Author: valleya
Disclaimer: KFTLC and its myriad of characters belong to Michael Sloan and others. I am only borrowing them for the purpose of satisfying a personal need for more Fu Fic in the world. We rabid Fu Fans require vast amounts of Fu on a regular basis. Only the story itself is mine as are the original characters.
Characters: Paul Blaisdell, Annie Blaisdell, Carolyn Blaisdell, Kelly Blaisdell, Peter Caine, Kermit Griffin
"The Path of Discovery"
"Discovery," Paul Blaisdell said to himself as he picked up his bottle of beer. "Peter was always a path of discovery for me and the rest of the family, too."
He straightened in surprise, suddenly uneasy that he had actually given voice to his thoughts. Sipping nervously from his beer, he glanced around, and was relieved to see that the other patrons in the Central American cantina were out of earshot. He'd been spending too much time alone. Talking to himself was becoming a habit he was going to have to break.
Setting the long-necked bottle back on the table, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled, thinking of Peter again. That boy never stopped talking unless he was asleep or unconscious. Paul chuckled softly, but the laughter died as he thought of another reason for Peter's silences.
Peter Caine was one to take strong feelings to heart and bury them deep inside until they erupted like a volcano. Paul picked up his beer and took another long swallow before he set it down again, remembering the seventeen eventful years he'd spent with his foster son. He had never known anyone quite like Peter Caine and probably never would again.
Paul shook off the sudden wave of loneliness that came with thinking of Peter and reached for his handkerchief. He wiped at the accumulated sweat on his brow, noting the futility of the gesture. As hot and humid as it was, there was no escaping the daily sweat bath.
Because of threats made against the lives of those he loved and against his own life, the former government agent and ex-police captain had been burrowing into the small towns deep in the heart of the Central American jungle for some time. He sighed, closing his eyes as he wished a sudden snowstorm would interrupt the oppressive midday heat.
He shook his head, thinking the heat was finally affecting his brain to wish for such impossible things. He glanced at his watch, and decided he needed to be moving along. He'd been there long enough. Not that he had some place to be, he just didn't like spending that much time out in public view.
He reached for his wallet to pay for lunch, and was left staring down at the battered leather in his hand as if it contained great treasures. Biting his lip, he realized it did. Carefully, he removed one of the few pictures he'd brought with him from a hidden insert inside the wallet. The one he went to first was a snapshot taken with the family at the cabin soon after Peter had moved in with them.
Paul grimaced as he noticed how the photograph revealed his dark hair at the time, nearly free of the gray so prominent now. And that mustache, what the hell was he thinking? Chagrined, he shook his head until another facet of the picture's details drew his attention again. Everyone looked so young and carefree. Such a simpler time.
Paul fingered the worn edges of the photo, and a great swell of homesickness swept over him. He leaned back in his chair, tired from the heat and the burden of distant loved ones. He closed his eyes as he unknowingly brought the photo to rest over his heart.
Peter swam into his thoughts during those idle moments. But it wasn't the present day Peter who came to visit him. It was the youngster who had entered his house so full of anger and fear, yet so eager to be loved. Perhaps it was the fear of not being loved that had fueled most of Peter's inexplicable actions in those early days, Paul decided, as he thought back.
Paul took a deep breath. His eyes were barely open, but his training and experience kept him ever watchful as he let himself drift back to that time so long ago.
oOoOoOoOo
Paul woke in the middle of the night to find Kelly standing beside his bed, clutching a stuffed teddy bear in her arms. "Daddy, it sounds like Peter's having a really bad nightmare this time."
Annie started to get up, but Paul stopped her. "No, you've been up with him nearly every night this week. I'll take care of it."
She slipped a hand over his as it rested on her arm. "Just remember, Paul, try not to startle him out of the dream. You don't want to frighten him anymore than the dreams already do."
"Got it."
Paul patted Kelly on the shoulder as he climbed out of bed. "Okay, munchkin, I'll handle it from here. You go back to bed."
Kelly paused, looking up at him with worry. "Peter scares me when he's having such bad dreams."
Paul smiled and knelt down beside her. 'He's very lucky to have a caring little sister like you.ཁ'He hugged her and stood. 'Okay, off to bed. I'll take care of Peter."
She nodded and turned toward her room. He slipped on his robe and slippers, shivering in the biting cold of a March evening at the cabin. It was always colder at the lake than the city, and it would remain that way until they got the wood stove going in the morning.
Paul headed off toward Peter's room. His pace quickened as he picked up the rising tone of panicked fear in Peter's voice. There was more than the muffled rambling of a dreamer going on in there. Much more.
Paul was quite familiar with nightmares after spending most of his life fighting one war after another. Many men turned to him in the course of his service as a ranking officer, and by virtue of being out in the field with them. He saw firsthand how violence and grief could torture a man's soul, even in his sleep, but such devastating nightmares in one so young had him baffled.
He pushed open Peter's bedroom door, bracing himself for the next encounter with Peter's demons. This dream appeared to be a particularly frightening nightmare. Paul clenched his fists, and then forced his fingers to relax. It would take all he had to help his new son without awakening him.
When he stopped beside Peter's bed, he noticed a dark, sweaty flush to Peter's skin. Peter had been very quiet all day, more so than normal, but Paul had written it off to adjustment blues. After all, this was still only his first month of living with the Blaisdells as a new member of their family.
Paul reached down and barely grazed his fingertips across Peter's forehead, surprised at the warmth he found there. He glanced back at the door, wondering if he should call Annie to help. She was always the one who tended to the girls when they were sick.
He sighed. First, he had to get Peter past this nightmare, and then he would worry about ailments of the body. Ailments of the heart were far more difficult to treat, at least to his way of thinking.
Peter cried out again, sounding more desperate than ever. "Noཀ Father, don't leave me ཀ "
Paul bent down beside Peter, about to soothe the boy when Peter suddenly arched up from the bed. His head hit Paul squarely on the forehead and Paul went sprawling, caught off-guard by the painful encounter.
Peter rose from his bed with a blank expression, moving like a zombie following the dictates of a distant master. Paul tried to get up to stop him, but his limbs refused to cooperate.
Paul heard Kelly scream, "Daddy!" The fear in her voice clutched at his heart, making him wish she hadn't seen what had just happened. He hadn't even realized she'd followed him into Peter's room, and now it was too late to shield her from Peter's unexpected reaction.
"Peter,"Paul started, still holding his forehead, but the staggering blow proved too much for him and he collapsed back to the floor.
Distantly, he was aware of Peter's strange behavior. The boy seemed oblivious to their presence as he glided out of the room. The last thing Paul saw as Kelly rushed to his side was Peter disappearing from sight, and then his world went black until someone pulled him back.
Paul jumped with sudden alertness, and then grabbed his forehead in misery, groaning loudly. There was a large knot where Peter's head had collided with his. The room began to spin with his movement, but he was conscious enough to know Annie was at his side.
"Paul, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of worry.
Paul grunted an affirmative, but he couldn't make himself sit up quite yet.
"You scared me when you wouldn't wake up."
Paul raised his head, gritting his teeth together as he slowly forced himself up, trying to reconstruct the last moments before he passed out. Annie's hold on him was strong as she supported him and he remained silent for another moment.
"Paul?"Annie asked, bringing her hand to his cheek. "What happened? Are you hurt badly?"
"Wh-where's Peter?"he asked, his voice thick with lingering confusion.
Kelly answered. "Peter just walked right past me like I wasn't even there, and went down the stairs. I mean, he held his head after he hit it with yours, but then all he did was blink and rub his forehead. His eyes were open when he got up out of bed, and I thought he was awake, but, Daddy, he had this weird look in his eyes like he didn't see any of us or that you were lying on the floor..."
Annie rubbed his shoulder. "I came in right after that."
Paul blinked and looked around, still trying to rid of himself the double vision currently plaguing him. "Where is he now?"
"I don't know,"Annie said.
Paul glanced over at her and squeezed her hand. "I need to find him."
"You stay right where you are, Paul Blaisdell. I sent Carolyn after Peter and had Kelly call Doc Brinley."
Paul shook his head as he brushed away her protective hold, getting to his feet. "No, I need to find him."
The room wavered around him and he grabbed hold of Peter's desk chair for support.
"Paul,"Annie started, staying close to his side.
"I'm fine, Annie, but Peter isn't. I've been reading up on nightmares and dreams, trying to get a handle on how to help that boy. It sounds like he's in a wakeful dream...a type of sleep-walking."
He paused at the door, holding onto the frame when his horizon tilted once again. He was relieved the disorientation didn't last long and he rubbed his forehead, trying to rid himself of the lingering fogginess still clinging to his thoughts.
"Hell, I have no idea what's going on with Peter, but somebody has to be with him. He might fall into a ravine or something as equally dangerous."Paul shuddered, remembering recent warnings of increased black bear sightings in the area.
Annie wrapped an arm around him. "Carolyn should be with him, honey. Do you really think you should be up? You don't sound good."
Paul nodded, and then regretted the movement. He closed his eyes, pushing away his personal ailments. "I've got to find him, Annie,"he whispered, "I think he might be sick. He felt like he was running a fever before he knocked me silly. Stupid move, on my part, I should have been watching for something like that. He was having one hell of a nightmare."
Paul glanced out the window and spoke without turning away from the inky darkness. "This is no night for a boy to be sick and outside without proper clothing."
He turned to her in time to see Annie bring a hand to her mouth, nodding in muted understanding.
"I hope Carolyn has been able to keep up with him,"he said, and then realized the effect his comments were having on his wife.
He squeezed her to him, pausing long enough to give her a quick kiss. "i'll bring them home," he whispered into her ear before releasing her.
She never really let go of him as he took a step forward and he readied himself for a confrontation, but stopped as another thought hit him. "How long was I out?"
"Not long. I came running when I heard Kelly scream. Carolyn came in right behind me. I sent her after Peter right away, but you were unconscious long enough to frighten me more than I'd like to admit."
"I'm sorry for that,"he whispered as he glanced out the window again. The darkness was enough to make him curse under his breath.
"Don't be sorry, just be okay,"she whispered back to him as she let go of his arm and knew she was releasing him to do what had to be done. Without another word, he turned toward the stairs, forcing his legs to carry him forward.
"He went down the stairs?"he asked breathlessly as he entered the hallway.
"Yes, and I heard the back door slam as I got to the door of Peter's bedroom."
"I'll bring them back home, Annie,"Paul repeated his previous sentiment as he headed for the stairs headed for the stairs, hoping his message carried enough conviction for Annie to stop worrying. Then again, knowing his wife, she wouldn't do that until she had both kids in her arms again.
oOoOoOoOo