Ben sat at Lia's table with Kimberly going over the final list of stops for his tour. It was nearing the end of September, and the tour was set for November. He would be gone for three weeks, visiting cities that he enjoyed, and eating at restaurants that he loved. He might even take in a Broadway show or concert along the way. His last tour was when Ilianna was alive, and he had welcomed it, in fact, he had dreaded returning home afterward. Now it was a different story, he was reluctant to go, and he had asked Kimberly to cut a few dates because he didn't want to be away for too long. He had used the excuse of the house, but he wondered if that was all it was.

He had moved into Lia's place two days ago and it was going well so far. They didn't see each other all that often, she was gone during the day and then when she got home, she took Huck for a walk, ate dinner, watched television for an hour or so, and then went to bed.

He was almost relieved, and if he didn't know better, he would think she was avoiding him. All he could hear in the back of his mind was Lia saying, 'you would belong to me', something about those words gave him a little jolt. He had never thought about belonging to anyone before. Ilianna had insisted he conform to her way of life, but when he had decided he wasn't going to do it anymore she had all but shrugged and moved on to someone who did please her. She had never had an attachment to him and he had never had one to her.

"Ben?" Kimberly gave an amused laugh, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You're not listening," she looked up at him, placing a hand on his arm.

Was Lia right, was Kimberly interested in him? She certainly appeared to be giving out signals to that effect. Had she always been giving them and he had never picked up on them before? She moved her chair closer to him, and her shoulder brushed against him as she pointed to the list in front of them.

"Should we swap these two dates? It would give you a few days downtime in between signings." She leaned forward looking up at him. "This will have to go, by the way, no one will recognize you." She reached up and brushed his bearded cheek and he had to keep himself from jumping out of his seat.

"I'll think about it, he said, looking at the door as he heard Lia's key, relieved that she was home.

It was to Lia's credit that she kept her face impassive when she walked in and saw them sitting at her kitchen table so close together, she even managed to give them a friendly smile. She had her phone tucked under her ear and was listening intently to whatever the other person was saying.

Ben took his chance to disentangle himself from Kimberly, who looked confused by Lia's sudden entrance. He walked towards Lia, looking down at her concerned face before dropping a quick kiss on her lips just as a fiancé might do. She took it in stride and switched the phone to the other ear as she set her stuff on the counter.

"Alright, he's sure we're not needed?" Lia asked with a frown. "I know he's a doctor, but he's still a man, and he's not a nurse." Lia rolled her eyes. "Fine, Bye." She hung up and walked to the fridge.

"Is everything alright?" Ben asked, walking back towards his chair.

"Faye wasn't feeling well yesterday, and she wasn't at work today. When we called her there was no answer so we were anxious. Choe had Silas go over and check on her. He says she has the flu, but he's taking care of her.

"A bit early for the flu, isn't it?" Ben asked.

Lia shrugged. "Not when you work in a hospital. Hello Kimberly," Lia greeted, reaching for a juice. "Would either of you like something to drink?"

Ben and Kimberly shook their heads, and Ben watched in fascination as she drained the little bottle in less than a minute.

"There," she said with her infectious grin, "that's my daily vitamin C." She walked over to where Ben was standing and looked down at the table. "Whatcha working on now?"

Her shoulder brushed Ben's chest and he could smell peaches. When Kimberly had brushed up against him, he had felt claustrophobic, but when Lia did it he wanted to grab her and pull her close, and since she was his fiancé, he did that very thing. He allowed his arm to sneak around her waist and pull her closer, and he could feel the curve of her breast as it pressed against his chest. Such a little thing, but it was having a major effect on him.

She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes throwing her ponytail over her shoulder. When Kimberly had done it he had felt nothing when Lia did it, he smelled peaches and vanilla and he had the sudden urge to taste her.

"We're looking at tour dates," he explained, taking his free arm and tilting the paper so that she could see it. "Maybe you could join me on a few of these dates?" He had asked to make them sound more like a couple, but he realized as he said the words that he would like it if she did.

"Maybe," she hedged, "I don't know about getting the time off." She looked down at the schedule, leaning into him as she did. "This looks ambitious."

"I had Kimberly tighten up a few dates so that I could be home in time for Thanksgiving."

Lia nodded as she looked at the schedule, and he wondered if she realized her hand was rubbing his lower back.

"You'll be busy," she said, looking up at him.

"Busy is good, busy is money," he said jokingly.

Lia snorted. "Like you need more of that." She looked over her shoulder at Huck who was asleep on the couch. "Start thinking about it, Huck!" she called.

Ben heard a long moan and a thump and saw Kimberly look over at the dog in shock.

"Is he alright?" she asked with concern.

There was another moan as Huck realized he had an audience to play to, and Lia looked up at Ben with an eye roll. Ben smiled with a shake of his head, the perfect unspoken communication making him feel the need to suddenly test Lia.

"Kimberly says I need to shave for the tour." Ben rubbed his bearded cheek.

Lia looked up at him with startled eyes, her gaze taking in his beard, and stopping at his lips. Eventually, after Ben's heart had taken on an erratic rhythm, she looked up at him, placing her hand on his cheek, her thumb brushing his lips. "Please don't, I like it, and if you did you wouldn't be grumpy Ben," she said softly.

Ben got it, and she passed the test with flying colors, that was exactly what he had needed to hear. She didn't want him to change.

"Grumpy Ben?" Kimberly's amused voice came from behind them, breaking the spell. "I've never known Ben to be grumpy." She shook her head.

"No?" Lia raised an eyebrow, accusing Ben of something, but he wasn't quite sure of what it was. All he knew was that he felt guilty because of her look.

"Where's your engagement ring? I would love to see it?" Kimberly asked, looking at her naked finger with a fake smile.

"Rings aren't conducive to working in Emergency Rooms," Lia said with a smile that was just as fake.

"It's in the box on the mantel," Ben said, nodding behind him. He released Lia, which he didn't want to do, and he walked over to the music box he had brought with him from the house. He lifted the lid and pulled out the ring then walked back over to Lia.

He looked at her and she looked at the ring, doing her best to keep the shock off her face. "Ben looked at Kimberly with a smile, distracting her. "It was my grandmothers." Then he reached for Lia's hand and he felt it tremble a little as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

Lia looked at it, then looked up at them both with an overly bright smile. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked Kimberly before going up on her tip toes to give Ben a quick peck.

"I'll let you two finish your work. Huck!" she called, turning to get the leash from beside the door. "Come on you mangy mutt, we want to beat the rain."

Ben frowned at the odd note in her voice, and she wouldn't look at either him or Kimberly.

"Kimberly, it was nice to see you again," she said as Huck started to drag her out the door.

*******

Lia ran after Huck, glad of his need to go quickly for a change. The quicker she got away the better. She felt the tears start as she followed Huck blindly. She could feel the ring where it sat heavy on her finger, and she was afraid to look at it. It had been a shock to see him with Kimberly when she had walked in the door, and she swore he looked relieved when she had entered. It had amused her at first, but then he had pulled her close, and she had been anything but amused. She had been electrified by his closeness. Touching him had seemed like the most natural thing in the world. It was as if his body was a magnet drawing her in at every move.

She wanted him, she had never wanted anything as much as she wanted him, and the act of placing the ring on her finger was too much, she wanted it too badly to pretend. It hadn't felt pretend, but Kimberly had been watching and she had to act as if it was all normal.

Kimberly, she thought about her with a silent growl. Just let that woman try to shave his beard, she would shave her head!

There was a sudden boom that shook the earth, and everything stopped as car and house alarms started going off everywhere.

Huck froze, sniffing the air. They both waited and not two minutes later every emergency vehicles siren in the city started to howl and so did Huck. After another minute her phone rang, and she looked down at it. It was the hospital.

Tugging on Huck she answered the call and said little as she listened to the Chloe on the other end. By the time she hung up, she was back at the house. She raced into the apartment, looking at a concerned Kimberly and Ben. They had turned on the news. Lia took off the ring, glad to be rid of it, and put it back in the box on the mantel.

"I have to go back to work. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so don't wait up," she said, gathering up her stuff in a hurry. "There was an explosion at one of the factories on the west side. Don't forget to feed Huck!" she said as she slammed the door behind her.

As much as she hated giving them the all clear to spend the evening together, she was glad to be busy. It would help her forget her own troubles for a while.