Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Forty, Sit with Me
Rating: NC-17 [violence, swearing, nudity, sexual situations]

Summary: Chris and Alyssa have a brief, yet needed, conversation

Previous Chapter Paradise Sunset

Current Chapter Sit with Me

Next Chapter Lost Like a Prayer

Before Chris could move around the car, open the door, and help her out, Alyssa was out. Crouching, she opened her arms as Toni ran out of the house, giggling towards her. Embracing the girl, she kissed her loudly and spun her around.

"How is my favourite girl!?" Alyssa grinned.

"Good! Better with Lyss-Lyss!" Toni declared. "Lyss-Lyss sad?"

She didn't even frown, "No. Not too much now. Your daddy won't let me be sad."

"Good!" the little girl exclaimed again. "I miss Lyss-Lyss."

"I missed you too," she kissed the little girl again. "Where you good?"

"Yes! But Nick not," her bottom lip pouted out.

"What did Nick do?"

"He falled-ded and hurt his head," Toni replied.

Alyssa's eyes left the girl for the moment, darting to where Chris was talking with his brother while looking at the bandage on his son's forehead.

"He looks okay," she stated.

"He bleed-ded," she claimed.

"I'm sure he did. But he looks okay," Alyssa repeated, before moving to join Chris and Peter.

"Mom freaked out a little bit," Peter rolled his eyes. "Didn't think I could handle your kids for two weeks. Needless to say, she was here most of the time."

Chris chuckled, shaking his head, "She means well."

"Yeah, I know. But still...."

"You don't have to leave for New York right away, do you?" Alyssa asked, shifting Toni to her hip, so Chris could lean over and kiss her.

"Nah," Peter replied. "Figured I would hang out a day or so, let you guys get over your jet lag."

"Stay longer. We'll need help moving," Chris stated, smiling as Nick reached for Alyssa.

"Where to?"

"Well if Alyssa had her choice back to Seattle," he teased. "I have an appointment with a realtor tomorrow."

Peter frowned, "Planning to move and keep me around but you don't have a place to move to yet?"

"Pretty much," Chris replied, pulling Toni from Alyssa's arms as Nick played with her hair.



She hated looking at houses. Well that wasn't entirely true. Looking at houses wasn't all that bad. Chris worrying over her was. He didn't think she should be walking around that much, carrying one of the kids, stressing herself that much.

At the end of the second day, Alyssa had it.

After seeing the kids to bed, she summoned Chris out to the cottage in the back. Her soul pined some setting foot in the building that was supposed to belong to her father, but she swallowed that rather quickly.

The cottage was still unfurnished. All that existed in it were two chairs Alyssa had pulled there earlier. And they weren't even inside chairs, but rather two chairs from the patio.

Entering the cottage, Chris's green eyes flicked to the chairs and then to Alyssa leaned against the wall, "Lyss... what's going on?"

"Sit."

"Lyssa?" caution shown in his voice.

"Sit."

Hearing the edge in her voice, Chris complied, eyes still very much focused on her, "What's going on, baby?"

"I'm tired."

"Then let's go up to bed," he replied, moving to stand again.

"Not that kind of tired," she retorted. "I'm tired of you treating me like an invalid. Sure we had a minor stumble on vacation, but it was a minor stumble. I've seen all of your Western doctors and all of my Eastern doctors. They all say that I'm perfectly fine. They all attribute what happened in Anguilla to my body just re-adapting to something it hadn't done for some time. I'm fine."

"Alyssa—"

"I'm not done yet," Alyssa cut him off. "The bank incident happened months ago, Chris. I don't blame you for it. I don't blame me for it. It was those fuckers who have decades in jail to think about what they did to me and everyone else in that bank. You are not reponsible for what happened, Christopher. You need to let go of that guilt. I am fine."

"But—"

"In fact I'm in better health now than I have been. Working with the monks has not only centred me more, but my body is in better tone than before," she claimed. "And I'm happy. Yes I realize my father died a little over a month ago. But I'm happy because of you, because of Toni, because of Nick. I'm not just content. I'm happy, Chris."

"I'm glad yo—"

"I need you to relax. I need us to relax. I need to not feel like if I stub my toe you're going to take me to the hospital. I need you to relax," she stated. "I love you. I do. From the very depth of my soul. But I cannot be with you if you can't relax."

Sighing, Chris rubbed his face, "I'm sorry, Alyssa. I... I just felt so helpless with you in the hospital. And then when your father died.... that feeling returned. I love you so much. I cannot bear to see you in pain."

She moved to sit in the chair in front of him, "Pain is a part of life. We both know that. We've both felt it so very much in our lives. But, my love, you cannot shelter me from life. Love me. Love me with all your heart and that's all I need."

He reached for her hands, holding each in his, "I.... I'm sorry, Alyssa. I didn't know I was... smothering you."

Raising his hands to her mouth, Alyssa kissed them, "I know, Chris. And I know you did it out of love for me. I understand that. But we're getting married in about nine weeks. Things like this need to be cleared before we make that final commitment. Because it is certainly a final commitment to me. I'm never ever walking away from you. Even if you drive me insane."

He smiled slightly at that, "I love you, Lyss. I truly, deeply do. With all my heart."

"Good," she smiled. "Because there's something else we need to do."

"What?" concern touched his eyes.

Alyssa released on hand and stood, pulling him towards the single bathroom in the cottage, "We need to take a pregnancy test."