Kevin quietly entered the house and made his way up to the bedroom. He turned on the light and saw Rhiannon sitting in the window sill.

"Turn that off please," she said softly, not turning to face him. He did as she asked and went to her. He sat down on the window seat beside her and pulled her head to his chest. She rested against him, but no tears would come. She was all cried out, and now she was numb.

"I'll be OK," she said into Kevin's chest. "I will."

"I'm so sorry he hurt you," Kevin said, digging his fingers in the back of her hair and pulling her tightly to himself.

"Kevin, I'm going to be alright," Rhiannon said, her voice filled with conviction. So much so that he almost believed her. He pulled back and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. She could see something was troubling him deeply, and it had nothing to do with her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "It is Kathleen?"

Kevin nodded, and the tears began to pour again. "I talked to the doctor before I left the hospital. She doesn't have long, Rhiannon. Two, maybe three weeks. What am I going to do? God, I can't live without her. But then again, I can't die. What can I do?"

"Turn her," Rhiannon said softly.

"I can't do that," he said. "I just can't. It's... I don't know... I just can't do that to another person. I felt so guilty after AJ... I'm sorry. I shouldn't mention him right now, but you know what I mean. I just can't do it again. I love her so much, but I just can't do it."

"I know what you mean. I felt the same way after I made you. It's a guilt that nobody can ever understand unless they've been there. If you aren't going to bring her over, you'll have to accept it. There's no other way. Love her, Kevin. Make her last days happy. Deal with the rest as it comes."

"I just wish there was some other way..." he said, trailing off.

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too. I love her, too."

"I know you do. And I thank you for that," Kevin said, trying to smile. "I wish I could do something to make you happy right now."

"Just your being here is good enough for me," she said, placing her hand on his cheek. She kissed his lips softly, chastely. "I love you, baby boy."

"I love you too," he said, hugging her.

"Go back to her," Rhiannon said softly. "I'll be fine. She needs you more than I do right now. You need to spend every last moment with her."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Go. I'll call Brian," Rhiannon said, smiling sadly. "We'll philosophize or talk about Tao or something like that."

"Brian knows about Taoism?" Kevin said, laughing. It felt good to laugh.

"Sure he does. You'd be surprised at the conversations your little cousin and I have had. He's a pretty interesting little guy."

"I know, but Taoism?" Kevin said, shaking his head.

"Yep. Taoism. Buddhism. Tantricism. We've discussed lots of things."

"Brian knows about TANTRIC SEX?" Kevin asked, exploding into laughter.

"Of course he does. He's a sweet man, but he's not a complete angel, no matter how much you guys want to make him out to be one," Rhiannon said, hitting Kevin's arm lightly.

"Alright. Call me if you need me," Kevin said, kissing her cheek.

"I will."

******************************

Rhiannon and Brian sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, sharing a glass of wine.

"I brought you something. I hope it makes you feel better," Brian said, smiling.

"What did you bring me?" Rhiannon asked, trying to smile.

"I'll be right back," he said, hopping up. He returned with a small gold box, and handed it to her. She smiled when she saw the label...

"Brian, you shouldn't have," she said, laughing. Godiva... milk chocolate truffles. "You know I'll probably get sick if I eat this."

"I know, but isn't it worth it?"

"You're right. It is," she laughed. She took one of the small truffles out and took a bite. She closed her eyes and savored the rich sweetness of the chocolate. "You know, sometimes I think chocolate really is better than sex."

"Huh?" Brian laughed. "If you think chocolate's better than sex, you've been having sex with the wrong people, lady."

Rhiannon smiled at him. His blue eyes were sparkling in the light of the fire. He reached over and caressed her cheek.

"Thanks for coming," she said, pressing her hand against his. "I really needed to be with somebody tonight, and Kevin... well, you know..."

"How is Kat?" Brian asked, looking down. "I've been worried about her."

"She's not doing too well. She doesn't have too long," Rhiannon said sadly. "He's going to be devastated. I don't know if he'll ever recover from losing her. I wish I could do something."

"I know. I'm gonna miss her, too," Brian said. He took one of the truffles out of the box and popped it into his mouth. "Know what? I think you're right. I think these are better than sex."

"Told you," she replied, taking a sip of wine. "You know, I'm going to be so sick later."

"I'll take care of you," Brian said, smiling.

"I'm sure you would," she said, patting his cheek.

"Can I kiss you?" Brian asked softly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what it is about you that makes me lose all control of my mouth. It just has a mind of it's own, and I end up saying the stupidest stuff around you..." Rhiannon silenced him with a soft kiss. A shiver traveled down the length of Brian's spine as the electricity of their kiss coursed through him body. When the kiss ended, Brian sat back, his eyes still closed.

"You're amazing," he whispered. She kissed him again. He was putty in her hands. He ran his warm hands down her shoulders and moaned softly.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling back slowly. "I really didn't mean to lead you on like that. It just feels nice to be... you know...close to somebody right now."

"I understand," he said, smiling. He kissed her cheek, lingering for a few seconds. "If you want me to go, I will."

"No. I'd really rather you stay for awhile if you don't mind," Rhiannon said, looking down.

"Sure," he said, settling back against the couch. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. Just... braid my hair or something," she said. "I just need a distraction."

"C'mere," he said, pulling her to him.

"Let me see your tattoo," she said, pulling up his sleeve. He held his arm out, as she traced her fingers over the cross on his arm.

"Why did you get a tattoo?" she asked quietly,

"Because I could," he laughed.

"Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should, you know. A tattoo is a life altering thing. Once you've made the commitment, you can't really change your mind. What if you had done it, then decided that it wasn't a good idea? Then where would you be? You'd be stuck for the rest of your days, looking at a tattoo that you never should have gotten."

"Well, I guess I could get it removed or something," he said, confused.

"You could, but then you'd have a nasty scar, and your arm would never look the same. See, once you make a commitment like that, you really can't take it back, can you?" she said, thoughtfully.

"Rhiannon," he said slowly, "somehow I don't think we're really talking about tattoos, are we?"

"No, I don't guess we are," she said, pulling his sleeve back down.

"What are talking about then?"

"Never mind. I'm just rambling. I do that sometimes," she said, smiling at him. "I'm 106 years old. I'm entitled to ramble occasionally."

"Tell me what it's like being you," Brian said, looking into her eyes.

She laughed bitterly. "Well, it ain't all moonlight and magnolias, that I can assure you."

"What's the worst thing you've ever done?" he asked, lacing his fingers behind his head.

"You don't wanna know," she said, shaking her head sadly.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," he laughed.

"Murder," she said, looking down at the floor. "That's the worst thing ever. Actually, I've done it more than once. Three times, to be exact, and I've wanted to do it even more than that."

"Wow... that makes my stuff look pretty insignificant," he said, not meaning to be funny. But it struck Rhiannon as hilarious. She laughed until she had to hold her sides.

"Do you wanna know my worst thing?" Brian asked.

"No, I don't. My image of you is of a perfect gentleman, and I don't want you to destroy it," she said, still giggling a little.

"I fell in love with one of my best friend's girlfriends," Brian said quietly, looking very serious.

Rhiannon stopped laughing and looked at him. "Who would that be?" she asked.

"The friend? Or the girlfriend?" he replied.

"Both."

"AJ... and you."

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