Patric

As Kevyn sat in the airport waiting for her plane to board she began to question her decision to leave. While it was true that she needed to go home and see her mother because she wasn't doing well, it didn't need to be tonight.

"I'm running and I'm using my mom to do it." She mumbled disgusted with herself. She knew that Patrick would have respected her request to be left alone but she needed distance.... So she thought. Her next thought was that she should have called as opposed to sending an email. There was still time before boarding but she had already turned her phone off to save the battery. It would wait until she got to her mothers house.

Which reminded her that in her haste to leave she hadn't called anyone to tell them that she was coming but it would have been well after midnight in Pennsylvania? The more she thought about it the more she realized that she had reacted out of what? Fear? No it was more like confusion. She wasn't afraid of Patrick hadn't been even after he told her what he was.

"A vampire and a rapist?" she muttered thinking that she really knew how to pick them. The problem as she saw it was that she loved him in spite of what was and that included the rapist. She asked herself if she believed him when he told her that he could and never would rape again because of her, the answer was yes, she believed him. Did she believe that he loved her as deeply as he said he did? She believed that too. She needed to go back and wondered if it was too late to change her mind.

Kevyn picked up her backpack and headed toward customer service when her flight was called. She weighed her options, she could just forfeit the ticket but it had been expensive and when she had to go she would be sunk. Kicking herself for her rashness, Kevyn boarded the plane.

*******

Patrick wanted to call Kevyn but didn't. She had made it clear that she needed time to think and didn't want to talk to him. Leaving her was becoming more difficult each time that he had to do it and he hoped that tonight was the last time that it would happen. Not knowing what to do with himself, he called Ethan and then Martin to see if they were too busy to meet him somewhere.

"Of course not!" Ethan said, "Do you want to come here or meet somewhere?"

"Are Katrina and the pumpkin around?" Patrick asked hopefully, seeing Victoria always cheered him up.

"They're both home but if we need privacy we can use my office." Ethan replied.

"What's Martin up to tonight?" Patrick asked.

"Nothing that I know of," Ethan replied. "I think Rach is at some teacher's conference, Patrick what's going on?"

"I just want some company is all."

Ethan wasn't buying it but didn't say so, "Well come on over! Both Victoria and Katrina will be glad to see you."

A few moments later Patrick was receiving hugs and kisses from Victoria.

"Uncle Patrick!" she yelled as she ran across the room and leapt up into his arms.

'Hi there pumpkin, how are you?" Patrick asked.

"I'm fine but how come you're so sad?" Victoria asked looking into his face.

"I'm fine pumpkin but thanks for asking." Patrick replied as he kissed her cheek and set her on her feet.

Victoria gave Patrick a look that let him know that she didn't quite believe him and ran off when she heard Katrina calling her name.

"She's very intuitive." Ethan replied after Victoria was gone.

"I see that.' Patrick replied as he sat down and stretched his long legs in front of him.

"So what's happening?" Ethan asked.

"Is Martin coming?"

"He should be here any time now." Ethan replied.

"Then I'll wait." Patrick replied.

Martin arrived a few minutes later with a big smile on his face.

"You look like the cat that got the canary." Patrick said, "What gives?"

"We're pregnant!" Martin exclaimed happily.

Both Patrick and Ethan congratulated Martin but the revelation made Patrick miss Kevyn even more. Martin looked at Patrick and realized something was amiss.

"Patrick what's happening?"

Patrick told them about the evening and how it ended, "she asked me not to contact her."

"Did she say that she never wanted to see you again?" Ethan asked.

"Well no but she could come to that decision even if she loves me." Patrick replied.

"Do you get the feeling that she's thinking along those lines?" Ethan asked.

"No.... and I understand her needing the time. I don't know how I would react if I were in her shoes but it's getting harder and harder to leave her. I need and want to be with her and to announce that we're pregnant, I....."

"Patrick." Martin said softly, "She hasn't turned you away, she only asks for a little time."

Patrick blew out a breath in frustration, "there are times when I really hate this family!"

"Both Martin and I have felt the same thing but Patrick, hold on to the fact that she loves you and as you know her confusion is normal. Both Rachel and Katrina struggled with it and to be honest with you I think that on occasion Katrina still does."

"What does she do about it?" Patrick asked.

"We work through it together but as I said, it doesn't happen very often." Ethan replied, "but when you and Kevyn do talk, listen to her carefully."

Patrick found that talking about things made him feel somewhat better but it didn't take away the longing for Kevyn.

"Why don't you come home with me?" Martin asked, "Rach is out of town for another couple of days and she'd be glad to see you anyway."

Patrick thought about it and decided that it was a good idea. If he went home he would do nothing but stew in his own juices and wasn't sure that he could keep himself from calling Kevyn in spite of her request that he give her time.

"I'll meet you there." Patrick said, "I want to go home to get a couple of things."

The three brothers sat in silence for a few moments each of them thinking about and missing Jesse the brother who had suicided when he accidentally killed his mate during an attempted rape.

"He should be here with us." Patrick said verbalizing what they all were thinking.

*********

Kevyn closed her eyes and tried to rest. She felt a combination of guilt, anxiety, confusion and anger. Guilt because she for all practical purposes just ran, anxiety because she realized that she shouldn't have, confusion because she loved Patrick and wanted to be with him but on the other hand he and the males of his family were rapists and angry because she loved him and had to decide what she was going to do about it.

Her eyes flew open when she realized three things, she put the leftovers in the oven instead of the fridge, and she couldn't remember pushing the send icon for the email that she was going to send to Patrick and.... She left the laptop at home. It was too late to get off of the plane; it had already begun to taxi down the runway. All she could do now was wait until the layover and call the apartment manager and ask him to go to her apartment to put the food away. He would grumble about it but if she didn't, her apartment would smell horrible by the time she got back but if she told him that he could have the leftovers he would be a happy camper.

She had been wavering on whether to call Patrick or not but decided that she'd better especially since she couldn't swear that she sent the email. She had visions of him emailing her and panicking when she didn't reply. It could have waited but her mother didn't have a computer and even if she did there wouldn't be internet access because money was tight and the internet was an unnecessary expense. Her sisters had internet but she would have to find a way to get there which wouldn't be difficult, she could just use her dad's car....if it still ran that is.

It seemed to take forever before they reached Phoenix where she would have a two hour layover. Kevyn tried to rush off of the plane but her seat was in the back giving her no choice but to wait. When she was finally in the terminal she looked around for a place to make a phone call. She headed toward a corner and called Patrick first.

"Kevyn? Are you alright?" Patrick asked his voice filled with concern and relief.

"I... I'm ok I just did something rash without really thinking about it." she replied.

"Kevyn, where are you?" Patrick asked as his ears picked up on the background noise of the busy airport.

"Didn't you get my email?" she asked.

"What email? Where are you?"

"I'm at the airport....."

"The airport? Kevyn what are you doing?" Patrick asked panicked.

"I needed to be away from you and I thought that this would be a good time to see my mom, she's not doing too well and I don't really know how much time she has left."

"Baby I'm sorry but why didn't you tell me?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know but I only called you now because I couldn't remember if I hit the send icon on the email and I left my laptop at home."

"You were in that big of a hurry to get away from me?" Patrick asked softly.

"Patrick you have to understand that I don't have a real good history with men and....."

"Lonnie was a fucking asshole who didn't know what a good thing he had and Brinkman is just an arrogant idiot who you no longer need to concern yourself about." Patrick said interrupting her. "I know that I and my family have its issues but we're working through them and I can even understand why you felt that you needed space but running away didn't solve anything now did it? Let me ask you something and remember that you can't lie, are you afraid of me?"

"NO! If I was afraid of you I wouldn't have let you into my apartment." Kevyn replied heatedly, "The issue is what you and your family were and are and I don't mean the vampirism."

"I know how hard this is for you but the fact that we've made significant changes and that we are very vocal about out history should count for something." Patrick replied just as heatedly, "Kevyn do you believe that I love you? That I could and would never do anything to hurt you?"

"Yes but..."

"Then why are you running away from me?"

"I'm not....."

"Kevyn." Patrick said his voice low and intense.

"I don't really know! I needed space."

"I was and am willing to give you all the space and time that you need, you didn't have to run." Patrick said, "Now where are you going?"

"Why?" Kevyn asked.

"Because I'm coming to you."

Kevyn didn't know what to say at first and then she was tempted to agree but then she changed her mind.

"Please don't." she whispered, "I'll be home in a few days and we'll talk."

"Kevyn...."

"I'll call you later." Kevyn said and hung up.

She called the apartment manager next and as she thought, he bristled at having to do her a favor but changed his tune when she told him that he could have the leftovers. With the last phone call being made Kevyn looked around for the direction for her gate and headed toward it. She wasn't aware that she was crying until someone asked her if she needed help.

"Oh, no but thank you." she said and hurried away to find the nearest bathroom.

********

Patrick looked at his phone and flung it on the couch.

"Something wrong?" Martin asked.

"I just talked to Kevyn; she's headed out of town to see her mother."

"Alright......" Martin said not seeing the problem.

"Her mother is ill and not doing well but Kevyn said that she went to get away from me."

"She said that?" Martin asked.

"Yes and when I asked her where she was going she wouldn't tell me."

"Because you were going to go to her weren't you?" Martin asked.

"She needs me! Her mother could die...."

"Her mother was ill before you found her and if you hadn't found her she would have dealt with her mother's death with her family." Martin said.

"I'm her mate!" Patrick protested, "I should be there with her!"

"And she knows that, she claimed you but Patrick she needs time and space. She knows that you love her and I have a hunch that you'll be seeing her soon."

"I hope that you're right." Patrick replied, "But I have a question for you."

"Shoot." Martin said.

"Remember when you chaperoned us to Caesar's and you said that you thought that Kevyn could hear you?"

"I remember and I haven't a clue what that was about." Martin replied, "Maybe it was a fluke but we won't find out until we're in a position to try it."

"I suppose you're right." Patrick replied.

Now that he was at Martin's he didn't know if he was any better off than he would have been at home. They played pool and watched a couple of games on the sports channel but he was still restless. He had the nagging feeling that Kevyn was going to need him sometime soon.

He took out his laptop and turned it on. While he waited for it to boot up he tried to remember if Kevyn ever said what her maiden name had been but was fairly certain that she had never mentioned it. When he checked her out earlier he didn't look beyond her recent past and her high school transcripts now he was going to look deeper.

When the laptop was up and running Patrick pulled up the background check program and typed in Kevyn's name. He started with the present and worked his way backwards. He found out that she was the oldest of seven with the youngest a boy dying at the age of twenty-four. Her father Victor Yancy died three years ago leaving the mother in poor shape financially and now her mother was dying too.

He read further hoping to get at least the name of the city where her mother lived so that he could make arrangements to go at a moments notice. "Pittsburgh" he murmured. "It would have to be a big city." he grumbled as he read further looking for any clues as to which section of the city her family lived in.

He wondered if the prefix to her cell phone number might be a clue but then he remembered that it was a California number. "What am I thinking?" he asked as he went to the school website, she had to have someone to call in case of emergency and he was sure that it wouldn't be Lonnie. When he found the number, he called it to make sure that it was still a working number breathing a sigh of relief when the answering machine came on. Her job was another possibility as a way to get information on her if the other had failed but he didn't need it.

******

Kevyn washed her face and then wished that she hadn't, she didn't have any lotion to use afterwards. She had always hated the tight feeling her skin got after she took a shower. She hated the feeling enough that she stopped at a gift shop and paid way too much for a small bottle of lotion.

She made it to her gait with plenty of time to spare and looked for a seat where she wouldn't be disturbed. Suddenly she was tired, she wanted to be at home on her couch with the small television sitting in front of it with a big bowl of popcorn and a cup of hot chocolate. What she really wished for was for someone to talk to, someone other than Patrick, she needed someone completely impartial but she knew no one. Her sisters were out of the question; they had their own dramas going on and would more than likely try to pull her into it.

All of the family drama was part of the reason that she moved away that and she hated the winters. She felt a tingle at the back of her neck and knew what that meant, a migraine was on the way and if she didn't do something soon it would be out of control. She dug through her bag until she found the bottle of generic brand over the counter migraine medicine that she always carried with her. Not wanting to lose her seat, Kevyn took the pills dry and closed her eyes. They hadn't been closed for long when she felt like she was being stared at. She opened her eyes to see a man sitting across from her watching her with a slight smile on his face.

"Lovely" she thought to herself as the man continued to openly stare at her. As much as she hated to give up her seat she gathered her things to move.

"Please don't leave on my account." he said with an accent that sounded Scottish.

The whole thing reminded her too much of Stuart Brinkman and she wanted nothing to do with this man any more than she had him.

"It isn't often that I see such a beautiful woman...."

"Look, let me stop you right there." she snapped, "I'm sure that you're very nice but I'm not interested, I have a boyfriend."

"Then he is a very lucky man and I really didn't mean to upset you." he said, "I just appreciate beauty that is outside of what is normally considered beautiful." he added with a smile.

"There you are!" a woman called to the man, "I've been looking all over for you."

"I was just talking with this beautiful woman who informs me that she is spoken for."

The woman rolled her eyes, "Come on our plane is boarding."

Kevyn breathed a sigh of relief when the couple was gone. She put her backpack on the seat next to her hoping to discourage anyone from sitting there. By the time she was on the plane her headache was nothing more than a dull throb. Her next prayer was that whoever she sat next to wasn't a talker but maybe that would be for the best. If the person was a chatter box, it would help her keep her mind off of Patrick and the family drama that she would be facing when she got home.

Luck was and wasn't with her. She didn't get one chatter box but two, one on either side of her, she offered to exchange seats with the woman sitting by the aisle but she declined.

"Thank you dear but I have to be able to get up to go to the bathroom in a hurry."

Kevyn smiled politely as she groaned on the inside and got settled in her seat and took back her desire for someone to chat with. She closed her eyes and hoped that the woman on either side of her would leave her alone but the problem was that they talked around her.

"Why don't I sit by the window and you two can visit more easily?" She asked hoping that the woman would agree.

"Are you sure that you don't mind?" the woman asked.

"Not at all." Kevyn said eagerly and traded seats with the woman.

She managed to fall asleep and didn't wake up until they were about to land. She waited until the plane was almost empty before getting off. She walked through the airport to get to baggage claim and then to look for a cab. Normally she would have taken the bus but she was too tired and irritable to wait. On the way to her mother's house she called her sister Juliet.

"Kevyn? Where have you been? We've been trying to call you!"

"I'm here in Pittsburgh, what's going on?"

"Mom's in the hospital."

"What happened?" Kevyn asked.

"I went over to check on her since Louise was at work and she didn't answer the door or the phone when I called. I used my key and went in and found her on the floor."

Kevyn closed her eyes; the headache was coming back with a vengeance. It was turning out to be a good thing that she came after all even though part of the reason had been to get away from Patrick.

"Is everyone else there?" Kevyn asked.

"Yes.... They don't think that she's going to make it something about a subdural hematoma."

"Is she on a vent?"

"For now, we're waiting for you to get here." Juliet replied.

Kevyn knew what that meant, it meant the same thing three years ago when their father died, she was expected to make all of the decisions and then deal with the fallout if the decision made was one that wasn't liked. After the funeral she had to take a couple of her mother's xanax just so she could relax and go to sleep. To add to the stress as the oldest she was expected to speak on behalf of the family and if their mother died she would be expected to do it again as well as make the decision about the life support.

Tears prickled her eyes as she began to mentally plan what needed to be done. The house would go to Louise, it was only fair since she lived there and took care of their mother although Kevyn sent money every payday. Then there would be the matter of going through her things and....