Chapter 18: The Golden Child part 3

Early next morning they awoke to tangled limbs and renewed awareness of one another. Neither felt the need to say that one night of repeated lovemaking would change anything. They understood what had happened and why.

Resting against the headboard and with the covers pulled up to her chest, Helen cracked "I don't think last night was what Henry had in mind when he called you" as he slid out of the bed.

"I dare say not," he laughed and bent over to retrieve his pants. As he stood back up he heard a loud gasp followed by a muffled thump as she struck her head against the wooden headboard. Turning, he found her sitting upright and pointing at him.

"What's that on your backside?" she demanded with wide eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" he said with furrowed brows.

Leaning forward, she unintentionally allowed the covers to fall down to her waist and growled, "At the base of your back. Above your left buttocks. What is that design?"

"My tattoo?" he asked with a confused look. "What about it?"

"Where did you get it?" she continued.

The morning sun was beaming through the window to highlight the peaks and valleys of her perfect body and his eyes zeroed in on her buxom bare chest. Turned on, he stepped back up to the bed and leaned down to kiss her.

The slap he received was unexpected. Rearing back in shock, his hand cupped his bruised cheek and he glared at her. "What the hell was that for?"

"The tattoo," she barked back and glowered at him. "That's a cheap shot, even for you, John. Who told you? James? Henry? Will?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he growled back. "I got the tattoo several months ago after I was freed from the energy elemental."

Crossing her arms across her chest she continued to glare at him suspiciously. "Oh, and I suppose it was just a coincidence that Henry happened to mention the symbol we were looking for is the very one on your backside!"

"Mr. Foss never mentioned any symbol during our brief conversation," John hotly denied and began redressing. "I don't know what you're rambling on about, woman. The only thing he told me was that there was an incident with an empath and that you all thought it was Ashley trying to communicate with you. He said you were in trouble and asked that I come. That's all!"

She observed his anger at her accusation and realized that he hadn't a clue what she was talking about. "He didn't say anything else?"

"Ask him yourself," he shot back and leaned over to grab at his crumpled shirt. Their romantic interlude had fizzled harshly and they were back at each other's throats. The best thing to do was leave as quickly as possible before they went for each other's jugulars he sadly thought as he pulled on his shirt and began to button it up.

He froze as her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Wait," she said anxiously, as if she could read his mind. "Please. I need to know about the tattoo. What does it mean?"

Pulling his hand out of her grasp he stared down at her with a frown. For some inexplicable reason the tattoo was of importance to her. "The tattoo is of a stylized phoenix. The characters below are in ancient Khmer and mean "rebirth" because… well, you can make the connection, I'm sure" he explained with a shrug.

"A phoenix is reborn from the ashes," Helen muttered to herself in a dazed tone and then asked, "And where did you initially see this design? Was it in a book? A temple mural?" Her heart quickened its pace as hope reared its head again. They still had until midnight to discover what renew ritual.

"Neither. It was… somewhere else," he answered vaguely and looked away.

"John," she insisted and stared at him until he caved.

He blew out a loud breath. "If you must know, I saw it in a dream, okay." At the incredulous look she threw his way he sighed and threw up his hands. "I know that sounds insane but it's true. I swear."

Pushing the covers aside, she climbed out of bed and came to stand before him. "Where were you when you had the dream?" she asked with sudden inkling what his answer would be.

"I might have… fallen asleep in the chapel during James and your chattering on about the some ceremony you were going to host there," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. At the odd look she gave him he huffed out a harsh breath. "You know I'm not religious. And frankly your conversation was a snooze."

"So we both were visited by Ashley in the chapel?"

"I never saw or heard Ashley. Just images of the symbol which I later had tattooed on my lower left back." He saw the desperation in her eyes and cupped her cheek to tilt her face up to his. "I don't know what happened in the chapel and whether that was actually Ashley or not. What I do know is that our daughter is dead. And she wouldn't want you to suffer any more. Let her go, Luv."

"I don't want to," she whispered.

He sighed. She was so stubborn when she wanted to be. "I would tear the world apart if it meant I could bring our daughter back again. You know I wanted nothing more than to have a family with you."

Her answer was to close her eyes and press her cheek further into his warm touch. Time seemed to stand still for a long time until they heard someone entering the room.

"Magnus, there you are," Henry greeted as he walked through the door and immediately squealed "Whoa! Oh my God!" and quickly turn his back on the scene. The door had been cracked open and the last thing he would have expected was to walk in on his boss standing butt naked in a romantic entanglement with her psycho ex-finance.

Helen and John both chuckled at the young man's embarrassment. Reaching behind her, she yanked the coverlet off the bed and wrapped it around her. "Mr. Foss," John greeted and finished buttoning up his shirt.

"Uh, I see you're busy. "I can come back," Henry stuttered as he tried to erase the image of Magnus's bare backside from his memory. Nope, not working he groaned. What he needed was mind bleach and no such thing existed.

"It's alright, Henry," Helen assured the skittish lad.

"No, no it's not alright," Henry quipped with a sharp shake of his shaggy head. "I may never be alright again," he muttered to himself.

"Oh, you'll be fine," John said as he clapped a large hand on the boy's shoulder. Leaning in, he joked "You only got a glimpse of her backside. You get to live. However, if you'd seen the other side I'd have to kill you." He laughed as the lad jumped and gave him a wide eyed terrified look.

"Ignore him, Henry," Helen commanded with a roll of her eyes. "He's just teasing you."

"Teasing," John repeated with a grin and squeezed Henry's shoulder one more time before leaving the room.

"I didn't see anything!" he squeaked as she came to stand beside him and his eyes wandered around everywhere except her face.

"It's alright, Henry," she assured again and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for calling John." With that, she strolled down the hall to her bedroom clad only in a blue coverlet.

"That wasn't what I had in mind when I called him," Henry grumbled with a shake of his fist as he walked the other way.

Helen was jarred out of her reflection when warm lips brushed against her neck before beginning to ply soft kisses. "Oh, Andre," she murmured.

"What!" John growled as he sat back and glared at her. Her musical laugh and twinkle in her eye let him know that she was perfectly aware it had been him. "That is not amusing."

She laughed again and curled up against him. "It was rather amusing," she purred.

"Humph," he grunted as his left arm circled her waist and came to rest on her stomach. "And what may I ask are you doing sitting here alone in a dark corner with your eyes closed and a little smile on your lovely face, hmmm? Dreaming of your Andre?"

She laughed again. "Not quite."

"Then what?"

Turning her head she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I was remembering the events that lead up to the night we made our daughter."

He grinned and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Which time?"

"Second."

"That night was good," he reflected, "but I think the first time was better. There was no melancholy or tears on your part then. Just laughter and pure unadulterated passion."

"True… and I shall always cherish that time. The second time, however, was special because it brought about an answer to a prayer so long ago pleaded."

"She is our little miracle, isn't she?"

"The best miracle of all," she said with a happy sigh.

"Let's make another one," he suddenly whispered in her ear, causing her to turn and give him a long look. "I'm game if you are."

"Okay," she whispered back.

"Really?" he asked in surprise. He had expected her to say over his dead body or when Hell froze over and certainly not to agree so easily. She was probably just in a playful mood and teasing him. Giving her earlobe a nip, he murmured, "When would you like to get started?"

"Why not right now?" she purred back and slid her hand slowly down his thigh to come to a rest near his crotch.

"What are you doing here in the dark?" a little voice quipped, causing the two to jump. Looking up, they beheld their daughter standing in front of them and holding a cup of hot chocolate. The thin white line of whipped cream was smeared above the left side of her upper lip and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Oh, mummy and I were just watching you enjoy your multiple rides on the merry go round," John explained as he tried to inconspicuously remove Helen's hand from his thigh by clasping it and lifting it to his lips to give it a quick kiss. "You seemed to be having a lot of fun riding that seahorse."

"I did!" Ashley giggled as she squeezed herself between her parents onto the bench. "We should totally buy a merry go round for the Sanctuary." She looked up at her mother hopefully. "Can you make sure it has a seahorse too? I love the seahorse!"

"We are not buying a merry go round," her mother shot down with a laugh.

"But everyone would have a lot of fun riding on it," Ashley continued. "Henry would ride it with me all the time and I bet even the Big Guy would ride with me." She cast a sly smile at her father. "You and mummy could even ride in the swan and pretend you're going into in the tunnel of love."

"Nice try," Helen laughed.

"Who told you about the tunnel of love," John demanded with a frown.

"Everybody knows about the tunnel of love," Ashley said with a roll of her eyes. "It's where you go when you fall in love. Henry took Erika there just like Pepe Le Pew did with his girlfriend."

"Pepe Le Pew," John snorted. "You mean the cartoon skunk?"

"Uh huh," Ashley nodded. "He really loves his girlfriend the cat. Do you love mommy?" she asked her father as she snuggled against him.

"Very much," he answered. "Possibly as much as the skunk loves his girl," he said with a wink at Helen.

"Gee, aren't I the lucky one?" Helen quipped back.

"Very," John quipped back as he took his daughter's cup of cocoa and took a sip.

"You could propose to mommy like Henry did to Erika if you go through the tunnel of love," Ashley slyly suggested and giggled as he spit out a mouthful of hot chocolate.

Reaching around to whack John on the back as he continued to cough, Helen redirected the conversation away from the touchy subject of her old broken engagement. "Your father has already proposed, once upon a time. It didn't work out. Let's move on to something productive. Are you ready to go home?"

"What? No way!" Ashley cried and jumped out of her seat. "It's still early! I don't wanna go home. Please, please, please!"

Pleased her diversion tactic worked, Helen stood up and nodded. "I suppose we could do one last fun activity. We still haven't done the games arcade yet, have we?"

"No, I don't believe we have," John answered hoarsely as he stood and tossed the cup into a nearby trashcan. "Shall we?" he said and held out his hand to his excited child.

Taking each of her parents' hands, Ashley squealed "I want a stuffed animal! The biggest one they have!"

"We'll see what we can do," her mother promised with a laugh as the trio walked toward the path leading to the arcade.