Will and Elizabeth didn't get to see each other that often and their relationship hadn't always been a particularly close one... So when he'd called her to ask if she and Henry would like to spend the weekend with himself and Sophie at a lakeside cabin, she jumped at the chance... 2 whole days of fishing and getting back to nature... She couldn't wait. She had been constantly clock watching all day Friday, desperately wanting to get home and pack up so they could get to the cabin... It was only a 90 minute drive and she wanted to get there before sundown to check the place out. She was sure Will had picked it because of the fishing, it was something they could do together and she loved him for that. She finally walked through her front door at at 6pm and still had to pack a bag and get changed... No fishing today then, she thought as she trudged up the stairs to get herself ready.
By the time they got to the cabin, Elizabeth was feeling tired and rather annoyed that they'd got there so late... Henry got the bags as Elizabeth headed inside.
"Hey baby brother... Where's the wine?" She asked immediately... She hugged him and gave Sophie a kiss... "I'm sorry we're late."
"Elizabeth... We've invited someone else up ... an old friend... it was a last minute thing." Will said hastily, trying to explain in quick time
"That's fine... I'm not worried." She replied as Sophie handed her a large glass of wine
Henry had dumped the bags in their bedroom and joined them in the kitchen...
"So, who's coming to join us?... Anyone I know?" Elizabeth asked
Will went to answer her when the guest walked in
"Lizzie Adams... Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
She spun round to see who was addressing her
"Oh my god... Orien Jones!" she exclaimed "What the hell are you doing here?"
He walked over to her and picked her up in a warm embrace, spinning her around as he did so
"You haven't changed a bit." He said, looking her up and down
She smiled and blushed a little
Orien greeted will and Sophie while Henry moved closer to his wife
"Who's that?" He whispered
""Oh.. Just an old friend of wills... I haven't seen him since high school". she quietly replied
"Hi... I'm Henry McCord... Elizabeth's Husband." He said politely holding his hand out to greet the stranger
"Hi... I'm Orien... You're a lucky man dude... Lizzie is a firecracker." he replied, shaking Henry's hand
Henry looked at him quizzically and then responded
"Not a way I'd choose to describe the Secretary of State."
He glanced over at Elizabeth who was smirking ever so slightly... This is a little odd, he thought to himself
Will got a fire started and they all sat around drinking and chatting...
"Secretary of State Hey Lizzie... You always were gonna change the world." Orien said, smiling at her "I remember you leading an uprising of your lacrosse team to get your bench moved closer to ours". he laughed
"I did not... It was to get closer to the water cooler." She chuckled
"That's not how it was at all." Will chipped in
Henry was watching his wife intently... She was relaxed and enjoying spending time with her brother... It was a lovely sight. But he couldn't shake the feeling there was more to Orien than she was letting on.
"Anyone want popcorn?" Elizabeth asked, getting up
"Oh you really haven't changed, have you... I've never known anyone who ate popcorn at the weirdest of times like you did...I bet you're still eating ice-cream with a fork too?" Orien laughed, going over to help her
Henry observed them laughing and chatting and was unimpressed when Orien placed his hand on the small of Elizabeth's back... And would he please stop with the whole Lizzie thing... urghhh... Just how well did these two know each other.
The wine continued to flow and they were all getting rather drunk. Henry pulled Elizabeth into him, wrapping his arms around her as if feeling the need to protect her or shield her in some way. Will and Orien were reminiscing about high school and Sophie was questioning Elizabeth
"Didn't you and Orien date for a while?" She asked "I'm sure that's what will said."
"Ummmm... Yeah... sort of." she said tentatively, very aware of Henry's eyes on her
"Sort of?... you two were inseparable... I was so pissed that my best friend was spending every moment with my big sister." Will divulged, shoving Orien
"What can I say... she was hot... and older than me... I was a legend at that school." Orien bragged, smiling over at Elizabeth
She could feel her cheeks go red and Henry's arms tighten around her so she tried to steer the conversation in a different direction
"I love this cabin Will... I'm hoping to get Henry into the water to do some fishing with me tomorrow." she said, looking up at Henry and placing a soft kiss on his lips. She felt his arms relax a little around her
"Don't you fish Henry?" Orien asked
"It's never been my thing really... I leave that to these 2... It seems to move there whaspy souls." Henry laughed "Do you fish?"
"Elizabeth took me a few times... But we didn't really do much fishing." Orien responded, grinning at the memory that was clearly playing in his head
And Henry's arms tightened around Elizabeth again
"OK... I'm tired... I'm heading to bed." Elizabeth said, getting up and pulling Henry with her "Goodnight all."
"Night Lizzie... It's good to see you." Orien called out as she left the room
When safely in the confines of their bedroom, Henry felt like he needed some answers. Elizabeth had never really spoken much about her time in high school but there was more to this than she was sharing and he wanted to know what it was .
"Are you going to tell me about Orien?" He asked as she climbed into bed next to him
"There's nothing to tell babe... He's an old friend of Wills." she replied, snuggling down under the covers
"That you Dated!" he pointedly said, emphasising the word dated
'yeah... and it was pretty much over before it really began... it's nothing." She turned to face Henry who was looking pensive
"Henry... Why are you bothered by this?" She asked, stoking his cheek
"I'm not... I just don't like the way he's been flirting with you, that's all... it's disrespectful." He couldn't hide the disdain on his face
"He's not flirting... and even if he were... There's only one person I'm interested in." She kissed him, softly yet passionately... She turned over and pulled his arms around her. Henry nuzzled her neck, nipping at her skin with his teeth
"Wanna fool around?" He whispered in her ear
"Not tonight baby... I'm sooo tired... But hold that thought until tomorrow... OK?" She was already drifting off to sleep
"Huh..." he thought to himself... Curiouser and curiouser