"Ah, damn," Nathan Bridger murmured quietly as he rubbed the shoulder he'd hurt when he stumbled into the wall.  He cautiously looked over towards the bed to see if Kristin had been disturbed when he fell.  A soft sigh escaped his lips when he saw that she was still sleeping. Nathan took a deep breath and turned, leaning his back against the wall.  Maybe that would make it a little easier to get undressed in the dark bedroom.  He looked across the bedroom at the alarm clock next to the bed but couldn't quite make out what time it was.  It had to be after 2 a.m. since he and Scott had closed down the bar and God only knew how long it had taken him to get home from that time.

Leaning heavily against the wall Nathan reached down carefully to try to untie his shoe and therefore missed the sight of Kristin turning over in the bed and watching him.  She winced as he lost his balance again and smacked his head into the side of the dresser.  He ended up sitting on the floor rubbing his head dejectedly.  Kristin shook her head and slipped out from beneath the covers.  Nathan was still rubbing his head when he felt Kristin's hand on his shoulder.  He looked blearily up in the darkness.

"Hi," he said tentatively with a little, crooked smile.

"Hi yourself," Kristin said.  She pulled up on his arm.  "Come on... let's get you to bed."

Nathan struggled up and stood shakily against the wall with Kristin's help.  She guided him over until he was standing next to the bed. Lord, he just reeked of beer.  He started to sit down but Kristin kept him standing.

"No, don't sit yet.  Put your hands on my shoulders and lean against me."

"Okay," Nathan said loosely draping his arms over her and leaning his head down against her shoulder.  Kristin loosened his belt and started to unbutton and unzip his pants.  She heard Nathan chuckle a little.  "I'm in no shape for that you know," he mumbled.

"Nathan?" Kristin said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Shut up."

"Ooookay."

Kristin finished unfastening his pants and then lowered them to his knees.  She gave him a push backwards causing him fall back onto the bed.  Shaking her head a little she kneeled down to remove his shoes and socks and then pulled his pants off.  Finishing this chore she stood back up and pulled him into a sitting position.

Nathan's eyes had been closed when he lay back on the bed but he opened them as she pulled him up.  Kristin frowned at the decidedly unfocused look he gave her and pulled at the bottom of his shirt.

"Put your arms up," she said patiently as she pulled his shirt over his head.  "Lie down, Nathan," she said in a slightly irritated voice.  Nathan fell back down sideways across the bed again.  Kristin smacked him on the side of his knee.  "Lie down facing the right direction, Nathan," she said a little more forcefully.

Nathan blearily raised his head, a quizzical look on his face. Looking to either side he pointed towards the pillows.  Kristin nodded at him and he shifted around until his head was lying on his pillow and she pulled the covers up over him.  "Thanks," Nathan said softly.

"Um hmmm," Kristin answered shortly.  She moved back over to her side of the bed and slipped under the covers.

"Kris?" Nathan whispered from where he lay in the bed.

"What?" asked Kristin irritably.

"I love you, babe," he said softly.

Kristin glanced over at him, lying on his back, his eyes closed.  "Go to sleep, Nathan," she said firmly.  She saw him nod slightly and heard his breathing even out as he gave into the sleep that called to him.

Nathan rubbed his aching head slowly and leaned against the wall. After determining that his head was probably going to stay on his shoulders he gave a small sigh and continued down the hallway to the dining room.  His shower and an attempt at a shave had made him feel better but he was still going to need something more to feel human again.  The smell of fresh coffee wafted through the kitchen and he took a large coffee cup from the cabinet and poured out the life-giving liquid.  He considered going into the living room or out onto the porch but instead tiredly slid his body up onto one of the bar stools at the countertop between the kitchen and dining room and leaned against the counter while gingerly sipping his coffee.

Kristin flashed him a quick look as she came into the house from the porch.  She carried a planter into the kitchen and gave him a more assessing look as she passed.

"'Morning," Nathan said softly.

Kristin put the planter near the sink and came up behind him rubbing her hand across his shoulders.  "Good morning," she said quietly.  "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, about like I look," Nathan said miserably.

"That bad, huh?  Do you want something to eat?"

"I don't know what'll stay down."

"Well, you'd better have something with that coffee or you'll be really sick."  She patted him gently on the back, "Why don't you go sit in the living room and I'll make you some toast?"

"Yeah, I think I could manage that," Nathan said sliding down from the chair and wandering towards the living room.  He sat gingerly in one of the large blue reclining chairs and carefully placed the coffee cup on the table next to it.

A little while later Kristin came into the living room and stood for a short time watching Nathan.  He had his head back on the chair and a painful frown covered his face.  She shook her head slightly and reached down to touch his arm.  She winced as he started, slightly lifting his head and then groaned from the sudden movement.

"Sorry," she said softly as she placed the plate of toast in his lap.  Nathan gave her a weak smile.  "Give the toast a try and then perhaps a couple of aspirin."  She handed him a couple of white pills.

"Yeah, thanks," Nathan said cautiously as he tried the toast.

Kristin went back to her chores and checked on him about a half of an hour later.  He was still sitting in the chair and again had his head back and his eyes shut.  Kristin leaned across him and took the empty plate from the table.  As she stood up again his eyes opened and he sighed.

"Feeling better?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, considerably."  Nathan straightened up a little in the chair.  "My stomach has decided to stay where it is and my head isn't going to explode just yet.  Thanks."

She patted him on the shoulder before turning towards the kitchen with the dirty plate.  She came back a short time later and sat on the couch on the end closest to him.  Nathan now had his elbow leaning on the arm of the chair and was rubbing his forehead.  He looked up at her a little suspiciously.

"You know, you're being awfully nice about this."  Kristin just shrugged and kept looking at him.  "Where's Lucas?"

"He went to the baseball game."

"Oh, yeah... that's right," he said leaning his head back again.

"Do you think we could talk?" Kristin asked in a solemn voice.

Nathan squinted and looked at her.  "Is this a serious talk?"

"Yes."

He straightened up again and rubbed his forehead.  "I guess so," he said morosely.

Kristin didn't start talking right away and Nathan finally looked over at her.  She was pensively chewing on her lower lip.  "What?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and seemed to steel herself.  "Nathan... have you ever considered the possibility that you might have a drinking problem?"

She met his eyes as he stared at her.  "What?" he asked incredulously.  "I don't drink that much."  He saw the look she gave him.  "Usually," he qualified.  He sat up further in the chair with a confused look on his face.  She certainly had gotten his attention now.

Kristin continued to watch him as he considered her question.

"Kris," he started with the look of confusion still on his face.  "I've gotten a little drunk what, maybe three times in the four months we've been living together?  You call that a drinking problem?"

"No," she answered calmly.  "When you've gotten drunk you've gotten a lot drunk... not a little drunk."  She watched him a moment.  "How did you get home last night?"

Ah, so that was it.  "You know how I got home last night," he answered just as calmly and a little defensively.

"You drove."

"I was alright to drive."

"Nathan, you could barely stand last night... you certainly weren't in any shape to drive."

"I made it home okay."

"That's not the point, Nathan," Kristin insisted.  He leaned back in the chair and looked away from her with an irritated look on his face.  She tried again.  "Nathan, if you aren't concerned about possibly getting hurt or hurting someone else consider how this looks to Lucas.  I thought you were trying to present a good example for him."

In the middle of that sentence he had looked back at her with an angry look on his face.  "He never saw me last night," he said sharply.

"He didn't have to," she responded just as sharply and then her voice calmed.  "He heard you."

"What do you mean he heard me?"

"He asked me this morning if you were alright," Kristin said evenly.  "Apparently he heard you fall down the stairs at least once trying to get into the house and then he heard you bouncing off the walls when you finally made it in."

Nathan sat forward leaning his elbows on his knees once again.  His eyes were fixed on a point somewhere between his feet.  After a moment he glanced quickly up at Kristin and then away again but didn't say anything.

...But she did, "From his reaction to last night I gather that he's had his share of times when he had to put you to bed."

Nathan still refused to look at her and didn't say anything.

Kristin sighed and continued.  Perhaps if she explained just what the problem was she'd get some sort of reaction from him.  "Nathan, it isn't the drinking.  Alright, you get drunk maybe once every couple of months and in between you really don't drink much at all.  It's the driving when you've been drinking that's the problem and if you got a ride, or took a cab or walked like you did the one time we wouldn't be having this discussion."

He still didn't say anything.  Kristin could see the muscles in his jaw working as he continued to stare at the floor.

Finally he said something.   His voice was soft and low.  "I don't feel like I'm drunk when I get in the car."

"But you are."  She sighed again and leaned towards him.  "Your body continues to process the alcohol even after you stop drinking... so essentially, you're drunker when you get home than you were when you left the bar... but either way, from the looks of last night, you were drunk when you got in your car."  She hesitated again.  "You've been through this before, Nathan.  If you get stopped for drunk driving you'll lose your license for good, you know?"

"I didn't get stopped," Nathan stated simply.

"You got lucky," Kristin countered.

"I've never had an accident after I was drinking," he countered back.

"So?" she asked simply.

Nathan slid back into the chair and folded his hands across his stomach.  He still didn't look at her but instead stared straight ahead with a frown on his face.  Finally he shrugged and looked down.  "So... you're right," he said softly.  He looked up at her and nodded.  "You're right," he repeated.  "It won't happen again," he assured her quietly.

"No it won't, Nathan," Kristin said seriously.  "Because I won't live this way."  She had his full attention now.  "I won't wait up at night when you're out with one of your friends wondering if you're actually going to make it home in one piece."

For as steadfastly that he had refused to look at her before, Nathan was watching her intently now.

"If it happens again, Nathan, I'm gone."

"Wh-what do you mean 'gone'?"

Kristin fixed him with a stern look.  "What do you want? ...a dictionary? ...I'm gone... out of here... away... and you're on your own.  I won't tolerate it, Nathan."

Nathan saw the resolve in her eyes and the truth of her words and all he could do was to nod.