Title: Happy...
Author: veiledndarkness
Pairing: Tim/Lyla
Spoilers: Up to and including Season 2
Rating: PG
Summary: Away from Dillon, far from the familiar.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no profit made, no harm intended.
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The sunshine beams through the leaves as they drive, gleaming down through the windshield. Lyla rests her head on her arm, her head half out the window as the truck rumbles on down the road. She smiles faintly as the trees sway in the breeze, her duffel bag propped under her sandal clad feet.
Tim glances at her every so often. He drives without questioning, the silence between them calm and easy. She had called in the middle of the night, asking only that he come pick her up. She had slipped from her house, a bag on her shoulder, and a wad of cash tucked into her purse.
She speaks little to him for the first few miles, tear tracks visible on her cheeks in the moonlight. Tim feels the unasked questions bubbling in his chest though he holds them back. She speaks eventually, telling him only that she can't stay at home, that she's choking there, suffocating.
They drive for miles, the darkness fading into light. The sun creeps across the sky and Lyla falls asleep against Tim's side. He pulls over eventually and watches her sleep beside him. She awakes some time later and asks only that he drive, that he take her away from Dillon.
He does so. They stop occasionally, refueling the truck and quick snacks bought from dusty gas stations. Lyla rests her head on her arm again; a slight smile curves her lips as the miles tick by, one road blending into the next. Tim sips at the cool bottled water and watches the sunshine gleam off her dark hair.
With rest stops in the old tent that he'd never moved from the back of his truck, he and Lyla make their way west. He holds her as she sleeps, the two of them sharing the worn sleeping bag each night, the stars above them, her quiet breaths echoing in his ear.
Half past three a week later, Lyla points out the sign by the road, one that declares that they've crossed over the state line, California looming ahead of them. Tim feels a tightness ease in his chest, the smile on Lyla's face well worth the endless driving.
"Are you happy?" he asks not long after they've stretched out on the beach.
Lyla pushes her sunglasses back and presses the lightest of kisses to his jaw, murmuring her assurances. Tim hugs her closer, his head resting on hers as the tide rolls in, the water lapping at their bare feet.
He asks her every so often once they've settled in, a tentative life together; those simple words mean everything, makes the whole trip less surreal. He thinks of Mexico, of dancing with her with Jason at his side and remembers why he never could say no to her and why she can't stay far from him. She answers with a yes each time, her fingers brushing over his.
Tim curls his fingers over hers, his whispers and declarations unspoken as he holds her, their hands laced together and resting on her stomach as the sun sets around them. When he asks her again and hears her words, he feels like he can believe her, that this dream could be real.
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Title inspired by Jann Arden's c.d. entitled Happy?