John and Marlena (Finally) Get a Q!

Chapter 84 - Prelude

It had been a long day at work for Austin Reed. It wasn't that the work had been particularly challenging, it never was. Titan practically ran itself and he knew that he was only there because Kate had created the job for him. Sometimes he wished he could find the courage to leave, to go out and do something that really mattered to him, like open up a small jazz club where he could play the piano.

But now that was just another pipe dream. He had a wife to support and soon another child and their savings were practically gone now thanks to his shady past.

He rubbed his cheeks and yawned as the clunky elevator slowly took him up to his floor. He hadn't been sleeping properly, he was too worried about Carrie, and during the day, he was distracted at best. He had tried to take Marlena's advice and not fret over her absence but the more he tried to tell himself everything was fine, the more he felt as though something was very wrong. Maybe it was because he had been so wrong about Sami's predicament and he was riddled with guilt over what had happened to her, but then again, maybe he was right.

Yesterday he had asked a friend at the bank to run a trace on Carrie's credit card, so he could find out where it had been used, and hence, where she was. Except it hadn't been used at all.

He had spent all of last night lying awake, trying to decide if he should go to Abe and ask him to find Carrie. She had asked him in her note not to try and find her, Marlena had advised him to leave Carrie be, but something told him he had to try and find her. And soon.

However, when he had gone to the station in the morning and explained the situation, Abe had told him that it was most likely that Carrie was staying with friends and that she would be back before he knew it. So now, he was back at square one, worrying and waiting and having no way to do anything.

Pulling his keys out of his pocket, he inserted them in the keyhole and turned them to let himself into the apartment. Inside, he slammed the door closed behind him and dropped the keys on the coffee table and shed his jacket, throwing it over the back of the chair. He was heading for the kitchen when he heard a noise in the bedroom, and he whirled the hundred and eighty degree angle to the bedroom.

"There you are," Carrie had a smile on her face as she came out of the bedroom with a robe wrapped around her slim body, her hair drying from the obviously recent shower. "You're late home from work."

"Carrie?" he looked as if he'd almost seen a ghost.

"Yes, that was my name last time I looked in the mirror," she couldn't suppress the small giggle that sprang forth at his incredulous expression. However, it was muffled as Austin crossed the room almost instantaneously and engulfed her in his arms.

"Oh baby, I was *so* worried about you. I thought...." his face was buried in her damp, scented hair as he shook his head. "I didn't know where you were, and I had this horrible feeling that something terrible had happened to you. I don't know why the hell I ever let you walk out of here."

He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands.

"Carrie Reed, I love you so much. I love this baby. I can't stand the thought of losing you." The passion in his voice rather blew Carrie away and she shook her head with an amazed smile.

"That's rather a turnaround," she admitted, "maybe it's true that absence does make the heart grow fonder."

"Carrie," Austin's face paled. "I think there's something you need to know before we go any further. I need to tell you why I've been behaving like such an ass."

"Oh?" she raised her eyebrows as he took her hands and led her to the sofa.

This oughta be good.