Dreams Come Alive In Coral Valley

Cameron’s fist pounded on Thea’s door waiting for her to open it up.

“Cameron,” Thea smiled unexpectedly, “What are you doing here?”

“Those son of a…” he started before his anger caught up with him as he grabbed her lamp throwing it across the room.

“Alright who pissed you off now?” she questioned seeing him run his hand roughly through his hair.

“Diego, Sarah, and that boyfriend of hers. I swear one day,” he growled before Thea grabbed his arm.

“What did they do?” she wondered seeing him look the other way.

“They came into my house and took my wife,” Cameron yelled kicking the table making one of the glasses fall down.

“They can’t do that,” she pointed out from the obvious.

“Well, this is different. They say that she is incapable of making her own decisions, so Doctor Meddlesome pulled some strings and they put her in the damn mental hospital. They are so dead!” he yelled with a certain glare in his eyes making Thea shake her head.

“What is so bad about them taking Heather? I mean you still got me right,” she smiled running her finger along his chest.

“I don’t think you get it…this screws everything up,” he protested pacing back and forth with anger growing in his mind.

“Cameron, I will take care of it,” she promised seeing him turn around with a slight smirk.

“Something tells me I knew you were going to say that,” he nodded pleased with what she had just said.

“As far as it goes they are going to burn for what they did to you. I am going to bury them so far for what they did to you,” she promised him seeing the devilish look in his eyes. “I’ll make them suffer in ways they haven’t even begun to imagine if that would please you.”

“I think I would enjoy that,” he nodded licking his lips as his cell phone rang. “What?”

“Cameron, it’s JT,” JT started before he was cut off.

“Not now,” Cameron yelled hearing JT sigh.

“Who did what man?” JT questioned with full intention of helping his brother. “What can I help you with? I’ll do anything for you.”

“In that case,” Cameron smiled thinking to himself as a sudden thought came to mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Why am I in here?” questioned Heather throwing her hands up in the air.

“This is what is best for you,” Diego pointed out seeing her fold her arms out in front of her.

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?” Heather pointed towards Sarah seeing her shrug.

“It was all our idea, we wanted you to be safe…you’re not going to be safe with Cameron. You are safer here, away from Cameron so he can’t come anywhere near you,” Sarah assured her seeing Heather scowl.

“Diego, you must be an idiot for doing what Sarah said. She is just a bitch who wants to ruin my life,” Heather yelled making Sarah roll her eyes.

“Yeah Heather, that’s what I always wanted to do. Ruin your life when I am trying to protect you. You think you have it so bad,” Sarah shook her head not very happy with the way her sister was acting.

“Think about it Heather, if you would have stayed with Cameron... Think what’s best for your baby,” Diego pleaded seeing Heather scowl.

“I can’t believe you put me in here bitch,” Heather lashed out walking over to Sarah and slapping her across the face.

Sarah grabbed her face feeling a slight pain before she shook it off.

“That’s enough,” Kyle yelled grabbing Heather’s hands and getting behind her. “When are you going to realize your sister isn’t trying to hurt you, she is just trying to take care of you?”

“Oh now you. The only reason you are doing this is for her is because you are a lost puppy dog. She really doesn’t love you; she just wants to use you as muscle. That would be the same reason I used to hang out with you too. You were a loser Kyle, nobody liked you. You were too smart, too good for people. You were a nothing--without your sports,” Heather lashed out before Kyle let her go raising an eyebrow.

“You know, all this time I have been worrying about you. You were always one of my best friends. I always took care of you. Look at what happened to you, just forget it,” Kyle shook his head turning around before she realized she had said something wrong as she went to touch his arm.

“Kyle,” Heather sighed as he pushed her hand off his arm.

“Just forget it,” Kyle shook his head lightly going over to Sarah wrapping his arms around her.

“I didn’t mean it,” Heather sighed holding her hand to her head as Diego shook his head.

“See that’s what’s wrong with you,” Diego sighed, “You talk before you think. That’s why you are in here.”

“Screw you,” Heather yelled pounding her fists into his chest.

“Hey,” one of the guards grabbed her from behind dragging her back to her room.

“All of you are going to pay for this!” Heather yelled as Sarah shook her head.

“All I wanted to do was to save her,” Sarah declared feeling Kyle kiss her cheek.

“I think the only one who could save her at this point is herself,” Kyle shrugged looking up at Diego.

“He is right you know,” Diego started, “You did the best you could.”

“I wish she would know it,” Sarah slightly laughed knowing somehow that this was going to end like that.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ken walked into the smoke filled bar not really knowing what he was doing there, yet after he’d found himself lost in memories of Caitlin, he knew he couldn’t bring himself to spend another night at home. Sure he had cases he should be working on--things he should focus on, but right about now, all he could think about was finding an escape. He needed a way to lose sight of the here and now in exchange for something else--something surreal and somehow this place felt like it fit the bill.

“To another night on my own,” Ken muttered under his breath ready to delve into his own miserable existence when he spotted Carly across the bar looking rather perplexed herself. He stopped himself for a moment just watching her and wondering what had brought her to such a place. Thinking back to their conversation the other night, he felt a pang of guilt sweep over him. He’d been cold and unfeeling with her pretending as if he hadn’t even recognized her, but the sad truth was that he had. He’d known Carly oh too well and even now, well he hated the way he’d treated her.

“You’re just out to torture me, aren’t you,” Ken groaned to the heavens above before he took in a long, slow breath. God this was going to kill him, he realized as he found himself longing to do the right thing. Moving in her general direction, he stopped himself right next to her clearing his throat, “So, fancy meeting you here, huh?”

“Ken,” Carly blinked up at him with obvious confusion. Shifting in the bar stool she was seated in she cleared her throat uneasily, “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, but instead I thought I’d invite you to go take a seat with me,” he suggested after a moment’s hesitation, “That is if you’re interested…”

“Well, I was going to have a drink by myself, but now that you’re here, sure, I mean why not,” she shrugged her shoulders finding herself lost in her own inner complications, “unless of course you’re going to yell at me again. If that’s the case, I think I’ll stick it out over here.”

“I swear, I’ll try to be nice,” he promised offering a small smile before stepping aside, “Shall we?”

She nodded following him over to a booth at the far corner of the darkened bar. Once they’d taken a seat with one another, she eyed him intently, “So…”

“Yeah so,” he began uneasily, “I guess this is the part where I should apologize for being a complete ass to you.”

“Given what I heard you’ve been through lately,” she reached her hand out across the table to place it on top of his, “I think I’m the one that owes you an apology there. I wish I’d known what happened before I came to see you…”

“No, it was my fault. I was out of line and I know that you were just trying to help,” Ken continued with a sigh, returning the soft squeeze she offered before he felt a moment of unease between them, “Carly, I really wasn’t myself that day and I didn’t give you a fair shake…”

“Yeah, well I haven’t been giving those to a lot of people lately myself,” she explained after a moment’s hesitation, “It’s really okay Ken. I’m just glad to see that you’re doing better now.”

“Hmm, then I must be good at showing it because the last time I checked I was feeling downright rotten,” Ken confessed with a small smile, “I suppose this is a good thing that I’m getting better at not letting it show.”

“Since you put it that way, you’re doing it incredibly well,” Carly flashed him a simple smile as the waiter came by to take their drink orders. Once he left, the two of them continued to be lost in a moment of silence before she spoke up again, “Seriously though I’m really sorry for the direct approach I took there the other day. I should’ve taken a hint and got lost like you suggested.”

“I should’ve been nicer to you,” Ken offered in response, “The fact that I wasn’t shows that my manners have been tossed out the window lately after the accident…”

“It’s okay,” she replied again, “You don’t have to explain yourself or defend your actions. It’s really okay Ken.”

“See, now that’s how I always remembered you being,” Ken raised his glass to his lips, “You were always finding ways to make someone feel better about being a blatant asshole when in reality you should’ve been knocking their teeth out.”

“Ever hear of the phrase kill them with kindness,” Carly replied with a tiny laugh raising her glass to her lips to toast, “my mama always taught me that it would get you further in life to bite back on the harsh words until it was absolutely necessary.”

“And how does that work for you,” he questioned leaning in closer to her over the table top.

“Like hell actually,” she revealed with a simple shake of her head, “Actually I find that it’s absolutely necessary to explode a lot lately.”

“You’re telling me,” Ken shook his head at her, “I really don’t know how the hell I sat back all those years just taking it. I mean yeah I sort of understood the whole thing about principles and being the one who followed the rules, but at the same time, well I just don’t know why I stuck to that given what it did for me.”

“Now that doesn’t sound very much like the Kenneth Ashford I know,” she swatted at his arm, “You’re far too optimistic to have this approach.”

“Let’s just say life has given me no reason to think to the contrary,” he groaned in response, “and what about you? What happened to your whole idealism of saving the world and making it a brighter place?”

“It’s still there, but given the week I’ve had I’m just about ready to call it quits which is really bad given that I’ve got this big trial coming up,” she confessed as the waiter brought them another round of drinks.

“Ah yes, the Kipp Mahoney murder trial,” Ken nodded in response, “I’ve seen the papers.”

“So you have been keeping your tabs on me,” she noted with a curious brow.

“Maybe I have,” Ken remarked with a tiny smile, “you look like that surprises you.”

“When I left town I figured that I’d be on the hit list there given how things were when I left,” she confessed dropping her gaze down to the glass in her hand.

“You mean after what happened with us,” Ken blurted out point blank, watching the way her body tighten with clear cut tension at the remark. She raised her eyes enough to meet his gaze before a breath escaped her lips.

“That night was something you and I both agreed was a mistake Ken,” she informed him with a sexy, sweet smile, “You were reeling from the loss of Wendy.”

“And Dave was furious that you’d considered taking that position,” he nodded at the memory, “yet somehow when we both felt we’d hit rock bottom, we happened to wind up at this very bar…”

“Was it this one,” she feigned innocence looking around for a long moment.

“Oh come on. You know it was,” he stretched his arm out across the table placing his hand over hers on the table top, “We were both upset that night Carly and we did things for each other--things that I swear I haven’t said a word about to anyone after it happened.”

“Not even Dave?” she questioned with an arched brow.

“Especially not Dave,” he shook his head, “Imagine what he would’ve thought had he known about his ex-fiancée and his best friend…”

“That was always the part I’d hated about what we did,” she confessed withdrawing her hand from his, “That was the horrible part of it all.”

“You mean that’s the reason that you never called,” Ken noted watching her squirm a bit on the seat beside him.

“From what I heard you had no problems moving on with Susan Denton after I left, so was it really that much of a tragedy?” she questioned with wide eyes, watching the way his gaze dropped down to her full, lush lips.

“Given the memories I had of that night,” Ken slid in closer to her, his arm stretching out over the back of the booth as he felt the warmth of her beside him, “Yeah, I’d have to say it was a big tragedy.”

“Ken,” she spoke his name, her voice dropping to a barely there whisper as she found herself drawn to his lips, “What is this really about?”

“Feeling better Carly,” Ken eased his thumb out across her cheekbone, drawing a shiver from her parted lips as he leaned forward, “When my world fell apart before you were the one woman to really complete me.”

“We just made things more complicated Ken,” Carly breathed, dropping her hand down atop of his leg as their eyes connected.

“Complications often find a way to erase the problems that surround you…” he murmured sliding his fingers into her darkened hair, “besides things are different now.”

“Yet they’re still the same in so many ways,” she turned in towards him, his breath skimming in over her features.

“It was as if fate brought us back to this very spot where it all began for us. I need you Carly. You have no idea how close I am to losing it tonight,” he revealed a tight whisper erupting from his lips.

“When I came to you the other night it wasn’t because I was looking for this,” Carly started to explain herself, “I was reading up on the Henderson case and…”

“And you have the most beautiful, kissable lips I’ve ever seen. If I don’t have a taste of them right this very moment I may as well burst,” Ken mouthed cutting off her words as their lips melded into a moment of complete madness. The kiss had started off innocent enough, but soon it had exploded into something larger, something intense and scorching in it’s own right until Carly pulled away.

“Ken, are you sure that we’re not making another mistake here,” Carly questioned thinking of how she and Dave were still on the outs with one another. He’d pretty much told her how little he’d thought of her and with Ken, well they did have a certain connection even if it was based on misery.

“Maybe we are, but you have to ask yourself, will it hurt any less if we stop ourselves now,” he countered a sexy darkness in his voice.

“It might,” she revealed, feeling his finger brush up against her leg, revealing his seductive intent.

“Does that mean you want me to leave? That you want me to forget the fact that for some reason fate has pulled us to this place again?” he questioned with an obvious interest.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, but I know you’re drunk and when you’re drunk, well this starts to happen,” she confessed sliding her arm around his waist without a second thought.

“I’m not as drunk as you think I am,” he replied burying his face in her neck, “and if you give me a chance to prove that to you, you might find that we would make an incredible team on things that go beyond work related issues.”

“I know what kind of team we make in bed Ken,” Carly sat up straighter, “but the question is are you really ready for something like that? Is that really what you want to throw yourself into now of all times in your life?”

“You tell me,” Ken declared boldly claiming her lips with an unyielding hunger as the two found themselves caught up in the spirit of passion in the midst of the darkened out of the way bar with one another. “In fact, what do you say we get out of here?”

“My hotel’s not anywhere near where it was the last time…” Carly replied in a sultry whisper.

“That’s okay, I’d be more than happy to pay for the cab,” Ken mouthed reaching for her hand, “Let’s get out of here.”

“After you,” she replied sliding out of the booth with him ready to encounter whatever happened next as the two made their way outside into the rain.

As promised Ken had arranged for a cab taking them back to her hotel. The thunderclouds above added a roar above as Ken and Carly exited the cab after the intense ride they‘d experienced making out in the back of the car with one another. The short walk from the cab to the lobby had them both soaked, but by the time they were alone in the elevators none of that held any relevance as she was already working his jacket down off of his shoulders.

“You’re still too far away,” Ken murmured pulling her in flush against him as his hands dropped down over her bottom.

“You’ve absolutely lost your mind Ken,” Carly replied leaning forward to nibble on his lower lip, “this is crazy.”

“Even so, I appreciate your indulging me,” he remarked pressing her in against the elevator wall, dropping his jacket down to the floor before his hands swept in underneath her skirt, sliding it up over her hips.

“Ken, wait,” she broke away from his kiss, “I think we need to make it to my room first.”

“We could, but where would be the fun in that one,” Ken questioned with a tiny laugh dropping his jacket to the ground before she started tearing away at his shirt, “I was thinking maybe we could just cut to the chase here and now…”

“Ken, you’ve got a dirty little mind,” Carly couldn’t help but laugh lightly devouring his mouth in a heated frenzy.

“Yeah, so sue me, I’d love to take you on in the courtroom, but tonight before we hit the bedroom, how about we start in the elevator,” he suggested letting desire reign control between them as it felt a hell of a lot better than spending another night dreaming about the one thing he could never have back again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Guy paced up and down the hallway wondering what was going on with Brooke. Why hadn’t he heard anything more yet? What was going on in there and furthermore why hadn’t anyone told him what was happening? He looked to his father again as if seeking out answers that neither one of them could provide one another with.

“Everything will be okay,” Richard offered up hopefully despite his own lingering doubts given the accident Brooke had been in, “Your mother’s a fighter…”

“And she’s had so many battles to face this year already,” Guy pointed out with a heavy frown, “What if this time things don’t pan out for her?”

“We can’t think like that son,” Richard tried to assure Guy as Ria stepped out from behind the doors before them.

“Mr. Morrison,” Ria approached him with a somber expression.

“Yes?” Richard questioned eagerly, “What is going on with my wife?”

“We’re doing all we can with her, but given the fall that she’d taken, well she’s lucky to be alive,” Ria began dropping her hands into her pocket before clearing her throat again.

“So she’s still alive then, yes?” Guy rushed over to his father’s side, hope spilling over his features, “She’s going to be okay?”

“I can’t make any guarantees at this point, but given how far she fell, she’s in a pretty bad state,” Ria continued to explain, “She’s in critical condition and there is swelling on the brain. We’re still working on pin pointing all the injuries that have come about from the point of impact, but…”

“But what?” Guy questioned feeling a moment of hysteria coming on, “Are you saying that my mother is going to die?”

“What I’m trying to tell you is that she’s lucky she’s made it this far,” Ria brought her hands out into her dark hair, “What she needs right now is a miracle and a lot of prayers. Maybe that will be the key to all of this in going beyond what modern medicine can do.”

“So right now it’s in God’s hands,” Richard remarked thinking about Ria was telling him. Taking a step backwards, he thought to his strained relationship with Brooke. How they’d hated one another, then she’d been kidnapped and now…

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance,” Ria apologized in her best professional tone before her pager went off, “If you’ll excuse me…”

“Of course,” Richard nodded before taking a seat.

“So what does this mean?” Guy questioned in confusion, “Where do we go from here?”

“I think we should do like she said and start praying,” Richard replied worry evident in his tone, “Your mother needs as much support as we can give her right about now.”

“How did this happen,” Guy shook his head again, “I mean what happened…”

“I think I might know,” Dave’s voice broke through their conversation. Richard looked up to see the police chief standing before him seemingly very perplexed, “I’m sorry about what happened to your wife…”

“So am I,” Richard rose to his feet again, “but if you could provide some insight on what might’ve happened…”

“I’d like to do that, but right now I need to speak with Avery,” Dave confessed his jaw tight with obvious tension.

“Avery? Why Avery?,” Guy blinked back in confusion, “Is she hurt too?”

“What’s wrong with my daughter,” Richard questioned as well clearly unaware of Avery’s presence at the hospital, “I’d received information that Brooke was at BBK when the incident took place, but…”

“Avery was there as well,” Dave explained quickly, “I was told she’s in much better condition than Brooke, but I need to talk to her about a few things. I was going to say something when we’d gotten word on Brooke’s condition, but this can’t wait.”

“What happened with my wife and my daughter?” Richard asked again finding himself baffled by the situation at hand.

“That’s what I’m here to find out and I’m hoping your daughter can provide me with the answers I need,” Dave informed him with a heavy sigh hoping that when he did uncover the truth about what happened that it didn’t pan out the way he was fearing it would go.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh look at that,” Blake pointed out a wedding dress that she liked in one of the books.

“That is such a pretty dress,” Jade smiled as Blake looked over at Seth.

“What do you think?” Blake questioned to Seth making him smile.

“I think you would look perfect in anything,” he assured her as Blake blushed.

“Oh now you are being a suck up,” Jade laughed hitting her brother lightly oh the arm.

“I am not,” he laughed before Blake smiled.

“Look, Seth you could wear one of these suits,” Blake smiled pointing to a dark gray suit.

“I don’t think so,” he laughed before Blake looked up, “Me and gray don’t work to well.”

“I can’t wait for us to be together. It’s so perfect--I mean we are in love and we are going to get married. We will be together forever,” Blake smiled to herself before Seth leaned down kissing her lightly.

Something about what Blake had just said got Jade thinking about her own hopes for the future. She realized that if Grady didn’t get out of this, they might never be together. Never get married and have a family…they would never be happy.

“You know what guys? I am feeling a little tired, I’m going to go home,” Jade sighed standing up.

“Are you going to be okay?” Seth questioned standing up and putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Of course,” Jade nodded before Blake frowned.

“I guess that means I will see you later,” Blake shrugged before hugging her. “Thanks for everything.”

“No problem,” Jade smiled before walking over to the door and walking out.

Seth waved goodbye as she stepped out on the sidewalk pulling out her cell phone dialing a number.

“Hey, it’s Jade. Can we talk?” Jade sighed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You know what Heather said isn’t true,” Sarah sighed seeing Kyle shut the door behind him. She just wanted to get away from all this; she couldn’t take all of this.

“I know,” he hushed her before pulling her in his arms and hugging her tightly. “I just can’t believe she treats you like this.”

“Yeah, I would have never imagined things like this when we were kids,” Sarah kind of half laughed thinking back to when they used to get along.

“Don’t worry, she will come to her senses. Soon or later,” he promised her running his hand down her back.

“Well,” she sighed backing up, “Diego is helping me transfer the baby somewhere else, and so he will be safe and away from Cameron.”

“Diego is really a good guy for doing all this, I hope you realize that,” Kyle pointed out seeing Sarah nod.

“I knew that all along, he cares for my sister,” Sarah laughed seeing Kyle shrug.

“I think a little more than the both of us know,” Kyle suggested tilting his head to the side and pulling out a slight smile.

“Well, I will be taking care of the baby until Heather comes to her senses,” Sarah sighed feeling a tear fall from her eye, “Which at this point looks like never.”

“Hey,” Kyle frowned raising his hand to wipe a tear from her cheek lightly.

“I’m just so worried Kyle, what if nothing ever gets better between me and Heather,” she cried as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Everything will get better,” he promised her feeling her rest her head against his chest.

“I don’t think so,” she declared feeling Kyle’s hand run through her hair lightly.

“Right now at this point the only thing that matters is she is safe,” he started kissing her forehead lightly. “And that baby, he is going to be safe because of you.”

“I guess your right,” she sighed looking up at him seeing him frown wiping another tear from her cheek.

“You’re a great person, don’t let Heather bring you down,” Kyle sighed running his hand along her face lightly.

“So are you Kyle and that’s why I love you,” she slightly smiled as he leaned down kissing her lightly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Heather,” Diego almost said her name in a whisper making her turn around.

“What do you want?” Heather questioned with a scowl seeing him shrug.

“I know you are mad at me,” he started before Heather cut him off as she threw her hands up in the air.

“What were you thinking listening to my sister!” Heather yelled making him shake his head.

“It was my original idea Heather,” he pointed out seeing her jaw drop, “Yeah, mine not hers.”

“But why?” she asked seeing him laugh.

“I don’t think you realize how guilty I am feeling right now,” he pointed out putting his hand on his head.

“You should be,” she laughed seeing him look up at her.

“No I shouldn’t,” he confirmed tilting his head, “You may not like all of this, but it’s for the best that you are here.”

“How do you guys think that?” she questioned with a scowl.

“Heather, I am not going to let Cameron put his hands on you once again,” Diego yelled. “He can’t control you or your life. He would of hurt you.”

“What do you care about me?” she questioned seeing him laugh.

“Heather, I care for you and that baby. Why do you think I did all of this?” he wondered waiting for her answer, but all he heard was silence.

Heather couldn’t think like this, she could see his point and she did want to be away from Cameron. This just had to be the way to do it and she wasn’t going to forgive that easily.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Carly curled into Ken, snuggling into his chest tangled up in sheets as they lay together in her hotel room, lost in the aftermath of what they’d shared with one another. As promised Ken had more than delivered in the elevator until finally they’d returned to her bedroom for another round. Now as they lay in silence, she found herself thinking about how it was that they’d found themselves falling into this awkward position again after all these years.

“So did you really follow my career after I left,” Carly questioned raising her head up from his damp chest to look at his face.

He nodded with a sheepish grin, “More than I care to admit. I guess you could say you picked up a fan in me.”

“Because of my legal record or because of that night we’d had like this one,” she questioned curiously watching his grin expand.

“The last night we had together was most certainly not like this one as it didn’t even come close to this,” he confessed trailing his finger tips up and down over her smooth skin, “This one is a chart topper.”

“Now I know you’re just using your pretty words on me Ken,” she couldn’t help but giggle, leaning down to press feathery light kisses over the center of his chest, “but I suppose that isn’t really relevant right now, is it?”

“No, I guess it’s not,” Ken sighed closing his eyes and fighting like hell to keep his thoughts from lingering back to the woman he’d loved and lost.

“So what was she like,” Carly questioned breaking through his thoughts.

“What?” he reopened his eyes again.

“What was Caitlin like,” she asked again propping herself up on her elbows to look down at him, “She must’ve been something special to have you love her like you do. I mean if you‘re thinking about her right now after what we just shared…”

“Carly, what we just experienced was magical. It was something quite erotic and…” Ken started feeling a moment of guilt slip over him.

“And it doesn’t change where your heart is,” she tried to assure him, massaging her fingers over his muscled body, “so tell me…what was Caitlin like?”

“She was amazing,” Ken finally revealed dropping his head back on the pillows, “She was everything I’d ever dreamt about having in my life and I knew from the moment I met her that she was something special. I loved her with all that I am…I still love her and I think that’s the part that hurts so damn much in all of this.”

“Just because she’s gone doesn’t mean that your feelings have to leave with her. Real love like that doesn’t just fade away overnight,” Carly reminded him rolling off of him and moving in beside him. She pulled the sheet up over her body before turning on her side to face him, “Ken, you don’t have to pretend that part of you is gone now that she’s dead.”

“I’m not pretending,” Ken tilted his head to meet her worried stare, “It’s really left with her. All of the things that I wanted to be--all of my dreams…they went out the window when she died. It’s as if this huge chunk of who I am faded without any chance of returning when she was ripped out of my life.”

“Ken, I’m sure that she wouldn’t want you to be torturing yourself like I can see you’re doing,” she reached out to smooth her fingers through his hair sensing the severity of the pain that he was experiencing, “From what I’ve seen, you’ve done great things with your life and your career. Caitlin obviously played a huge part in the happiness you’ve had in your life…”

“Yes, but like with Wendy, it’s gone and there isn’t a damn thing I can do to have it back,” Ken let out an ironic laugh, “You know when Wendy left my life I really thought that I wasn’t going to make it. I thought that it was the end of the world and that I’d never love again, but then Caitlin came into my life and all of a sudden that changed. I stopped living in the what if and started to open my heart again. But what was it for? The outcome was still the same and here I am the fool for getting wrapped up in it again.”

“No, Ken, you weren’t a fool,” Carly forced him to face her, “You can’t think like that. What you and Caitlin shared together was obviously special. To find love--really, truly, meant to be kind of love is one of the most incredible gifts in this world and even if you had it in your life for a brief passing moment, it’s something that you should always hold onto. It’s something that you should keep in your heart forever.”

“On some level I know that, but in the same sense when I realize that the love isn’t there to hold onto anymore--to kiss good-night or make plans for a family and a future,” Ken paused thinking about what he was saying. Shaking his head, he let out a groan, “I’m so out of line on this one. I mean here we are in bed together and I’m going on and on about Caitlin…”

“Ken, that’s all the more reason that we should talk about this,” Carly continued with a slight frown. She glided her fingers over his chest in a tender, soothing type motion, “I made no illusions about why we came together tonight. I know you don’t love me and hell if you said you did, then it would cheapen this. Tonight was about healing…not about falling into romance together.”

“Spoken like a man would say it,” Ken shook his head at her, “Somehow I never expected to have a woman tell me that after we’d had a sexathon in her hotel room.”

“Does that disappoint you?” she questioned tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.

“I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a bit of a relief,” he confessed sliding in closer to her. He curled his arm around her slender waist, “but at the same time I don’t want you thinking that this was entirely meaningless to me either.”

“Ken, what we have is…well, I don’t think there are any words for us,” she offered up with an ironic laugh, “but in it’s own way, it makes sense. We make sense together and even if it’s for all the wrong reasons, I needed tonight.”

“So tell me,” he eased his hand through her soft, dark hair, “What has Dave done now?”

“He thinks I’m here with an agenda to bury him and everyone else,” Carly let out a pained laugh, “and here the truth is that I came back here because I was hoping that somehow Dave and I could fix things…that maybe just maybe we could be together again and pick up where we’d left off all those years ago. I mean how stupid does that make me?”

“You mean for wanting to find love and happiness in your life?” he arched a curious brow, “Carly, that makes you no more a fool than I am.”

“Yeah, well the sad truth is I don’t deserve a man like Dave,” she snuggled in closer to him leaning her head on his chest, “Maybe I never did.”

“Or maybe it was Dave that never deserved you,” Ken suggested holding her closer to him, “There aren’t many women like you Carly.”

“What? You mean you haven’t found there are plenty of women to hop into bed with you no strings attached like this,” she questioned with a stifled laugh.

“No, that’s not what this is. That isn’t at all what we’re doing here tonight. The truth to the matter is that what you said before is how it is. There aren’t words to explain what we have together, but it’s something that defies all logic. I mean here I was tonight ready to drink myself into another state of uselessness, but just when I was about to lose all control, there you were…” Ken offered in response.

“And what did I give to you Ken?” she countered with a curious look, “Other than well this…”

“Well, for starters, you have me being honest for the first time with myself since Caitlin died,” Ken revealed with a simple shake of his head, “I haven’t been able to pry my head out of my ass since she left me and now that I’ve talked about it…well, I’m not going to say that it makes the situation better because it can’t ever be better with her being gone, but…”

“But what?” she questioned noting his long silence.

“But I feel like for the first time since this all began someone understands. I know that you’re not judging me or thinking up some ulterior motive to try to use this as a bargaining chip for some greedy, personal agenda,” he continued after a moment of contemplation.

“Well, I was saving that for next week, but now that you mentioned it,” she teased in an effort to lighten the mood.

“Carly, I’m serious,” Ken shifted beneath her rolling her onto her back before he moved in over her, “What I’m trying to say is that tonight you’ve got me thinking about things…really thinking about the things that matter and maybe it’s time that I stop dwelling in how miserable I am. Maybe it’s time that I start thinking about those who are depending on me.”

“You mean like little Randy Henderson,” she noted watching his expression change as he remained above her.

“I owe him a lot more than I’ve been giving him and his family, but I’m just so unsure that I can give them my all. They deserve that and more, but after Caitlin died…” he shook his head damning his own actions, “It’s like I forgot them.”

“You didn’t forget. Life just came to bite you in the butt for a little while, but I’m sure that you’ll be able to help them. If anyone can do it, you can,” Carly tried to assure him, “Ken, you’re one hell of a lawyer and I know you can win this one.”

“Caitlin believed that too,” he admitted thinking about the woman he’d loved so very much.

“She was obviously a smart woman with incredible taste,” Carly reached out to touch his face urging him to look at her again, “Ken, I know that the Hendersons will finally see justice with you leading the battle against Midlands.”

“I just don’t know if I could do it alone. When Caitlin was around I was sure that we could win this, but now…” Ken paused his thoughts swirling in his mind before a realization dawned in upon him, “Carly, you asked me the other day if I would left you in on this case…”

“Ken, you don’t have to. I now see how important it is and…” she started noting the strange look that crossed over his features.

“And I want you with me on this. Together we can take on Midlands and anything else that Cameron Stone tosses at us. I’m sure of it,” he bent down to claim her lips in a desperate kiss, “Please…say you’ll forget my ridiculous refusal for help and that you’ll join me on this one.”

“Ken, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea given that tonight we’ve been…” she dropped her hands down underneath the sheet sliding her fingers over his body, taking the time to relish in the more intimate places between them.

“This doesn’t effect my ability to be professional,” Ken insisted dropping his mouth down to nibble on her neck, “We can find a way to make it work somehow…”

“But Ken…” she pleaded with him closing her eyes and savoring every skilled stroke his mouth made over her body.

“We’d make an excellent team and after tonight,” Ken’s lips returned to hers again, “We can swear this off because it’ll be out of our system, right?”

She watched his dark eyes burn into hers as their bodies melded together again, pleading for another union between them. His lips came crashing down on top of hers as her fingers teased over his back, scratching and squeezing with every movement he made over her.

“I’m sure we can work out some kind of arrangement,” she nodded in between soft moans, “We can think of something…”

“I knew we could,” Ken mouthed just above her lips, “and before I forget to say it. Thank you for everything…”

“Ken, I didn’t do anything, but…” she started feeling him silence her with a soft, tender kiss.

“Yes, yes you did and it means everything to me,” he revealed the tone of the moment changing as they fell into another sensual silence taking the time to express themselves in ways that words couldn’t even come close to with one another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say Dave,” Richard frowned following the police chief up to his daughter’s hospital room, “Are you trying to imply that my daughter had something to do with what’s going on with Brooke?”

“All I’m saying is that I’d like to have a word with her about what happened before I jump to any conclusions,” Dave responded entering Avery’s hospital room only to discover she wasn’t there, “What the…”

“Avery,” Guy called out his sister’s name surprised to discover that she was no where in sight. Spinning around at Dave, he glared at him, “What have you done to her? What’s this really about?”

“I haven’t done anything with her. I just came to talk to her and…” Dave started apologetically as Barbara passed by the room. “Barbara, hold on a second.”

“Yes,” she turned to look at him with her normal pleasant demeanor, “is there something I can do for you?”

“Where’s Avery Denton?” Dave questioned in confusion, “I was told she was staying in this room, but if she’s been moved…”

“Oh no,” Barbara shook her head in response, “She hasn’t been moved. She’s just downstairs in the chapel.”

“In the chapel,” Richard’s eyes widened as he heard her words, “Oh God, what has happened to my daughter.”

“Dad wait,” Guy chased off after his father who was now in a state of a panic.

“Thanks Barbara,” Dave offered politely before chasing the duo eager to find out what had prompted Avery to such a place. Was it perhaps guilt or something more?

“Whatever is going on with my daughter, I don’t want you going anywhere near her until I speak with her,” Richard informed him point blank, “If she’s been hurt…”

“I just want to know what happened back in her office when your wife was thrown from that window,” Dave continued to inform him, “It’s part of the routine investigation and…”

“And seeing that you’re the one who is here to speak with Avery something tells me there’s a whole lot more to this story than you’re willing to offer, which is why you’re not going near my daughter until I speak with her first,” Richard warned him sharply.

“Spoken as a father or as her legal representation?” Dave questioned folding his arms in front of his chest.

“Legal representation,” Guy blinked back at him, “Don’t tell me that you think Avery was somehow behind this because Avery would never, ever…”

“Of course she wouldn’t Guy,” Richard barked back with an icy glare in Dave’s general direction, “and once I speak with her we can get this situation all cleared up right away…”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask her a few questions whether you like it or not,” Dave announced as the elevator doors opened and the trio made their way down to the chapel in a haste.

Throwing the doors open Richard entered only to discover Avery standing over by the altar with Brant’s arm around her. His eyes widened in confusion as they stood together before a man, both seemingly wrapped up in some kind of moment of seriousness between them.

“Avery,” Richard called out to his daughter catching her attention as she turned to look at him.

“Daddy,” she replied with a breath before rushing from where she stood over to him. Once she’d reached him, she threw her arms around him eagerly, “Oh daddy, thank God you’re here.”

“Avery, what’s going on?” Richard questioned blankly taking note that she wasn’t wearing a hospital gown, but rather she was dressed in some kind of white dress.

“Daddy, I was…” Avery started to explain feeling her head swimming with so many thoughts all at once.

“Avery, I need to talk to you,” Dave interrupted boldly making his presence known, “Given what happened in your office earlier, I think it would be best if you and I have a little talk about the events leading up to your mother’s being thrown from that window.”

“I’d like to speak with her first,” Richard snapped back at him, “I will talk to my daughter.”

“This can’t wait,” Dave replied urgently.

“Yes it can and it will,” Richard snarled back at him wondering if Avery did in fact have something to do with what he’d heard about Brooke. Still, the idea was preposterous.

“It’s alright Richard. Dave isn’t going to say anything to Avery right now. If he wants to talk to her, then he can do it later because right now she needs to get back upstairs. She’s been hurt today and…” Brant started breaking his silence as he too joined the rest of the group.

“I’m afraid that’s not going to do. I need to speak with Avery right away and…” Dave insisted with obvious irritation.

“No Dave, you’re not listening. I’m not going to let you bother her right now considering that she needs to get back upstairs,” Brant continued with a firm warning look.

“Brant, it’s okay I can…” Avery spoke up again her voice shaky with obvious emotion.

“No you can’t,” Brant shook his head before he addressed Dave once again, “If you have any questions for my wife, you’ll have to go through me first. Is that understood?”

“Your what?” Richard questioned in confusion.

“Did you just say your wife,” Guy’s jaw dropped in an obvious state of shock.

“That’s right,” Avery took a step away from her father before reaching for Brant’s hand and lacing their fingers with one another, “Brant and I are married. He‘s my husband.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*