A/N I'm off today, so I was thinking about what I should really be getting done. Now, there is a second chapter to this story, that was going to be a one-shot and nothing is checked off my list. Sigh. Oh well, such is life. I proofread it, but unless it sits a few days, I usually miss some things. Let me know if you find mistakes.
Chapter 2
Faint light seeped into the cabin Sunday morning. Henry stirred and tried to shift his position from the edge of the bed. He was unable to move because something was behind him. Rubbing his eyes, he exhaled and slowly opened his eyes trying to regain his bearings. The cabin came into focus and it took Henry a full five seconds to remember where he was and that the something behind him was really a someone.
His eyes shot open and pulled his blanket around himself more fully. Looking over, he saw that the fire was barely burning. Sitting up, he looked over his shoulder at Elizabeth. She was spread across two-thirds of the bed and had her arm and one leg out of the blanket. She had sleek, lean legs and Henry averted his eyes quickly. Standing, he took the couple steps to the hearth and checked the clothes. They were dry, or in the case of his jeans, dry enough.
He tried to pull his boxers on underneath the blanket and was somewhat successful, but the rest of his clothes, not as much. Henry checked over his shoulder and saw that Elizabeth was still sleeping. He finally just tossed the blanket on the floor and pulled his jeans on as quickly as possible. Tugging his shirt over his head, he crossed the room and opened the door.
He stepped out on the porch. The forest looked bright and green in the early morning light. A few limbs lay on the trail from the heavy rain, but for the most part, no one would know what a crazy storm it had been. Henry didn't know how much time had passed, but he spun around when Elizabeth said, "It's pretty isn't it?"
"It sure is. How about we clean up?."
"Good idea." Elizabeth still had the blanket wrapped around her, but she had already put her clothes back on. Inside, she removed the blanket and folded it neatly, laying it at the end of the bed. Henry did the same. They moved the bed back to its original spot and Henry poured water on the remaining embers in the fireplace. Looking around, Elizabeth said, "I think that's everything."
"I think so too. Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let's go.." Elizabeth said. Henry locked the cabin, replaced the key, and they started walking back down the path toward the car. They walked down the hill in a comfortable silence, speaking only to point out some sight along the path. They walked side by side and Henry's eyes were drawn to their hands swinging next to each other, almost touching. He remembered the day before when he'd grasped her hand without thinking twice to make sure she stayed close in the storm. She hadn't pulled away and didn't say anything about it, so he wondered if she even noticed.
They walked on, nearing the last quarter mile or so, Elizabeth tripped on a tree root at the edge of the path and lurched forward. Henry quickly reached out and caught her by the waist so she didn't fall. "Thanks," she looked up and held his gaze for just a moment. When they continued, she slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. Henry smiled down at her.
The came down to the clearing where the little creek was and they could see the damage the flood waters had caused. Several limbs were down and there were dead fish on the banks. They carefully walked over the bridge into the now mud covered parking lot. Thankfully Henry's car looked unharmed.
Henry unlocked the car and held the door for Elizabeth. When he got in, he reached to put the key in the ignition, but Elizabeth put her hand on his, stopping him.
"I just wanted to tell you I had a good time. It was definitely not the average first date, but it was nice, and thank you for being a gentleman."
"I had a good time too, and just so you know, I never even considered trying to take advantage of the situation. I'm not that kind of guy anyway, but I really wouldn't with you. I like you and I wouldn't want to do something that might mess up my chance of really getting to know you."
She smiled shyly and released his hand. "I'd like to get to know you too."
He grinned and started the car. "Where do you live?" he asked as he pulled out onto the highway.
"Johnson House," she replied as she turned on the radio and settled back into the seat.
Fifteen minutes later they sat parked in front of her dorm. It was suddenly awkward, and Henry wasn't sure how to make it better. "Would you like me to walk you to your room?" he asked.
"No. That's fine," she started to say something else, but her stomach rumbled loudly.
They both laughed . "Breakfast?" they asked at the same time, and then laughed again.
"How long will it take you to get ready?" Henry asked. "I'll be back to pick you up. I still owe you a meal."
"Give me 30 minutes," she said.
"Make it 45. I'm cat sitting for my neighbor and need to check in on Sebastian."
She shot him an odd look. "Cat sitting? Okay. 45 minutes then. I'll be out front."
Henry went and checked on the cat first and made sure he had food and water and tossed a couple clumps out of the litter box into a small paper bag to be disposed of. Then he went to his own apartment and showered and changed and hopped back into the car to pick Elizabeth up.
As he pulled into the parking lot, Henry could see Elizabeth sitting on a bench near the door of the dorm. Seeing him, she smiled and stood. He pulled up to the curb and jumped out to get the door for her. She was wearing a light blue floral dress with a sweetheart neckline that hit just above the knee. She had a white cardigan on and was carrying a jacket in case it got cold. Her hair was down. It was the first time Henry had seen her hair down. The blond waves framed her face and she wore a small amount of makeup. "You look beautiful," he said.
"You clean up alright yourself." With that, she grinned and sat in the passenger seat. He shut the door.
"Where to?" he asked.
"There's a diner out of the edge of town that has the best omelets," Elizabeth said.
"Mac's?" Henry asked. She nodded. "I've had their cheeseburgers but I've never been there for breakfast. Good food. The owner though, she is a little, uh-" Henry wasn't sure how to finish that statement without sounding harsh.
"Overbearing and bossy? That's Phyllis. She grows on you though." Henry chuckled at that characterization as he pulled out of the parking lot.
They walked into the diner and chose a seat by the window. Phyllis came flying out of the kitchen mumbling about the cook. She picked up a couple menus as she rounded the end of the counter and headed toward Henry and Elizabeth's table. She held out the menus to the both of them saying, "What can I get you-hold on a minute! Sweet Jesus!" Her voice carried throughout the diner as she finally looked at the customers she was serving. Henry decided that you could tell the regulars from the visitors because half of the crowd didn't flinch and the other half about broke their necks turning to see what the commotion was. Phyllis continued, " I know you both and you haven't ever been together. Mmm hmm."
"For goodness sakes Phyllis, knock it off. We're having breakfast Give us a break." Elizabeth said as Henry sat slack jawed watching the two women banter. He was pretty sure he would never have the nerve to talk to Phyllis the using the tone that Elizabeth did.
"Girlie, I don't take lip from you. This is my establishment and I'll comment how I see fit." Phyllis leaned into Elizabeth, looked at Henry and didn't bother to whisper, "By the way, he's a keeper." Elizabeth and Henry both blushed and Phyllis stood, "So, what can I get you to drink?"
"Coffee," they both answered, and she turned to get their coffee.
"That omelet better be damn good after that," she muttered. Henry laughed.
"Only a little overbearing," he whispered and Elizabeth laughed. "And I got a ringing endorsement, so I'm feeling pretty good." Henry grinned.
Phyllis set their coffee cups on the table and took their order. After checking on some other customers, she retired to the kitchen. Henry and Elizabeth were content to watch the diners for a while and Henry sat up abruptly, His sudden movement startled Elizabeth. "Oh sorry," Henry said, "I just thought of something I've been meaning to ask you."
"What's that?" Elizabeth fixed her eyes on Henry and he was still taken off guard when she looked at him like that.
"Uh, I was just wondering why you came and sat in my library spot last week and then why you continued to sit there."
"Because it wasn't your spot. It's my spot. Actually you were sitting in my spot. I wasn't going to let you just come in and take it overt. So I figured I would sit someplace entirely too close, make you uncomfortable and you would vacate the area."
"And how'd that work out for you?" Henry smirked.
"Well, I didn't get my spot back, but I'm at least getting breakfast." she winked.
"Now I'm curious. I've sat in that spot since my freshman year, so over 2 years, and if you think it's your spot and you've been at UVA over a year, how is it that we've never seen each other until now?"
"We probably just kept opposite hours," she said. "Until recently, I was a night owl.. I was usually in the library from midnight to 7, or daybreak, whichever came first."
"How do you keep those hours? That would kill me." Henry asked in all seriousness.
"I have trouble sleeping at night. It's been easier for me to catch a catnap in the afternoon or after dinner. "
"Hmmm," Henry said, and then stopped as he saw Phyllis approach with their food.
Setting their plates down, she immediately stepped over to the counter, reached behind it and set the bottle of syrup on the table. "You kids need anything else?"
"No thank you," Henry said, and Elizabeth shook her head. Once Phyllis was out of earshot, Henry pointed to the syrup bottle. "I wonder what that's about," looking at their plates of eggs and bacon and a western omelet.
"Phyllis may have her quirks, but she's a darn good waitress. I like syrup on my omelet, but only the ones that have sausage in them." Henry wrinkled his nose. "I know. It's weird, but I like what I like."
They ate in silence until their initial hunger had been satisfied, then Henry continued his previous line of thought. "Why did you change?" Elizabeth looked at him confused. "I mean, stop staying up all night," he clarified.
She paused, dropped her eyes and then let exhaled slowly. Henry sensed her hesitation. Reaching out, he touched her hand. "If it's something personal, you don't have to tell me. I was just making conversation. Really, I didn't mean to pry."
Elizabeth smiled, "Actually, I was just thinking that it would probably be good to get it out right away, so if there's just a little to much crazy happening in my direction, you can get out before either one of us get hurt. I've already made that mistake once."
"I'm pretty sure you aren't crazy," Henry said, hoping he was being reassuring, but at the same time, wondering what sort of thing she was about to share and if it would make him want to walk away.
"I have nightmares. Nightmares that impair my ability to sleep more than an hour or so. My shrink says that staying up all night is an avoidance tactic and I need to figure out some coping strategies, so she's got me doing a bunch of stuff, but right now. If I want to sleep at night, I basically need to be drugged out of my mind so I don't dream at all. I wake up feeling like shit and I get to do it again the next night."
Henry's mind went back to the first time he saw Elizabeth and his original assessment of her based on how she looked and he was ashamed of himself. Elizabeth continued on, unaware of Henry's reaction. She was focused on what she was saying. "It was really bad when I first started. Just enough drugs that you can't wake up, but not enough that you don't dream. So, I was trapped in my nightmare for five or six hours until the medicine wore off enough that I could actually wake up. I think it was probably the second day when I decided to come to the library during the day and then you were in my spot." Thinking back, she suddenly said, "I'm sorry. I was probably a real bitch. I didn't mean to be. It had just been an awful day up to that point."
"I don't remember thinking that, only that you were really intense, and I was pissed about you being in my space. I wasn't going to move if only to be stubborn," he laughed. "I'm glad I didn't though. I wouldn't be here with you now, if I'd left in a huff then."
Elizabeth smiled. "So I'm not too crazy?"
Henry answered honestly, "Everyone comes with their own set of issues. I'm here, right now as a friend, maybe somewhere down the line, maybe more. If I can help, I will and if you need space, I can do that too." Looking at her plate, he saw that she was finished. "How about we go?" Nodding, she took one last sip of coffee and Henry threw a couple bills on the table for tip, then approached the counter to pay.
Phyllis stepped out of the kitchen and wiped her hands on her apron. Henry paid and they said their goodbyes and he led Elizabeth out to the car.
As Henry got in on the driver's side, Elizabeth looked at him wide-eyed. "Do you know what I just realized? I slept last night, not a long time, probably only four hours, but I didn't have any nightmares, and I woke up and felt like I'd actually slept. That hasn't happened in a long time."
Henry backed the car up and headed back to the dorms. "Maybe you should get stranded in a cabin during a rainstorm more often," Henry joked.
"I'm pretty sure it was the company I was than the situation." Elizabeth fidgeted in her seat, looking like she was trying to decide if she should say what she was thinking. "Listen, Henry, it's really hard for me to trust and feel safe around people, especially people that I don't know really well. If we continue to spend time together, there will be times when I do bizarre things or overreact to something dumb or act standoffish for no apparent reason. Please believe me when I say that it's not you, it's me. My shrink assures me that if I see her once a week, every week until sometime shortly before hell freezes over, she will cure me."
Henry laughed and glanced over at her to ask seriously, "Is it okay to ask what happened?"
Elizabeth looked at him solemnly. "You can ask, but I'm not ready to answer that yet. I haven't had a great track record of sharing my story.. That's how my last relationship ended."
"The two year guy?" Elizabeth nodded and Henry was stunned. "Someone dated you for two years, you shared something from your life and he dumped you? What an ass!"
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." They rode the rest of the way in silence. As Henry turned into the parking lot, he said, "I have a paper to type, so I will be in the computer lab in an hour or so, but after that, I'll be in our spot. Will I get to see you?"
"Do you still want to? See me, I mean?" she asked. He could hear the casual tone of her question and he knew if was forced.
"I don't want to be seen with anyone else." Henry said softly. He knew what he would do in a normal situation such as this, but Elizabeth had just unloaded a big pile of confusion and uncertainty in his lap. Suddenly he didn't know how much would be too much or how far would be too far. He reached up and put his hand around the back of her neck. He felt her muscles tense under his hand, but she didn't resist him pulling her closer. He placed a kiss on her forehead and released her. "See you in a bit?"
"Yeah, in a bit." Elizabeth smiled. "Thanks for breakfast," she said and then she was out of the car walking into the building.
