Thunderstorms come sweeping though one's life from time to time. They can wreak havoc. A single lightning bolt packs quite a punch – heating the air to temperatures higher than the Sun. Those that stand up the tallest are most likely to get struck. Even standing near tall things is dangerous. One must cope when caught in a storm – know where to hide, when to run, etc. Sometimes it's best to just sit it out if you are somewhere safe. And if lightning strikes, offer the electricity a path to steer through your body that avoids vital organs.

The worst series of thunderstorms William and Julia ever dealt with were in 1913. This is the tale of that time.

One year earlier (1912)

William stood and watched as Julia hugged their three children good-bye for the fourth time. He did not have it in his heart to rush her, they had very rarely gone away for more than a day, and he knew Julia was worried about it. The carriage driver huffed and sighed once more, pushing William to encourage her to come along. He loaded up their bags and waited. Julia thanked their nanny, Clair-Marie and their maid and cook, Eloise, once more and took William's hand to step up into the carriage. He sat next to her, waved, and closed the carriage door. Without even turning to look, he knew his wife was crying. "They will be fine, Julia," he said tenderly as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She nodded and took a deep breath, trying to stop her tears.

They had received a notice informing them that Caroline Hill had passed away and that she had left the lake-house to Julia and Ruby. William and Julia had discussed it at length, and had decided they wanted to keep the lake-house as a place to take the children on vacations and holidays. However, phone conversations with Ruby indicated she wanted to sell it. They were meeting her there to talk about it and sign papers with the lawyers. Looking forward to spending some time together without the children, they had decided to make a long weekend out of the trip.

The carriage ride was nearly two hours long. They spent the first part of it each in quiet contemplation. Eventually, William reached down to lift Julia's chin and kiss her. The kiss held promise, married for nearly ten years now, the passion between them had never waned. Their romantic gestures elevated and at some point it became obvious to both of them that Julia's hair would end up a mess. When William finally broke off a kiss and pulled back enough to cease their lustful antics he said, "I am very much looking forward to having you to myself for a few days– well except for Ruby, but at least she is an adult."

Julia made an effort to correct her appearance, straightened her dress, fussed with her hair, and replied, "I think you will see she is not as adult-like as you expect," looking him in the eye with a playful smile. "She is Ruby after all," she added.

He smiled and nodded in understanding. "Do you think we will be able to convince her not to sell – especially when she learns we won't be able to buy her half of the house?" William asked.

Julia wrapped her arm in his and said, "I think so … She doesn't seem to really need the money right now, and she loves the lake-house too. She will understand our desire to keep it as a family tradition." She slid up into William's lap and seductively kissed his neck, then paused to place her lips over his ear and said, "Besides William, Ruby has always had a little soft spot for you."

"Do I detect an air of jealousy?" he teased.

She replied, "William, you are quite aware of our sibling rivalry!"

Well I'm not sure I want to be some sort of toy that the two of you argue over," he explained, the smile on his face betraying that he was enjoying their exchange.

She reached her arms around him and gave him a squeeze, "William Murdoch, don't you ever forget whose "toy" you are," and covered his mouth to take a deep kiss, setting off their romantic endeavors once more.

Once they arrived, William put their bags down by the door next to Ruby's. She was nowhere in sight. Julia called out for her and she rushed down from upstairs to give them each a hug and say hello. They made sleeping arrangements – William and Julia in their parent's bedroom on the first floor and Ruby in her old room upstairs. William took the bags to the appropriate rooms.

In their parent's bedroom, which William had already come to think of as Julia's father's (Lionel) and Caroline Hill's bedroom, he paused to remember the last time he had been here (Story: It's Good to Have a Plan). Julia's father had died and she was suspicious about his death. It had turned out that Miss Hill had been a lifetime love of his. She had only been able to enjoy a few months with her love before he became extremely ill. At Julia's father's urging, Miss Hill had killed him to spare them impending suffering. William had always seen parallels between their story and his and Julia's. It had led to him proposing, for the final time, here while he and Julia were standing on the shore of the lake. They had spent the night, become much more closely intimate than they ever had before that. He chuckled to himself about how the paths one takes in their lives all seem to make sense sometimes – in this case how his experiences with Ettie, and with receiving the Chinese book, Ishinpō, had helped him become a better lover. It was that night – or rather the next morning – that he became convinced, and likely Julia too, that they would enjoy a wonderful love-life together, and that they wanted to marry quickly.

He found himself staring at the bed. He sighed contentedly and turned to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a large envelope on the dresser. He read the name on the front, "Detective William Murdoch," in what he recognized as Caroline Hill's handwriting. He found it very curious – that she would leave it for him, and that she would know he would find it in this room. He opened it. It contained many of the photos and letters he had seen when he was investigating her in suspicion of murdering Julia's father. There were even more newspaper clippings and other papers related to Julia and himself. He unfolded the letter and read it.

It told of the thoughts, impressions, and wishes of Julia's father related to him. Dr. Ogden had known of William's courting of Julia much earlier than he or Julia had thought – at least a year before she left for Buffalo. As Julia would have suspected, he was not pleased, and for the reasons expected – William's low station. Dr. Ogden never really liked Julia's choice to work as a pathologist, and he was even more disappointed in his daughter's choice to become romantically involved with a Catholic detective – from a poor, broken family. However, he was somewhat enchanted by William's being raised by Jesuit priests, as they held very high academic standards. Miss Hill had written, "You must know, though, William, that despite all of his displeasure, he held the belief that Julia and you shared a love much like his and mine. That is until Julia decided to leave her position at the morgue, and you, to go to Buffalo. At that point he had figured it was not true love after all – and he was both greatly relieved, and yet saddened by the thought that Julia would never know such a love." William sighed and continued.

The letter went on to tell that Dr. Ogden was pleased with Julia's choice of position in Buffalo, and he was overjoyed with her decision to become engaged to Darcy Garland. She wrote, "That is until he met him, and saw Julia and Dr. Garland together. He didn't think the man had what it would take to make Julia happy." William couldn't help but smile. He thought, "I wonder if he ever came to see that I did?" Miss Hill explained that Dr. Ogden had been furious with William for his part in risking Julia's life when Gillies had abducted her and buried her alive. His fatherly drive to protect his daughter had been triggered. "But, William, it was then that he came to suspect that you and Julia did have the same kind of love that we had shared – an eternal love. He was so saddened to know that his daughter had chosen the same path he had – the path of convention over true love, having married Dr. Garland. I swear it nearly broke his heart," her words told.

Dr. Ogden never believed Julia had killed her husband. He had a friend who brought him transcripts form the trial. "He cried many tears reading them," she said, "At one point Lionel said to me that he could only hold out hope that Julia's faith in you was warranted, and that you would save her from the noose. William, a friend of Chief Inspector Giles put him in touch with Giles. Giles told him about the trap set for you, about the tape Gillies had made, and the choices you made to procure it. He would want you to know, William, that you had his blessing – that he wished nothing more for Julia than for her to marry and live the rest of her life with you." William dropped down onto the bed as he read this last part. He regretted never having met the man. He put the contents back in the large envelope and left it on the dresser to share with Julia later.

In the kitchen, Julia and Ruby talked excitedly while they prepared lunch. There was a maid, Judith, who came by each day and had stocked the cupboards and ice box with food for their stay.

Ruby entwined her arm with her sisters and eagerly said, "William is still as handsome as ever Jules. Are you two still enjoying as much passion … in the bedroom, as you used to?"

Julia rolled her eyes and scolded, "Really Ruby, you are insufferable!"

"Oh come on Jules, who else besides your sister would you share such things with?" she goaded. Julia sighed, but her facial expression betrayed her thoughts. A huge smile grew on Ruby's face and she squeezed Julia with delight. This, of course, told Julia that Ruby had read her thoughts and knew how pleased she was with her love-life. "Oh my, you must tell," Ruby declared.

Julia held her sister's eye, but dropped her chin. She felt uncomfortable telling, but also so wanted to share about their happiness, their amazing happiness. "Ruby, I did not think it possible to have children and still have an … astonishingly pleasing…" Julia lowered her voice and whispered the next part, "… sex life. It is truly wonderful. We still make love nearly every day, and it is … quite, well, satisfying doesn't do it justice… I swear the word that comes to mind is 'ecstatic.' William is ..," she paused looking for a word that would not embarrass her but accurately depict what it was he was so good at.

Ruby remembered Julia telling her about their fantastic lovemaking many years ago (Story: Kiss & Tell). She finished Julia's sentence for her, "… skilled," Ruby said.

Julia nodded and turned red and said, "He really, really is."

Julia was glad that they had moved on to a different topic by the time William joined them in the kitchen. However, her relief was short-lived because Ruby quickly said, "So William, I'm very thrilled to hear that you are still keeping my sister magnificently pleased in the bedroom."

Julia gasped.

William started to say something, but thought better of it. He turned to look at his wife and raised his eyebrow at her. Julia blushed crimson. All three of them burst into laughter.

Julia shook her head 'no,' still in disbelief as she looked at Ruby.

Ruby took a deep breath and said, "Well, it's important to me to know that my sister is happy …" She turned to look at William and added, tilting her head and eyeing him seductively, "Not that I ever doubted your abilities William."

William dropped his eyes and shook his head 'no' as well. He chuckled, looked back up at Ruby and said, raising an eyebrow at her, "No?"

Sitting up straighter to demonstrate her confidence, Ruby replied, "No."

Julia did not like the way this was going. She cleared her throat, "A-hem."

William and Ruby turned to look at her. Ruby said, "Oh Jules, don't get jealous … You know I've always found William attractive… I see no reason not to tell him so."

Now William was blushing crimson. He tried to speak, but his voice was too dry at first. He cleared his throat and said he was going to take a quick walk down to the lake.

After he left, Julia gave Ruby a dirty look, but she couldn't hold it long and quickly burst out into laughter. The sisters hugged, both still laughing. Ruby said, "Go join him, I'll finish up and call you two back in a few minutes."

They stood where they had proposed to each other on the shore of the lake a decade ago. Julia snuggled up to him and said, "Well, you said you were looking forward to some adult company…"

He laughed and rolled his eyes. He sighed and said, "What I said I was looking forward to was time with you without the distractions of the children. Clearly, there are going to be some distractions here as well." Julia giggled and nodded her head. Continuing, William said, "But I do love Ruby. She's wonderful."

Julia turned him to face her and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Me too," she said, "But she can be quite … challenging to have around."

"True," he said as he placed his hands on her hips. He slid a hand around to press against the small of her back and pulled her tightly to him. She arched, leaning back to be better able to see his face. Their eyes were locked together for a moment before he said, "Magnificent in the bedroom?" questioning her with a raised eyebrow.

Julia laughed and then said, "Yes," she tilted her head and leaned in to kiss him. Only a millimeter from his lips she said, "Magnificent." They shared a tender, deep kiss. Her fingers scratched across his scalp, her thumb caressed the back of his ear. As kisses go, this one was magnificent.

Over lunch they talked enthusiastically. They also made plans to go out to a restaurant for dinner after the lawyers came by and they had signed the papers. The topic of Ruby's love-life came up. William really wanted to ask her about what had happened between her and his half-brother Jasper (Story: Power Struggles) but didn't work up the courage to do so. "Maybe later," he thought. He held out some hope for Jasper as it turned out that Ruby was not involved with any one at the moment.

Ruby commented, "You know, even Daddy didn't wear a suit here. Did you bring any more … casual clothes William?"

Julia answered before William could, "It was a battle, but yes, he does have less formal attire packed," she explained with a chuckle.

William felt a need to defend himself, "I thought it best to meet with the lawyers dressed this way. You don't agree?" he asked Ruby. (He already knew Julia had agreed with his decision in this respect – or at least had tolerated it).

"Yes," Ruby answered, "You look very … legal." Both Julia and Ruby chuckled.

"Good," he said.

In the restaurant over dinner William told them about the envelope Caroline Hill had left for him. He explained that it was her sharing their father's thoughts about him and his relationship with Julia. William looked at Julia, wrinkled up his face and said, "It turns out he knew we were courting from very early on – the Dinosaur Ball I think."

Julia added, "Yes, there were probably people who knew him there. What did it say?"

William put his fork down and lifted his water glass, "Well…" He took a sip, "…As you would have figured he was quite unhappy with your choice because of my … family history, religion, and … unseemly occupation. Generally my coming from a lower class …" William looked at Ruby and thought, "I wonder if she knows about the lifelong love between her father and Caroline Hill?"

"Um, what do you think of Caroline Hill, Ruby?" he asked.

Ruby shifted in her chair, "I'm glad father had someone to love him and care for him after mother died," she said, looking at Julia. She continued, "Daddy wrote me that he loved her and she made him happy. That was good enough for me."

Julia asked, "Did he tell you how long he had known her?"

"No. I just assumed it was recently," she answered.

Both William and Julia pushed back a little from the table, took deep breaths and looked at each other. Ruby knew something important was coming. They told her about Caroline Hill and their father being in love before he married their mother. And that they had been in love all those years – without having an affair. Ruby agreed that it was sad that their father could never have loved their mother as much as they had always thought he had, and also that it was sad that their father was only able to be with the love of his life for a few months.

Eventually Julia asked, "William, what did Caroline Hill's and father's relationship have to do with father's opinion of you?"

William paused, held strongly to Julia's eyes, and told her, "He thought our love was like their love – He believed you had made a similar choice to his by marrying Darcy. In the end, he knew we were back together and that you would be happy with me."

Tears welled up in Julia's eyes. "Oh," she said and looked down at her plate. She started to cry harder and William moved his chair closer to hers and took her in his arms. He looked at Ruby and Ruby moved her chair over too and lovingly rubbed Julia's back. "He really did love me," Julia said, the sound muffled as it emanated from her mouth buried in William's chest.

"Yes, he did," Ruby said, "He always did."

Julia quickly dried her eyes and they finished eating.

During the carriage ride back to the lake-house, Ruby told them she had found a similar letter in her room. William suggested they look in Julia's old room to see if Caroline Hill left her a letter there.

Once back, Julia and William called their children, wanting to check in with them before they went to bed. William Jr. (7 yrs.) complained to his father about having to go to the Club tomorrow to watch his younger sister, Katie (6 yrs.) take a horseback riding lesson. William reminded him that Katie and Chelsea went to watch his swimming lessons sometimes, and that Chelsea would be going along as well, even though she was not having a riding lesson. He said he expected his son to support his sisters as he expected them to support him. William Jr. said he understood. Everybody wished everybody else a good-night and made sure to tell them they loved them too.

After the call, all three of them went up to Julia's room to see if there was a letter for her. There was. Julia said she wanted to read it privately later. They sat in the living room talking for a while before they went to bed. William thanked Ruby for their annual Club membership, which she paid for each year as a Christmas gift. He stressed that their children encountered opportunities there that were very special. Eventually Julia asked Ruby if she would be willing to either, hold on to the lake-house so that they could bring the children here and have family gatherings here as was their family tradition, or until she and William could afford to buy Ruby's half from her – although she did not see them having such excess money soon. Ruby gladly agreed to hold on to the lake-house.

Interestingly, Ruby asked William if he thought Jasper might join them for some of these family gatherings. He said he certainly thought so, especially if Jasper knew she would be joining them. Ruby had sighed and seemed to think of Jasper with some sadness and regret. Both William and Julia had decided to wait to see if Ruby wanted to talk about it. She said no more, and so they let it go. Julia figured she'd find out more some time when she was alone with Ruby.

In their bedroom, William spotted Julia staring at her letter. He asked her if she wanted to read it now. She said she would read it tomorrow – it was likely to be emotional and she wanted to focus on being happy with him right now. They prepared and dressed for bed. While Julia sat at the vanity brushing her hair, William lit some candles and turned out the lights. Love was definitely in the air. He came next to where she was sitting to rest his buttocks against the edge of the vanity and talk with his wife, clearly enjoying the sight of her brushing her curls. Julia said, keeping her eyes in the mirror, "I have always loved it when you sit like that, at your office or in the morgue – There's something more casual and intimate about it… I remember the first time I consciously noticed I felt this way. We were in the morgue and I was mad at you for not standing with me against the Inspector about women's abilities…"

"Mmm, I remember. I believe I had been particularly winsome with my logic," William continued to tell the story with a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye.

Julia caught the look out of the corner of her eye, felt her insides stir in reaction to it. She paused and said, "I am thinking about putting a little bit more red back into my hair. What do you think? It would be more my natural color…"

William leaned closer to her and teased, "I thought your natural color was grey."

Julia tapped his thigh with the hairbrush, feigning shock and anger, "William!" Then she shook her head and added, "You should talk – There are quite a few sprinkles of grey in your hair too."

He nodded, "True," he admitted.

He offered her a hand, lifting her to her feet, and stood to take her in his arms. "More red would be beautiful… Of course the blond is lovely too," he said quietly as he took some of her locks into his fingers and played with them appreciatively. Sliding the curls out of his way, he tilted his head, leaned in, and kissed her ear, then moved on to entice her by nibbling at her neck, her most vulnerable aspect.

Surprisingly quickly Julia felt desires stir in her core. The scent of him filled her nostrils, seeming to daze her. She slipped her arms around his waist and rewarded his attention with a yielding moan that drifted across his ear, sinking into his brain. He inhaled deeply, taking in her smell and then took her ear lobe in his mouth to suck and kneed it with his tongue, then scrape it tenderly with his teeth. "William ..," she sighed.

"Mmm?" he replied. No answer came. Her mind was already swimming too much to reply. His mouth continued across her chin, up to her lips. The kiss was malleable and firm, provoking another luscious moan from Julia. William felt his urge growing rapidly – too rapidly, and he broke off the kiss. He stepped back to see her face. It melted him. "Oh, she's gorgeous," he thought. He was breathless. "Breathe, look away," he told himself, hoping to regain control. He did so, stepping back farther and dropping his head down to the floor for a moment, he took a deep breath. One of their suitcases was within his view and he remembered putting Ruby's suitcase in her room directly above the one they were in. He took another deep breath and said, "Do you think Ruby will be able to hear us? Her room is right above us."

Julia was recovering her wits now that the kissing had stopped, and she made an effort to pull herself out of her hazy state to answer him. "Umm, knowing Ruby, she's probably got her ear pressed up against the door right now," she said with a giggle as she turned to walk over to the bed. She caught his eye, now from across the bed, and added, "Back when we were just children here, she told me she could hear our parents … She said the headboard banged against the wall, that's how she would know when they, umm …"

"Oh," William replied as he turned to see the headboard. "Perhaps we should pull it away from the wall?" he asked.

"We can try it," she replied, reaching down to grasp her side of the headboard and bedframe. They each pushed from their end and moved the bed about an inch further from the wall.

William sat down on the bed while Julia climbed in the other side and rolled over to lie behind him. She reached over and rubbed her hand up and down his thigh. She reminded him that he sat right in that same spot – she in this same spot – right after they had almost made love for the first time (Story: It's Good to Have a Plan). "It was much closer than the picnic in the park with the absinthe, hmm?" she asked.

William's mouth curved into a smile at the memory. He shook his head and said, "Yes," he turned to look at her, "I had never in my life felt something as powerful as that was Julia. To tell you the truth, I'm still surprised that I stopped, that I was able to … stop."

She sat up next to him, her legs still behind him. She took his face in her hands, stroked his hair, and said, "Well, William you are really, and always have been, the master of self-control. And now I know you had studied Taoist methods and ideology of lovemaking…" she giggled. Her voice took on a seductive tone, "It was just the beginning of 'magnificent,'" she said and she kissed him. She broke off the kiss and shifted to sit in his lap facing him, straddling him. As she unbuttoned his pajama top she said, "But what was really amazing was the next morning, waking up next to you for the first time ever, and feeling you so aroused and touching me." Julia's insides began to tighten just thinking about it. "You said you had forgotten about Plan C… Oh, William, Plan C was wonderful. Because of it I knew we … you were definitely going to make me very happy." After she had slid his top off she admiringly rubbed, stroked, scratched, and kissed his chest, the muscles of his shoulders. She pushed him down onto the bed and kissed slowly and evocatively down his body. His head began to spin when she pulled the drawstring of his pajama bottoms and kneeled on the floor in front of him, between his knees. She pulled his pants off. He was already quite excited.

"Oh my god," he thought. He moaned, a low, demanding moan, when she pleasured him. She so loved it when he made that sound. With her attentions, William felt himself growing euphoric with lust and desire. He wanted her. He was not satisfied with her just her mouth. He lifted her head to catch her eyes. They shared a deep, mesmerizing look. Love sparks filled the room. He lifted her nightgown over her head, stopping before the garment had slid off of her wrists to trap her arms up in the air. She could see his urge as he took in the sight of her. He took a deep breath and said, "You are so stunningly beautiful," as he removed the gown and dropped it to the floor. He guided her up onto the bed with him. They moved to lie together in the center of the bed. "I'm going to have my way with you, Julia," he warned.

Now it was Julia's brain that swam and floated, seeming to mix all of the colors of the room. Her breathing became rapid – each exhale blasting out of her. He knew this breathing –she was desperate with need for him. "Oh William," she pleaded, "Please do ..," She gasped as his fingers traveled down her body to find her slippery, warm entrance. "Oh, have your way with me." Her back arched, pressing her belly tight against him. He rolled over, his shadow stealing away the candlelight, his body sinking down into hers, taking her breath away. "Oh my god, I want you," she cried as she dug her fingernails into his back and pulled him down harder against her. He kissed her so very softly and tenderly at first, but her moan lit a flame inside of him and the kiss became deep, rushed and rough. She felt the air rush out of his nose followed by a hungry breath to restock his oxygen. The moment he released her mouth and dove on her neck to cover it with his mouth, she cried out again, "William, Oh …" she squeezed him harder, "Please, William." He looked at her, the look pulled him over the edge of control. Like a magnet that had gotten too close to metal, the force between them demanded motion, necessitated connection. He began to make love to her, and she released another strong moan of delight twisted with need. "Shh," he urged, remembering that Ruby could probably hear. The moment he began to make love to her again, the sound of the headboard thumping against the wall could be heard. He halted.

Julia whispered in his ear, "She's going to hear no matter what – Please don't stop William," and she clenched her teeth into his neck and sucked against his skin, as if she could entice him to continue this way. "Oh William, please!" she demanded. He made love to her, finding he was captivated by the power he felt as the head board pounded out the beat, he drove to increase its volume. The thumping grew both louder and quicker. Julia's moans joined in and he felt himself lose control. He surged them both to a deluge of warm ecstasy.

Stillness sunk around them. The pounding of the sound of their breath heaving across their ears and the thumping of their hearts within their chests, filled the void created by the absence of the banging of the headboard. Both weak, spent and drunk with pleasure, they lay together, limp and spinning. Both enjoyed the dizzy swirl as the room around them gradually grew present in their awareness. As soon as he was able, William swept across Julia's face with soft butterfly kisses. "Oh, I love you so," he said, still breathless and dry. He chuckled and said, "Julia Ogden, will you marry me?"

She squeezed him, pulling his loose body down into hers, she replied, "A thousand times, I would."

Ruby had heard. She sat in the dimly lit living-room in the reclining chair, the seat closest to their bedroom door, indulging in one final glass of wine. She was beyond pleased… as well as, truth be told, a little jealous.

Just before dawn the next morning a thunderstorm moved in across the lake. Julia had been awakened by the thunder, rumbling low and long, still being originated from afar. She had gotten up out of bed to stand and watch out of the large bedroom window as it rolled towards them. She knew she would wake William soon, he so loved being safe inside, listening to a storm rage on outside. Often they made love cocooned securely away from the danger and yet enticed and inspired by the storm's electrifying energy.

The distance still sufficiently far enough to detach the timing of the flash of bright light from the sound of the thunder, William stirred. Julia turned her head to catch sight of him lift up onto his elbow and look at her across the dark room. Light flickered into the room, revealing her naked body to him. Immediately his desire was roused.

The moment felt precious, temporary – the meaning of it all intensely focused onto the here and the now. Each of them filled with an awareness of being awake – alive. William slid out from under the covers as the boom of the thunder bolted through the room. He came to stand behind her, smoothly sliding his bare skin across hers before blanketing her in his arms. His masculine lust pressed against her, stealing her breath. She gasped and instantly felt a twirling dizziness encompass her brain, a wrenching tightness grip her deep inside.

"It's getting close, we'll have to hurry," his low, lusty voice whispered in the dark. Julia felt the floor drop down away from her. She became heavier in his arms. He gathered her long, lawless hair together and twisted it to expose the skin of her neck and shoulders. His mouth warmed and pulled against her neck. Julia moaned in response. She turned to face him. Another lightning flash, quickly followed by a thunderous bang, rushed them into a deep kiss. Hurriedly she wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her from the floor and she wrapped her legs around his hips. They broke off the kiss. With Julia reaching down to capture his ear lobe and torment it with her tongue and teeth, he carried her over to the vanity, pulled the chair out to place it to the side, and lowered her down onto the cold, hard wood. "Pow," the thunder exploded, indecipherable from the blinding flash of light. William began to make love to her as drenching rainfall began to pound the world around them. They both moaned with desperation, passionately making love as the storm erupted overhead, finally reaching the crescendo of their symphonic culmination of pleasure and love.

Starkly in opposition to the cacophony, everything was now still, quiet. Lightning softly flickered the sky, opening the darkness of the room by illuminating the edges of objects. Julia swallowed and placed her lips even closer to his ear, "Oh, William I…" she said, not finding words to express the feelings. Gently they each became aware of the sounds of their breathing, felt the pounding of their own heart matched by that of their lover's, as the whirling in their heads slowed. William lifted Julia up and turned to carry her back to bed. Having recovered sufficiently to speak she said, "I am quite capable of walking," as she dipped her head to kiss and nibble on his neck.

He stopped, holding her in the center of the room, and teased her, "Now … You are quite capable of walking, now," he said with a smile sneaking onto his face.

She held onto him tighter and said, "I will not deny it … Sometimes William, you make me swoon."

He twirled her into a spin and then took her to the bed. First dropping to his knees, and then carefully rolling onto his side, he brought them to rest side by side on the bed. He rolled onto his back and Julia rested her head on his chest. Dawn bloomed outside the window, spreading a dusty orange and pink light upon the world. William took one of her curls in his fingers, marveling at the shimmer and glow. "As if a star on a stage," he thought. Julia lifted her head, bringing her eyes to meet with his. Eyes dilated and glazed, skin luminous in the supple light of sunrise, they each softened, opening themselves to the other. William breathed first, breaking the spell. He rolled her over to place her on her back. Then he pulled the blankets up over them and whispered in her ear, "Let's sleep." He tucked a pillow under his head and cloaked her with an arm and a leg. It was a Saturday and they were on vacation – in their own lake-house. The sleep was deep.

The smell of coffee indicated that Ruby was already awake. They dressed, William in his most casual clothing, and joined her in the kitchen. It was not until his eyes met Ruby's that he remembered the banging headboard. He quickly looked away. Ruby said, "Good morning, lovebirds," and chuckled.

"Good morning Ruby," Julia said, sounding to William as absolutely normal as ever.

He took his clue from her and decided not to address the insinuation, "Such a beautiful morning," he added. He sighed and offered, "Allow me to be in charge of cooking breakfast," as he opened the ice box to see their choices. He lifted up some bacon and suggested, "How about eggs and bacon?"

Julia took a seat at the kitchen table next to Ruby, preparing to watch the show, and replied, "Wonderful."

"Gorgeous and cooks too?" Ruby said.

William placed a pan on the stove and turned to look at his wife. She held his eye and replied to Ruby, "Yes, he has many talents," finding it impossible to keep the smile from growing on her face.

Once again, William felt an urgent need to look away, doing so in time to hide his blushing. Placing the bacon in the pan, he exhaled through pursed lips and thought, "It sure gets hot in this kitchen."

They discussed their plans for the day while they ate. William wanted to use the lot plans provided by the lawyers to determine if the boundaries of the property were still properly marked and to investigate the outside buildings. Julia and Ruby wanted to talk together – to catch up. And Julia wanted to find some time alone to read the letter from Caroline Hill.

Outside, William found the old stonewall that bordered their property. There were a few places that needed repair. He sighed as he imagined lifting the heavy rocks and placing them correctly, picturing the dirt and sweat ruining the only casual clothes he had brought. He had not had a chance to lift any weights all week – "It was a very hectic week," he thought, and the exercise would do his body good. He decided to remove his shirt as there was no one around to see him bare-chested anyway and re-build the weaker spots in the wall.

Comfortably nestled in the living room, able to see the picturesque view of the yard and lake through the large window, Ruby and Julia talked about anything and everything, as close sisters will. Ruby admitted to feeling love, a strong love the likes of which she'd never felt before, for William's half- brother Jasper. She had to push him away, she said, because he wanted marriage and exclusivity - things she did not believe would enable her to truly be happy. He was predictably broken-hearted and had returned to the west coast. Now she found, particularly watching Julia with William, she was feeling regret for her decision – but she was still skeptical about there being any hope of working it out. Julia advised her that if it was meant to be, then she would be driven to try. She agreed that based on what she knew of Jasper, it would need to be an exclusive relationship – and likely marriage, although, unlike with William, Ruby and Jasper had made love without being married, and so marriage may not be essential for them to be happy.

The maid, Judith, an attractive and self-confident young woman, came to clean. She explained that she lived just up the hill from them and would be pleased to continue working here. They arranged for her to stay on, agreeing to pay her well whenever Julia and William's children came, as she would serve as their nanny. Ruby and Julia had nearly finished their talk when Judith began to clean the living-room window.

Ruby noticed that Judith had paused and was intently watching something out the window. She asked, "Judith, what is it?"

"Oh, mam, sorry. There is a man, I presume your husband, Miss Julia … He, umm …"

Ruby and Julia got up to see for themselves. Julia gasped at the sight. Her husband, the most buttoned-up man she'd ever known, was outside, bare-chested, and doing chin-ups from the branch of a tree. He looked good - very, very good.

Ruby smiled with glee and said, "Oh Judith, you should definitely have shared this with us sooner – Did you think you could keep such a sight to yourself?"

Judith blushed and began to rapidly rub the window with her cleaning cloth. "I … umm …"

Julia had regained her composure and wanted to save the poor young woman from further stress. She said, "Now ladies, the man we are all … observing … is my husband. And I am making it clear right now. Only I flirt with him," she uttered firmly with her eyes drilling into her sister's, fighting the urge to laugh.

Judith responded, still intent on focusing on cleaning the window, "Well of course, mam, you are his wife. I was not … umm, He is too old for me anyway," she said, quickly realizing it could be taken the wrong way. She turned to stare at Julia apologetically.

Julia found herself liking the young woman's blunt, imperfect ways. "All true," she concluded, putting the woman at ease. With one more glance at her husband, she turned to return to her place on the couch. Ruby followed. Reminding each other that they were pretty much done with their talk anyway, they parted with Ruby deciding to write in her journal for a while to see if it helped her reflect on her thoughts. Julia retrieved Caroline Hill's letter and went down by the lake to read it.

Having spotted his wife down by the lake, William approached, shirt still in hand. Noticing she had the letter in her hand and thinking she looked as if she had been crying, he paused a few feet away and asked, "Still want some more time alone?"

She turned to look at him, struck for a moment by his naked chest and his physical attractiveness. She held his eye and said, "No, no William. Please join me." As he sat she stared at his chest and commented, with an eyebrow raised, "Um, your attire … It is a bit unlike you, William?"

He chuckled and explained, "It is the only shirt I have. I didn't want to get it dirty."

Julia dropped her eyes to his trousers and said, "And by the look of your trousers it certainly would have," as a playful smile overtook her face.

He laughed. Holding the corners of his mouth firmly to fight the growing smile he replied, "Well, I was unwilling to take them off as well." She laughed and the sound filled his heart with joy.

William's eyes fell to the letter in Julia's hands. She told him that Caroline Hill had included a letter from her father to her that he had written before he … died. "He had done for our mother what Caroline Hill had done for him," she said. He had written about his relationship with Julia. He explained that he had wanted a boy – was disappointed that she was a girl. Yet, he found he marveled at her right from the beginning. She knew no fear and was filled with a stubborn determination for learning about everything around her. Once Ruby was born (Julia was three), Julia became bonded to her father so strongly that he took her with him to his medical practice most days. She was always trouble, but he found he only loved her more for it. He described one time when Julia was four-years old. He had been trying to find Julia, here at the lake-house. Out the window he saw her toy rocking horse pulled up against the base of a tree (Julia thought, "Perhaps it was the same tree William was doing chin-ups on earlier?"). He couldn't believe it, but the little girl had stood on it and leaped up to grab the first branch and then climbed higher and higher into the tree. When he stood below and looked up, she clung to the top. He called up to her, anger and concern in his voice. "But Daddy, I wanted to see," she had explained. Julia had climbed down only to rest on the bottom branch and realize that she could not get down – even a jump seemed risky as the rocking horse was in the way of a safe landing. Her father had teased her – claiming that once again she had bitten off more than she could chew. To his astonishment, his young daughter climbed back up the tree to jump across to a neighboring tree and then finally jump safely to the ground from that tree instead. From that day on, her father had struggled with his conflicting fear for her safely and his admiration of her tenacity. By the time her mother died, he found that Julia's unique ways rendered her likely to be outcast by her society. It was too late, but he tried to rein her in for her own good.

"He also wrote about us, William," she said. "He had heard that I turned down your proposal. He couldn't understand why I would do that. He figured I was just destined to be unhappy in love as he had been. It saddened him… I do so wish he had lived long enough to learn the truth - to know we married and are happy … to meet his grandchildren." She started to cry. He took her in his arms and she cried on his shoulder for a time. The tears ran their course and the couple headed into the house for lunch.

Over the meal Ruby and Julia reminisced about their childhood. Ruby remembered that Julia climbed trees all the time – that she would do so when she ran away from home. Ruby explained that even when she knew to look up in the trees for her missing sister, she still had trouble finding her. When she did, she would beg Julia to come down and to come home. Sometimes it wasn't till way after dark that Julia would come into the house – infuriating her father. Unfortunately, near the end, her mother didn't seem to even notice Julia had been gone. They told Ruby that William used to work in the logging camps and also loved to climb trees. William talked Julia into joining him in tree climbing after lunch. They struggled with what she would wear, as she was unwilling to climb in a dress and corset. They decided that they would both wear their bathing suits - that way William's clothes wouldn't get ruined either.

They walked uphill, deeper into the woods. Julia found a maple tree she thought looked inviting. She needed William to help her up to the bottom branch, but from there she adeptly moved up the tree. William decided to climb a neighboring tree – also a maple. Soon they both clung to the tops of their trees carrying on their conversation from atop the world. They shared an intense reaction to the experience. William described it as feeling both profoundly alerted to the world around them while at the same time feeling totally relaxed and at ease.

Julia pointed out a thunderstorm far off over the lake. They agreed that it seemed far enough away not to pose a threat. However, within a few moments, thunder could be heard rumbling across the sky. William decided it would be best if they started climbing down. When he was about half way down his tree a thunderous boom, accompanied by a flash of light, exploded close by – too close for comfort! Even though there still was no rain and the clouds had not completely darkened the sky, the nearby lightning strike spelled trouble. William knew there would likely be another. "Hurry Julia! Get down Now!" he screamed out. William raced down the branches, leaping to the ground just as a bolt of lightning hit another tree – this one much closer than before. He could smell the ozone. It was close.

He ran over to stand below Julia's tree. She was almost down – only about 12 feet to go. He was about to call out to her to tell her to jump down from where she was when a massively staggering blast came from the tree he had just been in. The explosion flung both Julia and William through the air. William hit the ground about 8 feet away. He turned to see Julia smack the ground, taking the brunt of the crash on her shoulder and then rolling in a ball to end up face up a good 15 feet away from the tree she had been in. By the time he got to her side, some relief had come as he could tell she was conscious. She was stunned and disoriented. Soaking rain began to beat down from the sky. Another nearby burst stung their ears, and the smell of ozone, as well as smoke from William's burning tree, triggered the urgent alarm to get to safety.

He pulled Julia up to her feet. Her face registered recognition when her eyes met his. "William! I thought you were in the tree – that you had been hit by lightning!" she declared, her face wrinkling into stress, her tears indecipherable from the rain running down her face.

"We need to get away from these trees NOW!" he demanded, grabbing her by the hand and racing down the hill. Merely seconds later another crash flashed behind them. Reaching a clearing they quickly halted and William pulled her down to join him in a squatting position in front of him. She looked to him, fully willing to do whatever he told her. "Put your heels together – make sure they're touching," he directed. They remained in this position for quite some time, crouching huddled together as the storm roared around them.

"I thought you were dead," Julia said through gasps. She leaned forward into him, threatening to fall apart, shaking in his arms, she cried, "I thought you had been … struck … by the lightning."

William struggled not to lose his balance as she pressed against him. "Keep your heels together Julia. Look at me! Heels touching!" She managed to pull herself together and do as he said. By the time she had regained her whereabouts, her legs ached from holding the stressful position. The last few lightning strikes seemed to be further and further away. They decided they were safe enough to make a run for the house.

When they arrived at the door, he knew she was alright when he heard her joke, "It's a good thing we wore our bathing suits," as he opened the door and they poured into the entryway.

He closed the door behind them and pulled her into his arms. "Yes," he chuckled, "Yes it was wise," he agreed as he allowed his body to fall backwards and rest against the closed door. The overwhelming relief he felt to have her safely in his arms flooded through his body. He was unwilling to loosen his hold on her for quite a few moments.

Ruby rushed to the door to take in the sight of them. "Are you alright?" she asked.

William answered, keeping his arms tightly around Julia, "Yes… We are now."

Julia's voice sprang from the place where her face had settled in his neck, "Yes Ruby, we're fine." She was completely happy to stay nestled with him. The severity of their plight had not really sunk in yet, nor the awareness of the pain from her injuries. Both of them had sustained scratches and scrapes from the branches as they had bolted down from the trees, and harbored a few bruises from hitting the ground. Julia's shoulder was extremely sore, but she believed it was not broken. They would recover.

After William had taken a bath and they had changed into dry clothes, the three of them sat down around the kitchen table to have some warm tea. They enthusiastically reviewed the experience with each other and Ruby. William explained the science, "The ground holds a positive charge, the sky a negative one. The charge actually travels upwards from the ground to the sky. It will find the fastest, most direct path to travel along - thus using solid objects touching the ground to climb through as it tries to move upwards. The reason you want to place your body in a low position is so the electricity will choose something taller than you to travel along, but you also want to be far from tall objects - as you saw with the tree," he said, strongly catching Julia's eye. "It's best to crouch close to the ground so you are low, but to keep your heels together so that if a charge starts to travel into one of your feet, the shortest path through you will be out through your other foot. This way your vital organs are spared," he explained.

During the frightening ordeal, "time seemed to shift," Julia said. "As I lie there on the ground, I actually had enough time to think about how ironic it was that William was so enthralled by electricity, and that it was his being electrified by lightning that killed him in the end," she explained. Their fervent conversation, having helped alleviate some of the jitters, finally drained down, and they shifted to planning dinner. One important conclusion from the talk, though, was that William would install a lightning rod on the house. (They already had one on the home he had planned and they had built back in Toronto, along with an as sundry of other specialties, like hidden passageways, showers, and scrutiny cameras. He planned on installing showers and few scrutiny cameras here as well).

They called the children to make sure all was well. Julia told them about their adventure, leaving out the part about them almost dying. William informed them that they would be learning how to be safe in Thunderstorms when they got home tomorrow afternoon.

That evening, Julia took a bath while William lay on the bed, already in his pajamas, reading a science magazine he had brought with him from home. The bath felt lovely, but rinsing the soap out of her hair was a struggle – She had really come to appreciate the showers William had built in their home. "Now they're catching on everywhere," she thought, "Perhaps George is right and William could have been a rich man if he had tried to make a profit on some of his inventions." She dried off and wrapped herself in her – William's – favorite robe.

When Julia walked out of the bathroom, she caught William's eye and smiled. He had wanted to have some time to relax and read, and she was glad to see he had gotten a chance to do so. She went to the vanity and started the challenging work of gaining control over her wet locks. Her eyes found William's reflection in the mirror as he read behind her. Love for him warmed her heart, but was so very quickly joined by her fear of losing him. The emotions battled within her, provoking a sigh. She turned her attention back to her hair. Soon however, she was once again stuck staring at the reflection. "He is so handsome, still after all this time," she thought.

Completely aware that his wife was admiring him in the mirror, but not looking up to betray his knowledge that she was doing so, William non-challantly said, "Julia, there can't be much excitement in watching another person read," and tuned the page.

"Oh, but there is…," she replied, voice husky and slow, "…When that person is you."

He lifted his eyes to meet hers in the mirror. He had the look that always floored her – Made her insides flip and her knees weak. She was glad she was sitting down. William got out of the bed and came next to her, resting his buttocks down on the vanity. He crossed his arms in front of himself and turned to look at her.

She stood, pushing the chair back, and reached up to caress his lips, his chin. He reached over and untied the sash of her robe, then pulled it slightly open. His eyes darkened with desire. Julia thought, "Oh, here it comes," as swirling waves of dizziness overtook her mind and her womb tightened and pulled her closer to unbridled need. But then another thought took her, "I would never have seen him look at me like this ever again." An ache filled her.

"To think that I would never have been able to touch you again," she said, first holding his eyes but then dropping her head. Distress built within her. Her forehead wrinkled, tears were coming. She pushed them away, took a deep breath. Once their eyes met again, however, the train of thought resumed. "I would never hear your voice – my god William, I so love the sound of your voice," She stepped closer, moved her lips to his ear, "I would never smell you again, taste your skin…" The tone of her voice rose, taking on a squeakiness, as the fear and pain filled her senses, "I…I would never again feel you hold me in your arms." Outright crying now, she stepped back, turned to look down at the vanity. She said, sadness enveloping her, "This morning, here … in the dawn, with the storm raging outside … it would have been the last time we made love."

William leaned in. He lifted her chin to capture her eyes with his. With a winsome smile, one that he knew would win her heart, he said, "At least I would have gone out with a bang," as he wrinkled his face and tilted his head, inviting her to laugh.

She did. Then she added, "Yes, in more ways than one." They both chuckled. Her crying had slowed. She sniffled, wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She turned to look back at him once more. Torment flooded back across her face and she started to sob. She said, through gasps, "I don't think I could survive it William. I really don't."

He took her face in his hand and brought his face close to hers. "Julia, you would," he said, stroking the tears from her cheeks.

"No, no. I wouldn't," she replied, sobbing so hard that her body was shaking.

William's voice was so low, so calm, so confident … so caring as he said, "We have made a life together. We have children now… They would love you even if I were gone. And you love them."

"I do," she agreed nodding, her eyes glued to his. She took a shaky breath.

"And you are so strong, Julia. They would need you – you would suffer my loss together, heal together," he continued.

"I would never be able to heal from the loss of you William. I know it," she argued.

"Well, if not heal, then cope. Julia," he said, taking her face firmly in his hands, his voice insistent, "You have so much to offer the world – so much joie d' vie… so much vim and vigor…"

She hugged him tightly and sobbed on his shoulder. He swayed, rocking her, holding her, waiting for the waves of fear and dread to pass. A few moments later he took a deep breath, reminding her to breathe as he did so. She lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffed, took a deep breath. She reached up and wiped away a tear from her cheek, took another deep breath and said, with her eyes still averted from his, "It's just that I love you so much."

"And I you," he said.

"And that makes it so much harder … It's so much to lose," she said, finally looking him in the eye.

William wrinkled his face the way he does when he is unable to deny something and replied, "Yes."

Julia walked over to the big window and looked out. The darkness outside only served to intensify the quality of the reflection of light within the bedroom. It was only an image of herself that she could see. Her mind wandered, coming to the memory of a similar reflection in the window of their New York City honeymoon suite a decade ago. (Story: Under His Spell in a Room With a View). He had romantically stunned her that night, using the reflection in the window. His romantic passion had remained nearly every day since.

"Do you remember the view we had in our honeymoon suite?" she asked, finding his reflection in the window.

William felt a stirring in his groin. He walked up behind her, looked over her shoulder at their reflection in the mirror, with his eyes drawn down by the subtly revealed curves of her body through the loosely-opened robe, and said, seduction in his voice, "Who'd of thought there could be a view any lovelier?" He pulled her damp curls back, revealing her neck, tucked his face to her and deeply inhaled her scent. His hands slid around her waist, caught the edges of the robe and opened it wider. "Oh my God," he thought as he felt his groin bolt towards her. He reached up and guided the robe over her shoulders, letting gravity take it to the floor. She gasped. He pulled her back into him. They both watched their reflection in the window as he explored her body. Passion was taking hold of him and his hands rubbed harder, pinched and kneaded her flesh more urgently.

"William, be gentle with me tonight, I'm tender," she said, reminding him of the ordeal she, they, had been through earlier this day. She turned around and pushed him back enough to reach the buttons on his pajama top. As she began to unbutton them she noticed he seemed paralyzed with lust. He had not taken a breath. A smile took her face as she realized that he was fixated on the view he saw in the reflection. "He always did have a weak spot for my… derriere," she thought. She kissed his neck and whispered in his ear, "Breath William." He did. She finished unbuttoning the pajama top. She opened the top and took in the view of his muscular chest. She gave in to her urge to touch, sweeping her open hands all around and over the well-defined ripples. Reaching her arms up around his neck, noticing but pushing aside the pain this evoked in her left shoulder, she enticingly asked, "Do you like what you see?"

"Mmm," he answered.

Knowing it would drive him wild, Julia wiggled her hips. She was rewarded by William's moan and his pressing closer to her. She pulled at the drawstring of his pajama bottoms, drawing a gasp from him. She let them fall to the floor.

William's eyes were transfixed by the reflection in the window. Julia heard the burst of air flood out of him. She knew he was losing control. Her heart was pounding with delight. She wanted to push him completely over the edge. She took his hand, and led him over to the wall where he had his way with her.

The next morning, William rolled over to softly awaken his wife and seduce her once more. When they began to make love, she noticed the silence – The headboard did not bang against the wall. "You fixed it?" she asked.

Holding her ear lobe in his mouth, she could feel the smile grow on his face, as he paused their perfect motion. He let her ear lobe go and said into her neck, "I think the pounding of our hearts, along with the occasional roar of a thunderstorm, provides more than enough of a beat to enrich our lives… Besides, it should cut back on the noise complaints." Only moments later, Julia's cries of ecstasy rocked his soul. As they lay together recovering in the afterglow, William said, "Well, there may be nothing we can do about the noise complaints after all," as he gave her a teasing tickle in the ribs.

"William! I, umm…" she said, feigning insult.

"Oh, you know I love it," he replied, with a twinkle in his eye that made him irresistible. "And besides, I always liked it when we got noise complaints at the hotel – I kind of miss them now that we live in our own house," he added. "Speaking of which, let's head home, Mrs. Murdoch," he concluded as he rolled over, hopped out of bed and offered her a hand.

They should have taken their close call with the thunderstorm as the warning it was. Fortunately, they stood a good chance in facing what was to come – after all, when they were together, there was nothing stronger.