10:00 pm

The house was quiet now; Myles was just putting away the last of the good china in the hutch in the dining room when Elizabeth got back from taking Connie to the train station.

"So how come Connie didn't fly down?" he asked, turning to give her a kiss. "It would have been a lot shorter, and she could have had more time here."

She leaned against the china hutch. "A lot of times, being deaf has some other side effects— one of them being that it messes with your inner ear in other ways as well. The pressure from the altitude changes can give her a fair amount of pain, so Connie avoids flying if she can."

"Ah. Makes sense."

"Oh, by the way," she smiled at him. "Another note for your ASL skill-building. You don't have to include ME when you say 'Excuse me, please.' It's understood."

"Ok. Thank you." He signed it as well as spoke it.

"This was really nice today," Elizabeth said. "I mean, I know you like this place because it's a quiet escape most of the time, but having it filled with 'family,' so to speak—"

"— is a nice vision of what we have to look forward to?" He set the last dish in place and pulled her into his arms. "I know; I felt that same thing today."

She looked up at him, a touch of surprise on her face. "You're really ready to do this, aren't you?"

"Why does that surprise you?" he replied, stroking her cheek. "If I wasn't ready for it, I wouldn't have proposed." He reached over and flipped off the CD that had been looping all day as background music, switching over to the radio instead. "I'm not Bobby, sweetheart; I was just waiting for the right person, not clinging to bachelorhood until my dying breath."

Elizabeth laughed. "Well, then I suppose we should get a date set, huh?"

"In a minute." A song had come on the radio that sealed the moment for them. He pulled her into a slow dance, letting the lyrics wind their way around and through them both:

We've only just begun to live,

White lace and promises,

A kiss for luck, and we're on our way.

Before the rising sun, we smile,

So much of life ahead,

We'll find a place where there's room to grow…

She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder, letting the promises of tomorrow fill her with a warmth that…

Oh, no… no… A cold chill was creeping across her mind as the scene from the last time they'd danced together in the dining room came back with a vengeance. Not the dance itself; but the situation and who had been observing them the entire time.

Get out of my head, Graham, she fought desperately. A bone-deep shaking was starting as well; her arms tightened around Myles as she tried to hold it off, and he pulled back to look at her.

"Uh-oh," he said quietly, knowing full well what was happening. He took her weight in his arms as her legs gave out and she started to cry. Settling them both gently on the floor, he held her tightly, knowing it was the only thing he could do until she'd released whatever it was that had come back to her. Damn you, Evan Graham, he thought fiercely. Get out of our lives already.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth wiped at her eyes and looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Aren't you the one who's always giving me a hard time about apologizing too much?" he responded with a smile, pulling out a handkerchief and drying her tears. "Seems to me it's only fair you follow your own rules."

It had the desired response; she laughed slightly as she leaned against him again. "We just haven't spent much time in here since… oh, I hate that I can't look back on that incredible evening you created without remembering that he was watching us the whole time."

Myles took her shoulders and pulled her back so he could look at her directly. "Maybe this is going to be harder than we expected, especially since so much of it focused on both of our homes." He thought for a minute. "What would you say if we sold both places, and bought a new one? Start fresh?"

She shook her head angrily. "No, Myles. I will not let him run us out of here as well. I love this house, and I know you do, too. You told me you spent a month looking for a 'perfect' place, and you found it. I want to build our life together here." She got to her feet abruptly, and walked over to the French doors. In a single motion, she grasped the door handles and swung the doors open.

A full moon illuminated the snow-covered ground, and the trees glistened. There was no wind; just silence. She gazed purposely at the tall oak tree a couple of streets over where SOG had determined Graham had been perched the night he was watching them and photographing them together.

Myles walked over to her and put his arms around her from behind. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "It's just a house; if it's going to continue to prompt bad memories…"

She leaned back against him. "I'm sure," she said firmly. "And I had an idea this afternoon. You know Sam mentioned buying my place? What if I suggested Rachel's place instead? Connor's having an awful time selling it; he feels he has to disclose the fact that a murder took place there, and that's making it hard. His family could use the money right now. I don't need to sell mine for awhile yet, and I don't need to let anyone know about that mess Graham left in my bedroom."

"I think that might work. I don't know how Tara will feel about that, but it's certainly worth suggesting."

"Tara," said a voice from behind, "already mentioned it. She likes the farmhouse layout, and 'Fin can run laps on the porch." Sam was leaning against the doorsill, arms folded over his chest. "Or, I could just spring for all three places, and you'd all be set for life."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Not this place, Sam. I'm not going to let Graham do that. And you really don't need two homes down here, unless you think Gregory needs a break."

Sam chuckled. "There are days that I suspect he does. We can talk about it later, though." He straightened, stretching a bit. "Well, kids, I think I'm gonna snatch a piece of pie and go wind down with a little MarioKart64. Have fun." He headed for the kitchen.

Elizabeth sighed. "Too bad we're long past that song on the radio. I'd like to try this again. With those doors still open."

A smile spread across Myles' face. "Well, if you swear never to reveal this little secret to my 'macho' co-workers…" He went over to the smaller CD rack he kept in the dining room and pulled one out. He waved it at her. "Throwback to high school. Had to add it to the collection."

She grinned at him. "Bet the Carpenters came in handy for schmoozing the girls, huh?"

"Admittedly." He set up the right track and walked back over to her. "But now there's only one girl I'm planning on 'schmoozing' for the rest of my life, so…" He drew her into his arms again as the music started. "So, do we want to start talking about a date, here, or you just want a little recovery time?"

She smiled up at him. "I say we set a date right now. Or, after this song is done." She moved closer to him, and gave him a gentle kiss as the music wrapped around them again.

We've only just begun…