Where We Are

Chapter Six

Delightful squeals of children, warning shouts from parents and loud laughter filled Doug's ears as he sat on a bench in Rock Creek Park, waiting for Alicia and Eden. The sun was giving its best efforts but had still to penetrate the clouds and had yet to melt the layer of frost that clung to the grass and trees. Doug's breath misted as he exhaled, taking in the beauty of the day and anticipating his afternoon with Alicia. He had never done this, never put in such a whole hearted effort to move on and he was surprised to find out that he was not regretting this idea.

'Dr Ross! Dr Ross!' came an excited shout and Doug looked around to see the bundle of energy that was Eden sprinting towards him. He stood and swooped the five year old into his arms and she hugged him tightly.

'Are we going skating, Dr Ross?' Eden asked. Doug laughed and nodded. Eden cheered.

'Are you any good, Dr Ross, because my mommy isn't. I'm okay, I guess but I need someone to hold my hand and then I can go really, really fast. But last time I fell and mommy had to bring me to see the doctor, it wasn't you though' Eden rambled, making Doug smile as her mother stopped beside them.

'Hi' Alicia said, smiling. Doug set Eden back on her feet and embraced Alicia, pecking her cheek. She blushed slightly. Eden grinned.

'I'm not very good at this' Alicia said, nodding towards the ice rink.

'I'll help you' Doug offered, winking. Alicia smiled in a pleased sort of way and nodded.

'Let's go!' Eden said, impatiently.

'You're the boss' Doug said, raising his hand to his forehead in a kind of salute. Eden giggled and Alicia smiled.

'Okay, let's go get your skates, baby' Alicia said to her daughter. Doug followed them, still smiling.

D&C

Carol slept most of the morning and early afternoon. Mark knew she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally and she needed her rest. He had gallantly offered her his bed for the night and he had slept on the couch and now that both Rachel and Zach were awake, he had so far kept them both away from the bedroom, giving Carol her much need sleep.

It was just after lunch, Rachel and Zach were watching cartoons in the living room as Mark cleaned the kitchen. The bedroom door opened and Carol stepped out. She wore only a large night shirt and socks and she walked on tip toe as she approached Mark.

'Morning' she said, quietly.

'Afternoon' Mark corrected, smiling down at her. She nodded and rubbed her eyes.

'Don't you have work?' she asked, while she glanced around the door frame, into the sitting room where Zach and Rachel sat.

'I called in and said I wouldn't be in and that you wouldn't either' he replied.

Carol's eyes widened. What would Randi, or whoever had taken the call, thought went Mark had rung in for both of them? She didn't care what they thought as long as it wasn't the truth. She would rather spark the speculation than have her co-workers find out what exactly had happened.

Mark saw her expression and smiling slightly. 'Don't worry, I spoke to Kerry directly' he said and watched as Carol relaxed. She nodded, breathing deeply.

'Has Zach been asking any questions?' she asked, knowing the toddler would not miss the sudden change in his usually strict schedule.

Mark shook his head. 'No, he just asked why you were sleeping for so long. He's been pretty content to sit with Rachel all morning' he told her.

'How come Rachel isn't in school?' Carol asked, glancing in at the two kids again.

Mark smiled. 'Everyone else is getting a day off, why not her?'.

Carol smiling too and then went into the living room.

'Hey, baby, you okay?' Carol asked, ruffling Zach's curls from behind and then planting a kiss on his head.

'Yep. We're watching Sponge Bob' was all he said, not even looking up at his mother, for which Carol was glad. She didn't want him asking questions about her bruised face. So she kissed his head again and then returned to the kitchen.

'Here, I kept you some' Mark said, handing her a plate of food.

'Macaroni and cheese, original' she said, smiling.

Mark smiled too. 'It's what the kids wanted' he said, defensively.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and they both turned to stare at it, neither moving.

'Dad, someone's at the door!' Rachel called, for she sure wasn't leaving the couch to answer it.

Mark looked at Carol and saw she was fearful of who was standing on the other side of the door. And a second later, her fears were confirmed.

'Greene! It's Tag! I wanna talk to you!' John shouted through the door. Zach's head swivelled towards the door and his eye's brightened in excitement. He got up and ran for the door but Carol got there first and pulled him away. When he looked up at her questioningly, she held a finger to her lips, picked him up and hurried towards the bedroom.

As she passed Mark, he nodded, silently telling her he would handle this. She smiled quickly in thanks and shut the door.

'What's going on, mommy?' Zach asked, gazing at her with an odd expression. Again, she held her finger to her lips and then pressed an ear to the door.

Mark crossed the floor and peeked though the peep-hole in the door. Tag was standing outside, waiting, looking angry.

'What do you want, Tag?' Mark called through the door.

'I want to see my wife and son. Now let me in!' Tag shouted, banging his fist against the door in anger. Rachel looked around, her eyebrows together.

'They're not here' Mark replied, shaking his head at Rachel went she looked like she was about the contradict him.

'If they're not here, then why won't you let me in?' Tag asked loudly.

'Because you're angry and I have my daughter in here' Mark replied.

Tag was silent for several seconds. 'So she told you' he said eventually.

'Yes, now I'd like you to leave or I'm calling the police' Mark threatened.

Another silence followed this and then... Tag launched himself at the door. It shook menacingly but stayed closed. Rachel ran to her dad and wrapped her arms around his waist, afraid. Again and again came the slams of Tag's body against the wood and Mark backed away from the door, dragging Rachel with him. After a few minutes, silence fell. Mark waited a further few minutes before detaching himself from Rachel and moving towards the door again. He didn't see Tag through the peep-hole, so he cracked open the door and looked out into the hallway. It was empty. Mark exhaled, not realising he had been holding his breath and closed the door again.

'He's gone' he called and after a few seconds, the bedroom door opened and Carol came out with Zach in her arms.

'What's going on?' Rachel asked, looking between Mark and Carol.

'Carol and Tag just had an argument' Mark said, watching Carol and she placed Zach back on the couch.

'What happened to your face?' Rachel asked Carol as she came back to Mark's side.

'Rachel, stop asking questions. Go and sit with Zach' Mark ordered and the girl left, looking confused.

'I have to go' Carol whispered to Mark, once both kids were glued to the TV again.

'Where?' Mark asked her, pulling her close and hugging her.

'I have no idea' Carol whispered, closing her eyes and trying to think of someone who had made her feel safe. She only came up with the one person she had the night before when Kerry had asked but she knew that it was a stupid idea. But an unexplainable longing had been struck inside her and she couldn't help but wonder if he was the answer to all her troubles.

D&C

Alicia led the way to Eden's bedroom, Doug following with the sleeping child in his arms. It had been a long yet enjoyable day for all three of them. They spent almost two hours on the ice rink, Eden proving to be a better skater than both adults. They went from there to the zoo, where Eden had awed over the lions and zebras and other animals she had seen in The Lion King movie. After the zoo, they went to get something to eat and then Eden had insisted on going to the carnival, where Doug had spent a great deal of time and money trying to win her a teddy bear. She had finally fallen asleep on Doug's shoulder as they walked back to the car.

Doug closed the door gently behind him as he left Eden's bedroom. Alicia smiled in thanks.

'I think you could do with a beer. Eden sure wore you out, huh?' she said, leading the way back downstairs.

'You could say that' Doug replied, laughing.

They entered the kitchen and Alicia took two bottles of beer from the fridge, handing one to him.

It was silent while they both drank but even when they set down the bottles, neither spoke. They weren't used to this. Usually, Doug called over when Eden was already in bed and they wasted no time heading to Alicia's. But today had been so different. Doug had not even held her hand, or hardly touched her at all, in fact. But they had both enjoyed the day, leaving Doug satisfied that he had made a good choice in calling her the night before and leaving Alicia confident that this could turn into more than the fling they had both participated in for several months. For once, neither wanted this to end up how it usually did.

'What time is your flight tomorrow?' Alicia asked eventually.

'Seven-thirty' Doug replied. He raised the bottle to his lips again while he thought of something to say. He wanted to tell Alicia how much he had enjoyed their afternoon together, without it sounding like he was after something. But then Alicia spoke again.

'Today was...different. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad you suggested it.'

Doug nodded. 'Yeah, it was different alright. But, I enjoyed it too. Eden's really something.'

Alicia smiled and nodded. It couldn't have been clearer than she adored her daughter and Doug admired that about her.

'Maybe we could do it again, after you get back from Phoenix?' Alicia suggested.

Doug nodded. 'I'd like that' he said. It was also clear to him that Alicia really appreciated the effort he had put in to spend some time with both her and her daughter and he wanted to leave her with that impression. So he stood up. 'I better head home. I'm up early.'

Alicia smiled and nodded and followed him to the door.

'Thanks again, Doug' she said as he stepped outside. When Doug turned to reply, he was surprised to find her so close to him. He smiled and so did she, leaning in to press her lips to his. Doug rested a hand on her hip and pulled her closer. Her hand snaked around his neck and held him to her.

After a minute, he pulled away and smiled. 'I'll call you when I get back' he promised.

She smiled, too, kissed him lightly again and then stepped back inside. 'You better.'

Doug smiled again and then headed back down the drive to his car. He thought about Alicia all the way home, lingering on the kiss as he realised that it had felt different from the others they had shared. He started imagining what they could do when he got back from Phoenix, and Eden was present in all his ideas.

Only when he was getting out of his car in his own driveway, did she come to mind and Doug smiled when he realised it was the first time since he had spotted Eden and Alicia approaching him the park, hours beforehand. Maybe, just maybe, he was finally moving on.

AN: The park that Doug, Alicia and Eden went to, Rock Creek, is a park in DC but I haven't a clue whether it actually has an ice rink. But for the purpose of this story let's say it does :) Sorry, I've never been to DC, or anywhere else in America, lol.

So, the usual, what did you think, yada yada yada?... Review and let me know :)

Katelyn