THOUGH IT WERE TEN THOUSAND MILES
By Joan Stephens

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 Chapter 11

 

Following closely behind Vincent as he moved swiftly and knowingly from one tunnel to another, Diana gave free rein to her emotions, confident that he would not know her feelings and that she could easily squash them when necessary.  But she had forgotten about his empathic sense, and he was receiving a strange mix of feelings from her.  They roiled so fiercely in her that he could not sort them out.  Whatever she was feeling was directed at a certain individual, and being Vincent, he wondered who it might be.  It never occurred to him that it might be he.  His thoughts were centered on the coming reunion with Catherine.  His arms hungered to hold her sweet, soft body next to his.  Turning into yet another tunnel, he motioned for Diana to follow him, who couldn’t help but notice the ease and grace of the man as he purposefully moved toward his goal.  The elegance of his movements was almost beyond belief.  God, how she wished . . . but after meeting the man, she knew it to be a wish that could never be.

 

The farther they hiked, the smaller the tunnels became, and soon they were crawling on hands and knees.  Finally, the shafts widened and they could stand erect.  Vincent rose to his full height and extending his hand, helped her to her feet.  His touch was warm, filled with repressed strength, his palm calloused from physical labor.  She had never felt so safe before, and she had the barest glimpse of the safety that Catherine found in Vincent’s love.  That single glimpse was enough to cause Diana to yearn for the same sense of security.

 

In a short while, they came to a small grill set in the end of this tunnel, barely large enough for Vincent to squeeze through.  Glancing at her watch, the woman detective said, “Looks like we have a little over an hour until five.”

 

“Yes,” he agreed.  “I know.”

 

She gawked at him in amazement.  “You know what time it is?”

 

“One of my many talents,” he replied with a deprecating chuckle.

 

“Wow, you’re amazing,” she said and wished immediately that she hadn’t when an uncomfortable look shadowed his face.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you,” she added.

 

“No, it’s all right,” he assured her. 

 

“You don’t like to be reminded of your differences,” she guessed correctly.

 

Slightly embarrassed that she had noted his discomfort, he admitted, “No.”

 

“Ignoring them won’t make them go away.”

 

“True, but I can pretend, can’t I?”  His smile took her breath away.

 

To cover her confusion, she said, “Father told me how you found Catherine.”

 

“The night my life began.”  His eyes burned with the unending love he felt for the woman who had stolen his heart never to give it back again. 

 

“You love her.”  It wasn’t a question but a statement to clarify her thinking.

 

He sensed that she needed to understand his relationship with Catherine.  “Yes, more than my life.”

 

“What if you hadn’t saved her that night?”

 

“I never think about ‘what if.’  We were meant to meet and to love.  If not then, it would have happened some other time.”  He shook his head, slightly, “To this day I am in awe of her courage and bravery.  It was so brave of her to trust me when she was sightless and had no idea where she was or who I was.  She was so frightened but still she trusted.  What is between us really began then; at the moment she opened her heart to trust me.”

 

Understanding a little, Diana stated the obvious, “And you trust her.”

 

Shaking his head impatiently, Vincent replied, “You don’t understand.  We don’t need trust.  I know with absolute certainty that she loves me.  It is the same with her.”

 

Diana dropped her head onto her drawn-up knees, hoping to hide her tears, but he had already seen them.

 

“You are crying, Diana?” he asked, put at a loss by her tears.   She didn’t strike him as a woman who cried easily.

 

She looked at him through her tears.  “I just realized the depth of your commitment.”  And the death of a dream before it was even born.  “And how beautiful it is.”

 

“It is commitment, yes, but so much more.  It is more of a necessity.  She is as necessary to me as the air I breathe.”

 

Diana shook her head in wonder.  “I wonder if I will even find a love like that.”  The winds of sorrow blew the ashes of her dream into her eyes, stinging them with more tears.

 

“You will, Diana, if you want it.  Love comes from the strangest places.”

 

That she could agree with.  After all, her love had come from dreams and an otherworldly place beneath the streets of Manhattan.

 

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

At five that morning Joe and Greg, followed by the SWAT team, ran out of the precinct house and piled into the waiting police van.  Joe had just received the search warrant he needed.  Getting a warrant was more difficult than he had anticipated.  Thank god, he had thought to ask Elliot if he knew of an honest judge.  The young builder had thought for several minutes and Joe was beginning to despair--was the entire legal establishment corrupted by Gabriel?--when Elliot gave him two names that he assured Joe belonged to two honest judges.  Joe spent the rest of the night tracking them down.  One was out of town and the other was home sick with the flu, and Joe had to be his most persuasive to get the judge’s wife to let him speak with her husband.  But as he clambered into the van he waved the warrant triumphantly.

 

“Elliot Burch will meet us at Gabriel’s place,” he informed Greg as they settled down on the floor of  the van.  Greg, a tall, burly man with a pleasant face and shock of dark hair, asked, “Why is Burch so involved in this?”

 

“He’s in love with Cathy for what little good it will do him.  He’s been working on this case with me for the past three months.”  With a jerk and screeching tires, the SWAT van roared into the predawn darkness followed by a convoy of police cars.

 

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

At the time that Joe, Greg and the police were headed toward Staten Island, Vincent and Diana were discussing their plans for opening the gate to the mansion.  When Diana thought that the reinforcements should be nearing the estate, she glanced at her watch.  Vincent had already started to force the grill out of the tunnel wall.  Cautiously they entered the deserted basement.  In the corner of the last room they entered stood the empty cage, mute testimony to the indignities of Vincent’s imprisonment.  Diana gave him a quizzical look, and he nodded in confirmation.   Swiftly he raced up the stairs and silently opened the door to the hallway that led to the front door and, off to the left the stairs to the upper floor, then past the corridor to Catherine’s room.  Hurrying to the front door, they slipped out into the predawn darkness, and dodging from tree to tree, they approached the gate just as Joe and his posse arrived.  Diana threw open the gate to admit them, setting off the silent alarms, as Vincent kept watch behind her.  The sentries leapt into action, questioning the noises they were hearing.  Secure in his knowledge that he was safe behind the fortified walls of his estate, Gabriel had only the one camera that was trained on Catherine, and that one only because he wanted to watch the growth of ‘his son.’  Vincent rushed back to the house but the door had locked behind them.

 

All hell broke loose!  Pressed against the wall beside the door, Vincent waited for the house guards to rush out.  With a single swipe to the throat, he dispatched the first man to emerge and tossed the body to the side prepared for the next man to appear.  Suddenly there was a shot and a grunt behind him.  He looked up to see Diana with a revolver in her hand, and turning around, he found a dead man draped across the doorsill.

 

“Out of the way, Diana, over here,” he waved her behind him as he took care of another man.  Now the guards were streaming out of the door with guns blazing.  Unseen, in the shadows, Vincent and Diana waited against the wall of the house behind the heavy, formidable wooden and steel door.   When no more men ran out of the house, they hurried inside, closing the fortified door behind them.  Silently, they slipped through the eerily quiet house: a calm center in the midst of a raging storm.  Evidently the servants had fled to the basement to be out of harm’s way.  Following the siren call of the bond, Vincent led Diana to the door that opened into Catherine’s room.

 

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

Catherine knew that Vincent would come for her in the morning.  He had told her through the bond to expect him.  Valiantly, she tried to stay awake but sometime in the early morning, her eyelids closed of their own volition.  She was shocked awake by the sound of gunfire, of men shouting and running back and forth.  He was here.  She threw back the covers then sat for a minute on the edge of the bed considering what she should do.  After donning a robe, she went out to the corner of the garden and hid behind a large rose bush that she had picked out for that very purpose.  She could hear the gun battle raging in and around the house and tried to make herself as small as possible: a difficult job at her stage of pregnancy.  Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out from behind the bush.

 

“You’re coming with me,” Gabriel’s hated voice commanded.  Forcing her to her feet, he pulled her arm behind her, and then he propelled her into the darkened room.  As awkward as she had become, she couldn’t fight him.

 

Then she heard the most beautiful music in the world as Vincent whispered in Gabriel’s ear, his voice dripping with menace, “Let her go, Gabriel.”  He had waited inside the dark room, flattened against the wall next to the French doors until Gabriel had entered with his prisoner.  She was yanked from his hands as Vincent sent him reeling from a powerful blow to the head that left four deep gashes on his cheek.

 

“Watch him, Diana,” Vincent ordered the young detective who was standing just inside the hall doorway.  She sauntered over to stand above the arch criminal who was lying half propped against the wall.

 

Vincent took Catherine gently into his arms ever mindful of the child growing inside her body.  She held herself tightly against him, murmuring, “I knew you’d come; I knew you’d come . . . my love, my love.”

 

“Nothing could keep me from you,” he whispered, resting his cheek against the top of her head, holding all that was dear to him in his arms.  Catherine sighed deeply; she was finally home where she belonged.

 

Diana watched them out of the corner of her eye, keeping a close guard on Gabriel.  Unable to look at them anymore, she turned her head away from the lover’s reunion.  Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the unhappy cast of Diana’s features.  Maybe this situation could be turned to his advantage as it was obvious to any student of human nature--and he was one--that the Diana woman was in love with Vincent.

 

Wrapped in each other’s arms, the lovers were in a universe whole and entire unto itself, oblivious to all that was going on around them: gunshots, screams of dying and injured men, helicopters whirring overhead.  Or so it seemed.  Neither Diana nor Gabriel had any way of knowing that, when it concerned Catherine, Vincent’s senses were at their peak.

 

“Don’t you wish you had a love like that, Miss Bennett?”  The wintry, sibilant voice broke into her reverie.

 

Startled, she asked, “You know my name?”

 

“I know all your names.  You didn’t answer my question.”

 

“Of course, doesn’t everyone?”

 

He smiled a cold, sly smile.  “There’s a way you can get that kind of love.”

 

“Oh, and how would that be?”

 

He nodded at Catherine and Vincent behind her.  Automatically, she turned her head and wished she hadn’t.  Catherine was tenderly stroking Vincent’s cheek, and he had the look of a man reprieved from a living hell as he bent his head and captured his love’s waiting mouth in a kiss that defied description.  Diana quickly turned back to see a sickening smirk on Gabriel’s face.  He knew, but she’d be damned if she would let him know that she knew.  “Yes, they are very much in love.”

 

“You love h . . .”

 

“Watch your tongue or you might lose it,” she grated as she raised her gun level with his mouth.

 

“I’m only trying to help,” was his smarmy answer.

 

“Help yourself and keep your mouth shut,” she snapped.

 

Shrugging his shoulders, he subsided, but he knew that he had scored a direct hit.

 

The sound of Gabriel’s voice broke into Catherine’s joy and she stiffened.  “He’s not dead?” she asked, horrified. 

 

“No, I only wounded him,” Vincent replied.

 

Her world crumbled.  She had been so certain that he had killed the man.  Freeing herself from Vincent’s arms, she padded over to stand beside Diana so absorbed in staring at the hated man whom  she wished was dead that she barely realized that it was a woman standing over Gabriel.  Vincent followed and stood behind her ready to keep her safe.

 

Glancing smugly from one to the other, Gabriel smiled thinly.  “You can’t beat me,” he said with a sneer.  “I own judges, lawyers, senators, governors, and even presidents . . . whole countries.  Put me on trial and I’ll get off, jurors have families . . . judges too.”

 

Catherine paled, leaning back into Vincent for strength.

 

“Even if I go to jail,” Gabriel continued, “You can rule the world from a jail cell.  Eventually, I’ll get out and I’ll find all of you, make you pay.  I’ll find the child.  I’ll win, I always win.”

 

“No,” Catherine breathed, beginning to shake as if a bitter, cold wind suddenly buffeted her.  “I won’t let you.”  Reacting to the continued threat he posed for her child, she snatched the gun from Diana’s unresisting hand with a swiftness that amazed both Vincent and the young detective.  Without conscious thought, she shot Gabriel through the heart, continuing to pull the trigger until the hammer fell on an empty chamber.  With a surprised and baffled look on his face, the threat to her world crumpled into a boneless heap.  “There,” she said, her voice drained of all emotion, “He’ll never find my baby.” 

 

Diana gaped at her, unable to believe that this cultured, genteel woman had dispatched Gabriel so swiftly.  She had never seen anyone move so fast or so surely.  There was more to Catherine Chandler than the refined facade she showed the public.  She was a tigress protecting her young and mate.  Diana’s estimation of her went up a notch.

 

When Vincent gently pried the empty gun out of Catherine’s fingers, she collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.  Handing the gun to Diana, he picked up his love and carried her to the bed.  Cradling her in his arms as he would a lost child, he whispered words of love and consolation, trying to soothe her, for he knew what she was feeling: To take a life, no matter how depraved, always diminished the taker.  He held her close to his heart so she could draw comfort from its steady beat until the sobbing dwindled, and he could feel the tension drain away.  She hiccupped a couple of times then wearily smiled up at him.  The storm was over.

 

As she reached up to touch his face, she heard Joe’s worried voice.  “Vincent, we’ve lost Gabriel.  Can’t find him anywhere.”

 

“He’s in the corner . . . dead.”  Vincent nodded in that direction.

 

Catherine twisted around to see Joe grinning at her from the doorway.  “Joe!?  You . . . here?” she gulped in surprise.  “You know Vincent?”

 

“Yeah, sure I know him, and where else should I be, kiddo, than rescuing my favorite investigator?”

 

“Oh Joe, thank you.  I don’t know what to say.”

 

“Think nothing of it.  I’m in my Scarlet Pimpernel mode today.”  If possible his grin became even wider as he winked at her.

 

Then Catherine really got the shock of her life as Elliot stuck his head around the doorway.  “Do I get a thank you, too?”

 

“Elliot?” she gasped.  Looking up at Vincent, she found him smiling, enjoying her obvious consternation.  “You know Vincent too?”

 

“We’ve met,” was the laconic reply. It bothered him to see Cathy sitting comfortably ensconced in the lionman’s lap, her arms wrapped around him.  It would take longer for Elliot to accept Vincent and the place he held in Catherine’s life.  The rich, young architect’s pride was hurt.  He could offer her so much more that Vincent, but she preferred this half-man to him.

 

“Well, I can see much has changed since I’ve been away,” she commented as she wiped away her tears.

 

“I hate to break up this lovefest,” Diana’s voice cut into their joyful reunion, “But we need to get Vincent and Catherine out of here.”

 

Catherine realized belatedly that there was someone else in the room and what a someone.  When her eyes found the young detective in the half-light that spilled through the open hallway door, she discovered a woman of understated beauty, strong and confident, aware of her abilities and leadership.  Catherine couldn’t see the look in Diana’s eyes as she looked at Vincent but something--a sixth sense, maybe--warned her that this was a woman to be reckoned with.  Any other woman would wonder about Diana’s affect on her man, but Catherine was not any other woman.  If there was anyone in the world she trusted, it was Vincent, and she knew that he saw the other woman as another friend and nothing more.

 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you,” she said, peering through the murky light.

 

Joe quickly came to her aid.  “This is Diana Bennett, Cathy.”  The two women nodded a greeting to each other, that much they could see.  “She’s been working on your case for about two months.  And, yes, she knows about Vincent and the tunnels, too.”

 

Catherine shook her head at the changes that had transpired in her world since her kidnapping.  “Father’s met all of you?”  They nodded.  “Even you, Elliot?”  He nodded.  “I wish I had been there for that meeting.”  Vincent could hear the little laugh in her voice.  His Catherine was back and would be all right.

 

“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”  Ever the practical one, Diana insisted that they leave.

 

“She’s right,” Joe said.  “Let’s get moving.”

 

Vincent stood up and settled Catherine on her feet.  “I will meet you at the Central Park threshold.  Go with Joe.”

 

“No! I won’t leave you.”  She grabbed hold of his sleeve and held on tightly.  “I’ve lost you twice already; I won’t go through that again.  Never again!  We go together.”

 

“Catherine, please,” he implored.

 

Adamantly, she answered, “No, I go with you.”

 

“But, love, in your condition you can’t travel through the tunnels.  Some of them are too small,” he tried reasoning with her.

 

But she could be very stubborn when she wanted to be, and this time she definitely wanted to be, “There’s got to be a way.”

 

“Look, people, I think I have a way,” Joe interjected.  “I’ll commandeer a van, drive it to the back of the estate, and you all meet me there.  No one will stop us and we can drive close to the park entrance.”

 

“Good idea, I’ll go with you,” Elliot said.

 

Before anyone could say a word, they left at a dead run.  Diana could hear Joe shouting at Greg to finish up, that he needed a van, then the roar of an engine taking off.

 

As those left behind slipped into the garden, the first unbearably bright cusp of sun appeared over the horizon, limning the flowers with gold.

 

“I spent so much of my time in this garden.  It’s a shame its owner never really appreciated how beautiful it is.”  Shivering slightly from the cool morning air, Catherine wrapped her arms around herself.

 

Vincent quickly wrapped her in his cloak and effortlessly lifted her into his arms.  The van squealed up to the back gate; he kicked the gate down and helped the two women into the back.  Quickly shifting gears, Joe floored the gas pedal and the van roared into the rising sun headed for the tunnels and home.

 

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

 

“Be careful, Joe, we don’t want an accident,” Catherine warned.

 

“Don’t worry; I’ll be careful.”  He flipped on the siren as he pulled into the oncoming traffic.

 

Vincent made Catherine comfortable then sat back to enjoy the ride.  This was his first--and he hoped his last--ride in a police van, but he enjoyed the sensation of speed.  It was much different from the ride in John’s pickup.  With sirens blaring, the van could speed through the city with only a pause now and then; whereas, the pickup had to slow often for the sharp curves that abounded in the mountains.  Many times the tires threw coarse gravel as they negotiated an abrupt curve.  He wondered if April had returned to John’s waiting arms and how his friends were on both reservations.

 

It would be good to get Catherine home and out of danger.  He felt her urgent need to get back to the peace and safety of the tunnels, to have her child safely born in his large bed.  He leaned close to her.  “We will soon be home, my love.”

 

With happily glowing eyes, she smiled at him and voiced her joy, “Oh, I can hardly wait to see Father, Mouse, and all the others.”

 

“We’ll be there soon.”  He raised her hand to his lips, all his love naked in his eyes.  Diana looked away abruptly, embarrassed at what she was thinking.

 

Her first good look at Catherine in the golden, early morning light confirmed her opinion of the other woman.  She was one of the most beautiful women the young detective had ever seen: flawless skin, glowing emerald eyes, small but with an underlying strength, evident in the stubborn, square jaw,  that bespoke a strength of will and determination not often found in one of her position. 

 

About an hour later as they pulled up close to the park threshold, Joe called out, “Grand Central Park,” shutting off the engine.  “Passengers will kindly watch their steps as they exit.”  He was enjoying himself immensely, relieved and gratified that he could part of Catherine’s rescue.  Poor Elliot just glowered at him as he left the van.

 

Vincent, Catherine, and Diana waited while the two men scrutinized the area.  When it was clear, Elliot pounded on the side of the van, and they all hurried into the drainage tunnel.

 

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

 

Father and Mary were waiting for them when they arrived at the Common Room.

 

“Catherine, it’s so good to have you home,” he stated, opening his arms to her.  Giving him a wan smile, she gratefully walked into his embrace.  He held her close, asking, “Are you all right?  Is the baby all right?”

 

“I’m fine; he’s fine.”

 

“You look tired.  Come, I’ll examine you and then you can lie down and rest.”

 

As she turned to take Vincent’s hand, Catherine came face to face with a smiling, teary-eyed Mary who enfolded her in a gentle, warm hug.  “Welcome home, child.  We’ve missed you.”  Stepping back, she cupped the young woman’s face between her hands and kissed her on both cheeks then gave her over to the man who loved her.  Holding tightly to Vincent’s hand, Catherine followed Father into their chamber.  Watching the two lovers disappear into the connecting tunnel, Mary sighed with relief.  Her tunnel family was back together the way it should be.

 

Joe, Diana, and Elliot sat at the Council table with Mary, Pascal, Mouse, and William, telling them of all that had happened.  Other members of the community started drifting in as soon as they heard news of the return, so many, that the story had to be started over several times.  Finally, Father stepped into the library and found almost every member of the community crowded into the chamber.

 

Immediately, a hubbub arose as everyone wanted to know how Catherine and the baby were.  Father waved them silent and said, “Catherine is in good condition, just tired, and the baby is fine.  Please disburse to your chambers or whatever work you were doing.  I’m sure Catherine will wish to see you later.”

 

After the community members had departed and only the rescue party was left, he said, “Catherine wishes to speak with you one at a time.”  He looked directly at the young detective, “Diana.”

 

He led her to the chamber entrance.  Hesitantly, she entered.  She was uncertain about this meeting and if she could carry off her charade.  She was afraid that Catherine would see her love for Vincent.

 

Propped up by a profusion of pillows, Catherine was sitting in bed with Vincent reclining next to her, his arm around her shoulder, holding her close.  He needed the feel of her warm, tender body snuggled against his.  She smiled at Diana, trying to put her at ease, aware of the woman’s feelings.  Vincent rewarded his co-rescuer with a smile and a thank you nod.

 

“I want to thank you for all your efforts to save me and our child,” Catherine said, extending her hand to the uncomfortable woman.  “You’ve been a true friend and I hope we can become good friends.”  As she said this, she squeezed Diana’s hand in sympathy, and Diana recognized exactly what the squeeze meant.

 

“My privilege, Catherine.  I hope we become friends too,” she answered with a wavering smile.  Casting a quick glance at Vincent, she saw that he was watching with an approving look on his face.  She really did want to become friends with Catherine.  Maybe all would be well, after all.

 

“I’m sure we will.”  With a surreptitious glance at Vincent, Catherine continued, “We have much in common.  But we’ll talk about that later.”  Clasping Diana’s hand in both of hers, the young woman reaffirmed her sentiments, “Thank you again, Diana.  Please visit me whenever you have the time, and you must be sure to come to our child’s naming day: it’s so special.  You’ll love it.”

 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” the young detective said, relieved that Catherine was such an understanding woman.  As she turned to leave, she met Joe waiting outside the entryway and stepping aside, with a flip of her hand motioned the exuberantly happy young man into the chamber.

 

Joe bounded in very pleased with himself.  “How are you, Radcliffe?”

 

“I’m fine,” she answered, smiling at his smug, satisfied look.  “I understand congratulations are in order.”

 

Embarrassed, Joe shrugged, a little disconcerted.  It still amazed him to wake up in the morning and realize that he was the Acting District Attorney for Manhattan.  He gave her a lopsided grin, “Yeah, how about that--a guy from Brooklyn, Acting DA.”

 

“You deserve it, Joe, and I know you’ll be elected, if you choose to run.  You’ll be a great DA. Seriously though, thanks for everything.  I owe you.”

 

“No problem, kiddo.”

 

“I’m not coming back, you know.”

 

“I know,” he muttered with an unhappy look.

 

“Vincent and the baby come first.”

 

Looking at a very happy and relieved Vincent, Joe said, “You’re a very lucky man, Vincent.  Take good care of her.”  He reached over the bed and shook hands with him.

 

“I will; I give you my promise.”

 

Catherine held out her arms and Joe gladly embraced her.  Then she kissed him on the cheek.  “Thanks, Joe.”

 

He wiped a stray tear from his eyes.  “You’re welcome,” and fled from the chamber; he didn’t want her to see him cry.  He had been so afraid that he would live in a world without her, and the relief from that fear was overwhelming.

 

“Vincent, I want to talk with Elliot alone, if you don’t mind.”

 

“Of course, my love,” he said as he lightly kissed her.  Then he stood up and walked toward the Common Room, meeting Elliot who gave him a sour look.  Vincent showed the unhappy man the entrance to his chamber.  He wondered if he and Elliot would ever be friends.  He hoped so.  Catherine loved Elliot as a friend and as a mother loves a misbehaving child, knowing that they could be better.

 

Elliot stopped in the entryway and soberly stared--almost glared--at her.

 

“Come in, Elliot, sit down.”  She patted the bed next to her.  She sighed deeply, “Once again, it seems I’m indebted to you.  Thank you.”

 

He couldn’t contain his feelings, “Cathy, how can you lo  . . . ?”

 

“Don’t you say it; don’t even think it,” she ordered, her voice sharp with anger.

 

“You don’t even know what he is,” he expostulated.

 

“What he is, isn’t important, but since it is to you, I’ll tell you.  He is a man . . . nothing more, nothing less . . . and he loves me as few women have ever been loved.  You won’t even look past the exterior of the man.”  Elliot shook his head; he just didn’t understand her.  “If you did,” she continued, “you would find nothing to be afraid of.  With his friends, he is kind and gentle.  You won’t find anyone here walking on eggshells around him.  They love him.”

 

“Gentle!?” he barked, almost laughing at what he perceived as her naiveté.  “How can you say that?  I know what he’s capable of.  He’s a killer.”

 

“No, that’s only one part of him.  And then only to protect those he loves . . . me.  Please, Elliot, know him before you judge him.  He’s kind, good, loving, giving, with more strength of character than any man I know.  He’s decent, honest, and brave, and I love him more than my life.  I would sacrifice everything for him.  We are connected in a way that defies description.  I know the deepest part of him and he knows me.  We are soul mates and I am about to give him the one gift he thought he would never have.”  Elliot flinched when he heard her words.  “Can you imagine how that makes me feel?  What joy I feel?  I am truly blessed, Elliot, and happy beyond reason.  Be glad for me, please.”

 

Grudgingly, Elliot admitted, “I’m glad if he’s all you say he is.”  Then he declared, “But I still wish it was me.”

 

Earnestly, she gripped his hands, “Be my friend, Elliot.  Be Vincent’s friend.  You’ll find him a worthy friend to have.”

 

“We’ll see,” was his noncommittal reply.  “I’ve got to get back above,” he said as he stood to leave.

 

“Elliot, come here.”  She motioned him back to her and enfolded him in a thankful embrace.

 

“Oh god, I love you, Cathy,” he whispered, crushing her to him.

 

“I know,” she said softly.  “You will always be important to me, Elliot.  I do love you, you know, just not as you want me to.”

 

“Yeah.  Always the bride’s maid,” he chuckled a little at the oxymoron of himself as a bride’s maid.

 

Catherine patted him lightly on the shoulder.  “See you later?”

 

With a rueful grin, he replied, “Later.”

 

Vincent entered as soon as Elliot left.  He paused, regarding her; she looked so lovely sitting among the pillows, so lovely that his heart twisted with the thought of how close he had come to losing her.  “You look like a queen sitting there.”

 

“I am; I’m the queen of your heart,” she said smugly.   “Come, lie beside me.”

 

With a relieved sigh, he gathered her into his arms.  He caressed her hair from her face and bent down to soundly kiss her.  She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

 

“You were angry with Elliot,” he said when he released her lips.

 

“Yes, he refuses to see you for what you are.”  Sadly, she shook her head.

 

“And what am I, Catherine,” he quietly asked.

 

She looked at him gravely, and then with a soft smile told him.  “You are the man I love, the father of my child.  The only man I will ever love.  Can you feel the joy I have when I say those words?”

 

“Yes, I feel it.”

 

“You are the best of all men.  The man who helped me find myself.”  She paused, thinking back over all her other relationships.  “Vincent, it was only after I met you that I realized why I could never truly commit to anyone.  I didn’t know at the time, but I was waiting for you.  Even with Elliot I had doubts.”  She snuggled closer into his arms.

 

“Ah Catherine, I am what I am because you brought me out of the darkness into the light.”  He kissed the top of her head, rejoicing that now he was able to do such a small thing.

 

“No, Vincent, it was always there.  You just needed someone to love you for who you are, light and dark.  I just happened to be the lucky one.”

 

“I am the lucky one, Catherine.  You sacrifice so much for me that it shames me that I cannot do the same.”

 

Hugging him fiercely, she declared, “Whatever I have sacrificed has been returned to me tenfold by your love.  I want nothing more than to live the rest of my life with you.”

 

“That can be arranged,” he said, mischievously raining kisses on her throat, cheeks, eyes, and lastly, on her lovely mouth.

 

“Ahem, I don’t mean to intrude.”  Father was standing just within the chamber.  “But Catherine needs to rest.”

 

They broke apart like guilty children caught smooching in the school hallway.  Smiling at the man who had become her surrogate father, she said, “Don’t send him away, Father.  I promise to be good and get some sleep.”

 

Father’s scowl changed to a satisfied grin.  “See that you do,” he ordered with mock severity as he backed out of the chamber, thinking, We really do need to get a door to insure their privacy.

 

As Vincent helped her get ready for bed, the changes in her body astounded him.  He had seen pregnant women before, even helped to usher newborns into the world, but he had never expected to see his child growing inside the body of the woman he loved.  To him she was more beautiful now then she had ever been, and he desperately wanted to feel his child inside her.  Pulling her head through the neck opening of her gown, she noticed the yearning look on his face and understood immediately what he needed. 

 

“Come here, love.”  Taking his hand, she placed it against her swollen abdomen.  As if he knew that the hand belonged to his father, the baby gave a tremendous kick.  Surprised Vincent looked at her, “Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked.

 

“A little, but he had to introduce himself to his father and that’s the only way he knows,” she chuckled.

 

Vincent put his lips next to her stomach and said quite clearly, “That’s enough of that, young man,  no need to hurt your mother.”

 

Laughing happily, Catherine laced her arms around Vincent’s waist and leaned against him.  Holding her close to him, he dreaded saying what he would say next, “Diana and Joe said to tell you that they would see you soon.  They have a lot of work ahead.”

 

“I imagine they do,” she commented, remembering the many times she and Joe had stayed late at the office, tidying up after a particularly messy case.  This case was one of those.

 

“They have to come up with a plausible story about that man’s death.”

 

She grimaced painfully, turning her head away.  “I don’t remember much about that but I do remember pulling the trigger again and again, and the cold satisfaction I felt when he died.”  Unhappily, she looked back at the man she loved.  “Does that make me a horrible person?  I’ve tried so hard to be a better person, to make a difference and then I do something like this.  I don’t deserve your love.”  Covering her mouth with her hand, she gazed at him with large tear-filled eyes.  “I’ve ruined everything!” she wailed.  “How can you even look at me?”  She flung herself into the pillows, shaking with suppressed sobs; she didn’t want the others, especially Father, to hear her crying.

 

Shocked at Catherine’s tearful self-accusations, Vincent was rooted to the spot as he heard the words and statements that he had made to her after he had killed to save her.  He was on the other side of the dilemma now and understood how she had felt at those times: the helplessness she must have felt as she tried to console him.  Moving with incredible speed, he was at her side instantly, gathering her into his arms, mouthing all the platitudes that she had said to him, knowing that he could not comfort her, worried at how this might affect the baby.

 

At last, the tears stopped, and with a misty smile, she said, “I understand so much more now, Vincent.  It is not easy to forgive yourself when you kill someone as I did.  My only excuse is the baby.  We would have lived the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, never at peace, waiting for the day he would come and destroy our world and take our child.  I had to do something.”

 

“You did what you had to,” he told her as in his memory he heard her say those words to him so many times before.  He knew they were no balm to the spirit.  Placing a gentle finger under her chin, he raised her lips to his.  “I love you, Catherine, and you deserve everything,” he said as they broke apart.

 

She buried her face in his neck, hugging him with all her might.  “I love you; I always will.”

 

Smiling into her damp eyes, he asked, “Now . . . all better?” even as he thought that there would be other episodes until she accepted that what had happened . . . happened.

 

“Uh huh,” she nodded, yawning hugely; she was so tired.  The rescue, the return home, this last emotional episode all combined to weary her and she yawned again.

 

Vincent stretched out full length on the bed and pulled her next to him.  Wrapping his arms around his dearest treasure, he said, “Go to sleep, my love.  You and the baby need your rest.  When you awake, I will be here, holding you just like this.”

 

Sleepily, she wiggled until she was just where she wanted to be and closed her eyes.  She was asleep in an instant, knowing that she was safe in his arms.  In a few seconds, Vincent followed her.

 

Returning from the bathroom, Father thought he had heard voices coming from their chamber.  Now what are those two up to?  They know she needs sleep.  This is no time for conversation.

 

Stalking down the corridor, he marched into their chamber ready to soundly berate them.  What he found silenced him.  They were sound asleep, arms and legs entwined.  He smiled fondly, understanding that they needed the comfort of each other’s embrace.  Slowly he backed out and returned to his chamber, content to have both safely back where he could watch over them.