Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters from the show, I do, however, own a man called Howard, a girl called Lexie and the contents of this story.
Author Notes: The final chapter. I can't believe I'm finally here, I apologise it's taken so long. Thank you to everyone who has read this story and the prequels before it. It's been quite a series I've enjoyed writing this past year. I hope you all had a great Christmas/festiveness and see you all in 2010! (Happy New Year to those already there!)
Without Warning
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It was so cold that Naomi could see her breath in the air, she held tighter to Emily's fingers, wishing that there was a glove that allowed two hands to share the same space. She sent a half-smile Emily's way and bit her lip. She looked beautiful, completely stunning. So much so that Naomi would have preferred a night alone with Emily than a night in some Labour club with the in-laws.
"Sure we can't just drop the kids off?" Naomi whispered, emphasising her lip-tuck which she knew Emily couldn't resist.
"Don't do that or I'll be saying yes," Emily laughed. "It's our last night, it's only fair we see the family before we go."
Naomi raised an eyebrow, "Can't we just send them a postcard when we arrive?"
"No," Emily giggled. "This place had better let the kids in, dad did say to bring them in his message, didn't he?"
The entrance hall was warm and smelled of that mixture of alcohol and tobacco that hung in the air, even long after the smoking ban. Rob was stood, pacing back and forth in front of them which made Emily frown. He looked nervous, something she very rarely saw in her dad.
"Good evening," she muttered, kissing him on the cheek as they all greeted each other.
"Come on, everyone's in here," he informed them, leading them through a door into a darkened room.
Naomi and Emily followed him, completely confused, until the lights came on and the room lit up with noise and music.
"Surprise!"
Emily jumped, reached for Naomi's hand which she'd given up holding to hug her dad. The two women grinned at each other and then at Rob, before returning their gaze to the small crowd of family and friends.
"Oh," Naomi gasped, squeezing Emily's hand tighter than she'd expected to when a number of tears fell from her eyes. She brushed them aside, overwhelmed by the vast number of people standing in front of them, there to say their goodbyes.
"Are you okay?" Emily muttered, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek gently, Naomi nodded into the embrace, whispered a quick thanks before they turned back to the family.
"Thank you, Jenna, Rob, this is," Naomi whispered, sniffling. "Thank you."
"It wasn't all us," Jenna smiled. "Katie's idea actually, her and Howard did a lot of the planning."
Naomi turned to her brother and sister-in-law, gave them brief hugs and thanked them too, her hand still clutched tightly to Emily's. She couldn't quite explain where the emotion came from, but she felt the need to be close to Emily still. Naomi watched as Jenna took Harley and Lexie across the room to some distant cousins of Emily's, she laughed as Harley danced about to the music.
"Finally, thought you were never coming," James interrupted her thoughts.
"It is our party," Emily reminded him. "You were all just very early."
"I must say, you are looking smoking hot tonight Naomi," James raised an eyebrow. "If I wasn't attached and you weren't my sister-in-law,"
"Or gay," Naomi inputted.
"That too," he added. "Well I think I'd be looking in your direction."
"My baby brother," Emily rolled her eyes, before searching the room. "Where's Tali?"
"She couldn't make it," James sighed. "Said to say she's sorry but she hopes to see you in a few months when we come and visit."
Emily looked at him cautiously, "Is she okay?"
James nodded. "She's good, she's more than good actually. She's finished her treatment and though they need to wait for tests to come back they think she's going to be okay."
"That's fantastic James," Naomi grinned, rubbing his shoulder and nodding her head. "And you two had better visit us!"
*
Emily's red hair looked brighter under the disco lights, it glimmered and shone as she strode around the room greeting various family members. Naomi sipped a vodka and coke, her mind wandered around Emily's body, wishing for just five minutes alone with her girl. Suddenly her vision was disrupted, someone was stood in front of the table and she almost snapped at them to go away. But then she lifted her head and her eyes met the bright blue ones that belonged to Effy.
A small smile crept across her face, "Hi, I didn't know you were here."
"I just arrived, can't really stay long," Effy smiled back, her fingers stroking the front of her enlarged stomach.
Naomi reached a hand out, offering her a seat opposite, which the brunette took. "How are you doing?" A nod towards the bump completing her sentence.
"We're good," Effy informed her. "I've not had a drink for weeks, I've not been to a party in a long time. I'm trying to cut it out you know, go cold turkey."
"Good idea," Naomi replied. "Never were one to do things in moderation, were you Eff?"
Effy just shook her head, staring down at her fingers as though contemplating something. "I never thanked you, not properly."
"What for?"
"Everything."
"I was just being a good friend," Naomi assured her.
"No. Nobody's ever given me much of a chance and you always have."
The two women shared a smile, a comfortable, friendly smile that made Naomi want to cry. She'd never seen Effy look so good, so healthy, in all of the years they'd known each other. She was modest, usually, wasn't one to blow her own trumpet. Yet she had contributed to it. She reached for Effy's hand, gave it a gentle squeeze that she only loosened when Emily sat back down beside her.
"I have too much family," Emily moaned. "Oh hey Effy, didn't realise you were here."
"I'm not staying, I should go really."
"I'll walk you out," Naomi smiled, kissing Emily briefly on the lips before linking arms with Effy.
They stood in the doorway for a few minutes, breathing in the cold night air. Effy's eyes staring at a man holding a cigarette, a longing look that made Naomi laugh.
"You want a cigarette, don't you?" she whispered.
"I'm not going to though."
The taxi arrived then and Effy opened the door, about to slide into the back seat before she grabbed for Naomi's hand, pulled her close for a moment. They stared into each other's eyes and Effy kissed her softly on the cheek.
"Seriously, thanks."
Naomi smiled, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, pulling her into an embrace that didn't seem to come as easily to Effy as it did Naomi.
"Don't be a stranger, yeah? Call me, write me. I want to know how you get on with this little thing."
Effy rested a hand over Naomi's, which clutched the bump. "Naomi."
"What?"
"It's a girl," Effy whispered. "Naomi."
The gesture took Naomi back, she frowned, confused for a moment until her eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms back around Effy's shoulders and gave her another squeeze.
"Thank you, for everything you've done for me too."
They nodded at each other as Effy slid into the back seat. Naomi closed the door, wiping her tears as Effy held a hand up to the window whilst the taxi drove away.
*
Naomi was stood in the car park watching a car disappear onto the main road. Emily grinned as she ran past her, wished she could have stopped if it wasn't for the hand pulling her along. Katie dragged her to her car, demanded she get into the passenger seat before starting up the engine and driving them away.
"Now you're kidnapping me?" Emily laughed, remembered the last time she'd been in a car without knowledge of where she was going.
"It's a surprise Emily, I think we should have bought you a dictionary as a going away present."
Emily laughed, her smile disappearing when they pulled up on the edge of a field. Emily raised an eyebrow at her sister, completely confused as they climbed out of the car and stood staring at the grass in front of them. Katie lay a blanket down on the ground which they lay down on and stared up at the stars. Emily couldn't help but think she was missing something, forgetting something important.
"You don't remember?" Katie questioned, Emily shook her head. "The summer after we turned seven when we moved here, we'd left that crappy house in London and it was a big adventure. James was following us about all over the place, except,"
"This field," Emily concluded, turning to face Katie with a smile. "I remember now."
"Then that night we had an argument with mum and dad and we decided to run away together. All we had was a blanket, a couple of straw drinks and a box of biscuits."
"We ended up here and you ate them all," Emily laughed, only smiling when Katie smacked her playfully on the arm.
Emily stared at her sister for a moment, her insides wobbling more than she wanted them to. She reached for her hand, held it tightly between her fingers as they stared up at the sky.
*
Katie was off gallivanting with Emily, James was drinking shots with a cousin and Rob and Jenna were occupying the kids. Howard hovered by the bar, not really sure what to do with himself. He ordered another glass of coke and stood watching William copying an older boy, who was sliding across the dance floor on his knees.
"He's getting so big," a voice muttered from beside him. Howard turned and smiled when he saw Naomi stood there.
"He feels even bigger after spending the day with Joseph."
Naomi smiled, "That's how I felt when I had Harley. He was so tiny and then I went home and Lexie felt like a teenager."
"He's coming home in a few weeks," Howard informed her, feeling his lips forge a smile. "They said that he's progressing really well now that he's breast feeding. It's not going to be long until we can be a proper family."
"That's brilliant Howard," Naomi smiled, linking his arm and resting her cheek against his shoulder. "Any idea where our girls were off to?"
"No idea, Katie told me they were going out for an hour, that's all she said."
They stood in silence for a while, watched the room until Howard noticed movement beside him. He frowned as Naomi wiped her eyes, the lights bouncing off tears on her face. He moved away so that he could wrap his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm okay," Naomi sighed. "It's just, it's big. This move, it's massive."
"You're going to do amazing over there. America isn't going to know what's his it," Howard assured her.
"I'm just worried. I'm worried about Emily and Katie being so far apart. I'm worried about James' girlfriend even though he says she's probably going to be fine. I'm even worried about Effy, she has no one Howard. How can she bring a baby up alone when she's so messed up?"
Howard stroked her cheek, brushing her hair back as he stared into her eyes. "You're such a beautiful person Naomi. You can't live your life worrying about everyone else though. You've been through so much and you've managed to come out of the other side. You've given me faith that no matter how scared or worried you might be, as long as there's people around you that you care about and who care about you, then you'll be fine."
Naomi sighed, took a deep breath as she tried to stop herself from crying. She wrapped her arms around Howard's back and clung to him, whispering a thank you into his ear.
"I'm so glad you're better Howard, I love you so much, you're my best friend."
"I love you too," Howard grinned, kissing her cheek gently. "As for your friend Effy, I'll make sure Katie and I keep an eye on her for you."
"Thanks Howard, you never stop being there for me, do you?"
"Why would I ever want to?"
*
The moon was full in the sky, shining a bright light down upon them. Katie stared up, wondering why she never did it very often when the few times in her life she actually had, she enjoyed it.
"I guess we should be heading back," she whispered, wishing that they didn't have to, that their lives could begin and end in that field.
"Do we have to?" Emily asked, taking the words right out of Katie's mouth. "I've missed this, the carefree sister time without responsibility."
Katie laughed. "I guess five more minutes wouldn't hurt."
The sister's didn't talk, they hadn't talked for most of the time there. They just lay together, enjoying an hour alone where all that mattered was being there, in that moment. Katie let her mind wander, things flooding her brain that she wanted to say, she knew they were things she should say now because she probably wouldn't find another time good enough.
"I'm excited for you Emsy," she whispered into the night. "It's taken me a long time to see it, but it's what you need to do. I know that. Plus, we have phones and email, I could even get James to help me set up a webcam or one of those Sky phones."
"I think it's called Skype," Emily laughed.
"Same thing," she muttered. "I'm going to well miss you, but we can keep in touch, yeah?"
Emily rolled onto her side, pulling Katie closer into her arms until they were as close as they could get. The cold air seemed to disappear as they shared warmth.
"I won't be a stranger Katie, I wouldn't dare. I'll fly back here once in a while, to you. When Joey's well enough you should fly out to visit. How about for our birthday?"
Katie bit her lip, tried to avoid her sister's gaze, but it was too close. She was scared to tell Emily that she didn't have the money, that as much as she wanted to go, to see their new life, she couldn't afford it.
As if reading her mind, Emily smiled at her. "I'll pay for the flights and everything, call it a birthday present, or a Happy Tuesday present."
The twins laughed and though Katie felt uncomfortable that Emily was willing to pay for such a large gift, she was too afraid to turn it down. She wanted, more than anything, to go visit her when they'd settled. The thought of never making it out there was too much.
"Guess we should head back," Emily sighed, attempting to pull away, but Katie pulled her back down.
"Another five minutes, then we can go."
*
Eventually the party was over and Emily and Naomi said goodbye to the dozens of family and friends who had come to wish them luck. Even though it was their party, they stayed to help tidy up until the room was clean and they all stood in the car park to say their almost-final goodbyes.
"We'll be at your place at ten," Rob informed Naomi. "Make sure all your bags are ready so we can get off to the airport straight away."
"No worries," Naomi smiled. "Most of our things are ready to go anyway."
Naomi turned to Emily who was stood clinging to Katie, neither of the sister's seeming to want to let go first.
"Are you busy tomorrow morning?" Emily whispered, trying her best to keep the tears at bay.
Katie smiled at Emily, "We do have plans."
"Oh."
Katie laughed, pulling back from Emily as she saw the disappointment on her sister's face. "We're going to the airport to see you off. You should have seen your face then, that was well funny."
"It wasn't funny," Emily snapped, smacking her playfully on the arm. "That was horrible. I thought this was going to be where we'd have to say goodbye."
"No, definitely not. Besides, we've already promised William that we'll show him the airport."
*
Naomi lay under the covers, her arms brushing Emily's as she climbed in beside her. They turned to each other, stared into each other's eyes as they pulled each other closer for a passionate embrace.
"We're doing the right thing, aren't we?" Emily questioned, pulling back and resting on her back.
"It feels right to me, so it must be."
Emily couldn't help the last minute nerves, couldn't bare the thought of being away from half her family for so long. The tears started to fall and there was nothing she could do about them, she started to cough, choking on the tears until she sat up. Naomi's arms were quickly around her, allowing her to cling tightly to her body.
"It's okay, it's going to be okay."
"It's so difficult, I didn't realise it was going to be this difficult."
Naomi tucked her lip under her tooth, stroking the side's of Emily's face until her brown eyes were staring back into her own. They stared at each other for a while until Emily's tears began to slow.
"It's just six months, if it really doesn't work out then it's not that long."
"I'm just scared."
"I know, I'm scared too," Naomi admitted. "It's a scary thing, moving to another country, changing our whole life. But we're doing this together."
Emily nodded, pushing her face against Naomi's neck, burrowing her nose as close to Naomi's skin as possible. Two arms reached around her back again and they settled back down on the bed, arm in arm. Emily pulled back, letting her lips leave a trace along Naomi's neck until she reached her lips and pushed her tongue into Naomi's mouth until she could feel Naomi's massaging back. They lay there kissing for a while, comforted by each other's touch.
"I think we should wait until we get to America to have sex," Naomi whispered, a cheeky grin sliding across her lips. "Christen our new bed, our new house."
Emily chuckled, thankful to Naomi for the distraction as she nodded her head and wrapped herself back up in Naomi's arms until they fell into a deep sleep together.
*
The airport was tense. Nobody wanted to speak through fear of what was to come, too scared to say goodbye to each other as they sat in a café drinking coffee and orange juice. Naomi reached for Emily's hand, interlinking their fingers under the table until Emily smiled a little.
"This is lovely coffee, isn't it lovely coffee Rob?" Jenna commented, sounding more strained than usual.
"Yeah, very nice."
"It's well good for airport coffee," Katie whispered, thankful for Howard's hand resting on the small of her back, wondering what she would do if she couldn't feel him there beside her.
It didn't take long to finish the drinks, to pay up and wander through the airport until they reached security. Emily and Naomi stared at each other, glancing across the family members until they all stopped, realising that there was no point waiting any longer. They couldn't keep putting off the goodbyes.
"I'm gonna miss you kid," Rob muttered, his words strained as he hugged his daughter, wiping his eyes as he pulled away.
Everyone said their goodbyes, hugged each other and whispered words of luck and keep in contact as though they hadn't already spoken them so many times before. When Katie got to Emily, they were both trying their best not to cry, but Katie couldn't help shed a few tears as they clung to each other.
"Emsy, Emsy," Emily began, doing her best to use twin speak, but her tears took over and her eyes became too blurred. She got annoyed with herself for not being able to say it, had to take a breath before she could say anything more. "I'm going to fucking miss you."
"Me too," Katie sobbed. "Katie Ly."
"Emsy Ly Doo," Emily whispered, the words falling from her lips that little bit easier as she pulled away.
A final glance at everyone and Emily, Naomi and the kids made their way through security, eventually disappearing from sight.
*
The waiting was the hardest. Emily longed to return to the other side of security, to wrap her arms back around her sister and tell her that they'd changed their mind. But it was too late.
"It's going to be okay," Naomi whispered, rubbing her back after sending Lexie and Harley off to a café a few feet away. "You need to calm down or you'll make yourself ill."
"I'm okay," Emily sobbed, embracing Naomi, only pulling away when she felt Naomi's shoulder grow damp.
"You're not alone Emily, just remember that. We're all here with you. You, me and the kids."
Eventually Emily calmed down. They sat in the café and ate sandwiches whilst waiting for their gate to be called. Then they made the short journey from the departure lounge to the gate, Lexie and Harley growing more excited as the minutes passed by. Naomi and Emily walked behind them, their hands still clutched together as they sat down and watched the planes from the window.
"It'll be opening in a few minutes," Emily whispered, pulling her phone out of her pocket, grinning at the six messages all from Katie, wishing them good luck and telling them that she loves them all. A few more tears slid down Emily's cheeks as she sent one back.
"That's us," Naomi muttered, when a boarding call finished. Emily stood up beside her, more cautious as they wandered towards the gate.
"Have a nice flight," the woman grinned, handing them their boarding passes.
Emily stopped by the door, turning one last time to look at the airport. She pictured her family on the other side of security, remembered the emotional goodbye just a couple of hours earlier. She felt Naomi's hand resting on her shoulder, felt comforted by the touch.
"Come on, let's go."
A final nod, Emily tucked her fingers in between Naomi's, holding tightly to her hand as they wandered down the loading tunnel. The closer they got to the plane, the further away they got from the life they'd been leading. When they were finally sat in their seats, Emily found a smile creeping across her face. It was still sad to say goodbye to everyone they cared about and the life that they knew, but it was an adventure, a new life and it was actually quite exciting.
Author Notes: the last chance to review...thanks again guys!