Chapter 4

Finally she gently lifted his head from her breast. "Vincent!" she whispered.

Alarmed by the change in her feelings, he looked at her. "Catherine? What's wrong?"

She saw his eyes examine her naked skin, and felt the panic rise in him at the thought that he'd lost control with his hands and mouth on her. She hastened to reassure him with a gentle smile and a warm loving current. "It's all right, love! You felt what I felt, you know it was wonderful!"
"Catherine, it was…much more than that! It was…I have no words!"

She gently caressed his cheek. "No need for words, beloved, I was there too!" She sighed, there was no easy way to announce what she had to say. "I hate to, but right now I have to go!"

His head snapped up in surprise. "Catherine, why?"

"Vincent, surely you know I really don't want to go, not now, not after what we shared! Believe me, there's nothing I could want more than to stay here, with you…and continue what we have started!" She emphasized her words with a lingering caress on his softening length, delighted to feel it stir again under her hand. "But I can't stay! That's what I was coming to tell you. A new witness has been found, and Joe and I have to go to Boston tonight to get her deposition tomorrow. It opens new aspects in the case, but the judge has only accepted a suspension until next Wednesday, and we'll have to work night and day if we want to be ready by then! I'm sorry, Vincent!"

"When do you think you will be back?"

"If that witness is what we hope her to be, it might be finished on Wednesday night, Thursday night at worst, and as soon as it's over, I'll hurry back to you. Believe me, I won't lose a second!"

He felt her sorrow and frustration, and stifled his own acute disappointment to comfort her. "Please don't be sorry, Catherine! Your work is important! We will find the time to…continue afterwards." he added with a sparkle in his eyes, gently thrusting in her hand.

She giggled and reluctantly let go of him with a sigh. "I must fly! I should already be Above by now! Joe's going to kill me, but I don't care, it was definitely worth it!" She kissed him lightly and stood up, her legs a bit unsteady.

"I'll walk you back." Vincent started to rise, too, but she stopped him.

"No, please, Vincent!" she felt his surprise and smiled down at him. "Stay just as you are! This is the memory I want to keep with me during the next five days…and nights!"

While readjusting her clothes, she took her time to thoroughly survey the whole length of him, filling her eyes with a sight so long denied. God, had he any idea of how gorgeous he looked? She consciously let her vision of him filter through the bond, so that he'd never again doubt how beautiful he was.

Vincent remained perfectly still under her admiring gaze. Not long ago, he couldn't even have imagined Catherine looking at his body this way, and now he lay open, vulnerable in front of her, in the aftermath of pleasure. He was aware of his disheveled state, aware of his reawakening arousal, of the dark sticky stains on his belly's fur, but none of it made him feel in the least self-conscious. It was as if he'd found his primal innocence again, freed from years of self-loathing and shame, reborn through Catherine's love. A lifetime's anguished interrogations about what he was, and the reasons for his existence, had finally found their only possible answer: he was the man Catherine loved, and he had been born to love her. That was all he needed to know, now and forever.

Fascinated, Catherine watched his manhood stir and harden under her eyes, until Vincent growled. "Catherine, if you really want to go, I think you had better go now!" The hunger was back, barely leashed, and, with a sigh, she agreed.

"Yes, if I stay a minute longer, I might not find the courage." She bent to kiss him briefly but thoroughly. "I love you, Vincent!"

"I love you, Catherine."

"I'll come back as soon as I can."

"I know, Beloved. I will be waiting. Take care!"

With a last longing look, she exited the cavern through the crawlway and walked briskly back to the hub, accompanied by the warm current of Vincent's love, enjoying the strength of it. She knew she'd soon have to partially close the bond in order to concentrate on her task, and savored their closeness while it lasted.

As she came near Father's study, she made a quick decision. Joe could wait a few more minutes. She had one or two words to say to a certain person!

"Catherine! Did you find Vincent? Where is he?" The anguished look in the old man's eyes softened her anger.

Don't worry, Father, Vincent is well, he'll come back very soon!"

She saw the relief wash over him.

"Catherine, you and Vincent have every reason to be angry at me for jumping to false conclusions, but believe me, my reaction was only one of concern. Vincent's behavior was so…"

"Free, joyful, happy, self-assured…?" she prompted.

"Unlike him." he corrected , and only then did he realized what he was admitting.

She looked hard at him. "And it scared you, didn't it? It scared you because it escaped your control, and you're damn well persuaded you have to control everything, especially where Vincent is concerned! I felt what your words did to him, Father." She put her hand on her chest. "I felt it here, and I could have slapped you in the face for it! He had finally come to trust himself, and you broke his spirits, nearly destroyed him just to reassert your authority! If I hadn't managed to catch up with him, we might never have seen him again!" She tried to calm herself, knowing Vincent had felt her outburst through the bond, and sent a reassuring current to him.

Father regained his composure. "I know I deserve some harsh words, Catherine. None of the children has granted me so much as a look since we left the Mirror Pool. I have to apologize to Vincent, and I will…but.." he gave her a stern look "…I still think that Vincent's…er… unusual behavior might lead to danger, and that it was irresponsible of you to push him into it!"

She shook her head. "For God's sake, Father, when will you admit that your son is a grown man, big enough to make his own decisions without being 'pushed'! Vincent has come on his own to the conclusion that he has to accept himself, all of himself, simply because it's the only way for him…for us."

"Catherine, you don't know what you're talking about. That side of him…"

"Sorry, but I happen to know 'that side of him' quite well, now!" she cut in, hoping she didn't look as unbearably smug as she felt. " You don't know it! All you know is its violence, a violence you despise but tolerate, when it's useful for the tunnels' defense. That side of him may be wild, Father, but it's not evil! It's everything that Vincent is, only stronger, more primal. And it can be controlled, but there's no reason you should control it…Please, you've got to trust your son, not with your life, as I know you would, but with his own!"

She glanced at her watch and sighed. Joe was really going to kill her if she missed the plane, and she did need to shower and change her clothes!

"I must go, now, Father, but please try to trust me! You know I'd never do anything to hurt Vincent! He is my life! Our relationship is moving forward, nothing will change that now, and it would be much easier for everyone if you could refrain from…"

"Meddling?" he offered in a sarcastic tone.

"Interfering!" she amended with a smile. In an impulse she hugged him and kissed his cheek, before rushing out of the chamber.

Father remained standing there for a long time, staring at the empty entrance, before walking painfully back to his chair. He sat down wearily, Catherine's reproachful words still burning his ears. He remembered she worked as a prosecuting attorney, though he'd never had the occasion to see that side of her. Now he felt as if he was on the bench in front of her. Had he really done what she accused him of? Had his words really hurt Vincent so much? He replayed the Mirror Pool scene in his mind, and sighed. Yes, to both questions.

Unsettled by the recent modification of his son's behavior, he hadn't even tried to ask himself if it might not be for the better. He'd seen Vincent smile and play, he'd heard him purr and laugh, and instead of feeling happy for him, he'd felt threatened by the changes in his usually quiet and insecure son. And he'd seized the first opportunity to try and reestablish his control, even at the cost of Vincent's blossoming self-esteem. Guilty as charged, Counselor! he thought wryly.

"I happen to know that side of him quite well, now" Catherine had looked so smug when she'd said those words that there was no mistaking their significance. He hoped that she was right, that Vincent's dark side could be controlled , and "tamed", even if it was contrary to his own belief. He still feared things wouldn't be as easy for them as Catherine seemed to think, but there was at least one sizable obstacle he could remove from their way, and that was himself. He wouldn't meddle, or "interfere" any more.

"Father?" He opened his eyes to find Vincent's concerned face in front of him. "Father, are you well?"

He smiled to reassure his son. "Yes, I'm fine, don't worry, Vincent. I was…just thinking. But what about you?"

Vincent grinned widely. "I am well Father! If truth be told," he added with just the same smug look as Catherine's "I cannot remember having ever been so well!"

"Catherine was here a moment ago, on her way Above…."

Vincent nodded. "I know. I felt…her anger."

Father chuckled dryly. "And who could she be angry at, if not me? I more than deserved it, Vincent! What I did was inexcusable, and I must beg your forgiveness."

Vincent put his hand on his father's. "It's forgotten, Father. I know you were worried, and I'm the one to blame for it. Things have happened, lately, that I should have discussed with you, but I was afraid…"

"That it might lead to a confrontation? You were right. I would certainly have done all I could to prevent you from following that path, Vincent," he looked straight into his son's eyes. "and I would have been wrong! The nature of a relationship between two adults is only for them to decide. That's even more true for you, as the love you share with Catherine is something so special that only the two of you can truly understand it. I will be there for you every time you need me, but I won't stand in your way any more."

Vincent hugged his parent, sighing with relief. "Thank you for your understanding, Father!"

The older man smiled ruefully. "Better late than never! And now, my son, could you come with me to see the children? I'm afraid they'll refuse to speak to me until they have seen with their own eyes that you are well and have forgiven me."

Vincent laughed. "Give me half-an-hour to bathe and change my clothes, and we will go."

That caused Father to take a better look at his son, noticing the dry, but tousled hair, and the somewhat sandy clothes. There was a slightly feral sparkle in his eyes, and an aura of self-assured satisfaction surrounded him. Father's boy had definitely grown, and that might take some getting used to.

"Catherine will be back in five days," Vincent announced "and we will go away for some time. We need time together, alone."

Father only nodded, and Vincent left the chamber, sighing. Those five days were going to be the longest of his life.

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