Fandom: In A Heartbeat
Title: A Moment In Time
Characters: Jamie Waite and Caitie Roth
Pairing: Jamie/Caitie
Rating/Warnings: PG. Het.
Summary: Us being apart will only seem like a moment in time when we see each other again.
A/N: Thanks to gunsknivesandplaid for betaing and to anyone who reads and reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own In A Heartbeat or anything you recognize and I make no money for writing this story.
Words: 1,150 without title and ending.

*A Moment In Time* One-Shot:

He had thought about what to say on the walk over and he still didn't know what the right thing to say was. The truth was that he was moving to Florida and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Jamie knew that Caitie was going to be upset. Hell, he was upset too. He was losing his best friend and the girl he loved at the same time, and it tore him apart inside, though he would never admit it to anyone aloud.

He reached his best friend's porch and stopped to take in the sight of the house he knew so well. After several moments though, he forced himself to knock on the door and wait for her to open it. Once Caitie had opened the door, Jamie spoke.

"My mother and I are moving, Caitie." Jamie said softly. Water dripped from his hair and down his face, then neck. His hair was plastered to his head as he stood on Caitie's porch and shivered as he waited for her to let him inside.

His clothes were soaked through and Jamie couldn't feel his toes, but he didn't care. All he cared about was the girl who stood before him. The girl who looked like she'd had the breath knocked out of her at his words.

After he spoke, he saw the devastation on his best friend's face and felt horrible about being the one to put that look there. "I am so sorry. My Mom got a job offer, we leave for Florida tomorrow."

Jamie watched as Caitie walked off to get him a towel, so that he wouldn't drip all over the carpets or anything else. When she returned a few moments later, he was still waiting for her to reply.

Several moments passed after she had returned and there was silence between them. He couldn't help wondering what was going on in her mind and what she was going to say to his news.

When Caitie didn't respond right away, Jamie knew it was gonna be bad. She was his best friend, and had been for two years. She was the one person he could count on no matter what. Now, here he was, standing in the rain and telling her the hardest thing he would ever say.

"Are you going to say something?" Jamie asked when several minutes had passed and Caitie still hadn't replied. "Or are you going to at least let me inside? The rain is pouring and I only have a few hours until we have to leave."

He sighed in relief when Caitie nodded, stepped back and invited him inside, then shut the door behind them. "Why can't you and your father stay here?" At Caitie's words, Jamie quickly shook his head.

"My Dad is a drunk who doesn't care about anything except getting his next beer, and the next woman he is going to hook up with. My parents are getting a divorce and I'm moving with my mother." When Caitie gave him a shocked look, Jamie just shrugged.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you something." He paused for a moment, then spit it out. "I love you, Caitie. I am in love with you. You are the one person who sees me for who I truly am. You never try to change me or make me feel bad about being who I am."

After he spoke, he fell silent and waited to see what Caitie was going to say. When she opened her mouth to speak, he couldn't stop his eyes from lingering on her lips for several moments, before he looked up to meet her eyes.

"I love you, too. I was afraid to tell you because I didn't want it to make things weird between you and the others. I've always known that as soon as Val found out we were dating, she'd start questioning you and that's not something I want you to go through," Caitie said softly.

Jamie nodded and before he could force himself not to, he leaned in and kissed Caitie softly. When their lips met, it was like nothing either of them had ever felt before. To say there was fireworks, was an understatement.

It was more like a bomb had gone off and knocked the two of them off their feet. Jamie pulled back and ended the kiss. His eyes met Caitie's and the two of them stared at each other in silence for several moments.

Neither of them knew what to say, but when Jamie's cell phone went off, he quickly dug it out of his pocket and saw his mother's number on the screen. He looked back up at Caitie. "Sorry, I have to go."

He took Caitie into his arms and hugged her tightly, before he kissed her once more. "You are the person I will miss the most and I look forward to seeing you again, Caitie. You can count on it. Us being apart will only seem like a moment in time when we see each other again. It will feel like no time has passed at all."

Jamie released Caitie and reached out to wipe away some tears that had fallen from her eyes. "Remember what I said, and call me tomorrow. My mother and I will be driving all day, and I look forward to your call to keep me from jumping out of the window."

When Caitie hugged him tightly, he struggled to get out of her grasp. "I know you don't want me to leave, but I have to. There is nothing I can do to change my mother's mind, sorry." Jamie paused, then took off his jacket and gave it to Caitie.

He watched his best friend shake her head and try to give him the jacket back, but he refused it. "Keep it, it will be something else for you to remember me by." After Jamie spoke, he waved and then turned and walked back out the door, into the rain once more.

It was over and done with, he had told the one he loved that he loved her. Now it was time for him to focus on making the most of the hand life had dealt him, until he could come back for the girl of his dreams.

Caitie didn't know it, but Jamie would be counting down the days until he would have her in his arms once more. It was the one thing that kept him from doing something stupid, just so he could stay.

It wasn't long before he got home and walked inside. He closed and locked the door, then headed for what was left of his bedroom. Jamie dropped down onto the small cot and sighed as he tried to find a comfortable position to sleep.

He would give anything not to have to leave Caitie, especially after having told her how he felt. It felt like he was being punched in the gut repeatedly, the pain Jamie constantly felt at leaving Caitie behind.

The end.