Aislynn

"Yeah," he agreed, confused.

She smiled and went to the door, unlocking it and leaving.

The next day, she didn't hesitate when he sent for her, she locked the door as she came in. He gave her an amused smirk as he stood up and came around his desk. "I looked into a few things, Aislynn," he told her, sitting down in her chair. She climbed right into his lap and he let her, holding her close. "You were right. About the will. I asked about it and she said that was indeed a stipulation. I told Sheila and she wasn't happy, but she agreed with me. It wasn't fair to lock me into a lifetime with no love. She agreed to get it annulled and she has a friend she is talking to about marrying. A guy friend who is in the same situation she is in, he can't come out. She thinks that will work better for her and him both and it will be more fair to me in the long run since she doesn't want children. The paperwork is being filed today."

"Good," she sighed happily, laying against his chest.

"Dunmar said you went to bed last night and fell asleep without your meds? And you didn't wake until this morning? No bad dreams?"

"I did, and no bad dreams. A few good ones... all of you."

He smiled and stroked her face gently. "You understand that something like this doesn't just disappear overnight?"

"Not usually, no... but this time it did. It was just waiting for you to show up."

"And you understand that that is... not feasible?"

"I do. There's a lot that is off about all of it, even the timeline. I was 32 when we met, but by that logic, you should already have Dani and you don't. Her grandmother is still alive. Sheila's I mean. Our age difference is larger than it was. Also... in my dream, I couldn't have kids, but no doctor has ever said I couldn't. I was just always afraid I wouldn't be able to. I also know that we have to move to Missouri, you and I. I even know where. A cute little house at first until we have Dani and Mikki."

"And you are so sure you will have girls? Two of them?" he asked, laughing.

"Yes, and they will be beautiful and perfect. Six years apart. There is a library that will be hiring when we move there and you will have a job nearby too."

"And what else does Zoltar say?"

"You joke, but I can feel how calm you are. I know you know I am serious. I also know that you are ready to walk out that door with me, but that's not what I want. I will stay a while longer until you see. Until everyone sees that I am fine to go. No one will know about us until we move away together and they meet us as a couple. Everyone here will think you cured me and moved on, because that's exactly what you did, Lee. it's what we are doing for each other. Somehow, across time and in my mind, we made a connection and it brought us together in reality. You fixed me in there and now we are here. It should make no sense, but it does. You are right about one thing though. We can fool around all we want, but we can't have sex again until I am out of here. The next time you come inside me, I will get pregnant and they test all the women here once a month. It can't get out that you and I are together. You can come on my face all you want, though."

He let out a low chuckle. "Every part of my brain is telling me that this is all insane," he whispered. "But the entire rest of my body tells me that you are right. No. My heart isn't just telling me, it's been screaming at me since the moment I laid eyes on you. And you are just so fucking certain. Your whole world is right as rain and you are absolutely fine, all because I am here now. You can't imagine how that makes a guy feel."

"I am hoping it makes him feel like a Master with a dirty little whore he can use," she answered, pulling his hand up to suck on his fingers.

He smirked and took her down to the floor.

A week later, her father was brought into a room with her, along with Lee and two orderlies. For the past year, just seeing her father triggered Cutter appearing to come after her. It always caused an episode and a relapse. This time, she just hugged her father and smiled and talked to him. She did the same the next week and the week after.

Finally, after a month, she sat down with a board and they asked her questions.

"Miss Carmichael, where is David Mason right now? The man you refer to as Cutter?" One asked her.

"He is dead."

"And how did he die?"

"I don't know," she smiled. "He was found dead, along with some of his business associates when I was seven or eight."

"You no longer see him coming after you?"

"No. Dr McGuffey helped me see that he is dead and he can't come after me anymore. I was just afraid of a ghost."

"And you have not seen Cutter or had any flashbacks in how long?"

"Not since my third or fourth session with Dr McGuffey."

"What did he do differently to convince you than Dr Laken did?"

"I was a person to him, not a patient. I wasn't a name on a page with a diagnosis and a procedure to follow. I was unique and he treated me that way."

"What are your plans now, Miss Carmichael?"

"I want to find a job at a library where I can work with kids. My two greatest loves, books and children. Opening minds and helping them grow and stay open."

"And what will you do if Cutter comes back?" another man asked.

"I will seek treatment immediately. I know he is dead and gone and I know he will never come back. I can move on with my life now without being afraid. That is all I want."

They let her leave with the promise that she would continue to see a doctor twice a week for the next month and once a week for the next six after that.

Lee didn't even hesitate, he moved her to a cute little house she showed him in Missouri with vintage appliances and an eclectic decor. She got a job at the library right away and within a month she was pregnant.

By the time Dani was 2, Lee's work had taken off and he became a specialist and in high demand. He moved them to a larger house closer to the library and made his office out of his home. When Dani was 6, Aislynn had another little girl and Lee was still in awe of Aislynn and everything she told him coming to pass. What neither of them expected was the third little girl when Mikki was 2 and the little boy a year after that.

Cutter never bothered her again, though she did think of him sometimes. Not the man who had terrified her as a 7 year old, but the one who had kidnapped her and was so incredibly confused and inept. The one who always treated her like a child and like she couldn't take care of herself. The one who didn't know how to help her or what to do with her. The man who had been so sorry he had hurt her once and could never fix it.

It wasn't until twenty years later that she had the epiphany. She had gone back home to see her father. He had retired and loved seeing his grandkids and they visited him twice a year. He was getting older and Aislynn knew he was sick and not telling her. He was confessing so many things to her as they sat there in his living room, but the one that really shocked her was when he confessed to never having Cutter and his men killed.

"I didn't have it done, Ace. I wanted to, but they were so powerful... Then they were found and everyone assumed I'd done it. Everyone respected me, I had so many more people coming to the table, I let people think it, but I didn't do it."

She sat there a moment in shock, then realized she had known it.

"I know, Daddy. Cutter killed them. Everyone who was there that night, everyone who hurt me and made him hurt me, then he killed himself. He was a psychopath, but he still couldn't live with what he had done. He hated kids, but he never wanted to hurt one."

"You knew?"

"Part of me did. It was his way of protecting me when they found out you weren't going to work with them. He wasn't going to let them kill me. His final way of protecting me was to send me who I needed to help me."

Lee stared at her, his eyes full of shock. She gave him a sad smile, but knew it was true.