Yulong Yeoh swore heatedly, cursing the ancestors of whoever had destroyed his home back eighteen generations. The buildings, his lab, his papers, his plants, and even the blasted monkeys were gone.

He couldn't afford to be crippled this close to the fruition of all his plans. He knew where he could find another copy of his research. If the girl had done what he asked and protected it. She was entirely too distracted by Peter Caine.

He had thought the girl would have become infatuated with a different descendant of Kwai Chang Caine. Son, Grandson but no, she had to wait for the great-grandson. The least Chinese of them all. Foolish girl. He had not interfered though. It was too important to be rushed.

He had intended to wait until the wedding ceremony to make his presence known, but now he had to go retrieve the books. When he got his hands on who or whatever was responsible he would spend a very long time making them wish they were dead.

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"I still don't see why I have to go along," Peter grumbled.

"Because you need to talk to your mother," Caine said.

"No, I don't." Peter insisted. "There is nothing-"

"Enough," Caine said sharply. "You are no longer a child to run from difficult things."

"Difficult? Really? Difficult is being the weird bald kid in an orphanage. It's waking up screaming from nightmares so real that I could still taste the smoke and feel the heat of the flames. There were years as a kid when I ate difficult for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with extra helpings on Sundays." He locked gazes with his father "And I wouldn't have had to if she hadn't dumped us like a bad habit. So don't tell me I'm running like a child. Running was the one thing I couldn't do as a child." He had tried. Repeatedly, but they kept finding him and bringing him back.

"Peter-" He said much more gently.

"Finding her was your dream, not mine."

"This isn't about you and Laura making up. That is between the two of you. I will stay out of that." Caine said. "It's about dealing with Yulong Yeoh. Unless you would rather I took Leanne with me."

Peter scowled. Leave it to his father to come up with the one way that he could be cornered into going. There was no way he would put Leanne in that position. "Fine but if it turns out it's some other ancient Chinese sorcerer messing with her I'm out."

"Fair enough." He said. "I am meeting her at the lawyer's office to begin the process of getting a divorce. I will bring her back to the brownstone afterward and we will speak with her here."

Peter nodded "I can do that." He said tightly. He didn't want to but he would. Sometimes you had to do the things you didn't want to do. Even if you felt like it would choke you.

"Thank you," Caine said resting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "She will return to Spain soon. We can get on with our lives then."

"I'm not inviting her to the wedding," Peter said.

"Nor should you. That honor belongs to Annie." It was different where he and Paul Blaisdell were concerned. Caine had not knowingly abandoned his child. They could share the role of a father without difficulty. Caine thought that it was best that Annie and Laura never met. Annie was fiercely protective of Peter. A condition shared by almost everyone in Peter's life that Caine had ever met. It was heartbreaking that his mother was not one of them.

"That was my thought. So… you'll perform the ceremony, right?" Peter asked.

Caine smiled broadly "I would be honored. We can discuss this more after we meet with your mother. But for now, I must go to the attorney's office."

"Alright. I'll be here." He had a few things left to pack up anyway.

Caine hoped the storm between mother and son passed quickly. Peter so desperately needed to make peace with it. Even if he never forgave her, he needed to be able to let go of the anger and pain.

He got on the bus and rode it to the offices of a lawyer that had been recommended to him by Mrs. Chen, who swore he was discrete. Harry Mayfield's offices were near the city center and Caine had to change buses twice before he found himself standing in front of one of the skyscrapers that made up the skyline of Bayview.

The elevator within took him to the 32nd floor and he entered the offices of Mayfield, Clark, Montgomery, and Daniels. He was almost as reluctant to be there as Peter was to meet them later. He didn't understand why it mattered so much after all this time. All it accomplished was strife. He wished Lo Si had never shown him that photograph.

The receptionist showed him to an office where Laura sat with her lawyer. Caine bowed slightly before taking a seat.

"Mr. Mayfield will be with you shortly." The receptionist said, "Can I get you anything?"

"Tea would be lovely," Laura said.

Caine sat in silence. He had never been one of those people that needed to fill the air with the sound of his voice. He had become even less so after wandering for 15 years after his son's presumed death. His wife on the other hand liked to talk, about anything, about nothing.

They had gone to the beach once, an eternity ago, and he had sat on the sand watching the surf, and the gulls diving at the water, sitting in silent contemplation of the simple beauty in front of him.

Laura had begun talking about the different colors in the waves and how the sun was glinting off the thin layer of water left on the saturated sand when the waves rolled away. The feel of the air, that was warm one second and cold the next.

He had listened to her and smiled because the sound of the voice of the woman he loved was yet another aspect of the beauty that surrounded him. He remembered that day vividly and had contemplated it time and again because among the ramblings about the seascape was the most precious, glorious thing he had ever heard in his life. 'Darling, I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby.'

Now as he listened to her talk to her attorney he could hear no depth, no joy… No, Laura. This was no longer the woman he had married. No longer the woman who had given him love and respect and the greatest joy imaginable. This was no longer the woman that said with happy tears brimming in her eyes 'Darling, I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby.'

Had she used those same words with another man? Had she uttered this other man's name in the night with the same breathless, heady, passion that she had once said his? Did they walk hand in hand down the street, exchanging looks of love and adoration? How could she do so knowing she was still married to him? Was it all so easily achieved for her that transferring those tender moments, those intense moments of passion was as casual as changing her handbag? Or did Laura hold back the deepest part of herself that had once belonged to Caine?

Did any of it matter anymore?

Had it ever?

He looked up when the receptionist returned with a teapot and several cups and saucers and a plate of cookies. She set the tray on her employer's desk and disappeared like the servants in an old novel. He didn't help himself as she instructed.

Harry Mayfield entered the office a few moments later, ending Caine's quiet contemplation and Laura's endless supply of words that accomplished nothing more than filling the silence.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." He said and nodded respectfully to Kwai Chang Caine. He wasn't Chinese, but his wife was. She played Mahjong with Mrs. Chen every Thursday night.

"That's quite alright. We understand." Laura's attorney said. "I'm David Collins. I'll be representing Mrs. Navarro." He offered his hand to Mayfield, who shook it.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but there is no Mrs. Navarro," Mayfield said. "There is Mrs. Caine, who is living with Mr. Navarro. Unless, of course, you wish to delve deeply into the fact that the Western world hasn't indulged in polygamy in our lifetime. They call that bigamy now and it's potentially a felony, which could lead to a ten thousand dollar fine and a year in prison, depending on which judge you draw for trial. So as my client has no desire to be vindictive, let's leave Mr. Navarro's interests and name out of our proceedings. In return, we will overlook the abandonment of their then-minor child Peter Matthew Caine. Although if we are being honest we're the ones doing all the overlooking. "

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Peter closed his arms around his fiancé and kissed her hair. "You should probably get back across the street." He said quietly. They had spent the downtime between classes packing what was left of their stuff in the brownstone. He could only imagine that his father was headed back by now.

"I want to be here for you." She said turning around in his arms. She brushed a stray lock of hair from his eyes. "I know your dad is going to be here but that's not the same."

"I can't ask that of you." He said.

"I know my grandfather is no saint. I've known that for a long time. You don't need to protect me from that."

"I know." He said. "That doesn't mean you need to hear it. Trust me I don't want to be here either. My Pop just thinks she'll open up more if I'm here."

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't trust her."

"Neither do I." He said. "I don't know what she's here for, but getting a divorce is an excuse."

"Well, at least your father will be free of her." She said. "It will make Mary Margaret happy."

"I hope it works out for them." He said. "But I don't want you over here dealing with her. She'll upset me and you'll take her head off … literally… and then there's a body to dispose of and we'd have to go on the run… taking my father with us cause he'd be a suspect too." He teased and laughed as she swatted his arm playfully.

"I'm not that bad!" She said, "… most of the time." She laughed as well. "I love you."

"I love you too. So scram." He kissed her and then turned her around to face the door.

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Laura parked the car in front of Caine's brownstone. "You're sure he's willing to talk to me?"

"He is willing to be in the room with you. It is progress." Caine said. Willing was a strong word in this instance. He hoped that Peter would be willing to hear his mother's apology. Not for Laura's sake, but for Peter's. For now, this would have to do.

"I suppose it is." She said. "I'm nervous."

Caine shrugged. "That is understandable." He said. He wasn't going to reassure her. He couldn't. Peter was hurt badly. Like most people this made him respond with anger. She had reason to feel nervous just as Peter had reason to feel anger. He could wish it was otherwise for both of them. But wishing would not make it so.

He got out of the car and held the brownstone door open for her. He could hear Peter upstairs and walked quickly up the stairs.

"You have made progress," Caine said.

"Yeah, Leanne was over here in between clients to help out."

"She has clients?" Laura asked.

Peter tensed. "Yeah." He said tightly. "She's a social worker as well as a martial arts instructor. Her offices are in the Kwoon.

"I see." She said stepping fully into the main room. "You used to live here?"

Peter nodded. "It's Dad's place. I was just taking care of it while he was out looking for you."

"I had heard you were a detective…"

"Yeah, I was a cop until a couple of years ago." He taped the box in front of him closed and set it on a pile of boxes not far from the door. "That's about all of it Pop," Peter said. "Anything else we can deal with as you find it."

Caine nodded. "Yes."

"So I have questions," Peter said. He was done with the polite interrogation. He wanted nothing more than to walk out the door and not look back but you didn't always get to do what you wanted to do.

She looked at him, clearly hopeful. "About why I left?"

Peter shook his head "Not exactly. My father gave me your excuses." He said and was surprised that he managed to say that in a neutral tone. "So between what you said to him and what you said to Leanne yesterday, I want to know what Yulong Yeoh is up to."

"I can't tell you that." She said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh well, then I guess this conversation is over and I can get back to work. I have people to check on today." He started to walk toward the door.

"Wait." She said touching his arm. "Please."

Peter stopped and turned his head to look at her.

"He's a very dangerous man, Peter. A powerful man." Laura said. "I can't cross him."

"He has some sort of plan for me, for Leanne. I have the right to know." Peter said. "We've dealt with powerful men before."

"You're already in his web," She said "Once you're there you may as well be a fly waiting for the spider to devour you."

"So you're willing to just abandon us to whatever he wants." Peter shrugged. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"You don't understand." She insisted.

"Of course, I don't understand," Peter said sharply as he turned to face her fully. "How can I understand when you won't tell me anything?"

"I can't."

"Of course not," Peter said. "Because just like when you left you're putting yourself above everyone else."

"Peter-" His father said, in a soothing tone, placing his hand on his son's arm.

"She's not denying it, Pop," Peter said. "She's here for something, I guarantee you it isn't just to get a divorce to please her additional husband."

Laura bristled at that turn of phrase. Additional husband.

"You don't know that." He said.

"You keep forgetting I was a detective and a damned good one. I knew how to read people long before I finished my training and became a priest." He looked at his mother once more. "I know what powerful, evil, men are like. He'll never let you go. Not even when he has whatever it is he wants from me. He'll find other ways to use you, or he'll use Julian. Tell me I'm wrong."

"That doesn't change anything. You can't change anything." She insisted.

"Hide and watch," Peter said. "My father and I, when we work together, well I wouldn't bet on the bad guys winning. So you can either tell us what it is you're here for, what it is that he wants from me… from Leanne… Or you can walk straight out that door and out of our lives just like you did before."

"You're asking a lot from me." She said.

"You wanted me to listen to you, well there's a price," Peter said bluntly.

"He will kill me if he finds out."

"I'm not going to tell him anything, and I can't imagine for a moment that my father would either."

" No, but she might," Laura said. "I don't know exactly what he has planned. When he made me leave, he said that I was in the way of Kwai Chang paying a debt to his bloodline. Then later when he paid one of his visits he said that he manipulated everything in your life, from me leaving to the priest that attacked the temple, to the staff at the orphanage to leave you angry and alone so that you'd bow to him."

"He doesn't know the line of Kwai Chang at all," Peter said. "Not if he thinks I'm going to break just because life got difficult. I know what part of that was about. It's just one more debt of honor created by my great-grandfather. I don't understand what else he could want from me."

"You will one day be a very powerful Shaolin master," Caine said. "Perhaps one day a Shamballa master. It could be that he wishes to use your … potential… to his advantage."

"To what end?" He asked. Again with the destiny talk. He wished people would stop pointing it out. Maybe then people wouldn't take as much interest in harnessing him like some sort of metaphysical battery. "Even if your predictions about me are true, It's not like I'm his only option."

"Whatever it is, it's not good. Not for you, not for anyone." Laura said. "Do you love her? His granddaughter?"

"Very much." He said. More than life. He'd rather die in her arms than leave her, but he thought that might be a bit on the nose to say out loud.

"Then you take that girl and you run as far and as fast as you can and hope to hell that she isn't just like him."

"I don't run," Peter said. "I stand and fight."

"Then he will destroy you."

"Yeah well, I've heard that before." He said. He reached out and gently cupped his mother's chin. "Have faith." He kissed her forehead lightly. "Thank you for telling me what you know." It wasn't anything that his father hadn't supposed already and he was still certain she was up to something but she had for once put him ahead of her fear. That mattered. If it was sincere… If

He was still angry, he still ached inside from old wounds being reopened. It would pass. Maybe one day he could have a relationship with her. Not today, but someday.

Impulsively she hugged him tightly, as she had done the night before she left. He didn't remember it, he had been so little, but she did. She pulled back slowly. "I ahm…I need to go. I'm meeting Javier for dinner. We'll be going back to Spain soon."

Peter nodded his acknowledgment.

Caine bowed slightly.

Laura left without saying goodbye. She looked over her shoulder at Peter as if it was the last time she would see him, then she was down the stairs and gone.

Caine studied his son. He knew the set of his shoulders, the way his jaw ticked. Just like when he was a boy. He rested a hand on his son's arm.

"I'm alright, Father." He said, feeling very much like that small boy.

"No, you are not. But you will be." Caine said. "I am proud of you, Peter." He knew how hard that had been for him. He had honestly not expected to see a tender display from him with all the pain he laid at Laura's feet. It had been fleeting, and perhaps a hollow gesture, but it had nevertheless been there.

Peter covered Caine's hand with his own. "Can you cover my last class for the day?" He asked, "I need to go see Mom." He needed to remind himself who his real mother was, and that was Annie Blaisdell.

"Yes. I think that is a very good idea."