The last instalment is basically a little Kandified chapter because, well, I can't help it! I'm also trying to erase "the kiss" from my mind (and I haven't even watched it yet!). Damn you, Sandy Cohen.

Part Five

Sandy woke at half past three to find himself alone in the bed. He frowned and propped his body up on his elbows, listening. He expected to hear a noise in the bathroom…nothing. As his vision focussed in the dark, he looked around the bedroom for some sign of his wife…nothing.

He dragged his feet out of the bed and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He shivered. The house was unusually cold. He could hear the wind outside and the rain pounding on the windows.

'Why did the house have to have so many damn windows?' he wondered.

He pulled on his bathrobe and wandered down to the house. He paused on the way, collecting something from one of the bookshelves as he walked past. He could hear the faint hum of the television in the family room. Quietly he wandered through the house and found Kirsten sat in the middle of the sofa, her legs tucked up underneath her and a blanket pulled around her body up to her chin.

"Hey," Sandy said softly, not wanting to scare her.

Kirsten's head turned to look up at him. Sandy immediately noticed the dark circles beginning to form under her eyes. He could see the tiredness in her eyes.

"Hey. What are you doing up?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Sandy answered, settling down on the sofa next to her. "Couldn't sleep?"

Kirsten shook her head. "I didn't want to disturb you."

Sandy's left hand reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Kirsten smiled, comforted by his touch.

"What are you watching?" he asked.

Kirsten shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm starting to wonder why we have so many channels. I was watching this cookery programme, it was all about making chicken in lemon sauce, it looked delicious; but, you know, since I can't even cook a frozen pizza without setting off the smoke alarms, I thought it might be a little bit too much right now. I was also watching this documentary about lion cubs, but one got eaten by a cheetah and I couldn't watch it any more. I was gonna try the boys' ninja game again but I couldn't figure out how to turn the damn machine on."

Sandy laughed as Kirsten rambled, a trait that didn't show itself very often. Kirsten looked indignant.

"What?"

Sandy shook his head, nothing, and cupped her face with his hands, pulling her in for a deep kiss. "I love you."

Kirsten smiled. "I love you too."

Sandy reached his arms around her and she gratefully snuggled into Sandy's body, accepting the comfort that his arms offered.

"Tonight was good, right? Fun?" Kirsten questioned.

"Yeah, I think so, why?"

"I don't know. It feels like we don't spend much time together as a family any more. I mean, with work and school and girlfriends…" Kirsten's thoughts trailed off. "Seth's grown up so much since last summer, and Ryan's always been older than his years. They'll be going off to college soon and I just…I just don't want to miss anything, you know? Am I being silly?"

"No, you're being a mother," Sandy said softly, running his fingers down her face. God, he loved the way this woman thought.

They drifted into silence. Twenty years together meant that words weren't always necessary. Kirsten dropped her head onto Sandy's chest and she felt it move up and down, becoming slower and more rhythmic as he started to fall asleep.

Kirsten shifted her body so that she could look at her husband. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open slightly, his head tilting to one side. Kirsten reached up and covered his mouth with her own, coaxing him out of his slumber.

"Hmmm."

"You should go back to bed and get some sleep," Kirsten said.

Sandy gazed down at his wife. He could get used to being woken like that – it definitely beats an alarm clock. "Only if you come with me," he answered, hoping to persuade her.

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep," Kirsten said, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Well, we don't have to sleep," Sandy said, suggestively. Kirsten giggled. Sandy embraced her in another deep kiss, rubbing his hands over her back.

Another crash of garden furniture sounded from outside and Kirsten broke away from their kiss, sighing irritably. She wished she could block the storm out of her head, but she couldn't. She felt like a silly young girl, who needed her hand to be held as the big scary storm blew outside.

Sandy planted a kiss on her forehead. "It's ok," he soothed.

Kirsten sat up. "Go to bed," she ordered. "At least one of us should get some sleep tonight."

She could hear the words spoken out loud, but her subconscious pleaded with him to stay.

"No," Sandy refused, firmly. He playfully stuck his tongue out at her and got the response he was after when she laughed.

"Sandy…" Kirsten started.

"If you're staying, I'm staying," Sandy interrupted her objection. "Give me some of that."

Sandy pulled at the blanket that covered her so that it spread over both of them.

"You don't have to stay," Kirsten said.

'Stay,' her mind begged.

"I know. But my left side gets all cold when you're not there," Sandy pouted.

Kirsten laughed. He knew that she wanted him to stay and she loved him for it.

"Anyway, I brought entertainment with me," Sandy continued, reaching for the book that he had grabbed on his way downstairs.

To Kill A Mockingbird. More memories from the first storm they had shared together when they were first married. It was Sandy's favourite book. They had wrapped themselves up in a blanket, curling up in front of the fire, and Sandy had read it aloud until Kirsten had finally fallen asleep. Kirsten smiled and settled back into his embrace, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow…" Sandy started to read, his voice low and soothing. His chest rumbled as he spoke.

He didn't get very far into the story before he realised that Kirsten had fallen asleep. He smiled; some things hadn't changed. Carefully, he closed the book and placed it on the table, trying not to disturb his sleeping wife. He considered carrying her up to their bedroom but he decided against it – she was finally asleep and he didn't want to risk waking her up again. He pulled the blanket around her shoulders and settled back into the sofa, closing his eyes and finally falling back into the slumber that had been calling to him for the past hour.

>>>>>

Kirsten woke the next morning to the sound of cluttering pans. Her eyelids were still heavy from the lack of sleep and she struggled to open them, her other senses kicking in first.

"Hmph. Do I smell bacon?"

From behind her, she felt Sandy move. "Do I smell coffee?"

"Good morning, sleepyheads," Seth's voice rang out. Kirsten opened her eyes to see her son towering above them, two mugs of coffee in his hands. "You're both right. I have coffee and Ryan is cooking breakfast."

Kirsten slowly became aware of her surroundings. She was lying along the sofa, her head resting on a cushion on Sandy's lap. Sandy's upper body had fallen sideways, his head resting on his left arm, which was resting on Kirsten's hip, and his face buried into the blanket that still covered them.

"What time is it?" Sandy asked, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head.

"Almost nine," Seth answered, putting the mugs down onto the table in front of them and walking back into the kitchen.

Kirsten uncurled her legs and sat up next to Sandy. They exchanged sleepy smiles.

"Did you sleep ok?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah," Kirsten said, leaning in and kissing him softly. "Thank you for staying with me last night."

"The pleasure was all mine," Sandy replied, accepting another kiss from his wife.

"Hey, that's enough of that, you guys," Seth scolded them from the kitchen table. "Breakfast is ready."

Sandy and Kirsten headed into the kitchen and greeted Ryan with "good mornings" before settling down at the table, where Seth was already waiting impatiently.

Ryan watched from the stove as he waited for the last pancakes to be ready – Sandy's gentle teasing of his son, Seth's sarcastic comebacks and Kirsten's gentle placating responses.

Ryan hoped that another storm would hit Orange County soon.

>>>>>

That's it guys, thanks for reading! I'm feeling very accomplished now, it's the first story I've completed that's longer than a one-shot! I hope you enjoyed it. :)