Paul held Peter's letter in his hand and turned to put it away. It was time to stop torturing himself over absent loved ones. Maybe with a little sleep, he could fall back into his regular routine. He certainly wasn't going to accomplish a thing without some sleep.

Still, he couldn't make himself put that last letter back into the flash bag. He hefted it in his hand for another moment before he sat down and opened it up again. In an instant, Peter was back with him, heart and soul.

'I know you think that I just rush into life-threatening situations without thinking them through, but I want you to know I've thought a lot about it (especially when I was in the hospital the last time).

'I think I do what I do because life is more precious to me than it is for most people. I know what it's like to lose those I love. I know the life-altering heartache that can follow. And because of that, I fight that much harder to save any life when given the opportunity.

'Those losses make me appreciate the people I have in my life so much more. I guess that's why it's so hard for me when you or Pop disappear from my daily life. I mean, I know you are okay, because I'd feel it in my gut if something ever happened to either one of you, but not seeing you on a regular basis hurts like hell.

'While I respect your decision to leave, I can't make myself like it. It's something I battle with daily, mostly because I don't understand it. I don't understand why we can't make a stand and fight for your freedom and safety. I don't understand why we are just giving into this. On the other hand, I don't understand why Pop takes off at a moment's notice, putting the problems of others above his own, either.'

Paul bit his lip, feeling Peter's frustration radiate off the page, upset because he had felt similar emotions himself, but there was nothing that could be done until other matters were resolved.

'I guess I'm not very good at accepting decisions I don't understand, but I love you both, so I have to respect the decisions the two of you have made, and maybe I'll eventually accept them to a certain degree.

'I don't expect you guys to be perfect. I'm probably the first one to understand learning from one's mistakes. Sometimes, I wonder if that's the only way I really learn anything. But I do know from my teachings at the temple that by making mistakes, we learn compassion for others. Without trying to be more than we are, we would never know failure. And by continuing to try, by continuing to work past our failures, we discover things about ourselves and others that we would never learn otherwise. So, I'm gonna keep trying to understand.'

Paul smoothed out a wrinkle in the paper, carefully protecting the written words. Peter's last statements had indicated growth and patience on his part. Paul wanted so much to see that change in Peter for himself.

'I know how you worry about me, Dad, especially at times when you get the kind of news Mom had to tell you last time. I can just see you pacing wherever you are, knowing that I was close to death and that there was nothing you could do to help me. I'm sorry to put you through times like that. I'd like to be able to promise that it would never happen again but I can't. I can't because I think danger lurks all around us, all the time. It's just I seem to find it more often than others. (Hey, I heard that laugh!)'

Paul chuckled, even though he'd read that line countless times. It was Peter through and through, but then Peter's tone turned more serious again.

'I don't know, maybe I'm more attuned to the kind of vibes that danger puts out or something, but it's there. Sometimes, you just have to close your eyes to the danger present and run headlong into it, trusting in a benevolent force to see you through.

'You were the one who once told me some of the best things that ever happened to you happened while you were on your way to something else. Boom, and your life is changed forever.

'You see, I think there's goodness that constantly surrounds us all, too. And the only thing that keeps us from fully experiencing it is a malevolent force, a counter-balance to all that is good in the world. Boom, and your life is changed forever. It's that balance of good and evil around us all the time that influences our lives, shaping and molding us into the people we are meant to be.

'Terrible things have happened in my life. Boom, and the idyllic life I knew at the temple was suddenly gone. My father was dead. Hell, I almost died. Terrible, horrible events.

'Then I was at the orphanage, fully believing I would be there until I turned eighteen. I knew where I was going and it was nowhere fast. One day, I was playing basketball and there you were. You walked into my life almost by accident, and my life was forever changed.

'I guess I had to suffer through the terrible times to get to the good ones and believe me, you are definitely in the category of good. I thank God that you found me and brought me into your life. It showed me that good can come out of bad. It showed me that we are never truly alone, though it took me a very long time to fully accept that as truth.

'Just like you are never truly alone, Dad. Not while we hold you in our hearts and not while there's a greater benevolence watching over you.

'Geez, I've really been rambling here. Maybe, I should tear up this letter, too.'

Paul noticed Peter tapped his pen on the paper a few times before he continued.

'But maybe not. Maybe you need to hear what has been so hard for me to put into words, so you will know it's really me writing this letter to you, and you will hear the truth ringing in my words. Hell, we both know I can't keep my mouth shut most times anyway, so a rambling letter shouldn't surprise you much.'

Paul closed his eyes, hearing Peter's grunt of laughter at the end of that sentence.

'My father told me something last week that really stuck with me.

'"Life is a mystery to be lived, not a mystery to be solved. Enjoy the mysteries of life as they unfold.'"

'I guess for cops like us, we bristle at the thought of not closing a case file, but maybe we should do just that. Enjoy life's mysteries without trying to answer every little question.

'All I know is, things happen for a reason. And, for whatever reason, you are apart from us right now. I only pray that situation will change soon. Meanwhile, I'll just try to enjoy life's mysteries, and who knows? I might answer a few questions along the way or make a new discovery that will send me along a new way of thinking.

'Whatever happens, I love you, Dad. More than words on a page can ever express and I'll always love you as long as I live. Thank you for being my father when I didn't have one. Thank you for being my foundation in those dark teenage years. Thank you for remaining my father when Pop reappeared in my life. Thanks for always being there for me. Thanks for everything.

'I love you, Dad.

'Your son, Peter.'

Tears fell freely from Paul's eyes as he let the letter drop from his fingers onto the bed, lost in the wave of emotion rolling over him. How had Peter managed to grasp all of what he was feeling during the night and nail it down so succinctly?

The love he felt still coming from that letter was healing a great wound that had opened overnight. A few paragraphs had stitched together the ragged edges of the tear. Time and sleep would do the rest. His spirit had been washed clean of self-doubts and dark emotions, just as the storm outside had cleansed the land around him.

Peter's letter had touched him before, but never as deeply as it had just done. Tonight, it seemed like Peter was right there with him, speaking those words while staring at him with tear-filled eyes.

'I love you, Dad. '

Paul stood and slowly walked around the room. Maybe he was simply walking on that same path of discovery Peter had been leading him on from the moment they first met.

Discovery.

Paul sighed as he thought about what he had discovered while being away from his family.

If Peter was right, if things truly happened for a reason, then the only reason he could discern from all his months on the run was uncovering the limitless depth of love and gratitude he felt toward his family. If he had been living at home all this time, instead of fleeing like a common criminal, he might have taken it all for granted.

But that was no longer the case. If he ever made it home again, he vowed he'd never take his loved ones for granted again. What a lesson he had learned from all his suffering. Not many men ever reached the level of enlightenment required for such a discovery.

Paul stood at the open doorway, looking out into the night full of wildlife and made a decision.

"Dammit, Peter's right. It is time to stop running. It's time to make a stand and fight for what I hold dear."

He sighed with the relief that flowed from saying those words aloud. Words that he knew in his heart to be true. Once the decision was made, all that was left to do was make the right things happen, so that he could go home and be with those he loved.

So simple in concept, Paul thought, and so difficult in action to carry out, but Peter was right on the money when he said it was time to stop giving into those powers seeking to suppress Paul Blaisdell from living out the life he was meant to live.

Paul swallowed with a sudden wave of apprehension. It wouldn't be easy clearing a path that would take him home safely. It would require the use of every contact he had, and every IOU still floating around out there, but he was going to go home.

Paul sat at his desk, now writing with purpose, making lengthy notes of the first steps to do in order for his plan to work. Golden thin tendrils of dawn stretched across the open doorway and made him realize he'd been writing for hours. He yawned and set his pen on the desk atop the stack of written notes.

Now, he had a workable plan, but first he needed to sleep. He smiled as he noticed how much lighter his heart seemed now as he prepared for bed. Though, not much had actually happened to warrant such a shift in mood. After all, Peter was still injured and in a hospital. Paul was still in exile, and far away from those he loved. But something inside of him had changed.

Perhaps, it was the hope of change to come that had spurred the transformation of his spirit. Hope revealed in Peter's written lesson. Hope, trust, and love. All of those life-altering emotions that he'd been casually tossing into his suitcase in the form of letters from home without actually realizing it.

Paul put the notes and the letter back into the flashbag, carefully setting the security device, and then he replaced it into the hidden panel of his suitcase. Once he was done, he hid the suitcase behind the icebox and patted the ancient relic as if willing it to protect the contents of his suitcase from unknown dangers. He picked up his discarded letter to Annie and set it afire in the sink.

He headed back toward his bed, feeling stronger than he had for a very long time. A broad smile crossed his lips as he whispered aloud, "Peter, please never stop leading us along a path of discovery. Most people can't ever get those lessons, even when they search their whole life for it."

Paul turned over in bed and noticed how even the wildlife outside seemed more subdued than normal, allowing Paul the sleep he so desperately needed. His breathing slowly settled into a steady pace and he started to fall into a deep, trouble-free slumber.

His last conscious thoughts made him smile as he decided his demons of the past might finally be put to rest one day very soon. Funny how everything had fallen into place, as if preordained to get him to the point of making this decision. Somehow, in the midst of worrying over Peter, those old demons had lost their power to haunt him.

What was more, the future held more hope than he had felt for a very long time. The road home wasn't going to be an easy one, or even a safe one, but one thing was certain. He was going home.

The End