Summer Moved
On
By Camilla Sandman
Date written: August 7th 2000
Timeframe: Frank leaving, Rachel
dying, and after Alex joined the team. I'm also pretending Mick
didn't interrupt Frank and Rachel's last night together.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. If you thought I were, wouldn't you be hunting me down for killing off Rachel?
To Jules, Jaye, Sarah, Erin and everyone else who went to Sydney, because they showed me distance don't matter when it comes to friendship. Thanks guys!
II
Rachel's goodbye
II
She wanted desperately to kiss him, feel his warm lips against hers one last time, run her fingers through his hair and cling onto him for dear life. But if she did, she would never be able to let go, and she had to. Their ways was to part.
Frank Holloway was leaving. He'd tried to tell her he wasn't leaving her, yet that's how it felt. A stab to the heart. Even now, as he was looking intently at her she had to fight an urge to kick him hard.
He had sneaked out of bed early, not walking her, and going to his bloody boat. When she had woken an hour later, she had raced to the pier to.. what, she wasn't exactly sure.
"I couldn't let you go without.." she whispered.
"Saying goodbye?" he finished, and she fell against him. It wasn't fair. He couldn't leave. He couldn't.
He hugged her tightly, it took all the resistance she had left not to kiss him breathless, like she had done last night. One night wasn't enough. She wanted more.
"Give me a hand?" he asked, and she helped him untie the boat, taking in every detail of him for the very last time. And as he jumped onto the boat, she knew she would never touch him again, knew she would never again see him in the gentle light of the morning sun.
Her whole heart cried out "Stay! Stay for me!" but all she got out was "Send me a postcard?"
And for weeks to come, she'd run that line over and over in her head, wondering if he understood, if he knew..
She had loved him.
II
Jack's Goodbye
II
In his mind, he could see her smile still. But every time he concentrated on it, it faded slightly, like a rainbow as the rain stops falling. It worried him, that one day he may not be able to remember her at all. They way she had laughed at him, smiled at him, said his name..
He was afraid to say hers anymore. Not because it pained him, but because the pain grew less and less every time. One day, he might even be able to say her name without feeling a stab to the heart. And it felt like a betrayal. Like he should forever feel pain for the loss of her.
He had loved her.
"Jack?" Alex asked worriedly as she walked in, seeing the look of distance on his face. She'd been told about Rachel, about Frank, but only in a few words. Still, it was enough.. to understand. Understand his distance, his sometimes lack of dedication to work.
From a strangers point of view, he would seem bored, maybe a bit restless, a bit distant. But somehow, she knew.. He was mourning. In his own way.
"Jack?" she whispered again, and he turned to her, smiling just slightly. Faded doesn't mean forgotten.
They walked out together.
II
Frank's Goodbye
II
The wind rushed through the trees, making a symphony of whispers, singing a lullaby for those who rested beneath them.
Aside from that, the graveyard was silent.
Until steps in the grass could be heard, walking up to a certain grave.
Rachel Goldstein.
Long he looked at it, trying somehow to feel her presence, but he couldn't. There was only the peace her.
She was gone.
He had left her, and now she had left him. He'd heard on the police radio, and unable to face the rest of the people at the Station, he'd not been in touch with them. They only reminded him.. she wasn't there anymore.
And so, he would never return either. There was no reason.
"You loved me." He wasn't sure what made him say it, but he had to believe it. Had to believe he had meant as much to her as she had to him. Had to believe she'd want him.. to move on.
Long he stood there, while the wind kept singing, staring at the cold stone.
He would join her soon enough.
And the wind died, and came back, colder and colder for each time as the sun began loosing its heat.
It was autumn.