If Alex Fell: Fate

Part One

Late October, 2000

She turned her collar up against the biting wind. The weather had taken a turn for the worse in the last half -hour. Not a great time to be out for a late night stroll, but something tugged at her and staying home only made it worse. Some nights were like that, a nagging sensation that refused to go away until she walked it out; too many thoughts, too many ideas, too many nights alone contributing to the general frustration and emptiness in her life. The back streets of town were no place to be alone this late, but this was her home and she knew every turn, every corner, every inch of the darkness, by heart. The streets gave her a sense of security and belonging. She could close her eyes and shut out the loneliness.

A loud clap of thunder startled her out of her reverie. Her nose had barely registered the telltale smell of ozone, when second clap sounded. She picked up the pace, hoping to get back home before the rain began. Around the next corner, she could cut through the alley behind Bandits, a local pool hall/pub.

A few feet from the corner, she heard a shot and pressed herself up against the brick wall of an office building. Her writer's sense of humor kicked in as she watched two men run from the alley and disappear down the street. 'It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a shot rang out,' she thought with a grin. The grin faded as she rounded the corner and saw a body slumped against the dumpster. Without a second thought, she ran toward it. The man was breathing, but unconscious. His left arm was dangling at a peculiar angle, by his right; she found a small handgun. She hoped that meant he had been the shooter and not the shootee. Checking him over, she found no evidence of a gunshot wound, lots of blood, but none coming from a new hole in his body. His nose was bleeding and he had a number of cuts on his face. He was breathing like his ribs hurt and when she touched him there, he whimpered and his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, buddy, what's your name?" she asked him.

"Alex," he whispered.

"Well, Alex, looks like we need to get you some help."

"No hospital," he coughed, just before passing out.

She pulled the cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the only person she could rely on.

"Hey Kid, it's me. I need your help. No, I'm behind Bandits. Yes, I know what time it is. Look, just get over here, will you? Oh, Kid, bring your bag. Thanks babe, I knew I could count on you."

She folded the phone and dropped it back into her pocket.

"Hold on, Alex, the cavalry is on its way."

Another clap of thunder struck. This one wasn't as loud as the previous two, but with it came the rain. There was no overhang in the alley, so she took off her coat and held it over them in a vain attempt to keep dry. Ten minutes later, when Kid arrived, they were soaked to the bone.

Kid got out of the car, leaving his headlights on, to illuminate the darkened alley.

"Hanna?"

"Down here, Kid. Over by the dumpster." She stood up and waved at him.

"Jesus, you're soaked. What the Hell are you..." he complained, as he approached the dumpster. The body at her feet cut off his words. "Oh God, Hanna, what have you done this time?"

She frowned at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kid. I haven't done anything. I was out walking. I heard a shot, saw a couple guys running and when I turned the corner, there he was. Looks like he was responsible for the gunfire, since the gun's over there and I couldn't find a bullet hole in him. Whoever he was firing at beat him up bad though. His face is a mess, I think he may have a broken rib and his left arm scares the shit out of me. I didn't even try to touch it."

Kid knelt down to take a look at the man on the ground. The rain was coming down harder and he couldn't see for all the water running into his eyes. He looked at the gun on the ground. Without a second thought, he picked it up and put it in his coat pocket for safekeeping. Kid had no intention of returning it to this man, but he didn't want to leave it on the ground either.

"Hanna, why didn't you just call an ambulance?"

"He said he didn't want to go to a hospital."

"You spoke to him?"

"Yeah, just for a second. His name's Alex and he doesn't want to go to a hospital. That's all I know. Please Kid, help him," she pleaded.

Kid sighed. For as long as they'd known each other, Hanna had been the one to pick up every stray. Usually, she kept herself to strays of the canine or feline variety, but every so often, one of the human variety struck her fancy. He should know; he was her first human stray.

October, 1971

Katie Heyes wandered the playground looking for something to do. At ten years old, she didn't fit in with the other girls in the class. Barbie dolls bored her, Easy Bake ovens were for wimps and if she had to listen to one more discussion about who was cuter, Donny Osmond or Bobby Sherman, she'd surely puke up a lung

Ordinarily, finding something to do wasn't a big problem. Ordinarily, she'd be playing kickball with the rest of the guys. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have her ankle wrapped in plaster, thanks to a patch of oil on the garage floor. Her dad had been changing the oil in the car, when the pan tipped, dumping the contents. While he was inside getting a bag of kitty litter to sop up the mess, Katie had come running into the garage and slipped on the spill, fracturing her ankle. It could have been worse, she supposed, at least she had on a walking cast, so she wasn't confined to the house or the classroom. She couldn't stand being confined or being still, so she walked everywhere, endlessly. It drove her parents crazy, but her grandmother understood and supported her. The last time she'd gone walkabout, her parents had yelled at her for almost a half-hour until her grandmother intervened.

"'The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.' Leave the child alone. Her walks hurt no one. She's good girl, don't take away that which gives her comfort. Katrina, promise me you will tell your parents when you decide to go walking next time. They worry when you disappear, that's why they yell."

She promised and rarely forgot after that. The yelling stopped as well. They still didn't like seeing her go, but grandmother had spoken and her parents accepted her wisdom. Grandmother was her hero and her best friend. Grandmother had also come to stay with them, while she waited to die. Katie refused to think about the cancer that was slowly sucking the life out of her grandmother, believing, as all children do, that if she didn't think about it, it wouldn't happen.

Katie wandered the playground until she saw the new kid sitting on the swings by himself. He wasn't in her class, but she'd seen him come in to school the day before. She had a funny feeling about him, like they were supposed to be together. He looked nice enough, so she decided to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Katie Heyes. What's your name?"

"Matthew. Matthew Curry."

Katie giggled at his name. "Matthew Curry? Really? Your last name is Curry?"

"Yeah, so what?" Matthew replied, indignantly. Great, someone had finally come over to talk to him, only to laugh at his name.

Don't you watch TV? We're famous outlaws," Katie said, with a grin.

"What are you talking about?"

Katie sighed. "Alias Smith and Jones, don't you watch it? It's so cool. My last name is Heyes and yours is Curry, just like the two guys on the show, Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes. It's my favorite show in the whole world; haven't you seen it yet?"

"Oh yeah! I love that show," he smiled. "Man, I can't believe I didn't get it right away. I don't know any girls who like that show. At my last school, none of the girls would be caught dead watching Westerns."

"I'm not like most girls. I love Westerns and playing ball and climbing trees and walking all over the place. I hate stupid Barbie and Donny Osmond and Bobby Sherman and all that other girl junk that everyone else likes." She paused and looked at him. "You're going to think this is weird, but I have a feeling that we're supposed to be friends."

Matthew laughed. They spent the rest of recess together on the swings, talking. After school, Matthew waited for her outside of her classroom and they walked home together. As luck would have it, Matthew's dad had bought a house the next street over from Katie's, so they were practically neighbors. She brought Matthew inside and introduced him to her mom and grandmother, then they walked down to his house. His mother welcomed her with open arms and offered them both an after school snack of warm chocolate chip cookies and milk.

"You know what, Matthew? I think I'm going to start calling you Kid and you should call me Hannibal. We've got the last names already; we might as well go for the gold. Whadda you think?" Katie asked, with a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.

"That's cool with me," Matthew said, "but Hannibal's a boys name. How about just Hanna? That's a girl's name and it's shorter than Hannibal is, too."

Katie frowned, then rolled the name around in her head. Hanna Heyes. Hmmm. That's not too bad, actually. "OK, Hanna it is."

Present day

"Let's get him into the car, then. Where do you want to take him, Hanna?"

She looked at him. He already knew the answer to that question; he just wanted her to say it so that he could have something else to bitch about. "Where do you think?"

Matthew frowned and launched into tirade. "Hanna! You don't even know this guy! This is not one of your stray kittens, this is a man with a gun, for crying out loud."

She set her jaw and glared at him. "Kid, are you going to help me pick him up or are you going to stand there getting wetter and wetter, while I do it myself?"

Kid sighed. He knew that face; there was no point in arguing with her. One thing he'd learned early on was that once she set her mind on something, no one could talk her out of it. She was right, more often than not, but still.

"Fine. You grab his legs, I'll grab his arms and we'll hoist him into the back seat."

He knelt down to get a grip on Alex's shoulders, but felt something odd under the jacket. Feeling his way down, he was startled to find that the arm ended about six inches from the shoulder. That explained the position of the arm, at least.

"Hey Hanna, check this out."

He reached down and twisted the prosthesis completely around. Katie yelped.

"Jesus, Kid, isn't he hurt enough? What are you doing to him?"

Matthew laughed. "It's a prosthetic arm, Hanna. Your stray's an amputee."

"His name is Alex, Kid, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that again. Geez, you scared the crap out of me," she said, letting out a breath. "I guess this means his arm's not broken, that's a plus." She shivered in the cold rain. "Can we get him in the car already? It's cold and wet and I'd really like you take a look at his injuries before we all drown."

They grabbed Alex and got him into the back seat. Alex whimpered and struggled a little, but didn't wake up. They drove in silence back to Katie's loft. Matthew was trying to figure out how to persuade his friend from taking this guy upstairs, while Katie was keeping a watchful eye on her charge. She knew that Matthew was dying to fight with her about this, but she also knew he'd give in, he always did.

Matthew pulled up in front of Katie's building. She got out and opened the front door, while Matthew opened the car door. They had a much harder time getting him out, but finally, they were able to pull him from the vehicle and into the waiting elevator. Upstairs, they carried Alex into the spare room and placed him carefully on edge of the bed.

"Hold him up for a minute, Kid. Let me get him out of these wet things." She removed Alex's jacket, sweater, T-shirt and arm. He had fresh bruises on his chest, stomach and ribs. "Oh my God, look at this."

Matthew didn't say a word. Katie pulled down the blankets. "Let's get the rest of his things off and get him into bed." She sat down on the floor and wrestled with the boots. They came off after much tugging, followed by his soaking socks. Getting up, she had Matthew lower Alex to the mattress, then reached for the button on his jeans and popped it. She pulled at the zipper, then slowly attempted to peel the jeans from Alex's body. The wet denim put up a good fight, but Katie succeeded in removing the saturated garment, along with the briefs they were hiding. Her eyes traveled up his body, but stopped short when she saw his right knee. It was swollen to twice its normal size and purple.

"Oh God, Alex," she gasped.

"Damn, Hanna. Someone really did a number on this guy."

"I can see that. Help me slide him up here, then you can check him out, while I go get him something to wear. I'll bring you some dry clothes, too," she added. "What should I do with this?" she asked, holding up the arm.

"Hang it up somewhere so the chest harness can dry."

About ten minutes later, Katie returned, wearing dry clothes and bearing same for both Matthew and Alex.

"So, what's the verdict on the patient?" she asked, as she began to put a pair of sweat pants on Alex.

"Without an x-ray, I can't be sure, but I think he has a couple of cracked ribs. His knee is messed up pretty bad, but I don't think that the kneecap is broken; again, I'd need an x-ray. The cuts on his face aren't as bad as they look. Once we get him cleaned up a little more, I'll put some antibiotic cream on them. This one over his eye is going to need a couple of stitches. He's got a nasty bump on the back of his head that needs to be iced. I have a feeling he has a concussion. Other than that, he's badly bruised and will probably hurt like Hell for the next few weeks. He belongs in a hospital, Hanna."

"I'm not taking him to the hospital. He said 'no hospital' and I'm not going to put him somewhere he doesn't want to be."

'Damn it!' he thought. 'Hanna and her intense distrust of hospitals.' She watched her grandmother being taken to the hospital, against her will, in the last few days of her life. Her grandmother had begged Katie's parents to leave her alone, to let her die in her own bed surrounded by her family. Her parents hadn't listened. They meant well, but in the end, Katie's grandmother had died in the early hours of the morning, with no one around to hold her hand. Katie never quite forgave her parents for that and she vowed she'd never set foot in a hospital again. When Matthew told her that he was going to be doctor, she hadn't spoken to him for weeks. Her anger passed and she became his biggest champion, but she made him promise that she would never have to set foot in that place.

"Hanna, what if he dies? What if he's bleeding internally? I can't see inside his body," Matthew argued.

Katie sat down on the bed next to Alex and pushed the hair away from his forehead. "Lift him up so I can get this sweatshirt on. He needs to have something covering his chest."

"Hanna."

"He's not going to die, Kid. I won't let him," she whispered. "Are you going to stitch him up? He's starting to bleed through the gauze."Matthew frowned, but reached into his medical bag for needle and surgical thread. "You're going to have to hold on to him, in case he tries to fight me. I'd numb the spot, but I think it might be better to try it without first. Should only take two, maybe three stitches to close it. Besides, I'd feel better if he did wake up."

Katie nodded and moved Alex's head into her lap. She placed a hand on either side of his face and held tightly as Matthew took the first stitch. Alex twitched, but didn't wake up. The second and third stitches barely registered a reaction. When Matthew was done, she gently slid Alex's head onto the pillow and pulled the blankets up around him. She reached back to turn the light off, on their way out of the room.

Matthew dropped his bag on the table beside the couch. "I'd better call Tyler and tell him I won't be coming home tonight."

"What do you mean you won't be going home? I'm sure Tyler's already pissed off at me for calling you out in the middle of the night." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go home. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Hanna, I don't like the idea of you being alone with this guy."

"Go home, Kid. I'll be fine. Give Tyler a big, wet one for me, OK?"

"Hanna," he started. The look on her face told him that arguing was pointless. "Promise you'll call me when he wakes up. I want to ask him a few questions."

"I will."

Matthew shook his head and opened his bag. "I'm leaving you a couple of dressings for his stitches, just in case he breaks them open or they start to seep. Here's the antibiotic cream. I'll be by later this morning to change the dressing myself, but if you have to do it before I get here, be sure to put this on the wound. You're going to have to watch him. If he wakes up, ask him if he's dizzy or nauseated or if he's seeing double. Call me if he says yes to any of these, Hanna. Ice his leg for fifteen minutes every hour, to see if we can get the swelling down. Oh, if he starts to run a fever, call me. Got all that?"

"Yes Dr. Curry. Anything else?" Katie teased. "It's all common sense, Kid, I think I can handle it. Go home."

"OK, I'll be back in a few hours. This is a stupid thing you're doing."

"Maybe, but I have a feeling about this one. I think he's supposed to be here with me."

Matthew let his head drop. "A feeling, Hanna?"

She shrugged. "They've always served me well, haven't they?"

He shook his head and sighed. "I guess they have. Night, Hanna."

"Night, Kid."

A short time later, Alex tossed and turned, then cried out. Katie woke up and rushed to his bedside. He was muttering something, in Russian. So, the plot thickens, she thought. Her grandmother had emigrated from Russia as a young bride, but had not passed the language down to her children. "We are in America," she explained to her husband, "our children should speak English." And that was that. In the last few months of her life, her grandmother had taught her a few words and a lullaby, of sorts. She didn't remember most of the individual words now, but the lullaby had stayed with her. As Alex became more agitated, she sat down beside him on the bed and stroked his hair. Her movements seemed to calm him, but before she realized what she was doing, she found herself singing her grandmother's song.

Sleep, Little Snow Girl, sleep,
Our tasty bun so sweet,
Rolled from the snow of spring,
Warmed by the sun of spring.
We'll give you drink a-plenty,
We'll give you food galore,
And make you such a pretty dress
And teach you four times four

Not exactly a lullaby for a grown man, but it was the only Russian she knew, it would have to suffice. It seemed to do the trick, for by the third time, Alex had stopped tossing and had fallen into a sound sleep.

Part Two

Alex woke up at 4 AM, sore as Hell, with no idea where he was and a desperate need to pee. He tried to swing his legs over to the side of the bed, but shooting pain in his knee and ribcage caught him by surprise. He cried out, waking Katie.

"Easy there, Alex. Don't try to do too much moving around. Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you," Katie offered, as she turned on the light.

"I need to pee," he stated bluntly, squinting as the light assaulted his eyes. "And if you can do that for me, darling, go right ahead."

Katie smiled. "OK, so that one's out of my range of expertise. I don't have a bedpan handy, so I guess you'll have to use me as a crutch."

She pulled back the blankets and slid her hands under his legs. "Look, you have a swollen knee and a couple of cracked ribs, so don't try to move to quickly. I'm going to slide your legs over to the side of the bed, then help you sit up. It's going to hurt, but I don't know of any other way to get you where you need to go." Katie looked him in the eyes; I knew they'd be green, she thought. "Ready?"

He nodded and she began to move his legs. "Tell me if you want me to stop." He winced and bit the inside of his mouth, to hold back the screams he felt surging up from his belly. When his legs were hanging over the side of the bed, she slid her arms around his back. "You push, I'll pull and between the two of us, we should be able to bring you to a sitting position."

"No, don't. I can sit up all by myself, thank you."

"OK, go for it."

He pushed himself part of the way up, then a sharp pain in his ribs made his stop.

"Sure you don't want some help?" Katie asked.

"Maybe a little," he conceded.

Together, they managed to get him sitting upright. He couldn't bend his right knee and his head was swimming in pain. He looked at the woman standing over him.

"Now what?" he asked. "I don't think you're going to be able to support me."

"I was just thinking that very same thing," Katie replied. "Let me think."

"Think fast, or pretty soon, it's going to be a moot point."

"OH! Hang on, I've got just the thing."

She ran out of the room. He could hear the sound of something being moved across the floor, then she burst through the door, full of smiles.

"How's this?" she asked, pointing to a rolling desk chair. "We can slide you onto the seat and I can roll you over to the bathroom."

He smiled for the first time since waking up. "That just might work."

She pushed the chair over to the side of the bed and held it in place while he scooted onto it. The movement caused him a great deal of pain, but he supposed that was something he'd have to get used to. When he was fully on the seat, Katie pushed him out the door and over to the bathroom. She pushed the chair up against the toilet, close enough for him to slide over. The problem was, she'd have to hold the chair so that it didn't slip in the process.

"Gee, this arrangement doesn't give you much privacy. I'll turn my back while you slide over and, if you want, I can duck out until you're done. Then I can come back and hold the chair again. How does that sound?" she asked.

She needn't have bothered, since by the time she'd gotten the words out of her mouth, he was already taking care of business.

"Or, I could just stay here and wait," she added, averting her eyes.

She felt the seat move, signaling his return. He reached over and flushed the toilet. "I appreciate the thought, but my bladder was in no condition to argue with my sense of modesty."

"No problem. Now that we have the bathroom situation taken care of, let's get you back to bed." A thought hit her. "Alex? I hate to ask, but Matthew will want to know. Did you notice any blood in your urine?"

"No," he yawned, "everything looked normal."

She rolled him back to the bedroom and helped him onto the bed.

"Can I ask you a question now?"

Katie sat down in the recliner. "Sure, what do you want to know?"

"For starters, who are you, where am I and how do you know my name?"

"Oh good, easy questions. I'm Katie Heyes, you're in my loft, which isn't too far from the alley where I found you and you told me your name a few hours ago. Matter of fact, you said exactly three words to me. The first being your name, the other two 'no hospital', which is why you're here instead of there."

"Well, Katie Heyes, it's nice to meet you. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but isn't bringing a strange man up to your loft a pretty stupid thing to do? You don't know anything about me, except my name and my interest in staying out of hospitals."

"Do me a favor," Katie said, with a grin. "Say that to my friend, Matthew, when he gets here later. He said the same thing to me last night and I know he'll get a kick out of hearing it come from you."

"Who's Matthew?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"Dr. Matthew Curry. My best friend in the world. I called him after I found you last night. He helped bring you here. He cleaned you up, stitched your eye back together and gave you a thorough check up. He is of the opinion that this is a stupid idea as well and that you should be in the hospital right now. You'll get to meet him before too long; he'll be stopping by to check on you. What else do you want to know?"

He yawned again; wincing in pain as his lungs tried to suck in a deep breath. "Everything, but not right now. I think I'd like to go back to sleep."

Katie nodded her head and pulled the blanket up around her. "Good idea, think I'll catch a little nap myself." Just as she started to get comfortable, she remembered something Matthew had told her. " Oh damn, Matthew said that we're supposed to be icing that knee." She started to get up from the chair to get the ice pack, but Alex stopped her.

"Not right now, I'll never get back to sleep with the ice on it. Wait until later, it's not going anywhere."

"You sure? It looks pretty bad."

"Yeah, just leave it alone, for now."

"OK, just don't tell Matthew I let it slide."

"It'll be our little secret," he replied, sleepily.

Sleep well, Alex."

"You too, Katie."

At 6:45, Alex cried out again. Katie called over to him, but he didn't respond to her words. He struggled and fought with the blankets, saying those words in Russian that she couldn't quite make out. She went to his side and sat down next to him on the bed. Stroking his hair, she began to sing her lullaby. His thrashing ceased soon after she started. He could hear her, even if he couldn't find his way back to consciousness. When his breathing seemed normal, she stopped singing and prepared to go back to her chair. As she lifted her body from the bed, Alex mumbled something else in Russian, two words she did understand, no mama. She settled back down on the bed and sang a little longer. He sighed and nuzzled his head against her leg.

At 7:30, she had to get up. Sitting with her back up against the headboard of the bed had become unbearably uncomfortable. She got up, stretched out a little and waited to see if he would notice that she'd moved. When it looked like he was going to remain quiet, she decided to risk leaving him long enough to grab a quick shower. Twenty minutes later, freshly showered and kink-free, she returned to check on him. Laying her hand on his forehead, she was horrified to discover that he was burning up with fever.

"Damn it, Alex! I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?"

She hurried out to the phone to call Matthew.

"Kid, it's me. He's running a fever. No, he was fine twenty minutes ago when I left him to go take a shower, now he's burning up. No, I don't know how high, I didn't check. Do you want me to get the thermometer and call you back? OK, great. See you in few."

She went into the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer. Turning it on, she held it in his ear and pushed down on the button, 103.2. She took his temperature two more times, just to be sure. The thermometer read the same each time.

"Oh Alex, I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep you out of the hospital now," she said, as she paced the floor. "What do I do? Think." She paced back and forth, over and over, until she remembered the ice pack and ran to the kitchen. "OK, Alex, this issneaky, but it's our only shot at keeping you here." Pulling back the covers, she placed the ice pack on his knee, hoping it would bring his temp down a little, at least enough to keep Matthew from pulling rank on her and calling for an ambulance. "Come on ice, do your stuff. If you can hear me, Alex, think cool thoughts."

Twenty minutes later, the door opened and Matthew rushed to the bedroom. He nodded to Katie, then placed his hand on Alex's head. Frowning, he opened his bag and pulled out a thermometer. "Have you taken his temp?"

"No," she lied.

He turned back toward his patient and looked at the thermometer. 102.9. "It's pretty high, Hanna." He showed her the thermometer and inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Under 103 meant she stood a chance of keeping him here.

"He was fine early this morning. We had a nice conversation."

"You spoke to him? Was he dizzy or nauseated or seeing double? Did he know who he was?"

"God, slow down, Kid. He woke up and tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. He screamed, I woke up and I went over to help him. It wasn't easy, but we devised a way to get him into the bathroom, so that he could answer the call. Afterwards, I brought him back in here and got him into bed again. So you know, he agrees with you about this being a stupid idea, but he's glad that we didn't take him to the hospital. And no, until this fever, he wasn't showing any of those symptoms."

"Was there blood in his urine?"

"I knew you'd want to know that, so I asked him and he said everything was normal."

Matthew pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Alex's heart and lungs. The beat was strong and his lungs seemed clear, both good signs. The fever concerned him and he still believed that this guy belonged in the hospital, but Matthew wasn't ready to force the issue quite yet.

"Here's the thing, Hanna. This guy belongs in the hospital." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "Let me finish. He belongs in a hospital, but I'm not going to insist you let me take him there. Not yet anyway."

Katie smiled and threw her arms around him. "Thank you."

He peeled her off of his neck and pushed her back. "Look, I'm doing this against my better judgment, so you have to promise me you'll do exactly as I say. As much as I've come to trust your feelings, I'm not willing to endanger this man's life for them. I'm giving you more space than I should, already."

"I know you are and I appreciate it. Alex appreciates it too, even if he can't tell you so himself." She leaned over Alex and brushed the hair away from his forehead. "He's going to be just fine. We're going to have a bad few days, but he's going to be fine. I can feel it."

Matthew gave her a long list of things to do and symptoms to watch for, before leaving for work. She had strict instructions to call him, should Alex's fever get any higher. He stared at her when she promised she'd call, knowing fully well that she was lying through her teeth. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Hanna. I hope I know what I'm doing, too,' he thought.

Every hour, on the hour, Katie checked Alex's temperature. It stayed right at 102.9, even after removing the ice pack. At noon, she noticed his lips getting dry and decided she had to do something to keep him from dehydrating. Her first thought was to try dripping water into his mouth, but she was afraid it might end up in his lungs. Instead, she went into the bathroom and prepared a damp washcloth. First, she moistened his lips, then she placed the cloth on his forehead. It wasn't much, but it was the safest thing she could come up with.

At 2:30, he had another bout of restlessness. This one wasn't as bad as the others, he tossed some and whimpered in pain, but he wasn't talking in his sleep. Katie sat next to him, cradling his head and singing softly.

Tyler showed up at 5:15 with a pot full of beef stew and a bottle of wine. He headed directly to the kitchen and put the pot on the stove.

"What's the occasion, Tyler?"

"Matthew told me about your newest house guest. Knowing you, I figured that you'd get so involved in your latest project that you'd forget about food. I called the hospital and told him to meet me here for dinner. This way I know you'll both eat something tonight."

Katie smiled. "Why Tyler, you care about me after all. I'm touched," she teased.

"No I don't," he teased back. "I just want to stay in your good graces so that you'll leave me the loft in your will."

She chuckled. "It's going to Matthew, but I suppose he'll let you stay here," she replied, just before kissing his cheek. "Thanks, Ty. This was really nice of you to do."

"No problem. I'm still pretty pissed at you for dragging Matthew out of bed last night though. Can I see what was so damned important?"

"Go ahead. He's in the bedroom."

Tyler crossed to the bedroom and peered in from the doorway.

"Is he awake?" she asked, hopefully.

"No." He walked into the room to get a better look. Katie followed a minute later and found him staring intently at Alex.

"God, Katie. He's beautiful. You're forgiven," he whispered.

"He is, isn't he. I'm glad you approve." She slipped an arm around him and gave him squeeze. "Stop staring, you're spoken for," she said, with a wink and a nudge.

"I can look. I'm married, not dead," he replied, returning her squeeze. "I'm going to go stir the stew. Matthew should be here around 6, so we can eat then."

"Sounds good. I'll be out in a bit. I want to check Alex's temperature and take a look at his knee before Kid gets here."

Tyler nodded and left to tend to the stew. Katie pulled back the blankets and touched Alex's knee. It felt a little less swollen than before, so she decided to try and pull the pant leg up to take a real look. She got the pant leg part of the way up his calf, before he stiffened and cried out. Katie pulled the pant leg down quickly and rushed to comfort him. She kneeled down on the floor and touched his face.

"Shhh, Alex. I'm sorry. It's okay, everything's okay."

He moaned and tried to move, hurting his ribs in the process. "No, no. Mama make it stop," he cried, in Russian. This time, she understood his words.

"I'll try, Alexei," she whispered. "I'll try." She kissed his forehead, leaving her lips there a little longer than necessary. Then, resting her forehead against his, she sang to him, softly, until he was calm once again.

Tyler stood silently in the doorway of the bedroom, listening to Katie sing to this stranger. He'd only come back to ask if she wanted him to make some biscuits to go with the stew; he hadn't meant to intrude, but he couldn't stop himself from watching the scene unfold. About the third go round of the song, he made the decision to walk away before she noticed he was there. Thirty minutes later, when Matthew arrived, she was still there, fast asleep, at Alex's side.

"How long has she been there?" he asked Tyler.

"In the room? About forty-five minutes. Asleep? No more than twenty."

"What was she doing anyway?"

Tyler told him about going in to see Alex and about Katie staying to check on his knee. When he reached the part about Katie singing to him, Matthew sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'd better wake her up, before she hurts something."

"Good idea. I'll go put dinner on. Do you have to go back to the hospital tonight?"

"No. Why?"

"I brought wine. Didn't want to pour you a glass if you had to go back."

"Pour freely, my dear, I think I'm going to need it," he replied.

Matthew walked into the room and squatted down beside Katie. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up," he crooned softly. "Dinner's ready."

Katie opened her eyes and tried to focus.

"Welcome back. Dinner's ready."

"Oh, I guess I fell asleep," she said, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?'

"Just after six. Tyler says you haven't been asleep for too long. Think you can stand up or do you need help?"

She pushed away from the bed and stretched her back. "Not sure yet." She tried to move, but found her legs asleep. "Nope, the legs have checked out for the moment. I think you're going to have to help me up."

He grabbed her under the arms and pulled, bringing her to her feet.

"Ow," she said. "I'm getting to old for this shit." She stretched her legs until the circulation returned. "While you're in here, would you take a look at his knee? I think the swelling's gone down. I tried to look earlier, but he started tossing and turning."

"Yeah, let's take a look." He reached over and placed his hand on Alex's knee, gently pushing all around the kneecap. "Oh yeah, it's gone down quite a bit.

Have you been icing it down all day?"

"Of course I have. He's overdue for it now, since I fell asleep, but up until Tyler got here, I had ice on it every hour, as instructed."

He reached over and put his hand on Alex's forehead. "He's still running a fever. Get my bag, I want to see where he's at."

Katie left the room and grabbed his bag from the table by the couch. Tyler was taking the plates to the table. She held up her finger. "We'll be right out, Ty. Just need to take Alex's temp."

She put the bag down on the recliner, reached in and pulled out the thermometer. Matthew was relieved to find that Alex's temp had dropped since he'd last been there.

"Well? What is it?" Katie asked.

"102 even. Still high, Hanna, but much better than earlier."

She smiled, excitedly. "I told you he'd be fine."

"Slow down. He's got a long way to go before we can say he'll be fine. Let's just say I'm a little less concerned about leaving him here than I was before."

"He's going to be fine," she stated firmly. "I know it." She reached down and kissed Alex's forehead. "Keep thinking cool thoughts, Alexei," she whispered. Straightening up, she grabbed Matthew's hand. "Come on, Tyler's waiting for us."

They sat and ate, attempting to carry on with the usual table talk; how was your day? anything interesting happen at work?, the normal conversations of families at dinnertime. Tyler tried to keep the atmosphere light, but Katie was distracted by thoughts of Alex and Matthew was distracted with his concern for Katie. Finally, he gave up and ate in silence. When he was done, Tyler cleared the table, started the dishes and put the rest of the stew in the refrigerator. Katie left the table and went in to check on Alex. Matthew brought his bowl into the kitchen and put it next to the sink.

"Thanks, Ty. That was delicious." He put his arms around his lover and hugged him tight.

Tyler turned in Matthew's arms and kissed him. "I'm going home now, so you can talk to her alone. Try not to be too late."

"I won't," he said, letting go. "I'm worried about her, Ty. She's already falling for this man and she doesn't even know him. I want to trust her feeling, but this is too weird, even for her."

Tyler smiled and chuckled.

"Am I overreacting again," Matthew asked.

"No, you're not," he said. "You're being her best friend. Just don't push too hard this time; say your piece and come home. She's too far gone to hear you anyway."

"I know, that's what worries me."

Tyler kissed Matthew on the cheek, then walked to the elevator. When he was gone, Matthew took a deep breath and headed into the bedroom. Katie was there, sitting on side of the bed, holding a damp cloth on Alex's forehead and telling him all about dinner.

Part Three

"How long have you been holding that cloth on his head?"

"Just now, or in general?" she asked. Matthew scowled. "I started around noon. His lips looked dry and I was afraid he might get dehydrated. I thought about using the syringe to get some water in him, but I didn't know if it would go into his stomach or into his lungs, so I decided to just wet his lips, then put the cloth on his head. Was that the right thing to do?"

"Yes, it was the right thing to do." He patted her arm. "Come on, we need to talk."

She nodded and reluctantly got up. Alex protested a little, shifting his head to the spot she'd just left. Katie put her hand on his cheek. "I'll be back soon, Alexei."

They walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She knew what he was going to say and she really didn't want to hear it. She also realized that he wouldn't be her friend if he didn't try.

"Alexei?" he asked. "You lost me with that one."

"He woke up yelling in Russian last night. I couldn't understand most of what he was saying, other than 'no' and 'mama'. When he wouldn't calm down, I started singing that lullaby my grandmother taught me. Seemed to do the trick. Anyway, whenever he gets a little restless, I talk to him and call him Alexei and he settles down."

Matthew sighed. "You don't know him, Hanna. Don't start believing you do."

She looked at him and flashed a sad grin. "I know you're right, but I can't hear you. I'm supposed to know him, Kid, just like I was supposed to know you. The feeling is that strong. Don't you understand?"

He slid over and pulled her into his arms. "I do understand. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know. I have to go with my feeling on this. If I get hurt, so be it. You can't save me, Matthew; all you can do is be there to pick up the pieces, if this all comes crashing down around me. Which it won't," she added.

"Matthew?" He looked surprised. "The last time you called me Matthew was when I told you I was in love with Tyler. That was almost eight years ago." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Katie. I'll be here to pick up the pieces or dance at your wedding, whatever you need. Just be careful."

"I will," she promised. "Now go home and be with Tyler. It was really sweet of him to fix dinner for us this evening; you need to make sure he knows how much you appreciated the gesture."

"No problem there. I have every intention of making him feel fully appreciated," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Katie snickered as Matthew got up and gathered his things.

"Call me if you need anything," he said, just before getting into the elevator.

"I will."

He nodded and closed the elevator door.

Katie got up from the couch and looked in on Alex. He was still resting quietly. She picked up the washcloth and carried it into the bathroom. The whirlpool was calling to her, but she was afraid to be away from him for that long. Instead, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. On her way back to the bedroom, she filled a small bowl with water, so that she wouldn't have to go all the way to the bathroom, in the middle of the night. She placed the bowl and washcloth on the nightstand, before checking his head one more time. In her mind, she heard the voice of her grandmother and it made her smile. "I'm right here, if you need me, Alexei," she said softly. "Your Katya's right here." He pushed his head against her hand. She kissed his forehead and crawled into the recliner.

She watched him until almost 8:30, before drifting off herself. Not an hour later, he started talking in his sleep. Katie woke up and listened, trying to make out anything he was saying. The ones she could understand were in English this time. Ramblings mostly, random words, Mulder, Scully, oil, nothing that made any sense to her, but obviously meant something important to him. He mumbled, but in his dream, he seemed to be fighting with someone. He raised his arm to emphasize a point and dropped it on his torso, causing him to cry out in pain. After that, his words became unintelligible through the moans and whimpers.He wasn't out of control, like he'd been before, but she couldn't stand to sit by and do nothing while he was hurting. Climbing out of the recliner, she hurried over to the bed and sat down beside him. Assuming the now familiar position, she stroked his hair and sang to him. Since he wasn't using Russian, she changed her song to a lullaby of a different sort.

Well the sun is surely sinking down
But the moon is slowly rising
So this old world must still be spinning 'round
And I still love you

So close your eyes
You can close your eyes, it's all right
I don't know no love songs
And I can't sing the blues anymore
But I can sing this song
And you can sing this song
When I'm gone

It won't be long before another day
We gonna have a good time
And no one's gonna take that time away
You can stay as long as you like

So close your eyes
You can close your eyes, it's all right
I don't know no love songs
And I can't sing the blues anymore
But I can sing this song
And you can sing this song
When I'm gone

No way to know if he liked James Taylor, but she did, and she was the one doing the singing right now. If he didn't like it, he could bloody well wake up and tell her to cut it out. Besides, she was getting pretty darn sick of that lullaby, so as long as he was mumbling in English, she was going to sing in English.

This night went on, the same as the last. Alex would cry out or talk in his sleep; Katie would get up and go to his side. If he was speaking Russian, he got Grandmother's lullaby; if he was speaking in English, he got James Taylor. By his 3:30 fit, she was beyond exhausted. He was especially violent this time and it took her almost twenty minutes to get him calmed down. By this time, he'd tossed himself onto the left side of the bed. When she sat down to hold his head and sing to him this time, she ended up completely on the bed. After he calmed down, she simply slid down on the pillow beside him and fell asleep. Neither stirred for the rest of the night.

Matthew stopped by at 8 to check on Alex, before going to work. The loft was quiet, so he didn't call out for Katie, opting instead to let her sleep. He was taken aback to find her in bed with Alex, nestled up against his shoulder, Alex's head leaning against hers. It took him a minute to recover, but when he did, he began his cursory examination of the patient. The fever was down to 101.5 and the knee looked considerably less swollen than it had last night. The bandage over the stitches showed a little blood, so Matthew decided to change the dressing. Everything underneath the dressing looked good, so he figured that Alex must have simply hit the stitches in his sleep. He warmed his stethoscope and listened to Alex's heart and lungs; both were working, as they should. Maybe today would be the day Alex would wake up. Matthew had a lot of questions he wanted to ask this guy, especially now.

What to do about Katie? That was his current dilemma. Should he let her sleep...there...with him, or should he wake her up? He paced the floor between the bed and the door, then walked into the living room. If he woke her up, would she be grateful or would she be pissed? He was making a leap of faith that Alex hadn't awakened during the night and invited her into his bed. Of course he didn't, the man has cracked ribs, Matthew thought. He paced the living room, trying to make a decision.

"Morning," Katie yawned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Matthew jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Little edgy this morning, Kid?" she teased. "I keep telling you to lay off the caffeine."

He frowned at her and she knew, immediately, what the problem was. "Cut it out, will you? He had a really bad night and I finally got too tired to keep moving from the chair to the bed. For crying out loud, he has cracked ribs! Do you really think I'm going to take advantage of an unconscious, injured man?"

She stormed off toward the kitchen, grabbed a glass and slammed it down on the counter. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out the grapefruit juice, poured it into her glass and took a gulp, before returning the container. She held the glass in front of her and glared at him. "I know it's been a long time, but I'm not that desperate."

"I'm not worried about you taking advantage of him, Hanna," he said quietly.

Katie put the glass on the counter and crossed the room to put her arms around him. "Didn't we cover this last night? I'll be fine. No matter what happens, I'll be fine."

He nodded. "I know, but I'm still going to worry. At least until I get to talk to him."

"So, how is he this morning. I'm assuming you've already checked him out."

"Fever's down, the swelling's down and his cuts seem to be healing. Everything looks and sounds good. I'm hoping he'll wake up sometime today."

"Me, too," she replied. "If he does, is there anything I should do? Anything I shouldn't do? Medically speaking," she added, with a grin.

"Medically speaking," he started. "Ask him how he's feeling; all the questions I told you to ask him last time. If he says yes, to any of them, call me. Other than that, just use common sense. I wouldn't let him eat much at first. Start with soup, preferably something clear, but knowing you, I'm willing to bet that tomato is the only soup in your pantry." She nodded and shrugged. Matthew raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "That'll do. Just keep it light, little bits at a time, until we know how his body is going to react. He's going to hurt; you can give him acetaminophen for now. I can prescribe something a little stronger later on, after I've had a chance to talk to him. I'll stop by on my way home tonight to see how things are going."

"Do you have to leave right now?"

"I have a few minutes. Why?"

"Can you stick around while I take a shower? I don't want to take a chance on Alex waking up and finding no one around," she smiled and bit her lower lip. "Please?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll stick around. Just don't be too long."

"I won't."

Katie ran off to take a shower, while Matthew sat in the bedroom, watching Alex. When he heard the water shut off in the bathroom, Matthew got up from the chair and walked to the side of the bed. He leaned down and spoke quietly to Alex.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, listen good. Katie's my best friend and I love her. She has a feeling about you, so I'm trusting her judgment and letting you stay here. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll hunt you down."

Katie walked in, toweling her hair, just as Matthew finished his warning. "Any change?"

"No, he's still out." He kissed her wet hair. . "Hey, if he does wake up, see if you can get him up and walking, just a little. OK, Gotta go. See you this evening."

"Bye, Kid."

He gave her a wave and left the room.

"He's just looking out for me, Alex. Don't let him scare you." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Wake up, soon."

Katie left the room, reluctantly. She wanted to stay and watch him sleep, but there were things to be done. Number one on the list was laundry. Alex's clothes were still wet and piled up next to the washing machine, along with both hers and Matthew's things from the other night. He would probably want to have something familiar to wear when he woke up. She sorted the clothes, checking the pockets for anything that might give her some insight into who Alex was; his wallet was there, along with a comb and a few coins. Putting the items on the dryer for now, she started the washer and tossed in the clothes. She picked up his leather jacket. It was going to need to be dry cleaned and repaired. She also realized that he was going to need a few more items in his wardrobe, if he was going to stick around for a while. 'And he will be sticking around for a while,' she thought.

Her eyes drifted back to the dryer. The wallet sat there, daring her to open itand look inside. She picked it up, along with a towel, and carried them into the living room. To open it or not to open it, that was her question. It was pretty wet; maybe she should take everything out to dry. She debated for a few minutes, before deciding. She spread the towel out on the table and carefully opened the wallet. There wasn't much inside to deal with, about two hundred dollars, a few slips of paper with phone numbers on them and an old picture of a woman with a small child. She spread these out on the towel. The picture intrigued her. She'd have to ask him about it when he woke up.

That accomplished, she started on her second chore for the morning. This one required some outside help. She picked up the phone.

"Tyler, it's me. I need a favor."

Tyler arrived at the loft around 9. Katie gave him the list and her debit card. He took the list, but refused the card.

"No way, I'm shopping with that thing. If anyone happened to look at the name on the card, I'd be hauled downtown faster than Superman on speed. I'll cover it and you can write me a check when I get back."

Katie giggled. "That's what I like about you, Tyler. Your sense of humor is as strange as mine." She gave him a hug. "I really appreciate you doing this for me. If I've forgotten anything important, just go ahead and get it."

He nodded. "Since I'm going to be out shopping anyway, how are you set for food? Might as well take advantage of your personal shopper while he's here."

"Good idea. I don't know what I've got in there. Better go take a look."

They checked out the pantry and refrigerator and made a list of the necessary items. Tyler shook his head. "How do you survive? You have this fantastic kitchen, but hardly any real food. What a waste."

"I know. There isn't much motivation to eat when you're cooking for one, Ty."

"I hear that," he agreed.

The timer on the dryer buzzed, reminding her of one more item that needed to be dealt with. She walked over and picked up Alex's leather jacket.

"Uh, Ty? Can you do one more thing for me?"

"Dry cleaners?"

"Yeah. The sleeve needs to be repaired, too. Tell them to do whatever's necessary to get it fixed."

Tyler took the jacket and draped it over his arm. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it. Really."

"Are you sure he's worth all this, Katie?" She gave him an exasperated look. "And don't look at me like that, I'm your friend, you know. Just because you've known Matthew longer, doesn't mean that I can't worry about you, too."

"I know you're my friend and I love that you're concerned about me. He's worth it, Ty. I can't explain it, but I know he is."

"OK, that's all I needed to hear. I'm outta here. It's going to take me a few hours to get this taken care of. Tell you what, I'll pick us up something for lunch on my way back. I'll even bring some chicken noodle soup for Sleeping Beauty, just in case."

"Sounds good. I'll tell Alex you're bringing food, maybe that'll inspire him to wake up."

"Couldn't hurt. Back in while."

Katie went back to the dryer to fold the clothes. She hung hers up and carried Alex's back to the bedroom.

"Tyler's bringing you some chicken noodle soup for lunch. Personally, I prefer tomato, but chicken noodle's probably better for you right now anyway." She sat down on the bed, hoping for some kind of reaction. "Your clothes are clean. I put them in the dresser for you. Your jackets messed up though. Tyler's taking it to the dry cleaner to get it cleaned and repaired." She sighed and bent down to kiss his cheek. "I know you can hear me," she whispered. "I'll just be out in the other room for a little while. Holler if you need anything."

Katie backed out of the room, slowly, hoping to see something that would encourage her to stay. At the door, she turned and walked over to her computer. She hadn't checked her mail since bringing Alex home. The flag was up and when she opened the box, there were twenty-four messages waiting. Most were junk, but a few were important. She responded to the personal letters, before opening the note from her publisher. They were thrilled with the buzz on her latest book and wanted her to do some book signings upon its release, next month. She hated doing these book-signing tours and seldom agreed to do them. Fortunately, since her books always did well without them, she had the luxury of being able to refuse. They wouldn't be happy about it, but they wouldn't fight her too much either. She sent them a nice note, politely declining.

Mail taken care of, she decided to surf for any new weirdness to use for her next book. She scanned her favorite bizarre news and urban legend sites to see if anything different had popped up recently. Lately, the news had been pretty standard fare; same old decapitated heads in the refrigerator and my neighbor is a vampire shit. Not even any new conspiracy theories floating around to spur her imagination. Thirty minutes later, she logged off, having found nothing of interest. Her legs were fidgety and she needed to get out, but she settled on walking around the loft. It was a poor substitute for being out in the open air, but it would suffice. Her need to be here for Alex, far exceeded her need to walk outside. Her fourth lap around the loft was interrupted by a noise from the bedroom. She ran to the door and found that he'd gotten his leg tangled in the blanket. He was kicking, each kick causing him a great deal of pain. When she grabbed his leg to pull the blanket off, he yell something, in Russian, and struggled harder against her. Giving up on the blanket, she slipped in beside him and tried the lullaby trick. As he started to relax, she reached down and gently untangled his leg. He resisted her help, but she continued to sing and was able to free his leg. He fussed and whimpered for quite a while, so she stayed with him, stroking his hair, sometimes singing, sometimes talking softly. "Shhh, Alexei, Katya's here. I won't leave you. Shhh," she'd whisper, in between choruses.

Part Four

"Katya?" he murmured.

Her heart jumped into her throat. "Yes, Alexei. I'm here. Wake up and talk to me. Please, wake up and talk to Katya."

He didn't respond, but she knew he was listening, that he could hear her. She sang until her throat was sore, waiting for him to say something, anything, once again. After an hour, she was on the verge of giving up. She put her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes. "Come on, Alexei, I know you're in there somewhere," she sighed.

"That's a girl's song, you know," he whispered.

She smiled so wide she thought her face might split, but she didn't move from the pillow right away. "Too bad, it's the only Russian I know. You're lucky I remember that! Why can't you sleep talk in English like the rest of us," she teased, rising up on her elbow to look at him. His eyes were still closed, but he was grinning sleepily. A stray strand of hair fell across his forehead.

"Katya? You told me your name was Katie."

"My grandmother called me Katya. It seemed like the right name to use." She reached over and brushed the hair out of his face. "How about opening your eyes and looking at me so I know you're really in there?" she asked.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to open his eyes. "Is this better?"

"Much," she smiled. "I've been waiting to see those beautiful green eyes again. Feel up to answering a few questions? They're easy ones, I promise."

"Sure, what do you want to know, Katya."

"Everything, but I'll settle for the answers to Matthew's medical questions, for now. Can you focus?"

He nodded.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Very good. You've been studying."

He chuckled. "I've always been good at pop quizzes."

"Any dizziness, nausea?"

"No and no. How am I doing so far?"

"I think you're going to be just fine. I never doubted it, but Matthew wasn't so sure."

"Matthew? Your doctor friend, right?"

"Right. You really were paying attention."

"Always. My mother used to say 'God is in the details'."

The elevator door opened and they could hear the sound of plastic bags rustling. Katie jumped up and rushed toward the door. Alex made a pained sound as the bed bounced and pressed his hand to his ribcage. "Oh no. I'm sorry, Alex, I wasn't thinking. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm OK. You just caught me by surprise."

"OK. I'll be right back. There's someone else who's been waiting to meet you. Don't go anywhere."

He snickered and closed his eyes.

She ran out of the room, almost crashing into Tyler.

"Careful, hot soup," he said, swinging the parcel out of harm's way. "I take it Sleeping Beauty's awake?"

"Yes, he just woke up a little while ago. Come on, you have to meet him."

"Hang on, let me put lunch in the kitchen and get the bags out of the elevator. I'll be right there."

She ran over to the elevator, grabbed the bags and slid them across the floor. Then she closed the door. "OK, they're off the elevator. We'll pick them up later. Come on, Tyler."

She took his hand and dragged him into the bedroom. Alex had his eyes closed, but he smiled when he heard them enter.

"Alex, this is Tyler. Tyler, Alex."

Alex opened his eyes. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself. You've had us all worried, it's about time you woke up." Tyler turned to Katie. "Has he tried sitting up yet? We really should get him up and about, get his lungs expanding."

"Another doctor, Katie?" Alex asked.

Tyler laughed. "Oh no, darling. I'm not a doctor, I just play with one at home."

Katie giggled at Alex's confusion. Tyler's was an old joke, but it cracked her up every time. "Matthew and Tyler are married, Alex. You'll have to excuse him, Ty uses that line whenever he can get away with it."

Alex snickered, then whimpered in pain. "Oh, don't make me laugh, it hurts."

"Sorry, we'll try to tone down the jocularity," Tyler replied. "But, we still have to get you up for a bit. If you think laughing hurts, wait'll you try sitting up."

Alex groaned. "Do I have to?"

"'Fraid so. Doctor's orders," Katie said. "Besides, you have chicken noodle soup waiting for you, fresh from the deli. Don't think you want to attempt that lying down. Gee, I didn't even ask. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually. I am." He tried to push himself up, but the pain in his side was too much for him to deal with. "Guys, I don't think I can do this," he gasped.

Katie sat down beside him. "Just relax for minute. When it stops hurting, let us help you up." She stroked his cheek gently. "You don't have to do this all by yourself."

Tyler watched for second, then sensing a private moment, he made an excuse to leave the room. "Tell you what. Why don't I go gather up those bags you tossed all over the place and put them on the couch? Call me when you're ready for some help."

"Thanks, Ty," Katie said.

He nodded and left the room.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I just need a couple more minutes."

"I know it hurts, but once you get up, you'll start to feel a lot better. Getting up's the hardest part." She paused and considered her words. "Well, getting up and laying back down again. It's the in-between motions that are the worst."

"The voice of experience?" he inquired.

She grinned and looked down at her feet. "Let's just say I've had my share of broken bones."

"Oh really? A woman of mystery," he joked. "Do tell."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," she said, poking him in the arm. "As soon as you get up out of this bed."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"You could be biting off more than you can chew, Katya," he leered.

"I'll take my chances, Alexei," she leered back. "Now, since you've obviously caught your breath, I'm going to get Tyler back in here to help get you up."

"No," he said, quickly. "Don't call him."

"Why not?"

"We can do it by ourselves, just like last time."

She stared at him, knowing there was more to the story. "And..."

He sighed and turned his head away from her. "And, I'm not used to having people see me in pain, OK? Bad enough I have a beautiful woman watching me fuss like a baby..."

Katie blushed. 'Beautiful?' she wondered. She put her hand on his cheek and turned him back toward her. "I'm going to slide your legs over to the edge of the bed. When you feel them touch the floor, we'll lift you up." He nodded. She moved his legs over the side and helped ease his knees off the side of the bed. He made hurting noises, but she ignored them. When his feet were touching the floor, she looked back at him. "Do you want to try it by yourself first, or do you want me to help you?"

"Help."

"I think I've figured out a better way to do this. Put your arm around my shoulders. I'll put my arms under yours and pull you up. You'll have to help a little, but I think this will work. Just don't pull back, even if it hurts, or I might end up crashing down on top of you."

Alex snickered at her last comment. She chuckled, too, when she realized what was implied in that statement.

"I'll bet you're Hell-on-wheels when you're well, Alexei," she said, as she put one hand on either side of his body.

"You have no idea, Katya," he said, turning serious. "Why are you doing this for me? What's in it for you?"

She didn't move, just looked down at him. "Do you believe in Fate, Alex?"

"Sure. Why do you ask?"

"Ask me later. Right now, we've got to get you up before Tyler decides we've forgotten about him and comes looking for us. Ready?"

Alex took as deep a breath as his aching ribs would allow and closed his eyes. "Yeah."

Katie slid her arms under him and waited until she felt his arm go around her neck. "Here we go."

She pulled gently, but firmly. He tensed his arm around her neck, almost choking her, but she kept going, until he was completely upright. His arm relaxed its grip and his head dropped to her shoulder. She held on to him. "All right, that was the worst part," she whispered, soothingly. "When you're ready, we'll stand up all the way." Alex nodded against her shoulder.

"Just give me a second."

"No problem."

Tyler appeared in the doorway. Katie held up one finger behind Alex's back, signaling him to wait.

"I think Tyler's getting impatient, Alex. We'd better get moving."

"Let's do it."

"On three. One...two...three." They moved together, bringing him to his feet. His knee throbbed, but it was able to support his weight. With Katie acting as his crutch, Alex was able to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen table, where Tyler had lunch waiting for all of them. It hurt to lower himself down to the seat, but standing up wasn't comfortable either, so it didn't matter much. What was really starting to bother him, was his missing prosthesis. Not that he was fond of the thing, but not having it on threw his balance off slightly. He surveyed the loft from his chair, but didn't see it. Assuming it had been taken by the jerks who'd beaten him, he resigned himself to being without it.

Katie noticed him looking around, then glancing at his left shoulder. 'Stupid!' she thought. She got up from the table and walked over to the laundry area, where she'd left his arm hanging from a clothes rack, so the shoulder harness could dry. Picking it up, she carried it to the table. "Is this what you're looking for?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I put it over there to let it dry and just forgot about it.

Alex was relieved to see the arm in her hand. "I thought I'd lost it this time. It's not much, but it's better than this," he said, poking his chin toward his missing limb.

"Do you want it on now," she asked. "Or can it wait until after you eat?"

Not wanting to get up and deal with it right now, Alex said, "It can wait."

Tyler and Katie carried on an animated conversation about Tyler's shopping excursion, while Alex worked on his soup.

"So anyway, Alex, I hope you like what I picked up for you. If there's anything else you need, just let me know," Tyler offered.

"Oh, I'm sure whatever you brought me will be fine," Alex said. He hadn't been listening to most of conversation, but he did get that he was the reason for the shopping trip and that most of the bags contained items for his use.

When he finished his lunch, Alex sat back and watched Katie and Tyler, trying to figure out who these people were and why they were bothering to help him. He couldn't believe that either of them was working for the Consortium, or what was left of it, anyway, and they certainly weren't FBI or Company material. Besides, after all these years, he could virtually smell a G-man in his midst; they always had a certain government-issued bouquet about them. These two were something he hadn't seen in years, something he'd almost forgotten existed, Good Samaritans.

"Are you OK, Alex?" Katie asked, looking concerned.

"Hmmm? Oh, I'm fine," he answered, trying to bring himself back to the present. "I was daydreaming, sorry."

"You know what," Tyler said, getting up from the table. "I think I'm going to get out of here and let you both get some rest. You look like you could use a little quiet, Alex and Katie's been fighting to keep her eyes open for about the last fifteenminutes."

Katie smiled and shook her head. "I thought I was doing such a good job of hiding it, too."

"You thought wrong," he said, as he leaned over to kiss the top of her head. Tyler gathered up the dishes and put them in the sink. "OK, I'm going now. Matthew will be stopping by on his way home from the hospital." He walked over to the couch and picked up one of the bags."Alex, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other. And you," he said, pointing to Katie. "Get some rest."

"I will, Ty. Thanks again for everything."

With a wink and wave, Tyler got on the elevator and closed the door.

"He's right, you look exhausted," Alex observed. "Guess that's my fault. Why don't you go take a nap." He yawned. "Maybe I'll do the same."

Katie got up from her chair and stood by him. "I agree." She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you in back in bed, then I'll catch a little shut-eye, myself."

Alex pushed himself out of the chair slowly, wincing as he rose. His knee buckled slightly he took his first step, but Katie was there to catch him. She put her arm around his waist and helped support him as they made their way back to the bedroom. Once there, she started to steer him over to the bed, but he stopped her.

"Would you mind if I tried sleeping in your chair instead? I don't think I'm ready to face getting in and out of that bed."

She thought about it briefly, then guided him to the recliner. He lowered himself to the seat and gingerly settled in. He raised the footrest and eased the chair back. Every breath brought a new wave of discomfort, but it was much better than trying to lie down completely. While he tried to find a comfortable position, Katie grabbed the blanket from the floor and put it over him.

"How's that?" she asked.

"Better."

"OK, if you're set for a while, I'm going to go crawl into bed and get some sleep. If you need anything, just holler. Do not, I repeat, do not get up and try to get around by yourself."

"I promise. You know, if you slept in here, I wouldn't have to holler," he suggested. " I have a feeling that if you leave, you'll be too busy listening out for me, to get any sleep yourself."

Katie lowered her head, trying to hide her smile. He was right and there was no sense denying it. She sighed and got into bed. As she pulled the blanket up around her and snuggled in against his pillow, she heard him say, "sleep well, Katya."

"You too, Alexei."

Alex didn't think he'd be able to sleep, but shortly after Katie drifted off, his eyes closed, as well.

Part Five

Matthew showed up, medical bag in hand, just after 6. Tyler had left word for him hat Alex was awake and that they'd managed to get some soup into him. Matthew was anxious to meet the mystery man for himself.

He entered the bedroom and switched on the lamp by the bed. It surprised him to find Katie in the bed, while Alex slept in the recliner. He supposed that this was an mprovement over the last time he'd found them, but it still made him uncomfortable. put his bag on the nightstand, walked over to the bed and drew the blanket up around Katie's shoulders.

"You must be Matthew," a voice from behind him said.

Matthew turned around to face the voice. "Yeah, Matthew Curry and you are?"

"Alex Krycek. I hear I have you to thank for sewing me up and getting me in out of the rain."

"Save it for Katie, she's the one responsible for all this. I'm just here to cater to her insanity," Matthew stated, with a frown. "She seems to think you're something special; that's the only reason I agreed to this."

"I get the impression that you don't like me very much, Matthew."

Matthew opened his bag and pulled out his stethoscope, before walking over to Alex. "I don't know even know you, Mr. Krycek, so I have no opinion in that regard. I'm keeping an open mind, for Katie's sake." He put the stethoscope to Alex's chest. "Breathe in as deeply as you can, but don't hurt yourself." Alex complied. Matthew moved the instrument around Alex's chest and back, listening for any sign of congestion, but found none. He took the stethoscope out of his ears and let hang around his neck. "Everything sounds fine. How's the knee feeling?"

"It's pretty sore and it tends to buckle under me when I try to go too far, but I've had worse," Alex answered. "It'll be fine in a day or two."

"I'd say more like a week, myself." Matthew crossed his arms against his chest and gave Alex the once over. "So, who are you, Alex Krycek? Why is it that we found you beaten, in an alley, with a gun by your side?"

Alex hesitated before answering. "A couple of locals in the bar watched me shoot pool for a while, then invited me to join them in a 'friendly' game of 9-Ball; I took their money, they beat me up. End of story. The gun, or what's left of it, is mine. I dropped it in the scuffle and it went off. Good thing, too. I think that's what made them run away. The next real thing I remember, is waking up here." He shrugged his shoulders and gave Matthew a little smile.

"Uh huh," Matthew responded. "OK, I guess I can buy that. Where are you from? Why are you here?"

Alex shifted in the chair. He didn't like being the subject of interrogation. "I'm from Virginia. Why am I here? Well, I didn't intend to be here. I'm between jobs at the moment, so I decided to get in my car and see where the road took me. Here was just a stop on the way to an elusive where."

Matthew rubbed his eye and sighed. "So basically, you're an unemployed drifter. Great!"

"Stop it, Kid. You've got no right to badger him," Katie hissed. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at him.

He turned to look at her. "Damn it, Hanna! Someone's got to look out for you. I'm just trying to protect you."

"We've been through this already. I can take care of myself."

'Hanna? This woman has more aliases than I do,' Alex thought. ' Kid? What the Hell is that about?' He listened while Katie and Matthew argued over worrying rights. In spite of Matthew's apparent rude behavior, Alex found himself liking the man. He realized that the rudeness was a result of a deep kinship and would have been directed against anyone that Matthew perceived as a threat against Katie, so he didn't take it personally. Must be nice to have someone care about you that much.

"Katie," Alex called. "Back off. This isn't worth fighting over. I'm not worth fighting over."

Katie came to his side and put her hand on his shoulder. "This isn't just about you, Alex; it's a continuation of a very old discussion."

"Yes it is," Matthew replied. "I'm not going to fight with you, Hanna. If this is what you want, I'll shut up, but you can't expect me to stop worrying about you." He turned his attention to Alex. "I'm guessing that you're in a lot of pain from those ribs. Are you allergic to any medications?"

Alex shook his head.

"All right." Matthew reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. "I was hoping you'd say that. I brought you some Tylenol 3; try this and see if it helps. There are stronger meds I can prescribe, but I'd rather not put you any of those, if we can avoid it. Also, I'd like you to soak that knee. Katie's got a great whirlpool in the bathroom; you should take advantage of it, while you're here. It'll hurt like Hell getting in and out of thing, but you'll feel great while you're in there." He turned to Katie. "You'll have to help him in and out. Can you do that?"

Katie nodded.

Matthew looked from Katie to Alex. "All right, I'm going home. Call me if you need anything." He picked up his bag and made a quick exit from the bedroom.

"You're not going to let him go like that, are you?" Alex asked. "He's pretty upset, Katya. You should say something. Don't let him go home angry."

"You're right. He's just trying to save me from myself," she said, as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Be right back."

He touched his the spot on his forehead where she had just kissed him. From anyone else, he would have thought it condescending, from her, it felt...nice. He smiled and wondered if this was the first time she'd kissed him.

Katie returned a short time later. "OK, I made nice with Matthew. Happy now?"

"Very." He pushed the leg rest down and moved the blanket aside. "I need a shower," he announced. "I'm offending myself; I don't know how you can stand to be around me."

Katie chuckled and helped him up from the chair. "I wasn't going to say anything, but since you brought it up..." she teased. "Come on, let's get you into the bathroom. We should look through Tyler's purchases first, to find you something to change into when you're done."

They made their way slowly to the couch, where Tyler had left the bags. Alex noticed his wallet and its contents lying on the table. He touched the picture lovingly.

"Sorry about that," Katie said. "I wasn't being nosy, it's just that your wallet was drenched and I wanted to get everything out to dry. That's all I found inside. Is anything missing?"

"No," he said, quietly. "This is all I had with me."

"Is that your mother?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's one of the few pictures I have left. I was five when this was taken." He picked up the wallet and felt inside. It felt dry, so he put the money, papers and picture back inside. Realizing that he had no pockets, he tossed it back on the table. It wasn't going anywhere. "So, what's in all these bags?"

Katie grabbed one and opened it. "Let's find out." In the first one, she found a package of underwear, socks, pajama bottoms and matching long sleeved, tee shirts.

Alex picked up the green tee shirt. "Interesting color choice."

"That must be for my benefit," Katie explained. "I told him your eyes were green; my favorite color, by the way."

Alex picked up the matching pajama bottoms and threw both items over his shoulder. "I've always been a basic black and blue kind of guy, maybe it's time I added a little color to my wardrobe."

She laughed. "You may not have much of a choice. Let's see what else Tyler has in store for you."

A thorough search of the bags netted them two pairs of jeans, one black, one blue, three flannel shirts, one black, one green, and one burgundy, a pair of slippers, a bathing suit and assorted toiletry items.

"Let me guess," Alex said, holding up the burgundy shirt. "Your second favorite color?"

Katie snickered. "No, Tyler's. Matthew refuses to wear anything burgundy." She held it up to him. "I like it, the color suits you."

"You think so?"

"Yes I do."

Alex ran his fingers over the shirt. "Well then, it looks like I'm adding two new colors today." He let go of the shirt. "You didn't have to do this."

"I know, I wanted to. You didn't exactly come equipped with clothing," she teased.

"Hey, I have clothes. Assuming my room still belongs to me," he said. "I wasn't expecting to be assaulted, left in an alley, then carried home by a beautiful lady."

'There's that word again,' she thought. "Well, you know what they say, Alex," Katie said.

"No. What do 'they' say, Katie?"

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition," she replied, with a giggle.

Alex laughed and immediately regretted it. "Oh no, not a Python. I'm never going to heal."

"I promise to keep my well-worn copy of Holy Grail hidden away, until you feel better," she said. "Come on, let's get you in the shower." She stood beside him as they walked to the bathroom, waiting to offer a hand, if he needed it. Once there, she put a towel on the rack for him. "One of the many interesting features of this bathroom, is that it's fully equipped for every eventuality." She reached into the closet and pulled out a shower stool. Alex raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't look at me like that. I had mono one year and couldn't stand long enough to enjoy the shower. Matthew bought it for me." She put it in the shower and checked to be sure it wouldn't slip. "OK, you should be set. I'm going to go start some dinner. Yell if you need anything."

"There is one thing I would like."

"What?"

"Would you bring me my arm?"

She snickered as her favorite Monty Python line went through her head; 'we want a shrubbery.' "Sure, I'll be right back." She returned moments later and put the arm down on the vanity. "Anything else?"

"A shrubbery?"

Katie's eyes widened at the comment. He looked so smug standing there, waiting for her reaction. It took all of her self-restraint not to laugh or accuse him of being psychic. Instead, she settled for crossing her arms and smiling. "What do you say?"

He looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Alex. If you're going to fulfill your destiny as a knight, you have to ask properly," she teased. "I'm not bringing you the shrubbery until you do."

He grinned and covered his face with his hand. "I couldn't keep my mouth shut, could I?" Dropping his hand, he looked at Katie. She was watching him,expectantly, tapping her feet. He shook his and chuckled. 'Here goes nothing,' he thought. "We are the Knights who say 'Ni!'"

She looked at him in mock horror. "Not the Knights who say 'Ni'?"

"The same."

That broke her reserve and she let the giggles fly. Katie left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She stayed just outside of the room, waiting until the water came on, before going into the kitchen to see what Tyler had bought in the way of dinner food. Opening the refrigerator, she found two chicken breasts marinating in some kind of sauce. Attached to the bowl was a note from Tyler with cooking instructions and side dish suggestions. "Thank you, Tyler," she said aloud.

She started dinner, according to his instructions, making occasional trips to the bathroom door to listen in on Alex. Thirty minutes later, the water went off and she heard him get out of the shower. She leaned against the door, listening to him moving around inside. After a few minutes, it got quiet; too quiet. She was about to call out to him, when the door opened suddenly, almost causing her to fall over.

"You'd make a lousy spy," Alex teased.

"How did you know I was out here?"

"The door made a noise when you leaned against it. That and the fact that your toes show under the door," he said, pointing to the gap between the door and floor.

Katie snapped her fingers. "Damn. I never thought of that," she said with a grin. "Anyway, I wasn't spying on you, I was just making sure that you were OK." She paused. "So, are you OK?"

He nodded. "I'm fine and I have two arms again," he exclaimed, showing off his newly attached prosthesis. "I'm hungry. What smells so good?" he asked, as he limped out of the bathroom.

"Chicken in white wine sauce, rice and baby peas. Tyler's suggestion," she added.

"At least he likes me," Alex mused.

"Give Matthew a chance. He'll come around," she said. "Go sit down, dinner's just about ready."

Alex limped over to the table and sat down. Katie could tell it hurt him to do so, but he didn't say anything. She went out to the kitchen, dished out the food and brought the plates to the table. "Are you going to be taking the Tylenol 3 tonight?" she asked him.

"No, I think I'll try to go without it. Why?"

"Want a glass of wine then?"

He nodded and she poured a glass for each of them, before sitting down to eat.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Why does Matthew call you Hanna?"

"Hmmm. That's something of a personal story," she said, before taking a drink. "Tell you what, I'll match you one personal childhood story for every one you tell me."

Alex considered the deal while he took a drink. He could always make something up, if it got too hard. "Deal, but you have to start."

Katie nodded and began the story. When she had finished, she asked him about his parents. Maybe it was the wine or the events of the last few hours, but he found himself telling her the truth.

"My parents were respected professors, teaching at the University in Moscow. The government had no reason to believe that they were unhappy with their positions, so when they were asked to speak at an international conference in New York, the powers-that-be consented. The visas were issued without question and since neither had any living relatives to leave me with; they were permitted to take me along. During the conference, they applied for asylum. One of the professors at NYU heard of their request. He offered them positions and found another staff member to sponsor their petition. With that in hand, they were allowed to stay." Alex paused to take another sip of wine. He put his glass on the table and traced the bottom of it with his finger as he continued. "From that time, until I was ten, I was raised by a variety of graduate students. My time with my parents was limited to the odd weekend and a few weeks in the summer, when they weren't teaching summer classes. When I was ten, they went on vacation, alone; the first time they'd had the opportunity go away by themselves, since defecting. It was October and they were driving up to Vermont to visit the professor who had given them their jobs; he'd retired a few years earlier. Anyway, they were caught in a hailstorm. The car skidded over an embankment, killing them both instantly. At least that's what the official report said."

He stopped talking, but continued to trace the bottom of the glass. Not a living soul knew this about him and he couldn't believe he'd just shared this with her. He just knew that telling her felt right. Maybe this is what trust felt like. Trust was something he had in short supply, a trait he shared with another person he knew.

Katie reached out and stilled his hand. He looked up and saw the caring in her eyes; the look of someone who'd lived the experience and recognized the pain. He smiled and squeezed her fingers. "Well, I sure know how to bring down a party, don't I?"

"What happened after that? Who took care of you, Alex?"

He sat back in the chair, feeling the catch in his ribs as he did. "No fair, it's your turn."

She moved her chair closer to his and rested both elbows on the table. "I'll give you two later. Come on, tell me what happened? Please?"

His head dipped slightly. Things got a little hairy from this point. He wanted to tell her everything, but he wasn't ready to completely let go of his secrets. There were still a few members of the Consortium floating around; people who represented a threat to the new life he wanted to carve out for himself, far away from evils he'd left behind. Besides, she wouldn't believe him. Hell, if he hadn't seen those things with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe him either. Just the highlights, he decided; that would be enough. Looking up, he continued his story.

"I got lucky. One of the professors took me in, temporarily, while the state tried to locate a suitable home. Months later, a gentleman showed up, claiming to be a friend of my father's. He had paperwork showing that my parents had asked him to take care of me, should it become necessary. When asked why he hadn't come forward earlier, he explained that he'd been out of the country and had only just been informed of my parent's death. I didn't like him, but the state accepted his papers and gave him custody. He wasn't a bad person, just cold. He's the one who made me change my name to Alex, saying that no good prep school would want a Russian immigrant in its midst. I never forgave him for that, but I never changed my name back, either. My physical needs were taken care of. I had the best education money could buy, I traveled and learned to adapt to any social situation. Everything I could possibly want was mine for the asking, except love and affection. I was the quintessential lonely, rich boy." He chuckled, sadly and lowered his eyes. " I envy your friendship with Matthew and Tyler. Making friends was something I never learned how to do. No one ever tried to get to know me; I was always too scared to put myself on the line and take a chance on getting hurt again. To this day, there's no one I can call 'friend' with any real meaning of the word."

Katie got up and stood in front of him. She bent down and kissed his forehead, holding her lips there for a long time, before pulling away. "I would be honored to number you among my friends, Alexei," she said quietly. Sitting back down, she asked, "what happened to your benefactor?"

"He died last year." Alex answered. Looking up at her, he smiled. "Think Matthew will rest easier when he finds out that this unemployed drifter is really a wealthy eccentric?"

"Probably not," she replied. "But it will be fun to see the look on his face when he finds out."

Alex laughed, then held his ribs as the pain washed over him. All the good done by the warm shower had worn off, leaving his body to deal with the aftermath. Suddenly, all of his energy vanished, leaving him drained. Katie watched as the color left his face. She got up, pulled his chair away from the table and held out her hand. "That's it for you. Time for bed." He took her hand and, with great difficulty, lifted himself out of the chair. Draping his good arm around her shoulders, he allowed her to help him into the bedroom. He asked for the recliner again, so she guided him over to it. Once he was down, she covered him with the blanket. "Do you want a pill? You only had the one glass of wine, I don't think it'll cause a problem."

"No, I just need to sit here and rest awhile. Will you stay with me tonight, Katya?" he asked.

"Of course I will," she replied. "Give me a few minutes to take care of the food and put the dishes in the sink, then I'll be back. Do you need me to bring you anything?"

He shook his head. "No, just come back and talk to me when you're through. You still owe me a couple of stories."

She bent down and quickly kissed the top of his head. "And you'll get them as soon as I get back."

'That's three times she's kissed me,' he thought. 'I wonder what she'd do if I kissed her back?' The idea made him smile. 'Later, when I'm feeling better, I'll have to do just that,' he decided, before drifting off to sleep.

Ten minutes later, her chores completed, Katie came back into the bedroom. "See, that didn't take too long. What do you want..." She stopped short, realizing that Alex was asleep. He looked relaxed and his color was returning. Not feeling the least bit tired, she decided to go find something to do. She went into the living room and picked out a book to read. After a few chapters, she lost interest, so she turned on the television and tried to find anything worth watching. HBO was showing A Fish Called Wanda, one of her favorites, but even that failed to keep her attention. She turned it off and paced around the room. Alex's clothes needed to be put away, so she gathered them up and took them into the bedroom. He never moved as she put his things in the dresser.

Walking back out to the living room, she decided that a good, long soak in the tub might be just the thing she needed. As she passed the couch, she noticed Alex's new bathing suit still there. "Hmmm, must have missed that when I picked up the rest of his things," she said, to no one in particular. She picked it up and started to take it into the bedroom, then stopped and carried it into the bathroom instead. Opening the closet door, she put it on the shelf where she kept her suit. Pulling hers out, she changed into it before starting the bath water. It occurred to her that she hadn't closed the bathroom door, but she decided against going over and closing it. If Alex needed her, she wanted to be able to hear him. And she was wearing her bathing suit, so it wasn't like she would be exposing herself, if he came in. She turned off the tap, kicked on the heater and the jets, then sunk down into the water.

Alex woke and looked over at the bed; Katie wasn't there. He glanced over to see the time and realized that he must have dozed off. A low, whirring sound got his attention and his curiosity forced him off the recliner to find out where it was coming from. He followed the sound to the bathroom door and peered inside. Katie was there, in the whirlpool tub. Her eyes were closed, her head lying back against the tile. He stood there, torn between going in and going back to bed.

Katie knew he was standing in the doorway, watching her. With his injured knee and busted ribs, he wasn't moving as stealthily as he liked to think. She let him stay there awhile, waiting to see if he would come in or go back to bed. When she heard him move again, she opened her eyes to see which direction he'd chosen.

"Why don't you come on in?" she asked. "Matthew said to soak that knee." She turned over in the water and smiled at him. "The water's perfect."

Alex looked down at his feet when she turned over. He was trying to be a gentleman and she was making it difficult. "No, that's OK. I didn't mean to disturb you."

It dawned on her, at that moment, that he didn't realize she was wearing a bathing suit. If he had been well, she would have taken advantage of the situation; it would have been fun. "Alex, look at me," she said. He lifted his head. Katie stood up quickly to reveal her state of dress. "I'm decent, if that's what's worrying you. Come on, your bathing suit is over there; put it on and join me."

Alex smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of Katie, undressed, was appealing, but more than he could handle, given his present state. "Do you always wear your bathing suit in the whirlpool?"

"Only when I have company," she replied. "It's not polite to scare your house guests, you know."

"Oh, feel free to 'scare' me," he leered. "I haven't been 'scared' in quite a while." He limped over to the side of the whirlpool and stuck his hand in the water. It felt warm and looked inviting. "Maybe I will join you."

"Good. I'll be the polite hostess and avert my eyes while you change." 'Maybe,' she thought.

"See that you do," he teased, as he made his way to the closet for his bathing suit. He turned around to see if she was looking, before stripping off the pajama pants. The shirt was long enough to keep just about everything covered, until he bent down. Alex looked behind him again, just before bending over to put on the bathing suit and picking the pajama bottoms up off the floor. He hoped to catch her looking, just so he could tease her a little more, but true to her word, she was averting her eyes. The agony of bending over made him see stars and he almost fell; he gritted his teeth, trying to hold back any noise. He braced himself against the wall, until his head cleared, then tried to straighten up. When he felt able, he started back to the tub.

"Aren't you going to take off your shirt?"

Alex pulled at the hem of the nightshirt, trying to decide what to do. He was going to have to remove the prosthesis, but he'd been without it for most of his time here; he had, however, always had a shirt covering his body.

"I've already seen it, you know?" she said softly. He bit his lip, then let out a breath. Katie waded to his side, climbed out of the water and sat on the edge of the tub. "Take off the shirt, Alexei. It'll be all right; I promise." He didn't move, so she reached out and pulled him over. She took the hem of the shirt in her hands. "I promise," she repeated, before lifting the shirt over his head. Katie folded the shirt and tossed it away from the splash zone of the tub. She reached for the harness of the prosthesis. "This too; it takes forever to dry." He put his hand on hers, shook his head and pulled away. Katie dropped her head, afraid that she'd pushed too hard, too fast. When she looked up, she saw Alex laying the arm on the vanity. She stepped back into the tub and waited for him to join her.

He stepped into the water and lowered himself to the seat, grimacing as he did. Alex slid down on the seat, until his stump was partially submerged. The water was swirled around his chest and soon, the muscles began to relax.

Katie watched him sink into the water, then close his eyes and rest his head on the tiles. She gave him a few minutes to relax, before tempting fate. "What happened?"

Alex opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "I don't want to talk about it" He paused. "Maybe sometime, but not tonight." Lowering his gaze, he smiled at her. "Besides, we agreed to share childhood stories and at last count, you owe me two."

"You've got me there," she replied. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your grandmother."

Katie nodded and began the long tale of her grandmother's last months. Alex listened carefully as she told about her grandmother's ordeal with cancer, the horror of chemotherapy and the decision to put her in the hospital, against her wishes. Her voice got softer as she approached the end of the story. When she was done, she closed her eyes.

He watched briefly, then slid over beside her and took her hand in his. Bringing it up out of the water, he kissed her fingers and interlaced them with his, before submerging their hands once again. Katie rested her head on Alex's shoulder; he leaned his head against hers. They enjoyed the shared silence for quite a while.

"Alexei?"

"Hmmm??"

"This is nice."

He lifted his head up and turned toward her. "I sense a 'but'."

"But, my butt's going numb and if I don't move it soon, we're going to have a problem getting out of this tub."

Alex laughed. "Oh, ow! Don't do that," he moaned.

Katie stood up, not letting go of Alex's hand. She put her other hand low on her back and tried to stretch out a little. Circulation returned to her backside with a vengeance. "Oh geez, I'm not sure which is worse, no circulation or that horrible few minutes when the circulation returns." She stretched until the prickling sensation stopped. "OK, I think I can walk now. You ready to get out of this thing?"

"I don't know. I was enjoying the view," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Katie chuckled. 'Masher."

Alex grinned and pulled himself up off the seat. Katie let go of his hand and got out of the tub. "Do you need help?" she asked, as she reached for the towels.

"No, I'm OK." He climbed out of the tub and reached for the towel in Katie's outstretched hand. "Thanks."

Katie watched as Alex dried himself. He was quite good at maneuvering the towel to reach all the wet spots. She didn't realize that she'd been staring until he caught her looking.

"It's a skill born of necessity," he said. "You either figure it out, or wait until you air-dry."

"Oh," she said, trying to appear nonchalant. "I wasn't paying any attention to that, I was just enjoying the view."

He grinned and walked over to his pajamas. "Well, you'd better avert your eyes again, or you're going to get a variation on a theme."

"Well then, I'll leave you to get dressed." Katie moved to the bathroom door, then turned and grinned at Alex. "Besides," she added. "That shirt covers everything up anyway."

"KATYA!! You were peeking? How unladylike," Alex responded, in mock surprise.

"I never claimed to be a 'lady'," she tossed back, as she closed the bathroom door.

Part Six

Katie went to her bedroom and changed into her pajamas, before taking her bathing suit over by the washer/dryer to hang dry. Alex emerged from the bathroom, just as she finished. He started to say something, but was cut short by the phone ringing. Katie ran to answer it.

"Hello? Hi Kid. Not much, we just got out of the whirlpool. No, no problems getting in or out."

Alex wandered over to the window and looked outside. He could still hear the conversation, but this way, he could listen without appearing to be eavesdropping.

"What's up? Tomorrow night? What's tomorrow night? Oh, how could I have forgotten?" Alex heard her coming up behind him. "I don't know. Yes, I know it's a tradition. Hang on; let me check with Alex." She brought the phone down from her face and covered the receiver. "Are you up to having company tomorrow night?"

Alex smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so. What's the occasion?"

"Halloween. We always get together on Halloween and have a big movie marathon; all the blood and gore we can stomach. It's something Matthew and I have been doing since high school. Are you up to it?"

"Far be it for me to mess with a tradition. Sure, sounds like fun."

Katie grinned and returned to the call. "Bring it on. Alex says he's game. Oh, and tell Tyler he'd better get I Dismember Mama this year. He promised it to me last year and didn't deliver. He did? Cool! OK, see you tomorrow night. Love you, too. Bye."

Alex gave her a perplexed look. "I Dismember Mama? You are kidding?"

"Nope, one of the few really bad horror movies I've never seen. Have you seen it?" she asked.

"No, I've managed to miss that particular piece of celluloid. When you said horror movies with blood and gore, I was thinking more mainstream. You know, Freddy Krueger, Halloween, Friday the 13th, those movies."

"Nah, those too well done. We like the really crummy ones, with their blatantly fake blood and cheesy dialogue," she said, exuding enthusiasm. "Haven't you ever watched any of the old Roger Corman or Hammer House of Horror movies?"

Alex shook his head. "That would have been totally unacceptable in my house. I didn't get to see most of the others until I was in college and away from home."

Katie's eye widened in disbelief. "You've never seen a B horror movie? Oh, my dear, you are in for a treat. I have the perfect one for you, too. Hang on, I've got to call Matthew back." Katie turned the phone over and hit Matthew's number. "Tyler? Hi. Guess who's never seen a B movie. No shit! Look, you've got to bring Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers tomorrow night. Oh, stop it, I love that movie. Come on, it won't kill you to watch it again. I'll let you heckle...great. Thanks, sweetie. Bye."

"Oh, now I know you're playing head games with me," Alex smirked. "There is no way someone made a movie called Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers."

Katie giggled and shook her head. "Yes there is. It's the touching story of a group of ancient Egyptian chainsaw worshippers coping with life in today's society."

Alex's mouth dropped. "You're serious?"

"As a heart attack," she replied. "I can prove it to you, if you want."

"No, that's OK, I believe you. How is it that you know so much about obscure horror movies, anyway? What is it, one of your hobbies or something?"

She smiled and crooked her finger. "Follow me. I think it's time you see how I earn my way in the world." He followed her as she walked to the computer area of the loft. "Do you read, Alexei?"

"What? Do I read? Sure, I read all the time. Why?" he asked, somewhat confused by this turn in the conversation.

Katie reached up into the wall of books and pulled one down. "Have you read this one?" she asked, handing it to him.

He took it from her and read the title. "A Yardstick for Lunatics? Yeah, I read this last year. It's a good story."

Katie stared at him and smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

Alex waited for some further explanation. Katie leaned back against the bookcase, crossed her arms and continued to smile at him. "Am I missing something?" he asked. Katie snickered and looked down at the book. He looked down at the cover again, not getting it, until he glanced down at the bottom and saw the name of the author, Katie Heyes. "You?"

"Pretty cool, huh? I also wrote these three up here, but Yardstick's the one that sold the most copies."

"Five weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list. I guess so," he said. "I'm impressed. Who knew I was being cared for by a famous author."

"Actually, it was six weeks, but who's counting?" she amended.

Alex looked up at her other titles. His eyes lit up when he recognized the name of one of his favorites. He snatched it off the shelf and checked the back, just to be sure. "You wrote The Frozen Man? Do you know how many times I've read this one, Katya?"

"Really? You've read that one, too?"

"Sure! After I read the dedication, I had to go out and get the CD, just to hear the song you credit as being your inspiration. You're responsible for turning me into a James Taylor fan, by the way." He put the book back on shelf. "It's still one of the most frightening novels I've ever read. Yardstick was good, but this one blew my mind."

Katie bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "Thank you, Alexei," she said softly. "That means a lot to me. That one didn't do as well as the others and I could never understand why; it's the one I'm most proud of."

He moved closer and lifted her chin. "You should be proud of it; it's an amazing story." 'Kiss her,' his head was screaming; 'kiss her now.' The moment was made for such an action, but he shut out the voice in his head. Alex wasn't sure what was holding him back; it's a kiss, not a commitment, he thought. Something deep inside him recognized the lie he was trying to tell himself. She made him happy; for the first time in...well...for the first time. The time would come soon enough, and when it did, he would know it.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, as he let go of her chin.

"You already know the answer to that, don't you?" she teased.

Alex grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah, I suppose I do. This is a strange question, but did you sing anything other than that lullaby to me when I was unconscious?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I keep hearing James Taylor in my head and I've been trying to figure out why."

"Well, you did just pick up The Frozen Man," she suggested.

"No, this has been going on all day. Never mind, it was just a thought," he said, turning away.

Katie hesitated, then began to sing. "Well the sun is surely sinking down. But the moon is slowly rising. So this old world must still be spinning 'round. And I still love you..."

Alex turned back to face her. "So close your eyes. You can close your eyes; it's all right...That's the one! You did sing that to me, didn't you?"

She paused and studied his face. "Yep. I switched off between that and the lullaby, depending on what language you were using." She smiled. "Good thing you like JT; I'd hate you to have something you didn't like stuck in your head." He nodded then raised his hand to his head. "Are you all right, Alexei? You look a little pale." She reached out to touch his forehead.

"I don't feel so well, Katya. I think I need to sit down or something."

Katie put her arm around Alex and helped him to the computer chair. "Stay here, I'm going to get you something to drink." She ran out to the kitchen, filled a glass with ice water, and brought it back to him. "Here, drink this. We were in that whirlpool a long time. I should have thought to get you something to drink when we first got out." He drained the glass quickly, then dropped his head in pain.

"Oh...ow...brain freeze," he moaned.

Katie took the glass from his hand and put it on the desk. She placed both hands on his head and rubbed his temples until the pain subsided, before going back to refill his glass. "Take it a little slower this time," she said, ruffling his hair. He took the drink and sipped at it until it was gone. "Feel better now?"

"Yeah, a little," he said, making an effort to smile.

"Maybe having our Halloween get-together tomorrow night, isn't a good idea. You're pushing too hard to get back to normal."

Alex pulled her close and kissed her hand. "I'm fine, Katya. If I promise to rest up and behave myself, can we still watch the movies?" He gazed up at her. "Can we, please? Can we?"

Katie kissed the top of his head. "OK, but if the next word out of your mouth is 'mommy', I will hurt you," she warned.

He grinned. "No worries there. Calling you 'mommy' never crossed my mind."

"Good. Now, having said that, let's get you to bed."

Alex groaned. "No, not yet. I've spent so much time in that recliner, it's beginning to feel like a second appendage. Can't we stay out here for a little while longer? We could listen to some music and talk."

Those eyes cut her resolve to the quick. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt anything? "All right, one CD, then back to bed." He nodded. "What do you want to hear? I have a little bit of everything in here." He got up and walked over to the stereo. She wasn't kidding; pretty much everything but country and rap was to be found in her collection. "I'm almost overwhelmed by the choices here, Katya. Why don't you pick something this time?"

Katie joined him at the stereo. "Well, it should be something relaxing, so that cuts out a few choices." She flipped through the cases, pulling out a few here and there, then putting them back, until she found what she was searching for. "How about this? Ever heard of her?"

Alex took the CD from her hand. "Tracy Chapman? Don't think so."

"That's too bad; she's amazing. Want to give her a try?"

"Sure."

Katie pulled out the rest of the collection, trying to decide which one to play. Alex pulled one out of the collection and handed it to her. "This one," he said.

"Why this one?"

"I like the title of the CD; Crossroads. Fits where I am in my life."

"That makes two of us." Katie put the others back on the shelf and popped his choice into the player. "Where do you want to be? On the couch or back in the desk chair?"

He pointed to the couch and strolled over. "You coming?" She nodded and pushed play, before joining him. They sat on the couch, listening to the music, offering short comments between songs, but little else. Katie closed her eyes when her favorite song played. There were times when it made her cry; she didn't want this to one of those times. A lone tear escaped and trickled down her face. She reached to wipe it away before he noticed, but he beat her to it.

"Thanks," she whispered, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Any time."

The CD ended, but neither made a move to get up. Katie let out a sigh and shifted against him. Alex brushed the hair off of her face and wished that she was sitting on his right, so that he could put his good arm around her. So trusting. What did she see in him that made her feel this way? Whatever it was, he hoped that she could make him see it, too.

He sat there for about an hour, watching her sleep, enjoying the feeling of having someone close, of having her close. She woke up after a while and stretched her back. "I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep on you. And I was trying to put you to bed," she laughed quietly.

"Don't worry about it. It's been a weird few days for both of us." He stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, it's my turn to put you to bed."

She took his hand and stood up, turning herself toward her bed. He shook his head and led her into his room. "I want you where I can see you," he explained, as he turned on the bedroom light. "If that's all right with you."

"It's more than all right."

He guided her to the bed and pulled the blanket up across her shoulders, then turned off the light and climbed into the recliner. "Katya?"

"What?"

"Why do you trust me? How do you know that I'm worth saving?"

"You told me that you believed in Fate, Alexei. Was that the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then believe this. You're supposed to be here with me. I'm supposed to be with you. I've been waiting for you for a long time, I just didn't know who you were until the other night."

"That must be what Matthew meant the other night when he said he was here to cater to your insanity. I'm no one's destiny, Katya."

"That's where you're wrong. I feel it all the way down to my soul. The last person I felt this strongly about was Matthew; I knew he was going to be my friend the second I met him. I knew you were going to be part of my life, the minute I laid eyes on you. You feel it, too. I can see it in your eyes. Don't discount Fate, Alexei."

"I'll try not to, Katya."

"Do or do not, there is no try."

He smiled into the darkness. "Yes Master Yoda." He heard her giggle in reply. "Good night, Katya."

"'Night Alexei."

Katie was asleep almost before the words left her mouth. Alex followed soon after.

Alex woke up the next morning to the sound of the keyboard clattering. He wandered out to find Katie typing away, completely oblivious to her surroundings. Not wanting to disturb her, he went into the kitchen to get a drink. There were no dishes in the sink, so he determined that she hadn't bothered to get anything to eat since she'd been up. He decided that he'd make them some breakfast. Nothing big, just some scrambled eggs and toast. He could do that without causing himself too much pain and it would be a way for him to start holding up his end of the household chores. If he was going to stay here for a while, he wanted to do something to contribute. Opening the refrigerator, he found eggs and English muffins waiting for him. Deciding that English muffins were much better than plain old toast, he removed two from the package and placed them on the counter. He dug around until he found the butter, then closed the refrigerator door. Within minutes, he'd whipped up a two of plates of scrambled eggs with English muffins and poured a couple of glasses of milk. He put them on the table, then went over to the computer to get Katie. "Come eat some breakfast," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Just a minute," she replied, never taking her eyes off the monitor. "I need to finish this..." She typed in a few more sentences, then sat back in her chair and nodded her head. "There, done." She got up from the chair and took a deep breath, as he slid his hand down her arm. "You made breakfast for me?"

He tugged at her hand. "Yes I did. Come eat, before it gets cold."

When she saw breakfast out on the table, she smiled. "Thank you, Alexei. This was sweet of you. You didn't have to..."

"Yes I did. I can't do much around here just yet, but I can do breakfast." He sat down beside her and began eating. "How long have you been up?"

She took a bite of her eggs and a sip of milk before answering. "A few hours. Inspiration hit and I had to get everything down on paper while the idea was still there. I may be at it for most of the day. Hope you don't mind, but I'm not going to be much company for most of the day. When I get like this, everyone knows to stay out of my way." Katie looked over at Alex. "Will you be all right?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "I think I can manage on my own for a few hours. Give me the ground rules, though, so I don't get in your way."

"Ground rules? Oh...well...I don't want to have the TV on right now. Sometimes I turn it on, other times, I don't. This is a don't day. I get to pick the music, if I want to hear any at all. Pretty much, stay out of my way, unless I ask you a question. That's about it. Oh, no reading over my shoulder; I hate that! If I want you to read what I've written, I'll ask you."

Alex was terribly amused by her recitation of the rules, but he tried not to show it. "Well, I like a woman who knows what she wants. Can I bring you a drink from time to time, so you don't dehydrate?"

Katie chuckled. "I would appreciate that."

He nodded and finished his breakfast. "Is it all right if I read your other books?"

"My books are your books," she replied, as she finished the last bite of her English muffin. "That was delicious. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, standing up. "Now, go back to work while I take care of the dishes. You have a lot to do before our big marathon tonight."

"Don't overdo it, Alexei."

"I won't. I'll take care of these few dishes, grab a shower, get dressed, then sit down and read for most of the day. I'll be fine, Katya."

Katie got up from the table and put her arms around him gently. "What's this for?" he asked.

"For calling me Katya. I like the way it sounds when you say it."

He smiled brightly and kissed the top of her head. "I like hearing you call me Alexei, too." She pulled back and smiled up at him. "Now get to work before we waste the day grinning at each other like idiots," he admonished.

She let go. "Yes, Alexei. Whatever you say, Alexei. I'll be right over there, Alexei," she teased, as she walked over to her computer. "Call me if you need anything, Alexei."

"Stop it, Katya," he laughed and moaned at the same time. "It hurts when I laugh."

Katie giggled as she called back. "I'm sorry, I forgot...Alexei."

"I'm keeping track, Katya. When I'm feeling better, you're going to be in big trouble," he threatened.

"I'm not afraid of you, Alexei."

"You will be, Katya. You will be." He walked over, opened the freezer door and removed an ice cube.

"Now who's channeling Yoda?" she teased. "For crying out loud, will you shut up and quit bothering me...Alexei?"

Katie was laughing so hard that she didn't hear Alex sneaking up behind her. When he slipped the ice cube down the back of her shirt, she screamed and jumed out of the chair. "OH SHIT! That's cold!" she yelled, as she danced around in an attempt to get the ice to fall out of her shirt.

"I told you I was keeping track, Katya. Just imagine what would have happened if I was well," he said, as he crowded into her personal space. "Now quit dancing around and get back to work. I'm going to finish the dishes and go take a shower. I'll be locking the door, so don't get any ideas."

She patted his shoulder and sat back down at the computer, giving him an evil grin. "Who me? Perish the thought. Have a nice shower, Alexei."

"Oh boy," he muttered, as he walked away. "I am in such trouble."

"You have no idea, Alexei. No idea at all," she whispered to herself. Then she turned to her keyboard and returned to work.

The rest of the day was quiet. Katie worked on her story. Alex read one of her other books. Every so often, he would get up from the couch and pour them each a drink. His he would put on the end table; hers would go on the desk beside her. Sometimes she would stop and thank him, other times; she didn't even acknowledge his presence. When he wasn't reading, he watched her work, fascinated by the way her fingers would fly across the keys, only to watch her delete large sections and start all over again. Around 5:30, she pushed back from the keyboard and stared at the text, arms crossed in front of her. She tapped her knuckles on the desk as she reviewed her progress. When she'd finished, she whirled around in the chair to face him. "Do me a favor, Alexei?"

"Of course, Katya, anything you want."

She couldn't believe what she was about to ask; she never did this. "Would you come read this and tell me what you think."

Alex's eyes widened in surprise. "You want me to read a work in progress? Isn't that Matthew's job?"

Katie shook her head. "No, I never let him read my stuff until it's ready for publication. I usually don't let anyone read it until it goes to my editor."

"Then why are you asking me to read it now?"

"I don't know," she replied. Katie got up and paced in front of the coffee table. "It just feels like the right thing to do. Will you read it? Please?"

"Sure," he answered, with a smile. "I've been dying to know what you've been writing all day."

"OK. I'm going to go take shower before Matthew and Tyler get here. If you see any typos, or anything, let me know later and I'll fix them."

Katie left the room, grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. She didn't want to be there to see his first reaction to the story. For the life of her, she couldn't remember being this nervous about having anyone read her work.

He waited until she'd closed the bathroom door before sitting down at the computer. The first sentence drew him in and he didn't move, except to scroll down the page. The story unfolding before him was twisted and frightening. It was hard for him to believe that all of this was floating around in her head. When he finished, he sat back and stared at the screen. He was still staring when she came out of the bathroom.

Katie saw Alex looking intently at the monitor, the tip of his thumb wedged into his mouth. She didn't know how to read that look and it made her nervous. Was it that bad or that good? She wasn't sure she was ready for the answer, but it wasn't going to go away. "So, what do you think? Is it worth pursuing?"

Alex turned and faced her. "Is it worth pursuing? Are you kidding?" he asked, not sure if she was serious. When he saw that she was, he continued. "Katya, it's brilliant. It's sick and twisted and absolutely brilliant."

Her face lit up and she closed the gap between them. "Really? You like it? I thought it might be too much, but it felt so right." Words came out in a rush as she tried to explain what she was thinking and where she wanted the story to go. He couldn't follow everything she was telling him, but he didn't care; seeing her so animated was enough for him. He found himself nodding his head and saying supportive things like 'I see' and 'hmmm.' After a time, Katie realized that he was no longer following along. "When did I lose you?" she asked, grinning.

"About ten minutes ago," he admitted.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"I couldn't. You were so excited and I didn't want you to stop talking." He was grinning and trying hard to hold back a laugh. "You're cute when you're all worked up like that."

"Enjoy it now. Eventually, the flow dries up and I start stomping and pacing. I'm absolutely adorable when that happens," she said with a snort.

The elevator door opened, with Matthew and Tyler on board, surprising both of them. Katie reached over, hit save and closed the file, but not before Tyler spotted her. "Katie! You've started another story?" He ran over to the computer. "Can see it?"

Katie frowned. "Tyler, you know the answer to that question."

"I know, but if I keep asking, one day you might say yes." He looked over at Alex, sitting in the desk chair. "She let you read it, Alex?"

Alex looked at Katie, not knowing if he should respond or not. She nodded. "Yes she did. And it's incredible," he added.

Matthew came closer. "Wait a minute. Did I hear you say that she let you read a work in progress?" he asked Alex. Then he turned to Katie. "You let him read something that wasn't finished?" Katie shrugged and smiled at Matthew. "Oh my God! I'm stunned. You should feel privileged, Alex. In all the years we've known each other, she's never let me touch a work in progress; not once. I've had to put up with the stomping and pacing and the manic behavior that goes along with the process, without benefit of being able to see the cause. I think I'm jealous."

"OK, no more book talk tonight. It's officially time to begin dinner and final preparations for the Twenty-second Annual Gore-fest. Tonight, we have a B-movie virgin in our midst, gentlemen. Be kind, for he knows not what to expect. Tyler, go forth and prepare the evening meal. Kid, help me bring in the comfy chair," Katie announced.

Matthew gasped. "Not the 'comfy chair'?"

"I'm afraid so," she responded.

Alex couldn't stop laughing, in spite of the agonizing pain in his ribs. "Stop! You're killing me," he cried. "Katya, you promised to keep the Monty Python routines under wraps until I healed," he moaned, wiping the tears from his eyes.

She hurried to his side and put her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Alexei. Are you all right," she snickered. "I couldn't resist."

"Still keeping score, Katya. Just remember that," he warned.

"I'm sure you are."

"Alex, why don't you come back here with me," Matthew called. "I'd like to take a look at your knee, before the silliness begins."

Alex got up and walked back to the bedroom. Katie started to follow, but was waved off by Matthew. "I can handle this. Go help Tyler get things ready." Katie eyed him, warily. "I'm just going to make sure everything's healing the way it should," he said. She frowned and held her ground. "I promise, Hanna." Katie looked over at Alex standing in the doorway, then back at Matthew.

"All right. I'll go help Tyler." She looked at Alex again and smiled. "Don't let him bully you."

"I won't."

"And you," she said, facing Matthew. "Remember your promise."

"I will," he answered, as he closed the bedroom door.

She watched them disappear into the bedroom, then went out to give Tyler a hand with dinner; not that dinner was any big ordeal to prepare. They generally went with deli, so that everyone could put together their sandwich of choice, followed by large amounts of junk food, all washed down with sangria. As she helped Tyler carry everything out to the living room, she couldn't help but look at the closed bedroom door and wonder what Matthew was saying to Alex.

Part Seven

Matthew turned to Alex. "OK, I left my x-ray specs at the office, so you're going to have to lose the jeans for a few minutes."

Alex complied. He slipped them off and sat down on the edge of the bed. Matthew kneeled down to examine the injured knee, but found little change. It was still purple, but that wasn't going to go away anytime soon. The swelling had gone down considerably, but it wasn't back to normal just yet. "Have you been soaking this?" Alex nodded. "Good. Be sure you walk on it a little every day so it doesn't stiffen up on you." Matthew got up and moved away. "You can put your jeans back on, but I want to check those ribs, so don't go anywhere."

Alex replaced his jeans, then removed his shirt, while Matthew watched the door. He kept expecting Katie to knock, not trusting him to keep his promise. When Alex was ready, Matthew checked his ribs. He was reasonably confident that there were just the two cracked ones and that they were healing, as they should be.

"OK, that does it."

Alex stared at him for a moment, not believing that he was getting off that easily. Yes, Matthew had promised Katie he wouldn't bully him, but Alex hadn't thought for a minute that he'd keep that promise. "That's it? You're really not going to say anything?"

"No, I'm really not going to say anything," Matthew replied.

"Why not?" Alex buttoned his shirt, never taking his eyes off the good doctor. "Because you promised Katie you wouldn't?"

"Partly. Mostly because I've already lost," he said with a sigh.

"Lost? What do you mean, you've already lost?"

Matthew slumped down in the recliner. "She let you read a work in progress, Alex. You don't know her well enough yet, to know how significant that is. No one, and I mean no one, gets to do that. When I walked in here tonight and heard that, I knew the battle was already over." He leveled a stare at Alex. "Since you started this, I'm technically not breaking my promise to Katie, so I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them."

'Here it comes,' Alex thought.

"How long has it been since your last sexual encounter?"

Alex sat back in surprise. "Jesus, Matthew! I've only known her for a couple of days!"

"And it will probably be a few more weeks before you're able to do anything about it, too, but I know what I saw a little while ago and I know where this is heading," Matthew stated bluntly.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean 'you know what you saw?" Alex asked defensively.

"I saw the two of you, looking and acting like you've been together for years. Face it man, she's falling hard for you and you aren't too far behind."

Alex opened his mouth to utter a denial, but found that the words wouldn't come. Matthew gave him time to come to terms with the truth of his statement, then finished his thought. "I know you're clean," Matthew continued. "When Katie wasn't around, I drew blood and had it checked out, but I need to know how long it's been, so I know how long to keep checking you."

Alex shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Katie was right, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. "Four years. Pretty much since this happened," he said, motioning toward his arm."

Now it was Matthew's turn to look surprised. "Four years? Why? You're an attractive man; you mean to tell me that you haven't been with anyone in all that time?"

Alex frowned. "Matthew, most women don't see a detachable arm as a selling point."

Matthew left the recliner and sat down on the bed next to Alex. "She's not like anyone else you've ever met."

Alex turned to him and smiled. "I'm beginning to understand that." He looked at the door and started to rock back and forth. Matthew noticed and wondered if Alex was even aware of what he was doing. "Do you really think I have a chance with her?" he asked quietly.

Matthew laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "Alex, you don't need chance, you have her already." Alex smiled. "That doesn't mean it's going to be easy," Matthew added. "You're going to have to work for it. Take care of her, woo her, let her know you aren't taking this for granted."

"Two days, Matthew. It's only been two days," Alex reminded.

"How long does it take?" Matthew asked. "Two days can be a lifetime; consider this my blessing." He patted Alex on the leg and got up from the bed. "Remember what I said," he offered as he walked to the door. He put one hand on the knob, but turned before opening the door. "Remember this, too. If you hurt her, I will come after you."

Alex got up and joined him at the door. "I won't hurt her," he promised.

"No, I don't suppose you will." Matthew opened the door. "Come on, we'd better get out there before Katie comes looking for us and Tyler starts to get jealous."

Alex grinned. "I like it here, you people are good for my ego."

"Don't get too used it," Matthew warned. "It's just a tactic we use to suck in unsuspecting victims. Once the honeymoon period is over, you'll be fair game, just like the rest of us."

Katie came bounding over to meet them just outside the doorway. "So, how is everything?"

Matthew rolled his eyes and looked over at Alex. "What did I tell you?"

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, Katya," Alex replied, with a grin. "Matthew says I'm going to live."

Tyler stood by the couch, tapping his foot impatiently. "Good! Now would you three come on already? The food's laid out, the VCR is primed and ready to go, and the sangria is chilled to perfection. All we need is for Mistress Katie to choose the first selection, so the festivities can begin."

"I'd better go pick the first film," Katie whispered loudly to Alex. "Tyler gets so pissy when we make him wait."

"I heard that, Katie," Tyler called.

"You were supposed to, sweetheart," Katie replied. She joined Tyler by the couch and began sorting through the bag of movies. In general, the selections pleased her, until she hit upon one about two-thirds of the way down the stack. She pulled it out, holding it between her thumb and forefinger; like it was a disease-ridden rat. "What the Hell is THIS doing in here, Tyler?" she asked, wiggling it in his face.

"If I have to sit through Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, then you can sit through Plan 9 from Outer Space," he challenged.

"We've had this fight before. This is a horror fest, not a sci-fi fest, and while Plan Nine is 'horrible' it is not horror!" Tyler stood his ground and glared back her. "Oh, come on! Kid, Alexei, help me out here," she begged.

"No way, Hanna. I'm going with Tyler on this one."

Katie frowned at Matthew. "Traitor!" She turned to Alex. "Alexei," she said sweetly.

"Sorry Katya, never seen it," he shrugged. "I'd kind of like to see the worst movie ever made."

Katie gave each of them an evil glare. "Oh, I see how it is. Fine, it's gang-up-on-Katie night, is it?" The men laughed; Alex trying not to let it show, while the other two made no such gesture. She pointed the evil eye at Alex. "And to think, I was worried about you being alone, in the same room, with that one," she huffed, nodding at Matthew. She held the tape out to Tyler. "Here, Tyler. Take your stupid movie and put it in the machine. If we have to watch it, let's get over with now." Tyler took the tape and quickly popped it into the VCR, not wanting to give Katie a chance to change her mind.

Katie sat down on the couch first, leaving room for Alex to sit down beside her. She made sure to leave him the end space on the left-hand side, so that he'd have the arm of the couch to lean against and she'd have his right arm close, in case he wanted to put it around her or anything. Not a very subtle gesture, but she wasn't feeling particularly subtle this evening. If she had to sit through that stupid movie, someone had better damned well be planning on doing something to make it bearable; Alex's arm around her was number one on her list of ways to make that happen. Matthew watched her little maneuver and made a move toward the spot. He laughed when she hissed "sit there and die" at him. "Smooth, Hanna, really smooth," he whispered in her ear. She reached out and punched him on the arm, as he backed away from the couch to join Tyler on the adjacent loveseat. Alex was watched the exchange and almost laughed out loud, when Matthew winked at him, conspiratorially.

"Mind if I sit here," Alex asked innocently.

"I suppose not," she answered, rolling her eyes. "But after joining in the hostile takeover of the VCR, don't expect me to hold your hand when things get scary later on."

Alex sat down next to her and bumped her shoulder with his. "Katya, you're not going to protect me from the big bad monsters?" he asked, giving her his best 'hurt' look.

"Nope, you're on your own now, Alexei."

Alex scowled. "Hmmm, is there anything I can do to put myself back in your good graces, Mistress Katie?"

Tyler poked Matthew in the arm and pointed at Alex. "Good move," he whispered. "The boy learns fast."

Matthew nodded. "Yes he does. I think Hanna may have finally met her match."

"Well," Katie said, hesitantly. "I suppose you could start by making me a sandwich and pouring me a glass of wine."

"Anything you say," he responded. "What kind of sandwich would you like?"

Tyler leaned in close to Matthew. "She's going to make him guess. Remember when she pulled that on me?" Matthew smiled and nodded.

"Guess," Katie told him.

"See?" Tyler whispered.

"We'd better help him out. You point him in the right direction, while I try to get her to put the rest of the tapes in order," Matthew plotted. "Hanna, grab the bag of tapes and give me the line-up for the evening."

Katie picked up the bag and started putting tapes in order, a few at a time, and handing them to Matthew. Tyler motioned to Alex and started pointing to various items on the table. As Alex reached for different things, Tyler would nod or shake his head, to let him know if he was on the right track. By the time the tapes were in order, Alex had constructed the perfect sandwich and poured Katie a glass of wine. He handed her the plate. "I hope this meets with your approval."

She took the plate and put it down on her lap. Lifting the top slice of bread, she poked through the sandwich to see what he'd put inside. It was perfect; she knew she was being set up, but decided to let it ride. "It'll do," she said, taking a bite. "Aren't you going to eat? Neither one of us thought to grab lunch today."

"I was waiting for permission," he teased.

Tyler and Matthew exchanged amused looks. "Definitely, met her match," Matthew whispered. Tyler snickered and nodded.

"If you two are done, I'm going to start the tape," Tyler exclaimed. Katie and Alex smiled, so Tyler hit play and the movie music filled the room. Katie finished her sandwich, then slumped against the back of the couch in defeat. Alex leaned forward to eat, but when he finished, leaned back to rest against the arm of the couch. Katie stopped watching the movie and started watching Alex instead. She liked seeing his reactions to the inanity on the screen; he was completely enthralled and didn't realize that she was staring at him, until the movie ended.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

"You," she said, smiling. Then, she looked over at the boys. "Can we start the bloodshed now?"

Tyler pulled Plan 9 out of the VCR and popped in I Dismember Mama. "Let the bloodshed begin," he announced. He leaned over and extended his glass. "Would you pour me a glass of wine, Katie. As the blood flows, so shall the alcohol."

"Here, here," she replied, holding up the bottle, then pouring Tyler his drink. "Anyone else?" Matthew passed her his glass, as did Alex.

"You go easy on that, Alex," Matthew warned. "You're not in the best shape to be doing any serious drinking."

"I'll be careful," Alex answered.

Matthew watched in amusement as the pair shifted positions on the couch. Alex had removed one of the decorative pillows from behind his back and was hugging it protectively, against his ribs. Katie had moved a little closer to him; not enough to be obvious, but enough so that she was now well within arm-around-the-shoulder reach. Matthew turned his head and snickered quietly, not wanting to attract their attention. Tyler noticed and looked to see what Matthew found so humorous. He too, had to stifle a laugh. "Is he dense, or just blind?" Tyler whispered. Matthew snorted and smacked Tyler's arm.

Alex extended his hand and tapped Katie on the shoulder. When she turned, he pointed at Tyler and Matthew. "What do you think that's all about?" he asked quietly, dropping his fingers back to her shoulder.

"Who knows." Katie scooted closer to him. "Those two can be so weird sometimes," she whispered.

Alex held back a laugh and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "And you're so normal?"

"That's what the voices in my head keep telling me," she teased. "Are you OK?" she asked, pointing to the pillow he held against his body.

"I'm fine. This is just for protection."

"Protection? Against what?"

Alex grinned. She wasn't the only one capable of setting traps for unsuspecting victims. "Protection against you, of course. I'm sure that once the scariness starts that you'll be looking for an available body to huddle up against. I'm just preparing myself to be that available body."

Katie pulled back and tried to look indignant. "So, you think I'm going to be needing some big, strong man to protect me from the nasty monsters?"

"Needing? No," he said, smiling sweetly. "Just wishing out loud."

"Oh," Katie replied, taken aback by his statement. She had no idea how to respond after that, so she turned her attention to the TV screen. The psycho had escaped from the institution and was busily hacking away at his first victim.

"Oh, nice looking blood there," Matthew exclaimed. "Another filmmaker falls victim to the Heinz Corporation."

"That's not Heinz, it's way too runny. I'm guessing that's a generic ketchup," Katie offered. "That brain looks pretty good though."

"Yeah, but brains are easy to get. If they're going wash the screen in blood, these guys need to invest a little more of their budget in the good stuff. God knows they're not spending the money on actors."

Tyler couldn't take it anymore. "Would the two of you please shut up about the blood? I'm trying to enjoy the story," he snapped. "Save the commentary for the video rewind."

"Sorry, Ty," Katie and Matthew said in unison, neither sounding the least bit apologetic. At that moment, the psycho was stalking his next victim. As he got closer and closer, Katie slid the rest of the way over to Alex and eased back against him. She felt his arm go around her shoulder as her body relaxed. "Is this comfortable? I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not hurting me." His fingers gently stroked her shoulder. "I'll let you know if I start to get uncomfortable."

The movie continued, victims falling like flies, until the final, not-so-thrilling conclusion.

"Well, that sucked!" Katie announced, as Tyler pushed rewind on the VCR. "I say we officially place that one in the sucks-too-much-to-see-again basket. All those in favor, say 'aye'." A unanimous chorus of 'aye' resounded through the loft. "The motion carries, I Dismember Mama is hereby removed from the viewing list from this day forward. Tyler, name the next movie."

Tyler reached into the bag and pulled out the next case in line. "I offer you C.H.U.D., Mistress Katie," he announced with a flourish.

Katie waved him off regally. "You may proceed."

"Chud?" Alex asked, looking confused.

"Cannibalistic. Humanoid. Underground. Dwellers; C.H.U.D." she whispered. "It'll all make sense as you watch the movie."

"Sure it will," he replied, raising his eyebrows. Katie turned her head; just enough so he could see her smile, then let her head fall to his shoulder. Alex smiled and began stroking her arm. The movie began, as did the catcalls; MST3K had nothing on Tyler, Katie and Matthew. About halfway through, Katie sat up to grab another glass of wine. She offered some to Alex, but he declined. She downed that glass and poured another. By the time the movie ended, she was feeling no pain. She sat up on the edge of the couch and issued her stock proclamation. "The time is almost at hand, my lovelies. Soon the midnight hour will arrive and with it, our annual visit to the shrine of the Master. Go and prepare yourselves, for the exits will be closed for this feature film," Katie announced.

"The Master?" Alex asked.

Tyler and Matthew made a show of gasping at his display of ignorance. Katie shushed them. "Stop teasing him; you knew he was a virgin when we started this."

"Hey, who you calling a virgin," Alex huffed. "I've seen the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and Friday the 13th movies; I'm not completely horror-free."

Katie patted him on the leg. "Yes, so you've said. However, until you've been taken by the Master, you are still considered a virgin. Now tell me sweetheart, have you ever experienced Night of the Living Dead?" Alex looked uncomfortable as he shook his head. Katie let out an evil giggle and wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively. "Good. George is going to love having someone as pretty as you, adorning his trophy wall. If you'll excuse me, I need to make a pit stop before our feature begins." Katie got up and walked, unsteadily, to the bathroom.

"Oh man, she's gone," Matthew snickered. "We'd better hide the sangria or her next trip in will be to offer up a prayer to the porcelain God. How many glasses has she had, Alex?"

Alex shrugged. "Four, I think. I wasn't keeping track. I know she threw back one of them like it was fruit punch."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, she does that. OK, let's get it out of here. Tyler, you take the food, I'll grab the sangria and Katie's glass. If we dilute it with a little soda, she'll think she has a full glass and won't miss the bottle." Tyler picked up the food and followed Matthew into the kitchen.

"Anything I can do?" Alex called.

"Yeah," Matthew answered. "Get up and walk around for a few minutes. You've been sitting in the same position for too long."

Alex slid to edge of the couch and pushed himself up. He attempted a deep breath and immediately regretted it. The action caused his knees to buckle and he had to clutch the arm of the couch to keep from sinking to the floor. Matthew saw what was happening and rushed out to help. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just tried to take a breath. I'm OK now." He straightened up and strolled over to the window. The sky was clear and dark thanks to a waxing moon. A full moon might be more desirable for Halloween, but he preferred the darker nights.

"Too bad the streetlights are so bright," Katie said, slipping in beside him. "You don't know how many nights I've considered breaking them to get a better look at the stars."

"You want I should shoot 'em out for you?" Alex asked, in his best Don Corleone imitation.

Katie giggled. "You'd do that for me?"

Alex swung his left arm around her. "This is a simple thing you ask for. I think we can come to some kind of...arrangement." Katie giggled and pressed herself up against his side. 'She really doesn't mind the arm,' he thought, somewhat surprised. 'Either that, or she's too drunk to notice.' Katie touched his fingers, watching as he touched hers in return.

"I wondered if the fingers moved," she said, interlacing them with hers.

"I'll never be good at sleight of hand, but they're functional." He looked down at her, tightened his grip slightly, and smiled.

"Hey you two, it's almost midnight," Tyler yelled. "Let's get the show on the road."

They reluctantly left the serenity of the window and returned to the couch. Tyler was standing at the VCR, holding the video in one hand, a glass of sangria in the other. "And now, we pay homage to the Grand Master of Low Budget Horror, George Romero. A toast." He raised his glass, while the others followed his lead. "To George!" he announced.

"To George," they echoed. Katie took a big swig and swallowed, then gave the glass a funny look. She took another sip and decided it tasted a little weak, but still good.

Tyler popped the tape into the machine. "And now, without further ado, I give you Night of the Living Dead." He returned to the loveseat, but hesitated before sitting down. "Alex, you'd better watch out for that one," he warned. "This movie makes her jumpy."

Alex put his arm around Katie. "Is this true, Katya?"

"Guilty as charged, Alexei." Katie glared at Tyler. "Thanks for sharing, Ty."

"Just doing my part, Katie," Tyler snickered.

"I'm glad he did; gives me an excuse to do this," he said, as he pulled her in close and hugged her tight. Katie nestled in and stuck her tongue out at Tyler.

Just as the movie was starting, Matthew got up. "Where do you think you're going?" Katie asked.

"We forgot to turn off the lights," he replied. He flipped the switches, then sat down beside Tyler. "Much better, we can't have Alex losing his cherry in the light now, can we?"

Tyler and Katie snickered, while Alex groaned and felt his face flush. 'Maybe having the lights out wasn't such a bad idea after all,' he thought. He gave Katie a squeeze and focused his attention on the movie. After a while, he started drawing little circles on her arm with his fingers. Every so often, he would feel her jump; although on a couple of those occasions, he wasn't sure which one of them was actually doing the jumping. As he got used to the action, Alex stopped being startled; Katie, the seasoned veteran, continued to react as if she was seeing the movie for the first time. The music picked up, letting everyone know that something really awful was about to happen. When it did, Katie turned away from both the screen and Alex. Suddenly, Alex found his fingers caressing not Katie's arm, but her right breast. He whipped his hand away, when he realized where it was, and rested it on the back of the couch. "Sorry, Katya. I didn't mean..."he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"S'OK," she whispered. "Do you hear me complaining?" Katie was flushed and tingling all over, feeling very much like a teenager on her first date.

Alex relaxed and put his hand back on her arm. "No, I don't."

"Then shut up and watch the movie." Katie snuggled back into Alex and watched the rest of the show, all the while hoping that he'd let his hand slip once again, but knowing that he wouldn't. When the movie ended, Matthew turned on a few lights, while Tyler hit rewind.

"So Alex, what did you think?" Matthew asked.

"I think I need a cigarette, Matthew," Alex replied. He sent a sidelong glance in Katie's direction, causing her face to redden slightly.

"Ah yes," Tyler chimed in. "George Romero deflowers yet another innocent. Film at eleven." He ejected the tape from the VCR and put it back in its box. "So people, it's almost two. I know it's a little early as our marathons go, but it's been a long couple of day. Personally, I'm ready to call it quits."

"I agree. It has been a long couple of days for all of us," Matthew added.

"Party poopers." Katie scowled. "We're just getting started here! You're just quitting because you don't want to watch Hookers, aren't you?"

Tyler walked over and kissed Katie on the cheek. "I promise, I'll sit right here and watch it with you tomorrow morning, if you want me to. Right now, I'm going into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and then I'm going to bed. I assume we're taking your room tonight, Katie?" Tyler said, through a yawn.

Katie nodded and yawned herself. "Yeah, I've been staying with Alex since he got here. He doesn't really need me to be in there anymore, but one more night won't hurt anything."

"OK," Tyler replied. He left for the bathroom, giving Matthew a quick kiss as he passed by.

"Wait for me." Matthew followed Tyler into the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Alex waited until the door shut before addressing Katie's statement. "What do you mean 'I don't need you in there anymore'? Who's going to sing me to sleep after a bad dream?" he chided. "Besides," he added, wiggling his eyebrows. "You've just taken my virginity. Don't you think you owe me the courtesy of staying with me?"

Katie chuckled. "Well, since you put it that way, I suppose I should stay the night. I wouldn't want your tender sensibilities to be damaged by the experience."

"Thank you," he said, kissing her hand. "I was beginning to feel so...cheap."

"Certainly wouldn't want to make you feel cheap," Katie said with a smile. "Why don't you go ahead and get changed."

Alex stood up and tried to stretch. "Might take me a few minutes," he warned.

"No hurry," she replied. "I'll just sit here and enjoy this buzz I've got going. Come and get me when you've finished changing."

Alex patted her on the arm and left to change. Katie closed her eyes and let the full effects of the wine and the evening sweep over her. She could still feel his fingers on her breast. His caress had been an accident; she knew that. Still, she couldn't help wishing it hadn't been. Maybe next time, it would be intentional. Katie sighed.

Tyler and Matthew came out of the bathroom and found Katie half-asleep, on the couch. Matthew gently nudged her. "Thought you weren't tired?" he teased. "Bathroom's free." He looked around. "Where's Alex?"

Katie yawned and pointed at the bedroom. "Getting changed." She stood up and stretched. "Guess I'd better grab the bathroom while I can. Sleep well you two." She started to walk to the bathroom, then turned around. "Are you going out for bagels in the morning, Ty?"

"Don't I always?"

"Sorry, stupid question. Pick up a few extra sourdough then, would you, please?"

"Sure. Sweet dreams, Katie."

"Same to you, Ty."

Katie closed the bathroom door and began the bedtime ritual of face washing and tooth brushing. The cold water on her face woke her up a little and she looked at herself in the mirror. Staring back at her was the goofiest grin she'd seen in a long time. She pointed at the person in front of her and shook her finger. "You are sooo transparent! Get a grip, girlfriend or that man is going to set a new land speed record getting out the door." Katie continued to stare, hoping that her expression would magically change. When it didn't, she sighed and dried her face on the towel. She opened the door and was startled to find Alex waiting outside.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, peering into the bathroom.

"No one," Katie replied. "Just myself."

"They say that's the first sign of insanity, you know," Alex warned.

"What's the second?" she challenged.

He leaned in close and spoke in low tones. "Bringing unconscious, injured men back to your apartment and healing their wounds. Followed by taking them into your whirlpool bath and singing them to sleep."

"Mmmm. Insanity sounds nice."

Alex chuckled and closed the bathroom door. Katie tapped on it immediately after. "Alexei?" Alex opened the door a crack and peeked out. "Does insanity also include letting the formerly unconscious man grope you while watching scary movies?" she asked innocently, watching as his face turned crimson. She giggled and ran to the bedroom, before he could answer. Once in the bedroom, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. When Alex returned and settled into the recliner, Katie reached over and turned out the light. Alex started to say something a couple of times, before getting up the nerve to actually put a voice to his words.

"Katya?"

"Yes, Alexei?"

"It really was an accident."

Katie snickered into her pillow. "I know."

Alex was quiet for a few minutes, leading Katie to wonder if he'd fallen asleep. She was almost there herself, when he spoke again.

"Katya?"

"Yes, Alexei?"

"The next time won't be."

A delicious shiver ran through her body. "Good." Katie could almost hear him smiling in the darkened room and wondered if he could tell that she was smiling as well. She waited until she could hear his breathing change, before allowing sleep to claim her.

Part Eight

Alex awoke the next morning to the sounds of movement in the other room. He looked at Katie sleeping soundly on the bed and grinned. Getting up quietly, he slipped out of the bedroom to see what was going on. Tyler and Matthew were dressed and giving the refrigerator the once over. "Morning," he said to the two of them.

"Morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?" Matthew asked.

Alex nodded. "You guys going somewhere?"

"Yeah, we're heading out to pick up some bagels for breakfast. I thought I'd check to see if Katie needed anything elsebefore we left," Tyler replied. "Any requests?"

"Yeah, can I ask a favor?"

Matthew nodded. "Sure, what do you need?"

"I'd like to go pick up my car and the rest of my stuff before someone decides I've run out on the tab at the hotel."

"We can do that. You shouldn't be driving anyway. Where do we need to go?" Matthew asked.

"The Ellstrom." Alex turned back to go into the bedroom. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Let me go toss some clothes on; I'll be right out."

"The Ellstrom? For an unemployed drifter, this boy lives pretty well, Matthew."

Matthew looked perplexed. "Yes he does. Hmmm, maybe this would be a good time to find out more about our new friend."

Alex came out of the bedroom and started looking around. "We should leave Katie a note. I don't want her to wake up and think we've run out on her. Tyler pointed to the computer.

"Should we tell him that Katie already knows we're making a bagel run?" Tyler whispered to Matthew.

Matthew shook his head. "No, let him leave the note. It'll mean a lot to Katie."

Alex finished his note, walked back into the bedroom and placed it on the nightstand. He pulled the blankets up around her shoulders and closed the door as he left the room. "All set."

"OK, let's go," Matthew said, picking up his car keys. "You might want to grab a jacket, Alex. It's only 42 outside."

"The only one I have is being repaired." Alex shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

Tyler rolled his eyes and went back to the rack by the dryer. He rummaged through the clothes until he found what he was looking for; Matthew's old Pirates jacket that Katie had rescued years ago, when Tyler was going through one of his closet cleaning binges. "Here," he said, handing the jacket to Alex. "Put this on. If we let you go out without a jacket and you get sick, Katie will never let us hear the end of it." Alex shook his head, but put on the jacket. He took one last look at the bedroom door, before following Matthew and Tyler into the elevator. They got off the elevator at street level, but exited through the back of the elevator into the bottom floor of the warehouse.

"Nice garage!" Alex joked.

"It'll do in a pinch," Matthew laughed. "Beats parking on the street."

"I guess so. What is she going to do with all this space?" Alex asked.

"Right now, she uses it for parking and storage space. We've been known to use it as our own personal skating rink, but other than that, I don't know as she has any real plans for it," Matthew explained, as he unlocked the car doors. "Tell you what," Matthew said to Tyler, as they got into the car. "Let's swing by the Ellstrom first and grab Alex's things, then we can hit the shop on the way back. We didn't decide we needed to get anything else, did we?" he asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"No, just the bagels this time," Tyler answered. He turned to look at Alex. "So Alex, the Ellstrom is a pretty ritzy place. A bit pricey for someone who's between jobs."

Alex fought back a smile. Very smooth, Tyler, subtle as a heart attack. "I have a little money put aside," he responded, nonchalantly.

"What is it that you used to do exactly? You haven't said to much about your former occupation," Matthew inquired.

That's better, Alex thought, just come out and ask. Now, how to answer? He hesitated before starting his response. " I used to be a consultant for an international consortium. The focus shifted last year and I decided that I no longer wanted to be associated with the group. Since then, I haven't found anything to which I feel the need to make a commitment."

"What kind of consulting did you do?" Tyler asked.

"Most of it was confidential in nature. I can't talk about it." Alex felt he had explained enough and was relieved to see the hotel in the distance. Matthew parked the car in the lot and the three of them went into the hotel. Alex asked for his key at the desk. "I'm going to be picking up my things and checking out this morning," he told the clerk. "Would you get my bill ready for me please." The clerk nodded and began printing out the paperwork. Alex headed over to the elevator and pushed the button. "I'm going to run up and get my things. Shouldn't take but a few minutes. Unless you want to come up with me," he offered.

"No, that's OK. We'll wait for you down here," Matthew said.

Alex stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button for his floor. When he got upstairs, he threw his clothes into the suitcase and grabbed the rest of his things from the bathroom. His keys were still sitting on the dresser, where he'd left them the other night. He smiled as jingled the keys in his hand. The hotel was nothing compared to his car. He couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when they got a load of that little surprise. Certain that he hadn't forgotten anything, Alex picked up his suitcase and left the room. The suitcase wasn't that heavy, but it was more than he should be carrying, and his ribs let him know that in no uncertain terms. He dropped it on the floor of the elevator, hoping that he wouldn't look too silly pushing it out of the door in the lobby. Fortunately, Matthew was waiting when the elevator opened. He stepped in and picked up the suitcase. "Thanks, Matthew."

"No problem. I should have thought about that before letting you go up by yourself."

Alex went to the front desk, signed the bill and turned in his key. The clerk handed him the receipt and wished him a good day.

"All right, car's out in the lot. Follow me," Alex said.

Matthew and Tyler followed him out to the lot, both wondering what kind of vehicle they should be looking for. Tyler had him figured for a four-wheel drive, while Matthew was picturing a Taurus, for some reason. Both stared in disbelief when Alex stopped in front of a car and identified it as his. "You're kidding, right?" Tyler asked.

"Nope, this is it." Alex replied.

Matthew dropped the suitcase and began a slow trip around the vehicle. He touched the car reverently, like it was something holy. Tyler was duly impressed, but Matthew was falling all over himself. "A Ferrari 456 GTA 2+2! Oh my God! I've only seen pictures of these. My God man, how much did that consortium pay you?"

Alex laughed. "I told you, I have money stashed away." He jingled the keys to get Matthew's attention, then tossed them to him. "Here, why don't you drive. You don't mind if Matthew takes the wheel first, do you Tyler? I'll let you take her out for a spin later."

Tyler shook his head. "Fine with me; this is Matthew's wet dream, not mine."

Matthew weighed the keys in his hand, not believing that he was about to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari. He stood there, transfixed, completely forgetting that he was not alone.

"Uh, Matthew?" Alex nudged him. "Matthew?"

Matthew turned and forced himself out of his car-induced stupor. "Hmmm? What? Oh, sorry, Alex."

Alex chuckled. "You want to put the suitcase in the trunk so we can get out of here?"

"Yeah. Sure. You're really going to let me drive this?" Matthew asked.

"Well, I can't drive it right now and Tyler doesn't seem all that interested, so it's up to you. If you don't think you can handle it, we can bring Katie here later and let her drive it home." Alex chided.

"NO! I can do it," Matthew said quickly. "I'll be fine." He opened the trunk and put in the suitcase, gently closing the hood when he was done. "I'll meet you at the shop," he added, as he opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Tyler and Alex waited while Matthew started the engine. They snickered as they heard him rev it up a few times, before leaving the parking lot.

"How much you wanna bet we get to the shop before he does?" Tyler asked.

"No doubt," Alex said, smiling. "Let him have some fun. I won't be able to drive for a few more weeks; someone should enjoy her company."

Tyler headed over to his car. "Let's go get those bagels. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

They got into the car and drove the few blocks to MacCreedy's. It was Alex's turn to be surprised, when Tyler pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the front door. He was further shocked by the fact that MacCreedy's wasn't just a bakery, but a bookstore, too, a warm, inviting bookstore, with a small cafe in the back. He could smell the fresh bread being baked in the cafe's kitchen.

Alex followed Tyler through the store and into the back, trying to take in as much of the store as he could.

"Good morning, Mr. MacCreedy," one of the cooks said to Tyler.

"Same to you, Lisa," Tyler replied. "How are the bagels this morning?"

"Delicious as always," she said, with a grin. "Do you want the usual?"

"Yes, ma'am. But toss in a few extra sourdough." He leaned in and whispered loudly to her. "I think our Katie's in love." Alex looked away, trying desperately to ignore Tyler, but failing miserably.

"With him?" Lisa asked, pointing at Alex. Tyler nodded. "What's his name?"

"Alex," Tyler whispered.

"Uh, huh. Alex," she called. Alex turned to look at her. "You like our Katie?"

Alex shifted his feet uncomfortably, but looked her in the eye. "Yes ma'am, I do."

Lisa crossed her arms and gave him the once over, frowning slightly as she did. "You and Dr. Curry approve of this young man, Mr. MacCreedy?" she asked Tyler, never taking her eyes off of Alex.

"He'll do, Lisa," Tyler decided. "The jury's still out where Matthew is concerned, but he'll cave; he always does. Katie likes him, so it doesn't much matter what we think either way."

"Well, all right then." She leveled her gaze at Alex. "Alex, you better be good to her. Katie's special to all of us here and we don't take kindly to anyone who hurts her. You understand?"

Alex smiled. "Yes ma'am, I understand. I'll be good to her."

Lisa let out a sigh. "You better be, 'cause if I find out that you hurt her, your name's gonna be gracing our menu, right here under 'sandwich of the day'." She shook her finger at him and grinned. "Keep that in mind, young man."

"Oh, yes ma'am. I'll remember that," Alex said with a nod.

Lisa went back to collect the bagels for Tyler. Alex was a little stunned by what had just transpired, so he turned to Tyler. "Did I pass?"

"You're still standing, aren't you?" Tyler responded. "Just don't get on her bad side."

"Thanks for the warning." Alex looked around the store. "You own this place, Tyler?" Tyler nodded. "It's great! How long have you been here?"

"A little over 8 years. Katie was my first customer. Actually, she was here before the place even opened. She had to check out the new store and see if I was going to be carrying her books. A few days later, she brought Matthew by to meet me and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Did I hear my name?" Matthew asked, as he slipped out of the kitchen. "Alex, that car is incredible. I parked it behind the store. Something like that shouldn't be left out on the street." He leaned over and gave Tyler a kiss. "Bagels ready? I'm starving."

"Lisa's getting them as we speak. Why don't you go on ahead; I can tell you're dying to get back behind the wheel. We'll meet you at the loft in about 15 minutes," Tyler offered.

"OK, see ya," Matthew called, as he bolted for the door.

"He's in a good mood," Alex observed.

"Yes he is. Too bad it's so early in the day. That's one mood I wouldn't mind hanging on to for a few hours, if you know what I mean," Tyler said, giving Alex a wink.

"Maybe I can help you out with that," Alex hinted. Tyler raised his eyebrows, causing Alex to snicker. "I could let Matthew drive it home tonight. That way, you get a chance to take both the car, and Matthew, for a spin," Alex replied, returning the wink.

"You'd do that for me?" Tyler asked incredulously.

"Sure. Why not? It's the least I can do, after everything you and Matthew have done for me," Alex said with a shrug. "Just one request. Grab the blanket from under the seat before you go." Tyler gave him a questioning look. "The seats are leather..." Tyler's eyes widened as comprehension struck and his mouth hit the floor.

"Alex! You are so bad!" Tyler exclaimed, just as Lisa walked out with the bag of bagels. Tyler's face reddened and he hoped that Lisa hadn't overheard the bulk of the conversation. "Thank you, Lisa. You ready to go, Alex? Alex nodded.

"Great. Let's get out of here."

They were quiet for the short drive home. Matthew pulled up just after they parked the car. When he got out of the Ferrari, Matthew's face was practically glowing. He opened the trunk and pulled out Alex's suitcase. He handed the keys back to Alex, who went over to unlock the car door. "I'll be right up. Just want to grab something out of the back." He opened the door, then called over to Tyler. "Hey Ty, can you give me a hand?" Tyler handed the bagels to Matthew and sent him upstairs.

"Yeah, what do need?"

"Nothing," Alex grinned. "I just wanted to show you where the blanket was." He pulled a corner of it out from under the passenger seat. "Should I leave it here or toss it on the seat?"

"You weren't joking?" Tyler asked, in shock. "I thought you were kidding about letting us take the car."

"No, I was serious. Here," he said, tossing Tyler the keys. "Knock yourself out." Tyler snatched the keys in mid-air and dropped them into his jacket pocket. "Come on, we better get up there before Matthew gets suspicious." Tyler nodded and followed Alex to the elevator.

The door opened and the smell of toasted bagels filled the air. Matthew was at the table, happily munching away. "Sorry guys, I had to go ahead and start without you," Matthew mumbled.

Tyler went into the kitchen and grabbed a bagel for himself. "Want one, Alex?"

"Yeah, sourdough." He looked around the loft. "Is Katie still asleep?" Matthew nodded. "Make it two, Ty. I'm going to go wake Katie."

Alex knocked gently on the door, before opening it. Katie was lying in bed, reading the note he'd left for her. "Hi. Thanks for the note."

"I didn't want you to think I'd run out on you," he said softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Hungry? Tyler's making a couple of bagels for us. Sourdough."

"I know, I can smell them." She sat up and stretched. "How'd you like Tyler's store? Isn't it great?"

"Very nice. I'd like to go back and spend a little time there someday. You'll have to come with me though. I don't think Lisa will let me in without you there," he teased.

Katie giggled. "Oh, you met Lisa? Don't worry about her, she's all bluster, no bite. Still, I should probably go with you, just to be on the safe side. Now scoot, so I can get up out of this thing and claim my bagel."

Alex stood up and headed for the door. "Better make it quick, Katya. Smells so good, I might just finish yours off before you get there."

Katie jumped out of the bed and caught up with him, just outside the bedroom door. She patted his arm as she passed by. "You know, that threat will be much more effective in a few weeks."

Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Got you out of bed, didn't it?" Katie stuck her tongue out at him and tried to pull away. He held on tight and leaned over. "Better watch where you point that thing," he whispered. "Could get you in trouble someday."

"I'm counting on it," she whispered back.

"Morning, Katie," Matthew called out, wiping the crumbs from his mouth. "Wait until you get a load of Alex's car, it's gorgeous; a Ferrari 456 GTA 2+2. Alex let me drive it over here."

"A Ferrari?" Katie asked. "That explains the glow on Matthew's face. Gee Ty, I figured you were responsible for that."

"No," Tyler sighed. "I've been temporarily displaced, I'm afraid."

Matthew got up and embraced Tyler. "Are you feeling neglected, darling?" Matthew asked, kissing Tyler's neck.

Tyler leaned back against him and dropped his head back against Matthew's chest. "Yes I am, but I know how you can make it up to me." Tyler winked at Alex, causing Katie to give Alex a bewildered look. "You can take me home, right now."

"Now? But it's still early, Ty, and you promised Katie you'd watch the movie with her," Matthew protested.

Katie started to chime in, but Alex stopped her. "Shhh, I'll explain later," he whispered. "You know, Matthew, I think our trip this morning was a little more than I was ready for. I'm going to go lie down anyway. Katya and I can watch the movie later on. Isn't that right, Katya?"

Katie tried to hide her confusion. "Um, yeah, sure we can. Get out of here, you two."

"OK, if you're sure," Matthew replied.

"They're sure," Tyler said. He grabbed Matthew's hand and pulled him to the door. "Come on, let's go."

"I guess we'll see you later," Matthew called, as Tyler dragged him into the elevator.

Katie and Alex waved goodbye. When the elevator door closed, Alex started snickering, pressing against his ribs to cut down on the pain. "Now will you tell me what's going on?" Katie asked. "And what is so damned funny?"

By the time Alex finished his story, Katie was doubled over with laughter. "You really asked him to get the blanket? Oh my God, Alexei!"

Alex had to hold his sides tightly; his own laughter was causing him extreme discomfort, but every time she laughed, he couldn't help but join in. "Hey, those seats are fine Corinthian leather," he managed to gasp, making every effort to sound like Ricardo Montalban.

Katie got the connection and fell over on the couch. "Oh stop! I'm going to be sick," she cried.

"Try it with cracked ribs," he shot back. "Oh, God, I think I'm going to pass out."

"I'm sorry, Alexei," she giggled. "OK, let's calm down. No more laughing now. It's time to be serious." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on unfunny thoughts. When she opened her eyes, Katie thought she'd gotten herself under control. Then, she looked at Alex smiling at her, and the giggles started all over again.

"Katya! Cut it out," Alex snickered. "Oh, I think I'm dying here. It hurts," he moaned.

"Poor baby," Katie crooned. "I know how to make you feel better. Stay right there." Katie got up and left. He watched her go into the bathroom and heard the sound of water filling the tub. When she returned, she had a glass of water and a couple of pills in her hand. "Take these, then go get your suit on and soak in the tub for a while. You'll feel better in no time."

He took the pills, then forced himself up off the couch and into the bathroom. It took him a little while, but he was able to get the suit on, the arm off, and swing his legs over the edge of the tub. He waited to see if she was going to join him and when she didn't come in, he called out to her. She came in seconds later, still dressed in her pajamas. "Aren't you coming in with me?" he asked.

"Do you want me to? I thought you might need some time alone."

"I've spent too much time alone, Katya."

"I know the feeling." She leaned against the door. " My suit's out by the dryer. Go ahead and get in; I'll be back in a few."

Alex eased into the tub and let the warmth and the jets ease his aching body. He closed his eyes and waited for Katie to join him. True to her word, he felt her slip in beside him minutes later. "Feeling any better yet?" she asked.

"A little."

"That's a start. Don't fall asleep on me in here. There's no way I'll be able to pull you out of this thing. If you start to get really tired, let me know," she requested.

"I will. What did you give me anyway? Was that the stuff Matthew prescribed?"

"Yeah, Tylenol with codeine. It's the codeine that you have to watch out for. It knocks some people out."

"Codeine doesn't affect me much," he said, opening his eyes. "I won't fall asleep on you."

"How's your knee?"

He raised it up out of the water so she could see it for herself. "Looks awful, and it aches, but it's not too bad. I've hardly noticed it today."

"Good."

"Katya?"

"Yes Alexei?"

"Could we sit here for a while and not talk?" He shifted so that there were no gaps between them. "I just want to enjoy being here with you, in the water. Is that OK?"

Katie nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sounds nice."

They sat quietly for the next twenty-five minutes, listening to the sound of the bubbles in the tub. Alex's breathing changed and Katie realized that he was falling asleep. As much as she hated to do it, she had to wake him up and get him out of the tub, before it was too late. "Alexei," she whispered. "Wake up, time to get out of the pool."

"I'm awake," he said sleepily.

"Then open your eyes and prove it to me," she challenged.

"Don't want to," he grumbled.

"Really, Alexei, you have to wake up and get out. It's dangerous to sleep in here. Please, open your eyes," she pleaded.

Alex forced his eyes open. The look of concern on her face took him by surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, looking down into the water. He lifted her chin and waited until she looked at him again. "I was afraid that you'd fall asleep and slip under the water. I'm paranoid about that, OK? I shouldn't have given you those pills before sending you in here, that was stupid."

"Hush, the pills had nothing to do with it. I didn't get enough sleep last night and I overdid things this morning. Everything's fine. Come on, let's get out of this thing." They climbed out and toweled off. Katie went to her room to change, Alex went tohis to do the same. Instead of putting on jeans, he put on a pair of pajamas. Deciding that a nap was in his best interest, he got into the recliner and closed his eyes. He was asleep almost as soon as his head his the back of the chair.

Katie changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, then went to check on Alex. The door was open, so she walked in. She smiled when she found him asleep on the chair. Picking his suit up off the floor, she carried it out of the room, closing the door around as she left. She hung both suits up to dry in the bathroom, then went to her computer to work. She opened the file she'd started yesterday and reread what she'd written so far. The ideas started flowing again and her fingers typed furiously, trying to keep pace with her thoughts. Hours passed without her noticing. When the ideas finally slowed down, she leaned back and reviewed her progress. The smell of food cooking distracted her and she turned to see what was going on behind her. Alex was in the kitchen preparing something that smelled wonderful. Looking at the clock, she was startled to see that it was almost 6. She hit Save and closed the file for the evening. Then, she got up and walked out into the kitchen. "How long have you been up?"

Alex grinned. "Glad to see you finally noticed I was here," he joked. "I've been up for the past four hours. You were deep into your work, so I sat on the couch and read. I finished Paranoia, by the way. Was that your first novel?"

"Yeah, it was," Katie scowled. "It wasn't very good; then the editors got a hold of it and made it even worse. I will never understand why anyone bought that book; it was a real stinker."

"So, it wasn't your best effort. You redeemed yourself later on. Go sit down, dinner's ready."

Alex had prepared a simple meal of spaghetti and garlic bread. Katie didn't talk much while they ate. She seemed distracted, so he didn't push. When she finished, he cleared the plate, then followed her back to the computer. "Can I help?" he asked. Katie hesitated. "If you don't want me to, just tell me, Katya. I thought..."

"Oh, Alexei. I'm sorry. Yeah, I want your help. Would you read this and tell me where I'm going wrong?" She pushed back from the computer and vacated the chair. Alex sat down and began to read, while Katie paced the floor behind him.

Part Nine

Thus began a pattern. In the morning, Katie would wake up and head straight to the computer. If Alex woke up at the same time, he would make her eat something first. Throughout the day, he would make sure she had something to drink on her desk, while he busied himself reading, doing the odd household chore and making dinner. After dinner, she would ask him to read what she'd written, pacing the floor behind him until he was finished. He'd make his comments, positive or negative, throw out ideas and play Devil's Advocate whenever he felt her thoughts had gone astray. They argued sometimes, agreed others, then moved to the whirlpool for some quiet, non-work related conversation. The evening always ended with Katie kissing Alex's forehead, before he fell asleep in the recliner.

Tyler dropped in a few times, to bring Alex his car keys, his jacket and to check up on the groceries in the loft. He made sure that the pantry and refrigerator stayed full for them. Some nights, he and Matthew would come by for dinner and watch the nighttime reading ritual with amusement.

Two weeks passed, with little change in the routine. Alex's ribs were healing nicely, and while he still ached, breathing was becoming easier every day. As his health improved, his desire to be closer to Katie grew stronger. Those kisses on the forehead and hand were nice, but they weren't enough. A couple of times he considered grabbing her and kissing her long and hard, but he resisted; that was the old Alex, the one who sucked at relationships. An old song line ran through his mind every time he thought about making an abrupt move on her, 'something tells me I'm into something good.' He was 'into something good', he realized and he didn't want to make the mistake of rushing things this time.

The morning of the sixteenth day started just as the others before it. Alex continued to keep Katie in drinks and read another of the books from her extensive collection, but mostly, he watched her work. As he was making dinner, he decided that enough was enough. He'd held back, in spite of her hints that his advances were welcome, for long enough. There was no way he was ready for anything major tonight, but he could show her that he was looking for more than a kiss on the head or hand. The decision made, he found that he couldn't stop smiling. Katie mentioned his good mood a few times between dinner and the whirlpool. He shrugged it off, not wanting to tip his hand. Instead of going into the bedroom after brushing his teeth, he went to the window and stared out into the night. He couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening; the moon was a few days off full and shining brightly. Katie joined him at the window. When he smiled down at her, she took his head in hers hands and planted a kiss on it. Seeing his opening, he dove in while he had the chance.

"You do that a lot, you know," he said, as looked out the window.

"What?" Katie asked.

"Kiss me on the forehead." He turned to face her. "Not that I don't like it," he added quickly. "It's just that...well...it's becoming routine."

Katie raised an eyebrow at him. "OK. So, what would you suggest?"

"I was thinking maybe you could kiss me on the cheek once in a while; just for a change of pace."

Katie raised up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek softly. "Like this?"

Alex smiled. "Yeah, like that. A change of pace is good sometimes, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Katie replied.

They stood there quietly, looking out at the night sky. "You know," Alex started again. "As nice as that was, I think there's still room for improvement." He turned, facing her head on, then took her head in his hands. He was a little self-conscious about the one hand touching her face, but she didn't seem to mind, so he willed the feeling away. Lowering his face to hers, he paused just shy of her mouth. "What if we try this?" Slowly, giving her time to back away, if she so desired, he moved down to her mouth. When she didn't object, he pressed his lips to hers, giving her the gentle first kiss he'd been waiting weeks to deliver. He pulled away, never taking his eyes off of her.

Katie's eyes opened slowly and a smiled formed on her face. "I thought you'd never do that," she sighed. "What took you so long?"

Alex rested his fingers on her cheek and ran his thumb across her lips. "I didn't want to rush it. I've rushed into every relationship I've ever had, Katya, and they've all been disasters. That's not going to happen this time."

Katie kissed his thumb as it made another pass across her lips. "It won't happen this time, Alexei; we're supposed to be together. I told you, it's Fate."

"Maybe so," he said quietly. "But even Fate doesn't like to be taken for granted." He gazed down at her and smiled. "I have to do this my way, Katya; at my pace. Will you allow that?"

Katie chuckled at the role-reversal he was proposing. "Of course. Take all the time you need. That's not going to stop me from putting the moves on you, you know?" Alex chuckled, too. "But, I'll back off when you say the word," she added. "You lead, I'll follow."

"Good," he said, taking her hand. "Follow me over here." Alex pulled her across the room and over to the couch. He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him.

Katie sat down beside him. "So, what do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" She already knew the answer she wanted to hear, but after his speech at the window, Katie wasn't sure what to expect.

"This," he said, just before swooping down and claiming her mouth. He kissed her long and hard, just like he'd stopped himself from doing days before. When he broke the kiss, Katie's eyes were wide with surprise.

"I thought you wanted to take this slow?" she gasped.

"It's only kissing, Katya," he said, reaching down to kiss her again. "Didn't you ever just make out on a date?"

"Sure. Is this a date?"

"Yes it is," he said. "And this," he kissed her quickly. "Is where," he kissed her again. "The making out," yet another kiss. Begins," he finished, pulling her almost into his lap and pressing his lips against hers. He flicked his tongue at her lower lip, until she opened her mouth slightly, just enough for him to slip inside. They stayed on the couch for the next 45 minutes, kissing, touching, learning what the other liked. Alex's hand stroked her back and up her side, inching closer to her breast, but stopping short each time. She tried to shift so he would get the idea and touch her, but he was on to her.

"Alex," she whispered. "Isn't this the 'next time' when it 'won't be an accident'?" she asked.

Alex pulled back reluctantly and shook his head. "Nope. This is the time where I walk my date back to her door and kiss her goodnight." He stood up and held out his hand. She took it and followed him. To her surprise, he led her to her room.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm walking you home," he replied.

"But..." she started to protest.

"Shhh," he said, pressing a finger to her lips. "You have to sleep in your own bed tonight, because I'm going to try sleeping in mine."

"We can still share," she whispered. "I promise to keep my hands to myself."

"That's a promise I can't make," he answered. "Which is why you're sleeping in here." He kissed her again. "We're doing this my way, remember?" Katie lowered her head in defeat and nodded. "Good. Now go to bed. I'll see you at breakfast." Alex lifted her chin and kissed her one last time. "Goodnight, Katya."

"Goodnight, Alexei. Thank you for a lovely evening," she said, smiling.

"You're welcome. Get some sleep." He blew her a kiss and backed away, not turning until she'd gone behind the partition. When he couldn't see her anymore, he turned around and walked into the bedroom.

The next morning began like every other morning. Alex was awake and making breakfast by the time Katie got out of the shower. They made small talk over their food; then Katie hit the computer and started working. Neither mentioned the 'date' last night, but both had it in the forefront of their minds. By noon, Alex realized that he'd read the same page repeatedly and still had no idea what was going on in the story. Katie was having a similar concentration problem; she'd written exactly three sentences and two of them contained typos. She turned around to see what Alex was doing and found him sitting on the couch, looking quite content, and reading a book. Katie focused her attention on him. It took her a few minutes, before she realized that he hadn't turned a page. In fact, she didn't remember having heard a page turn since he sat down. He IS having trouble concentrating, she thought, feeling much better about her predicament. She began to spin around in her chair, hoping he'd notice her before the spinning motion made her sick to her stomach.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye for a minute or so, before he started to feel dizzy. "Katya? What are you doing?"

"Trying to get your attention."

"Well it worked," he said, putting down the book. "Now cut it out before you make both of us sick." Alex got up and walked over to the computer. "So, what have you gotten done today?" He looked over her shoulder at the monitor, knowing fully well that was something she hated. When she didn't push him away, he read. He scrolled down, but found nothing more than the three sentences. "That's it? After all this time, this is what you've accomplished?" He looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, Mr. 'I've-been-reading-the-same-page-for-the-last-hour'. You aren't concentrating any better than I am," Katie shot back, smugly.

He chuckled and looked down at the floor. "You noticed that, huh?"

"Yes I did."

Alex put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Well, what are we going to do about this concentration problem?"

Katie leaned against him and tipped her head back. "Don't ask me, you're the one who wanted to take the lead." She smiled at him. "Take the lead already."

He bent over and kissed his way down from the top of her head to the soft spot behind her ear. His hands rubbed up and down her arms as he sucked on her earlobe, before moving slowly down her neck. Katie sighed and moved her head to give him maximum access. At the base of her neck, he pushed her shirt aside and nipped the skin across her shoulder and back to her neck. He spun the chair around, causing her gasp, and began giving the same attention to the other side of her neck. On the last pass back, he kissed up her neck to her chin, then back down again. Instead of stopping at the hollow of her throat, he continued down her chest to the point where the buttons on her shirt made him pause. He looked up at her, as he slowly unbuttoned two more buttons, loving the sight of her bottom lip being held by her teeth. His lips pressed against the skin at the top of the shirt and kissed down the new opening he'd created. She shivered as he covered new ground with his mouth. When he hit the next button, his tongue traced a path back up to the hollow of her neck. The sensation of his tongue on her skin set her nerve endings on fire and when he kissed her mouth, she moaned and tried to pull him down onto the seat with her.

Alex pulled out of her grip and smiled wickedly at her. "You like that?"

"Yes," she hummed.

"Good." He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair. "Come on," he said, leading her back to the dryer.

Katie followed, wondering why they were going back there, instead of to the couch or to the bedroom. She couldn't believe her eyes, when he lifted a couple of coats from the clothes rack and handed her one. "Put this on," he instructed. "We're getting out of here."

"Getting out of here? Why?" she whined. "Getting out of here is the last thing I want to do right now." She reluctantly took the jacket from his hand and put it on.

"It's getting too hot in here and we both need to cool down," he replied.

"I don't want to cool down! I like the temperature just fine," she growled.

"So do I, which is why we have to get out." He chuckled at her expression. "Besides," he added, moving closer. "I like watching you get all hot and bothered; makes me wonder what lengths you'll go to find release." At 'release', he leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Damn it, Alexei," Katie whispered. "If you weren't injured, I'd show you."

"All in good time, Katya, all in good time." He reached out and zipped her jacket up a little higher. "Come on, let's go for a walk. You can show me around your neighborhood."

They left the loft and strolled around the neighborhood. Katie showed him her usual haunts and her favorite routes. By the time they returned, Alex was worn out; he barely made it to the couch, before collapsing. Katie went out to the kitchen to get him some water, but when she returned, she found him asleep. She put the glass on the table and kissed his forehead. The thought of curling up beside him and taking a nap crossed her mind, but she decided to try and get some work done instead. This time, when she opened the file, the ideas flowed.

Alex woke at 6:30, to the sound of typing and the smell of pizza. Katie had ordered out a little earlier and had put the pizza in the oven to keep it warm. He hoisted himself off the couch and into the kitchen to eat. The plates were on the counter, two of them, he noticed. When he pulled the box out of the oven, he saw that the pizza was intact.

Katie appeared beside him. "I waited for you.

"So I see," he said with a smile. "You didn't have to."

"I know I didn't have to," she shrugged. "I wanted to. Besides, I was on a roll with the story anyway," she added.

Alex put three slices of pizza on his plate and went over to the computer. He sat down, opened up the file and began to read while he ate. Katie grabbed the box and followed him out. She sat on the floor, watching him read and wondering how she'd gone from refusing to let anyone read her works in progress, to letting Alex plop down in her chair and open her file at will.

After finishing the pages, Alex turned around and was surprised to find Katie sitting on the floor, watching him as she ate. It occurred to him that he'd assumed she wanted him to read her day's work. She didn't seem annoyed, but looks could be deceiving. "I'm sorry," he started. "I should have asked you if I could read this."

"You should have," she agreed. "But you know what? I don't mind at all. I was just trying to figure out how that happened, too. No one else could have ever gotten away with it." Katie frowned and squinted her eyes. "Are you are warlock, Alexei?"

"If I was, I wouldn't be sitting here waiting for my body to heal," he said with a wink. "Hand me another slice, would you? I'm starving tonight. Must be from all the exercise this afternoon."

"Memo to self," Katie dictated. "Alexei becomes ravenous after physical exertion. Be sure to have refrigerator and pantry well stocked prior to sex."

"Addendum to memo," Alex added, putting his plate down on the desk. "Katya becomes increasingly catty when deprived of sex." He eased to his knees on the floor in front of her. "Remember to keep mouth busy as much as possible in the interim." He swooped down and kissed her soundly.

A little too soundly, perhaps, for soon, Alex hurt too much to continue. He moved from her lips and pressed his hand against his ribs, dropping his head in pain. Katie held him close and whispered comforting words, while he tried to catch his breath. When his shoulders relaxed, she helped him to his feet and led him into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed and watched her remove his shoes; too achy to protest. She lifted the covers and waited for him to lie down, covering him when he did. She turned off the light. Instead of kissing him goodnight and leaving, like he expected, she went to the other side of the bed, removed her shoes and socks, and climbed in with him. She heard him open his mouth to protest, but cut him off. "I'm not leaving you when you're in pain," she stated. "If you feel like soaking later, wake me up and I'll go with you."

"Katya, it's not even 8 yet," Alex observed.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"If you try to sleep now, you'll end up pacing the floors at 4."

"So what? The beauty of writing is that it can be done anytime, anywhere. I have no time clock to punch and no one to report to. I can do what I want, when I want. Right now, I want to be here with you." She moved closer and kissed his shoulder. "Do you want me to go?" she whispered.

"No," he whispered back. "This is where I've wanted you all along." He felt for her hand, and when he found it, he pulled it to his chest. "Don't let go," he whispered, just before falling asleep.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she replied.

True to his prediction, Katie woke in the wee hours of the morning. Not because she'd had too much sleep, but because someone was nibbling on her fingers. "You have an interesting way of waking people up," she murmured. "Couldn't sleep?"

"With your leg draped over mine and your foot rubbing up and down my calf? No, for some reason, that woke me up," he teased. "By the way, when did we switch sides? I may be wrong, but wasn't I on that side of the bed when we first came in here?"

Katie giggled. "Well, I got up about an hour after you fell asleep, to go to the bathroom. When I got back, you had moved over to my pillow, so I slipped in here. Did you know that YOU are a very restless sleeper?"

"Mmmm," he responded, kissing her fingertips. "And did you know that YOU are still rubbing my leg? It's most distracting, Katya; might make me lose my resolve," he said, as he sucked a finger into his mouth.

"Mmmm," she sighed. "Forgive me, but I'm not seeing a down side to that statement."

"The down side," he began, pushing her leg off of his. "Is that I want to take this slow and you are making it very difficult." He rolled onto his side, grimacing as he did.

"Alexei, I know you can't let this go to far right now because of your ribs, but there's no reason why we can't make allowances for a little touching." She slowly began to run her foot back up his leg. "You know you want to. I'd be willing to bet that you engaged in a little 'touching' last night, after you left me at my bedroom door," she hinted.

Alex caught her foot before she reached her final destination and firmly put it back on the mattress. "Sorry to disappoint you, Katya, but there was no 'touching' going on in here. I find that heavy breathing is a main cause of pain right now." He ran his fingers down her neck to the first buttoned button on the front of her shirt and rested them there. "Does this mean that there was some 'touching' going on in other areas of the loft last night?" He popped the button from its hole. "Something you'd like to share with the class, Ms. Heyes?" he asked, popping another button.

Katie held her breath, mesmerized by the sight of Alex slowly unbuttoning her shirt. She gasped when he pulled the rest of it out of her jeans and finished the job. He ran his fingers back up the middle of her chest, never straying to the sides, never pushing the shirt away. So caught up in the sensation, she never heard either question.

Alex leaned in and kissed her gently. "Unless you want me to stop, you'd better answer the question, Ms. Heyes," he admonished. To prove his point, Alex removed his hand from her body and rested it on the bed beside her.

She whimpered in protest. "What question?"

"Am I distracting you?" He chuckled and kissed her again. "I'll repeat the question. Was there some 'touching' going on in your room last night?" He could feel her hesitate, so he put his hand back on her chest and drew circles between her breasts. "You're not embarrassed to answer, are you?" he teased. When she still didn't answer, he stopped completely and inched closer, putting his hand on her cheek. It felt warm to the touch and she turned away a little. "You are embarrassed, aren't you?" he asked, taken completely by surprise at her reaction. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "Don't ever be embarrassed about something like that; not with me." He kissed the top of her head. "Will trust me enough to answer the question, Katya? Please," he begged.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Yes to which question," he asked.

"Yes to both," she replied.

"Thank you," he said softly. She stayed still in his arms, not talking. He allowed the silence for a few minutes, before speaking again. "Did it feel good?" he asked, rolling her out of his arms and back down to her pillow. "Did you think about me touching you like this?" He slid his hand inside her shirt and rubbed his thumb over her nipple. She arched her back and moaned. "Did you, Katya?"

"Yes," she answered.

He kissed her softly and whispered against her lips. "Did I kiss you, like this?" he asked, taking her mouth, slipping his tongue inside and exploring her thoroughly. When he pulled away, she nodded. "Did I do this?" he whispered, slipping his hand down her stomach to the waistband of her jeans, popping the button and lowering the zipper. Katie shivered as his hand trailed back up to her breast. "Take the jeans off, Katya," he demanded.

"Alexei?"

"Just do it."

Katie slid the jeans down and off her body, tossing them on the floor. Alex tugged at the elastic of her panties. "These too." She slipped them off as well. He hummed appreciatively. His hand traced a path from her breast to her thigh and back again. "Did I do this, too?"

"God, yes," she sighed.

Alex caressed her breast, causing her moan. He ran his hand down to hers and squeezed it gently. Bringing it up to his mouth, he kissed the top of her hand. "Show me what else I did, Katya," he whispered, gently pulling her hand down to her thigh. Alex felt her stiffen, but held her hand in place. "Trust me," he pleaded, easing her hand into place. "Show me what I need to do to make you happy; I want to be ready, when the time comes." Her hand relaxed and he loosened his grip. He felt her hand start to move, so he released her fingers from his grasp, resting his hand lightly on top of hers. "Don't be afraid to let go for me."

Katie started off slow, trying to let go of her apprehension. This covered new ground and it caused her self-confidence to go running for the hills. With every word of encouragement, she felt a little bit of her confidence return. He wasn't asking for anything she wasn't willing to give and, while he didn't come right out and say it, she knew she could say no at any time. His hand moved up her arm and returned to stroke her breast. She moved her hand in time with his, matching his caresses. As she got closer, she wanted desperately to feel his hand on her, his stroke, but she knew that he'd refuse. Her breathing became more rapid and her strokes less rhythmic. "That's it, baby," Alex murmured. "Come for me." The sound of his voice spurred her on, a fact that did not go unnoticed. Alex kissed her cheek and continued whispering in her ear until she shuddered and shook against him. He held her tight, kissing her face and neck, until her body relaxed. "Incredible," he said. "Is that how I make you feel?"

"That's how you make me feel," she confirmed. "I've never done that in front of anyone before."

"I figured that out," he said, smiling. "Thank you for sharing with me. My only regret is that I couldn't see your face. Next time, we'll light a candle."

Katie woke up the next morning and sat up in bed. She quickly noticed two things; she was alone and her shirt had been buttoned back up. She was pretty sure she hadn't done any buttoning last night. As a matter of fact, the last thing she remembered was Alex saying something about lighting a candle. Memories of last night's encounter made her smile; she drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. A noise from outside the room told her that Alex was in the kitchen, probably making breakfast. 'He must have gotten up to give me some space,' she thought. She got up and started to walk out wearing just her shirt, when she heard voices from the other room. ' Who the Hell is that?' she wondered. Katie tossed on her jeans and ran her fingers through her hair, hoping she looked something resembling presentable. She opened the door and walked out to find her editor, Michelle, sitting on the couch, talking to Alex.

"There she is now," Alex said, coming over to greet her. "Sweetheart, Michelle dropped by to bring you some news."

"Sleeping late these days, Katie?" Michelle asked. "Well, I suppose if I had someone like Alex around, I wouldn't be in any hurry to get of bed either."

Alex smiled and put his arms around Katie. "What do you want, Michelle?" Katie snapped.

Michelle frowned and rolled her eyes. "Just as pleasant as always, I see. Well, this time I'm here to make a wish come true for you, my dear, so sheathe your claws."

Katie folded her arms across her chest. "What dream would that be?"

"You, darling, have been asked to speak at a writer's convention in New York, two weeks from Saturday."

"Big deal, Michelle. I'm not going." Alex tightened his hold on her, letting her know he was there to support her, if she needed him to.

Michelle smiled slyly. "Oh you'll go to this one. You see, you were specially requested to attend by another panel member; think of it as the ultimate offer you can't refuse."

Katie frowned and sighed loudly. "Who?"

Michelle giggled triumphantly. "Would you believe me if I said, Harlan Ellison?"

Katie's jaw dropped and she uncrossed her arms. "You're not serious?" She looked back at Alex, then to Michelle. "Are you?" Michelle smiled, reached into her jacket pocket, and handed her a letter. Katie took it and read. "Oh my God! Oh my God, Alex! Look! It really is from him. He wants me to sit on a panel with him? Oh my God!" She pulled out of Alex's arms and paced the floor. "I don't believe this. How did this happen? WHEN did this happen? How long have you had this letter, Michelle?"

"Take a breath, Katie," Michelle laughed. "It came in yesterday. I decided to come here and tell you myself. I knew you'd never believe me if I called." She went to the table and picked up her purse. "So, may I tell Harlan that you'll be happy to attend?"

"YES!!" Katie cried. "Oh my God! Yes, of course. Two weeks, from this Saturday, right?"

"Yes, dear, two weeks from Saturday. We'll take care of the travel arrangements," she said, patting Katie's arm. "Take care of her Alex; she's going to be a basket case for a little while." She waved goodbye, then stepped onto the elevator.

Katie paced and ranted, while Alex watched with great amusement. She was wired beyond reason; perpetual motion personified and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her eyes were wild, as was her hair; her rumpled shirt hung loosely around her equally rumpled jeans and her feet were bare. She was beautiful and he wanted nothing more than to carry her into the bedroom and fuck her silly. Damn it, he thought. I can't even get myself off, how am I going to do her any good?

He looked up to see Katie staring at him, wide-eyed, trying desperately not to laugh. "Feeling a little frustrated, Alexei?"

"What," he asked, bewildered.

She approached him slowly and placed her hand on his cheek; he really was lost. "I thought you did me plenty of good last night," she said softly.

His face flushed with embarrassment. "How did you..."

"You were thinking out loud." She took his face in her hands and kissed his lips. "Don't be embarrassed about something like that; not with me," she said, echoing his words from last night.

"Good advice," he chuckled. "Where have I heard that before?"

"Your bed, about 3 this morning, as I recall."

"I knew it sounded familiar."

Katie smiled, then her foot started tapping nervously. "God Alexei, Harlan Ellison wants to be on a panel with ME!" She put both hands up to her mouth and bounced on the balls of her feet. "You're going to have to excuse me, but I have to do this," she said, just before letting out a loud, piercing squeal; one worthy of any self-respecting adolescent girl. Alex covered his ears and grinned at her. When she was done, she took a deep breath. "OK, I'm better now," she sighed. "If you tell anyone I did that, I'll deny it," she warned.

"It'll be our little secret," he promised. "Tell you what, why don't you go take a shower and get dressed. I'm taking you out to lunch; anywhere you want."

"Can I drive the Ferrari?"

"Of course."

Katie squeezed his arm and ran off to take a shower. Alex chuckled as he watched her go. He went into the bedroom and finished getting dressed himself. As he pulled on his boots, he wondered about the relationship between Katie and Michelle. There was no love lost between those two, that was certain. Michelle had struck him as a phony the minute she walked in the door. He'd disliked her instantly, but pasted on a happy face for Katie's sake. She reminded him of Marita. What did I see in her? he wondered. She was dead now, a victim of the Consortium and her own stupidity. He shook the thoughts away. No more, he thought. That time was gone. They were gone. He belonged to himself and no one else.

He was deep in thought and didn't hear Katie come into the bedroom. "Where are you, Alexei?" she asked. She brushed past him on her way to retrieve her shoes from the other side of the bed. "You look like you're a million miles away."

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," he said. "Just taking a little detour in my head, that's all." No, I don't belong to myself, he thought, gazing at Katie. I belong to her.

"What are you looking at?" she giggled.

Alex strolled over and knelt at her feet. He took her hands in his, kissed them both, and answered her question. "My destiny."