felt so achingly normal. Eric smirked to himself as he noticed his fingers entwined through hers - old habits
really did die hard, if at all.
With his free hand he stroked her silky soft hair and pressed another kiss. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing and knew he
was walking the razor's edge but she needed him. And the frightening truth staring him in the face was that he probably needed her too. As much as her return had opened old wounds, he felt complete for the first time in almost 8 years. There were questions that needed answers but whereas before he wanted
them at all costs, he worried now about the price that had already been paid.
Curiously and carefully he gently lifted her shirt up a couple of inches, giving him another view of her scar. Based on the anguished
cries from her nightmare he tried to piece it all together. There had been a fire that much he was sure of. It wasn't hard to guess that Jack had been caught in the fire and she had gone in to rescue him. Taking another quick look
at her back an image came to mind leaving him breathless - Nathalie on the floor of some house, trapped by a beam burning into her flesh as she tried to save her son .
"Why didn't you trust me?" he asked quietly.
"What did I do to ever make you think you couldn't trust me?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
Startled, he gave a slight start as he looked over at the door and found Andrew standing there looking thunderstruck. Peeking quickly at
Nathalie and seeing she was still sound asleep, he very carefully edged himself from underneath her and got up from the bed. He stopped to pull the blankets up around her before turning back to his friend. Putting his finger up to his lips
to silence him from saying anything further he stepped into the hallway.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Andrew followed suit. "There is a question still waiting for an answer," he told him as the
door to her room closed. "Have you lost your marbles?"
"She was having a nightmare."
"Pretty quiet nightmare" he snarked.
Anger flashed quickly through his blue eyes. "It wasn't
when I got here. Drew something really bad happened to her-"
"And what? You're going to ride to the rescue? You cannot be her white knight Eric. Do I need to remind you what she did?"
"No you don't need to remind me. I live with it every day," he retorted angrily. "But maybe, just maybe, I am beginning to see there is more to the story." His tone softened as he looked into his best friend's eyes. "Who better than me to be a comfort to her? Jesus Drew, we
share a child."
"A child that she believes has been placed with a loving family. Do you think she's going to learn that her sister has kept Jack all these years, allowed you to parent him and thank you for it? She is going
to run for the hills," he told him.
"Maybe not. Maybe she will want to try to be a fam - "
"Shit, Eric. Seriously?" Andrew interrupted
incredulously. "You and I both know she will be on the first plane back to Africa believing she was right to leave you all behind. Whatever caused her to give Jack up scared her. And then where will you be?" He shoved his hands
in his pockets as silence greeted his question. "And what about Jack? Are you going to tell him you're his father and by the way I know who your mom is-"
"He already knows who his mom is," Eric said quietly, looking back at the closed door.
Andrew blanched. "What? How?"
Glancing around the hallway, he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it out here."
"Fine. Let's go to your office."
The two men walked in silence down the hall, each lost in their own thoughts. For Eric there were visions of a family life that would flash in his mind; for Andrew he saw the three people who mattered so much to
him destroyed by the truth.
As the office door closed behind them, Andrew leaned up against it, his arms folded across his chest.
"What do you mean he already knows who his mom is?"
Sighing heavily, Eric sank into his
really did die hard, if at all.
With his free hand he stroked her silky soft hair and pressed another kiss. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing and knew he
was walking the razor's edge but she needed him. And the frightening truth staring him in the face was that he probably needed her too. As much as her return had opened old wounds, he felt complete for the first time in almost 8 years. There were questions that needed answers but whereas before he wanted
them at all costs, he worried now about the price that had already been paid.
Curiously and carefully he gently lifted her shirt up a couple of inches, giving him another view of her scar. Based on the anguished
cries from her nightmare he tried to piece it all together. There had been a fire that much he was sure of. It wasn't hard to guess that Jack had been caught in the fire and she had gone in to rescue him. Taking another quick look
at her back an image came to mind leaving him breathless - Nathalie on the floor of some house, trapped by a beam burning into her flesh as she tried to save her son .
"Why didn't you trust me?" he asked quietly.
"What did I do to ever make you think you couldn't trust me?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
Startled, he gave a slight start as he looked over at the door and found Andrew standing there looking thunderstruck. Peeking quickly at
Nathalie and seeing she was still sound asleep, he very carefully edged himself from underneath her and got up from the bed. He stopped to pull the blankets up around her before turning back to his friend. Putting his finger up to his lips
to silence him from saying anything further he stepped into the hallway.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Andrew followed suit. "There is a question still waiting for an answer," he told him as the
door to her room closed. "Have you lost your marbles?"
"She was having a nightmare."
"Pretty quiet nightmare" he snarked.
Anger flashed quickly through his blue eyes. "It wasn't
when I got here. Drew something really bad happened to her-"
"And what? You're going to ride to the rescue? You cannot be her white knight Eric. Do I need to remind you what she did?"
"No you don't need to remind me. I live with it every day," he retorted angrily. "But maybe, just maybe, I am beginning to see there is more to the story." His tone softened as he looked into his best friend's eyes. "Who better than me to be a comfort to her? Jesus Drew, we
share a child."
"A child that she believes has been placed with a loving family. Do you think she's going to learn that her sister has kept Jack all these years, allowed you to parent him and thank you for it? She is going
to run for the hills," he told him.
"Maybe not. Maybe she will want to try to be a fam - "
"Shit, Eric. Seriously?" Andrew interrupted
incredulously. "You and I both know she will be on the first plane back to Africa believing she was right to leave you all behind. Whatever caused her to give Jack up scared her. And then where will you be?" He shoved his hands
in his pockets as silence greeted his question. "And what about Jack? Are you going to tell him you're his father and by the way I know who your mom is-"
"He already knows who his mom is," Eric said quietly, looking back at the closed door.
Andrew blanched. "What? How?"
Glancing around the hallway, he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it out here."
"Fine. Let's go to your office."
The two men walked in silence down the hall, each lost in their own thoughts. For Eric there were visions of a family life that would flash in his mind; for Andrew he saw the three people who mattered so much to
him destroyed by the truth.
As the office door closed behind them, Andrew leaned up against it, his arms folded across his chest.
"What do you mean he already knows who his mom is?"
Sighing heavily, Eric sank into his
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