21: Today Only
08/31/97

Shawn listened to Fallon's monotone recap of how she became… basically an orphan, why her uncle hated her, and wondered at how she could be so emotionless about it. Then again, she also hadn't known her parents, and from what he had heard about her grandmother… it seemed that coldness had rubbed off on Fallie. "I'm glad you survived, darlin'." He said finally. "The world would be very dull without you."

She shrugged. "No way of knowing for sure."

That was morbid. "How about you take me outside, show me those gardens I seen?"

"Hmm." She glanced out the open, French windows, which lengthwise ran from ceiling to floor. "Rain has let up but it's still cloudy, are you sure?" When he nodded, she shrugged and stood up. "Let me put on…" Fallon looked down at her robe, shrugging again. "Slippers."

She would show him the gardens, which were the main reason she truly loved this place. The gardens were seasonal, obviously, but the roses were in bloom as well as all the other plants Viola had once loved. Even though she couldn't see them, she could smell and touch them, so Fallon had taken over maintaining the gardens. Mostly. When she had gone on the road, Grace and Earl had chipped in to help.

"Come on, backstairs again. So Grace will leave us the hell alone." She pocketed her cigarette case.

Shawn waited until they were outside before asking: "Are those cigarettes laced?"

She nodded.

"Let me have a try."

Fallon slowly pulled the case out, leading him down the path towards the gardens. "Seriously?"

"Sure, I want to know why you like it. I want to know if I'll like it." Shawn was a firm believer in trying anything once. Well, almost anything, he did have a line drawn at bedding another man. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it just wasn't for him.

After considering it, Fallon plucked a cigarette from the case and lit it for him, holding it out. She watched as Shawn tried it, smiling slightly when he immediately licked at his lips. "It leaves a sweet, sticky aftertaste."

He took another drag, a long one, coughing a moment later. "Shit…"

"If you start giggling on me, I'll bury you under the arbor." It was a feel good herb, much like weed could be, minus the munchy thing. That had been a bad deal for her; all the chocolate doughnuts she had eaten had gone straight to her thighs.

"Darlin', I don't giggle." Shawn informed her, already feeling… relaxed, and somewhat giddy at the same time, not giggly, but giddy. "Arbor huh? That where you keep the roses?"

"Some of them."

"Roses… funny word, ro-ses…" Shawn started laughing at himself, well now he knew why she was constantly grinning. "Where can I get some of this?"

"I'll sell you some." She offered after a moment's contemplation, accepting it and took her own puff before putting it out, throwing it in a nearby, empty flower pot. "I'll even give you a nice discount."

"How sweet of you…"

Linking her arm through his, Fallon guided him into the garden, ignoring the fact that a storm was rolling in. "Try saying daffodils now."

"Daffodils… daffoquils… daffo- stop fucking with me!" Shawn wasn't as amused as she was by that, though he couldn't stay annoyed for long, grinning again. "What's sex like on this?"

"That depends entirely on the partner." She said off-handedly, still smirking at his inability to say daffodils. "If they suck, the sex is going to suck on an epic scale." She glanced over at him, smacking herself in the face when he began running his hand along the flowers, really hoping he didn't break any stalks, or-

"It bit me!"

"That one has a lot of thorns" She said, dead pan, when he wound up manhandling some of her roses. "Come over here… you can enjoy your high in the flower beds, where it's safe."

"Hahaha." He studied his bleeding palm, wiping his hand off on his jeans. "What if the partner was me?" He took her hand and guided her down on a stone bench, hazel eyes sparkling. "You now… We could do it right here, right now."

Obviously, Shawn had lost his mind and Fallon was not giving him anymore drugs. "I don't-" She shrieked when he pulled her right back up and started dancing. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing, c'mon, Falie, dance with me!"

"You want to dance?" She demanded incredulously. "Out here, when it's about to storm, and me in a bathrobe?" Fallon giggled when he nodded and loosely draped her arms around him, outright laughing when thunder rolled in the distance.

It was crazy and it was very distracting. Being in the house reminded her of Vi, and out here… not so much. This also gave her the opportunity to avoid his comments about sex, trying not to think about the other night in the bar.

Shawn didn't care if she ignored his question right now; eventually he was going to get an answer. At the moment, what he really cared about was keeping that smile firmly on her face. He knew they were only delaying the grief, holding it at bay, but that was enough.

It began raining in earnest again, drenching them both thoroughly in a matter of seconds. Neither cared, too busy enjoying the feel of each other, the exhilaration of dancing while streaks of lightning flashed across the sky, punctuated with the rumbling of the thunder.

It was a moment Shawn knew he would never forget. It was a moment Fallon knew she would remember as well.

It was only when Earl came running out with blankets and an umbrella that Fallon finally pulled away from Shawn, knowing Earl and Grace probably thought they were both insane. "Hot chocolate and Baileys?" She offered with a smile, ignoring Earl's disapproving huff.

Laughing, Shawn nodded and wrapped his arms around her to keep her from walking away. "Hold on, Fallon."

She frowned slightly; he very rarely used her full name and blinked rain out of her eyes, staring at him.

Letting go of her, he reached up to push his drenched hair out of his face before gently cupping hers. Slowly, he leaned down and softly kissed her lips. She returned it almost instantly; a gentle pressure, nothing demanding, and they were both content with that.

The taste of her, mixed with the rain, another memory Shawn would never forget. "Now, we can go have that chocolate and Baileys." He murmured against her lips.

Earl followed behind the pair as they went back inside, both of the drenched fools wrapped tightly in their blankets and he was using the umbrella for himself. They were walking shoulder to shoulder, leaning into each and he shook his head. If that boy took advantage of the Miss was she was obviously in a 'state', then he was going to have to forget his manners and shoot the bastard.

Fallon looked up when they walked in through the back room, hesitating at the sight of Grace. "Grace-"

"The fire is already going, hot chocolate is being made. Now go change, both of your!" Grace pointed towards a small doorway that led to a narrow 'servant's' stairwell. "And the downstairs parlor at that, Miss!"

"That's the one without the doors in the front," Fallon stage whispered, watching as Grace all but threw open the stairwell door. "She's being parental."

"And you let her?" When Fallon just shrugged, Shawn shrugged as well, not overly bothered by the distrusting looks Earl was giving him. "I think daddy Earl is a bit peeved with me, darlin'." He said as he followed her up the stairs.

"Probably, and calling him that is very creepy."

Laughing, he reached forward to grab her hand, stopping her. When she turned to give him a questioning look, Shawn leaned up to kiss her. "I'm glad you let me come with you."

"Mmm, I'm glad you came." She murmured, pulling away from him with a slight smile. Fallon continued upstairs, halting when they reached their rooms. "I'll meet you down in the parlor." She said before disappearing into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

What the hell…. She was not supposed to be having fun, dancing in the rain, or kissing anyone, especially today! Her Grandmother had just been buried! She then wondered what Vi would have to say about everything.

"Probably tell me to stop whining." She sighed.

"Stop whining."

Fallon whirled around as Grace entered the room, her eyes narrowing when she seen what the other woman was carrying. "No."

"You'll catch a chill. Yes."

"Grace, honestly, I'm not going to be- hey, what are you doing?" She demanded when her robe was slid off her shoulders. "I'm not wearing flannel underwear!"

"Oh yes you are, you silly girl! You'll wind up sick, just you wait."

Fallon headed downstairs in flannel jammies and pouting.

Shawn was already downstairs; having changed into a pair of pale blue pajama bottoms, totally foregoing the white, plain tee shirt he had found waiting.

"Mister Michaels, a word?"

Sighing, he turned away from the fire. What the hell did daddy Earl want now? "Yeah?"

"I am only going to say this one time, sir, so pay very close attention."

Oh, this old prick was not about too-

"If you take advantage of Miss Fallon while she's vulnerable, I will hurt you."

Shawn knew Earl was serious just by the gleam in the old man's eyes and flashed what was usually considered a charming smile, reaching out to pat the guy on the shoulder. "No worries, old timer. She'll only sleep with me when she's ready."

Earl had to fight the urge to go bleach his entire body, feeling thoroughly disgusted. "She shouldn't be sleeping with you at all." He said through gritted teeth. "Unless, of course, you have intentions of committing to her?"

Shawn paled at that.

"Then simply remain friends, without the benefits." It wasn't really a suggestion. Giving Shawn one last scathing look, he exited the parlor.

Shawn stood there, debating on whether or not he wanted to go slap Earl silly. The internal debate ended when Fallon strode in, looking less than pleased, and rather… toasty. "What's the matter?"

"Grace."

"Hm. Well I just had a run-in with big daddy Earl and I have been forewarned to not sleep with you." He snorted, shaking his head. "Because I'm not planning on making any kind of commitment."

Fallon cleared her throat, walking over to the table where an urn filled with hot chocolate waited, pouring them each a mug. She then picked up the bottle of Bailey's that sat off to the tray, adding a healthy measure to each cup. "Well…." She tentatively sipped her drink, watching from the corner of her eye as he moved to take his. "I'm not ready for a commitment Shawn, so…"

He rolled his eyes, dropping down on the thick rug before the fireplace.

She sat next to him, frowning slightly. "How come you get to wear just that? That is not fair…" She plucked at her long sleeved top, eyes narrowing. "They think that since they've been with me since birth, I'm still four…"

Which was actually okay, most of the time. She liked being surrounded by people who loved and cared for her, though… they had been going overboard with Vi's death. She had a feeling it was their way of coping and was going to allow it. For today only.