Back To You
JISA/ AU/ set in S07E13 / LOST HIGHWAY/ Alternative version of the episode – Lisa is back in town to sell Fairfield but she didn't come alone.
(So...I have a confession to make. Last time I mentioned that I've started three Jisa stories. The first one "Stay with me" is already uploaded.
While writing the second one "A Place to be" my computer decided to hate me and destroyed the whole file... -,- well you can imagine how mad I was...still am... . So, unfortunately we have to skip on story no. 2 which as a change had nothing to do with Jisa's break up! I swear! Really really sorry for that! Blame it on my cruel computer. He is still grounded. Probably for the rest of the year.
Here comes no. 3 then. The main idea came from a Jisa friend of mine who gave me the permission to turn it into a little story. Thx :D ! btw: She is the one who makes those wonderful Jisavideos on YouTube! Follow her on jisa fanvideos
I suck at long term stories HA! So after rereading what I had produced so far I was really unsatisfied which brought me to the decision to split the stuff into chapters. This should give each part of the story enough time and space to be written.
I don't own any of the characters or anything that was spoken or shown in that episode.
English is not my native language, pls excuse any grammatical mistakes.)
Chapter 1
It was the first week of October where the days often came with unpredictable changes in weather that made it hard for everyone to plan ahead decently. Even on this day the morning started out to be pretty nice with a bit of warming sunshine on that autumn day. Yet, light clouds covered the sky now and brought a cool breeze along that went through the already sparse treetops. The rustle of the colourful leaves filled the streets of Hudson with a soft melody and fallen leaves danced through the air. The wind carried them from one place to the other and added a new layer on the many piles that leaned here and there against the trees. In between a carpet of a yellowish and reddish shade that covered the ground of the pavement. On it the steps of a few people that made their way through the streets, none of them really in the mood to stop and chat with one another. The weather didn't promise to shift back to sunshine since darker clouds were already visible at far end of the sky. There were several greetings between some of the pedestrians but not much more. Everyone was pretty keen to get inside somewhere. Light coats were shut tight and collars were put upright to screen from the upcoming wind.
Even Lisa Stillman who just stepped out of the real estate agency pulled the sides of her brown suede coat together and folded her arms around her body. Like many she was a bit surprised by the sudden change of weather and was, like the others, not dressed adequately. Living in this country for all her life should have given her enough experiences to know better, but spending the whole year in France where the climate is much warmer, spoilt her just a bit. A shiver run through her as the wind blew strands of loose hair in her face which she stroke back behind her ear. With a sigh her husky blue eyes scanned the sides of the so familiar street of the town. This place had been her home all her life. Since she was a little girl and her father ran the well known Fairfield Stables, her mother had driven her into town every now and then to do some mother-daughter shopping and to run into Danny's Ice Cream Dream to grab a cone of the best ice cream in whole Alberta. Unfortunately that place closed many years ago with Danny's death and was replaced by a lawyer's office – Attorney Ralph something, Lisa tried to recall but actually didn't really care who ran that place. She had had enough of those kind of lots. Those who sat behind some desk, flicking through some folders of forms pretending to know everything about you. She had had enough of those people in fancy suits, those who seemed to sleep with their cellphones in one hand and the coffee-to-go mug in the other one. Those who always talk to you condescendingly, when talking with you at all – economy, business and money where the main subjects in their lives. Lisa hated the impersonality among those kind of people and she hated how they made her feel. She had spent an awfully lot of time with those people herself while running her business over the last decades and yes, there were times where she kinda got used to them. Heck, she even once was married to one of them. But that changed. There was a lot that had changed over the last few years and now there would be another change in her life. A new step. An old door that is about to close behind her and a new one that already stood wide open waiting for her to step trough finally. It wasn't easy but it needed to be done. She was going to sell Fairfield and everything that would keep her here. Alberta wouldn't be her home any longer and Lisa Stillman would no longer exist in this country. The future was soon going to be written in France where she was planning to expand the European part of her breeding business. The last twelve months had been quite busy despite the circumstances that made her leave her home in the first place. Spending the whole year in France helped a lot to tighten her relationships with old and new friends and business partners. There was a lot that was going on over there and there were many chances of success that would spread her name over whole Europe. Rejecting such opportunities would probably be the most stupid thing you could do as a business woman. Yes, as a business woman. Lisa wasn't sure if she still felt that way. After all those years and after all what happened during this time, she wasn't sure if business was what she was still longing for. Of course, the business trait would always be a part of her and she needed to earn money for a living, but somehow she felt that all of this wasn't that important to her anymore. It was something society expected from you but it definitely wasn't something that fulfilled her. Especially in the last few years she had learnt that there were far more important things in life – friends, family, solidarity, safety, home, love. But considering the situation a few months ago those things didn't seem to be in the cards for her. So, leaving was the only option. Leaving and walking down that business path which felt more and more disconcerting. Particularly in France. The French people were one of a kind – she liked them and she always felt welcome among her French friends, no question but the bureaucratic part that kept her busy since she had decided to move over to Europe was no fun at all. It was even worse than the stuff she had to deal with over here. Deregistering from all the Canadian authorities turned out to be pretty easy. Well, at least easier than applying for and getting all the licenses in France. Somehow it seemed that her home country actually wanted her to leave. Sometimes it felt too easy. Even putting Fairfield on the market went well and there were already quite a few people that were interested in buying the place – the reason why she drove into town today– to talk to her real estate agent who was just another guy in a fancy suit behind some stupid desk, flicking through some stupid folder and hanging on his stupid phone half of the time. Lisa was really annoyed but kept her mouth shut about it. After all he was just another guy in a fancy suit... and why complaining when the sale was almost completed and she wouldn't be living here anymore. There was enough to put up with when she had to go back to France. She'd better save her energy for what lay in front of her, hoping that everything would turn out just fine and she wouldn't miss her home too much. Him too much.
'Ok, here it goes again.' Lisa sighed, trying hard to send her thoughts into a different direction. Thinking about him always left her devastated and she really couldn't use this right now. Not again. So she closed her eyes for a moment when all of a sudden she felt someone grabbing her from behind.
"Hello beautiful.", a familiar voice rang out right beside her ear, followed by a soft kiss on her cheek. The grip around her waist tightened while that someone pulled her body closer to him.
After being startled for a split of a second Lisa recognized Renard, her boyfriend who just returned from the the book store where he spent the time while she went to that appointment with her real estate agent. She smiled and put her hands on his that were resting on her belly.
'At least some distraction', she thought and leaned against him.
"So how did it go?", the faint sound of a French accent resonated in his masculine voice. Although he spoke a really good English since he lived in England for quite some time and worked as a sales manager in whole Europe and parts of Asia, the French sounds slipped in every now and then. It actually was kind of charming and yes, Renard was a charming, good looking French man. He was about her age, yet two heads taller. Well, compared to most men Lisa looked quite small but this didn't change anything about the big, generous heart she carried within herself - something Renard didn't always rate as a good characteristic trait. In his opinion Lisa was too kind-hearted and he was afraid that people would take advantage of her good nature. After all he just wanted the best for her and he didn't like the thought that she was played on. Especially in the branch where both of them worked. Business life was a tough life and you needed to be tough when you want to survive. Those were his words which he repeated very seriously every now and then when he tried to persuade Lisa again to be at least a little bit stricter to her employees and costumers. But all Lisa could do was to laugh about it. She didn't laugh at him and his opinion but rather about the differences between their two cultures. The French were always so serious while she just tried to enjoy life and see the things as positive as possible. She didn't consider herself any better than her staff or the people she worked with only because she owned some business. In her view they were all equal and it was far from her mind to boss others around. Renard tried hard to respect her ways but it wasn't always easy for him. "Good. We found the right people that are going to buy it and I actually like the idea that they would like to carry on the breeding business. Not with thoroughbreds though. I think they mentioned some Hanoverian breeding.", Lisa answered.
"Did they agree to the price?", he changed the topic while stroking back some more loose strands of hair that the wind blew into her face again. He was a businessman and not that much into horses, so Lisa didn't blame him for this question although it bothered her slightly to talk about the money. Since she knew that it would end in a debate about finances and profit if she'd tell him that she agreed to a lower price than the one that was set up, she decided to keep it for herself. It was much more important to her that Fairfield would operate as what it had always been than caring about the money. But of course, Renard wouldn't understand. He didn't need to know.
"Everything fine.", she said and patted his arm.
"Wonderful. Let's celebrate with a cup of coffee. What do you say?", he let his eyes wander along the side of the street looking for some sign that would tell him where to get a drink.
"Do you have good coffee in Canada?... Ah, how about Maggies?", he shouted out enthusiastically, moved to her side and grabbed her hand. With a little peck on the back of it, he started to pull her over to the place that lay on the other side of the street.
The name of the familiar restaurant made her cringe. 'Oh no. Not Maggies! Too many people she knew. Too many memories. And what if they were there at this very moment? What if he was there?' Lisa started to panic. Her heartbeat sped up. She couldn't meet him at any price. Not right now. Not with Renard at her side. She wasn't ready for this yet. How should she explain? He would never understand. Lisa swallowed and resisted to follow him.
"Ehh, I know a better place. It's on our way home. They put maple syrup in your coffee. You need to try that before we head back to France!", she said with a shaky voice. Lisa actually hated that stuff but didn't care right now. All she wanted was to get away from here. So, despite his puzzled look, she pulled him into the opposite direction to her car and urged him to get in. Renard laughed at her weird acting but jumped in anyway, not only because Lisa told him so but also to get out of the worsening weather. The light clouds had already turned into darker and heavier ones that brought along a strong wind. More and more leaves swirled from the trees through the air before they found their way to the ground but only to be picked up again and carried to another spot. No one was to be seen on the sidewalks now. Only a few cars drove along the street, trying to get home before the approaching storm would reach the town.
Ok, 1st chapter done. Hope you like it :)