Dominic closed the door behind him and tossed the keys into the bowl beside the door. He walked upstairs, his fingers trailing through the etching on the rails, and his mind counting the steps as he moved. Distracting himself helped calm him down and he needed the distraction to keep his mind from wondering to the deafening silence in his home. After the loss of their third child, Nadine had taken the hit pretty hard and she was not her usual self. The doctor had warned him that it would be easier for her if she saw a therapist but he doubted his wife was willing to submit to that. He refused to force her but he was running out of ways to help her.

The doorknob turned under his fingers and he slowly pushed it open. Nadine sat cross-legged on the bed, her head turned towards the open glass door where the wind tangled in the curtains and the moon light washed over the floors. Somehow, he just knew she could not see any of it. Her hands were moving sluggishly, massaged some cream over her shoulders while she stared out the door. He watched her for a moment, looked back and forth from her to the door before he stepped forward.

"Babe."

She jumped at the sound of his voice and knocked the bottle of lotion off the bed; she looked down on it and smiled at him. "Scare me to death why don't you."

He shook his head with a smile, dropping his briefcase beside the table and tossing his suit jack over the chair. Dominic picked the bottle from the floor then set it back beside her before he stopped to look at her. She looked skinner than the week before, strong sleep bags nested underneath her eyes and her hair lacked its usual lustre. He hunkered down in front of the bed, tracing a path up her thighs before locking his fingers at the base of her spine.

"You look like noodles."

Nadine smiled and slapped his back, "Meaning what? Don't worry your curly little head about it okay? I may look like noodles today but that is just because of the little stress I am experiencing. I feel rested and strong. I have been going for walks and getting back out in the world."

"You look like noodles babe. I know you don't want to talk about it." She sighed and dropped her head, but he lifted it back up. "You don't want to talk; I understand but don't kill yourself like this. I won't pressure you; I won't force you but I can't sit quietly and watch you do this to yourself."

Nadine had never been one to talk, even when they were dating, she kept her head down and swallowed her emotions when she felt it was not necessary to show them. He never judged her for it, he loved her as she was, but he also understood that it meant she would never give him an easy time. Still, he couldn't imagine another life, but he had no way to tell her that. He tapped a rhythm on her bare hips with his fingers to focus his mind.

A slight tug on his hair and she lifted his head to face her. Her long nail slid along the edges of his chin before she leaned forward a little to kiss him. She laid her forehead against his and returned her fingers to the back of his neck.

"Let's change the subject please." Her breath fanned over his face as she whispered. Dominic pulled back and looked into her eyes. He would give anything to be in her head for thirty seconds. Not to pry on her shadowed past but to know, for just a second, what she felt about herself. That was something he could only dream of, for this reality though; he had no problem letting her win the round.

"Fine, we have a wedding to attend in two weeks, so you better find a good dress to put on." She straightened her back and he adjusted his heels as his knees began to hurt from the kneeling. "The theme for the wedding is Cinderella."

Nadine pushed some stray hairs from her face so he could see her clearly as she rolled her eyes at his words. "Seriously? Isn't Cinderella for children?"

Dominic laughed, "Maybe, but if it is, what would you call yourself?"

"I am thirty years old Dominic and I find that theme incredibly childish. Who is getting married anyway? I don't remember receiving an invitation myself."

He laughed. "Thirty years old with the heart of a teenager."

She pouted and he smacked a kiss on her lips. Dominic stood up when his knees began screaming from the discomfort, but he took the opportunity to pull Nadine off the bed and grab the lotion before he walked her to the dressing mirror. When she tried to complain, he shook his head and shoved her into the seat.

"The bride is no one we know but an old pal of mine is the groom. Don't even know how he remembered who I was. We met when I was in college, a nice person and we became very close until my father moved. Harrison Clark."

"You didn't keep in touch after your father moved? I thought you said you were still in touch with people from your old city?"

Dominic pulled the band from her hair and began brushing her soft curls with a brush. "Couldn't keep in touch with all of them, mainly because he moved too. He found me somehow so yeah, we are going to the city, taking a flight and a much needed break for the both of us."

She looked at him from the mirror as he began to part her hair, making sure to cream it to prevent breakages. "Dominic, babe, I love you, no doubt about that but I don't think I want to stay out of the town for so long. You work here, my charity is here, my job, your parents are here and most important of all you are the Mayor of the town."

"Nadine please, use stronger excuses. Your charity has Denise when you are gone,, your restaurant has Michael. My dad is doing just fine and I have not seen him in weeks, he has work as well. Plus, the town would not fall apart if the Mayor took some time off to be with his wife."

He smiled at her expression in the mirror and began to braid the other half of her hair. Nadine said nothing as he continued to twists the strands of her hair into a long braid. She was quiet. She never liked leaving the confines of the town for her own reasons but Dominic was determined to get her away even if it was just for a little while.

"Thanks babe, you are the best." She beamed as he tied the tips of the braids with a small elastic band. As she stood, he slipped his hand over her shoulder to walk her over to the bed. Not bothered to take off his clothes or change he pulled the sheets aside and helped her to get into bed before snuggling in beside her.

"How was work?"

Nadine snuggled into his side, her head resting on his chest. "Fine I guess. There is less and less happening in the office as each day passes by. Anyway, there are some big buildings that are about to go up in the town. Factories and other things."

As they laid there, Dominic felt the fatigue of the day and probably the whole month's ordeal begin to slip into his bones. Nadine stretched out to hook her hand on his shoulder but she did not try to say anything or draw him out of his sleep. She just closed her eyes, allowing the night to wash over them.

Dominic slipped in and out of consciousness, feeling Nadine's fingers massaging his neck gently. A nagging part of his mind told him he should not leave things as they were that he should say more, try to talk her into telling him what hurt her or if she was hurt at all but he was honestly tired. His hand stopped moving over her, he rested it on her hip and finally fell asleep.