And as they danced, Vincent shared, "You have gifted a part of my heart I never knew existed...and within is a protectiveness which unfortunately tonight revealed itself."
To which Catherine responded, "Just promise me you won't just leave, but that you will stay...stay so we can talk through those feelings..."
Humbly, Vincent with a calm in his heart, said, "I will try..."
But then did promise, "...know this, my protectiveness does serve a purpose...I vow to be there for you always..."
With a humble smile, Catherine replied, "Well, I must say, not since I was a very young girl, had I felt so sweetly protected."
She then dreamily conveyed, "With you I feel that kind of connection again."
Just then the timer went off, and Catherine shook the emotion from her voice, as she said, "Hmm, sounds like the pizza is ready..."
And so they enjoyed their pizza by the light of the fire, and even Noodles nosed in once in awhile for a little attention too.
Kindly, their moods had lightened, and they began making plans for Thanksgiving, when the phone rang.
As Catherine got up to answer, She smiled back at Vincent and said, "It is probably Jenny checking on me again."
But as Vincent heard Catherine excitedly say, "Hi Dad!" he continued to look at her, and thought their conversation sounded loving, casual, and light-hearted.
And after catching up on his day, Charles then asked about Catherine's day.
To which Catherine sweetly replied, "It was good Dad, Vincent had invited me to visit the tunnels earlier today, and I saw Jacob, who said he was still bouncing back from his travels."
Curious what she thought of Vincent's home, Catherine replied, "Intriguing, especially this one huge magnificent cavern with a waterfall, and it is called the Chamber of the Falls."
And then Catherine added, "And you will be happy to know, since Jenny's change in plans, I won't be alone after all. Vincent has invited me to spend Thanksgiving in the tunnels along with him, Jacob and others of his community."
To which Charles responded, "Well tell Vincent thanks for that, now I won't be envisioning you sitting in Denny's, or getting take-out!"
In response, Catherine replied, "I will tell him, In fact Vincent is visiting now. Oh and before I forget to ask, you did call Uncle Douggy and Aunt Elaine about our change in plans, right?"
To which Charles replied, "Yes I did Dear Daughter, and although they were disappointed, they did understand. And I guess there is a heavy snow fall fore-casted for the area, and they agreed it is safer for all of us to just stay put."
And because Peter wanted the phone, Charles said, "Peter has something to say, so hang on..."
Charles then passed the phone to Peter, and he asked, "Hi kiddo, so Noodles isn't too much trouble?"
As Catherine looked toward Noodles sleeping away, she replied, "No trouble at all Peter, he really is doing so great with the transition...so I don't want you or Aunt Pauline worrying about him."
With an emotional tone, Peter replied, "Well we both think Noodles is exactly where Mom would have wanted him to be...thanks for making this change easy for him, and for us too! We would have felt so guilty passing him off to someone we didn't really know down here in Florida."
Feeling honored, and emotional, Catherine told Peter thank you for his trust in her, and it was then Peter changed the subject, and asked, "Did I hear Vincent is there? Put Vincent on the line would ya kiddo?"
Saying her goodbyes to Peter, Catherine then handed the phone to Vincent, as she said, "Peter would like to say hi."
Hesitantly, Vincent took the phone, and huskily said, "Hello Peter."
With a warm hello, Peter then asked how Jacob was doing after the trip. To which Vincent replied, "Father is doing well..."
To which Peter kindly replied, "Good, I am glad to hear the trip wasn't too hard on 'em. It really meant a lot to me he came."
Humbly, Vincent responded, "Father, wanted to be there with you, and it pained me I could not."
Upon hearing the tone in Vincent's voice, Peter commiserated with him, as he said, "I know you would have been there if you could. Oh by the way, I have to ask, how do you like Noodles?"
With a smile in his voice, Vincent replied, "I like Noodles very much, and he is quite protective of Catherine. And I would concur with Catherine's assessment, he seems very contented."
Peter laughed, as he relayed, "If you could have seen Cathy it was priceless! She kept trying to resist the little guy, but I believe Noodles knew he had one last chance to steal her heart before she walked out the door for good, and HE made the most of it! He looked at her in the most pitiful way, and as he broke her last heart-string, she snatched him right up!"
Peter laughed, as he told the story to Vincent, and as he looked over at Charles, his chuckle was quickly extinguished by the anxious look Charles's was giving him, because he was wanting to speak with Vincent too!
Peter cleared his throat, and said, "Oh yes, well Vincent, I think Charles would like to say a word or two. Here he is."
Vincent looked nervously at Catherine, causing Catherine to tip her head back at him, wondering what could be wrong.
Just then, she heard Vincent say, "Hello Charles."
Catherine's eyes widened and she instinctively brought her hands to her face, as she thought, "OH NO! Poor Vincent!"
Vincent was silent as he listened to Charles, asking him to look out for Catherine until he returned after Thanksgiving.
To which Vincent nodded, and looked directly at Catherine, as he said, "I will look out for her Charles. And as Catherine said, we are looking forward to her spending Thanksgiving with us."
Vincent then light-heatedly mentioned, "In fact we are putting her to work as well. She will be providing us with some homemade pies."
Charles beamed as he assumed, "Oh, so she must be making her Grandmother's Sweet Potato Pie...''
To which Vincent hesitantly replied, "Catherine was going to, however, due to our very prideful cook William, who also claims the Sweet Potato pie as his specialty, Catherine has kindly changed her choice."
Feeling a little puzzled, as he wondered about this place, The Tunnels, which has a private Cook, Charles decided to ask Peter more about this later on, instead of grilling Vincent.
And so Charles simply said, "Well fine then, she is a good little baker, so whatever she bakes will be good..."
Charles then cleared his throat as he added, "...on a more serious note, I want to say my daughter is the world to me, and I would like to meet with you when I return, and you know, talk, and become better acquainted."
Vincent diverted his eyes from Catherine as he said to Charles, "I understand your concerns, as I would as well. We will arrange to meet upon your return."
As Vincent raised his eyes to look into Catherine's, he could see she was holding her breath, trying to imagine what her Dad could be saying, and Charles was speechless by the honesty of Vincent's reply!
And so, Charles kindly said, "Well until we meet then, I will place my trust in your watching over my daughter for me..."
Charles then laughed a bit, as he noted, "Seems I have asked this of you before...on Halloween when I had to leave the party, ah well old habits are hard to break. Well, any way, good bye for now Vincent, and see you soon. If you would put Cathy back on..."
To which Vincent answered, "Of course, Good-bye Charles."
Vincent then handed the phone to Catherine, and as she put the phone to her ear, she asked, "Yeah Dad..."
With a joking tone, Charles replied, "Don't worry, I didn't say anything ambarrassing...but we just said when I get back, we'll meet up..."
With a prideful tone, Catherine said, "I wasn't worried Dad..."
And then changing the subject, Catherine asked, "Hmm, when did you say Aunt Pauline's family is arriving?"
Informatively, Charles said, "The troops will be here tomorrow! So she warned Peter and I, to enjoy our last night of peace and quiet! In fact we are doing salmon out on the grill, and relaxing with a few cocktails. Ah, its a beautiful night here kiddo."
Happy to hear they were finding some enjoyment during this difficult time, Catherine warmly said, "Sounds lovely Dad. I am so relieved that you are there safe and sound, and not flying back and forth."
To which Charles then said, "Well I guess wise, practical choices can still pain the heart. I sure miss ya Honey..."
Just then Pauline called the two guys to the supper table, and Charles explained, "Well, I guess the soups on, so I better go. See you soon Honey."
And because she was missing her Dad so much too, with emotion, Catherine sweetly answered, "I will see you when you come home Dad, I love you."
And as they hung up the phone, Vincent with a heavy sigh, expressed, "Your Father, is a very kind man, wanting to meet with an open mind..."
Catherine thoughtfully said, "My Dad is a kind, fair man Vincent, and he has never let me down by the balance in which he views life."
Catherine then smiled mischievously as she admitted, "However, I was a little worried his over-protective "Daddy-The-Lawyer" mode would take over, and put you through a cross-examination of sorts though. But I realize if he had, it would have been because, I am all he has."
Vincent held her gently, as he looked down and cautioned, "Which is why... it could still happen. It may be different when your Father and I meet. I am expecting it, and so should you. He loves you very much and has a right to his concerns."
Vincent tipped his head to lean on Catherine's, and his breath trembled a bit as he then said in his deep husky whisper, "Catherine...we are traveling a dark uncertain path with nothing but our bond to guide, and light our way."
Catherine looked up with a childlike wonderment, adding, "And our hearts Vincent..."
With a smile in his eyes, he conceded, "Yes...Catherine...and our hearts."
As Catherine nodded, she then spoke of all she was asking of her Dad, including her career change.
Adding she herself hosted an excitement, yet hesitancy over her new job at the D.A.! She revealed her fear, wondering if in all actuality, she had what it took to do the job.
As Vincent looked at Catherine, he told her, "You have the strength Catherine, and you have the heart. You can do the job."
Catherine was astounded at the power Vincent's words of Faith had over her, and she told him, "Thank you Vincent...I only know I have to try."
Vincent reluctantly added, "I mustn't keep you from your sleep again tonight, and I promised Father I would return at an early hour."
A look of disappointment came to Catherine's face, when just then, Vincent looked about at all of their dishes, and offered, "However, allow me to assist you before I leave."
As Catherine too looked, she happily said, "I should say no, but shamefully, I will accept any excuse so you stay even a minute longer."
And so after putting out the fire, they gathered the plates, and as Vincent took the tray from her, Catherine smiled, and said, "Thank you kind sir."