Ben stopped as he heard Rose call to him. He smiled and turned back to accept a kiss from the sleepy girl on his cheek. He turned to give her a kiss and suddenly found his lips pressed against Liliya’s. Her eyes widened as she squeaked gently in surprise.
Ben pulled back and saw Rose was grinning with delight.
“Sneaky girl!” Ben said and managed to catch her cheek for a kiss this time. He looked to Liliya as her daughter continued to giggle softly.
“Sorry,” Ben said.
“No, it was nice. Good night, Ben,” Liliya said with a sweet little smile of her own. Mother and child left, and Tina closed the door and locked up.
Ben rubbed his face with his hands.
“Did something happen at the hospital, Ben?” Tina asked.
“Nothing significant. It was a trying day. I’m tired, and I’m going to bed,” he sighed and walked down the hall toward the bedrooms.
He stopped by Christopher’s room and kissed the sleeping boy’s forehead. He went to the next bedroom and kissed Sam and Gretchen before heading into his own bedroom. Lucy was already waiting for him, naked. She helped him undress then they prepared for bed. Tina arrived as they slipped into bed. She quickly got ready and slid under the sheets next to Ben.
“Did you get a report from Hannah?” he asked.
Tina was quiet for a moment. “As you said, it was a difficult day. We love you, Ben.”
“I love you both, too,” Ben said. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Even though he’d rested at the hospital while they waited, it didn’t take long for the comfort of his bed and the soft warmth of the two women to ease his mind into slumber.
-=-
A soft knock against Hannah’s door jamb caught her attention as she prepared to leave. She looked up and saw Dr. Shyamalan standing there with a concerned expression.
“Yes?” Hannah said.
“I just wanted to apologize for upsetting your friend. I must admit I didn’t connect the dots when I first met him. I don’t spend much time watching television or reading gossip magazines. My partner enjoys that, so I must have caught a glimpse from that,” Mishka said sadly.
Hannah gestured to the chair before her desk, and the woman sat as Hannah sat in hers. “Ben is a very private person, so he’s had difficulty with the amount of attention he’s received in the media. Some of that attention came at times of great emotional pain.”
“The deaths outside the courthouse. I looked that reference up. That was horrible, and to have it televised!” Mishka gasped.
“Ben hasn’t healed from that yet. They’d only known Gretchen for a short time, but it was an intensely emotional experience for everyone. To have her die so suddenly, I’m not surprised he’s still dealing with it.” Hannah smiled gently. “He knows you didn’t mean to cause him any pain. He doesn’t hold grudges.”
Mishka nodded and stood. “I should be heading home. Please pass along my apologies, just the same.”
“I will. See you in a couple of days, and thank you again,” Hannah replied and got a smile and a nod from the surgeon as she stepped out.
Hannah finished up and locked her office door. She wanted to go home and give her son’s forehead a goodnight kiss.
-=-
Liliya tucked her daughter into her bed and kissed the sleeping child. She headed downstairs and saw the glow of a cigarette in the darkness of the deck off the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of wine and joined Tatiana outside. She sat on a chair across from her partner, far enough away to avoid the smoke.
“Is Rose all tucked away?” Tatiana’s voice asked calmly from the shadows. “Did Papa give her kisses?”
Liliya heard the tension in the woman’s voice and decided it wouldn’t be wise to share that Ben had given her a kiss as well. Her lips tingled as she thought about it.
“He did.”
Tatiana made a quiet sound, like a release of tension. “He is too free with his kisses. They bind people to him.”
“And you know this how?” Liliya snapped as her temper suddenly flared at Tatiana’s harsh judgment of Ben.
A moment of silence came from the dark. “Yes, he didn’t kiss me, did he.”
“You don’t get kisses when you attempt to murder him,” Liliya said as she rested her hand on the hilt of her knife.
More silence.
“Is true,” Tatiana finally replied.
Liliya caught the gleam of a wine glass being lifted to Tatiana’s lips.
“Do you hate Ben? The life he’s made possible for us?” Liliya asked gently.
Tatiana made a choked-off noise, and Liliya couldn’t tell what it meant. They were both quiet for a moment and sipped at their wine.
The brunette finally spoke. “I would love to hate him. I would love to love him. It is doing both that torments me. When I think of him, I am at war with myself. I want to drive a blade into him, but the thought of doing so makes me sick with dread. I cannot think of him when we work. He is simply the asset I must protect.”
“You will continue to protect him?” Liliya pushed.
The ashes flared on Tatiana’s cigarette as she took an angry drag, then she snuffed the embers against the ashtray as she blew the smoke up into the darkening sky.
“Are we not on his leash?” Tatiana spat. “What choice do I have? He said he would give us freedom, but we are trapped in this tedium instead.”
“Ben said if you didn’t want to stay, he wouldn’t try to stop you, but he won’t help you make that bad decision.”
“Exactly. He won’t give you what he owed you–”
“What makes you think I would give you the diamonds? I should help you make this bad decision when Ben won’t? Maybe you planned on killing me for them?” Liliya asked calmly.
Tatiana was quiet for a moment. “I would not kill you. I will not make Rose an orphan.”
Liliya felt strangely comforted by that notion. Still, there was an issue to resolve. “I told Ben I didn’t want the diamonds. What he has given me holds more value–”
“To be babysitter? How is this better? We were once feared and respected!”
Liliya’s temper flared again. “Respected?!? We were nothing but tools to our handlers and as easily discarded! A rabid dog is feared. How can you not see that? The Colonel manipulated us, set us against each other. He was evil!”
“We agree on that! But the Colonel was a strong man! He did not cry!” Tatiana snapped.
Liliya was stunned. Was this why Tatiana had such trouble with Ben? “Yet the man who cries beat you, barehanded against your blades,” she said cautiously.
Tatiana surged to her feet and walked to the edge of the deck to stare off into the dark woods.
Liliya pushed forward. “Have you asked why he cries? He won’t speak of it, but the others must know. Or are you afraid to know what a real man is?”
“I’m afraid of nothing!” Tatiana spat.
Liliya considered her partner. “I think this is not true.” She waited for Tatiana to respond, but there was just silence. So… she would deliver one more truth tonight. “The Colonel cried when facing his death.”
Liliya calmly looked up into the eyes of Tatiana, who leaned over her, blades in her hands. The blonde continued. “Ben faced his death many times that night and didn’t flinch. Not once. Perhaps you need to reassess what it means to be a man.”
Tatiana stormed back into the house, and Liliya heard her climbing the stairs to go to her room. She rested back on the chair and took another sip of her wine as she relaxed her grip on the handle of her own concealed blade. She needed a little quiet time to calm her nerves.
She knew she wasn’t skilled enough to help her partner with her mental issues. She lost her temper with the woman too much. Tatiana pushed her buttons as much as she pushed back. Still, she needed to bring the woman’s issues to the surface to give Ben early warning if Tatiana was becoming a threat to him or his loved ones.
It sometimes felt like she was dealing with a rabid dog, after all.
Ben stayed home the following day and worked on the energy cell project. He was exhausting what he could do without working with the actual physical components. He asked the Sergeant to arrange access to a rental lab with all the necessary elements of the cell.
As promised, he sent the medical request form to Hannah, and she made an appointment for Ben on Friday morning.
After dinner, Hannah and Beth joined Ben for another group therapy session in his media room. They settled in, and Beth asked to speak first. She looked nervous.
“Beth, what’s wrong?” Ben asked.
“This-this will be my last session with you guys,” she finally managed.
Ben and Hannah glanced at each other in concern.
“What? Why?” Hannah gasped.
“I’m getting married!” Beth exclaimed.
They stared at the elated yet nervous expression on Beth’s face. Neither knew what to say as this was the first time they’d heard Beth was seeing someone.
“What? Who?” Hannah managed.
Beth giggled nervously. “His name is Keith. Keith Waterman. He’s Canadian and lives in Vancouver, B. C. We met at a Dentistry conference here last year–but he’s not a dentist or involved in anything related to dentistry. He was just a guest at the hotel the conference was held at.”
Ben smiled. “It’s okay, Beth! Take a breath. Slow down and breathe.”
She giggled again and took some deep breaths before continuing. “He’s a Philosophy Professor at the University of B. C. in Vancouver. He was in town visiting family. We met at the bar in the hotel and clicked. He’s so easy to talk to, and we danced until they shut down. He’s a widower and has two kids the same ages as mine. I visited him and met them, his son and daughter. They’re really sweet. He visited me. John and Jane like him too.”