Oh. God. Oh. Dear. Lord.

Mouse tried to turn her head, but it felt like she was inside a gyroscope when she moved, so she stopped, choosing instead to attempt to open her eyes. It immediately felt like someone was stabbing her eyeballs with a thousand needles, and she snapped them shut.

Next, she endeavored to roll over, but the pain in her back was searing and immediate, and the motion made the giant gyroscope crank into action again, so she stopped. Being hungover shouldn't cause this much actual physical agony in a person's back, should it?

Mouse remained where she was, waking up slowly, cautiously, not moving a muscle. The events of the previous day came trickling back into her mind a little at a time. There had been beer. And wine. And laughing. With Henry. And her naked back.

Naked? She considered.

Yes. Definitely naked. But there was a reason.

He'd been giving her a massage.

A massage? No. Not possible.

He'd been doing something, though. Something really nice. Pleasant and cool. He'd had a washcloth. Wrapped around some ice cubes. For her sunburn. Yeah.

She'd gotten sunburned with Leo in Washington Square Park. The day at the park flashed in her head, like a bunch of still frames against a white screen. Henry had been there, taking pictures of her and Leo. She'd been in her bikini top.

Oh no.

She glossed over this uncomfortable fact, and kept remembering. Where had Leo been when she'd gotten shitfaced?

He'd been in bed already. Sleeping.

Good.

To the best of her recollection, she hadn't said or done anything embarrassing, even though she'd mixed beer and wine. And a painkiller.

Yikes.

Memories of kissing Henry in the dark hallway flooded into her brain, washing all other thoughts away. She experienced it all over again, with all five of her senses, the sound of his breathing, the smell of his skin, the firmness of his body--

Mouse sat bolt upright in bed, feeling for a second like someone was trying to split her head in two with a meat cleaver. She grasped the headboard, trying to stop the room from moving.

"Mouse?"

Leo's voice, small and cautious, cut through her pain.

"Daddy told me to bring you this, and he said to say he has coffee when you're ready."

Mouse opened her eyes to see his dear face, holding out a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of Exedrine Migraine in the other.

"Thanks, big guy," she said as she gratefully accepted his offerings. She quickly took a couple of tablets, and drank the entire bottle, making Leo's eyes get as big as marbles as he watched. "How long have you been up?" she asked. "Why didn't you come get me? You should've let your daddy sleep in."

Leo shook his head. "He told me last night to leave you alone this morning because your back was burned," he told her. "He said you needed to 'cuperate' today."

"Re-cuperate, big guy," Mouse corrected with a smile. "And thank you for that." She reached for his hand. "Let's go find that coffee, okay?"

Leo nodded, taking her hand, and they wandered out to the kitchen, where Henry was waiting with a nice mug, cream already added, just the way she liked it.

She accepted it gratefully, murmuring thanks as after she took a preliminary sip.

Ahhh.

Henry grinned at her. He looked shatteringly handsome this morning. His black hair was still kind of mussed up from sleeping, and he was wearing scruffy sweats and his RISD T-shirt. His blue eyes were alert and amused as he watched her drink her coffee, and Mouse reflected that some sort of change had occurred between them, because she wasn't embarrassed at all to be standing in front of him in his T-shirt and not much else. The shirt she was wearing turned out to be from Yale, where Henry had done his undergrad, Mouse knew.

Even Leo felt it, it seemed. He looked back and forth between the two adults, his expression curious. "Did you guys have a movie party last night?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Henry responded. "We all watched Aladdin together, remember? You were right here with us."

Leo shook his head. "After I went to bed," he clarified. "Just you guys."

"We did stay up a little longer," Henry conceded. "Mouse's back was really bothering her, so we sent out to the drugstore for some medicine, then we had to put it on, and wait a little bit until it started to work, that's all. We'd never leave you out of a movie party on purpose, you know that."

Leo smiled, mollified, and turned his mind to more important things. "I'm hungry," he announced. "What's for breakfast?"

"Let's see what we have," Henry replied.

"No, it's okay," Mouse interrupted. "He's supposed to be with me today, remember? You're supposed to go to the restaurant gallery opening with Madeleine today, right? The luncheon or whatever?"

"It's just a soft open," Henry replied. "A friend of a friend, not a big deal." He gestured at Mouse. "You're in no shape to move around today, honestly."

"Henry, no," Mouse protested. "You didn't cancel because of my sunburn, did you? I'm fine. Leo and I can just hang out here, I'll be okay, really, you don't have to change your plans."

Leo had just caught a glimpse of the back of Mouse's legs. "Wow, Mouse, your legs are the color of bubble gum," he announced. "Is that from being burned too? Is that what your back looks like?"

Henry had assembled the makings for an omelet on the counter, and kept his hands in motion as he answered her. "You're not at a hundred percent, you're not fit to mind my child, so be quiet," he scolded. "You've been going for weeks, you're entitled to a sick day for a terrible sunburn and a wicked hang--" he stopped talking and glanced at Leo, who was examining Mouse's legs closely and wasn't listening to his father.

"Just let me get this on some plates and I'll apply some more spray to your back, okay?" Henry continued.

Mouse took a deep breath to say something else about Henry canceling his plans, but Henry shut her down with a stern look. She ended up just nodding and sipping her delicious coffee.

She put on some shorts, but left Henry's Yale shirt on, lying down on the couch again so he could spray her back and legs. The relief was immediate. She let out a breath.

"All better?" Leo asked, patting her arm.

"Yeah," she assured him as they sat down to breakfast.

After they were finished, Henry downloaded all the pictures he'd taken the day before at Washington Square Park to his laptop and they gathered together to look at them. Henry drew the curtains to cut the glare, and Mouse lay down on the floor again. Leo saw her and immediately lay down next to her, leaving Henry alone on the couch, so he, too, dragged a cushion to the floor and joined them.

He and Mouse looked at each other over Leo's head, smiling, and Mouse felt again that seismic shift, that awareness passing between them, like an invisible current. She wondered if it would be noticeable to other people, too. Leo seemed to feel it, but only at a subliminal level.

The photographs were amazing. Leo was in constant motion, his small, perfect features in super close up, caught in the act of laughing, running, splashing. It was obvious that whoever wielded the camera loved him.

The pictures of Mouse, too, were outstanding. She was shocked at how good she looked. She was chasing after Leo, holding her hands out to ward off the water, face turned away as she shrieked, holding him high as she carried him.

For the first time in her life Mouse didn't think she looked plain.

"Wow, look at me," she couldn't help saying.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked. "You just look like you."

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Henry echoed. He reached over Leo's small body and nudged Mouse's leg with his foot, being careful not to touch the burned part of her body.

Henry began messing with the pictures, putting filters on them, adding captions to turn them into cartoons. It was a really fun and entertaining way to spend a morning.

After a couple hours, Henry ordered sushi for all of them, and they kept looking through the photographs.

"Are you sure you don't have anything else to do today?" Mouse asked once.

Henry shook his head firmly. "Spending time with Leo is always the best way to spend the day," he announced, cuddling the little boy, who was now sitting on his lap as they laughed at the photographs and captions.

"And Mouse, you stay," Leo said, putting a hand on Mouse. "We don't want you to go, do we, Daddy?"

Henry shook his head. "We definitely don't," he said, mimicking his young son's tone, winking at Mouse.

The bell rang, and Henry rose, saying, "Wow, that was fast for a Saturday," as he went to get the food and tip the delivery guy.

Mouse and Leo were laughing at what Henry had done to the photograph and didn't hear anything until Henry came back, saying, "It wasn't the food, guys, look." He smiled encouragingly.

Mouse and Leo looked over to see Madeleine, standing next to Henry, smiling, looking cool and pulled together, as usual. She took in the whole slumber party ambiance, the cushions on the floor, Leo and Mouse lying on them.

"Well, don't we all look cozy," she said. "Haven't had a chance to get dressed yet?" This was addressed to Mouse. She looked at the older woman, who eyed her from head to toe, eyebrow cocked.

Mouse, realizing she was still wearing what she'd slept in, sat up. This didn't really improve matters, as all it did was reveal the Yale logo on the front of the T-shirt she wore to Madeleine. The blonde woman's eyes widened. She obviously recognized the shirt.

"She got sunburned yesterday when she was at the park with me and daddy," Leo announced as he sat up himself. "Daddy took all these pictures of us, see?" He pointed to the laptop. "And Mouse got so sunburned, see? So daddy had to put medicine all over her, cause her skin looks like bubble gum, see?" He gestured toward Mouse's legs. "And her back looks more bad than that, even, and it hurts, a lot.

"She's taking a sick day," he concluded, beaming at Madeleine. He patted Mouse's arm. "We stayed home to take care of her."

Oh god, Leo.

"Henry, may I speak with you?" Madeleine asked in a silken voice. "Privately?" she added.

"Of course," he replied. "Can you guys keep an ear open for the sushi?" he asked as they headed toward the bedroom.

With the door closed, most of what was said was inaudible, but voices were raised, and a few things stood out:

"Are you telling me you canceled your plans with me because that girl got a sodding sunburn? In what world is it normal to cancel your own plans to stay home and babysit someone you pay to babysit for you?"

"I will not keep my voice down! I'm upset, and I don't care who knows!"

The sushi arrived, and Mouse set the bag on the table.

"And why is she wearing your fucking shirt?"

Leo sat wordlessly on the couch, hand covering his mouth, huge eyes on Mouse. As she watched, they filled with tears.

Oh no. Mouse reached for him, gathering him to her lap. He kept his arms together, knowing he'd hurt her if he put them around her, but he clutched at the front of her shirt and leaned into her.

"It's not fair, Henry! I've been patient, you know I have!"

Mouse turned on the TV, finding Sesame Street. She turned it up, and they watched. She felt Leo shifting, felt him raising his arm a couple of times, and knew what he was doing.

"Leo, you want to suck your thumb?" Mouse knew that it was an ongoing issue with him, but she hadn't seen it since she'd been with him.

He shook his head. "No. That's a baby thing to do, I know that."

Mouse sighed. "It's okay, big guy. If you want to do it,  you go ahead, okay?"

"Really?"

Mouse nodded. "Really. You do whatever makes you feel better." She hugged him.

In a few minutes his breathing changed, and Mouse knew he was sleeping. She sat on the couch, continuing to hold him, though she couldn't lean back.

About twenty minutes later, Henry and Madeleine emerged from the bedroom. They walked to the door together, with Henry glancing over at Mouse and Leo. Madeleine kept her gaze resolutely to the front.

They murmured good byes, and Henry came back to the family room, sighing.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, blinking tiredly.

Mouse shook her head. "It wasn't a good situation for her to walk into. Is everything okay between you two?"

Henry shrugged. "For now, I suppose, though who knows for how long?" He ran his hand through his hair.

"Look, Mouse, about what happened last night--" he broke off and looked at her. "I'm really sorry about that, too. It never should have happened, and I promise it won't happen again, okay?" He sat next to her, a measured distance away. "You work for me, you live here, you're much younger than me. Any of these things is a good enough reason, all on its own, for it to not have happened. The fact that all three are true makes it even more imperative that it not happen again.

"So I'm sorry, and I give you my word it won't happen again." He nodded for emphasis.

In her arms, Leo shifted, a warm, innocent burden resting against her, a pure soul who deserved only the best, who had never hurt a soul.

"Okay," Mouse replied.