Ten
i When Sarah met John, her whole world turned upside down. The things she believed in and everything that came along with it changed all because of this one guy.
But when he left her alone with Mark, she began to think over her life plan. Sarah was never planning on staying in Paradise, Ohio (because it was never Paradise to her) but John promised to come back to her and she was going to wait four him. No matter what.
So Sarah did what she was known for: she spent her high school days taking photographs and one day, her photo of her and John kissing, their hands pushing the camera back but where it got the perfect angle of them kissing and making a heart with their hands was noticed. Sarah had purposely blurred it for his safety (because he means so much to her) but a local magazine had saw her picture on her website and wanted to put it in their magazine.
Two weeks after it was printed, John came back for a visit and was all smiles when he showed her the magazine. He should have been worried but knowing Sarah had achieved a dream of hers made it worth it to him (because she means so much to him). He could only stay for a day, but for that one day, they just talked and kissed and hugged and John showed his developing powers to her.
He left the next day before she awoke and on her pillow, right next to her face in sloppy, boyish hand writing words on a thin, white piece of paper.
I'll see you soon.
ii It's her junior prom when he comes back. She was going with Mark as friends, even though she knew Mark wanted it to mean so much more. But she couldn't let John go.
At least, not yet.
He must have talked with Mark before he came because when Sarah walked outside in a new, silver cocktail dress and heels (which she could barely walk in) and when she looked up, there John was. His blond hair disheveled and his blue eyes peering into her hazel ones and he puts a hand in her soft curls and pulls her close, kissing her.
"I've missed you so much," he whispers to her, kissing her again.
"I missed you, too," she said when they came up for air.
And Sarah wanted to freeze that moment, where the soft wind and the sweet air rustle her blond curls and John looks at her with love glazed eyes and his right hand is still in her hair.
And luckily, Sarah's mom is there with a camera, and snaps the picture at a perfect angle, where Sarah and John's lips almost touch and the sun is between the remaining space between their lips. Their eyes are closed and their foreheads are touching.
He takes her to her dance and everyone is excited to see him but his side never leaves Sarah's and she's smiling inside, practically glowing. Because he means the world to her and she means the universe to him.
That night, they are in the woods where he saved her life and it is midnight. She has her heels in her hands and her bare feet connect with the soft, wet dirt.
Suddenly, he throws her over his shoulder and she laughs, punching his back softly. He brings her to a beautiful meadow and he lays her down in the grass. Sarah's hair spills in all directions and she giggles as he presses his body against hers. He hovers a bit, trying not to hurt her and he smiles at her beautiful face and says, "I love you so much, Sarah Hart."
"As I love you, John Smith," Sarah says, not really knowing what to call him. She knows (technically) his name is Four but she can never call him that. He is her John and she is his Sarah.
John pushes his body off of her and Sarah's heart drops at the lost of his warm body pressed against hers. But she smiles again as he brings a camera out of his pocket. He sets it on a timer without looking and he sets it down a short distance away from them.
"I put it on a timer without looking so we wouldn't know when the picture is taken," he says, smiling goofily at her. She laughs and knots her fingers in his hair and pulls him down to her, kissing him.
The camera snaps the photo. It's a close up from the waist up. And John is looking handsome in his tux and Sarah looks beautiful in her dress. They are kissing softly. His hands are pressed against her back, pulling her as close as possible and she has her fingers knotted firmly in his blond hair.
She falls asleep in his arms that night, in the woods, her back against his chest and she turns, snuggling into him. She wakes up cold the next morning, looking around. There is no note this time but the camera is there and she knows that he will return soon.
iii Two months after her prom, she receives a letter. It's a postcard and John has a new name: Eric Matthews. Sarah rolls her eyes and she thinks of how he can never think of an original name. On the postcard is a note, saying that they have found Sam's father and that the address they are staying at will be his home for a while.
And on the bottom, he signs it John and he puts a P.S note on the bottom stating that his home isn't truly there though. His home is where Sarah is. And Sarah tears up and sets the postcard in her room, next to her three favorite photos:
One is the photo where they are kissing and making a heart with their hands.
Two is the picture her mom took when she saw John before he took her to Prom.
Third is the best and is the one that was set on an unknown timer.
She sets the postcard next to it and smiles.
I love you more then you will ever know, John.
iv It is her senior year of high school when he returns. She has come home from school early because it was the last day. She didn't plan on going to prom that June night; it wouldn't be the same without John. Boys asked but she turned them down as nicely as possible. Sarah hasn't been with anyone since him.
He returns with cut arms and a bruised face and her heart hurts from knowing he was in pain. She grips his arm and brings him inside. He is dirty and his hair is matted with filth. She starts a bath for him and she leaves him alone as he cleanses. She is waiting in her room when he comes out, looking as good as new. He must have used his healing stone. His hair is curly and dripping and he only has on a pair of boxers on. She stares as his perfect chest and when she looks up at him, he smiles at her knowingly.
Like in the forest, she is lying down on her bed and he lies on top of her, pressing himself against her. But this time is different and it is evident in their kisses. He kisses down her jaw and to her neck and she puts her hands behind his neck so she can kiss him again.
He tugs her shirt over her head and she thanks God that her parents and her brother aren't home. As they settle down on her pillows, she reached out blindly and turns off the night.
The night is a blur but one neither of them will ever forget.
v It is the third week of August when she begins to get morning sickness. Then there is this dire need for food and finally, the sores. The mood swings and restless sleeps come next.
And the plus sign on the pregnancy test she takes the last day in August confirms it: she is going to be a mother. And John is going to be a father.
She is only eighteen and at first, she is worrisome. What will her parents think? How will she raise her unborn child? But most of all, what will John think? But then she remembers: it's John's baby. Her John. And she smiles and rest her hand on her still-thin stomach.
"Hello, Baby. I'm your mommy. Your daddy isn't here right now but trust me, he will adore you. I love you so much even though you're only inside of me."
vi Her parents weren't happy. She refused to tell them John was her baby's father, considering he was still thought of as a criminal among the adult's in Paradise. But she told them she was keeping her baby, no matter what.
When she is nine months along, her water breaks. Her mother rushes her to the hospital but can't stay because she is a doctor and someone is having a heart attack. She wants to stay with Sarah but Sarah tells her to go. Her father stays home to wait for Ian, Sarah's brother, and while he is tapping his foot nervously, there is a knock on the door.
Mr. Hart swings it open, expecting Ian, but he sees John instead and he knows. John smiles and asks where Sarah is. Mr. Hart tells him she is at the hospital but he refuses to tell John why.
When John arrives at the hospital, so confused and terrified of what is wrong with Sarah, that when the nurse at the front desk tells him she's in the labor wing, he doesn't believe her. But he realizes there is no reason to lie so he runs there. And through a window, he sees Sarah, her face scrunched in pain.
He rushes in and grips Sarah's hand and when she sees his face she smiles, even though she is in so much pain.
An hour later, Sarah and John welcome a son.
"What will we name him?" John says, still smiling as he peers down at his son's newborn face.
"I think we should name him Henri," Sarah says suddenly and when John looks at her and she looks at him, they know their son is a Henri.
Five minutes later, John gets a call from Six. She tells him that there is an emergency. 2 minutes later, John kisses Sarah's head and softly places a kiss on Henri's head and he leaves sadly.
But not before whispering an I love you to the two people who couldn't love more.
vii John returns as quickly as he can, which is Henri's first birthday. He walks into Sarah's apartment and he hears Sarah in the bathroom. Henri is standing in his crib and on his bare arms John sees Lorien symbols but not a definite as his own. Henri looks at him curiously for a second and then he smiles toothlessly. He screams, "Dada!" and John knows Sarah has shown him pictures and explained who he is.
"Hey buddy," John whispers to his son. Henri reaches out his arms and John picks him up. Immediately, Henri rests his blond head on the crook between John's shoulder and neck and falls asleep.
Sarah walks out of the bathroom, a towel around herself and she stops short when she sees John and Henri together, for the first time since Henri's birth, as John rocks slowly from side to side.
She puts clothes on and pads softly into Henri's room, wrapping her arms around John's shoulders. John was at least 7 inches taller then her and he looks down at her from over his shoulder and kisses her forehead. She rests her head on his the shoulder their son wasn't sleeping on and she sighs. They look out the window of Henri's blue bedroom, where airplanes are painted on the borders and they just watch as the sun rises.
As a family: a mom, a dad, and a baby son.
viii It's not long until Six finds out about Four and Sarah's son. And she is not happy to say the least.
"Four! Do you even realize how reckless that was of you? She's a mortal. You are a Garde! We don't even know what children of humans and Garde's are like. You made a huge mistake!" Six shouts at him. He is sitting on the kitchen counter glaring at her.
They both know she is right.
"It was Sarah and my decision. Not yours. You can't tell me who I can and can't have children with, Six," Four says, rolling his eyes. As smart as he is, he is oblivious to Six's tears. She loved him and she was beginning to believe he cared for her. But that was obviously not the case.
"Fine, do what you want with your filthy human and your bastard child," she says, angrily. There is a flash of anger in Four's eyes but somewhere deep, there is pity. Ever since Sam had begun to live with his father six months before, she has been upset and Four became the only person she could rely on to stick with her.
"You know we have to leave very soon for Lorien, right?" Six says, her back facing him. She can sense his grimace and as mean as it was, she was happy inside.
"I know," is all he says.
"Good."
Six walks away.
ix Henri is three when John has to leave. For good. He comes to Paradise, Ohio to see his family one more time.
When Sarah sees him, she is so happy and Henri runs out on his chubby toddler legs. One runs to meet her love, the other runs to meet his father.
He hugs Sarah first and then squats and reaches out to Henri as Henri runs into him. John is surprised when they are thrown ten feet back. He looks down into his son's piercing blue eyes, the exact same shade as his own and wants to punch something. He wants to stay with Sarah and Henri, to teach his son how to be a true Garde. But he can't. He has a responsibility and that is to rebuild Lorine, no matter the cost.
So he hugs Henri close to him and pulls Sarah close. He looks into Sarah's eyes and she knows. She nods slowly and John turns to Henri and looks him in the eyes and says, "Take care of your mother for me, Henri. She is very important to me and as are you. But promise me: you will watch her for me. You are very special. A very special child of a Garde and a human. You will have powers and your mother will help you. But if danger was to ever come, please help her. For me. Your father."
The toddler nods and suddenly sneezes in his father's face. John closes and squints his eyes and rubs away the mucus. When he looks at Sarah, a smile playing on both their lips, until Henri says, "Sawree."
That's when they howl with laughter and John pulls them close again. He picks up Henri as he stands and Sarah stands with them. He kisses his son's head and Henri kisses his father's forehead and John looks at him, deeply. And so does Henri and John wants to cry. He kisses Sarah and he hands Henri to her as they break apart. Sarah hold their child close as he retreats to his car but not before turning around and saying:
"I will be back. I swear."
And John leaves.
x Henri is six when he sees a man in the distance. Henri runs to his mother, his blond hair in waves and his blue eyes playful. Sarah is taking pictures because of her job as a photographer for a national magazine. She knew she had acquired it because of John; because she had to take care of their family alone.
Until now.
Henri knows better then to interrupt his mother while she is working. But he runs into her office and pulls on her shirt's sleeve. When her hazel eyes connect with his blue ones, an exact replica of his father's, he says on word.
"Dad."
That is when they both run out and embrace the one man they love more then each other. And John laughs as he pulls them close. Sarah doesn't even notice she had left her camera on the balcony's flat railing. And as Henri runs to his father at a speed between those of a human and one of a Garde's son, John picks him up and holds him close and laughs as they fall onto the grass. John's back hits the grass and Henri is sprawled on his chest. Sarah falls on top of them.
The camera takes the picture as the embrace. Together. Forever. A family. There is only one noise that declares the photo was taken:
Click.
I really enjoyed writing this and I hope everyone loved it! =)