The Most Valuable Gift

"No... he didn't. He wasn't even awake," she whispered.

"What? Why-" Dale gasped.

"The babies. It was the babies we saw the mothers feeding at the beach wasn't it." Rachel continued. Tristan looked up and saw the compassion in the woman's eyes. She nodded.

"Ed... he was passed out on the bed but he was erect. I thought... I thought if I could just... use that, I could get pregnant and have a child." She turned to Dale feeling a sick sense of dread in her stomach. She was expecting to see hate in his eyes or disgust at her betrayal. She wasn't ready to see guilt and shame.

Rachel watched the couple struggling to deal with their emotions and the tragic outcome of their inability to communicate. She and her husband had been the same. She hoped she could use her experience to save these two from heading down the same path she did.

"This is why you needed to talk about this. Dale knew you were desperate to have a child but you wouldn't talk with him about it. You pretended it wasn't important. You lied." She turned to Dale. "Tristan knew you were hurting about not being able to give her a child but you wouldn't talk with her about that. You pretended it wasn't a big issue. You lied." She sighed as both of them seemed so lost sitting next to each other. "Neither of you were honest with the other. Now here we are. My marriage turned into a wreckage because we weren't honest about our expectations and our needs. If we had been we might not have ever gotten married at all and for us that probably would have been the right decision." Rachel said, looking at the two who now almost looked frightened. Time to sink the hook.

"Do you love Dale?" she asked Tristan. The woman gasped and looked at her in shock.

"YES!" she exclaimed.

"Do you love Tristan?" Rachel asked him.

"Yes!" he said softly, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Then start being honest with each other," Rachel said. She stood up. "I'm tired. I'm going back to my room. I want to speak with both of you in the morning about the absent victim in this mess. We won't be down for breakfast until 10:30. I hope to see you both then."

She let herself out, went back to her room, prepared for bed and slipped under the sheets next to Ed. She had no idea how to break the news to him in the morning.

Chapter 9

Ed woke to a level of pain he'd never experienced before. He moaned and the moan felt like an extra spike driven into his head. He croaked as he throttled the moan. That hurt too.

"Edward, take these pain killers." Rachel's soft voice whispered to him. Keeping his eyes closed he felt for the pills and took them from her palm. He dropped them into his mouth and accepted the bottle of water. She helped tilt him up to drink the water and down went the pills.

"Keep drinking the water. All of it," came the gentle whisper.

He dutifully drank until the bottle ran dry. She let him sink back to the bed.

"Edward, what do you remember about yesterday?"

He scanned his mind and realized he couldn't remember much. "I don't- only flashes."

"What was your last clear memory?"

While his memories of the previous day were scattered he got a sense of time from them and he recalled eating lunch. His stomach rebelled. "Lunch. Nothing after. Nothing that makes sense."

"OK, I'm going down for breakfast. I'm leaving you another bottle of water. Try to drink it. I'll return later to check in on you," she said gently.

"Thank you Rachel. You are so good to me!"

A tender kiss brushed his lips and she was gone.

Ed let himself sink back into the bliss of unconsciousness.

-=-

Rachel walked into the restaurant and saw Dale and Tristan sitting side by side, his hand on hers, fingers intertwined. She sighed with relief. This was a very good sign. She approached the table and they both stood though Tristan was moving pretty slowly.

"Please sit down. Silly people!" she scolded them gently.

"Where is Ed?" Dale asked.

"He just woke up and I gave him some pain killers. He won't be joining us." Rachel informed them.

"Does- does he hate me?" Tristan asked quietly.

Rachel looked at the woman and saw the pain in her eyes. She was suffering physically and mentally for her rash decision. "Before we talk about Edward I want to know how you two fared. You're both here and you're holding hands. May I assume you cleared the air?"

Dale beamed a wide smile at her. "I can't thank you enough for cutting through our bullshit last night and making us face the ugly truth. We have been too spooked to be honest with each other and it was poisoning our relationship. I love Tristan more than I ever thought possible. Do I regret her decision from last night? Yes. Do I hold her solely responsible? No. We drove down the road to madness together. I feel better than I have in months."

Tristan raised his hand to her lips and kissed it. She looked into his eyes with love then turned to Rachel. "In the light of a new day I can't believe how desperate I was yesterday and how destroyed I felt when I saw how I'd hurt Dale. I thought I'd lost him! I was sure I'd ruined my chance at happiness with one rash decision. The depth of Dale's love and compassion... I had no idea just how fortunate I was to marry this man! He will be an incredible father!"

Rachel was thrown a little by her last comment. "What are you going to do about making a baby then?" she asked looking at Dale.

"I've already done it." Tristan replied, smiling beatifically. Dale didn't look as sure.

"You only had sex with Edward once. Without medical intervention the odds of getting pregnant are long. It can take a lot of effort to hit that right combination of timing and strong swimmers." Rachel said gently.

"I know it sounds crazy to expect so much so soon but my gut is telling me it worked. I'm at a prime ovulation time. I made sure to use a position noted for its success rate and it wasn't just once."

Dale looked uncomfortable talking about this and Tristan apologized softly to him.

Rachel was more than a little shocked. Making a rash decision would be having sex once. Going for seconds smacked of premeditation.

Seeing her expression closing Tristan rushed ahead. "The second time was unintentional. He was on top of me and so bloody heavy. I tried pushing him off. The movement... must have felt good to him. He started again. Then he called me 'Zoe'."

"Oh my god!" Rachel gasped at Tristan, her eyes widening in shock.

Dale looked at her in surprise. "Ed mentioned her name before. What's the significance?"

Rachel looked between the two unsure if she should answer as it would be uncomfortable for both. She sighed. Honesty works both ways. "You heard Edward say it himself. He's confused about his feelings for Zoe. He's uncomfortable about how he behaves with her. She pushes him well outside his comfort zone." Rachel smiled sadly as she thought of her friend. "Zoe was always drawn to the wrong kind of men. They fulfilled a need of hers but they were all violent sociopaths. Since I've known her she's been beaten badly several times and almost died twice. She's been alone for years. Now with Edward, she's finally found someone safe to express her... particular needs with. He's normally a very gentle lover but with Zoe... he's not."

Tristan closed her eyes as her mind flashed to Ed's grip on her hair, his breath in her ear, and the relentless pounding of his cock, again and again, deep inside her. His strength was overwhelming. He touched her... there.

She yelped as Dale touched her shoulder to bring her out of her daze.

"I'm s-sorry. My mind... wandered," she stuttered as her face flushed.

"You know Ed would never have done that- any of it, if he knew it was you." Rachel said sympathetically.

Dale was a little red faced himself. He cleared his throat. "Which brings us back to the question of Ed. What do we say to him?"

"Nothing."

"What?" Dale exclaimed and Tristan stared at Rachel.

"Edward doesn't remember anything from lunchtime on with any clarity. Last night is a complete blur." Rachel explained.

Dale scowled. "We can't lie to the man!"

"I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you not to say anything. He's young and he's in love with Grace who may want to have children with him one day. I'm asking you not to ruin their joy of having their first child by stealing that relationship milestone from them." Rachel looked Tristan right in the eye. "If by some miracle you actually do become pregnant from last night he doesn't need to know."

Tristan's guilty look was back. "I spent the day yesterday protecting Ed from those young women who were trying to use him and I ended up using him far worse than they did. How can I not make amends for that?"

"How will clearing your guilty conscience benefit him? You'll just be adding the burden of responsibility to his shoulders and stealing some happiness from a young couple. Please consider that," Rachel insisted.

Dale understood and looked at his wife sternly until she nodded meekly.

They caught the attention of the waitress and placed their orders.

"What are we doing today? It's our last day after all." Dale asked.

"Ed won't be in any shape to do anything today. He wanted to visit that woman in the hospital. I'll call to see if she is still there. Other than that I think we'll stick around the pool." Rachel suggested.

"A quiet day would suit me as well." Tristan admitted.

They ate their breakfast in companionable silence. When they were done they went their separate ways and Rachel returned to the room. Ed was coming out of the shower.

"What did I do yesterday? My penis is sore!" he moaned.

"You did dance quite a bit with a group of five young women. They were taking turns grinding against you pretty hard." Rachel suggested. Ed nodded but looked at her in dismay.

"I have no memory of that!" he said sadly.

"Listen I was going to call the hospital to see if Miss Melua was still there. Are you up for visiting her?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I'd like that. Maybe I can get a brain transplant while we're there. This one hurts too much." Ed moaned rubbing his temples.

"I guess your 'drinking strategy' didn't work out." Rachel said with a grin.

"Was... was I having a drinking contest with someone?" he paused.

"Yes and you 'won'." Rachel said giving him the air quotes as she said it.

He began to chuckle then moaned as his head throbbed.

"Drink more water!" Rachel scolded him.

"Yes, dear," he teased.

-=-

The hospital reported that Miss Melua would be checking out later that day so Rachel arranged a cab to take them to visit her.

They were directed to the ward where she was staying and found her with little difficulty.

"Ed! Rachel! What are you doing here?" the bruised woman exclaimed as the two visitors stood at the end of her bed. She fussed with her hair and fretted because she wasn't wearing make-up. Ed walked up beside the bed and sat on the edge to take her hand in his. His eyes were cataloging all of the injuries he assumed Sergo had inflicted. Her knuckles were cut and bruised from fighting back.

"We heard you were attacked. Was it Sergo?" Ed asked.

Her eyes dropped and she nodded. "I went back to the hotel room but he stopped to get a drink, probably many, then he came to the room and began to call me a whore and worse. I told him to leave but he started hitting me. I escaped from the room but he chased me off the property onto the empty lot next to the hotel. I was running for my life. He caught me and I tried fighting back, I have brothers, but he was stronger and beat me badly. I pushed him with all my strength and he just... disappeared. I was terrified he would come back so I tried to find help. I passed out when I reached the road."

"If I had let him drown you wouldn't have been beaten." Ed apologized.

Her eyes took on a fierce intensity. "NO! You must not think that way. You showed me your true strength when you saved the life of a man who showed you nothing but disrespect. How he treated you afterwards finally opened my eyes to how small a man Sergo was. His heart had no room in it for compassion or humility. I could not live with such a man! I WILL NOT allow myself to be in a relationship with someone like him again. I thank you for that lesson. You are not responsible for his actions."

Ed smiled at her and shyly looked at her ears. She still had in all the earrings. "They let you keep your earrings in."

She grinned at him. "You like them, don't you."

His eyes lit up. "Yes, they're very pretty and I've never seen so many worn at once. May I touch them?"

She looked at Rachel then back at him curiously. "Touch them? I suppose so."

Ed lifted his hand and gently slid the pad of one finger along the outer ridge of her ear feeling the smooth metal of the gold rings, one after another, until he reached the bottom. She was clinging to his other hand with her eyes closed, shivering.

"That's what I thought it would feel like," he said in wonder.

Kat was a little dazed from the gentleness of his touch and how strange the sensation had been. She'd never run her fingers along the surface of them like that before. It felt... really nice. She finally managed to open her eyes and smile at him.

"When do you go home?" Ed asked.

"Tomorrow."

"Us too."

"I would have liked to have gotten to know you better Ed." Kat said with a sad smile.

"I feel the same. You be careful going home and take care of yourself, ok?" Ed said.

"It was nice meeting you Katrina." Rachel said.

"You as well."

"I'll meet you out front Edward." Rachel told him and left. He wondered why she'd left so abruptly. He looked back to Kat and saw her watching Rachel's departure with a smile.

Kat looked back to Ed. "Before you leave, could I have a single kiss to remember you by?"

Ed's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Oh! Uh, ok."

He leaned forward and her hands came up to gently touch his face as their lips met. Ed took this for permission to lift his hands to touch her face in return and perhaps those earrings again.

As their lips caressed each other Ed rubbed her ears once more and she moaned into the kiss. She gave his lower lip a little bite at the end of their kiss and he pulled back in surprise. It wasn't painful. He just hadn't been expecting it.

"Cats often bite when they are happy and feeling pleasure. It is something to remember me by," she said looking up into his eyes with an impish smile on her lips.

Ed nodded and smiled at her. "Goodbye Kat. I will remember you." Her smile lit up her face.

He walked back out to the front where Rachel was waiting for him with a smile on her face as well. She took his arm and they grabbed a cab back to the hotel.

Now that they had their laundry back Ed put on his grey checked board shorts and the black singlet. They headed down to the pool and spotted Dale and Tristan on some lounge chairs under umbrellas. There were two extra lounge chairs next to them which they had reserved in case Rachel and Ed joined them.

Rachel plunked herself down on the chair next to Tristan and related Kat's story to them. When they were done they looked up at Ed who hadn't sat down yet. His mind was filled with strange and disjointed images and some of them were disturbing.

Tristan watched Ed's face nervously. Dale took her hand and that calmed her nerves somewhat.

"I got very drunk yesterday and I can't really put any of my memories together clearly today so I'm just going to make a blanket apology for anything I might have done or said yesterday that offended anyone. I'm truly sorry for that... whatever it was."

Tristan had tears in her eyes which she blinked away quickly. Luckily Ed hadn't noticed her tears behind her sunglasses. Dale felt her trembling though.

"I drank too much as well. I'll add my own blanket apology. I'm truly sorry as well," she said and felt a little better when Ed and the others nodded.

"So... you think they serve Piña Coladas at the pool?" Ed wondered aloud with a slightest of smiles on his lips.

He grinned at Rachel's outraged reaction.

Chapter 10

As Ed drove home from work he couldn't get over how freaking cold it was when just two days before he'd boarded a plane in sunny, hot Barbados! It wasn't fair!

He'd spent all of the Sunday recuperating in bed and hiding from the cold to be honest. He'd been spoiled by his little vacation. Having Grace in his bed made up for it though. He'd missed her so much he'd kissed her all over and spent a considerable amount of time bringing her to a state of bliss, multiple times, with his mouth. When he finally eased his cock into her hot, wet depths she'd been very vocal about her pleasure. His cheeks still burned when he thought about the things she'd said.

All that relaxing did have the benefit of making him extra sharp at work though. He'd been excited to get back to work and Mr. Drakos was delighted to keep him very busy. He did promise not to keep him too late every night.

Ed parked his truck and passed Grace's soon to be replaced clunker and Rachel's sleek silver sports car on the way into the house. The smell of home cooking caused him to immediately salivate. It smelled like chili! Perfect for a cold winter's night. Grace popped to her feet and rushed over to give him a hug. He sighed as her lips pressed against his. He would never get tired of kissing her amazing mouth. Or anything else of hers. She pulled him over to the kitchen table but he made a quick stop to kiss Rachel who was standing by the stove. He gave into the temptation to kiss her exposed neck.

"Edward! I'm cooking! You almost made me drop my spoon!" she squealed as tingles rushed up and down her body.

Ed sat where Grace indicated but pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled her neck too and she gasped as she struggled to free herself.

"Ed! It's dinner time!" Grace moaned as his lips did things to her neck that made her want to take him right there on the table. She finally extracted herself and looked at him with a grin. "What's gotten into you tonight?"

"Nothing. I'm just home with two women I love and... I'm happy," he answered.

Rachel carried over two plates of chili and rice and went back for her own. "I heard from Dale and Tristan. They're coming over for dinner to meet the gang next Saturday." The phone rang on her way by so she picked it up and carried it back to the table before she answered.

"Hello? Oh, hi Carolyn! Thank you! Barbados was amazing! I'd definitely go back. Edward? Hang on." She handed Ed the handset and turned to her dinner.

"Hi Carolyn. Tonight?" Ed looked to Grace and Rachel. Both nodded to him as neither had plans that required his presence. "Sure. I'm just sitting down to dinner but in an hour? Great! See you then." He hung up and dug into the delicious meal.

"What's up?" Grace asked.

"I don't know. She just asked to see me after dinner," he replied around a spoonful of chili.

"Edward, don't talk with your mouth full." Rachel scolded him gently.

He dipped his head in apology and Grace shared a grin with Rachel. She loved this woman. She was so good to them.

Ed tried his best not to eat too quickly as the food was so good! Too soon it was gone. He withstood the urge to ask for more. During his morning workout he felt absolutely doughy from the soft living he'd done in Barbados.

He tidied up the kitchen and packed the extra chili away for lunches. That done he brushed his teeth and changed into his comfy home clothes and put his old winter jacket on.

The drive to Carolyn's only took a minute but he was frozen when she let him into her house.

She took his coat and immediately led him into the den at the back of the house. The gas fireplace was 'roaring' and the room immediately warmed him. He noticed she'd redecorated the room extensively.