So, here's the next chapter! I'm lucky enough to have a snow day tomorrow, so I was able to stay up a bit later to finish it! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and let me know what you think!

PS. I love these crazy kids. That's all you really need to keep in mind.

Eric

Week five.

I was over Paris. I mean, I was over it to start with, but now I was really over it, and I had a month and a half left until I got to go home for a week, and then had to come back to this godforsaken country for another month.

I should have loved France. I really should have. It was a more sexual place, with lots of research opportunities, and amazing wine. And cheese. I'd been eating a lot of cheese. I'd put on a good five pounds, probably mostly comprised of cheese. I'd also started a new interview project on couples that was quite interesting.

Most days at work, I also found myself in what seemed like some giant psychological experiment. Dawn said that Andre was always weird, but I really couldn't imagine anyone living their life as such an oddball. It had to be an act. I thought maybe the first day had just been awkward, but after a few weeks I realized the he was actually like that all the time.

I'd also scared the shit out of Indira on day one, so she was no longer a problem. Not that she ever was.

Possibly due to my moping, Dawn invited me to her and Hoyt's country home in Provence for the second weekend in October. I kept missing Hoyt in Paris by mere days, and we'd had dinner together a couple of times, just her and I.

There was still no sexual chemistry, not that it mattered. It was very bizarre. I wondered somehow, if my father had had an affair, and Dawn was actually related to me in some way. I knew it wasn't true, but I really couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because we were too much alike. When I thought about it, I probably would have hated myself with a vagina.

We both finished up our work on Friday afternoon, I grabbed my overnight bag, and we were off.

It was a long drive, and we were meeting Hoyt there, since he'd spent the week in Italy. We chatted about our former lives for most of the drive, and then our current ones. She listened patiently to me wax on for hours about the kids, even though there was no mistaking the bored expression on her face. It felt nice to chat about them though, and tell her what they'd been up to since I'd been gone. Ceci had started going to a pre-school class once a week, that we'd had her on the wait-list for for ages, and Max had won a creative writing contest. Sookie had faxed me his entry, and I had to admit, from an unbiased place, of course, that it was quite good.

At some point, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, we were pulling into a lovely cottage, with a very new, very nice BMW in the parking lot. I hadn't seen Sookie's yet. I was sure her new job didn't come with a convertible though. Sam had had a sedan.

Dawn smiled when she saw I was awake. "Sorry, I was just so glad you stopped talking about your kids that I just let you sleep."

I chuckled. "You really do hate kids, don't you?"

She shook her head, and sighed. "So much. Come on in. I'm guessing Hoyt's got the grill going. He wrote me about twenty minutes ago and asked how you like your steak. I said rare. I don't know why I said that." She smiled.

I smiled. "Medium rare really. But I'll take rare."

I grabbed our bags, and poked my head up out of the trunk of Dawn's when I heard her squeal. Seconds later, I saw her leap into a very tall man's arms.

I had to admit, I was starting to wonder if Hoyt actually existed. I cleared my throat a few minutes later, and he put her down, and extended his hand. "You're the infamous Eric."

"And you're the infamous Hoyt." I shook it firmly, happy to receive a strong handshake for what felt like the first time in weeks. I'd gotten used to the double kiss. "Thanks for having me."

He nodded, in a very Texan way. He wasn't what I expected at all, a tall man with a very boyish face. "Our pleasure. Dawn here's been telling me about you for years."

"All good things I hope?" I glanced at her, shaking my head at the wicked smile on her face.

"Good things if you're going to be seeing her more than I am." He cracked a smile. "We're not much for secrets."

I nodded. "I can respect that." It was the unspoken code of the sexperts. No secrets.

Hoyt grinned broadly. "Then we'll get along just fine."

He made a mean steak, and the spread of breads and cheeses and this amazing salad made with all fresh local ingredients. I hadn't eaten so well since I'd come to Paris.

Provence was beautiful as well. Their cottage overlooked an incredible field that seemed to go on forever, and the tree-lined road that their place was on was stunning. After dinner, I sat on their porch for an hour or so, grateful for a bit of silence. It was the same kind of peace and quiet I enjoyed in the Hamptons on the off-season, when we'd go down in November or March, and it felt like we were the only people alive, since most people were too scared of a little cold to venture down to the beach.

Hoyt and Dawn retired early, and I quickly realized that the silence was also a bit of a curse, and that when she was actually enjoying sex, Dawn was incredibly loud. I took the opportunity to go for a walk and call Sookie.

She picked up right away, and I realized that it was probably dinnertime at home. I had no idea what time it was here. "Eric, I'm just getting in the door. Ceci, don't chase Lil. She doesn't like it. Sorry."

"I can call back."

She sighed. "No, I want to talk. Let me just say goodbye to Claudine, and I'll be right with you."

I heard her set the phone down, and then a distinctive giggle, followed by a tiny voice. "Who is this?"

My heart ached a little. I missed them terribly. "It's Daddy. Hi baby."

She sighed an exasperated Pam-like sigh. "Daddy, where are you? We're having stew without you."

"I'm still in Paris, well, kind of. How was your day?"

"Well, Claudine and I coloured, and then we picked Max up, and then we made a cake. A chocolate cake. What did you do?"

"I drove for a long time, and then I had dinner with some friends. I'm in the country. It's kind of like the Hamptons." She sounded so grown-up. Here I was, in one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen, and I really just wanted to be with them. I would have called myself a pussy ten years ago. I didn't care. I just missed them, plain and simple.

"I drew you a picture. Mom said we could mail it to you."

"I'd love that. I have the other ones you sent on my fridge."

"Bones is coming over for dinner next week. I made him a picture too."

Fucking Bones. He'd been over for dinner once, and Ceci brought him up ever time we talked. Max was decidedly less interested, telling me that he chewed with his mouth open. "Oh, that's nice."

"He makes funny faces, and he talks funny. Like Johan and Stella sometimes. But not the same. Why do they talk funny?"

Johan and Stella had this annoying but very smart habit of speaking Swedish when they were trying to pull one over on the kids. It drove Max and Ceci nuts, but was very effective. "I think it's an accent, Baby. Bones is from England, which is close to where Daddy is."

"I want you to colour with me."

And once again, without having any idea, my kid ripped my heart out. "Soon. I'll be able to colour with you soon."

"How soon?"

"In a little over a month. Then I'll be home for Thanksgiving."

"And then we'll colour?"

She sounded so much like my first memories of Pam sometimes it was scary. "Sure, baby."

"Okay. Mom's ready for you now."

"Love you."

I heard her scream 'love you too', as she ran off somewhere, and Sookie came on the phone. "Sorry, just wanted to order the Thai for dinner. How are you?"

I sat down in the grass and looked up into the incredibly clear night sky. "I'm in the incredibly beautiful place, and I had to go outside because Dawn and her husband are fucking, and I couldn't bear to listen. You?"

She sighed. "Still dealing with Sam fallout. Lots of reports to file, all of that. He's suing like we thought he would, so Niall's got to cover our asses. I have to write a full report on the day he left."

That had been quite the day. I'd gotten a series of very distraught calls throughout the day, all of which were whispering about the tirade Sam had been going on the morning before he was escorted out. I'd felt terrible for her, because when it all happened, she'd taken the brunt of his anger, because she knew and was obviously taking his job, and he'd chosen not to go quietly. He'd also chosen to be oblivious to the realities of the situation for so long, so I couldn't imagine anyone being too sympathetic for him. "I'm sorry you're dealing with all that."

"You and me both. So I booked my flight before I left Paris yesterday. I get home on the eighteenth, and leave on the twenty-sixth. Then I'm back for good on the twenty-second."

I could hear her scratching down details. "Email me your flight times will you, so I can put them in my Outlook? Pam said she'd get you at the airport if I couldn't."

"I get in at six your time, so unless you leave work early, it'll have to be Pam with traffic."

She sighed. "I'll have her bring the kids?"

I smiled to myself, thinking about that moment. "That'd be great."

"I'll be there if I can. It seems like time is crawling some days, you know?"

Did I ever. "You should see Dawn and Hoyt's house here. You'd love it. It's very country chic, like a mix of your Bon Temps house and the Hamptons, but in France."

"Send me some pictures."

I was a jealous asshole. I knew I was. "Bones is coming for dinner again?"

Sookie groaned, since she knew me too well sometimes. "Yes, Eric, my co-worker is coming for dinner for the second time in a month. He doesn't know anyone here. We spend like six hours a day together. Last time he was here, we worked after dinner. We'll probably work again after dinner. Would you prefer me leave the kids and stay in the office?"

We'd had this discussion before. "Of course not. I just, I don't know him, and he's a strange man around my kids."

"He's not a strange man. He's a perfectly nice man, that I work closely with. Let's be honest here. And that was a low blow. You really think I'd bring someone I didn't trust around my kids?"

It had been a low blow. "I guess I'll feel better when I meet him."

She snorted. "I don't know about that."

What the hell did that mean? "What do you mean?"

She was quiet for a minute. "I'm going to be straight up with you, because you're straight up with me. He's very handsome, and charming, and he's already got Stella and Ce wrapped around his finger, and Stel only met him for five minutes when she dropped off your car keys at work last week. You're not going to feel better about anything, if you're counting on him being dumpy and unattractive."

"Ouch."

She sighed. "Eric, I trust you, and I've never given you any reason not to trust me, and I'm not about to, because some attractive Brit with a quirky nickname comes to work with me. I work with handsome men quite often, Eric, in case you for some reason thought you were the only attractive professor in America. You don't have to be geographically present to be a presence in my life. It's not like I've forgotten about you. We talk every day. Despite this, we're great together. Even doing this, we're okay. Not everyone would be okay."

I knew she was right. "I just hate this. It's a long time."

"Then yell about it, scream about it, tell me how much you hate it. Don't start making up problems that aren't there. No shit it's a long time. I'm the one trying to be two parents here."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, shuffling my feet in the grass. "You're doing a really great job. I know it's a lot."

She was quiet for a while. "I miss you, a lot. In every way. Just know that."

Sookie

I hung up the phone with Eric and groaned to myself, since the kids weren't there to hear it, as they had run off somewhere and were probably doing something they weren't supposed.

It was irritating that he was jealous of Bones, because, frankly, Bones was the only thing keeping me going at work most days. He was funny, in an environment that was anything but, and unless you were there, it was hard to understand how bleak it all felt. The restructuring had been a surprise to everyone that wasn't senior management, which meant about ninety per cent of the people I worked with.

Sam had been well-liked. I knew that better than anyone. And although I was thirty-four, I was still a baby in the eyes of a lot of people that had worked there for the better part of twenty years. People who I'd been on very friendly terms with saw me as a backstabbing bitch since I'd been Sam's right hand for a few years. It wasn't going to be easy to convince people to look at me the way Niall did.

And I told Eric that. I told him, and I told him, but there was no way he could ever understand it, even if he was here, because we didn't work together. It wasn't a dynamic that he had an intimate understanding of, just like I had no idea what went on at his department meetings or in the faculty lounge at NYU. But if he was here, he'd see my tired face at the end of the day, and be really aware that there were problems. He could also take care of the kids some nights, and rub my feet, and look at me that way he did, that way that made everything else disappear, even if it was just for a little while.

For now, I was stuck with Bones, my work husband, as Amelia had so aptly dubbed him, after he rejected her when she invited him to some sort of party one afternoon. He wasn't so bad, and we actually worked well together, having established a very honest repertoire right from day one. I needed someone to have my back, and he did, without question. Publicly, anyway. If there was something he disagreed with, we fought it out until someone clearly and logically won. There were no issues of seniority, or experience with Bones and I. There were problems, and best solutions.

He still called me Luv, however, and I still corrected him, every time. It had become a bit of a joke.

I gave Ceci a bath, and read her her story while Max had a shower. He didn't do baths anymore. Only showers. I hated that he was growing up in some ways, but in other ways I was so proud of him, and it was amazing to watch him develop his own little personality. He was so smart too, and like his Mom and Dad, a proud overachiever.

He gave me a shout when he was ready for his story, and I flicked off the light in Ce's room and I crawled into his bed. "We're almost done Tom Sawyer, huh?"

He nodded. "I want to read Moby Dick next. Dad likes that one."

Sometimes I almost broke down and cried when he said things like that, because it reminded me of when my parents died, and Jason and I would do things we knew they liked to feel close to them. I still obsessively bought and cracked shelled nuts during the holidays even though I didn't really like them, because I remembered my Dad doing it when I was a kid. "Maybe you can save it and read it when he gets back."

He shook his head. "He reads too fast."

Eric did read fast. It was why I'd always been the preferred reader. "You should tell him that. I bet he'd slow down. Why don't we read Huck Finn next? They kind of go together."

Max nodded. "Okay, Mom. We can do that. I might still want you to read Moby Dick."

I tickled him a little. "I'm not surprised. How are you doing, with everything?"

He shrugged. "I'm okay. Claudine is obsessed with hand washing. It's like every time I pick something up I have to wash my hands."

She was a bit of a neat freak. "Hand washing is good. It's very important."

He rolled his eyes. "I know that. She's just so sing songy."

I couldn't argue with him there. She kind of drove me nuts, but she was the reason things were running so smoothly at home, so I had to give her a lot of credit for that, even if she wasn't someone I wanted to spend more than ten minutes a day with.

Luckily, I didn't have to, and Ce, who bore the brunt of her sing songiness didn't seem to mind. "Your Dad will be back before you know it, and then we'll figure something else out maybe. He should be able to get you from schools most days."

Max inclined his head towards me, when we finished reading our three chapters. "Do you miss him?"

I mustered up the best half smile, as I went to face our empty house alone for what felt like the millionth time. "So much. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you guys."

That got a smile out of him, which was nice to see. "He'll be back soon, Mom."

"Thanks Maxkin."

I'd invited Bones over for dinner on Tuesday, since we had the first drafts of the budgets for the fourth quarter due that Friday.

"We can just buy something, Luv. You don't have to cook," he said, as we managed to make it out at five.

I shook my head. "I bought all weekend. My kids are going to weight six hundred pounds when when their dad gets back."

"They're beanpoles." He grinned, as we got into my new car, which kind of felt obnoxious. It came with the job though, and I wasn't one to turn down a BMW. "I get my car next week."

Bones was getting my old car until the new fiscal year. "It's a good car. I didn't use it all that much. I hate driving in the city."

When we got home, Claudine already had the kids in their pyjamas. Max looked irritated, and Ceci looked thrilled to be in her favourite pink pair. She gave me a huge grin when I got in the door. "I was going to start dinner for you, but I wasn't sure what you were having, so I did the laundry instead."

Jesus. Was she supernanny? "Uh, thanks. Everything was okay today?"

She nodded furiously, her excessive energy after a day with Ce setting me on edge. "We made paper mache masks. They're drying on the back porch. We'll paint them tomorrow."

That sounded like a lot of work. "Wow. That's really great." And then I remembered Bones was behind me. "Claudine, this is Crispin. He's a colleague of mine."

A judgemental look flashed across her face, and quickly vanished, as she extended a perfectly manicured hand? How did one maintain a perfect manicure when they watched kids for a living? I couldn't even do it with a desk job. Fucking judgemental bitch. Couldn't I just work with someone?

"Lovely to meet you," she said enthusiastically .

"Likewise, Luv." He flashed a perfect grin.

"Oh, you're English," She practically swooned. "I love your accent."

Bones raised an eyebrow at me. He heard that every day. I knew because I heard it when I was with him, and I kept telling him he'd tire of it eventually, but he swore he never would. "It's pretty standard where I'm from."

And then we were saved by Ceci, who practically jumped into Bones' arms. "You came!" she squealed.

Claudine took that as her sign to leave. "On that note. Kids, I'll see you tomorrow."

They completely ignored her, Max to look sullen and angsty in the corner, and Ceci to ask Bones eight million questions, all of which he answered with good humour.

And then she asked one I was actually quite curious about. "Why are you called Bones?"

His answer was actually quite telling. It went a long way in explaining his rogue-like attitude. "When I was little like you, I was very ill. I spent a lot of time in bed, and I wasn't able to run around and play like you do, because I had some problems with my bones. Here, Luv, touch right here." He pulled his pant leg up. "With your fist."

Ceci tentatively knocked on his shin, which kind of made a clanging sound. "Cool!"

"I'm practically a robot." He grinned. "So anyway, everyone spent a lot of time worrying about my bones, and eventually it stuck."

Even Max, who was truly his father's son and really despised Bones was kind of intrigued, and came over and checked it out. "So, you have a metal leg?"

"Just a bone, little man. I don't even remember life without it, although there were a lot of surgeries when I was about your age that I remember. Things like that make you grow up very quickly." He glanced up at me. "And then make you live every day like it was your last."

That certainly explained his refreshing attitude. "Go wash up for dinner guys."

Ceci ran into our bathroom, and Max rolled his eyes, before stomping off. "I probably shouldn't have told them that. It'll probably give the little critters nightmares."

I shrugged. "They live with a sexpert. It takes quite a lot to faze them. What did you have?"

"Bone cancer. It's very rare. I lived quite a sheltered childhood because my mum was always so concerned that it would come back. When she passed when I was twenty, I kind of went a bit nuts for a while, reliving lost youth and all that." He tugged up the sleeve on his t-shirt, to reveal a skull and crossbones tattoo. "Can you believe I actually got that? What the hell was I thinking? Anyway, I mellowed out after a few years, but I do crazy things like leave my old lady and move across the pond from time to time."

"It's nice that you appreciate your time."

He nodded. "It's all you got, Luv. The time you're given."

His words hit a real nerve. I'd never missed the person I enjoyed spending my time with more.

We sat down at the table and ate my rather infamous Mexican chicken, which the kids loved. Bones picked at it, before digging in. He was a rather fussy eater, I'd noticed, since we ate lunch together most days. "Is it alright?"

He nodded, clearly embarrassed that I'd noticed. "Christ, I'm worse than a child. It's wonder I've survived as long as I have. I like most things, I just need to get a taste for them."

I laughed. "I'm not easily offended. We don't do the clean your plate thing here. Apparently that's what made everyone obese. I just give them small portions and offer more."

Bones watched the news as I put the kids to bed, after both spending about ten minutes talking to Eric. I told him I'd call him later, after I'd sent my guest home, if we ever finished our budget stuff. Math was always an area that I struggled with.

And soon it became obvious that I wasn't alone in that. We spent hours laughing over our terrible math skills, as we tried to piece things together from the nonsense Sam had left. "Shit, Luv, no wonder we're word people."

I snorted. "It's Sookie. I guess you just can't be both. It's nearly ten though. I've got to call the husband. It's so late in Paris."

He nodded, standing up and stretching. "I can take a hint." I noticed him glance at a candid we'd blown up from our city hall wedding, Max quite present under my dress. "He's a lucky man, he is. I hope he knows it."

I smiled. "Oh, I think he does." I threw everything back in a file folder. "We can look at this more tomorrow."

"I'm firing Agnes. You'll get an email about it tomorrow."

Agnes was a forty-something editor who had been insolent since Sam left. I wasn't surprised. "Well, we'll have to go through all the proper channels. Three warnings and all that. We have to be extra careful with Sam's lawyers breathing down our necks."

Bones shrugged. "He's got nothing. I've never seen so many reported issues put up with for so long. You know Amelia had a sexual harassment charge in against him? Amelia, of all people."

I was pretty sure neither of us were supposed to know that. "Surprising. Keep that under your hat now."

He scoffed at me. "Of course. I was just telling you."

I rolled my eyes, shuffling him out the door. "Goodnight, Bones."

I could tell Eric was sleeping when I called. "Hey. Sorry, working on budgets."

"Is he gone?" he mumbled at me, obviously irritated.

I crossed my arms as I sat down on the bed. "Eric, are you seriously going to be like that every day when you get back, because he's not going anywhere. Do you want to Skype?"

"Yea. Let me get my computer out, and I'll call you back."

A few minutes later, I was curled up in bed with Lily and my laptop. I wasn't sure what she was going to do when Eric got back and wanted his side of the bed. The annoying ring popped up a minute later. I grinned at his sleepy face and messy hair.

"Hey."

He wiped his eyes. "Hey. I missed Mexican chicken? Max said it was good, and that Bones is a robot?"

"He's got a metal bone in his leg. The kids were quite impressed."

"They're easily impressed."

I groaned. "Look, it's late. I don't want to fight about Bones, again, so can we not?"

He blinked at me, wiping his eyes. "I was just stating a fact, Lover."

"Sook..." And then I stopped myself. "It's fine. How was your day?"

"Meh," He gave me a half smile. "Max and I each crossed a day off the calendar, so that means it was a good one. Time is not moving backwards."

"Thank God for small favours, I suppose." I gave him a half smile back. "I'll come on earlier tomorrow."

"And I'll be less grumpy." He winked. "I love you."

"I love you too. A month till Thanksgiving."

"I'm literally counting down the hours. Lil's keeping my side of the bed warm?"

I glanced at her. "She's trying so hard, but she's just not a giant like you. She may be a better cuddler though."

He snorted. "That's just because you haven't had me in a while."

I looked at him wistfully. "Don't I know it."

"I'll be back for the coldest months. I started planning our fuckaversary." The excitement in his eyes was obvious, even through time and space and the internet.

"Now, see? Not even Appius Livius Ocella can take that away from us."

Eric chuckled. "On that note, until tomorrow."

We kind of looked at each other for a minute, before we turned Skype off, neither of us saying a word, just working hard to remember each other's faces for the following day. It was usually how our calls ended.

"One more month," I told Lily, as we drifted off to sleep, her head on my arm.