Bell poured himself a whiskey. With Jake, Greg, and Sammie visiting in a week, he had bought the bottle for him, but Bell needed something to still his nerves and a minute to plan his next move. Should he call the police? Or get in his car to search for Kit.

When he stopped off at her office earlier, he had run into Aj on the way, who said she had left with a splitting headache. It would have been nice if Kit had told him, but he considered how busy she was as CEO. Bell had tried texting her multiple times, but no answer. When he had finally completed his last surgery, he came straight home to find her car in the driveway but no Kit. Searching their house while calling out her name, he found a plant knocked over in their bedroom, black dirt everywhere. Her coat was also lying on the carpet; something Kit never did was throw her clothes on the floor. Had there been a struggle?

In the kitchen, next to her keys, he found a coffee spill on the counter. As unscary as that was to most, in Kits' world, it was downright criminal and so unlike her to leave neglected.

Calling her cell once again, he was surprised to hear her ringtone coming from the living room; her phone was sitting on the coffee table. Bell couldn't think of when Kit was ever without her phone.

Kit, where are you? he whispered.

Returning to the kitchen and glancing toward the clock, he knew it'd be dark soon. He threw back his head, finishing the last gulp of whiskey in his glass, concentrating on the burn in the back of his throat to keep him alert. He walked to the sink, grabbing the sponge to mop the pressing spill on the counter.

A knock at the front door caused him to jump, and he darted across the kitchen to open it.

"Kit! Why are you knocking?" he dragged her inside, scanning her body for any apparent injuries or reasons she went missing.

"I forgot my key. Randolph, what is wrong? Did something happen? It looks like you've seen a..."

"Kit, I..." Bell sighed, then guided her to a chair at the counter, her sleeve cool to the touch like she'd spent the last few hours outside Rubbing her arm, he couldn't keep his hands off her now that she was home safe. Dressed in jeans and sneakers, with her windblown, tangled hair pulled back, her cheeks were full of color, and her eyes were bright like she was returning from a vacation; she was radiant. "Kit, where were you? I've been calling you all afternoon."

"Oh, I was just..."

"AJ said you left early."

"Yes, unrelenting headache. I think it was sinuses..."

"I texted you..."

"Sorry, I turned off my phone. I was getting a more than an ordinary abundance of calls and..."

"Then I came home and-there were messes..."

"Messes?"

"Yes. A houseplant..."

"Which one?"

"The Christmas cactus fell in our bedroom."

"Oh no, not the cactus-it was in full bloom-oh." Kit pressed her lips together as she looked across the room over his shoulder. "Well, that would explain," Bell followed her gaze to see their cat Elka walking into the kitchen, her once white paws now black and filthy. She left small, black prints behind her. "I'm afraid our daft feline will never understand the difference between potting soil and cat litter." Her eyebrows raised, "Did a fallen houseplant leave you that frazzled, darling?"

She was now smiling, and Bell finally felt he could breathe. His eyes narrowed as he realized he may have overreacted, and he began to feel irrational. "Well-then there was also your misplaced coat."

"My coat?"

"On the floor and not on a hangar."

Kit smiled as she stood and grasped his arms, "Randolph. I assure you, that was not meant to cause you alarm." She took a second to rub his shoulders, "My, my, you feel tense." Smiling, Kit lowered her head to make eye contact, "Were you worried about me, dear man?"

Bell felt his shoulders drop with relief as he shyly smiled. He stepped closer to her and grasped her face in his hands, "Will you please tell me where you were." His voice was soft as he breathed in her presence.

"I was only at the park..."

"The one with the small flower garden?"

She nodded as his hands dropped onto her shoulders, "I needed a much-needed break, so I walked there and found a quiet refuge on a bench in front of the turtle pond. I had meant to call you, but I had misplaced my phone. But, the quiet-oh, the sun was soft, warm, the ducks floating on the pond, the kids laughing on the swings, it was glorious, and I uh, fell asleep." Biting her bottom lip, she gave him a sideways glance. Her apologetic expression was too adorable to let him be angry with her.

Bell smiled. Kit had done what he had asked her to do for the last few weeks-took some time for herself, even if it was for only one afternoon. "Kit?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I won't, Randolph. I won't." He pulled her in for a kiss. Her lips were still cool to the touch from the fresh late afternoon air.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she leaned against him, "Now, let's head upstairs so I can warm you up," he suggested as he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her into a small hug.

"That would be wonderful."