturday for the anti-nuke rally."

"Sounds like they're perfect for each other," Bill smiled.

"That's what I thought," Elise agreed.

"I hope it works out. She's been divorced for almost four years. It'd be nice for Jane to have someone."

"Yeah, I guess so," Elise replied without enthusiasm.

Once at home, Elise grabbed a snack from the refrigerator and retreated to her room to do homework. Bill changed into comfortable clothing and laid down on the sofa in his study. His head barely hit the pillow before he fell asleep.

Bill had been sleeping about an hour and a half when his cell phone started ringing. Elise heard it from her room and ran toward the study to get it before it could wake her father. She never answered his cell phone since it was usually work related, but at the moment, she really wanted him to get a chance to get some sleep. Elise was just outside of the study when she heard her father answer.

"Buchanan." His voice was tired, but authoritative nonetheless. Elise loved that voice. She called it his work voice and as far as she was concerned, when he used it, everyone knew who was in charge. He only used it around her when she was in trouble and then she wasn't so fond of it.

Elise continued to listen to her father's side of the conversation.

"Audrey," he said. "How's Jack doing?" Bill was quiet while he listened to the caller, only occasionally uttering an "uh-huh" or "good". Elise could hear his voice softening, but he was still all business.

"Then they expect him to pull through?" Elise heard him ask. She could hear the relief in his voice and assumed that one of his agents had been injured in the line of duty. It had happened before and she knew how concerned her father got about the agent and his family.

"Thank God! Audrey, that's wonderful. I'm happy to hear it. How long will he be in intensive care?" Again there was silence. "Let me know when he's allowed to have visitors. I want to come and see him. How's your father doing?"

The caller was obviously giving him some more information.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. So you expect him to be able to return to Washington in a week or so?" Elise assumed that the caller answered in the affirmative. "I'm happy that everything is working out so well for you. Have you called Chloe yet? I know she'll want an update on Jack's condition."

Bill again waited for an answer. "I'm sure Chloe and Curtis were both happy to hear the news. Keep us updated. I'm sure we'll talk tomorrow." Elise didn't know much about her father's work, but she recognized the names Curtis and Chloe.

"Sure," Elise heard him say. "I'm sure she wants to know how Jack's doing. I'll be happy to call her for you. I've got her number. I'll pass on the information, Audrey. Now go get some rest."

Bill hung up the phone. Elise could hear the digital tones that it made when he was getting into his list on phone numbers. He was making another call.

"Karen, it's Bill," her father said. Elise didn't remember his father ever mentioning a "Karen" before.

"I'm sorry to bother you. Did I wake you?" Elise noticed a distinct difference in her father's voice. It no longer had that stern, controlled quality to it. Now it was warm and gentle. It was much the same tone that he used with her. Elise was intrigued by this sudden change. "I'm sorry. I hated to wake you, but I just got off the phone with Audrey Raines. It looks like Jack's going to be okay." He listened for a moment before continuing. "Audrey said that it was touch and go for a while. He spent about six hours in surgery. He had some internal injuries as well as some broken bones. The doctor felt that if he hadn't been rescued when he was that he would have bled to death."

They continued talking about the injured agent for a few minutes. Elise thought her father was about to wrap up the call and she had taken a couple of steps away from the study when she heard him continue.

"I was wondering if that offer for next Saturday night still stands," Bill said. Elise stopped dead in her tracks. She was sure that she shouldn't be listening to this conversation, but it had suddenly gotten interesting.

"Good. My daughter's going to a friend's house for a party, so I'll be free for the evening." Now Elise was really interested.

"So, what time should I come over?" Elise stood stock still waiting to hear more.

"Seven thirty would be fine. Can I bring some wine?" There was silence for a moment before Bill continued. "It sounds great. I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you then."

Elise continued to listen to see if her father would make any more calls, but he didn't. She heard him set the phone on the coffee table and sigh quietly as he laid back down. Elise silently made her way back to her bedroom to think about the conversation. Part of her felt guilty for listening in on a private conversation, but the other part of her wanted to know more. Her father was obviously getting together with a woman whose name Elise had never heard before. She wondered who the woman was. She and her father had a close relationship and they usually didn't keep secrets from one another.

Elise sat back down to try and complete her homework. She was sitting on her bed trying to read and summarize chapter eight of "Tom Sawyer" for English class but it wasn't working very well. Her mind kept drifting back to the conversation she had over heard. A knock at the door brought her back to reality.

"Come in," she called.

Her father poked his head in the room. "What did you want for dinner, Ellie?"

She shrugged sullenly. "It doesn't matter," she said without looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Bill walked into the room and sat next to her on the bed. "I know you too well to think that it's nothing. Are you having problems with your homework?"

"No."

"Is this about the dance?"

"No. Maybe I'm just tired. I never sleep very well at Aunt Jane's."

Bill didn't believe that for a minute. "When you're ready to talk, Ellie, I'm ready to listen. In the meantime, I'll be in the kitchen making some scrambled eggs. Did you want to help?"

"I've got a lot of homework. I better just stay here and work on it until dinner."

Bill stood for a moment waiting to see if Elise would say anything more before he left the room and closed the door. He shook his head not sure what had just happened. In the last few days his wonderful, even-tempered daughter had turned into Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. Instead he walked back to the kitchen where he immersed himself in preparing dinner.

Most nights he and Elise made dinner together. He was a good cook and she was learning. He considered it their quality time together and found that it had become special to him. But tonight he was making dinner alone and wondering why it had suddenly become so hard to be a father.

Dinner was on the table a half hour later and Bill called upstairs to Elise. She came down and sat quietly at the table picking at her food. Bill briefly tried to make conversation but it clearly wasn't working. He decided to eat in silence and wait to see if Elise opened up.

The tactic worked like a charm.

"Who was on the phone earlier?" Elise asked between bites.

"Someone I work with," Bill answered not bothering to add details.

"Was one of you agents hurt?"

"I had more than one hurt yesterday, but there was one in particular that I was worried about. It looks like he's going to be fine. How did you know about that?"

"I heard your phone ring and I came down to answer it before it woke you up. You answered it before I got there."

Lights started to go on in Bill's brain. He realized that she had heard the conversation with Karen. He decided to let her continue at her own pace.

"Who did you call after that?"

"Is this twenty questions, Elise? These were work related calls."

"That's funny, the second call sounded more like you were making a date," Elise said as she set her fork down and looked at him.

"And if I was? Do you have a problem with that?" Bill asked without raising his voice.

"No, but I don't like it that you're lying to me."

"And I don't like it that you were eavesdropping on my conversations. I'm not lying to you Elise. I called someone from Homeland Security to update her on the condition of the agent. She had asked me to dinner next weekend and I told her that I had to check my calendar. Once I knew you had plans for that evening I decided to accept. Is that okay with you?"

"Is this your first date with her or have you been going out for a while?"

"Ellie, if I were dating someone I wouldn't have kept it from you. I just met her yesterday and we had lunch together today. I'd like to get to know her better and she feels the same way. I planned to tell you about the date. I wasn't lying to you or keeping anything from you. I don't keep secrets from you; I never have."

Elise looked down at her plate, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have been listening, but I heard you making the date and… I don't know. I just started thinking about Meredith Hanson. She went to spend the weekend with her dad once and he told her he was getting remarried. She didn't even know he had a girlfriend. And she had never met the lady. Now they have a new baby and they don't pay any attention to Meredith. She hardly ever goes to see him any more even though she's supposed to spend every other weekend with him. I guess I started worrying that this Karen was going to take you away from me."

Bill squinted at her as if it would help him understand. "Honey, I would never do that to you. This is just dinner. I'm not proposing marriage. I'm confused here Elise. A couple of years ago you were dying for me to get married. It was all you could talk about. Why are you concerned now that I'm having dinner with someone?"

"A couple of years ago I wanted a mother. Everybody else had a mother and I wanted one, too. Now it doesn't matter. I get upset with my mother sometimes for leaving us, but I don't really want a mother. We're a team, Dad. It's you and me. It's been that way for 12 years. I don't want to have to share you. Yesterday I find out that Aunt Jane has a new boyfriend and now it's you. I'm losing everyone I love."

Bill pushed his chair back and stood up. He took Elise's hand. "Come here," he said drawing her gently into his arms and kissing the top of her head.

"Elise, you aren't losing me and you aren't losing Aunt Jane. We both love you. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. Nothing and no one will ever change that. I have no idea where this date with Karen might lead. It might go nowhere. It might lead to something special between us, but one thing is for sure, in order for me to have a relationship with any woman, she has to understand that my relationship with you can't change. That is one part of my life that is non-negotiable. I won't compromise on that. You're right, we're a team, but sometimes teams have more than two members."

"It would be a really big change after all these years of you and me," Elise told him.

"I know that, but this isn't a bridge we need to cross right now. Let's see if this works out. I don't know if you're old enough to understand this yet, but someday you're going to grow up and find a wonderful man to share your life with. Then you're going to leave me. It would be nice if I had someone to share my life with, too. Does that make sense?"

Elise nodded and wiped away a couple of tears that had formed in her eyes. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too," Bill whispered back as he pulled Elise tighter into his arms. "Shall we finish dinner?" he asked with a smile.

"I guess so," Elise said as she sat back down. "Eat up," she told her father with a smile, "because I have the feeling I'm stuck with clean up tonight and I don't feel like putting much away."

Bill laughed and tousled her thick brown hair. "You're right; you didn't help cook so you are stuck with clean up!"

Bill smiled as he watched Elise. She smiled back at him. All was forgiven. They could move on now, cautiously to be sure, but with a better understanding than they had just minutes earlier. Regardless of what happened with Karen, he and Elise would be fine. She put it best: they were a team.

I've put a lot of time into this chapter and am not really satisfied with it. I liked the beginning, but thought that the ending was a little too fluffy and trite. I'll be interested to hear everyone else's opinion. When I first outlined this story, I loved it. And I still love the premise and the first three chapters, but I'm really having trouble with the ending. I think writer's block has set in, but I am determined to finish this story before I fully succumb to it!