Disclaimer
Emily and Richard, and all other recognizable Gilmore Girls characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. I use these characters without permission, but am not making any profit from the copyrighted characters. No infringement is intended.
Authors Note
Sorry for deleting the 1st version of this story, but didn't want to display it the way it was written. They always cut stuff off. I really hope this will work now.
Richard drove as fast as he could, the heavy rain stopping him from breaking the speed limit. He had to get home. The lightning was immediately followed by a loud thunder, making him cringe in his seat. He wouldn't leave her alone, not this time, not if he could find a way to be with her.
How he hated this weather! Standing in the foyer, he huffed, brushing his disheveled hair out of his face while he walked towards the staircase. "Emily?!" When he walked into their bedroom, he found his presumption confirmed: Every single light source in this house was switched on! Putting on a fresh shirt and pants, he was still confused. Why would she leave the lights on? Well, if he were her, all alone in this house, in the dark... No, he shook his head while he ended his trail of thoughts. She couldn't possibly be afraid. What was there to be afraid of? This was a good neighborhood, so she wouldn't have to worry about anybody breaking in or something. Turning off the lights in the bathroom and bedroom, he went down the hall to go back downstairs. What else could she be afraid of? There had to be another explanation. Emily stood by the drink cart, pouring herself another straight vodka, trying to stop shaking. Richard watched her carefully from where he was standing in the doorway to the living room. Hypnotized by the steady flickering of the fire, she didn't notice him walking over to stand next to her before another loud crash outside made her jump slightly. Looking at her closely now he could see the signs more clearly. Her slight smile was faked. It didn't reach her eyes. "Emmy?" Thunder rolled over the house, making her take in a sharp breath. It was too much. All these mixed up emotions, all this fear. Burying her head in his chest, she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She didn't stop him, even though she didn't like sitting on the floor at all. Snuggling closer, she looked up at him when suddenly the electricity died and the only light left was coming from the fire behind her. Strangely enough, she didn't feel fear. Her thoughts concentrated on the way the light cast shadows on Richard's face. The warm orange nuances made his features even softer than they already were. She giggled. Holding her close, he kissed her shoulder. "It's late." He felt her nod. Kissing the side of her head he continued, "Maybe we should go to bed." He was glad that she was in such a good mood right now. It seems she had forgotten about the thunderstorm for the moment. "Richard!" They made their way towards the bedroom in silence. Richard felt her grabbing his shirt forcefully, moving closer whenever the growling sounds of the storm got louder. Sitting her down on her side of the bed, he put the candlestick down on her bedside table before moving to walk around to his side. Richard slipped out of his shoes and moved up to lay on the bed, waiting for her to do the same. Sneaking his arms around her to hold her close, she laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling up against him. He turned to blow out the candle when her hand on his arm stopped him once more. Her voice was not more than a whisper, "Don't." The thunder faded away, leaving the rain to lull them to sleep.
The rain was pouring down on his brand new 1965 Mustang Fastback as he drove home through the thunderstorm.
Turning into their drive way, he furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw the house. There was light coming from every window. It seemed that either the maid or Emily had turned on every source of light there was in the house. Parking his car, he tried to tame his anger about the high electricity bill this behavior would cause while he quickly ran over to the front door.
Next time he would surely keep an umbrella in the car, or at least not take off his coat while driving. He was soaked through when he arrived at the door, hectically opening it before the rain could ruin his new Italian leather shoes completely.
He was about to climb the stairs when he saw her emerging from the living room, a relieved look on her face.
"Emily, why on earth is every light in this house turned on?" He shot her an angry look, "and where is the maid?"
His wife didn't answer him immediately, but took a step back, the shimmer in her eyes disappearing at the sound of his voice.
"I fired her," she stated flatly, looking down at his shoes, a mixture of annoyance and disgust in her voice. "Richard, you're dripping all over the place. Go and take off those wet clothes."
Feeling his anger burning in his chest, he turned and walked up the stairs to change.
What he didn't see was her wincing at the next bolt of thunder and lightning that ripped through the night.
Why would anybody do something like this? It was a miracle to him. Emily was not the type for being so careless. That was one of the things for which he loved her so deeply, one of the things that made him marry her. She always had a plan and stuck to it. When she did something, she did it on purpose. So why turn on all the lights in their house, let alone when she was all by herself? He kept thinking about it while he undressed and toweled himself dry.
Walking down the stairs, he decided he would just ask her.
When she heard him coming down the stairs, she quickly emptied her glass once more and refilled it before he could see her. She didn't want him to see her weak. He had always admired her strength. Being married for over a year already, she knew he would find out about her fears eventually but prayed that it wouldn't be tonight.
Straightening up, she turned away from him, walking over to the fire place. What if he'd ask her about the lights? Why would any normal person turn on all the lights in the house? She needed to find a good explanation and quick. Why didn't she think of this earlier? She cursed under her breath, holding the glass tightly in her hand while she wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the flames.
Her shoulders were slightly raised, her back more rigid than usual and her free hand was grabbing her side so hard her knuckles had turned white. Still, if he hadn't searched for any evidence of fear, she would have looked perfectly calm.
"I turned out the lights on my way down." His voice was soft while he poured himself a drink, trying to hide that he knew something was wrong.
Emily furrowed her brow, her eyes still fixed on the dancing flames. There was no anger in his voice. "Thank you."
He didn't ask for an explanation, so she decided not to say anything else about it. Maybe she was lucky and he would drop the topic all together.
She wanted it to stop. Now. It was only a matter of time and he would find out about it. About this irrational feeling of fear creeping up inside of her, into every fiber of her being whenever there was thunderstorm raging outside.
His hand on her back made her snap her head around to look at him, feeling her muscles tensing painfully to hide her shivering. She forced herself to unwrap her arms from around herself, smiling at him.
Emily was concentrating on breathing slowly through her nose, trying to keep it low and natural. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. And the worst thing was she didn't even know why.
It had always been like this. When she had been younger, she had just acted on it. Hiding somewhere in a corner from everything and everyone, her hands covering her ears, trying to shut out the thunder, her eyes closed to not have to see the lightning. Later on, she had tried to fight light with light. Turning on every lamp there was, building a fire so that if there was a blackout there would still be light around her.
Now she couldn't hide. Now she was a grown up woman, a married woman. She couldn't just hide from everyone. Not from him. She could fire the maid and make the cook leave the house so she could be alone, but this time he had come back and she couldn't send him away.
Turning away from him, she quickly downed her drink. Feeling the familiar burn in her throat, she tried to shut out everything but this feeling. It didn't linger long enough. Another flash outside the window made her turn towards it, instinctively taking a step back.
She glared at him. How dare he use that nickname?! She hated it. It made her feel small, like a child. Her mother had used it when she scolded her as a child. Hopie had used it to annoy her. But when she looked into his eyes now there was nothing but sympathy.
Or was it pity?
She felt anger burning in her chest, covering the fear. For a second she felt grateful for her anger but it quickly turned into guilt. She couldn't use him like this. He didn't deserve that. Looking away, she tried to find a solution.
And then there was Richard.
She knew that he meant safety. If only she could shove her damn pride aside and run to him. If only she could let him know.
Looking into his eyes, she didn't say a word, trying to make him understand just by looking at him. And it seemed he did. In an instant he closed the distance between them, taking her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, clinging to him.
She was safe.
Richard kissed the top of her head, soothingly brushing his hand up and down her back. Neither of them spoke while the thunderstorm seemed to pass right over their house. Emily tightened her grip around him when the lights flickered.
"It's okay, Emily." He kissed her temple, "You're safe."
To her own surprise she felt herself relax at his words. His voice was low, making her feel warm all over. He was right, she was safe. Safe and calm. Through a thunderstorm. Never before had she felt calm during a thunderstorm. It felt strange, but in a good way.
Looking up at him, she savored the feeling, flashing him a grateful smile. He didn't let go of her while he maneuvered her over to sit on the floor in front of the fire place. Grabbing a pillow from the couch, he sat down on it, making her sit across his lap. Her upper body was secured by one of his strong arms.
Smiling down at her, he asked, "What?"
Emily shook her head, bringing her hand up to caress his cheek, "Nothing."
He turned his head to kiss her palm, his hand covering hers.
Suddenly thunder ripped through the night once more, making Emily sit up straight, looking out of the window. She felt her heart in her throat and tried hard to calm her breathing.
Richard cupped her cheek, turning her face towards him. "It's okay."
She looked down, feeling embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
Leaning forward he brushed his lips against hers, kissing her lightly.
"I-" she wanted to tell him that she was sorry but couldn't, glad when he kissed her again to hush her.
She pulled back a little, looking at him for a second before she nodded again.
Slipping off his lap Emily waited for him to help her up. Looking around the room, she furrowed her brow. "What about the lights?"
He looked at her, "What about them?"
Shaking her head, she smiled, "They're out." He kept looking at her. "I never counted how many steps I need to the bedroom...?"
Richard chuckled, finally getting what she meant. "And you think we'll fall down if we try to get there without the lights on?"
"I won't," she teased, "I just don't want you to hurt yourself."
"Do you remember where we keep the candles?"
Turning towards the mantel, she took one of the Baccarat candlesticks, holding it out to him, winking, "What about this one?"
"No, I want a different candle," he teased, feeling silly for not remembering the candles on the mantel. Reaching for it, he snuck his other arm around her and kissed her tenderly, "Thanks, dear."
Smiling she placed her hands on his chest, "You're welcome."
Emily winced slightly when another bolt of lightning struck down, the thunder following a few seconds later. Counting the seconds between the lightening and the thunder, she looked out of the window, watching the rain pouring down in the dark, "It's moving away."
Pressing his cheek against the side of her forehead his gaze followed hers, "Yes, it seems so."
Richard kissed her temple, then turned and held the candle into the fire to light it.
The sound in her voice startled him, "What?"
"That isn't a torch, you're going to set the whole candlestick on fire." Emily tried to grab it, but his arm was longer.
"Oh, Emily, it's crystal, it's fireproof." He made sure to just hold the tip of the candle into the flames, just in case his wife was right.
She couldn't watch it, turning her head away she whispered, "Please just be careful."
Bringing the burning candle closer to them, he chuckled, "See? Nothing happened."
Emily looked at the candle, releasing a breath she hadn't been aware of holding. "Never do that again!" Her voice was as serious as her look, making him nod immediately.
Emily reached out as soon as he let go of her, grabbing his forearm, making him wince in pain as her fingernails dug into his skin through the light material of his shirt. "Don't leave me." Her fear didn't make her think about how the words would sound but as soon as she had heard herself saying them, she felt silly for it.
Still, it had the desired effect; he sat down next to her. She released his arm, feeling slightly sorry for using so much force.
Looking down into her eyes, he saw a shimmer of fear reflected in them. "Okay."
He gently kissed her, lying back down.
Lightning struck twice, followed by an eardrum-ripping thunder, immersing the house into bright white light. There was light in every window. He jumped out of the car, running towards the front door. Quickly opening it, he called out for her, "Emily!"
This time she didn't hesitate when she heard his voice. She ran to him, burying her face in his chest while he wrapped his arms around her like so many times before since that first time.
She was safe.
Authors Note: -Sigh- Sorry, guys. It seems cut some of the story when I uploaded it without me noticing. Now it's complete and the way it was supposed to be. ... But if you want to review again, there's always the option to leave an anonymous review. -hint,hint- Yes, I know, I'm bad. Well, thanks for your reviews and thanks for not telling me it's awful ... I wasn't sure. And the butchered version that was uploaded didn't feel right either. Anyway. Thanks! I really appreciate your words! No need to add it to story alert. It's a one-shot. Thanks again to Elizabeth, my wonderful friend, my Sweetie, and my beta - you tripple treat, you. -giggles-