Disclaimer: Well, as much as I would love to, I do not own anything IaHB related. If I did, I would definitely kick Disney's butt for being so dumb and getting rid of the show. Stupid decision. Anyway, I own nothing here.
Oy, sorry it took so long for me to post more, people. Things have been a bit crazy in school lately. And now registration for next semester is coming up! And Finals! The horror of it all!
Author's Note: Due to some confusion, I thought perhaps I should mention that I did not mix Melanie with that other chick, Jasmine. I purposely am not writing about Jasmine because in a conversation, Darkchilde and I decided it would be better with Melanie (for those of you who have not seen many eps of this show, Melanie is another chick on the show.) I hope that clears up the confusion.
I have had a request to put Brooke in this here fic. She will be in the next part, I promise. So, Brooke fans hold out a bit longer, k?
Please don't forget to review.
Okay, here we go:
Hank walked in his hotel room and closed the door behind him. He crossed the room and tossed his room key on the small nightstand before flopping down on his bed. He should have been exhausted, but he wasn't. At that moment, Hank felt as if he could do anything. But, he just lay there, thinking of how wonderful life was.
A silly grin settled on his face as he remembered the night before and how he had spent it with Melanie. First, they had stayed at the café until it had closed. Then they had walked around the small town, noting what had changed since they were there before. They had ended up walking to the high school, where they had sat on the bleachers and watched the sun rise.
It had been a bit chilly outside and when Melanie had started shaking, Hank had wanted to put his arm around her. After all, that was the gentlemanly thing to do. But, when he had moved a bit closer to her in order to put his arm around her, Melanie had seized the moment. She had taken Hank by surprise and kissed him lightly on the cheek. When he looked at her in surprise, he found that she had already lowered her head in embarrassment. Hank had smiled and placed his hand under her chin. He had pushed her chin up so that he could see her eyes. he loved her eyes. They were so enchanting. And then he had leaned forward slowly and kissed her on the lips.
Hank still could not believe that he had spent the night with Melanie. If someone had told him in high school that on the night of their class reunion, he and Melanie would end up kissing while the sun slowly rose in the sky, he would have laughed. Hank would have never guessed that he would spend the night with Melanie. And absolutely fall head over heels in love with her.
Everything had been wonderful.
In fact, the only reason he was not with Melanie at that exact moment was that Melanie had wanted to get in a couple of hours of sleep before the dinner that day at one o'clock that afternoon. Hank knew that he should be getting some sleep too, but he just could not bring himself to close his eyes. No way, he was wide-awake. There was no way he would be able to sleep even if he tried.
Hank reached over to the small nightstand next to his bed and picked up the phone. He dialed the number slowly, the grin still on his face. He couldn't wait to tell Tyler about what had happened to him the night before.
One ring.
Hank heard a soft click as someone picked up the phone on the other end.
"Val?" Tyler asked into the phone, a bit too hopeful.
"Uh, no man, it's me, Hank." Hank answered, stifling a laugh. It seemed he was not the only one thinking about the opposite sex.
"Oh," Tyler replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "I thought Val might have been calling me for............something."
Hank laughed out loud. His friend was so obvious. "How long have you been waiting by the phone for her to call?"
Tyler snickered. "It's that obvious, huh? Look Hank, I gave her the box of letters last night. And I was thinking that maybe it was her calling to talk to me about them."
Hank's eyebrows rose. He was surprised that Tyler had finally given Val The Box. Tyler had first told Hank about the box a few months ago, when Hank had been lucky enough to get him on the phone. Hank had urged Tyler to send the box to Val, but Tyler had refused on the grounds that Val might not feel the same way about things as he did.
But, now he had finally given her the box. No wonder he is waiting anxiously, Hank thought. He's waiting to hear what Val thought of his letters to her.
"Well, I got an idea," Hank said, the grin still on his lips. "Why don't you call her up and ask her what she thought of the letters? And while you're at it, ask her if she wants to go to the station with us to see Alex."
"We're going to the station?" Tyler asked through the phone.
"Yes we are," Hank answered easily.
There was a pause on Tyler's end of the phone and then a sigh. "Okay Hank, I'll call her room and see if she wants to go with us, but I'm not going to mention the letters."
Hank rolled his eyes and smiled even bigger. "You do whatever you want man, just meet me down in the lobby in an hour."
"Okay, I will."
.............................................
Val opened her eyes slowly, and turned over in bed. She was facing her nightstand and her eyes focused on the box that sat there. She smiled. That box had been by far the best present she had ever gotten. And it only meant more that Tyler was the one who had given it to her.
Val had spent most of the night reading all of the letters that had been inside the box. She had read all about where Tyler lived and his job. She had read about how his mother and step-dad were doing. That stuff was all nice and good, but it wasn't what had touched her heart the most.
Tyler had written about his feelings for her in those letters. He had written how much he had admired her in high school. He had written about how much he missed her now that they had graduated. And he had written about how much he had loved her for so long. Val had actually shed a few happy tears when reading that bit. She had wanted Tyler to say such things for so long and now, well now, it was really happening.
There was only one thing she wondered about. Val had been a little confused as to why Tyler hadn't just sent the letters to her in the first place. Surely, he wasn't worried about her not feeling the same way about him. He had to know how she felt, didn't he?
The smile slowly disappeared and a frown settled on her lips. Yeah, she wondered, why hadn't he sent the letters to her?
Val reached across her bed to the little nightstand and was just about to pick up the phone when it rang.
She laughed at the caller's perfect timing and then answered the phone.
"Hello?" She asked politely.
"Val, it' me, Tyler," the voice on the other end of the phone answered.
Val smiled. Just the person I wanted to talk to, she thought as she rolled over in bed so that she was now lying on her back.
"I'm glad you called," she replied. "I was just about to call you."
"Oh yeah?" Tyler asked and Val could have sworn that she had heard a distinct quality of happiness in his voice. He was pleased that she was about to call him, she knew.
"Uh huh. I wanted to ask you something about the present you gave me last night."
Val paused, allowing Tyler time to say something in reply. He has to be wondering what I thought of all these letters, Val thought. Doesn't he? But, Tyler did not say a word and Val realized that perhaps he was waiting for her to continue with what she had wanted to say.
"Actually," she started, "I'd kind of rather talk to you about this in person. Could we meet soon?"
"That's actually why I called you. See, Hank and I were wondering if you would like to go with us to see Alex at the station."
Val closed her eyes. On one hand, she had been hoping to talk to Tyler about the letters as soon as was possible. But, she didn't want to talk about it with him in front of anyone else. It was a private matter between Val and Tyler, not Val, Tyler and all of their friends. On the other hand, she did want to pay Alex a visit and see the old station again. She opened her eyes again as she came to the obvious conclusion.
"Hey, that sounds great," she told Tyler with enthusiasm. "Maybe Brooke will be there too. I wasn't able to get a hold of her before coming back to town. So, it will be a surprise visit to her too."
"Yeah, when did Brooke move back to Kingsport," Tyler asked through the phone.
"Um, about a year ago. She's been working at the station ever since."
"Wow, that's great," Tyler exclaimed. "So, I'll see you in about an hour?"
Val smiled, thinking of all the letters she had read the night before. She glanced over at the box on her nightstand. Absolutely nothing could stop her from seeing Tyler in an hour. She realized that she hadn't asked him about the letters yet, but that was okay. There would be plenty of time for discussing such things, she knew. After all, Tyler had told her exactly how he felt in those letters. Val had absolutely no intention of leaving the reunion before telling Tyler how she felt in return.
"Yeah, I'll meet you in the lobby then."
"Great," Tyler replied. "Oh, and could you call Jamie? He might want to go too."
"Sure," Val answered, thinking about the letters.
.............................................
The shades on the window were down, allowing barely any light into the small room. The room, itself, looked very lived-in.
The solitary chair sat a few feet away from the small table. A leather jacket hung peacefully on its back.
The small table was covered with various items. Pocket change and keys lay in a pile over to one side. An invitation to the class reunion, blue prints of some sort, and a very worn copy of a book were strewn out across the rest of the table.
A suitcase lay open on the floor, clothing completely covering it. Whoever owned the suitcase apparently had not been too worried about wrinkled shirts. It looked as if the suitcase had exploded, spewing out its contents like lava out a volcano.
The only blankets were located at the very end of the bed as if someone had thrown them off in haste. One pillow lay sideways on the bed while the one lay discarded on the floor. By the bed, on the small nightstand, the phone rang. Its shrilly singing should have awoken anyone that could have been sleeping in that room. But, no one was. In fact, no one was in the room to answer the phone at all.
The phone kept ringing.
On the other end of the phone, Val sighed. Where was Jamie so early in the morning?
.............................................
Caitie froze in her bed when she heard the soft click of her door closing. A snake of fear slithered into her heart as she realized that someone was in the room with her. Horrific thoughts streamed through her mind of all the stories she had heard about intruders. Her one small comfort was that she was facing away from the door to her room. The intruder would think she was sleeping if she just stayed still. Thus, she could take whoever it was by surprise.
Oh God, she thought, her heart beating rapidly against her rib cage. Who, she wondered, would break into my hotel room?
"Caitie?" A voice whispered softly as the intruder crossed the small room o the bed where she lay not daring to move.
Caitie closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Relief washed through her entire body as she realized the person in her room was not exactly an intruder. The voice was what had given him away. Caitie would have known that voice anywhere.
She rolled over in her bed and looked at Jamie, who stood silently next to the bed.
"Sneaking into an innocent girl's room, James? I am shocked."
Jamie grinned. "Well, it isn't really sneaking when you bribe the cleaning lady across the hall with five bucks to use her key."
Caitie shook her head. "You probably showed her that smile of yours and she instantly decided to do whatever you wanted."
Jamie chuckled. Caitie wondered for a brief second what had made him come to her room so early in the morning. Could he have possibly tossed and turned as much as she had the night before? She had not been able to stop thinking about him and it had robbed her of some much needed sleep. The only thing that had finally gotten her to sleep was the pleasant thought of playfully yelling at him the next day for not leaving her mind while she was trying to sleep. And yet, here he was and the words did not seem to want to come out.
Sure, she could still banter with him easily, but the words that she wanted to say the most, seemed stuck in her throat.
Caitie moved over in her bed, making way for Jamie to lay down. Immediately, he hopped on the bed and settled down next to her, crossing his arms over his chest. He lay next to her in silence for just a few seconds as if he were contemplating something heavy. Caitie took this opportunity to truly look at the person she had known pretty much all her life. He was absolutely beautiful and Caitie wished with all her might that she could just take him back to the city with her after the reunion. But, she was no fool. She knew he had his own life and wouldn't want to run away with her. He wouldn't want to leave everything he had just to be with her. Would he?
Jamie turned on his side suddenly, the movement breaking her train of thought.
Jamie propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head against the palm of his hand. He grinned at Caitie. "So, you like my smile?" He asked, slyly.
Caitie opened her mouth, but no sassy words came out readily. Had she said such a statement? Of course not! Well, maybe she had said something like that. Maybe in a kind of inferred way, she thought.
"That's not what I said," she said, trying to grasp an excuse. "What I meant was that other people might find your smile......amazing....but, I do not." Caitie gave Jamie a superior look, trying not to notice that he was laughing at her. "I find your smile rather....common."
Jamie laughed out loud. It was just too funny. Caitie was obviously joking, using her verbal wit, which he had fallen in love with.
"Yeah, well, I think your smile is amazing," he said, seriously. "You're so beautiful."
He watched as a pleasant glow entered Caitie's eyes. Oh, so she likes to be complimented, Jamie thought suddenly. How could he have not known that all the years he had known her? How could he have complimented her before and not noticed the sweet look of happiness in her eyes? She looked pleased with his words.
Encouraged, Jamie reached out and touched her cheek with the palm of his hand. It was warm under his touch and he smiled, thinking how he had kissed her there lightly the night before as they had said goodnight to each other. His eyes returned to the glow in her eyes, a strange new emotion swelling in Jamie's belly.
But, just as suddenly as the glow was there, it was gone. Caitie looked at Jamie, a small frown on her lips. No, Jamie thought, don't do this.
"Jamie," Caitie started after a moment's hesitation. She had to stop this right now. She had to. As much as they might want to be together, it wouldn't work out. They both had their own lives to lead. "I think-."
"Shhh," Jamie whispered, laying a finger lightly across Caitie's lips. "Don't think."
And then he leaned down to kiss her.
..............................................
Val hung up the phone. It was kind of obvious after twelve rings that Jamie was not going to answer the phone. Where could he be, she wondered. It wasn't as if it were in the middle of the afternoon. It was nine in the morning and Val had never pictured Jamie as the early riser. Maybe he's changed since graduation, she thought.
She shook her head as she thought back to the night before. She may have been busy with Tyler at the dance, but she had caught glimpses of Jamie and Caitie every so often. Jamie looked pretty much the same, although Val did marvel at the fact that he was wearing a suit.
One thing Val had noticed, though, was the fact that Jamie and Caitie had not acted as just friends, as they always had been. Val had spotted them dancing really close to each other during a slow song. And later on, she saw them across the gym holding hands as they sat at a table and talked. She remembered smiling at the thought that they perhaps had finally come to realize what everyone else had already known for so long.
Maybe....., Val thought and she picked up the phone again. It was probably a long shot, she knew, but perhaps Caitie would know where Jamie was.
............................................
Jamie pulled away from Caitie slowly and watched as she opened her eyes. He smiled as he recognized the glaze that seemed to cover the irises of her eyes. Ah, so he could affect her. Good, Jamie thought, reveling in his own power.
"C'mere you," he said, reaching out to her. Caitie scooched a bit closer to Jamie as he laid down on his back. She laid her head on his chest, just under his chin, and almost sighed with contentment.
Somewhere deep within her mind, a small sliver of doubt crept up. What happened to stopping this before it got out of hand, her mind seemed to ask. What happened to I will not be mushy?
Jamie wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head softly.
Shut up, Caitie told her mind and then went back to almost sighing with contentment.
"Jamie?" She asked as she listened to his heartbeat through his tee-shirt.
"Hmm?" He responded.
Caitie raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. Here goes nothing, she thought. "How come you never asked me out in high school?"
Jamie smiled at her, a sad little smile, which seemed to convince Caitie that perhaps Jamie had been asking himself the same question ever since they had graduated.
"I didn't think you wanted that sort of thing," he said with a small shrug.
Caitie laid her head back down on his chest. "I did," she replied quietly after a moments silence.
Silence loomed over them. Both Jamie and Caitie had so much that they wanted to say, but the words did not seem to come that easily. So, they lay there together in perfect silence, both knowing that their time together was not long and therefore, precious.
The phone rang, startling both Jamie and Caitie out of their thoughts. Caitie jumped and Jamie held her tighter.
"You okay?" He asked, chuckling as he reached for the phone, which screamed from the bedside table.
"Yeah," Caitie replied, wishing that the phone had not rung at all.
Jamie lifted the phone off its receiver and handed it to Caitie. She accepted it and raised it to her ear before talking.
"This had better be important," she mumbled into the phone.
"Caitie!" A way too chippery voice exclaimed on the other end of the phone. Caitie rolled her eyes and mouthed the name Val to Jamie. Normally, Caitie would have loved to talk to her friend whom she hadn't seen in so long. But, Jamie was there and.....it was just a bad time for Val to have called.
"Oh hey Val," Caitie returned. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine!" Val exclaimed and Caitie vaguely wondered why in God's name did her best friend have to be such a morning person.
"Listen Caitie, I would love to chat, but I'm looking for Jamie right now. Do you know where he is?"
"You've called the right place, Lanier. He's right here," Caitie replied and then handed the phone to a surprised Jamie.
Jamie had barely gotten the phone to his ear when Val started talking again. "Jamie! I tried calling your room and you weren't there. So, I tried here. Anyway, all of us are going to go over to the station and see Alex. We were wondering if you'd like to come too."
"Me?" Jamie asked, still a bit surprised. Sure, he had been on the squad all those years ago. And he was pretty sure that the others had finally accepted him as being part of their team. But, there was always the presence of doubt lingering in the corners of his mind. It made him wonder if they ever had really considered him to be part of their squad.
"Sure, Jamie. After all, you were part of the team too." Val said it so casually that it made Jamie smile. Well, perhaps the doubt in his mind was all for naught. Perhaps they had accepted him wholeheartedly years ago.
"Yeah, sure, I'll come," Jamie replied. "So what are you guys doing? Meeting in the lobby?"
"Yup," Val said, her words sugared with perkiness. "See you there. Oh, and bring Caitie along. I haven't seen her in ages."
"Will do," Jamie replied and then hung the phone back up.
He looked down at Caitie, who was still nestled against his chest. "Wanna go visit some old friends?" He asked.
............................................
Alex had been expecting them to come to the station. After all, the station had played such a big role in all of their lives when they were in high school. So, when he had heard about the reunion, Alex had only smiled because he knew that they would come see him too.
He had kept tabs on all of them since they had left Kingsport. He knew all about Val's big company and Hank's working as a pediatrician. Then, of course, there was Tyler's job as a math teacher. Alex had even read Caitie's books. She may not have been part of the squad, but she was around enough for him to get to know her.
But, the one person Alex was extremely proud of was Jamie. When Jamie had first come to the squad, he had had a huge chip on his shoulder. No one had as much attitude as Jamie had had. At their first meeting, Jamie had showed how much he disrespected authority and how much he didn't really want to be on the squad. Alex had been ready to write the young boy off right then and there. But, then something had happened. Jamie had told Alex that he could and would do the job well, just to tick Alex off. That type of determination made Alex respect Jamie a bit.
Over time, Jamie had proved himself as a great EMT many times. Alex had actually grown to like the kid, even though he sometimes did things his own way by his own rules. The big surprise for Alex, though, came when Jamie was given the choice of staying on the squad or leaving. See, Jamie's community service had been almost up and Alex had really expected Jamie to run as fast as he could away from the station. But, Jamie had done exactly the opposite. He had stayed. That showed Alex what a fine person Jamie Waite really was.
Now, Jamie had built K's Camp. Alex was somewhat surprised that that was the sort of work that Jamie had gone into. But, nevertheless, Alex was extremely proud of Jamie. He had really done well for himself and even though he was not on the squad anymore, he was still helping people.
Alex looked around the small common room at all of his former EMTs. Hank was sitting in the chair across from him, a big goofy grin on his face. It was the same grin that Hank had worn since he had entered the station. Adjacent to Hank's chair was the couch in which Jamie, Caitie, Val and Tyler sat. Jamie and Caitie were holding hands and looking around nonchalantly as if they had always held hands with each other. Good for them, Alex thought.
He looked over at Val and Tyler, who kept exchanging secret looks when they thought no one was looking. Alex almost laughed out loud as he saw Tyler inch a bit closer to Val. Even as adults, the two still acted the same as they had in high school.
"I'm so glad you all came to see me," Alex said, smiling at the five people before him. It was funny, out of all the kids who had ever worked in the EMS program, Alex had liked these ones the best. "You all have done so well for yourselves. I mean, there's Hank, who is a doctor now. And Caitie, the famous author. Jamie runs a camp for kids with cancer. Val is the big business woman and Tyler is the math teacher."
They all smiled at each other, each realizing how much they had missed the others.
"It's too bad Brooke isn't here," Val mentioned.
"Yes, well, she wanted the day off so that she could help set up for the dinner this afternoon. You'll see her there," Alex said.
Alex cleared his throat. "And it looks as if all of you have found something else at the reunion that you maybe weren't expecting." He looked pointedly at Jamie and Caitie, who returned his smile.
"Yeah," Hank replied, thinking of Melanie and how he would see her again in just a few hours.
Tyler turned to Val and smiled. "Yeah, I think we did," he said.
"Good," Alex said. 'So, now that you all have found this something, what happens next?"
Five faces looked back at Alex blankly. They had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. So far the reunion had been perfect. They each were with the person they belonged with. So, what was the problem? Well, they all had their own lives. None of them wanted to drop everything they had worked so hard for. But, on the other hand, Jamie did want so much to be with Caitie. Tyler wanted to be with Val and Hank wanted nothing more than to grow old with Melanie. But, how could they do that when they had their separate lives?
Alex's question was a hard one. It immediately woke the five people across from him from their dreaming and into the world of reality.
So, what would happen next?
Hehehe. K, hope you guys liked this part. I'm truly hoping to get this fic finished soon. Please, please, please review, people. I like reading reviews. And they always make me think of new things to put in my fics.
Oy, sorry it took so long for me to post more, people. Things have been a bit crazy in school lately. And now registration for next semester is coming up! And Finals! The horror of it all!
Author's Note: Due to some confusion, I thought perhaps I should mention that I did not mix Melanie with that other chick, Jasmine. I purposely am not writing about Jasmine because in a conversation, Darkchilde and I decided it would be better with Melanie (for those of you who have not seen many eps of this show, Melanie is another chick on the show.) I hope that clears up the confusion.
I have had a request to put Brooke in this here fic. She will be in the next part, I promise. So, Brooke fans hold out a bit longer, k?
Please don't forget to review.
Okay, here we go:
Hank walked in his hotel room and closed the door behind him. He crossed the room and tossed his room key on the small nightstand before flopping down on his bed. He should have been exhausted, but he wasn't. At that moment, Hank felt as if he could do anything. But, he just lay there, thinking of how wonderful life was.
A silly grin settled on his face as he remembered the night before and how he had spent it with Melanie. First, they had stayed at the café until it had closed. Then they had walked around the small town, noting what had changed since they were there before. They had ended up walking to the high school, where they had sat on the bleachers and watched the sun rise.
It had been a bit chilly outside and when Melanie had started shaking, Hank had wanted to put his arm around her. After all, that was the gentlemanly thing to do. But, when he had moved a bit closer to her in order to put his arm around her, Melanie had seized the moment. She had taken Hank by surprise and kissed him lightly on the cheek. When he looked at her in surprise, he found that she had already lowered her head in embarrassment. Hank had smiled and placed his hand under her chin. He had pushed her chin up so that he could see her eyes. he loved her eyes. They were so enchanting. And then he had leaned forward slowly and kissed her on the lips.
Hank still could not believe that he had spent the night with Melanie. If someone had told him in high school that on the night of their class reunion, he and Melanie would end up kissing while the sun slowly rose in the sky, he would have laughed. Hank would have never guessed that he would spend the night with Melanie. And absolutely fall head over heels in love with her.
Everything had been wonderful.
In fact, the only reason he was not with Melanie at that exact moment was that Melanie had wanted to get in a couple of hours of sleep before the dinner that day at one o'clock that afternoon. Hank knew that he should be getting some sleep too, but he just could not bring himself to close his eyes. No way, he was wide-awake. There was no way he would be able to sleep even if he tried.
Hank reached over to the small nightstand next to his bed and picked up the phone. He dialed the number slowly, the grin still on his face. He couldn't wait to tell Tyler about what had happened to him the night before.
One ring.
Hank heard a soft click as someone picked up the phone on the other end.
"Val?" Tyler asked into the phone, a bit too hopeful.
"Uh, no man, it's me, Hank." Hank answered, stifling a laugh. It seemed he was not the only one thinking about the opposite sex.
"Oh," Tyler replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "I thought Val might have been calling me for............something."
Hank laughed out loud. His friend was so obvious. "How long have you been waiting by the phone for her to call?"
Tyler snickered. "It's that obvious, huh? Look Hank, I gave her the box of letters last night. And I was thinking that maybe it was her calling to talk to me about them."
Hank's eyebrows rose. He was surprised that Tyler had finally given Val The Box. Tyler had first told Hank about the box a few months ago, when Hank had been lucky enough to get him on the phone. Hank had urged Tyler to send the box to Val, but Tyler had refused on the grounds that Val might not feel the same way about things as he did.
But, now he had finally given her the box. No wonder he is waiting anxiously, Hank thought. He's waiting to hear what Val thought of his letters to her.
"Well, I got an idea," Hank said, the grin still on his lips. "Why don't you call her up and ask her what she thought of the letters? And while you're at it, ask her if she wants to go to the station with us to see Alex."
"We're going to the station?" Tyler asked through the phone.
"Yes we are," Hank answered easily.
There was a pause on Tyler's end of the phone and then a sigh. "Okay Hank, I'll call her room and see if she wants to go with us, but I'm not going to mention the letters."
Hank rolled his eyes and smiled even bigger. "You do whatever you want man, just meet me down in the lobby in an hour."
"Okay, I will."
.............................................
Val opened her eyes slowly, and turned over in bed. She was facing her nightstand and her eyes focused on the box that sat there. She smiled. That box had been by far the best present she had ever gotten. And it only meant more that Tyler was the one who had given it to her.
Val had spent most of the night reading all of the letters that had been inside the box. She had read all about where Tyler lived and his job. She had read about how his mother and step-dad were doing. That stuff was all nice and good, but it wasn't what had touched her heart the most.
Tyler had written about his feelings for her in those letters. He had written how much he had admired her in high school. He had written about how much he missed her now that they had graduated. And he had written about how much he had loved her for so long. Val had actually shed a few happy tears when reading that bit. She had wanted Tyler to say such things for so long and now, well now, it was really happening.
There was only one thing she wondered about. Val had been a little confused as to why Tyler hadn't just sent the letters to her in the first place. Surely, he wasn't worried about her not feeling the same way about him. He had to know how she felt, didn't he?
The smile slowly disappeared and a frown settled on her lips. Yeah, she wondered, why hadn't he sent the letters to her?
Val reached across her bed to the little nightstand and was just about to pick up the phone when it rang.
She laughed at the caller's perfect timing and then answered the phone.
"Hello?" She asked politely.
"Val, it' me, Tyler," the voice on the other end of the phone answered.
Val smiled. Just the person I wanted to talk to, she thought as she rolled over in bed so that she was now lying on her back.
"I'm glad you called," she replied. "I was just about to call you."
"Oh yeah?" Tyler asked and Val could have sworn that she had heard a distinct quality of happiness in his voice. He was pleased that she was about to call him, she knew.
"Uh huh. I wanted to ask you something about the present you gave me last night."
Val paused, allowing Tyler time to say something in reply. He has to be wondering what I thought of all these letters, Val thought. Doesn't he? But, Tyler did not say a word and Val realized that perhaps he was waiting for her to continue with what she had wanted to say.
"Actually," she started, "I'd kind of rather talk to you about this in person. Could we meet soon?"
"That's actually why I called you. See, Hank and I were wondering if you would like to go with us to see Alex at the station."
Val closed her eyes. On one hand, she had been hoping to talk to Tyler about the letters as soon as was possible. But, she didn't want to talk about it with him in front of anyone else. It was a private matter between Val and Tyler, not Val, Tyler and all of their friends. On the other hand, she did want to pay Alex a visit and see the old station again. She opened her eyes again as she came to the obvious conclusion.
"Hey, that sounds great," she told Tyler with enthusiasm. "Maybe Brooke will be there too. I wasn't able to get a hold of her before coming back to town. So, it will be a surprise visit to her too."
"Yeah, when did Brooke move back to Kingsport," Tyler asked through the phone.
"Um, about a year ago. She's been working at the station ever since."
"Wow, that's great," Tyler exclaimed. "So, I'll see you in about an hour?"
Val smiled, thinking of all the letters she had read the night before. She glanced over at the box on her nightstand. Absolutely nothing could stop her from seeing Tyler in an hour. She realized that she hadn't asked him about the letters yet, but that was okay. There would be plenty of time for discussing such things, she knew. After all, Tyler had told her exactly how he felt in those letters. Val had absolutely no intention of leaving the reunion before telling Tyler how she felt in return.
"Yeah, I'll meet you in the lobby then."
"Great," Tyler replied. "Oh, and could you call Jamie? He might want to go too."
"Sure," Val answered, thinking about the letters.
.............................................
The shades on the window were down, allowing barely any light into the small room. The room, itself, looked very lived-in.
The solitary chair sat a few feet away from the small table. A leather jacket hung peacefully on its back.
The small table was covered with various items. Pocket change and keys lay in a pile over to one side. An invitation to the class reunion, blue prints of some sort, and a very worn copy of a book were strewn out across the rest of the table.
A suitcase lay open on the floor, clothing completely covering it. Whoever owned the suitcase apparently had not been too worried about wrinkled shirts. It looked as if the suitcase had exploded, spewing out its contents like lava out a volcano.
The only blankets were located at the very end of the bed as if someone had thrown them off in haste. One pillow lay sideways on the bed while the one lay discarded on the floor. By the bed, on the small nightstand, the phone rang. Its shrilly singing should have awoken anyone that could have been sleeping in that room. But, no one was. In fact, no one was in the room to answer the phone at all.
The phone kept ringing.
On the other end of the phone, Val sighed. Where was Jamie so early in the morning?
.............................................
Caitie froze in her bed when she heard the soft click of her door closing. A snake of fear slithered into her heart as she realized that someone was in the room with her. Horrific thoughts streamed through her mind of all the stories she had heard about intruders. Her one small comfort was that she was facing away from the door to her room. The intruder would think she was sleeping if she just stayed still. Thus, she could take whoever it was by surprise.
Oh God, she thought, her heart beating rapidly against her rib cage. Who, she wondered, would break into my hotel room?
"Caitie?" A voice whispered softly as the intruder crossed the small room o the bed where she lay not daring to move.
Caitie closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Relief washed through her entire body as she realized the person in her room was not exactly an intruder. The voice was what had given him away. Caitie would have known that voice anywhere.
She rolled over in her bed and looked at Jamie, who stood silently next to the bed.
"Sneaking into an innocent girl's room, James? I am shocked."
Jamie grinned. "Well, it isn't really sneaking when you bribe the cleaning lady across the hall with five bucks to use her key."
Caitie shook her head. "You probably showed her that smile of yours and she instantly decided to do whatever you wanted."
Jamie chuckled. Caitie wondered for a brief second what had made him come to her room so early in the morning. Could he have possibly tossed and turned as much as she had the night before? She had not been able to stop thinking about him and it had robbed her of some much needed sleep. The only thing that had finally gotten her to sleep was the pleasant thought of playfully yelling at him the next day for not leaving her mind while she was trying to sleep. And yet, here he was and the words did not seem to want to come out.
Sure, she could still banter with him easily, but the words that she wanted to say the most, seemed stuck in her throat.
Caitie moved over in her bed, making way for Jamie to lay down. Immediately, he hopped on the bed and settled down next to her, crossing his arms over his chest. He lay next to her in silence for just a few seconds as if he were contemplating something heavy. Caitie took this opportunity to truly look at the person she had known pretty much all her life. He was absolutely beautiful and Caitie wished with all her might that she could just take him back to the city with her after the reunion. But, she was no fool. She knew he had his own life and wouldn't want to run away with her. He wouldn't want to leave everything he had just to be with her. Would he?
Jamie turned on his side suddenly, the movement breaking her train of thought.
Jamie propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head against the palm of his hand. He grinned at Caitie. "So, you like my smile?" He asked, slyly.
Caitie opened her mouth, but no sassy words came out readily. Had she said such a statement? Of course not! Well, maybe she had said something like that. Maybe in a kind of inferred way, she thought.
"That's not what I said," she said, trying to grasp an excuse. "What I meant was that other people might find your smile......amazing....but, I do not." Caitie gave Jamie a superior look, trying not to notice that he was laughing at her. "I find your smile rather....common."
Jamie laughed out loud. It was just too funny. Caitie was obviously joking, using her verbal wit, which he had fallen in love with.
"Yeah, well, I think your smile is amazing," he said, seriously. "You're so beautiful."
He watched as a pleasant glow entered Caitie's eyes. Oh, so she likes to be complimented, Jamie thought suddenly. How could he have not known that all the years he had known her? How could he have complimented her before and not noticed the sweet look of happiness in her eyes? She looked pleased with his words.
Encouraged, Jamie reached out and touched her cheek with the palm of his hand. It was warm under his touch and he smiled, thinking how he had kissed her there lightly the night before as they had said goodnight to each other. His eyes returned to the glow in her eyes, a strange new emotion swelling in Jamie's belly.
But, just as suddenly as the glow was there, it was gone. Caitie looked at Jamie, a small frown on her lips. No, Jamie thought, don't do this.
"Jamie," Caitie started after a moment's hesitation. She had to stop this right now. She had to. As much as they might want to be together, it wouldn't work out. They both had their own lives to lead. "I think-."
"Shhh," Jamie whispered, laying a finger lightly across Caitie's lips. "Don't think."
And then he leaned down to kiss her.
..............................................
Val hung up the phone. It was kind of obvious after twelve rings that Jamie was not going to answer the phone. Where could he be, she wondered. It wasn't as if it were in the middle of the afternoon. It was nine in the morning and Val had never pictured Jamie as the early riser. Maybe he's changed since graduation, she thought.
She shook her head as she thought back to the night before. She may have been busy with Tyler at the dance, but she had caught glimpses of Jamie and Caitie every so often. Jamie looked pretty much the same, although Val did marvel at the fact that he was wearing a suit.
One thing Val had noticed, though, was the fact that Jamie and Caitie had not acted as just friends, as they always had been. Val had spotted them dancing really close to each other during a slow song. And later on, she saw them across the gym holding hands as they sat at a table and talked. She remembered smiling at the thought that they perhaps had finally come to realize what everyone else had already known for so long.
Maybe....., Val thought and she picked up the phone again. It was probably a long shot, she knew, but perhaps Caitie would know where Jamie was.
............................................
Jamie pulled away from Caitie slowly and watched as she opened her eyes. He smiled as he recognized the glaze that seemed to cover the irises of her eyes. Ah, so he could affect her. Good, Jamie thought, reveling in his own power.
"C'mere you," he said, reaching out to her. Caitie scooched a bit closer to Jamie as he laid down on his back. She laid her head on his chest, just under his chin, and almost sighed with contentment.
Somewhere deep within her mind, a small sliver of doubt crept up. What happened to stopping this before it got out of hand, her mind seemed to ask. What happened to I will not be mushy?
Jamie wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head softly.
Shut up, Caitie told her mind and then went back to almost sighing with contentment.
"Jamie?" She asked as she listened to his heartbeat through his tee-shirt.
"Hmm?" He responded.
Caitie raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. Here goes nothing, she thought. "How come you never asked me out in high school?"
Jamie smiled at her, a sad little smile, which seemed to convince Caitie that perhaps Jamie had been asking himself the same question ever since they had graduated.
"I didn't think you wanted that sort of thing," he said with a small shrug.
Caitie laid her head back down on his chest. "I did," she replied quietly after a moments silence.
Silence loomed over them. Both Jamie and Caitie had so much that they wanted to say, but the words did not seem to come that easily. So, they lay there together in perfect silence, both knowing that their time together was not long and therefore, precious.
The phone rang, startling both Jamie and Caitie out of their thoughts. Caitie jumped and Jamie held her tighter.
"You okay?" He asked, chuckling as he reached for the phone, which screamed from the bedside table.
"Yeah," Caitie replied, wishing that the phone had not rung at all.
Jamie lifted the phone off its receiver and handed it to Caitie. She accepted it and raised it to her ear before talking.
"This had better be important," she mumbled into the phone.
"Caitie!" A way too chippery voice exclaimed on the other end of the phone. Caitie rolled her eyes and mouthed the name Val to Jamie. Normally, Caitie would have loved to talk to her friend whom she hadn't seen in so long. But, Jamie was there and.....it was just a bad time for Val to have called.
"Oh hey Val," Caitie returned. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine!" Val exclaimed and Caitie vaguely wondered why in God's name did her best friend have to be such a morning person.
"Listen Caitie, I would love to chat, but I'm looking for Jamie right now. Do you know where he is?"
"You've called the right place, Lanier. He's right here," Caitie replied and then handed the phone to a surprised Jamie.
Jamie had barely gotten the phone to his ear when Val started talking again. "Jamie! I tried calling your room and you weren't there. So, I tried here. Anyway, all of us are going to go over to the station and see Alex. We were wondering if you'd like to come too."
"Me?" Jamie asked, still a bit surprised. Sure, he had been on the squad all those years ago. And he was pretty sure that the others had finally accepted him as being part of their team. But, there was always the presence of doubt lingering in the corners of his mind. It made him wonder if they ever had really considered him to be part of their squad.
"Sure, Jamie. After all, you were part of the team too." Val said it so casually that it made Jamie smile. Well, perhaps the doubt in his mind was all for naught. Perhaps they had accepted him wholeheartedly years ago.
"Yeah, sure, I'll come," Jamie replied. "So what are you guys doing? Meeting in the lobby?"
"Yup," Val said, her words sugared with perkiness. "See you there. Oh, and bring Caitie along. I haven't seen her in ages."
"Will do," Jamie replied and then hung the phone back up.
He looked down at Caitie, who was still nestled against his chest. "Wanna go visit some old friends?" He asked.
............................................
Alex had been expecting them to come to the station. After all, the station had played such a big role in all of their lives when they were in high school. So, when he had heard about the reunion, Alex had only smiled because he knew that they would come see him too.
He had kept tabs on all of them since they had left Kingsport. He knew all about Val's big company and Hank's working as a pediatrician. Then, of course, there was Tyler's job as a math teacher. Alex had even read Caitie's books. She may not have been part of the squad, but she was around enough for him to get to know her.
But, the one person Alex was extremely proud of was Jamie. When Jamie had first come to the squad, he had had a huge chip on his shoulder. No one had as much attitude as Jamie had had. At their first meeting, Jamie had showed how much he disrespected authority and how much he didn't really want to be on the squad. Alex had been ready to write the young boy off right then and there. But, then something had happened. Jamie had told Alex that he could and would do the job well, just to tick Alex off. That type of determination made Alex respect Jamie a bit.
Over time, Jamie had proved himself as a great EMT many times. Alex had actually grown to like the kid, even though he sometimes did things his own way by his own rules. The big surprise for Alex, though, came when Jamie was given the choice of staying on the squad or leaving. See, Jamie's community service had been almost up and Alex had really expected Jamie to run as fast as he could away from the station. But, Jamie had done exactly the opposite. He had stayed. That showed Alex what a fine person Jamie Waite really was.
Now, Jamie had built K's Camp. Alex was somewhat surprised that that was the sort of work that Jamie had gone into. But, nevertheless, Alex was extremely proud of Jamie. He had really done well for himself and even though he was not on the squad anymore, he was still helping people.
Alex looked around the small common room at all of his former EMTs. Hank was sitting in the chair across from him, a big goofy grin on his face. It was the same grin that Hank had worn since he had entered the station. Adjacent to Hank's chair was the couch in which Jamie, Caitie, Val and Tyler sat. Jamie and Caitie were holding hands and looking around nonchalantly as if they had always held hands with each other. Good for them, Alex thought.
He looked over at Val and Tyler, who kept exchanging secret looks when they thought no one was looking. Alex almost laughed out loud as he saw Tyler inch a bit closer to Val. Even as adults, the two still acted the same as they had in high school.
"I'm so glad you all came to see me," Alex said, smiling at the five people before him. It was funny, out of all the kids who had ever worked in the EMS program, Alex had liked these ones the best. "You all have done so well for yourselves. I mean, there's Hank, who is a doctor now. And Caitie, the famous author. Jamie runs a camp for kids with cancer. Val is the big business woman and Tyler is the math teacher."
They all smiled at each other, each realizing how much they had missed the others.
"It's too bad Brooke isn't here," Val mentioned.
"Yes, well, she wanted the day off so that she could help set up for the dinner this afternoon. You'll see her there," Alex said.
Alex cleared his throat. "And it looks as if all of you have found something else at the reunion that you maybe weren't expecting." He looked pointedly at Jamie and Caitie, who returned his smile.
"Yeah," Hank replied, thinking of Melanie and how he would see her again in just a few hours.
Tyler turned to Val and smiled. "Yeah, I think we did," he said.
"Good," Alex said. 'So, now that you all have found this something, what happens next?"
Five faces looked back at Alex blankly. They had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. So far the reunion had been perfect. They each were with the person they belonged with. So, what was the problem? Well, they all had their own lives. None of them wanted to drop everything they had worked so hard for. But, on the other hand, Jamie did want so much to be with Caitie. Tyler wanted to be with Val and Hank wanted nothing more than to grow old with Melanie. But, how could they do that when they had their separate lives?
Alex's question was a hard one. It immediately woke the five people across from him from their dreaming and into the world of reality.
So, what would happen next?
Hehehe. K, hope you guys liked this part. I'm truly hoping to get this fic finished soon. Please, please, please review, people. I like reading reviews. And they always make me think of new things to put in my fics.
