Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I was away over Christmas. I hope you enjoy it and thank you to anyone who is still reading this.
A few days had passed since the incident with Finn, and Keira was back on the road to recovery. Day by day Owen was breaking down her walls and helping her to be the strong and confident woman he had seen glimpses of. After clearing it with the doctor he had arranged a surprise for her, he was taking her on a little road trip and he hoped she would be up for what he had in mind.
After they had breakfast together, Owen had to go sort a few things in Ops and let the team know that he was taking Keira off site for a while. Of course the both of them were free to come and go as they pleased, but at this stage they still didn't know anything about Keira's life before they had saved her so they wanted to keep a close eye on her.
He knocked on her door and entered to find her on her bed reading a magazine that Alex gave her. "Hey" he said. "You up for a road trip?"
She looked up at him with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. "A road trip? Where to?"
"It's a surprise… do you trust me?"
"I trust you" she smiled.
"Good" he grinned. "Grab anything you need and let's go".
As they drove to the city with the window down, Keira was enjoying the fresh air and taking in all the sights. The wide open spaces made her feel so free. Owen kept glancing at her, relishing in the smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on her face.
"This is one of my favourite places" Owen told her as they pulled up outside a small shop with artwork hanging up in all the windows. "This is where I've had each of my tattoos done" he told her. "So what do you think? Is today the day?" he asked as he held up two pieces of paper. One was her drawing of the phoenix, she never even saw him take it from her sketch pad. She took it from his hands to reveal the one in behind. It was the drawing she had given him, her guardian angel.
"Are you…?" she trailed off.
"I would like to get this done on my back, if that's ok with you?" he asked.
"Owen… I… I'm flattered" she smiled. "I'm more than ok with it"
He smiled with excitement. "How about you?" he asked, pointing at the phoenix. "Are you ready for this?"
"I'm ready. I think now is the right time that I have been waiting for" she smiled.
Keira and Owen sat side by side in the tattooist's chairs, each with their backs exposed ready to be inked. Of course Owen had done this many times before and knew exactly what to expect. But Keira was a little nervous to say the least. She liked to think she had a high tolerance for pain after what she had been through, but she knew that the pain of a tattoo was like no other.
Keira's tattoo was going to be situated between her shoulder blades and spanned roughly ten inches long by five inches wide, taking roughly eight hours to complete. Owens on the other hand was going to cover most of his back with the lowest point starting just above where his pants sat, and would take at least twenty hours to complete. Because he already had a number of tattoos his pain tolerance was quite high so he could handle longer sessions.
After discussing it with the tattoo artists they decided for the first session they would go until it became too painful and then work out how many more sessions they would each need. As the tattooing began, Owen held out has hand for Keira to hold hoping that it would help with the pain. He was surprised that she didn't even flinch when the needle touched her skin, but then again he knew how tough she was.
To keep her mind off it Owen asked her all sorts of questions to find out more about her. He asked anything from her favourite colour to her taste in music and what her favourite movies were. Where she was born, He also found out when her birthday was, and stored that important piece of information for later. For someone that was only 25 she was very intelligent and mature.
Before they knew it three hours had passed and now Keira was starting to really feel it. Up until then she had just felt a little pain and discomfort. To distract her for the last part of her session Owen asked her some more questions and hoped to find out a bit more about her current situation. "Do you have any family nearby?"
"My parents died in a car accident when I was thirteen… a drunk driver pushed them into oncoming traffic when he failed to stop at the lights. I was an only child, and so were both my parents… so I don't have anyone" she told him.
"I'm so sorry Keira... What happened to you after that?"
"I was bounced around a few foster homes for a while. Some were ok, and some were… pretty bad. Eventually at sixteen I just went out on my own. Got part time jobs where I could and stayed various places, rented rooms, friend's couches things like that".
"That's pretty rough" Owen replied.
"It wasn't easy but I got by" she told him.
"So how did you end up with Brandt?" he questioned, hoping he wasn't pushing it too far.
She hesitated for a moment, her eyes travelling toward the artists currently working on their tattoos. She trusted Owen, but she was worried about what they would think.
"Don't worry about these guys, they're cool" he reassured her. He knew when they were in the zone they often didn't take notice of anything being said around them. And even if they did, they weren't the judgemental type.
"I had decided to travel here from South Carolina where I grew up. I needed a change of scenery after everything that happened with my parents. I didn't want the constant reminder. So I sold up everything that I had and got a plane ticket" she told him. "I was here for a few days when I was grabbed outside of my motel room. Next thing I knew, that's where I was" she said, recalling the life changing moment.
"Holy shit" Owen replied. "I'm so sorry that happened to you".
"I'm coming to terms with it. Everything happens for a reason right?" she smiled. "If it never happened, we wouldn't be here right now".
"I love the way you look at things" Owen told her with a smile.
At the four hour mark Keira called it quits on her tattoo for the day. She was very pleased with how long she lasted and she was half way there. Owen was continuing on for another couple of hours so he gave Keira some money to go across the street to get them some take out from the Thai place.
They sat together eating as they talked some more while the artist continued on Owens tattoo. When the time was up they arranged their next sessions and Owen paid them for their work. They agreed that they wouldn't look at their own tattoos until they were complete. Of course they would have to see each other's to apply after care cream.
Owen drove her around the city for a while and showed her some of the sights, he loved the way she seemed in awe of everything. It was as though her time being held captive had only heightened her ability to see everything around her and absorb it all. He understood how being free changed the way you saw the world. It gave you a whole new appreciation for the little things. Like the sun on your face, the feel of the wind, the smell of the outdoors. That was part of the reason why he had arranged another surprise for her that day.
He pulled up outside a small shop and turned to her and said "I just have to see someone real quick. I'll only be a minute". With that he disappeared inside and emerged a few minutes later with what appeared to be a box covered in a blanket. Her curiosity peaked. He stowed it in the back and climbed back into his seat. She gave him a questioning look but he just gave her smile in return not giving anything away. They started heading back towards division, but a few miles out Owen pulled off onto a dirt road.
"Where are we going?" Keira asked after a few minutes, realising that it wasn't the way back to division.
"You will see soon" he replied. "Close your eyes". She looked at him a little confused, but followed his instructions. "No peeking" he added. She felt the car come to a stop and listened as Owen got out and started rustling around in the back seat. "You're not sneaking a look are you?" he asked with a chuckle.
"I'm not, I promise" she laughed in reply.
"Good, ok just give me a minute, I will come get you soon".
"Ok" she giggled nervously in reply, wondering what on earth he was up to. A few moments later she heard the passenger door open and Owen said "Pass me your hand… but keep your eyes closed". Keira did as she was told as he guided her out of the car and walked with her for a minute before coming to a stop.
"You can open your eyes now" he whispered still holding on to her.
Slowly she opened them to see they were on top of a hill in a clearing of trees with a perfect view of the evening sky, it was beautiful. She looked down to see the blanket he had earlier, a picnic basket resting on top. She was completely blown away. "Wow… Owen" she whispered, unable to find any other words. No one had ever done anything like that for her before.
"I thought it was about time someone treated you the way you deserve to be treated" he told her with a smile as he turned to look her in the eyes so that she knew how much he meant it.
Just when she thought he couldn't possibly be any more amazing, he reveals a whole new level of himself to her. Keira was starting to fall for him in a really big way, and little did she know she had already completely captured his heart. Still grasping his hand lightly she stepped closer to him, raising her other hand to gently caress his face before leaning in on the tips of her toes to plant a sweet and gentle kiss on his cheek. Owen couldn't hide the huge grin that spread across his face and that only made Keira smile even bigger too.
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