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Ch 42: Rooftops

        "I'm home!" Kelly announced happily as she entered the front door. She was swarmed with people giving her hugs and welcoming her back.

        "Welcome back, Kelly," Wes said, giving her a kind smile. Kelly thanked him with a large smile of her own.

        "Kelly!" Peter called, running forward and wrapping his arms around her in a secure hug. She wrapped her arms around his back and smiled, happy to be home again.

        She spent the day with her mother's and their children, playing games and having squirt gun fights, enjoying herself thouroughly. She was mostly trying to get her mind off of all the tears she'd shed in the car on her way home. She had hated to leave Trace, especially when he said he couln't visit just yet. He still needed more time.

        That night, as Kelly was saying goodnight, one of her little girls came up to her and tugged gently on her pantleg.

        "Kelly?" the young girl asked, "Can you tuck me in?"

        "Me too?"

        "Me too!"

        The pleas continued and Kelly smiled, "I have an idea how I can tuck you all in at the same time," she said with a smile, "What if we had a campout in the livingroom?"

        The children cheered. Kelly sent them to get their pillows and blankets and they all met her back in the livingroom. Kelly had gotten out sleepingbags and unzipped them so the whole floor was a mass of colored fabric. Those acted as padding for the kids to sleep on. When they were all seated in their spots, Kelly pulled out her favorite book: Corduroy. As she sat on the couch, reading the children Peter watched from the doorway, smiling to himself.

        Tabitha came up behind him and flicked his ear, "What's with the goofy grin, bro?" she asked in a whisper.

        Peter didn't bother hiding it, he just turned his head to Tabitha, then back to Kelly, "She's so good with them," he replied in just as quiet a whisper.

        "You like her alot, don't you?" Tabitha asked, resisting the urge to tease her brother by asking him a serious question.

        Peter nodded, "She's become my world. This whole place had become my world. I can't imagine life without this Home, the people in it, or Kelly."

        "Does she know that?"

        "Not yet," Peter replied, "It's hard for me to talk to her about that because of--well..."

        "Know what I think?" Tabitha said quietly, "I think that she doesn't want to think about that anymore, and that someone needs to show her a better way. Show her that not all men are like the ones she was with." With that being said, Tabitha walked away, headed to bed herself. Peter stood for another few minutes, waiting for Kelly to finish.

        "Goodnight, kiddos," Kelly said with a smile as she went through the blankets and kissed the top of each one's head. "I'll see you at breakfast." She turned on the night light, then left the room, closing the sliding doors behind her.

        "You're so good with them," Peter said quietly, "How did you get to be so good?"

        "I don't know," Kelly admitted, "I just treat them how I would've liked to be treated when I was their age. Instead, I was basically under house arrest--anyway, enough about that. Do you want to get some ice cream and go outside with me? I need some fresh air."

        Peter agreed and grabbed a tub of ice cream and two spoons, then met Kelly outside. At first, he didn't see her, but then he saw a leg dangling over the roof edge and smirked. He put the ice cream on the roof, held the spoons in his mouth, and pulled himself up next to her, "Beautiful night," he said quietly.