Chapter 30

Fairy Boats

"And Then You"- Greg Laswell

Kyle (POV)

It was around 7 o'clock in the morning when I woke up. Brice wasn't even close to getting up. I had been lying there for about an hour just thinking about what had happened the night before. Part of me was glad that Amanda knew about Brice, another part was nervous because she was going to meet him today.

Eventually I flung the blankets off myself and swung my legs off the side of the bed. I sat there for a moment and rested my elbows on my knees and held my head in my hands. My muscles ached from the run I went for last night to clear my mind before I took Brice home.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and stretched before I got up. I checked in on Brice just like I did every morning. He was curled up under his blankets fast asleep. I took a quick shower to help myself wake up and get ready for the day. I decided on my blue and white plaid shirt and my dark wash jeans to wear.

I was rolling up my sleeves as I strolled into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. Before I could sit down there was a knock at the door. And before I had even opened the door I knew it was Foss.

"Good morning Foss," I could hear slight grogginess in my voice.

"Hey, Kyle," he said, walking past me.

I went back to the kitchen and he followed.

"So what are you doing here so early?" I finally asked when I sat down at the table to drink my coffee.

"I've been thinking," he paused to take the seat across from me. "The C.I.R was intended to help people with memory loss right?"

"Yeah," I agreed taking a sip of my coffee. "But Madacorp isn't safe to get involved with."

"We don't need Madacorp." He grinned. "We have you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"We already know you can access Amanda's mind. The C.I.R was capable of linking a person's specific memory to a part of their brain. So what if you do the same but unlock the parts of the brain that hold the memories?" He suggested this as if it was the simplest thing in the world to do.

"Theoretically that makes sense Foss, but I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that. I wouldn't want to hurt Amanda," I explained.

He sighed and glanced away from me. "That's the thing… the only person who can help you with this is-" but I cut him off.

"No." My voice was stern.

"Kyle she's the only one who can help us."

I looked down into my almost empty mug.

"She left when I needed her the most," I muttered not looking up at him.

Before he could reply I noticed Brice standing in the door way of the kitchen. He definitely looked like he had just woken up. He was still in his pajamas and holding his stuffed lion.

"Hey Buddy," I smiled and he made his way to me. "Sleep well?" I asked as he climbed up onto the empty chair at the table.

"Uh huh, Uncle Foss what are you doin' here so early?" he questioned.

"Oh, I just came over to talk to your Dad." He explained, ruffling Brice's blond hair, which seemed to be getting a little long. I made a mental note that he needed a hair cut.

"Hungry Bri?" I asked standing up to get his cereal.

"Yeah."

I poured his cereal and sliced up some strawberries for him.

"Kyle, I should head out," Foss said, standing up to leave.

"Alright I'll walk you to the door," I said, setting Brice's breakfast down in front of him and following Foss to the door.

"Look Foss I'm sorry I got upset… I just can't have her back in my life." I said once we were out of ear shot of Brice.

"It's alright Kyle," He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I understand."

Foss left and Brice finished his breakfast and I helped him get ready.

"Okay how about your gray polo and your jeans." This was what I had to do every morning. I suggested clothes to him and as long as he could dress himself he was fine.

He nodded and I handed him his clothes.

"I'm just going to go brush my teeth," I said before leaving his room.

Once we were both set we left to meet Declan and Josh at the tailors for our last tux fittings before the wedding.

"Hey guys," I said once we found Josh and Declan in the fitting rooms of the tailors.

"Hey Kyle, yours and Brice's tuxes are over there," Declan said while pointing to the two tuxes hanging by the door.

"How the hell are you supposed to tie these things?" Josh complained coming out of his dressing room.

I just shook my head. "Josh, language," I reminded him.

"Oh right, sorry," he said and continued playing with his tie.

I helped Brice with his tux then I put my own on.

"Declan we need to talk," Josh said trying his best to be serious. "As Lori's brothers, it is our obligation to do our brotherly duties," he explained and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

"If. You. Hurt. Lori. We. Will. Hurt. You." He emphasized each word.

"You guys don't have anything to worry about I would never hurt her," he said sincerely. And I had no reason to believe otherwise. Declan loved Lori more than anything in the world. He would never hurt her.

"Good," I mumbled patting him on the back.

"Alright these still fit just like they did two weeks ago, so can we get out of here?" Josh asked already starting to take off his suit coat.

"I guess so," Declan said, shrugging off his jacket and heading into the changing room.

We finished up there and Brice and I went off on our own.

"Okay Brice it's just you and me, what do you want to do?" I asked as we walked pasted the shops on the pier.

His eyes lit up. "Ferry boats!" He was almost jumping up and down.

"Okay, ferry boats it is then!" I smiled.

Brice and I stood by the railing and I held him so he could see the water. It amazed me that a simple boat ride could bring him so much joy.

"Hey Bri, I wanted to talk to you about your Mom." I paused choosing my words carefully. "Remember how a few months ago you and Mommy were in an accident?"

I felt him nod against my chest.

"Well Mommy was hurt and she's been staying with grandma Bloom, getting better." I tried to keep it simple. "And I wanted you to know that even though she hasn't been here, she still loves you, okay?"

He lifted his head to look at me with the biggest grin on his face. "When's she coming home, Daddy?"

"Soon, Buddy, soon." I didn't want to get his hopes up just in case Amanda wasn't ready yet.

"I miss Mommy," he mumbled, resting his head back on my chest.

"I know you do…I do too," I said while kissing the top of his hair.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Once the boat docked we went to his favorite pizza place for a late lunch. I sat there and listened to all of his stories very intently. He told me everything from his friends at day care to the color socks he chose to wear. It was nice to be able to be alone with my son for a change. Ever since my internship started, and then the accident, our time together had been minimal.

"How was everything?" the waiter came over and asked when he saw we had finished our lunch.

"It was great thank you!" I smiled kindly taking the bill from him.

"You ready to go?" I asked leaving the cash for our meal and a tip on the table.

"Uh huh," He said scooting off his seat and taking my hand

"Dad, can we go to the park?" Brice asked as walked out of the restaurant.

"Um… Sure Buddy we can do that." I checked the time just to make sure. Amanda said she would be at the apartment around seven; it was only a little after four though.

After I pushed Brice for a while on the swings he ran off to the jungle gym and I sat down on a near by bench to keep an eye on him.

I watched him run around with the other kids and I couldn't help but wonder what he would be like 10 years from now. I couldn't help but wonder what I would be like. I also felt like he was growing up way to fast and I wanted to keep him my little man forever.

I looked at my watch again and it was already 6:30.

"Brice come on buddy we've got to go!" I called, standing up from the bench and waving him over.

"Daddy guess what!" he cheered, running over to me.

"What buddy?" I asked when I took his hand.

"I met this girl…" he paused as if thinking about something. "…I forgot her name, but we're going to get married and live in a castle with fountains that spray chocolate milk…" he trailed off.

"Really?" I chuckled buckling him into his car seat.

"Yeah!"

He went on telling me all about this girl on our way home. When we reached the apartment his story was coming to an end.

"Brice you have to take a bath buddy." I reminded him once we were home.

"But I took one yesterday," he whined.

"Yeah and you've been playing outside all day, you don't want to have to sleep in your own dirt, Buddy," I said as I led him into the bathroom.

I started his bath water and he undressed and hopped in the tub.

"Head back," I said filling a cup with some bath water and rinsing the shampoo out of his hair.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?" I said helping him wash up.

"Thanks for today, I had fun." He smiled and it was one of his true smiles that I hadn't seen in a long time.

"I did too." I said. "Okay you're all clean."

He dried off and changed into his pajamas. I promised him we would watch a movie before bed so I told him to go pick one out.

While he was busy choosing I heard a knock at the door. I knew it was Amanda.

"I'm just going to go see who's at the door; I'll be right back Bri," I told him as I hopped off the couch.

"Hey," I smiled opening the door.

"Hey," she greeted stepping inside.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I whispered, our faces only a few inches apart.

"Yes, I'm sure." I could tell she was nervous but I didn't say anything.

"He's probably going to call you 'Mommy' it's just what he's used to," I warned.

"Alright," she said, following me into the living room.

"Brice," I called and he turned away from his movies.

Before I could say anything Brice was already on his feet running his way over to Amanda.

"Mommy!" he screamed, his arms wide open ready for an embrace.

"Hey sweetie," she was tense but she was also doing really well.

"You're here!" he cheered falling into her arms. "I missed you Mommy,"

"I missed you too," she smiled still holding him tight.

"What do you say to Mommy watching the movie with us?" I asked after a moment.

"Will you Mommy?" He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Sure,"

We sat down and Brice crawled onto Amanda's lap. I turned the movie on and took the seat beside her. I could hear her heart rate increasing a little so I wrapped my arm around her and reassuringly rubbed her arm. Slowly she calmed back down.

I watched Brice for a moment and could tell he was overjoyed about Amanda being here. He had asked me everyday since the accident when she was coming back and now that she was finally here I knew he never wanted her to leave.

A little more than half way through the movie Brice fell asleep.

"He's beautiful, Kyle," she whispered, gazing over him as he slept on her lap.

"He is," I agreed while brushing a few stray hairs away from his face.

"All I want is to remember and for things to go back to the way they were. So he can have his mom back, and you and I can be together." The determination was quite evident in her voice.

"I know you do," I said kissing her temple gently.

"I should probably go tuck him in." I said scooping his limp body off of Amanda.

I took him into his room and tucked him in under his blankets.

"Good night Buddy." I whispered kissing his forehead.

I left his door cracked open just like I did every night. I found her looking at the pictures hanging in the hallway. The pictures that she had hung up. I watched her for a moment trying to imagine what could possible be going through her mind.

"This one here," I said pointing to the picture of Brice and I, "you took."

"And this one," I pointed to the picture in the middle of the three of us. "Lori took this one; we're sitting on the back porch of the Trager house."

"And this one right here," I pointed to the last picture; it was of her and Brice. "I took that one."

"To be honest, I think I would do just about anything to get my memories back," she said with a slight smile.

She looked at me. Her eye's revealed everything she didn't say. I could see the confusion, the loss: I saw it all.

Then I contemplated what Foss had told me this morning. I hated seeing Amanda this way, part of me wanted to just call Jessi right away, but then I wondered if I would even needed Jessi.

I thought of all the times I had been able to access Amanda's mind she had been asleep. This meant she was in a complete relaxed state. And in the beginning of Jessi figuring out her true identity the only way I had access to her mind was if she was completely relaxed and focused on me.

"Amanda, what if I told you I might be able to help you remember?" I proposed this a little unsure of how she would react. By this point we had made our way back to the living room and she was sitting opposite of me on the couch.

"What do you mean?" I didn't really know how I was going to explain what I was about to do. The only thing I could to was show her.

"Do you trust me?" I asked holding out my hands.

Her eyes darted from me to my hands until she finally took my hands.

"I just want to try something," I mumbled. "I need you to just relax and tune out everything else in the world besides the sound of my voice."

I told her the same thing Nicole had told me when she helped me calm down.

"Let the noise from the street become like static on the radio, until it just disappears all together. Focus on my voice, feel your body start to relax, every muscle start to loosen." I could hear her heart rate drop and I could feel her starting to relax.

The deeper she fell into relaxation the easier it was to focus on her mind. Soon I began to feel the room around us disappear until subconsciously I was no longer in the apartment any more. I was stranding on the side walk in between her house and the Tragers.

I saw a man and a little girl; she couldn't have been more than 6 years old. The man had to be the girl's father because of the resemblance. I watched the interaction for a moment; the man was teaching the girl how to ride a bike. The man held on to the back of the seat and kept the little girl steady as she began to peddle.

"I begged my dad to take off those training wheels." I heard Amanda's voice before I saw her appear beside me.

Then the memory changed, we were no longer on the side walk, we were at a birthday party in the Bloom's back yard.

"All the neighborhood kids were invited. I remember having a vanilla cake with pink frosting," she smiled, explaining the memory.

That memory came to a close and we weren't in her back yard any more. We weren't anywhere. All around us was blackness it was just the two of us.

"How is this happening?" she questioned, fumbling for my hand in the darkness.

"I can't really explain it," I paused. "The only way for you to understand is for me to show you."

"Where do we start?" she asked, gripping tighter to my hand.

"We start at the beginning, the last thing you remember," I smiled.

AN: So here is a new chapter that I hope you all will like. I know it took me a while to update and I'm sorry for that. I am hoping that the next chapter won't take me as long to write but it might I have a lot planned for the next one. Anyway let me know what everyone thinks, theories, comments, questions, whatever it is all welcome!