Feeling for his robe and putting it on, he felt his way to the bathroom. Some of the inconveniences of the blindness directly affected his normal everyday existence. He no longer could stand at the toilet, he fumbled still with shaving having gone to an electric razor, and brushing his teeth was a nightmare once when he had picked up the tube of cod liver oil for Aidan, mistaking it for toothpaste. He learned to smell everything first before putting it in his mouth after that.

Angie was already in Aidan’s room, as Rollie entered, hearing her rocking in the chair, feeding him. He felt his way over as she took his hand, to touch Aidan. It had become a morning ritual as he knelt beside the rocker, wanting to be part of the whole experience and talking to Aidan as well.

"So, this is where I find everyone," Luce exclaimed, rubbing her head in sleepiness and grinning, "you guys get up awful early now."

"Sorry, but five in the morning is when Aidan wants to eat, get use to it, Luce!" Rollie remarked as Lucinda stepped in and put her hand on his shoulder.

Lucinda was making baby talk to Aidan and then winced at Angie in empathy as Angie giggled, changing Aidan to her other breast; "I’m so used to it now, Luce. Really, it isn’t that bad."

"Yeah, well- if I ever have a baby, it will have a bottle from day one! I need to keep these in fine form. You never know when the part will call for some nude scene and I don’t use body doubles."

"Well Luce, I don’t think they are going to drop to my waist, if that’s what you’re worried about. I think that if you stay toned up, you shouldn’t have a problem," Angie replied, the mirth in her voice picked up by Rollie as he smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay then, show me the dairy department downstairs after this and I can get my bearings. By the way, I’m starving!" Lucinda stated, holding her stomach as Angie chuckled;

"You’re always hungry! Rollie can feed you. He’s doing some very nice breakfast meals now, right?"

"Yeah, you like cereal with milk or toast? I am good at both!" he replied, as Lucinda made a horrified face and helped him up from kneeling.

"I am going to cook for you guys, really! My treat, and my stomach’s salvation, okay. No offense Rollie, but.."

"None taken, I have no problem eating!" Rollie told her as she led him out of the nursery.

Downstairs, in the kitchen, Lucinda caught Rollie up on her life. He sat, smiling and looking blankly in the direction of her voice. During a moment of silence as the bacon was done and eggs ready to scramble, Lucinda came over and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Here, coffee- nice and black, the way you like it!" she told him, placing his hand to the cup to orient him. He grabbed her hand then, holding her there for a moment;

"Luce, I really want to thank you for doing this. We just wanted someone who we could trust with Aidan who would keep him stimulated and it was such a relief to Angie!"

He felt her hand come up and rest on his cheek; "Hey, I wouldn’t do this for everyone, you know. You must know though," she started to say, her voice lowering for she thought she heard Angie coming down the stairs, "to keep telling Angie over and over that you are okay, you hear? She looks so tired, Rollie. I know you are going to get through this stuff. But remember Angie, I love her- just like I love you, you …" and she kissed him quickly on the lips as Angie walked into the kitchen.

"So, already messing around with the kitchen help," Angie remarked as Lucinda laughed and Rollie, reaching out, took Angie’s hand and pulled her to him;

"Yep, can’t help it. I’m obsessed with all the women around here," he told her as he kissed her and then grabbed her suddenly by the buttocks, squeezing her as she let out a surprised cry.

"Hey, I didn’t get that kind of royal treatment!" Luce remarked, watching them and panned a jealous face at Angie.

"My, you are really feeling your oats this morning, aren’t you?" Angie said to Rollie, a little embarrassed.

"You could say so- after all, we leave for Bonn in little over two hours. I can’t wait!" he replied as she shot a worried look to Lucinda who was scrambling the eggs and mirrored her look as well.

"Yeah, well- we will see what happens," Angie said, in a less excited response. She had no broad conclusion, no total expectations of Rollie being cured of blindness by this man in Bonn. They had been tricked once and lately, things were not coming out as expected for Rollie Tyler.

"Okay, everything is at the door…list on the refrigerator, milk inside, the movie schedule on my desk- well, I guess that’s it," Angie remarked, as she looked at both Lucinda, who was holding Aidan and Tony who had arrived about fifteen minutes ago.

"Hey, we are double and triple checked here," Lucinda told her, rolling her eyes, "Besides, I have Mr. Eagle Scout here. We will manage!"

She made a silly face at Tony who was in a state of horror that this actress would be the caretaker of Aidan. On the surface, he was pleasant enough to her, but subconsciously, her demeanor and her authority repelled him when it came to Aidan.

Rollie was biting at the bit, the cab had arrived and the bags had been taken out to the trunk.

"Take care of our Aidan, Luce and don’t go and spoil him all in one day," Rollie told her as she hugged him with Aidan in her arms.

"That will be hard to do, since you guys have already done a number on him, jeez!" she replied and whispered in his ear, "break a leg, Rol."

He smiled and she handed Aidan to him as he kissed his son’s forehead and held him on his shoulder a moment, taking in his sweet smell and sounds as he kissed the nape of his neck.

Angie hugged Lucinda; "Remember, you can call me at any time, day or night. And Mira’s number is there…and Francis is close…" she began again as Rollie begged for mercy.

"Come on Ange, we have to go!" he told her firmly, as she took Aidan from him, smiling sheepishly at Luce.

"Goodbye, sweetie. I love you so much. Be good for Luce and Tony, now! I’m going to miss you so much," Angie told her little son as tears came to her eyes and she kissed him, handing him back to Luce as Rollie put his hand on her shoulder.

Luce smiled, taking Aidan’s arm and waving it back to Angie; "bye mom, bye dad- bring me a present!" she told them, mimicking Aidan in a tiny voice.

Angie looked at Tony who was bravely smiling reassurance at her; "Take care of the fort, Tony. And thanks so much for doing this while we’re gone. I don’t know what I would have done without you all these months, really!"

He lowered his eyes for a moment, shifting his weight as if embarrassed by her words but the best thing that happened was that Angie Tyler came over and hugged him. He was able to hold her in his arms for just a second and the feel of her was magnificent. He smiled down at her and Rollie cleared his throat;

"Angela- the chariot awaits…"

"Yep, okay- goodbye then!" she replied to both Luce and Tony as she stepped back and then turned her back, leading Rollie out the door. She muffled her small cry of despair, wiping back a tear as she glanced back at Aidan for the last time. As they sat back in the cab, and it pulled away, she felt Rollie’s hand cover hers as he kissed her forehead and held her. He could feel her trembling body and he tightened his grip around her as they headed for the airport.

Lucinda appraised the goodbye scenes that had just occurred inwardly; she had taken in Tony Alvarez’s technique, his facial expressions and told herself- Rollie’s going to have his hands full with this one.

The flight was perfect all the way to Bonn. Angie slept for half the trip as Rollie played things over and over in his mind- what he would say to Eckmiller and what he expected him to say back. He just knew that this was it, that Michael’s last words to him about this man were on the mark, his last hope for sight!

It was almost nine at night in Bonn when they arrived. They couldn’t see much of the old capital of Western Germany that night as the cab took them to the Astoria hotel. They did notice that they were fairly close to the Rhine and that they were not far from the central plaza. Rollie had been to Bonn, once before for a movie shoot about ten years before. Angie had never been to Germany and once the meeting with Eckmiller was over, she and Rollie planned at least a day to relax and look around. Rollie had said; "I’ll stumble and you look, it will be great!"

Once in their room, Angie opened the old lead lined windows, marveling at the wavy glass that was held within the uneven panes. The Astoria was old, over 150 years and the rooms were nice enough. It just wasn’t the loft, she thought as she felt a pang of misery being separated from Aidan and a physical fullness that she had to relieve. She had done so on the plane, cramped in the small bathroom and miserable and now, it was her main priority as she opened her handbag and grabbed the pump.

Rollie was lying on the bed, listening to the sounds of the city from the opened window and hearing the barge horns from the Rhine. He could hear also, Angie’s muffled sounds from the bathroom and got up then, knowing she was barely coping being away from Aidan. As he felt his way toward her, he heard her crying.

"Angie, sweetie…" he began, as he stumbled slightly over the marble threshold to the bathroom, and she put her hand out to brace him and lead him in carefully as she sat on the lid cover of the toilet, wiping her eyes.

"Rollie, don’t mind me, okay? I’m just uncomfortable and it feels like such a waste to throw this milk away. I miss him, feeling him and holding him!" she said, her voice cracking.

"I miss him too, but I know that you have it for worse, love. I never realized how much physical and emotional pain you would be going through, having him, and now- raising him. It awes me! Jeez, and Francis has the girls! I have new found respect for his resiliency and for Sarah’s, eh?"

She put her forehead to his as he knelt beside her; "you are wonderful, you know that? Two years ago, I wouldn’t imagine this whole life- you, the mother of our child, us- Ange, I love you, you hear me?"

"Yes," she answered, her voice soft and slightly shaky as she put the pump down, feeling better with his nearness and hugged him, running her hand through his wavy, curls of hair, "sorry for my little spells…I would never have imagined this life either and yet- I think I thought about it in my dreams for a long time…"

"Little girls, they do have a romantic spirit early, don’t they?" he replied, chuckling.

"Yes and you know, I just remembered something…" Angie said, her voice clearer and stronger as she giggled then, music to Rollie’s ears; "do you remember that wedding that we all went to- ummm, was it Joanie and John Powell’s?"

"Jeez, yeah- that was a long time ago! Manny was wiggling in his seat all dressed up. It was killing him!"

"Yeah, you were squirming a bit yourself," Angie added; "But you know, what I remember the most- it was saving the piece of wedding cake and putting it under my pillow."

"What?"

"You know, you put the cake under your pillow and the person you dream about that night is the one you’re going to marry!" Angie went on, smiling.

"And?"

"It worked, you know…" she said, grinning as she felt him lift her up in his arms and they went out of the bathroom, Rollie managing not to stumble or hit anything as he kissed her. He marveled at the little girl in her still, the wishes and dreams that she had held all these years, so dear to him.

They left for the Bonn University Medical Center in the early morning hours. They were to meet with Dr. Rolf Eckmiller at the ophthalmology clinic on the northern side of the University. They traveled around the western side of the University on Sigmund-Freud and arrived in front of the grand University’s northern face as Angie opened her mouth in awe.

"This place is huge and wow!" she remarked as she held Rollie’s hand, leading him by placing his arm in hers. She described everything she saw, her eyes, his vision now.

They entered the Ophthalmology Clinic and went straight to the Chairman’s office where they had been told to meet. A very nice secretary, who spoke English helped them to their seats as they awaited Eckmiller. Rollie nervously popped his knuckles as Angie held her breath. She was prepared for the worst as Rollie was prepared for only the best.

"Mr. Tyler, Mrs. Tyler?" a man’s voice called out, coming into the office. He was in his mid-forties and wore glasses on the top of his head, almost as if he had absent-mindedly forgot about them. His English was crisp and barely without accent.

Angie stood, as Rollie came up with her in an instant; "Yes, we’re the Tylers," Rollie replied, smiling as he extended his hand out and instantly received a strong handshake. Angie shook Dr. Eckmiller’s hand as well, trying to get a feeling from him but he was already looking at Rollie like a patient as he lead him out into the hallway with Angie following.

As Eckmiller came to his own laboratory, he stopped and told a graduate student something in German. As they entered the lab, Angie was amazed at all the gadgetry. It looked just like Rollie’s loft, except with eye things everywhere!

"Please, sit down here, Mr. Tyler…" Eckmiller said, helping Rollie to his seat and Angie was offered another chair nearby, "Let’s get started, shall we?"

For over thirty minutes, Rollie just talked, gave a history and painfully went through his experiences as he could remember of going blind. Angie grasped the edges of her chair, reliving the horror he had gone through as Eckmiller took notes and occasionally asked more probing questions. He was not shocked by the mention of Dr. Johann Brabon but he didn’t comment on him either. When the subject of Michael came up, he smiled and told Rollie that he had been a friend and sometime patriot of his actions while in Germany. Both Angie and Rollie wondered what he meant by that but they didn’t want to pry.

The actual physical examination was started with assistance from the graduate student that Eckmiller had talked to in the hallway outside his lab. No other doctor since the trauma doctor had really looked at Rollie’s eyes, except Brabon. This was Rollie’s choice. He believed Michael when he had said that Eckmiller would be the one and only choice he had. Through a series of tests, retinal scans and ultrasounds- Rollie continued to cooperate as Angie bit her lip and watched. It was an intensive examination and while Eckmiller would talk to Rollie in English, he would also talk to his student in German as the young man assisted him. Occasionally, he would look at Angie and smile slightly but his interest was purely in studying Rollie’s condition. After finishing the last scan and asking Rollie to relax, Angie and Rollie sat together- waiting for the verdict. Angie sat with nerves on edge as she watched the confrontation between student and professor as they went over the results of the tests about twenty feet from them. The conversations were all in German and both Rollie and Angie sat, oblivious to meaning or intonation.

Finally, Eckmiller put his hands in the air and came toward them, the student staying where he was, assimilating the paperwork and test results. The look on Eckmiller’s face was puzzling to Angie as he sat down and faced them.

"Mr. Tyler, I have gone over the results of the tests and my physical assessment as well. I’m afraid that there is nothing that I can do…"

The words stopped there for Rollie as panic crept into his once hopeful mind.