Darker London-Uncover what is underneath...

Everything was done, everything was ready save for the last minute dressing. Oh and Peter. He was busy hyperventilating in the corner as he tried not to think about the next few hours. He'd been the celebrant at weddings before. Countless weddings. He'd never been a groom. He never thought he'd ever be a groom. Marriage he could do. A wedding terrified him and he couldn't explain why.

Thomas bounced into the dressing room with a gigantic grin on his face and he gave all the men manly punches in their arms and pats on their backs as he made his way to Peter. He embraced his best friend, crushing the orange blossom in his lapel. "Oh fuck! I smooshed your tiny posy."

( Getting Ready )

After Lydia's equestrian event in which she had placed second in her division, the family had had a lovely ice cream party in Peter and Aly's room. Aly was thrilled by the fact that Lydia had wanted to share the event with her. It made her feel good. After everyone toddled off and Kat and Thomas headed out for their movie, Peter sat by Aly's side with his arms wrapped around her. "Feeling any better, Love?" He asked her, kissing her on her temple.

( Future Plans )

The second Anna had arrived back home, she'd burst into tears. That afternoon, someone had accidently pushed her over on the playground and her leg now sported an ugly wound running from the knee to the ankle. She'd been fine until she caught sight of her Daddy, however. Then she'd suddenly remembered she was hurt and out came the waterworks. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Anna was an 8 year old girl. And sometimes I was really very easy to remember. "Oh, Sweetheart, what happened?" Peter asked scooping her up and holding her tightly.

( Magic Kisses )

Peter's girls had gone to bed and so had Caleb. Peter and Aly were sitting in their room in the beach house, Peter reading and Aly writing. Peter put his book down and he leaned back against the pillows. He felt so relaxed and it was wonderful. He looked over at Aly and smiled. She was amazingly beautiful, backlit by the lap so her hair shone. After a few minutes she looked up and turned slightly red. "What?" She asked, though she knew the answer.

"You're beautiful." Peter said softly, giving her an adoring look.

( Fluff so much Fluff... )

When Peter and David had arrived home, Peter had spent some much needed time with his family, explained everything to Elizabeth, and then he'd fallen into bed. At least he knew he wouldn't have to dream any more of Lauren's experiences. Oh no. He had the memories right there in his head. He shut his eyes against the memories and thankfully fell asleep rather quickly.

After several hours of heavy sleep, Peter felt a weight on his mattress and he stirred, groaning. He rubbed his eyes and tried to open them, but the light streaming through his window was too bright so he turned over and mumbled into his pillow. "Too bright."

( Surprise Visitor )

Elizabeth, being the kind understanding sister she was, had seen how upset Peter was over Thomas's absence and she'd taken the girls and Emma on an outing so Peter could brood in peace. While it had been a good plan at first, Peter soon realised that he'd changed a lot in the past few months and he didn't want to brood in peace. Sitting at the breakfast nook sipping lemonade while the dog Petey stared at him, his large soulful eyes begging to be played with, was not all it was cracked up to be. Gone were the days when Peter could just sit in misery. Well maybe not gone, but today was not one of those days. Instead he wished he could surround himself with his family and they could dull the aching void that Thomas had left.

( No More Brooding! )

Peter and Aly had had a lovely dinner out together and Peter had even managed to be relaxed! She'd teased him about the fact that he bought a motorcycle when he didn't know how to drive one, and they'd discussed their children's plans for school and the like. Peter had even explained a bit of his tragic past as well as his family went, though he didn't go too far into it on their first date alone together. It seemed just a tad morbid.

As he drove her home, they lapsed into silence, though it was comfortable. He was watching the road and feeling calm just to have her beside him, and she was looking out the window, just glad to be with someone. Once they arrived at her house and Peter had walked her to the door, however, the uncomfortableness ran rampant.

( I have ME, are you interested? )

Peter had driven back home early so he could bring Petey the dog back and make the house seem at least a little more homey before he had to go pick up his family. He'd had a nice chat with Robert and then he'd gotten a phone call from Liz saying they were going to be late. Peter had to remind himself that them being late didn't mean they'd been flayed alive. It wasn't easy.

When his phone rang again, Peter immediatley lost the composure he'd just happened to gain with Robert's help. "Peter, you have to answer it. It's allrigh' they'll be fine!" Robert said, wandering away so Peter could have privacy.

Peter stared at the phone for a second before he finally answered. "Hello?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky.

No one from Victoria Lane had gone shopping for several days, and it was little wonder why. It became apparent just how dire the situation was, however, when they finally ran out of milk and Peter was left tealess. Tealess would not do. Peter had decided that grocery shopping..or at the very least, milk shopping...was an essential quest at that point. Deirdre was reluctant to let him go alone, but he had his car and everyone else was busy or unavailable. So Peter went alone anyway.

Of course, the second he stepped out of his car, his mobile rang. Panicked that something had happened during the course of his 15 minute drive, Peter answered quickly. "Hello! Is everything okay?"

( Heh )