“I won’t leave him, Father.”

“Fine.  We can put you in the bed next to him.  But please, get some rest.”

She nodded in agreement.  Before she dropped off  to sleep, she asked, “Where is Narcissa?”

“I’m here, child.”

“I have no words to thank you,” she murmured drowsily.

“None are needed, child.”

In a short time she was sleeping the sleep of one exhausted physically and emotionally.

“For god’s sake, Narcissa, why didn’t you tell us that Vincent wasn’t dead.  We could have avoided all this sorrow.”  Father was incensed at what her saw as her perfidiousness in all their troubles.  “How, in God’s name, is he still alive?  It’s been five months!”

“Vincent was dead.  It was magic that kept him alive but dead.  The old white magic that you do not believe in, old man.  If he had failed on his journey of discovery, he would never have come back.”  The old, blind woman shook her head.  “It was a perilous journey.  One that almost cost him his soul.”
“But what did Catherine have to do with it?” an unconvinced pragmatist asked.

“She is the other half of his soul.”  Narcissa turned to smile benignly at the two sleeping lovers.  “If he had lost, she would have been lost also.  The only way the evil could be defeated was with their love and trust in each other.  They are safe now.  The tunnels are safe.  The evil has gone to reap his reward in hell.”

“Well, I hate to admit it, but you saved Vincent’s life and for that I am eternally grateful.  I know he will want to thank you also,” the tunnel patriarch said.

“I did what I could, nothing more.”

“Nevertheless, we are all in your debt.”

Chuckling to herself, she nodded to him and returned to her chamber.

Father smoothed the hair back from Catherine’s forehead.  She was deeply asleep.  Smiling down at her, he thought, what an amazing thing their bond was.  It’s power never failed to amaze him.

Vincent stirred.  “Catherine,” he cried out.  His eyes flew open.  “Where is she?”

Happy to have his son back, Father pushed him back down on the bed.  “She’s in the next bed, sleeping.  Don’t worry.  She’s just tired; she’s fine.”  He pulled his son into a desperate, loving embrace.  “My boy, my boy, I thought I had lost you.”  Finally, he let loose the tears that he had held back for so long.  He could begin to live again.  Vincent murmured comforting and soothing words to his weeping father as he stroked the grey head until Father finally looked up.   Smiling sheepishly-he didn’t often break down like this-he asked, “How do you feel?”  He straightened and composed himself, becoming once again the strong, determined patriarch of the tunnels.

“I’m hungry and I’m sore.  I fought many battles to get back to her.”

“Battles?”

“Yes, I’ll tell you about them later.  Right now I would like something to eat.”  He raised up on an elbow and looked over at Catherine, his heart suffused with love for this courageous woman who loved him enough to brave the dark other side of life to bring him back to her and to his world.  “She saved my life, Father.  What a miracle she is.”

“She is that.  You must tell me what happened to you and Catherine in that dark place.”  He gently squeezed Vincent’s shoulder.

 Vincent smiled up at him, “We will.”

Pascal and Mouse were waiting just inside the curtain to see that all was well with their friend; a large crowd was waiting behind the curtain.  The news of Vincent’s return had spread like wild fire.  Father motioned them in.  “Not too many questions and don’t stay too long,” he said as he left to ask William to fix some soup for his son.

Vincent’s friends crowded in around him reaching out to touch him, to reassure themselves that he was really back--he had been dead for so long.

Breaking the silence, Pascal asked, “What happened?  Were you dead or not?”

“I don’t know.  My spirit . . . soul . . . whatever you want to call it was imprisoned in a terrible, dark world.  I will tell you all about it soon.”

“Catherine went there,” Mouse stated.

“She brought me back.  I have much to be thankful for,” Vincent said.

After several questions and a few answers, the happy throng left, filing by his bed, welcoming him back.  Tears flowed freely on all sides.  When Samantha planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek, her big brother miraculously restored, it brought a chuckle from the group and a smile to Vincent’s lips.

After they left, he relaxed, lying back down on the bed.  Hr turned so he could see Catherine clearly.  She whimpered in her sleep, calling out his name.  He sent her feelings of peace and love through their bond, which he now knew was their very lifeline.  He could not live without her nor she without him.  He spent the remaining minutes before Father’s return, sketching her dear face with his eyes.  He noted the lines of pain and worry, the drawn, strained look.  It broke his heart to know that he was the cause of that unhappiness.  He was determined that she would never suffer like that again.

His reverie was interrupted by Father’s return, Mary following close behind.  On the tray she carried was a large bowl of soup and thick slices of William’s freshly baked bread, thickly buttered.

“It’s so good to have you back, Vincent,” she said, helping him to sit up.

“It’s good to be back,” he answered as he took a spoonful of soup.  Suddenly, he was ravenous.  All he wanted was food.

“Slow down, my boy,” Father cautioned, “you must eat slowly.  You haven’t eaten in a long time.”

With a broad smile on her face, Mary watched the young man she loved so dearly as he ate.  “Do you want any more?” she asked.
“That will do for now,” Father answered for Vincent.  “He can have more later.”

Mary took the tray from Vincent and as she ducked around the curtain, she said, “Rest well, Vincent.  We all missed you very much.”

“Thank you, Mary, I will,” he replied.  His hunger appeased, he laid back with a contented sigh.

“Sleep if you can, son.  I will be close by.”  Father dropped the curtain behind him.

                                                 ****************

Feelings that he had not felt for what seemed an eternity settled around Vincent’s heart.  He felt safe, surrounded by love, with a full stomach, comfort, and, most important of all, the knowledge that the woman he loved with a love that frightened him lay tenderly asleep in the bed next to his.  Warm and comforted, he was asleep before Father’s words faded away.

When he awoke, Catherine was standing beside him, peering intently at him as if to imprint his face on her heart forever and to assure herself that he was real.  She smiled when she saw that he was awake.

“Ah, Catherine,” he whispered.  Reaching up, he cupped the back of her head in his hand and pulled her lips down to his.  He kissed her as he had always wanted to--with joy, love, gratitude, and desire.  She gasped when all these emotions came flooding into her.  He closed his arms tightly about her.

“Don’t ever let me go,” she said, laying her head over his heart.  “Don’t ever leave me.”  She pressed against him.

“Never!” he breathed into her hair.

“And I’ll never leave you, ever again.”

“You must to go Above.”  He ran his hands over her back, luxuriating in the solid feel of her in his arms.

She rose up out of his arms.  “Only to resign.  I cannot live apart from you any longer.  I want to sleep beside you, to wake in the morning and see you next to me, to reach out in the darkness and touch you.  Don’t ask me to live apart from you again.”

A valuable, albeit painful, lesson had been learned in the land between life and death.  He was only half alive without Catherine by his side and he knew it was the same for her.  Only together were they truly alive.  “I won’t.  I need you as well,” he said, capturing her hands, he held them tightly then raised them to his lips.  Gazing at her over their clasped hands, he said, “I want to go to my chamber.”
“Do you think you can make it?”

“I think so.”

After removing the IV and with Catherine’s help, he started toward his chamber.  Father spied them halfway down the tunnel.  He was about to stop them then changed his mind.  Vincent would heal even faster in the arms of his beloved Catherine.  He wondered what the future held for these two precious people.  He prayed it would be peace and contentment.  A little later he looked in on them, finding them sound asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.  His heart and his physician’s mind told him that sleep was what they needed most.  He left them undisturbed.

                                                   ****************

Catherine awoke before Vincent.  She eased out of bed, trying not to awaken him.  He was a very light sleeper, but she succeeded in not waking him.  She padded down to the kitchen for breakfast and asked William for his help.  William, knowing the breakfast was destined for Vincent, out did himself and covered the tray with dishes.  There were oranges, apples, bananas, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, and toast topped with his best jelly.  Two mugs of hot black tea sat steaming in the middle.  When Catherine returned with the tray, she found her love beginning to stir.   Vincent opened one eye as she put the tray on the table.  The long sleep had done much to restore her vitality, and she was humming as she arranged the dishes on his table.

She sat down on the bed beside him.   He pretended to be asleep.  “Are you ready for breakfast?” she softly asked.  Then she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

His eyes snapped wide open, and he grinned into two beaming, enormous green eyes.  “Is that the best you can do?” he growled, locking his hands behind her waist and pulling her on top of him.

“Of course not.  How’s this?”  She locked his lips in a kiss of fire and passion.

“Much better.  We’ll eat in a minute.  Right now I want to enjoy holding you.”  He pressed her supple body to his then kissed her lightly on the loveliest tip of any nose that he knew of.  He turned serious.  “Catherine, how did you know?”

 “I didn’t know at first but it was Narcissa and the dreams.  Somehow she knew what was happening to you.  And the dreams.  Terrible, haunting dreams of you running through dark, hideous tunnels, being chased by grisly monsters.  I tried so hard to get to you but I never could.”  She began to tremble and he held her gently until the trembling stopped and she was calm once more.

“They were monsters, my love.  All the terrible men that I have killed and I had to kill them again.  Only now I feel no guilt.  They condemned themselves.”  For several seconds he was silent, then he spoke again, “Paracelsus said you were part of the game.  I knew I had to get to him and destroy him before you came.  But his game was to have me as the instrument of your destruction.  He couldn’t know the power of our bond--our love.”

“No, he lived in darkness.  He couldn’t see the light of love.  Vincent, he can never threaten you or our world ever again.  We are finally free.”

His heart filled to overflowing when he heard her refer to his worlds as hers.  He nodded.  “He has been a shadow over us for too long.”

Catherine sat up from his arms.  “Come on, I’m hungry.  William’s sent some wonderful things for us.  Aren’t you hungry?”  She scrambled over him and went to the table.  He was right behind her, and they finished off every morsel of food, even the bread crumbs.

Replete, they settled down to rest, read, and spend the day together which turned out to be almost impossible.  By ones, twos, and threes, the community came to visit Vincent to see with their own eyes that he was well and on the road to recovery.  Finally the number of visits dwindled to a stop.

Later that evening Father entered.  “How do you feel, Vincent?”

“I’m fine, Father.  A little tired but I will be completely recovered in a few days with Catherine’s tender care.”

“I’m sure that’s all you need but it won’t hurt for you to continue taking this antibiotic,” the tunnel physician said, handing him a capsule as Catherine gave him a glass of water.

“Catherine, may I find a guest chamber for you to sleep in tonight?”

Catherine glanced at Vincent.

“No, Father, Catherine is to stay with me.”

“Of course, I should have realized.”  Where else should she be but by his side?  It would be a very long time before she would feel secure enough to leave him.  He had never thought that love was possible for his son but that was before he had met Catherine Chandler.  With her anything was possible and he blessed the day Vincent had found her.  “Well then, good night you two.”

He left Vincent sitting in his large chair with Catherine standing behind him, hands resting lightly on his shoulders.

The End