Cailín's POV
"So, no more moping around, Cailín?" Sam looked at me.
"No more moping around." I smiled at her as I wrapped an arm around Don. I was still kind of in shock from the whole thing. I hadn't expected anything like that to happen. I wasn't sure what Don was doing knocking at my door; I had been stunned when I opened it and saw him standing there.
"Alright, well, we just wanted to make sure everything was good." Eric pulled Sam out of the apartment. "Oh, you are going to call Jason about this, right?" Eric popped his head back in.
"I'll call him tomorrow. It's too late now." I replied before shutting the door. After locking the door, I leaned against it and looked at Don.
"What?" He came and stood in front of me. I was lost in his baby blue eyes; completely content to stay just like that. "Earth, to Cailín…" He smiled at me and waved his hand in front of my face. I shook my head.
"Sorry, I was dazed for a moment." I smiled at him before nuzzling into his chest and wrapping my arms around him.
"What are you going to say to him?" He pulled back to look at me.
"I have no idea." I was dreading that phone call. "I'll think of a way to help him understand. He's not too happy with you."
"I gathered that when he came to my apartment after you'd been shot and chewed me out for not going to the hospital. Did you really feel like you had no reason to live? Did you really feel like giving up?"
"Yeah, I did." I walked over to the fire place. The embers were glowing; I had been waiting for it to die out before going to bed. "I was so tired and weak. It would have been easy to give up; it would have been so easy to quit. Then I thought about Sarah and the promise that I made to her. I promised that I would never be more than a phone call away. After that boost of strength, I thought about you. I thought about what my death would do to you. Even though I felt that you didn't care, I knew in my heart that you did. I knew that it would have been harder on you to go to the hospital…"
"But?" I felt him standing behind me. I didn't want to relive this; I didn't want to bring this up but we had to work through this if we were going to try and be together.
"But I didn't understand why you couldn't have called at least. I expected you to at least call to see if I was alright. I told Mac that what hurt the most was that I thought we were friends and you hadn't even called to check on me."
"Cailín, I'm sorry. I know there's nothing I can do to change that. I regret not going to the hospital; not calling. I just couldn't face the thought of losing someone else I loved. I didn't want to admit how I felt about you even to myself. I always felt that if I did, I'd be betraying Jess. Mac had been so worried that I wouldn't get the chance to tell you how I felt; just like I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Jess that I loved her. He had almost been right. There's no telling what I would have done if I'd lost you, Starlight." I turned at the sound of that nickname. "Your father was right. Just as you were the brightest star in his life; you are the only star in mine." He made a face at those words. "Okay, that was a little cheesy, wasn't it?"
"A little, but it was sweet." We stood in silence for a minute. I don't think either one of us really knew what to say or do now. He placed his hands on the mantel, trapping me in the middle. He leaned in and just as our lips were going to touch, my phone rang. "Ignore it." I pulled him closer. I leaned up to meet him and then came a voice that I didn't want to hear at the moment.
"Cailín, answer the phone now! Eric called me. Pick up, now!" Jason sounded pissed.
"I'm going to hurt that cousin of mine." I groaned. I was going to let Eric have it when I saw him again. I told him that I was going to call Jason… why didn't he let me explain it to him.
"You should call him back." Don walked over to the couch. I picked up the phone; admitting defeat wasn't something I wanted to do right now. But before I called my brother, I decided to call Eric just to see what can of worms he'd opened.
"You idiot." I said as soon as he answered. "What did you tell him?"
"Cailín, before you send death glares over the phone, let me explain."
"It's a little late for the death glares. I was sending those before I called you. What did you tell Jason?" I had to remind myself to remain calm; I didn't know what Eric had said yet.
"Just that I thought he needed to call you; I didn't say much. Just that Don was over at your place…"
"You what? Eric, I'm going to hurt you! You had no right to say anything to him. I told you I was going to call him tomorrow and explain; you just couldn't wait could you? Didn't you trust me? Did you honestly think that I'd not tell my brother about this?" I couldn't believe Eric's logic at times.
"It's not that I didn't trust you. Jason called me to see what was going on with you; apparently he'd been trying to reach you on your cell and you weren't answering." I walked over to my cell phone and noticed the four missed calls from Jason. I rolled my eyes and showed the list to Don.
"And so you said that the reason I wasn't answering was because Don was over here?"
"Yeah, basically. That's all I said though, I didn't mention anything else… not that he gave me much of a chance to."
"Alright, fine. I won't hurt you too badly later… but if you ever pull something like this again." I said good-night and hung up.
"So, what did he tell Jason?" I sat on the couch next him.
"That you were over… Jason called four times within ten minutes. I don't even want to think what went through his mind after hearing that you were over." I shook my head.
"Do you think that he'd think that we…?" A smirk appeared on his face.
"Unfortunately, yes. That thought probably crossed his mind and wipe that smirk of your face before I do it for you." I teased. "I guess I should call my brother back."
"What the heck is going on, Cailín?" Jason still sounded pissed.
"Hello, to you too, brother." I really didn't want to do this tonight.
"You and Don aren't… weren't?" If I could smack him through the phone I would.
"No, absolutely not. Good grief. I mean really, Jason? That was your first thought when Eric told you that Don was over? Really?" My brother wasn't too bright; it must run in the family.
"Well, yeah basically." He admitted. He sounded a little embarrassed. Good.
"I can't believe you. You know I hadn't seen or spoken to him since August and yet you assumed that the reason I wasn't answering was because he and I were…" Men! I would have expected this from Eric, but not Jason.
"Well, what did you expect? What were you two doing?"
"We were talking. We were sorting things out; figuring things out." I looked at Don. He placed a hand on my knee and then inched closer. Really?
"So did you two work things out? Are you two finally together?" He sounded defeated; like he knew he couldn't be angry with either of us if I was happy. I squirmed under Don's touch. I could tell by the smirk on his face that he was getting exactly the reaction that he wanted.
"Yes we worked things out." I tried to calm myself as Don nibbled at my neck. Was he trying to make me losing my concentration? I laughed as he ran his fingertips lightly across my bare stomach.
"Cailín?" Jason's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Yes Don and I are together, finally. Hey, Jase, can I call you tomorrow?" I sucked in a breath as Don nipped my earlobe. It was definitely hard to focus on anything but his touch now.
"She'll call you tomorrow, Jason." Don took the phone from me and then hung it up. He placed it on the coffee table as he pushed me to lie down on the couch.
"I can't believe you did that." I smiled. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to do something like that, especially since he knew that Jason still wasn't convinced of this whole situation. His lips crashed onto mine and everything else was forgotten. He started to unbutton my shirt but I stopped him. I stood up and walked to the far wall. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks; I couldn't believe I was embarrassed right now. I wasn't a vain person usually, but the thought of my scars broke me from whatever desire I had.
"Cailín, what's wrong?" He sat up and looked over at me; hurt shining in his eyes. Tears stung mine.
"I'm sorry; it's just that…" I laid a hand on the scar that was on my abdomen. He nodded. He stood up and walked over to me.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have pushed like that."
Don's POV
"She'll call you tomorrow, Jason." I took the phone from her and hung up. I pushed her to lie back on the couch.
"I can't believe you did that." She smiled. I couldn't believe I'd done that either. Not to mention the caresses while she was talking to her brother. I didn't care though. I kissed her and everything else in the world was forgotten. I started to unbutton her shirt but she stopped me. I watched as she walked to the far wall; her cheeks flush.
"Cailín, what's wrong?" I sat up and looked at her. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"I'm sorry; it's just that…" She laid a hand on her abdomen. Her scars; I nodded in understanding. I walked over to her and rested my hands on her hips.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have pushed like that." It wasn't uncommon for people to be self-conscious about new scars; especially when the event that caused them was still so fresh in their mind. I pushed her against the wall gently. Thinking about that day back in July; thinking about the fact that I almost lost her was too much.
"Don? What is it?" She placed a hand on my cheek and made me look at her. "You're thinking about that day, aren't you?" I nodded and moved my head to kiss her palm.
"Don, there was nothing you could have done to protect me. Just as much as it would have hurt you if I died… I wouldn't have been able to deal with losing you. Watching you get shot at the hockey game was more than enough for me; watching you lay on the ice, lifeless was too much." She shook her head. "We shouldn't be looking at the past anymore. It does nothing but bring a cloud of darkness over us; that's not the way to start out." She rested her head against the wall and looked at the ceiling.
"What's up?" I could tell she was thinking about something.
"Besides the ceiling?" She smiled at me. "Nothing, I was just trying to figure out what to say to Jason… and then everyone else. They've all told me to stay away from you; that nothing good would come talking to you. Of course, then they wonder why it feels awkward when we were in the same room. We hadn't talked; we hadn't figured anything out."
"They'll have to deal with it. I know that they're going to be fine with whatever we tell them. Jason might be a little different though."
"You think… and now, after the stunt you pulled." She glared at me. "I'm going to have to convince him that nothing happened."
"The night's not over yet." I grinned and inched closer. She sucked in a breath and tried not to blush. She was too cute. "You're so innocent."
"Hey, just because I haven't slept with anyone doesn't mean anything." She ducked under my arm and headed for the chair.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I watched as she sank into the chair.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teased. I growled. "Did you just growl at me?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Keeping secrets?" I went over and sat on the arm of the chair.
"Do you really want to know? I don't want to know about your women. I don't feel that I need to know, but if you want to share, I'll listen." She looked up at me.
"Well, there was one before Jessica, then there was Jessica, and then after her death… there were too many to count." That sounded bad.
"One-night stands?" I nodded. "I get that. It was a way for you not to think about what had happened. Harm was that to me… not a one-night stand, but a way for me not to think about what happened. Harm was after Patrick but before Matt. Harm and I weren't together for too long, just long enough that I realized that there were other men out there like Patrick. Harm helped me realize that there were still descent men in the world." She stared off into the distance as she thought about something.
"What are you thinking about?" I rubbed a finger across her cheek.
"My parents; I was thinking about what I remembered from their marriage." She smiled at me and then stood up and stood in front of me.
"What about them?" I rested my hands on her hips and pulled her close.
"They were so happy together. I can't remember a day where they weren't laughing or smiling. I always wanted a relationship like that. I always wanted my fairytale." She thought for a moment. "I still want my fairytale, but I know that life isn't as easy as a fairytale; a real relationship takes work, but if both are willing to work at it… that's when they both get the fairytale." She smiled. "We've definitely had our ups and downs, haven't we?"
"Yes, and we will probably have many more." I kissed her nose. "Hopefully, though, we'll have more ups than downs now." She yawned and then looked at the clock. "It's getting late, maybe I should get going." I really hoped she'd ask me to stay, but I highly doubted it.
"It's late. Why don't you just stay over? It's not like it would the first time." She smiled.
"Nor the last, probably." She blushed a little. "When you're ready, Cai, when you're ready."