Author’s note: This story takes place at the end of Everything is Everything.

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Catherine watched as Tony and his grandparents hugged.  She was always emotionally moved by happy endings. She left the building and proceeded to the tunnel entrance where she and Tony had left Vincent. He was patiently waiting for her at the bottom as she descended the ladder. He could read the contentment on her face as well as through the bond.

Vincent had a small smile on his face as he watched her and softly declared as a fact, “it went well.”

Catherine had a bittersweet expression as she confirmed, “Tony has a family again.”

“Good.” Vincent was still smiling.

Catherine was contemplative as she responded, “I think he stole a piece of my heart.” Her fondness for the young gypsy was showing.

Vincent appreciated the generosity of her spirit. “And you will always keep a part of his. You helped him find his way home again, Catherine. No one could ever give a child a better gift.”

Catherine wanted to ensure he understood the valuable role he had played in procuring a happy conclusion for Tony. She pointed out, “It came from both of us.”

Vincent reached around with his left hand to rest gently on the back of her neck and tenderly pulled her close to him for a hug. They settled together for a few moments just soaking up the good they had accomplished together before breaking apart to head home.

The couple walked quietly through the yellow highlights of the tunnel holding hands and enjoying the gift of being together. The hem of his cloak swayed with each step he took, sometimes feathering itself against the outside of her left calf.  Each contact felt like a whispered caress enhancing the closeness.

Catherine was thinking about all that had transpired that evening and suddenly wanted to know about the dogs. She was unsure if asking Vincent about the incident would make him uncomfortable and if she should leave it alone. Her attorney’s mind was sometimes prone to over-analyzing, and she was unconsciously chewing at her bottom lip as they walked.

Vincent suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her. His voice was low and his expression quizzical as he asked, “What has you so pensive, Catherine? Does something about the resolution bother you?”

“No.” She hesitated. “It’s nothing like that. I have a question I want to ask you, but I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” She spoke softly and looked at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

“Catherine, you know you may ask me anything. I will answer you truthfully if I know the answer. Please look at me.” Vincent was concerned about her hesitance.  He could think of nothing that had happened that should concern her so.

Catherine looked up and drew a deep breath. She let it out slowly as she complied with his request.

“Okay. It’s about the dogs. What did you do to make them so submissive?I’ve never seen anything like that. It was incredible.” She dropped his hand and took a step back to look up at him from a more comfortable angle.

The corners of Vincent’s mouth twitched slightly as he looked off into the distance to gather his thoughts to explain this phenomenon. He turned around slowly and stepped to the tunnel wall. He turned to face her, folded his arms over his chest, and crossed his legs as he relaxed his back against the curved surface. He looked down for a minute before he again looked into her eyes and began to explain.

“I just got their attention and then visualized what I wanted them to do. And then they did it. They stopped their frenzied attack and laid down in front of me. It was as simple as that,” he said as he cocked an eyebrow as if to ask if that answer was sufficient.

Catherine slowly shook her head in disbelief. “It can’t be as simple as that. There must be more to what you did to stop their attack.”

Vincent gave her his small smile and shrugged. “I don’t know how else to explain it. It is what happened.”

Catherine’s skepticism for this brief explanation was apparent when she asked, “How did you know that it would work? Have you done this before? And why would that work? Obviously, those dogs were trained to be vicious, and they were doing an excellent job demonstrating that training.”

Vincent knew her logical mind couldn’t resist asking for more information. It was inherent in her makeup.

He patiently answered her questions.“I knew it would work because, yes, I have done it before. I assume it works because apex predators have a hierarchy, and they instinctively know who will be stronger in a battle. Much of that assessment comes down to size, strength, and inherent weapons for killing. I am bigger and stronger than the dogs and my empathic transmission of that must resonate with them. Every predator will walk away from a battle they cannot win if given the opportunity. Survival is a strong internal directive. I simply gave them the opportunity by asking them to submit.”

“When did you first discover this talent?” Catherine was fascinated by this new discovery of who Vincent was.

Vincent shifted his weight to uncross his legs and recross them the other way. “I was around ten years old when a family with a German Shepherd named Max came to live in the tunnels for a brief time while the father needed time to get a new job to provide for his family. Father made an exception for the dog because the children were attached to it and the dog was their protector. One of the boys was about my age and wanted to be my friend, but the dog wouldn’t let me near him. The dog growled and showed his teeth whenever I came within his sight. He was fine with all the other children, so I was unhappy with the situation.

“I started trying to reach out and see if I could feel the dog’s emotions and I got a faint read on why he saw me as a threat. At the age of ten, I barely outweighed the dog by a few pounds, so size was not the issue. He didn’t like my scent because he recognized it as the scent of a predator. So, he went into protection mode for his pack.”

Catherine stepped closer, leaning her shoulder against the tunnel wall to face him.  She waited for him to continue.

“As a kid I tried to do what all the other kids did to get the dog to accept them.  Treats, a soft voice, not making eye contact, and staying close to the other kids did nothing to alleviate the dog’s distrust of me.” Vincent gave a wry smile.

“Then how did you manage him?” Catherine was certain that Vincent had prevailed.

“The teasing of the other children was starting to make me angry. It took Devin’s interference on my behalf to get them to let it go. I took some downtime to go to the Mirror Pool and brood about the problem.” He paused for a moment, and he could almost hear what she was thinking about his ongoing tendency to brood.

Vincent continued in a self-deprecating tone. “Yes, Catherine, even then I had a need to be alone to work out what I perceived to be a problem.”

They both gave a knowing smile as he paused before continuing.

“I wanted so badly to be like everyone else and not be excluded for being so different. I started to imagine how it would feel and look if the dog would just back down and let me play with his children. I played the scenario over and over in my head until I could readily call it up. I threw in the suggestion that I was stronger than the dog.” Vincent had a faraway look in his eyes as though he was reliving the vision.

He continued. “So, it was with a sense of purpose that I sought to confront the dog.  Devin tried to talk me out of it, but I tended to be stubborn when I was young.”

Catherine couldn’t resist the urge to tease him when she asked, “when you were young?”

Vincent looked at Catherine in mock admonishment and put his hand to his chest.  “Yes, Catherine, when I was young. Anyway, when Devin and I rounded the corner where the family was housed, Max was guarding the tunnel entrance to the chambers. As usual, he greeted me with growling and showing every tooth in his head. I immediately made eye contact asserting my dominance while visualizing him settling into a down position with his head resting on his paws. To my amazement and most certainly Devin’s, Max stopped growling and laid down quietly. I never had any further issues with the dog. I was accepted to play with the children. Over the years I have found this skill useful to deal with less than friendly dogs I have encountered when roving above at night.”

“You never cease to amaze me. And I mean that in a good way.” Catherine smiled and looked at Vincent with all the love in her heart apparent in her expression as well as flooding the bond.

Vincent pushed away from the wall and reached out for her hand to continue the walk home. Catherine removed the gloves from her hands and put them in her trouser pockets before placing her hand in his. She craved skin-to-skin contact to enhance the present closeness with the love of her life. Vincent smiled as they resumed walking.

Catherine couldn’t resist asking, “Does this talent work with other species?”

“That’s the same thing that Devin wanted to know. He had me try it with cats, raccoons, squirrels, birds, rabbits, and any other animals we encountered when we sneaked out at night into the park without Father’s knowledge. The answer is a resounding no. Devin was extremely disappointed.” Vincent softly chuckled with this pronouncement.

“Did you ever try it with people?” Catherine was curious.

Vincent looked sheepish before he answered. “I tried it on Devin for fun and on Mitch Denton to stop his bullying when I first discovered my success with the dog.  Those attempts were unsuccessful. In my child’s mind, I really wished that I had a superpower to be able to control my world and those in it. Alas, I had no such luck.”

“Vincent, all children and even some adults secretly wish to have a superpower to control the people and circumstances around them that cause them pain. In my childhood, I wished for such a gift when my mother died. But wishing did not make it come true.” Catherine looked into his eyes with such compassion and love that it took his breath away.

Vincent sighed. “Catherine, only you and Devin know about the dogs. Even Father has no idea about this additional difference about me. There was no reason to share it.”

They had reached the threshold where their goodbye was imminent. Vincent gently enfolded her in a hug with his arms encircling her waist. Catherine had her arms around his waist under the cloak and put her cheek on the soft fabric of his vest.  He rested his face on the top of her head where the scent of her shampoo lingered.  The love and contentment flowing through the bond between them was serene.

Vincent realized that he had let himself be totally vulnerable to her by sharing this secret and for once, he didn’t care. He was floating in the calming tempo of the bond, secure in the knowledge of her unconditional acceptance. He was caught off guard by her next actions.

Without premeditation due to the intimacy they were sharing, Catherine lightly pulled her arms from around his waist, slid them up his chest to his neck and then gently framed her hands on each side of his face. She tenderly urged his face downward towards hers and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She lingered there for a timeless measure demanding nothing from him but giving him the sweet sensations he had only imagined in his dreams. The feel of her full lips on his was only possible because he had forgotten to shore up his willful defenses for her safety before they had reached the threshold. Yet, nothing bad was happening. The kiss was chaste, guileless, and full of promises.

She slowly released the kiss and looked deeply into his eyes when they finally opened. Surprise did not begin to describe the look she found there. The sky blue topaz eyes blinked slowly as he tumbled into her gaze.

Catherine spoke the words she had said to him at their first parting. “Vincent, your secret is safe with me. I would never betray your trust.”

He responded as he did the first time with tenderness in both his voice and his expression. “I know. I knew that from the beginning when you trusted me.”

She lingered for a moment more in his arms until the bond coalesced their feelings into what would be preserved as a special memory and then she stepped away. She gave him one last look with what he had cataloged as her self-satisfied smile before she stepped through the light that would take her back into her world.

Vincent sighed and started pulling himself together, packing his emotions back into their tightly confined corners that allowed him to function in his world. He touched his fingers to his mouth where the feel of her lips had been permanently tattooed into his senses. He shook his head to clear his mind as he started the trek back to his chamber. He knew that his dreams tonight would be full of possibilities.