A/N: Chapter 8 is finally here! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who continued to read or review while I was gone! This chapter has been sitting on my computer for a while and I will honestly say I waited so long to update because I didn't have any other chapters after it. But now I do, so expect another update soon to make up for lost time!
Disclaimer: Only own Rachel. Don't own Reno 911 or Transformers or anything or anyone from NT.
Pulling up to the house she hadn't visited in a little over a year, Rachel sighed and turned her car off. She saw Riley's car and what she guessed was either Ben's or Abigail's SUV. She checked her hair in the mirror, half pulled back by a simple brown clip. She was wearing a red patterned dress and red dress sandals to match. After locking her car, she walked up the brick walkway to the front door, smoothing the skirt of the dress out from getting bunched up from the drive over. She rang the doorbell and nervously tapped her foot. She could hear laughter inside and clicking footsteps coming towards the door. When the door opened, she came face to face with her mother.
"Hi, Mom!" Rachel said happily, embracing her.
"Oh, sweetheart it's so good to see you!" Emily said, kissing her daughter on the cheek. "I'm so glad you could make it." She gave her shoulder a squeeze and led her into the living room. Ben and Abigail were on the couch together while Riley and Patrick were seated in the large armchairs. Their conversation stopped almost immediately after Rachel stepped into the room. Patrick followed the gazes of the other three and smiled happily at his daughter.
"Rachel!" he hugged her warmly and pulled back, smiling one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen her father wear.
"Hi, Dad," she said, returning his smile. She saw Riley smiling at her as well. He was wearing a dress shirt and tie and dark jeans. Abigail stood and walked over to Rachel, saying how happy she was to see her again. The two younger women hugged briefly, and Abigail glanced at the now full couch with Emily sitting next to Ben.
"Sit, down, honey, sit down," Emily said.
Riley scrambled to his feet and said, "You can take my seat."
Rachel waved her hand at him and replied, "No, it's okay. I'll pull over one of the smaller chairs from by the window." She could feel Ben's eyes on her as she brought the chair back over to the little family circle, putting it down between Riley and where her mother was sitting on the couch.
"How was the traffic getting here?" Patrick asked.
"Fine, no trouble," she replied, shaking her head. Emily stood up and asked her daughter what she'd like to drink. Rachel said water would be fine, and after her mother had disappeared into the kitchen, it was Abigail's turn to speak.
"Rachel, how do you feel about lilies?" she asked seriously. Rachel looked up at her, and glanced at Ben.
"Um…they're pretty," she said awkwardly. "Why do you ask?" But before Abigail could reply, she said quickly, "Oh your centerpieces!" Abigail nodded and smiled.
"Well, if you're getting married in September, don't you think you should go for something a little more…all-year round? I think lilies are more of a summer flower," she suggested. She heard Riley laugh a little to himself and turned to him. "What?"
"This is what they were talking about earlier – her and your mom," he explained.
"Well, I'm sorry but I happen to be getting married in less than four months!" Abigail said heatedly. Ben patted her knee and looked at Rachel again. Rachel caught his gaze and then looked away quickly, turning to Riley once more.
"Did you ever clean up your kitchen from the other night?" she asked teasingly.
"We weren't that messy," he said, frowning a little. Rachel laughed at the look on his face, and then was met with three confused glances from the other three people in the room.
"Sorry," Rachel mumbled, looking down at her lap.
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Patrick asked curiously.
"Riley and I hung out the other night, just catching up," she explained.
Patrick furrowed his brow and Riley said quickly, "We were friends in college, and we just saw each other again about a week ago when I was having lunch with Ben and Abigail." Abigail smirked at Riley, who she thought was speaking a little nervously. Glancing at Patrick and her fiancé, she realized that the two Gates men were wearing the same expression as they passed their hand over their chins in thought. Before anyone could say anything further, Emily came back into the living room with Rachel's water.
"Em, did you know that Rachel and Riley knew each other?" Patrick asked her as she sat down beside Ben.
"Well yes – of course. Rachel mentioned a friend named Riley several times, but I admit I didn't remember his last name. But after we discovered Cibola and Riley introduced himself to me in the tunnel I knew he was familiar," Emily explained, smiling kindly at Riley and then at her to-be-husband. "It just occurred to me the other day that he is who he is after Rachel mentioned seeing him when we were on the phone a little while ago."
Ben smiled a little at his sister, and was surprised when she returned it with her own. Emily stood up and asked her daughter for some help in the kitchen to get dinner ready.
Once in the kitchen, Rachel stopped in the doorway and scanned the room from its countertops to its cabinets, to the bright white walls and the dark wooden kitchen table on which stood a bouquet of flowers in a vase. Emily leaned over and pulled a large pan of pasta out of the oven, placing it on the counter next to the sink.
"Rachel, could you get me the salad from the refrigerator?" she asked. When she didn't hear anything, she looked up from the pasta at her daughter, who was still standing in the doorway of the kitchen with wide eyes. Upon further investigation, she saw the ghost of a smile on her face. She walked over to Rachel and rubbed her arm.
"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked quietly.
"The last time Ben and I were in this house together, I was thirteen years old…" she explained, shaking her head. She breathed deeply and laughed a little at the memory, surprising herself a little. "He shoved snow on his girlfriend's hair and told her to leave. It was the best Christmas gift he could've given me. I knew I was being selfish, but at the time…spending time with my brother was the most important thing in the world." She looked down at her feet and cleared her throat. "Funny…how things change."
Emily frowned slightly at her daughter. "Nothing would make me happier than seeing you and Ben as you once were, but I know this is hard for you. You'll both be at the wedding in a couple weeks, remember that," she said, walking over to the refrigerator and getting the large bowl of salad from the shelf. Rachel looked up at her and shook her head. "I can't wait for the wedding, you know that. I'm your maid of honor, for crying our loud."
Her mother smiled and said, "At least the dress you picked out is better than the ones the bridesmaids wore at my last wedding to your father." The two laughed a little until Abigail appeared in the doorway.
"Oh, Abigail, how are the boys?" Emily asked. Abigail shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Boys," she said shortly. "I think Ben and Riley were talking about his car again. Somehow it turned into an argument about why Ben still doesn't want to see Transformers."
"Because obviously Ben doesn't understand good fictional cinematic adventures when they come roaring off the screen in front of him," Rachel quipped.
Abigail laughed and said, "I think Riley said something vaguely similar."
Rachel smiled as Emily and Abigail shared a knowing glance that went unnoticed by the youngest Gates.
"Why don't you call them in for dinner and spare Patrick from it?" Emily suggested. Rachel hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room where she could hear Riley on a long-winded explanation about the movie.
"What do you have against aliens, cars, action, and hot women all wrapped into one package?" he said to Ben, counting off the things he listed on his hand. Ben shook his head but before he could reply, Rachel quickly said "Dinner!" She clapped her hands once and smiled at the three before her. Patrick practically ran past her and whispered a thank you to his daughter, who laughed.
Ben followed him, who rolled his eyes and rubbed his face with his hand. Rachel smiled and patted him on the arm as he passed, watching him walk into the dining room. Riley suddenly grabbed her arm and asked her seriously, "Please tell me you've seen Transformers."
She nodded. "Actually, yes, on a really bad date. I was the one who wanted to see it. He wanted to see the Reno 911 movie." Riley smiled as they went to join the others at the dinner table.
Dinner went by reasonably smoothly as Patrick and Emily asked Rachel about her upcoming auditions and her jobs. She and the others found out Riley wanted to write another book, but he was so busy with the publicity for his first one that had grown more popular after the discovery of Cibola. Emily and Abigail discussed more about their weddings – Emily and Patrick were having a small ceremony while Ben and Abigail planned for a larger one.
As everyone finished, Rachel offered to wash the dishes to let her mother stay off her feet for a little while. While Emily insisted it wasn't necessary, Rachel was just happy to get away from the table for a little while. She walked through the doorway, dishes in her hands, and over to the sink. She turned on the faucet and jumped a little when she heard Riley speak up behind her. "I'll help," he said, smiling at her.
"You - wash a dish?" Rachel asked sarcastically.
"Hey, I can only do so many at a time," he retorted, nudging her in the side.
"Is that why they pile up in your sink?"
"I'll admit, when you came over the pile was unreasonably high. I've gotten a lot better since college, thank you," he said, washing the first one with a sponge in the sink. Rachel put her hands on her hips and sighed, smiling. She saw the bubbles in the sink rising faster.
"Well, Mr. Poole, what to do with you?"
Riley turned to her and flicked his fingers at her, sprinkling her with water. He made a face and laughed when she saw her bring her hands up to defend herself. She turned back to him with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Before Riley could defend himself she scooped up some of the bubbles in her hand and blew them at him, laughing at the ones that landed in his hair. As she continued, Riley did the same to her and the bubbles flew into her face and in her hair as well.
"Okay, stop," Rachel said, holding her hands up in defeat. "I don't want anyone to come out here and find us." She pressed her fingers to the top of her hair to squish the bubbles and then walked over to the coffeemaker, starting a fresh pot. Riley had turned back to the dishes, but she walked over to him and put her hand on his arm.
"No, stop. I'll do it. Go be social for a little while. Ask if anyone wants coffee," she suggested, shooing him out of the kitchen. Riley obliged and walked back out into the dining room, leaving Rachel hunched over the sink, washing the last few dishes.
"What're you doing, Rach?" she asked herself aloud. Flirting, responded a voice in her head. Don't do this to yourself. He's your friend. And you have a date with Nathan this weekend.
When she was finished with the dishes, she took out some mugs for coffee and wiped her hands on the dishtowel. Looking out the window to the backyard, she saw the old swing on the big oak tree. Without thinking twice, she went outside.
The other five were happily conversing at the dinner table when the coffeemaker suddenly beeped to signal it was ready. Patrick got up from the table to go help his daughter, who had been away from them for a suspiciously long time. Not seeing her in the kitchen, he poked his head around the corner and asked if anyone knew where she was. While Riley, Emily, and Abigail shook their heads, Ben stood up quickly from the table and brushed past his father through the kitchen and to where he knew his sister would be.
Rachel looked down at her feet as she pushed off the ground to gently swing back and forth. She laughed bitterly to herself as she realized that truly every time she was here with Ben she ended up outside – just to clear her mind, think. At this moment, she had too many things on her mind. Her parents' wedding, her audition, Ben and Abigail's wedding, Riley, Nathan…
A faint smile crossed her lips as she thought of Nathan. She was really looking forward to their date. She hadn't been on a formal date for a little while. She wasn't sure yet what she thought of him but knew how she felt about his smile, and his eyes…
"Rachel?" She looked up quickly when she heard her brother call out her name. He was walking towards her from the back door. "What are you doing out here?"
She smiled and stopped swinging. "You know why I'm out here."
Ben stopped when he stood in front of her. Rachel saw a stool in his hand, which he placed down beside her and sat down upon. Sighing, he looked up at her. "Well, I know the last time you were out here, you had braces, knobby knees, and you were upset because I brought a girl to our Christmas dinner with Dad," he said, crossing his arms and resting them on his knees.
"I'm not proud of that moment…" Rachel said, shaking her head.
"No, you were right to be angry with me. I wasn't thinking…" he trailed off, not knowing what else to say. After a long pause, he spoke again. "Looking forward to Mom and Dad's wedding?"
She nodded slowly and said quietly, "Yeah, I really think I am. It's not like it's going to be a big ceremony or anything, but…it'll just be nice to see them together. I never had the chance to when I was little."
"You didn't miss out on much. Most of my memories are about them arguing, but there were times when you could really tell they were in love," he explained. They both smiled and glanced at each other.
"You can tell now," Rachel remarked. "Something about those treasure hunts …brings people together." She raised her eyebrows at her brother, who laughed a little. "You and Abigail met through a treasure hunt." Ben nodded, smiling.
"I wouldn't change anything for the world. I wish I could've proposed to her in the same way, but instead we just did the old-fashioned dinner date."
"Mom told me you proposed after having dinner on the Eiffel Tower, Ben. While a little cliché, I'm sure she was still happy." She laughed and shivered slightly as a breeze brushed against her shoulders.
"Let's go inside. I don't want them worrying about us—" Ben started. As if on cue, Riley suddenly opened the back door and looked outside at them.
"Hey – Gates!" He shouted, causing both siblings to look up at him.
"We'll be right there, Riley," Rachel said, slipping out of the swing and brushing off her dress. Ben stood up and looked at his sister, smiling.
"I'm really happy you're here, Rachel," he said sincerely.
She smiled and said, "Me, too."
As the two brushed past Riley, he gently touched her shoulder and asked her if she was okay. After she said she was, Riley said, "Hey, I'm having a book-signing tomorrow at Borders. You should come by."
"You mean for the book that my mom sent me?" she asked. Riley shrugged his shoulders.
"Probably…" he said sheepishly.
Rachel smiled brightly and said, "I'd love to go. I haven't read it yet, but maybe once it gets signed by the dashingly handsome author, it'll inspire me to start it." She nudged him in the shoulder and walked back into the dining room. She inwardly kicked herself for flirting with him again. Riley was her friend – that was all.
As Riley, Abigail, and the Gates siblings were getting their things together to go home and say goodnight to each other, Riley pulled Rachel aside once more to tell her what time the book signing was at.
"I'll be there, don't worry," she said, patting his arm and looking him in the eyes.
He laughed a little a nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."
A/N: Hooray for Riley finally getting some success with his book! We all knew he would!
So Rachel's got some feelings for Riley. Who didn't see that coming? Haha, sorry. Still, it's going to complicate things seeing as she's got a date with Nathan pretty soon! Uh oh...
