A/N: This is an old story that, when it was written initally was so bad I should have taken it off completely. It's been redone because I just didn't have it in me to give it up. I thought rather than do a song fic I'd take a song and just use it as the premise for a story. So, there are no annoying, pesky lyrics here. None. Whatsoever. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy this more the second time around.
They ran down the concourse, jumping over luggage and weaving in-and-out of unsuspecting travelers. Hand-in-hand, they ran. Neither wanted to lose the contact just yet. Panting and out of breath, he stopped as she skidded to a stop next to him on the polished marble floor. After changing flights at the last moment so he could spend more time with her, he'd booked the first thing that he'd found. He got out his ticket and frantically searched for the right number. Damn boarding passes. He finally noticed the right terminal. Glancing to the left, then right, he spotted where he needed to go. He yanked the sleeve of his jacket up to look at his watch. Five minutes. Three hundred seconds.
"Honey, they're boarding. You're going to be late if you don't go." She looked at him longingly. She didn't want him to leave. It was only for a week. An extended family she'd met only once since they'd been together; his family. She wanted him with her, though. Selfish as it was, she wanted him to herself.
"I'll be alright. I'll call you tonight to let you know." He held her tight and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. He locked her gaze and held it briefly before parting to make sure he had his identification out. It felt so awkward to not have his badge with him. He smiled warmly as she backed up and watched over his shoulder until he could no longer see her through the glass.
xxx
Two hours and twenty five minutes later, he stood up as much as the cramped plane allowed and stretched. The flight had been long and lonely. God how he missed her already. He'd turned into such a sappy bastard.
He walked from the carousel and spotted a store. A small piece of cardboard caught his eye. He walked with a purpose to the rack and grabbed it. He could picture her face, eyes glistening with freshly hed tears and that grin spreading from ear-to-ear. The smile that made his heart melt. The one he knew was meant just for him.
He held his luggage in one hand while the other lightly grasped the object. He'd jotted down a note with a pen he'd borrowed and waited for a cab. He looked at the palm trees and the bright, blue sky surrounding them. Heaven on earth, and she wasn't there to experience it with him. He gazed down at his scribbled message, hoping it would convey just how much he loved and missed her. He thought for a moment and looked around. He walked up to the woman balancing her checkbook and asked her once again. She nodded in return, handing it over so he could add one more line.
xxx
His day was busy, a flurry of activity. He was ushered to this house and that, with no time to rest. He hated family functions. He'd barely known his uncle and the surrounding family that attended the gatherings. He felt bad for wanting to leave but he never made a good traveler. Jet lag weighed heavily on his tired body and his mind was frazzled.
He quickly said his goodbyes and promised to call more often, which usually translated to whenever the next crisis was. He ducked into a FedEx Kinkos and pulled the little wrapper off the flap before rubbing it with his fingers several times. He frowned and huffed as he read the slip. He swore at the obsurdity of it all. Fort Knox had less paperwork.
It was a silly gesture sending it over night. He knew she'd get it eventually, but he wanted her to open it as soon as possible. He was like a little kid on Christmas, unable to wait to give a present and see the joy when it was well-received. He wished he could see her face.
Fifteen minutes later, he plopped down onto the bed in a heap. As he stretched out onto his back, he stared up at the popcorn pattern on the ceiling. He closed his eyes and rubbed them, feeling the grittiness of the day finally wash away. He stared at the phone next to his wallet on the nightstand. She wouldn't hear hers ring where she was and made a mental note to call her in the morning. He hoped she was having a good time. One of them had to.
xxx
She had just gotten to sleep an hour ago after having worried about him all night. She knew how much he hated to be away from home. She'd had her cell phone on as she went with Casey for a night out on the town. After getting home at three in the morning, all she wanted to do was sleep until the phone rang. And it did. She was instantly awake.
With a steady stream of tears already falling, she fumbled for the remote and turned on the television. She watched in horror, eyes wide. She lost all inability to think. She couldn't if she tried. She checked her missed calls. No messages. Her heart sank.
She threw the phone against the wall and watched it shatter into several pieces, just like her heart. She got out the first thing she could find that would take her mind off of it and poured her a glass; the tallest one she could find. She kept pouring beyond the point where it spilled onto the table. She stared down in shame.
She went to the medicine cabinet and looked through it until she found the right bottle. With shaky hands she poured out half the contents before deciding that two was enough. It was enough for now. Tomorrow, she wasn't sure what she'd do but for now, it would be enough. Enough to forget. Enough to go to sleep. She lay down on the couch and fought the fog that swept over her. She was out like a light in minutes.
xxx
Hours later, she woke to a banging on her door. Their door. She opened it up to find a purple and blue-clad man with a hand-held device. He held the pen out to her and she signed her name. A morbid thought came to her when she realized how many times she'd have to do that in the coming weeks. She accepted the pacakge and kicked the door shut behind her.
She placed the object on the table and stared numbly until she saw the return address. Her face crumpled and a whimper escaped her lips. She fought for control over her emotions. Tears dripped uncontrollably onto the cardboard parcel. She wiped them away but they were relentless, unwavering. With moist fingers, she grasped the small flap and pulled it across the rectangular object. She sneezed as small flecks of the material scattered about in front of her face. She sniffled and held open the envelope with one hand. Staring down inside the depths of the brown interior, she reached down and pulled out the one item inside.
Sunny skies surrounded the beach. Lush, green trees surrounded the pristine water. The glossy cover did no justice to the actual place, she thought. She gasped when she noticed the white letters outlined in purple. Heaven.
She flipped it over as her tears fell once more, smearing the ink. She shook her head at the thought of him spending twenty five cents on a postcard and paying who knows how much to send it overnight to her. That was him.
She read the signature. The slanted writing that somehow made up his name was a blur but it was there, nonetheless. She let her eyes wander over the passage again. She smiled at his uncanny ability to somehow make her feel better even at a time such as this. If he'd only known what the context of that comfort would be.
She read it over-and-over. By the sixth time, she'd memorized it all. It was the last part that got to her. The part that drove home how much she ached to feel his touch. In a different color, it was there as clear as day.
She pictured him writing his message with a cheesy smile, a grin that traveled over the miles that distanced them. He'd pressed a little harder on the last part, the effort making the words stand out. He'd probably sat there in the terminal looking like a lost little boy. People would glance in his direction, wondering what he was doing so intently. The image stayed in her mind as she read it once more. The line was something of a movie, of a song not meant to be told in everyday life. It never sounded more beautiful to her, though, sitting there in the kitchen.
He'd said how he'd loved her and how he'd hold her if his arms would reach. The waterworks began again, because she'd give anything to be able to make fun of him for saying such a thing. She set the card down but she didn't stop looking until the shrill ringing broke her from her reverie. She wearily got up and went to the offending object.
"Hey, beautiful." He heard her nearly drop the phone at the sound of his voice.
"Wh…" She whispered, faintly, unable to get it out completely.
"You sound tired. Just how late did you and Casey stay out?" He teased her, unaware that she was inconceivably shook up.
"But….the news…the call…wh….oh my God. I'm not dreaming. Please tell me I'm not dreaming. Please." She started sobbing once more, pleading for him to be real.
"Wait, what? Honey, slow down." With long strides, he grabbed the remote and turned it. He flipped feverishly, unable to find the news station. It didn't matter. It was on every station that carried any sort of coverage of that nature. "What call? What news?"
"No! Don't go. Please be real. Don't leave me." She sat down on the kitchen floor clutching the phone to her ear. She heard him curse.
"Oh, baby. I am so sorry." He tried to think of something, anything that would put her mind at ease. He kept apologizing. It wasn't as if he had a script to follow, some sort of manual for what to do.
"Why didn't you call me? Oh, God. I got the call and I wanted to take some sleeping pills. I couldn't do it, though. I couldn't. I knew it wasn't what you wanted. I just had to...I needed to see your face again." The sound of her voice was foreign to her ears. The pitch was high and of someone who'd just gone through the wringer and had been visciously tossed out afterward. "I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I tried your cell but it just went to voice mail. I thought maybe you two had gotten in late and you crashed at her place. I didn't think to call the house phone until I couldn't get a hold of you. I'm so sorry, baby. Look, I'm coming home, okay? I'll be on the next flight out. I'll be there by this afternoon." He packed up the little belongings he'd gotten out and left a note for his family apologizing for missing the bagels were bringing home. He scrambled for the phone book and ripped out the first page he saw for the taxi listings.
"No! I want you home, but I don't want you to…to..." She needed him there with her so bad it hurt. She physically ached.
"Shh…it'll be okay. I'm just going to call a cab and I'll get a ticket at the airport. Okay? If I have to give my right arm, I'll be there." He covered the phone as he picked up the wall phone and called. Turning back to his cell phone, he could hear her worried tone. He tapped his foot impatiently and glanced at the clock. Five minutes. The taxi would be there in five minutes. Three hundred seconds. The time it took for him to say goodbye the previous day. The same amount of time to get to the airport where he would find his way back to her once again.
"Okay. Hurry, please. Be careful. I love you. I love you so much." She rested her head on the wall behind her, the phone still cradled in her hand.
"I love you too, sweetheart. I've got to go, but I'll be there soon. I'll call you when I get in. Do me a favor and call Casey to drive you. I'll be home soon." He grabbed his things and went outside to sit on the steps. It was a welcomed sight when the taxi rounded the corner and pulled up.
"Okay. I'll see you tonight. I…I don't know what I would do without you. I…" Her mind raced with all the thoughts of the day. By some mistake, some error on a piece of paper that had listed him as being on the roster, her world had been turned upside down. By a phone call, a simple phone call lasting no more than a minute, her life had lost its meaning. She'd gotten it back, though, and she thanked her lucky stars.
"Don't think like that. I'm fine. Not great, but I will be when I'm holding you. I've got to go, babe. Love you. Bye." He heard her echo his last statement and got into the taxi. As he gazed out at the window, he noticed just how wrong he was. It wasn't even close. She was his paradise. The warm place he came to when he felt the cold world seeping into his bones. She was his heaven.