Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

***ARCHIE***

A rchie didn't believe what he was seeing at first. Felicity couldn't be walking across the clearing toward him, but then he caught a whiff of the scent that was uniquely hers, and his heart began to pound. She looked a little unsteady on her feet and he started toward her, worrying that something was wrong, but when their eyes met, he saw something he'd never seen before in their blue depths, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

He'd been standing in the clearing for a long time watching the waterfall, feeling the power coming from the cascading water slowly filling him, and the answer to what he wanted had come to him. Felicity was what he wanted, in dreams or in real life. He wanted her by his side, and now, as if it had all been planned, she was walking toward him. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about the risk he'd be taking, but watching Felicity coming toward him, it was clear what the reward would be, and his confidence flared.

"Am I dreaming, or are you really here?" he asked when she was standing in front of him. "I was just thinking about you, Felicity, I think we need to talk. "

"You're not dreaming, you're wide awake," she said. "And so am I."

He was surprised when she slipped into his arms and laid her head on his chest, but wrapped his arms around her out of instinct, then realized how good it felt. They stood that way for a long time, then Felicity pulled back and looked up at him, searched his face for a few seconds, then stretched up on her toes and kissed him. It was a tentative kiss, her lips warm and firm on his, but he didn't move, and she grew a bit bolder, slipping her tongue into his mouth before deepening the kiss.

Pleasure rushed through him. He felt the passion between them flare to life, and he kissed her back, suddenly desperate to have more, to take their encounter to its logical end. But Felicity pulled away from him, then slipped out of his arms, and stood staring at him, her chest heaving, her blue eyes filled with desire.

"I just had to make sure it felt the same way when we weren't dreaming," she said, her voice husky. "I guess I can mark that off my list."

"You have a list?" he asked, grinning at her. "I can't wait to see what's next."

Felicity gave him a dirty look. "Hush for a second. You do funny things to my brain," she said, waving her hand at him. "I can't think right now."

"Good, then we're even," he said. "But I have to warn you, it's not just my brain you do strange things to, there's my heart and a few other parts that are affected as well."

"Before this goes any further, I have a few questions for you," Felicity said. "Then we're going to finish this thing one way or the other. Fate and this island may have plans for us, but I still have the power to choose my own destiny. If I'm choosing you, there are a few things I need to know."

"Ask away, I'll answer the best I can," he said, taking her hand and leading her over to the water. "Let's sit down, we'll be more comfortable."

Once they were settled on a flat rock at the water's edge, she turned to him. "In the last dream, Susan called me your charity case. She said something about you fixing the scar on my face," Felicity said. "What did she mean?"

He'd completely forgotten that she didn't know he was a doctor and hoped she wasn't going to be mad, "I'm a plastic surgeon, Felicity," he said. "One of the best on the west coast. I have patients that come to me from all over the world, and I make a ton of money for Susan's dad. It's not what I set out to do. I went to medical school to make the world a better place and bring medical care to people who don't have access or can't afford it."

She was silent for so long, he began to get nervous, "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. "Why did you hide it?"

"I didn't mean to, I guess I just never thought to tell you," he said. "Does it change things?"

"No, not really, maybe it's better I didn't know, I probably would have thought……well, it doesn't matter now," she said, then hesitated before looking over at him. "Do you think you could fix my scar? I'm getting used to it, but well……"

He reached up and ran his thumb over the angry red line that ran across her cheek, "It could be fixed, cleaned up, made a little smaller," he said. "But I couldn't do it, not anymore."

"Oh, well, that's okay," she said, with a sigh of disappointment. "I understand."

He turned her to face him, "Felicity, I couldn't operate on you now because you've become someone I care about," he said, smiling at her. "My professional detachment flew out the window a long time ago. You mean too much to me."

A blush spread across her cheeks, "You mean a lot to me too, Archie," she said. "I think it's time we finished this thing. That's really why I came up here."

"Don't you have more questions for me?" he asked, not ready to face the demons behind the third door. "I'm an open book, remember?"

"Nope, I'm good for now," she said, then looked around. "Where should we do this?"

"You want to take a nap now?" he asked. "Right here at the waterfall?"

"Why not?" she said, getting to her feet. "It's a beautiful place, and I see the perfect spot right over there in the shade of that big tree."

"Felicity, maybe we should go back to the village," he said, but let her drag him to his feet. "It might be safer or something."

She looked up at him but didn't miss a step. "Archie, are you stalling?" she asked, then smiled at him. "I don't blame you for being scared. Those last two dreams weren't very much fun, but you remember what Mateo said? We have to finish this to move on."

"What if you see something that makes you change your mind about me?" he asked. "Something that completely alters the way you look at me."

They reached the tree and Felicity plopped down on the soft moss, then patted the spot next to her. "There's no guarantee about anything in life, I've learned that lesson the hard way, but there's nothing that's going to make me change my mind about you," she said. "Take a leap of faith, Archie, it's the only way we're going to get through this."

When she held her hand out to him, he took it, then sank down next to her. "For you, I'll take the risk," he said. "And when this is over, we need to have a long talk."

"Dream first," she said, pushing him down onto his back. "Talk later. "

Felicity curled up in his arms, her head on his chest, and he closed his eyes not sure that he'd be able to sleep with her so close, but only seconds later, he dropped into a deep sleep. Felicity followed him into the abyss, and when he opened his eyes, they were standing together in front of the three doors and the keys were already in his hands.

***Felicity***

Felicity watched over Archie's shoulder as he chose a key, slipped it into the huge brass lock, then turned it. "Okay, last one," he said, swinging the door open. "It's not too late to change your mind."

"Not happening," she said, shaking her head. "We finish this together just the way we started. That's the way it has to be, I can feel it."

Archie took her hand, then leaned down and kissed her loudly on the lips, "Just for luck," he said. "Are you ready?"

They stepped out of the inky blackness into a huge room filled with expensive furniture, and she stood looking around for a second, getting her bearings. A coffee bar stood against one wall, a fountain gurgled happily in one corner, and a collection of the best dressed women she'd ever seen spread around the room. Ears, necks, and wrists glittered with sparkling gems and gold. A small country could survive on what it cost to cloth them, and the purses sitting on the tables next to them cost more than some college educations.

She felt Archie stiffen next to her, his body suddenly radiating tension, and she squeezed his hand forcing him to look over at her. "Where are we?" she whispered, not sure if they were watching or participating this time. "It looks like a waiting room."

Archie nodded, "This is my office, well……. Susan's dad's office," he said. "I'm not even a partner in the practice yet. "

"Are all these women your patients?" she asked, taking a few steps toward the front desk wondering if the woman on the computer would see them. "Do you think they can see us?"

"No, I don't think so," he said. "Marge would have already said something to us, especially considering the way we're dressed."

She looked down at her grubby shorts and tank top, "Oh, right, we're not exactly dressed to fit in," she said. "What are we doing here?"

"I think the island wants to rub my nose in just how bad my life is," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Come on, let's go into the back, I doubt we'll learn anything standing out here."

Before he'd even finished his sentence, they were standing in another room, this one tiny and cramped with a huge desk in the center. Archie was sitting behind the desk dressed in a white lab coat, tapping away at a computer, a scowl on his face. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing two of you," she said, looking over at him. "Especially not in this tiny room. This isn't much of an office."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said. "Kind of pathetic when you look at it from this angle."

She squeezed his hand, but there was a knock on the door before she could say anything, "Archie are you in here?" an older man asked, opening the door. "Oh, good, I was hoping I could catch you before I headed out to the golf course. I had to move your day at the hospital to next month, Mrs. Cramer called and she has to get into see you. I know you won't mind, bills to pay and all that."

"But I do mind," the other Archie said. "Stan, you know how important those volunteer days are to me. Can't you see Mrs. Cramer? It's just a Botox injection."

"Can't do it, my boy," Stan said. "Susan and I are flying to Paris that day. I'm sure I sent you that email with our plans. She's going to need a bit of extra spending money by the way, be sure you see to that before we leave."

The other Archie got to his feet, "Then you're going to have to give it to her," he said. "She's already bled me dry, and you know it."

Stan shook his head, "It sure would be a shame if Judge McIntyre found out during our golf game today that my little girl isn't happy," he said. "You know what he said at the trial, I would hate to see you end up in jail over a few thousand dollars."

"Archie that's blackmail, he can't do that," she said. "You have to fight back."

"I tried," he said, then turned back to the scene in front of them, every muscle in his body tense.

Susan came bursting into the room. "Archie, I want that money for Paris, I don't care how you get it, you worthless loser," she screamed at him. "If you don't give me what I want, not only will I have the judge throw you in jail, I'll ruin your life. I'll see to it you never practice medicine again."

The other Archie opened his mouth, then closed it again and sat down in his chair. "Well, good, I'm glad that's settled, now I can enjoy my golf game," Stan said, backing away. "Susan, dear, I'll see you at dinner tonight."

"Bye, Daddy," Susan said, giving him a big smile and waving, then turned on the other Archie. "Now, as for you, you're going to do exactly what Daddy says. You owe us everything, do you hear me? Your career, your life, and don't you ever forget it. Without us, you'd be slumming it in some suburban hospital scrambling to pay back your student loans. I told you that I'd make your life miserable if you divorced me. Well, it's time to pay the piper, Archie."

Susan turned and walked out of the office. The other Archie put his head in his hands, and lowered it to the desk with a huge sigh. "Archie, that's mental abuse," she said, turning to look at him, her heart breaking when she saw the stricken look on his face. "Words can hurt just as much as fists. They wear you down after a while. You start believing what they're telling you is true."

"But I let her do that to me," he said, his voice cracking. "I put up with it because I thought I had to."

"Well, you know better now, don't you?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him. "It's up to you to break the cycle. It's not easy, but I know you can do it."