((Scene takes place almost immediately after To Catch a Rat.))

"I'll take care of things," Jason had promised Desmond before he'd carted Christina and her cohort off to the precinct for booking and further questioning. With any luck, he could convince Vittorio to turn on his associate in hopes of a plea bargain. Whatever happened, Desmond needed to have a clear head and be rested for court in the morning. Everything depended on Elena's testimony, and Elena was depending on Desmond. "Get some rest," Jason had told his friend. "I'll make sure Michael and Elena are settled in somewhere safe and sound." It didn't really matter if Jason pulled an all-nighter; he wasn't the one who was needed at the courthouse before nine a.m. the next morning.

And so, Desmond had retired for the evening. Not to his apartment in Manhattan - it was too dangerous there - but to a hotel room, escorted and guarded by a couple of plainclothes detectives who'd been hand-picked by Jason and who he trusted implicitly. But try as he might, he couldn't manage to settle his mind. Sleep was elusive, and sleep was the one thing he sorely needed. He wasn't sure what was bothering him more - Christina's betrayal or the case itself. Was he becoming weak" Was he burning out' He had devoted his life to the pursuit of justice, to avenging the innocent, to taking scumbags off the street, but the Nicoletti case was starting to wear him down. It wasn't just the fact that they'd tried to kill him - it was all of it. All the violence, the bloodshed, the hatred, the greed. All he wanted was to be back home in Rhy'Din with Piper and Lyneth, to bask in the warmth of their love. It was all starting to weigh on his heart and his mind, and he wondered if it was all worth the heartache anymore.

He tossed and he turned for several hours, and when sleep finally came, it was full of blood and violence, and he awoke in terror, heart pounding, covered in sweat. It had been months since he'd had any nightmares, and this one clung with a cold, vicious grip around his heart. He laid awake in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, before finally deciding to do what he should have done hours ago. He reached for his phone and dialed the number of the one person who would understand and might be able to calm his jangled nerves. She was far, far away in Rhy'Din, but all he needed at the moment was to hear her voice and know she still loved him.

Far, far away in Rhy'Din, a phone rang beside a bed in the darkness, disturbing the sleep of a woman who had settled to bed a few hours before. Not only her, but the tiny girl curled up with her in the big bed she usually shared with the man who needed to hear her voice. Rousing herself as quickly as she could for fear of the ringing waking Bethany, who was asleep in another room, Piper flailed for the phone by her bedside, pushing her hair out of her eyes as Lyneth stirred against her. "It's okay, baby girl, go back to sleep," she murmured to her daughter, bringing the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

Desmond sighed with relief when he heard Piper's voice on the other end, sounding like she was just around the corner and not all the way across the Nexus, God knows where. He had to pause a moment to swallow the lump that was growing in his throat, his eyes burning with unexpected tears. "Pip," he started, his voice ragged with emotion and exhaustion. "It's me."

"Des?" Clearing her throat, Piper blinked, her eyes seeking out the digital display on the clock by the bed. She frowned at the time it showed, more than a little confused as to why he was calling at such a time of night, but more concerned with the unfamiliar note in his voice. "Sweetheart, what?s wrong" You sound upset."

Beside her, Lyneth rolled over, hugging her close, and her sleepy voice made itself known down the phoneline. "C'home, Daddy. Look inna mirror."

Des shook his head silently, overcome with emotion at the sound of his girls' voices on the other end of the phone, not knowing where they were really. Somewhere in time and space. Where was Rhy'Din, exactly' Over the rainbow" Down the rabbit hole" The other side of a portal that wasn't supposed to exist. He muffled a sob that might have sounded to them like a ragged sigh. "I can't, baby. I'm in the middle of a trial," he tried to explain, hearing Lyneth's voice. Maybe it had been a mistake to call them. The sound of their voices only made it worse, and he realized with shock that he was feeling homesick for Rhy'Din, homesick for the little family who had taken him into their hearts. "It's-it's just..." He broke off again, unable to continue, unable to explain.

Piper felt her chest ache as she heard the unexpressed tears in his voice, one arm hugging Lyneth close, wishing she could wrap Des up in her arms as well and hold him until the distress was gone. "Oh, sweetheart ..." She had no idea what to say, and if any words had been gathering in the back of her mind, they were cut off by the gentle sparkle of light that had begun to emanate from the full length mirror on the wardrobe door. "Lynnie, what are you doing?"

On the other side of the Nexus, in Des' lonely hotel room, a similar thing was happening to his mirror, and within that rippling sparkle was something else. When he looked, he saw his girls curled up in bed together, Piper looking at him through the two joined mirrors, and Lyneth already asleep again. "Um, Des ....I think Lynnie means for you to come home for tonight."

The phone went silent as Des saw the mirror in his hotel room light up like a Christmas tree, and there were Piper and Lyneth, just on the other side. It was like he was looking through a window, like if he just reached out, he might be able to touch them, and as he saw the two of them there, curled up in bed together - the two people he loved most in all of creation - he felt as though his heart was breaking. He threw off the covers and went to the mirror, close enough that Piper could see the tears swimming in his eyes and streaming down his face. He thought he'd forgotten how to cry, forgotten what that raw pain felt like. Pushed down deep and denied for so long, the pain of betrayal causing it to bubble up to the surface. "I can't, Pip. I have court in the morning," he pointed out, thinking she wanted him to come home, but not just for one night.

Leaving Lyneth curled up and sleeping in the big bed, Piper rolled out of bed herself, moving to stand in front of the sparkling mirror opposite Des. Her fingers touched the rippling surface as she gazed into his eyes, still speaking into the phone she held at her ear. "She wouldn't have opened this if you didn't need us," she reminded him gently, and dared to push her hand through the event horizon, reaching for him. "Love, come home for one night. We'll get you back in time for court, I promise. But don't be alone tonight, not when you're hurting so much." She had no idea what was wrong; all she knew was that her strong Des was on the verge of collapsing in on himself, and he was too far away for her to hold until the ache went away.

"I'm not going anywhere, Piper," he vowed, touching her cheek with surprisingly gentle fingers. "I love you and Lynnie more than anything. We're going to be married, and we're going to be a family. This is my home now. This is where I belong." He touched a tender kiss to her lips, salty with his tears, and he drew a deep breath. "I don't want to leave you," he whispered against her lips, not even for a night.

She couldn't help it; his kiss found smiling lips as she leaned into him, moved by how strongly he felt about her, about their little family. His tenderness was answered in kind, her fingers stroking through his hair as they sat curled together in the darkness. "So let me give you something to get you through until you're home for good," was her gently murmured reply, loving affection in the warmth of her lips as she kissed him again.

He met her lips with tender kisses of his own, warm and gentle in their affection, her love giving him the strength he needed to go on, renewing his determination to do what was right and finish what he started. It would be his last case with the New York D.A.'s office and perhaps his last criminal case ever, though that would remain to be seen. All he wanted at that moment was to forget about New York and everything that had to do with the Nicoletti case and lose himself in Piper's embrace.

And she was quite happy for him to do that, nuzzling soft kisses to counter his own as her arms curled about him, drawing him down into the deep cushions of the couch to give him that something he could hold onto for the next few days. Something to touch in his mind, and wrap close, to shield him against the feeling that so much was other than he had first thought as the days went by.

He drew strength and comfort from Piper's loving affection, renewing his trust, giving him the encouragement and reassurance he needed to go on, knowing she and Lyneth would be here waiting for him when he was returned. That was all he wanted really, all he needed. As long as he knew they would always be there for him, he would find the strength and resolve he needed to continue to the end, whatever the outcome. "I love you so much," he told her softly, albeit wearily as he drew back from her kisses and touched his fingers to her cheek to brush her hair from her face.

"The feeling is entirely mutual, love," Piper promised him through her smile, drawing her own fingertips against his cheek in an echo of the tender caress of his hand to hers. "Come to bed," she told him quietly, lips nuzzling to the corner of his mouth. "Sleep for a while. We'll get you back in time for court, somehow."

He wished he could stay there with her forever, but he had a responsibility to Elena. He had vowed to put Nicoletti away for good, and that's what he intended to do, but once that was accomplished, he had already decided that he was finished with New York forever. "Lyneth did this, didn't she?" he asked, though he already knew the answer to that question. The little half-Fae girl was still a wonder to him and more important than she could ever know. She had saved his life once, and he couldn't have loved her more, if she was his own flesh and blood. He smiled at the thought, but it wasn't just Lyneth who held his heart, but her mother, as well. "This is my home now, Piper. Once the trial is over, I'm finished with New York." While he had already told her this before, he had never been so sure of it as he was now.

"Somehow, she did," Piper nodded, speaking softly in the darkness as she moved to untangle herself from him. "In her sleep, shockingly enough." Her fingers wrapped to his, drawing him up with her from the sofa to wrap her arms around his waist once again. "She always knows when you need us." Soft lips found his again even as she began to step backwards, drawing him toward the stairs. "Just so long as you feel happy with whatever decision you make, love, that's all that matters. But you need to sleep, and to be honest, so do I."

"How can she know that?" he asked, wonderingly as she pulled him to his feet. As far as he knew, no fairies had accompanied him back to New York, unless they had done so without his knowledge. He knew she was half-Fae, but had never really understood all that meant. He returned her kiss, saddened by the knowledge that come morning, he would have to depart, but knowing there would be a place for him here once the trial was through. "I've already decided, Piper. I told you before. There's nothing left for me in Manhattan. My life is here with you and Lynnie."

Her smile was indistinct in the darkness, but definitely there, deeply pleased by his insistence that he wouldn't be leaving them to work on another plane ever again, once this trial was over. "Then I suppose Beth and I should start looking at wedding catalogs, shouldn't we?" she murmured, nipping his chin fondly with a soft giggle. "Come on, sweetheart. A certain little girl might decide to wake up if we don't join her soon."

Des smiled as she nipped his chin and let her draw him up the stairs to the room they now shared in the house that had become his home. No place had ever felt so much like home before, and he had never felt so welcome or so loved as he did here. There had been a time when Piper had accused him of being cold and lacking feeling, but tonight, he had showed her that he was indeed human and as in need of love and affection and support as anyone. "So long as she doesn't get a glimpse of Mr. Winkie," he remarked with a teasing grin.

There was an exquisite moment where Piper attempted to laugh completely silently, burying her face against his shoulder to muffle the loud chuckle that made itself known, not wanting to wake Bethany. Drawing back with a gasp for breath and a wide grin, she poked at his stomach. "Mr Winkie is your problem, Desmond," she informed him finally, her voice rich with amusement as she led him finally into the bedroom. "Bed. Now."

He'd almost forgotten that his once-estranged cousin was staying there, until after the trial was over and Jason returned for her. It made him happy to know she and Piper were getting acquainted and presumably getting along. It would be good for the two of them to become friends, especially since their significant others were practically like brothers. "Such a problem to have," he countered with a smile, the tears and the heartache almost forgotten. Somehow, Piper had always had the ability to heal his hurts without even trying. "Yes, dear," he replied with a small smirk, amused at the way she took charge now and then, as though they were already married. Marriage was just a formality really. Their lives were already linked together, their hearts promised.

With the door closed behind them, the only light in the room came from the illumination of moonlight through the curtains, shining a spotlight onto the peaceful face of one very special little girl who had made herself comfortable in a nest of covers right in the middle of the bed, her arms wrapped around her precious Teddy Rabbit. Piper smiled at the sight, raising Des' hand to her lip to kiss his knuckles fondly. "After you."

Des' heart swelled with love and happiness as he watched the angel fast asleep in the nest of covers on their bed, turning a warm smile to the woman at his side who had healed his heart and made him whole again. He couldn't think of one without thinking of the other, both of them adored and the center of his life. "Love you," he whispered back at her as she pressed a kiss to his knuckles and he leaned in to return that affection with a kiss to the tip of her nose before starting toward the bed to curl up with his two girls. He carefully lifted the covers and slipped into bed beside his little girl, leaning over to brush a soft, gentle kiss against her forehead. "Sleep well, sweetheart." Though the kiss was offered to Lyneth, the words were meant for both of them.

The tiny half-Fae roused just enough to cuddle up close to him, little hands gripping his t-shirt as she sighed in her sleep, almost seeming to relax further now he was there. Piper moved to the other side of the bed, sliding in to sandwich their daughter between them. "Good night, love," she whispered back, cuddling close enough to let him wrap both of them up in his arms.

It was only for one night - one night's respite amidst the darkness that awaited him back in New York - but it was one night that promised to get him through it, the light at the end of the tunnel. This was what awaited him when he was through, this promise of being loved and loving in return. He had once been without it and now that he had it, he knew it was the most precious gift anyone could ever bestow on him. It was something to be cherished and nourished and protected at all costs, and very soon, it would be forever his.

((Here's hoping it all goes well from here on in, huh' :grin: Huge thanks to Des' player!))