A/N: Thanks for all your terrific reviews. Glad to see I'm not the only one who wants to go back.
Just for clarity's sake, we are about two years after the events of the first story.
First, let me thank all of the followers I have had the privilege to acquire over time: Lushcoltrane, Quitting Time, Invader Johnny, Jeremy Shane, ScottyBgood, Timeless Reader and the rest who haven't chimed in yet (but I'm patient.)
Special word about FuckTheReaper. What a talented writer and very special person that I have been lucky to get to know via PM. Go to her profile and read her stories when you get the chance. If you don't have the time, make the time.
Now onto Chapter 2...
Our gang went to Enterprise and rented a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon at Nate's suggestion. The 4-wheel drive would come in handy on the rough desert terrain. Jordon offered to driver until they got to Arizona and then Nate, who was riding shotgun, would take over the rest of the way to Flagstaff. Tori and Jade were in the back, watching the sights of the sin city go past.
Tori had her gaze fixed on a man and woman dressed in wedding garb but in the guise of Star Trek bridge personnel. She wondered about those two, probably picked on all their lives for their interest in fantasy and geek culture. But that didn't matter right now because here they were, married and so happy to have one another. As the vehicle eased to a stop at a red light, Tori tapped Jade to get her attention.
"What?" she asked, mildly irritated.
"Look," Tori pointed and smiled out her window.
Jade leaned over her girlfriend's lap to get a better look.
"Aren't they just adorable?"
Jade sniffed. "I guess Vulcan ears would be too cliché."
Tori kissed that spot between the edge of Jade's face and her ear, right where the jaw connects. She knew it made her girlfriend melt, they way it made her tingle. Jade looked back at Tori, still hovering over her lap until the light finally changed.
"Makes you think, doesn't it?" Tori mused.
"About what?" Jade asked, sitting back down.
Tori leaned against her window, breathing deeply. "A wedding."
Jade bit her lip in anticipation of where Tori was going to go next in this conversation. She had successfully skirted the issue for the past two years but here they were trapped in a car with her girlfriend as visions of dresses and flowers and invitations danced in her head.
"Tori..." Jade warned in her stern tone.
"Oh come on, baby" Tori exaggeratedly pouted. "We've never talked about it."
"Crap," Jade muttered under her breath.
Jordan glanced at the rearview mirror to see the burgeoning discourse behind her.
"You never thought about getting married one day?" Tori asked.
Jade just sat there, at a loss for words.
"What? You don't think we would be together down the line?"
"No, no, no, no, no" Jade protested. "I didn't mean that. I just don't see why I need to get a piece of paper for something that's in my heart."
Tori closed her eyes and sighed. "Jade, you just don't get it do you?"
"What?" her tone growing more annoying.
"How can you be so selfish?"
"What do you mean, Vega?"
"Do you not understand how much of a struggle it has been for all these years to make it possible for people like us to get married in California? Do you have any idea how many people want to stop women like you and me from being happy? Do you have any clue?"
Jade folded her arms in defiance. "I am not marrying you just to make a statement."
"And what statement is that, Jade? That you love me? That you want to spend the rest of your life with me? Because I feel the same way."
"I'm sorry," Jade clicked her tongue. "Didn't both of our parents take similar vows?"
Jordan and Nate winced simultaneously. There were few topics that pissed off Tori Vega that were off limits. One of them was speaking of her father in a negative light, Trina's death, and her parents' messy divorce. Mostly because it grew organically from her mother's infidelity and her absence from both David's funeral and her only surviving daughter's life was evidence of her black heart.
"We...are...not...them, Jade" Tori replied in measured tones, keeping an eye on her blood pressure.
"It's not just ours" Jade shot back. "You forget I have been on the streets for years. I had first hand experience of men and women who gave a rats ass about their marital commitments. You act like being a wife is something dignified, like a sense of honor is attached to it."
Tori shook her head. "I love how you're trying to boil it down into something mechanical or perverted."
"I see," Jade nodded. "I get the picture. You just like the ownership. Never mind that I'm your girlfriend; being your wife has greater weight. It's the ownership factor times a hundred. You want to tell the world that I belong to you."
"I pledged myself to you Jade," Tori's eyes were ablaze. "After all the shit we've been through together - how do you not see that you have my heart? I'm all yours. Aren't you mine?"
"You won't be happy unless I'm Mrs. Tori Vega, huh?" Jade leaned in close and summoned enough oomph from her diaphragm. "Well SCREW YOU!"
Jade sat back down and an angry Tori stared out the window. What the pale woman couldn't see was the half Latina crying. After over an hour of unbroken silence, Jordan saw a sign for a rest stop and got into the off ramp at the last possible second, sending everybody in the car side to side.
The rest stop was a meager building where weary travelers can buy a newspaper, use the bathroom or get something to eat. Truckers can buy load locks, books on tape, and other amenities at the interstate store. They can even catch a shower after driving for days on end. Once Jordan found a decent parking spot, she turned off the car and looked to the backseat.
"Everybody out," she ordered.
Jade, Tori and Nate all complied as Jordan herself exited the vehicle.
"Okay," Jordan began to walk around the car like a drill instructor. "We are going to recharge and get shit squared away before we move on." Jordan pointed to Tori "You, hit the ladies room. I've done stakeout with you - your bladder must be crying by now." Jade smirked but it suddenly vanished when the redhead settled her finger on her. "Jade, go get yourself some coffee. Your company is already touch and go; I do not need you deprived of caffeine." And finally, Nathan. "And your stomach has been growling for the last thirty minutes. Go get yourself a cheeseburger or a Snickers or something because that radio aint loud enough to drown you out."
The three nod and murmur their respective compliance before going their separate ways.
Jordan scooted onto the hood, taking out a cigarette. "And one more thing." They all turn around. "We are not leaving until you two have made up. I refuse to drive a car full of Miserable Marys thought the fucking badlands."
Tori and Jade just looked at each other. Nate gave his wife a look of slight doubt but he forced a smile. Jordan just sighed in return, making a small smile in response. After about five seconds, her phone buzzed and she checked the screen only to see an 'I Love You' text from Nate. Jordan took a long drag from her cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke.
As she watched the grey forms dance in time until disappearing; Jordan thought about how she could barely remember the last time her and Nathan fought. She counted her blessings and just wished that her partner and friend would do the same.