Authors' note: More drama this chapter after the fluff!
Darla had been home from hospital for three days. Things had been nearly perfect. It was very much like how it used to be before Hans had signed that contract with Calvin Klein. He couldn't have been more attentive and loving.
That morning, he'd served her breakfast in bed and they'd had a nice chat. But, she knew that this wasn't going to last. In four days, he'd be back in New York and she'd be here.
"Here you go," Hans said, coming into the room. "A nice glass of pumpkin juice."
Darla laughed. "Hans, you're going to spoil me."
"That's the idea, babe." Hans sat next to her.
"This tastes really good," Darla said after she took a sip. "I'm so thirsty lately."
"Is that normal?" he asked.
Darla nodded. "Liam said that it was and that it's important for me to stay hydrated."
"Then I'll get you another glass," he moved to get up.
Darla put her hand out to stop him. "It's fine."
"Just let me know when you want something else," he told her.
"I will," Darla promised. "I'm sorry that your holiday has been spent looking after me. I hate that I'm on bed rest."
"I don't mind," Hans told her. "That's why I'm here."
Darla smiled. "I have thought of something that I need."
"What's that?" Hans asked,
"A kiss," Darla replied impishly.
"That can easily be done," he leaned in.
Darla closed her eyes as he pressed his lips gently to hers.
"I love you, babe." Hans said softly.
"I love you too," Darla whispered. "I'm so glad that you're home."
Hans tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her again.
"You know what I'd love to do today?" Darla asked him.
"What?" he asked.
"You know that my Uncle Seamus' last film was just released on DVD," Darla said. "I was hoping you could----"
Darla's voice trailed off as the mobile phone in Hans' pocket began to ring.
"One sec," Hans told her, jumping up and heading into the hall to answer it.
"Hallo?" Hans answered.
"Hey you," a silky voice purred on the other end.
"Katya," Hans said in a low voice.
"Miss you lots," Katya said.
Hans sighed. "I can't really talk right now."
"So when CAN you?" she asked edgily.
"I'll call you back in five minutes," Hans said. "Okay?"
"I'll be waiting," she said.
Hans hung up and pocketed his phone. He thought that Katya understood where things stood when he'd left. He took a deep breath before walking back into the bedroom.
"Who was that?" Darla asked.
"Just Freddy checking in," Hans lied. "When I made breakfast this morning, I noticed we were running low on some things. I'm going to run to the shops."
"Oh," Darla said. "I was going to ask you to pick up Seamus's new movie on DVD if you didn't mind."
"Final Warning, right?" Hans asked, remembering the title.
Darla nodded. "Thanks."
Hans grinned at her. "Tonight, I'm making the best dinner in the entire world for my beautiful wife and our little boy."
"That sounds wonderful," Darla said.
Hans gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be back soon."
"Okay," Darla smiled at him.
Darla watched him go and then took another sip of her juice. She not only felt guilty about Hans having to deal with this on his holiday, but also because Drew was working alone during the busiest time of year for them.
Her twin had assured her it wasn't a big deal but Darla still felt bad.
Darla reached for her planner and looked through her calendar to make sure there was nothing that she'd forgotten.
She had just flipped open the first page when there was a knock on the door.
Darla set the book aside and pulled back the covers. She grabbed her dressing gown and slowly made her way downstairs.
"One minute!" she called when the knock sounded again. "I'm coming!"
When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Liam Thornhart. A frowning Liam Thornhart.
"What part of bed rest did you not understand?" Liam asked her folding his arms.
"I was just in bed!" she claimed.
"I was expecting your husband to open the door," Liam said.
"He's just run out to the shops," Darla explained.
"Oh," Liam said sheepishly. "I--I didn't mean to jump down your throat. I'm just concerned is all."
"I appreciate that," Darla moved so he could come in.
"I was in the neighbourhood," Liam said. "A house call. I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."
"I'm feeling good," Darla told him.
Liam smiled. "You're eating healthy? You're drinking lots of fluids?"
"All of the above," Darla replied.
"Good," Liam said. "Let's get you back upstairs then."
"I'm really okay," Darla protested. "You don't need to bother with me."
"Humour me," Liam said.
"If you insist," Darla replied.
"You would have loved being in the office this morning," Liam told her conversationally. "Josh brought the triplets in to see Lizzy and the three of them were running all around the place..."
"Oh no!" Darla grinned.
"Aidan and Noah were yelling that they were going to do an operation on Casey," Liam said laughing at the memory of it.
"And she probably wasn't having any of it." Darla replied.
"Oh, no," Liam shook his head.
"They're a good bunch," Darla said.
"They are," Liam agreed following her into the bedroom. "Josh told me that you and Drew looked just like Casey when you were kids."
"Very similar," Darla nodded, climbing back into bed.
"So you've not had any more problems?" Liam asked. "No pains? No more dizzy spells?"
Darla shook her head. "Hans has been taking really good care of me."
"That's great," Liam said smiling at her. "I know it's done a world of good for you to have him here."
"It really has," she nodded.
"Well," Liam said. "Now, that I've seen for myself that you're okay, I should be going..."
"Why don't you stay until Hans comes back?" Darla suggested.
"Are you sure?" Liam asked.
"I'd love to have the company," she answered.
"I don't know," Liam teased looking at the magazines on her bedside table. "I wouldn't want to interrupt your educational reading..."
"You mean my Witch Weekly?" Darla asked. "Or Muggle Cosmopolitan?"
"Yes," Liam laughed, picking up a copy of Witch Weekly. "I didn't realise 'Dress Robe Do's and Don'ts' was such a hot topic."
"Oh it's incredibly important," Darla nodded.
"It's kept me up at night," Liam teased. "That and 'How to Attract the Wizard of Your Dreams'."
"I already have that," Darla said with a smile.
Liam smiled back at her. "It's good to see you happy."
"It's hard not to be, when things are finally going right," Darla said.
"It's just what you need for the baby," Liam told her, setting the magazines back down. He grinned when he saw the deck of cards. "Are you a card shark, Mrs. Feinbach?"
"I love playing Solitaire," Darla admitted.
"Me too," Liam said. "And I'm not a bad poker player."
"I've only played that a few times," Darla replied.
"Fancy a game?" Liam asked starting to shuffle the cards.
"Sure," Darla said. "If you've got time."
"Are you kidding?" Liam asked. "I've always got time to clean your clock at poker."
Darla scoffed.
"We can bet using those Bertie Botts as chips," Liam said motioning to the candy dish on the bedside table.
"Okay," Darla pushed herself up into more of a seated position.
"Five card draw," Liam said dealing out the cards.
"Five card what?" Darla asked.
"We each get five cards," Liam explained.
"Oh okay," Darla said.
"You know the general rules, right?" Liam asked her.
"I think so," Darla nodded.
"Okay," Liam said picking up his cards. "I'll start the betting with five Bertie Botts. Now, if you want to call, you'll put five in as well..."
"Okay," Darla threw five beans into the middle.
Liam studied his cards. "Okay, I'm going to discard two of my cards and take two from the deck." He looked at Darla when he was finished. "How many cards do you want to discard?" "Um, three," Darla replied after thinking about it for a minute. Liam dealt her three more cards. He couldn't read from her expression whether she was happy or upset with her new hand.
"Okay," he said. "Just go right there then..."
Darla nodded and watched as Liam added 10 more beans to the jackpot. "Now, if you can either fold or you can see my bet by putting in 10 beans of your own or you can raise."
"I'll raise," she said, throwing in fifteen of them.
"I'll see your fifteen and raise you five," Liam said boldly.
Darla bit her bottom lip. "I'll call."
Liam grinned and revealed his cards. "Two pair," he grinned.
Darla looked worried for a moment before she set her cards down. "All my cards are clubs and in the same numerical order. Is that good?"
Liam stared at her. "Is that good? That's a straight flush, Darla. You--you won."
"I did?" she asked brightly. "Really?"
Liam laughed. "Yes, you did. As if you didn't know. You just played me, didn't you?"
"No," Darla said. "I didn't!"
"Uh-huh," Liam teased. "Good thing we weren't playing for money."
"I suppose," Darla joked.
"I bet you're good at Exploding Snap too," Liam said.
"That I'm an expert at." Darla nodded.
"Are you really?" Liam asked. "Because I'll have you know I'm undefeated."
"Then you've met your match," Darla replied.
"Trash talk from the wedding planner, eh?" Liam asked.
"Can't trash talk the truth," Darla returned.
"Oooooh," Liam winced. "Okay, Feinbach. Where are your Exploding Snap cards?"
"Just in here," Darla reached into the bedside table.
"I'm not worried about my streak," Liam said as she shuffled the cards.
"Neither am I," Darla said.
"Deal," Liam said grinning at her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself so much.
Meanwhile, Hans was headed towards the shops.
He reached for his phone and dialled Katya's number.
"What took you so long?" she asked in a pouty voice.
"Call me crazy, but I didn't think I should talk to you with my wife within earshot," Hans said sarcastically.
"Why not?" she laughed.
"This isn't funny, Kat," Hans told her.
"Hans, I already told you how I feel," Katya said. "I know you feel something too."
Hans stopped walking and was silent for a long time. The truth was he did feel something for her, but he hated himself for it.
"You can't deny it," she said.
Hans stopped walking and was silent for a long time. The truth was he did feel something for her, but he hated himself for it.
"You can't deny it," she said.
"I'm not denying it," Hans said sitting down on a bench. "I'm trying to be a good husband. I love my wife, Kat."
"And you're also falling in love with me," she pointed out.
"There's a big difference in between love and lust," Hans countered.
"Hans--" she complained.
"Katya, I do care about you," Hans interjected. "I do. This whole time you've been the one person who can understand what this has been like for me."
"Which is why we're so good together." she purred.
Despite himself, Hans laughed. "Katya, what am I going to do with you?"
"You know what I want you to do," Katya said.
"You are determined to lead me astray, aren't you?" Hans asked huskily.
"I only want you to be happy," Katya said in her most innocent voice.
Hans laughed. "Yes, that's all you want."
"And the one other thing I've been waiting for," Katya said in a low voice.
"When I get back to the States, we can talk," Hans said.
"I don't want to TALK to you, Hans," Katya said.
He wasn't so sure that he'd be able to just talk to her, either. He remembered that last day he'd seen her in his dressing room. "I'll be home in three days, Katya."
"I'm counting the minutes," she said in a sultry voice.
"Behave yourself," Hans said huskily.
"Never," she teased.
Hans hung up and sat on the bench for a few moments trying to get his bearings. Katya always managed to do this to him. "Darla," he told himself. "Think about Darla."
She was his wife, and carrying his son. There was no way he could do this to her.
He stood up and walked into the grocer's. He grabbed a trolley and made quick work of picking out the items he wanted. He even bought some strawberry ice cream because he knew that was her favourite.
He supposed he was trying to overcome his guilt by buying her the things she liked.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. When he was in New York, he felt like he could do nothing wrong. Everything moved fast and he liked it that way. He'd worked so hard to reach this point in his career.
But then he'd think of Darla, and their unborn son, and wondered if his place was indeed here in England.
He joined the queue to pay for his items and as luck would have it, a couple was in front of him with their daughter, who looked to be around two years old.
"I love you, Daddy," the little girl said throwing her arms around the man.
"I love you too, pumpkin," the man said, swinging her up in the air.
The little girl giggled and Hans felt a tug at his heart. He could just imagine taking his son here in a couple of years.
"Sir," the cashier asked. "Sir, are you in the queue or aren't you?"
Hans blinked. "Oh-yes, sorry."
She rang up his things quickly. "Is that all?"
"Yes," Hans replied, reaching for his wallet.
The girl blushed when she got a proper look at him. "Are you---are you him?"
"What?" he asked distracted.
"Hans Feinbach," the girl whispered. "Oh my...oh my..."
"Nice to meet you," Hans said.
"Would you sign something for me?" she asked looking frantically around for something for him to sign.
"Sure," Hans said. "Got a bag or something?"
"Um, yes," she said reaching for one under the register. "Here! Could you make it out to---to---what's my name again? Um....Tracey. My name is Tracey."
"Tracey," he smiled at her.
She looked adoringly at him while he signed the paper bag. "My mates are never going to believe this in a million years!"
"Here you go," Hans handed her the bag then picked up his groceries.
"Thank you," she breathed.
"See you around," he said.
Hans walked quickly back to the house hoping that Darla had managed to get some rest. He just hoped Drew wasn't coming around to bring her work that she didn't need to be doing.
"I'm home!" he called as he let himself in. "Dar?"
There was no answer so he set the bags down in the kitchen before going upstairs to check on his wife. He heard the muffled sound of laughter coming from the bedroom.
"Is Drew in there with you?" he called.
"Hans?" Darla asked. "Come on in!"
Hans opened his mouth to ask if they were working and stopped short at the sight of the man sitting next to his wife on the bed.
"You so cheated," Darla was telling Liam. "He took advantage of my momentary lapse in concentration."
"I won fair and square," Liam told her.
"I let you have that one because I felt sorry for you," Darla said grinning at him. "You did lose four in a row."
"Yeah, yeah." Liam put the rest of the cards down. "Hello Hans."
"Hello," Hans said quietly.
"I just dropped by to check on Darla and she asked me to stick around while you were gone," Liam stood up.
"You just dropped by?" Hans asked glaring at him. "I didn't realise healers made house calls."
"I do, sometimes," Liam said. "I had another patient a few blocks away."
"Uh-huh," Hans said folding his arms. "Well, you can leave now." "Hans," Darla chastised him.
"We're doing just fine," Hans continued.
"I should be going," Liam said. "Darla, if you need me, you know how to reach me."
"I do," she nodded. "Thanks Liam."
"I'll see you out," Hans said.
"That's not necessary," Liam replied.
"I insist," Hans said glaring at him.
"I'll see you next week for our appointment," Darla said.
"Take care of yourself," Liam said before following Hans out of the bedroom.
Hans silently led the other man downstairs and opened the door.
"She's doing very well," Liam told him. "I took her blood pressure and it was normal."
"Should be," Hans said shortly.
"Make sure she stays in bed and avoids stress," Liam continued. "And make sure she takes her vitamins."
"I know what to do," Hans snapped at him.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "I'm only looking out for Darla's best interest, Hans."
"So am I," Hans said. "As her husband."
"You don't care for me very much, do you?" Liam asked.
"I don't know you," Hans said evenly.
Liam bit back a retort. He wanted to tell Hans that he would know him if he was around more often, but it wasn't his place to say that. "Just take care of your wife." "What the hell does that mean?" Hans asked.
"Just take care of her," Liam said. "She needs as much support as she can get right now."
"I know," Hans said. "And she's getting that from me."
"Good," Liam said.
"Goodbye, Healer Thornhart," Hans said briskly.
"Nice seeing you again, Mr. Feinbach," Liam said coolly.
Hans slammed the door in Liam's face.
"Hans!" Darla was at the top of the stairs. "What are you doing?"
"Seeing the good healer out," Hans replied turning around to look at his wife. "What are you doing out of bed, babe?'
"I'm not an invalid Hans," Darla said. "Why can't you be nicer to him?"
"Because I know what he's after," Hans replied in exasperation. "I've seen how he looks at you."
"He's my healer!" she said exasperatedly.
"I have to put the groceries away," Hans said not wanting to argue with her.
"I can help," Darla said.
"You can sit and keep me company while I do it," Hans relented.
"Fine," she sighed.
"So, he just showed up out of the blue?" Hans asked as he walked into the kitchen.
Darla shrugged. "It's his job to check on me."
"In our bedroom?" Hans asked.
"You just said yourself, I'm on bed rest," Darla reminded him.
"Point taken," Hans said. "Sit."
Darla sat at the table and leaned back against the chair.
Hans started putting away the groceries telling Darla the things he'd bought. "Strawberry ice cream. Fresh pineapple..."
"That does sound good together," Darla said thoughtfully.
Hans laughed. "Together? Ah, there goes those cravings..."
"First one," she smiled at him.
"We'll need to write that down in the baby book," Hans said.
"Good idea," Darla nodded.
"I'll make some for you and then we'll watch that movie," Hans told her.
"Thanks," Darla smiled at him.
Hans had left his mobile phone on the table. It began to beep. Darla reached for it. "Hans...you have a photo message coming through...."
Hans dropped the pineapple on the counter and grabbed the phone.
"Hans---" Darla protested.
"It's probably something from Freddy," Hans shoved the phone in his pocket.
"Well, don't you want to look at it?" Darla asked curiously.
"I will," Hans replied. "On holiday, remember?"
Darla laughed. "I remember."
"Good," Hans said. "Go get cosy and I'll be in."
Darla stood up and walked over to her husband. "You're being so sweet to me."
"I love you," Hans said.
"I love you too," Darla said softly leaning in and giving him a kiss. "Don't forget my ice cream!"
"Not in a million years," Hans said.
Darla left the kitchen and Hans sighed in relief. That had been a close call.
He pulled out his phone and frowned when he saw the nearly naked picture Katya had sent him.
He thought briefly about calling her, but that would only encourage her. Texting was out of the question, too. He would just ignore her for the time being and deal with it when he was back in New York.
He deleted the message then turned his phone to silent so he wouldn't hear it again for the rest of the day. He knew it was risky in case Freddy tried to ring him, but he couldn't risk Darla finding out about Katya.
Meanwhile, Liam Thornhart had just made it back into the office. He smiled when he saw that Josh was still there with the triplets. He was trying to get the three of them ready to leave. "Need some help, Josh?" Liam asked setting his bag down.
"If you could just get Casey's cloak on mate, that'd be fantastic," Josh said gratefully.
"No cloak, Daddy!" Casey shrieked. She was wearing her princess dress and wasn't ready to cover it up.
"Case, we'll take it off just as soon as we're home," Josh told her.
Liam took the cloak from Josh. "Casey Weasley, will you wear the royal cloak?" Liam asked her.
"Royal?" Casey asked.
"Absolutely," Liam said. "In fact, Princess Jasmine was in here the other day and she said that only Princess Casey could wear such a fine, royal cloak."
"Jasmine here?" Casey said in awe.
"She was here just yesterday," Liam told her.
"Sick?" Casey asked.
"She had a cold," Liam told her. "Because she didn't wear a cloak."
"Ohhhh," Casey's eyes were wide.
"So will you do me the honour of wearing this royal cloak?" Liam asked holding it out for her.
"Yes," Casey nodded. "No sick."
Liam helped her put on the cloak. "Princess Casey."
Casey giggled. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Josh chimed in. "Lizzy was going to help, but she had a patient."
"Glad to be of service," Liam ruffled Noah's blond hair.
"Liz said you were going to stop in and see Darla," Josh said. "How's she doing?"
"Good," Liam nodded. "Hans was home."
"For now," Josh grumbled.
"You don't like him?" Liam asked.
"I don't like how he's treated my little sister," Josh said trying to keep his voice low the children wouldn't hear.
"Understandable," Liam nodded.
"Aunt Dar having a baby," Noah said looking up at Liam.
"She sure is," he nodded.
"Liz and I were talking," Josh said. "We'd love to have you over for dinner some night, Liam."
"That would be great," Liam said. "Bachelor food is not where it's at."
Josh laughed. "I know what you mean. I don't think Jon and I would have survived if Nana hadn't invited us over or brought food."
"Just let me know," Liam said.
Josh picked up Casey. "Say goodbye to Liam, guys."
"Bye!" Aidan waved. "Bye!"
Liam laughed. "Bye, you lot. Be good."
"No," Noah shook his head.
"On that note," Josh said. "We're going to go. Tell Lizzy to hurry home. I'll need reinforcements."
"Will do," Liam laughed. "See you around."
The receptionist smiled at Liam. "They're something else, aren't they?"
"Too much," Liam agreed with a grin. "I've got some paperwork to do."
"Your next patient doesn't arrive until three," she told him.
"Great," Liam said.
"And here are your messages," she said handing them to him.
"Always plenty of those," he groaned.
The receptionist laughed. "Don't shoot the messenger."
"Never," he teased. "Ring me at three when my patient comes in, will you?"
"Of course," she replied.
Liam headed to his office, his mind on Darla.
He'd thought about her more often than he should.
Liam wasn't sure of his intentions with her. In a short time, they had found a friendship which made him aware that he was more concerned about her welfare than he was any other patient's- not that he'd perform his duties in any less of a manner for anyone else.
He could still remember the look of pure joy on her face when she'd beaten him in Exploding Snap.
The thought made him smile.
She was easy to talk to and so warm and welcoming. He felt as if he'd known her for years.
Liam sighed as he opened the first folder in his stack and tried to concentrate on filling out the paperwork for his patients.
Being a healer was the most important part of his life. He'd never regretted his decision to follow this career path, but as he'd told Darla, his past relationships had suffered because of it.
His last girlfriend had always complained he was too busy for her.
Today had been the first time in ages that he'd sat down and just played a game or thought about something other than medicine.
He wondered what that meant for him, and he wondered what it meant for his professional and personal relationship with Darla.
He wondered if Hans Feinbach realised what a wonderful woman his wife was.
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