Count On Me

Part Forty Two

A/N Sorry, another delay...lots going on, but here's a rather hot chapter for you all. Sorry if it offends any sensitive souls out there, Lizzie deserves some love! xxx

Chapter Forty Two

Lizzie woke, Oscar still wrapped around her, she didn't think that he'd wake for a while; he'd been quite drunk when he'd crawled into her bed. But as usual, Nate was an early riser.

"Shall we go get some breakfast?"

He looked up from his position crossed legged in front of the TV, "is Dad coming?"

She shook her head, "he's asleep, he'll probably be awake when we get back."

The café was a ten minute walk away, and Nate skipped all the way, holding her hand. He loved eye-spy, not that he quite got the rules, they'd relegated the game to colours instead of letters as his phonetics weren't always great and it often got confusing. As he named a red car, and the blue sky she vowed again to spend more time reading with him. She'd neglected that the last few months. But then since Janis had died, then everything had changed. Squeezing his hand, she joined in his game with more vigour, until they arrived at the café.

He ordered pancakes, he always did, and she plumped for eggs benedict...and coffee. They did great coffee. Nate was a tonic, chattering away about school, his friends, and all that he wanted to do.

It was absorbing to move into a world where Paw Patrol and Lego Batman ruled the world. It was so much of a relief to not have to think about what once again waited for her at home, because she knew that she couldn't, and didn't want, to resist Oscar anymore. She just felt the same sense of foreboding that had haunted her since Oscar had entered her life.

Oscar's head throbbed, and he rued Mike's influence as he tried to open his eyes. When he did, he realised that he was in Lizzie's bed, with little recognition of the night that had passed. His watch informed him that it was after midday, and he was aware of how quiet the house was.

As he climbed out of an invigorating shower, he finally heard voices from downstairs. Pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, he descended the stairs as quickly as he could. To find Lizzie lying on the sofa, a giggling Nate sat astride her trying to tickle her, but she was winning the fight.

It was a sight that stopped him in his step, a family scene, a tableau of happiness. And it affected him, like a kick to the gut. This was what he wanted more than anything.

"Dad!" Nate spotted him first and his shout pulled him from his trance.

"Is this a two way battle? Or can the Champion of Tickling take on you both?"

Nate squealed and Oscar was rewarded with a sparkle in Lizzie's eyes, as she offered, "Nate, I think me and you need to show your father how this is done!"

And just like that, a two on one chase around the house started, when Oscar grabbed Nate and started to tickle him, Lizzie grabbed him from behind, tickling him until he released Nate who ran off screeching. Instead of chasing him, as Lizzie expected, he turned on her, wiggling his fingers and his eyebrows menacingly.

"So you think that you can help him and survive yourself?"

He flexed his fingers, watching her chest rise and fall, the flush flood up her neck; she started to shake her head, stepping backwards away from him. He felt like a cat, toying with a mouse, as he let her confidence build. Then he threw himself at her, reaching for her with his superior reach. Before the shriek of fear had left her mouth, he'd wrestled her to the ground, pinning her down with his strength. He couldn't see her face, but he could hear her breathing, as rapid as her heartbeat, and feel the tremors through her body. His finger slipped beneath the knitted sweater she wore and skimmed over her ribs, before digging in slightly, and moving them.