A Year Off

Part I

Post Flashpoint

Amy and Dan said farewell to their great uncle Fiske in Meenalapa only a few short hours before Jake and Atticus were due to land in Dublin. Thankfully, Fiske was flying private plane and wouldn't chance a run-in at the arrival's gates. It spared anyone from having to explain that Amy's explanation of "I'm sure we'll meet up a few times", actually started today.

The Cahill and Rosenbloom siblings hadn't seen each other since their collective efforts to defeat Pierce in May. Amy had made a full recovery and she and Jake had some time to talk things out, patching up their relationship. They were on the path to growing back together, it would take some time, and being apart would make that work slower, but it was worth the wait. Amy and Dan had stayed in Massachusetts for a few months before setting off to return Olivia's household book to its home, while the brothers headed back to Rome and, more importantly, back to their father. They knew it wouldn't be easy to persuade Mark Rosenbloom to allow his children a year off from their studies.

Dan and Atticus had stayed in contact daily, Amy and Jake too. It had been Dan's idea to bring the Rosenblooms to Ireland that September, before it got cold and dreary. Amy had only heard snippets from Jake about he and Att's travels. Mostly locations and Snapchats of what they were eating. Atticus on the other hand, gave Dan frequent blow-by-blows of their travels; it seemed to be museum-based—which made Amy smile; Dan loved museums about as much as Ian loved Saladin.

The Uber carrying the boys arrived at Bhaile Anois around 23:00 hours. Amy and Dan were already dressed in their pajamas. The brothers looked road weary; everyone it seemed was ready for sleep.

Amy was curious how Jake would greet her? Should she kiss him, or just go for a hug? Sometimes she felt like they had to rediscover each other again.

She needn't have worried. As soon as the boys stepped out of the car, it was as if no time had passed at all. Atticus ran up and gave Amy the first hug, wrapping his thin arms around her and squeezing for all his might. This sweet gesture melted her heart. She hugged him back and then kissed the top of his head in a kindly way before glancing up to see Jake, who had just paid the driver catch the act. A broad smile crossed his face in the porch light. Att released her, running over to Dan just as Amy met Jake half way across the driveway. They threw their arms around each other and just stood there, unmoving for a time. Amy could feel the worry drain out of her. Why had she been worried about this meeting at all? Jake released her, but grabbed both of her hands in his. They smiled at each other, a deep look passing between them. No hint of anything beyond simply joy at being reunited. They were going in for a kiss, when a small pebble bounced off Jake's right ear.

"Ow, what was that for?" Jake said, rubbing the spot where it made contact.

"Come on love birds." Atticus said, exasperated.

Dan and Atticus turned and went into the cottage.

Amy gave Jake a sigh and rolled her eyes. The two of them followed the younger boys inside. Jake and Atticus each selected a guest room. They had fresh linens and towels and despite the starkness of the rooms, they were cozy with the lamp glow and braided rugs. Neither boy could complain. Plus, it just felt right, all four of them being back together. Amy lingered in the hallway, and Jake lingered in his doorway, hoping that the younger boys would go to sleep so he and Amy could have a few moments alone, but it was not meant to be. The younger boys were content to talk as long as they were all there, so reluctantly, Amy and Jake said good goodnight without a kiss.

In the morning, Amy and Dan got up and made eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast and sausages for their guests. The four of them sat around the pine table drinking coffee and tea and chatting. Atticus was regaling them all on the adventures they'd had that summer. He and Jake had even taken a ferry to Sicily and gone Orca diving.

"How did you convince your dad to let you take a year off?" Dan asked between bites.

"We invoked the 'mom clause'." Atticus replied. "That's what we're calling it."

Jake added, setting his coffee mug down, "It didn't take that much convincing, really." Eyeing Amy and Dan as he continued. "After mom died we never really had any sort of counseling or therapy and we convinced him that losing her was traumatic."

"And," Atticus started, "he was just so relieved that we were not hanging around you two and had come back to Rome that honestly, he might have agreed to anything. Now, whenever we want to do something, we bring up mom and he tends to agree."

Jake nodded vigorously, "But, we didn't tell him we were meeting up with you today."

He glanced at Amy and saw her hurt expression in her eyes then quickly added, "but don't worry—by next summer he'll be ready to see you both. He just needs some time." He nudged Amy's leg under the table and she gave a small smile. It was obvious there was a lot of work to be done with Dr. Rosenbloom.

After breakfast, Dan and Att took off for the inlet and the pebbly beach. They got busy skipping stones and chasing each other.

Jake took hold of Amy's hand "Want to walk?"

They headed North along the ocean. It was windy, but just the right fall temperature. Amy quick tied her hair back in a ponytail before slipping her hand back in his.

They walked along in a comfortable silence for a while, hand in hand. Finally, Jake pulled up and Amy stopped. She barely had time to turn toward him before he pulled her in tight for their first kiss in four months. She was instantly reminded how much she liked kissing Jake. He was good at it. His lips were soft, his breath was pleasant and she loved how he pulled her in tight. She kissed him back a long time before finally pulling away.

Smiling at him, she said, "I need some air."

"Air is overrated," Jake mused, going in for a mock kiss.

Amy laughed and playfully pushed him away.

He smiled at her. "I forgot how pretty you are."

Amy just shook her head, "well, I didn't forget how pretty you are."

Jake raised his eyebrows, "pretty, huh?"

Amy started laughing and slowly backing away, "yes, pretty-boy Jake, that's what Dan says."

Jake was in full play mode now, he dropped his jaw in mock incredulity, started to slowly move toward her. "Is that what he said?"

Amy's smile widened, as she took a few more steps backward, her hands out ready to defend. She nodded intently. "Yep, he says it every day. I try to get him to stop and pay attention to your intellect, but…" at this she shrugged with a 'what-can-you-do-about-it?' look on her face.

Jake burst out laughing and his dazzling smile lit up like the sun. He started sprinting toward Amy. She shrieked, turned, and ran off down the hill toward the beach, Jake hot on her heels. He caught her around the middle, picking her up and twirling the two of them around, laughing. They landed in a heap just at the juncture of grass and pebbly sand.

At the end of their three days together, a somber mood befell the cottage. None of them wanted to part ways, but as with all things, time marches on. The word count in the cottage had dropped considerably as the four of them had taken to just being together, but not necessarily saying anything.

As the hour approached for Jake and Att to head back to the airport, bags were collected and placed by the front door. The mist had let up and the late afternoon rays of sun were trying desperately to peek out from behind Irish clouds. Maybe it was just sentimentality, but Jake thought the landscape had an ethereal look to it.

"Come with me," Jake said, taking Amy's hand.

Together they walked to the top of the ridge overlooking the inlet and the sea beyond.

They just stood here, arm in arm, overlooking this beautiful, ancient place. The sun made all the wet surfaces look like they had been Photoshopped. The beauty of it all and the nearness of Jake filled Amy's heart. She sighed and turned her head to rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to meet hers. They both closed their eyes, resting like this for a long moment before Jake kissed Amy's forehead tenderly.

This simple act of love filled Amy with warmth, "I don't want this moment to end." She said.

Jake just nodded, then struck by inspiration, he dug in his pocket, pulled out his phone and snapped a selfie of them both; He had his new background image.

Amy made to turn back toward the cottage, but he had one more idea. With phone still in hand, he fiddled with an app for a few seconds while pulling her to him. Sam Smith's velvety voice filled the air around them as Jake pulled her in close for a dance.

"Oh, I don't know how to dance," Amy started, her legs feeling very wooden all of a sudden.

Jake pocketed the phone while the music played. He took her right hand in his left and wrapped his other hand tight around her waist.

"Disengage your brain and just sway with me. That's all there is to it." He whispered in her ear.

Amy took a deep breath and wrapped her free hand around Jake's neck.

Listening to Sam Smith, standing in this spot, remembering how wonderful three relaxing days with Jake felt, Amy was trying so hard to memorize this moment in time. Jake was thinking the same thing. As the song ended, Jake looked at Amy.

"I think we just found our song." He said quietly.

"And I think this is our new favorite spot." She added.

They leaned in for a kiss just as a car pulled into the driveway to take the boys to the airport.

"To be continued," Jake whispered

"Until next time," Amy added, feeling the warmth of Jake's lips on her own.