This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “Proof of Life”.  No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.

Full Length Of The River

©2008 by: Darrin

Chapter Nine

It wasn’t the screaming that woke Terry up, it was the sudden loss of Stephanie in his arms that brought him to immediate wakefulness.  The scream was a nano-second after that but he was already on his feet and quickly striding to the corner of the room Stephanie had scrambled to as she began screaming.  She was wordlessly trying to ward off an attack, screaming and covering her head with her arms.  He tried to grab hold of her hands, but she fought him, making it difficult to get her to calm down.  Finally he tried calling out to her over her screams, hoping that hearing her name would cut through her terror.

“Steph!  Stephanie Jasper!  Stephanie!”  As he called to her he struggled to catch at least one of her hands in his, finally getting a strong purchase and pulling her to him, almost getting a foot in his crotch for his trouble.

“Please no!” she cried out as her body was pressed against his, his arms finally gaining control of her so he could talk to her more directly.

“Stephanie, it’s a dream, luv.  Just a dream.  Not real.  You’re here with me, with Terry, remember?  No one can hurt you.”  His voice, whispered calmly in her ear, finally penetrated her nightmare and she collapsed against him, crying.  As he held her, feeling her arms and legs wrap around him, he kept whispering to her calmly, telling her it wasn’t real, that it was all over.

“B-but I f-feel them.  I feel th-them on m-me still.”

Terry kissed her earlobe gently and caressed her back.  “I know, sweetheart.”  Then a thought occurred to him.  Keeping her close, he stood up and walked to the bathroom with her in his arms.  “Come on, we’re gonna take a shower.  Get you all clean, that’ll help, I reckon.”

He had no idea what he was going to do to make this happen and not scare her further and just hoped whatever it turned out to be was the right thing or close to it.  He helped her remove her pajamas, stripping his singlet off and starting the water.  When it was a good temperature, he turned her around, removing her bandages and then back again for the ones on her breasts and though she was completely exposed to him, she let him continue.  Then he stepped into the shower and helped her in beside him.  She did not acknowledge that he’d kept his shorts on at all.  Just complied with everything he had her do.

Terry handed her a flannel and the soap.  “Okay, luv.  I’m right here.  Just take care not to touch your wounds and I’ll help with anything you can’t reach.”

Stephanie slowly began soaping up the cloth and started with her arms.  Terry caught up her hair in his hands and held it away from her back, wondering if any sheila he’d ever brought back to his place had left a clip.  The trouble with being anal… I’ve never kept anything they’ve left! he thought to himself, smiling.

After her arms were thoroughly clean, she moved to her abdomen, carefully avoiding the burns on her breasts.  Then washed lower, scrubbing purposefully both front and back.  Terry busied himself thinking of cricket stats.  Steph then finished with her legs and feet, moving under the water to rinse.  Terry took the flannel from her then and gently washed her back as best he could between the welts.  He lowered the water pressure to a gentle rain and rinsed her back off as she held her hair.  Then they both got out and dried off, Stephanie wrapping a towel around her.

“You feel better, luv?”

She thought for a moment then sighed, a small smile lifting up the corners of her mouth.  “Yes.  Th-they aren’t clinging to m-me as m-much.”

“Goodo.  We’ll get them gone completely, soon enough.”

Terry stepped into his bedroom to change his shorts for dry ones and put on another singlet, catching her watching him in his peripheral vision.  Well, she had every right to see him, he’d seen her, after all.  He just hoped he’d managed to keep his thickening cock from her vision.  She didn’t need to know that his body was reacting to her even in her vulnerable state.

Then they returned to her room where Terry replaced her bandages and then once she’d put her pajamas back on, handed her a brush for her hair.  She sat on the edge of her bed absently brushing out her hair as she watched him put everything away.

“T?” she said, her voice so soft he almost didn’t hear her.

“Yeah, luv?”

“Y-you… you…”  She ducked her head down and he saw her blush a deep crimson red as she had in the restaurant earlier.  He waited, not sure at all what she was going to say.  “Y-you d-didn’t… you d-didn’t take all y-your clothes off,” she finally managed to get out.

He smiled at her and caressed her cheek.  Damn, she must have seen.  “No, luv.  I didn’t,” he replied simply.  Don’t elaborate, just answer what she asks, leave it be, he thought.

Stephanie just smiled.  “Okay,” she said softly.  Then she stared into his eyes, though it seemed like she wasn’t actually seeing him.  “Why… why n-not?” she finally added.

She’s keeping me honest.  “Because it wouldn’t have been appropriate, luv.”

“Okay,” she repeated, the wheels still turning.  “I-I don’t think I-I’ve ever… I mean, I d-don’t remember ever sh-showering with anyone.”

“You probably did, baby girl.  You’ll remember soon and then you’ll know.”  Redundancy, the gift of negotiations.  He wanted to laugh at himself.

“I can t-trust you,” she stated, but he thought he heard a hint of a question in there.

He tipped her chin up and waited until she was really looking into his eyes.  “Yes, you can,” he said, rubbing his thumb against her cheek.  That got him another smile.  A smile with… was that actually a mischievous twinkle?  A twinkle he’d seen in many a sheila’s eyes.  The one that said they knew something he didn’t.  Most blokes he talked to hated that twinkle.  Terry loved it.  If you treated a sheila the right way, that twinkle was always a good omen of delightful things to come.  He grinned back at her and there was a moment that spun out for both of them.  Terry couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but he was thinking of a shower hopefully in the near future.  One that didn’t end until she’d cried out his name a dozen times.

But then her eyes grew haunted and he could tell she’d suddenly remembered why they were sitting there at two o’clock in the morning.  She sighed heavily.  “I-I don’t want th-these nightmares.”

“I know, luv.  They’ll go away.  Your mind’s just gotta catch up to where your body is.”

Stephanie looked up at him, with a look that said she needed it to be that simple.  “Soon, I h-hope.”

“Soon would be good.  You deserve a good night’s sleep and a decent rest without drugs.  But we’ll get all the prescriptions filled tomorrow and if you want to, I’m pretty sure there’s something to help you sleep in there.”

“I don’t like f-feeling so groggy th-though.”

“No worries, luv.  We’ll get through the nightmares without them, if that’s what you want.”

Stephanie nodded and laid back down.  Terry joined her, holding her to him again.  He wondered which of them would miss him holding her the most when she was able to sleep on her own.

The rest of the night passed mostly uneventfully, though since she hadn’t taken anything as she had in the hospital, Stephanie did wake a few times, but Terry managed to calm her down each time before she started screaming.  He hoped that meant that her subconscious was beginning to realize the real nightmare was over.

When they woke in the morning to the smell of coffee and bacon, Terry grinned and then realized he was in his favourite position again and that this time Stephanie was awake as well.  Terry had the presence of mind not to let go of her quickly, despite how fast he could feel her heart beating, rather easing his hand to a more appropriate position and kissing her temple.

“Sorry, luv,” he whispered.  Stephanie didn’t reply just turned in his arms, letting him see her eyes.  They were bewildered but not scared.  He smiled down at her and she nodded.  Terry thought maybe she was also beginning to remember she was a woman and not an object to be used.  He hoped that was true, anyway.

“Maggie’s here, makin’ brekkie.  She makes a fair dinkum plate of eggs, luv.  You’ll like her.  She’s been my housekeeper for ages.”

They got up and Terry took Steph’s hand, leading her out to the kitchen to introduce her to his “second mum”.  Maggie greeted Stephanie warmly and Terry was impressed to see that Stephanie liked her immediately.  She even took over setting the table when Maggie began it.  Terry and Stephanie ate while Maggie bustled about taking care of Terry’s flat, chatting with Stephanie as if they were old friends whenever she was near.

While Stephanie and Maggie were sitting in the kitchen together, Terry took the opportunity to head off for a shower.  Stephanie tightened briefly, a quick panic passing over her face, but Maggie patted her hand and told her not to fret, she’d stay right there until Terence returned.  Terry always loved that Maggie called him by his formal name, her compromise to his insistence she not call him “Mr Thorne”.  He kissed Steph’s temple, a gesture that was now causing her to blush when he did it and with an exchanged smile, he headed off to his en suite bathroom, closing both his bedroom door and the bathroom’s.

Under the hot water, leaning against the wall with two hands, his head lowered, he breathed deeply, slowly allowing the tension to leave his body.  With this though, came the thoughts he’d been shutting down rapidly for days now.  Thoughts he had no business thinking… at least not yet.  He tried going over the itinerary he’d set up in his head the night before when it’d occurred to him after their impromptu shower that Steph’s new doctor would probably schedule her for a D&C and the complications that would entail.  He’d laid out a preliminary schedule in his head of getting everything medical as out of the way as possible so that when they began seeing Ben’s colleague, they could just concentrate on that.

But try as he might, he knew what he’d rather be thinking about and what he’d been vacillating about was now becoming inevitable.  His naked body was relaxed, his mind at ease and before he really gave himself a chance to think about it, he was lost in pleasant thoughts of holding Stephanie, both of them naked, her legs wrapped around his torso, his cock thick and at the ready, wetting himself against her, watching her eyes as they closed against the sensations he would give her, showing her how a man should treat a woman, bringing her up, up, up, teetering on the edge of climax… And his hand wrapped itself around his length and he began stroking rhythmically, his head dropping back to let the water rain down his chest, lubricating his action as the trails made their way down his chest and stomach, following the angular fur beneath his belly button to where his cock was now raised up in his hand, head full and a dark red as his movements grew faster.

In his mind’s eye, he watched Stephanie arch back, moving with him, demanding more and more from him and with each climax that poured through her body, he could feel himself being crushed inside her soft, wet, heated passageway where he was cocooned, being driven wild with desire.  A desire to come inside her, spurting his seed deep into her womb, and then coming as he desired, pulsing again and again until he’d think he couldn’t stop… And as he pictured himself thrusting into her, he came with a guttural groan while he stood there, under the shower, one hand against the shower wall, the other working his length until he’d shot his last, the falling water washing away his deed as he calmed down, breath slowing and the inevitable “Oh, well,” grin spreading across his face.

Chuckling a little at the act, one he hadn’t done for quite some time, he rinsed off then washed his hair and body, a little surprised at how good he felt.

He finished his morning routine and rejoined Stephanie and Maggie in the kitchen, finding Dino had arrived with donuts.  Terry groaned inwardly, knowing what was coming.  When Dino laughed out loud, Terry gave him an arched ‘brow but didn’t have a leg to stand on – he was certain Dino would have had a field day with that particular phrase if he’d said it out loud..  The two women looked from the men to each other, mystified and for that Terry was supremely grateful.

Now it was Stephanie’s turn to get ready and Maggie volunteered to “help”.  Stephanie accepted immediately and Terry grinned at her then Dino once she and Maggie disappeared down the hall.

“Cutting the apron strings, hermano?”

“Seem to be,” Terry replied.

“How’d she sleep last night?”

“We got through the night okay.  She doesn’t want to take any sleep meds so there’s gonna be a few more nights like last night, but I reckon once she starts seein’ the bloke Ben recommended, they’ll get under control.”

“Or she could have worse ones.”

“Or she could have worse ones, yeah.  One step at a time, mate.”

“Yeah, I know.  I’m gonna head out to the office then, call if you need anything.”

“Yeah, mate, you too.  When we go out, I’ll bring the laptop, just in case.”

“Good deal.”  And with that, Dino was gone.

Terry hooked himself a donut and another cup of coffee and started making phone calls.  By the time Maggie and Stephanie emerged, Steph wearing another Dino-chosen outfit replete with ribbon and hair still damp from another shower, Terry had gotten a referral from his doctor for a new one Stephanie would see as well as contacted Dan Gennero, Doc Forsythe’s colleague and set up appointments with both.  Terry remembered Maggie had been a nurse before she retired and took up housekeeping and that explained how the bandages had been taken care of so Steph could shower and on the heels of that realized she’d done so with no one in the shower but her.  Certainly Maggie had sat with her, but she’d managed alone just the same.  That made him smile.  She was taking great strides today.

She looked so sweetly and innocently beautiful, Terry found himself forgetting to breathe.  Just a young girl in jeans and a blouse, smile on her face.  Except for the bruises and a few other marks, she was just a sweet young sheila, ready to take on the world.

Terry hoped that would be completely true someday soon.

“Okie dokie, luv.  You look like you’re ready to have some fun today,” Terry said as he replaced the phone in the cradle.

Stephanie smiled, a really honest smile that made Terry proud.  “I told Maggie about my presents and she said I should write in the book.  I don’t know what to write in there though.”

Terry beamed at Maggie who tipped him a wink.  He took Steph’s hands in his and kissed her cheek.  “You’ll think of something, I’m sure,” was all he said but inside he was doing cartwheels over how clear and normal her speech was and how her eyes were beginning to clear.  He hoped he could afford to double Maggie’s salary.  “Well, I’ve got an appointment this arvo with your new doctor and tomorrow we see the other bloke Doc Ben told us about.  But right now, I think it’s time for a walk down to the chemist shop and fetch your prescriptions and maybe find a little place for lunch, whaddaya reckon?”

“Okay,” Stephanie agreed and went to fetch her purse.

Terry stepped over to Maggie and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.  “Whatever you did, luv, I owe you.”

“Oh, it wasn’t nothin’ but girl talk.  You get too serious, Terence.  She’s been through some hellish trauma, to be sure, but she needs normal activities.  Not treated like a china doll.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Terry replied, just happy to see Stephanie’s eyes sparkling a little.  The object of his thoughts stepped out of the hallway, purse in hand.  Huge strides forward today, yes indeed.

“I left him on my bed, Maggie, okay?” she said, much to Terry’s mystification.

“Yes, dear, I’ll make sure he behaves while you’re away then.”

Stephanie took Terry’s hand.  Terry looked to Maggie and she just shook her head, laughing.  “You two have fun now,” was all she said.

As they left the flat, Terry couldn’t contain his curiosity.  “Who’s on your bed then, luv?”

“My teddy bear,” Stephanie replied promptly.  “Maggie said it’d be best to leave him behind and that she’d watch him.”  She turned her face up to Terry, smiling as they entered the elevator.  Terry chuckled and squeezed her hand.

The trip to the pharmacist was a breeze.  Stephanie held onto Terry’s hand tightly and scooted close to him as people walked past, but she seemed a thousand times more confident and happy than Terry had yet seen her.  Once inside, he turned in the prescriptions and was told to return in a couple of hours.  They headed back outside and walked up the street towards Central Park to take a walk and after an hour or so, turned down one of the streets to a small café Terry was fond of for an early lunch.  Stephanie’s appetite had increased mightily with the normal activity and she was as hungry as Terry thought she might be, ordering a huge sandwich and surprising the hell out of Terry by speaking directly to the waitress herself.  He didn’t know if it was some sort of false euphoria or a genuine return of her self-confidence, but he took it, happy to see her so unafraid in comparison to the last couple of days.

He was feeling fairly charged himself and wondered if it had anything to do with the solidarity of returning home, maybe for both of them being here was helping them feel more grounded.  Could even be subconscious in Steph’s case and Terry hoped that meant a return of her memories.  He made a mental note to call her employer tomorrow after talking to Doc Gennero.  He didn’t want to take her down that road until he’d cleared it though.

After lunch, Terry hailed a cab to take them to the doctor’s office.  Her name was Doctor Amelia Daniels and his doc had told Terry she’d been a practicing physician for twenty years and felt she would be perfect to help put Stephanie at ease for the somewhat invasive procedures still left in Steph’s recovery.  Terry had called Bass in California to have Steph’s medical records faxed over to Dr Daniels after speaking with her on the phone this morning.  He’d liked her matter-of-fact way of speaking immensely and hoped Stephanie would like her in the same way she’d taken to Maggie.

In the waiting room, however, Stephanie became nervous, clinging to Terry as he completed the forms as best he could.  When he heard a small whimper from her, he stopped what he was doing and turned to her, surprised to find her on the verge of tears.

“What’s the matter, luv?  Are you hurt?”

“Sc-scared.”

“Oh… sweetheart, don’t be!”  Terry pulled her onto his lap and held her close.  “There’s nothing to be scared of at all.  Dr Daniels comes highly recommended.  She’s going to make sure you’re okay, you want that, right?  Feel better, get rid of that feeling of them ‘on you’ like you told me last night?”

Stephanie nodded against his shoulder where she’d buried her head but Terry could feel her trembling in his arms.  Remembering what Maggie had said about not treating her like a china doll, he steeled himself against wanting to protect her from anything that scared her and instead, shh’d her gently, letting her come to terms with the fact that the visit was taking place and she had to be there.

A short while later, Stephanie was still shaking in his arms when her name was called.  Terry got her onto her feet and taking her hand firmly in his, led her back to where the nurse, whose name tag read, “Rebecca”, stood at the door.  She smiled at Terry and nodded, acknowledging that Stephanie was not wanting to be there at all.

“Stephanie, I’m Becky and I just need to get some information before the doctor sees you, okay?  Just take your shoes off and step up on this scale first.”  Stephanie toed her sandals off and stepped up but wouldn’t let go of Terry’s hand.  “Can you let go, just for a couple of seconds?  We don’t need Mr Thorne’s weight.”  Becky grinned at her with a kind look on her face and Stephanie reluctantly let go.  When Becky told her she could step down, Steph grabbed Terry’s hand as if he was a life preserver and pushed her feet back into her sandals.  Becky then lead them to a room and had Stephanie sit up on the exam table while she took her blood pressure and temperature.  “And when was your last period, honey?  Do you remember?”

Stephanie looked to Terry and he could see she was growing pale.  Watching her closely, getting concerned now, he answered for her.  “About a week ago, we think.”

“Okay, that’s good enough.  I need you to change into this gown and Dr Daniels will be in shortly.  Won’t be long.”

As soon as Becky closed the door, Stephanie fairly flew into Terry’s arms and clung to him.  “I d-don’t want t-to be h-here, T!” she sobbed against his neck.

“Steph, luv, what’s the matter?  You have to tell me why you’re so scared so I can fix it!”

“I-I d-don’t know!”

Terry held her, rubbing her back gently.  “Shh, baby girl, it’s okay.  I’m not going to let anything or anyone hurt you.  My doctor recommended Dr Daniels.  She’s not going to harm you, I promise.  But we need to take care of you, we don’t know what all happened to you at the camp and we need to make sure you’re okay.  This is the only way I can make that happen.”

“O-o-o-k-kay,” Stephanie whimpered, now shaking so bad, Terry knew she was in a full blown panic.  Something was coming back to her, that’s the only thing that made sense.  This was like in the wash room at the hospital, only it felt worse.  With a lot of coaxing he managed to get her out of her clothes and into the gown and they sat down again, Stephanie clinging to Terry desperately.

When Dr Daniels opened the door, Stephanie screamed and grabbed Terry so hard, he felt his shirt rip.  He tried hanging onto her but she maneuvered herself behind him, trying to get away from the doctor as much as she could, pressing her body against the wall as if she hoped to climb through it.

“No, no, no, no, please!  No, don’t hurt me, don’t make me go there, you did it, you sent me, you knew what they were going to do, you made it happen, no, no, no, no…!”

“Oh my God,” Terry whispered and pulled her back onto his lap forcefully as Stephanie fought him.  “Steph, no!  This is NOT that person.  Look, look at her.  This is Dr Daniels, you’ve never met her before.  Look, Steph, come on, sweetheart, look and see, it’s just a memory, just a memory, not what’s happening now.”

Dr Daniels stood there calmly and Terry had a second to think that she must be thinking Stephanie was insane, but the look on her face was full understanding and while she didn’t try to insert herself into the situation, she did remain to allow Terry to help Stephanie through whatever she was remembering.  Stephanie kept struggling against Terry but when he sat her firmly on his lap and held her hands down and saying very firmly, “Stephanie, LOOK!” she opened her eyes and saw the doctor standing there.  A long moment spun out as Terry waited for her reaction.

“N-n-n-not h-h-him,” she said at last.

“No, baby girl.  Dr Daniels.  Not who you’re remembering.  See?”

Stephanie nodded and huddled against Terry, slowly calming down.  Dr Daniels stepped further into the room and sat on the wheeled stool near the exam table.

“Well, that’s not the normal way I meet new patients,” she said softly, smiling kindly at Terry.

“Sorry, doc, we’re still getting used to all this.”

“Not a problem at all.  You feeling better now, Stephanie?”

Stephanie nodded and began whispering to Terry.  “It w-was the ship’s d-doctor. He t-told m-me to g-go for a m-midnight swim, s-said I’d e-enjoy it, s-said m-make sure I w-went alone.”

“Okay, luv.  Let me call the FBI and tell them what you’ve remembered.  No, I’m not leaving,” he added quickly when she grabbed hold of his shirt again, ripping it further.  “Just gotta still let Dr Daniels examine you, okay?  Be brave for me now?”

Stephanie looked dubiously at the doctor and after a few minutes, slowly released her hold on Terry and slid off his lap then got up on the table as Terry helped her.  He got his phone out while the doc had Stephanie lie down.  He kept hold of her hand while Dr Daniels ran through some preliminary exam procedures, checking her burns and the welts on her back, making sure Stephanie wasn’t experiencing any unusual pain anywhere.  She spoke softly to Stephanie, gently easing her through each step, Terry was glad to see.

He got the FBI agent’s voice mail and left the information he’d just found out.  Then turned his full attention to Stephanie.  It was time for the very difficult part.

“One step at a time, luv,” he whispered and helped her get her feet into the stirrups, slide down the table and then stood at the top of the table, staring into her eyes and smiling as he whispered to her softly.  “Doin’ so well, sweetheart.  So proud of you.”  Tears slid slowly from Steph’s eyes and her grip on his hands tightened as the doctor performed a thorough pelvic exam.  “Shh, baby girl.  It’s all to make you better.  I’ve got you and I’m not letting go.  Just relax, it’ll be over soon.”  Stephanie nodded up to him, he could see she was still too tense for it not to be hurting her, so he leant down and whispered into her ear just for her to hear.  “Shh, sweetheart, just think about me holding you, think about all the fun things we’re gonna do together now that we’re home and no one can touch us, just you and me, luv, that’s all that matters.”  He wasn’t entirely sure what he meant but it seemed to work, she started breathing easier and her hold on him wasn’t so tight.  He kissed her temple, her ear, her cheek, taking her tears from her with his kisses.

At last Dr Daniels finished, standing up and smiling at them both.  “All finished, you can sit up now.  We’ll run some more tests to confirm what Dr Sebastian in California concluded, but everything seems to be healing well.  Just continue with the meds he prescribed.  I do want to schedule a D&C but other than that I think everything will be right as rain in a week or two.  And don’t worry, Steph, I’ll make sure they know to put you under for the procedure and I’ll be performing it myself.  Let’s schedule it for the day after tomorrow.  You’ll most likely still have some discomfort the next time you have your period, but then everything should be normal after that.  You can get dressed now and see the nurse on the way out for details on the procedure.  Do you have any questions for me?”

Stephanie shook her head but Terry said, “So everything will be…uh… normal?”  How the hell do you ask THAT question?! he thought to himself, hoping the doc knew what the hell he was really asking.

“Physically, yes,” she answered, smiling.

“No worries,” Terry replied.

“Very good, then,” the doctor answered.  “I’ll see you in two days, Stephanie.  Take care, okay?”

Steph nodded and the doctor left.  Terry helped her get dressed again and then in the waiting room, got the information they’d need for the hospital visit.  Then they were back in the sunshine, walking slowly up the sidewalk as Terry watched for a cab.  On the way back to his flat, Steph crawled onto his lap.  When they got to his place, he took her into his living room, stretched out on his lounger and held her as she cried.

The switch from this morning was hard to take and Terry held her for an hour or more before she truly calmed down.  As they sat there together, she gave him some more details and then there was silence, broken only by Steph’s occasional sobs.  Finally she spoke.

“T… The m-man tomorrow… H-he’s gonna make th-this b-better, right?  He’ll make it s-so I’m just a r-regular g-girl who you c-can hold and isn’t s-scared when you t-touch me?  Even th-though I know it’s o-okay that y-you do and… and part of m-me wants y-you to s-so much… I g-get scared and you m-must get frustrated and w-won’t w-want to d-do it anym-more…”

Terry lifted her up and pushed the chair into a sitting position.  He held her face in his hands and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, taking her tears away.  “Stephanie.  Listen to me.  You don’t have to think about that.  I’m going to wait for you for however long it takes but you don’t have to worry about it at all.  I want to wait.  I want to see you get better, help you get better and be there for you through all of this.  That’s my job.  Yours is to get better.  That’s all.  Okay?”

Stephanie stared into his eyes and he saw the desperate need to believe him.

“Yes, luv, you can believe me.  I’ll never lie to you.  Especially not about this.”  He pulled her closer and kissed her lips gently.  “You’re important to me and I’m going to take care of you, just like I said I would from the beginning.”

Stephanie reached up slowly and caressed his lips softly with her thumb.  “Okay,” she whispered back.  And Terry could see in her eyes she had accepted the truth of what he said.  He sighed and smiled at her.

“Good,” he answered.  “Now, we’ve got the rest of the afternoon and evening left to us.  Should we call Dino and see if he wants to come over for dinner and a movie?  Then he can bring your prescriptions and we can play a game while we wait for him.  You could even write in your journal some too, if you like.”

Steph smiled and nodded.  Terry pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number, getting Dino on the line.  “Dino, the Princess requests your attendance for movie night.  Bring beer.”  Dino laughed on the other end of the line.  They worked out the details and Terry asked him to stop at the chemist’s too.  Then he got Stephanie set up in her room to write in her journal.

Terry stretched out on her bed and watched her.  She sat with the pen hovering over the page for a long while and then began writing, slowly at first but as he closed his eyes he heard the pen moving across the paper faster and faster.

He dozed, smiling.  His sheila was starting the process of healing.

Chapter Ten