Still Waiting For You
Chapter 5: "Complicate Matters Even More"
The rap on the
door was casual yet firm.
"Just a
minute, I'm changing," Val called, tugging the dark blue tank over her head
hurriedly as she crossed the room to open the door. "Hey, Tyler. What's up?"
It really was
a sin how Val could pull on any old top and look like a goddess. Seriously, it
was. She always went into her room, changed in five seconds flat, came out, and
looked immortal.
"We're
rehearsing the wedding. In the living room."
"I thought you
had a wedding rehearsal yesterday," recalled Val, leaning against the doorframe
with an inquisitive look.
"I, for one,
would like to run things through again rather than forget where I'm supposed to
stand on Sunday," Tyler told her. Val grinned at that.
"All right, so
you're having another rehearsal. Is Kara bothering you or something? Because
Spot might be a little dirty," Val told Tyler in a very serious voice. Tyler
returned her smile.
"No, but you
and Caitie are the only females of adequate age in the vicinity at the moment
and since Caitlin has politely declined—" Val cut him off in the middle of his
formal speech.
"Rudely said
no possible way, more like it," she corrected. Tyler nodded his agreement.
"Anyway,"
Tyler said, lapsing into normal speech with another smile, "could you pretend
to be Heather?"
Val raised her
eyebrow. "No offense or anything, but… I don't think I'm pretty enough to be
Heather." Her voice was sarcastic.
Tyler groaned.
"Val, come on."
"Fine. Sure."
Val followed him down the hall. "You knew I wasn't going to refuse, didn't
you?"
"Of course,"
replied Tyler, grinning once more. "Of course."
*
"So, you just
stand right here," Tyler told Val, placing his hands on her shoulders and
moving her over a couple of steps, trying very hard to ignore the feel of her
skin on his. "And, obviously, you walk down the aisle, and we—well,
technically, on Sunday, Heather and I, but for now you and I, I suppose—say all
the vows and everything, right, and…"
"And you think
you're going to mess up at the wedding?" Val inquired, her blue eyes laughing.
"Shut up,"
said Tyler good-naturedly, walking up to the front of the living room, near the
fireplace, the area deemed to be the altar.
"Okay, so all
the flower girls and bridesmaids go out in front of me," Val said, "and then I
just walk down the aisle, right?"
"Yeah," Hank
agreed. Tyler nodded.
"Are you sure
you're worried about messing up?" she inquired of Tyler. He smiled.
"Val."
One syllable,
but that syllable prompted her to move down the supposed aisle, towards Tyler.
It was supposed to be pretending, another dress-up that brought her back to
Halloween when she was six, another role play, another lead in the school play,
but it felt way too real as soon as her eyes connected with Tyler's. Neither of
them tried to look away from the glance that dared them to take it a step
further, to forget reality and lunge for the dream world as Val slowly
approached him, scared to death of the look in his eyes that was probably mirrored
in her own.
Her feet
stopped moving automatically—at least it must have been automatically, because
her mind was too wrapped up in Tyler to remember when to stop.
"All right,"
Hank said, a tinge of anxiety in his voice, having seen what was happening between
Val and Tyler. "We are gathered here today to unite these two in holy
matrimony…" The words were more or less correct, and it really didn't matter if
they were right or not, because Tyler and Val were too involved in each other
to pay attention to Hank, or rather, the priest.
"Valerie Kara
Lanier, do you take Tyler Robert Connell to be your lawfully wedded husband,
through good or bad, better or worse?" Val didn't know why he couldn't just use
Heather's name, but that was a minor detail.
"I do." Her
lips were moving of their own accord, with the same power that had stopped her
feet.
"Tyler Robert
Connell, do you take Valerie Kara Lanier to be your lawfully wedded wife,
through good or bad, better or worse?"
"Of course I
do." His eyes never wavered from hers.
"I hereby
pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
They all knew
it was coming. It was inevitable, absolutely bound to happen. Tyler and Val's
lips connected.
It was like
the kisses shown in movies, long and sweet, Tyler's arms winding firmly around
Val's slender frame, crushing her body against his as they deepened the kiss
entirely. It was seething with the fierceness of forbidden lies, the gentleness
of a dove on a branch, the kiss of need and hunger and doom.
"Tyler!"
called a voice. Tyler and Val sprung apart at the sound of Heather's voice
echoing through the house. Blue eyes were opened in wide innocence like a newly
born butterfly breaking through the warm chrysalis to the pain and coldness of
reality.
Thank God Val
wasn't wearing lipstick, Tyler reflected as Heather entered the room. And
thank you so much that Heather didn't come in two seconds earlier.
"Tyler, there
you are." She looked, confused, at the awkwardness of the moment and completely
missed what it was, which was lucky. "What are you doing?"
"We were
practicing the wedding, but you weren't here, so Val took your place."
"Oh." Heather
looked Val up and down with evident disdain. "Don't you think she's a bit
inadequate to play me? I mean, I've said it before, but she's not nearly as
attractive as yours truly."
"Heather!"
Tyler looked at her with horror and repeated himself. "Heather!"
"She's not,"
Heather insisted whiningly.
Kara chose
that moment to interrupt by winding herself around Heather's leg. Apparently
she had forgiven Heather's meanness and was willing to be friends. Heather, on
the other hand, didn't seem to want to be friends.
"Get off!" she
whined, shaking her leg. Kara looked surprised. "I really don't want your
grubby paws wrapped around my clean leg!"
Val picked
Kara up, unwinding her daughter from Heather. "Heather, it's how she says hi.
It's like a hug. It means she likes you."
"Well, I don't
like her! Isn't that what, like, three-year-olds do? She's such an idiot!"
Kara started
bawling. "I'm not an idott," she informed Val, who put Kara's head on her
shoulder.
"I know,
honey, I know." Her eyes were angry as she turned to Heather again, but her
voice was cool and calm, silent and deadly. "Heather—I adopted her when she was
three. Her mother died and there were no other relatives, so she was put in an
orphanage where she experienced trauma. She wouldn't speak after her mother's
death until she was nearly two because she was so scared. It's incredibly lucky
that she got over it and got adjusted to life, and I don't need people like you
telling her that she's an idiot because it could ruin her life again. You may
not like kids, but that's no reason to treat them like scum."
"But they
are!" shrieked Heather. Val stared at her, then handed Kara off to Hank and
marched out of the room.
Tyler looked
from Heather to the direction Val had gone and exited also. Heather squealed
and ran after Tyler, leaving Caitie, Hank, Jamie, and Kara surprised in the
living room.
"Why'd Connell
kiss Mommy?" Kara inquired of Hank. "Isn't Connell getting marriaged?"
"Yes," Hank
agreed, shaking her head. "Connell is getting marriaged and this makes things
even more complicated."
*
It wasn't
until seven that night that Hank entered Tyler's room. The blond was sitting on
the edge of his bed with his head buried in his hands.
"Have you been
sitting like that all day?" Hank inquired. Tyler didn't look up.
"Yes."
"So what's
wrong? Did you dislike the kiss or something?" Hank prodded, poking deep.
Tyler's laugh was bitter when it occurred.
"No."
"Then what?"
Hank had his suspicions, but he knew that suspicions weren't always correct,
and guesses that dealt with a sensitive subject were better off not having.
"Hank…" Tyler
finally took his hands away from his face. He looked absolutely miserable, his
eyes red, his frown helpless, his overall expression absolutely clueless as to
what happened next. "I liked it. I loved it. I loved it so much more than when
I kiss Heather."
Oh God, this
was growing way too complicated.
*
She strode,
business-like, up to the counter. A white lab coat with her name stitched into
the chest pocket hung loose on her body, making her no less attractive. Her
hair was pulled into a ponytail and the look in her eyes was formal.
"Can I speak with
Tyler Connell?" Val asked the receptionist, who shook her head in instant
apology.
"I'm sorry,
he's on shift now and he's seeing patients."
"Can I at
least go back, just for a moment?" Val pleaded. What she had to say couldn't
wait any longer. Today was today, tomorrow was the wedding, and there was no
time to waste.
"I suppose,"
the receptionist complied dubiously. "But please don't bother him if he's busy,
or the patients will complain. Room 346."
"Thank you
very much."
As soon as she
turned around, another woman approached the counter with a girl about six in
tow. The girl was holding her right arm in pain, a frown heavy on her lips.
"Excuse me, my
daughter, Susan, hurt her arm and they said we'd have an appointment at two
with Doctor Connell?" The woman's voice was uncertain. Val glanced at the
clock. 2:17. "The last name is Jackson."
The
receptionist hit a couple of keys on her computer and nodded. "Sorry for the
wait, his last patient just got out a few minutes ago. A busted knee, I think.
Room 346."
"I'm heading
there myself," Val spoke up with a smile. "I don't know if you're familiar with
the layout of hospitals…I'll show you, though."
"Thanks," the
woman sounded grateful. Val smiled once more reassuringly. "We're just new in
town, and we haven't been to this ER before, or anything…do you work here?"
Mrs. Jackson had taken an instant liking to the friendly young woman.
"No, no. I'm
from out of town. I just stopped in to see Doctor Connell, actually, and I'm
staying for his wedding," said Val.
"He's getting
married, then?"
"Yes." Val
didn't let emotion creep into her voice. Emotion was dangerous. Emotion left
you open and bared and frightened with nothing to hide behind.
"Fantastic,
then."
"Completely."
"Is he a good
doctor?" Val wasn't sure if Mrs. Jackson had sensed that she was uncomfortable
with the subject or had just changed topics. Either way, it was a welcome
distraction, because Val didn't want to think about the wedding more than she
had to.
"Excellent.
He's my age, but we were on the same EMS team in high school, so he's very good
at emergency medicine and he's absolutely fantastic with kids." At her own
mention of kids, Val switched her attention to Susan. The six-year-old had her
black hair plaited into small braids that hung down to her elbows and wide,
dark eyes.
"That's good
to hear," said Mrs. Jackson. Val nodded agreement.
"How old are
you, Susan?" she inquired. Susan held up six fingers with the arm that was
uninjured. Or rather, tried to.
"Whoa. Six. My
daughter is turning six next September." Mrs. Jackson glanced at Val's bare
ring finger, and Val turned slightly red. "She's adopted," she explained. Mrs.
Jackson nodded understanding, though Val didn't think she would have
disapproved of a single mother too much—that was the impression, at least, and
impressions could always be wrong…
"Here we are.
346," said Val unnecessarily. The door was partly open. "Connell, you've got
patients," she called through the door. That brought him out in two seconds
flat.
"Val, what are
you doing here?" he hissed quietly into her ear, grinning down at Susan.
"I need to
talk to you," she responded.
"After the
appointment?"
"Fine."
Val stood back
with slight discomfort and let Susan and her mother pass through the door.
"Val," came
the plaintive statement from Susan. "I want Val to fix the bust-up arm."
Apparently she had been listening to the receptionist talking about a busted
knee.
Mrs. Jackson
sighed. "Susie, hon, Dr. Connell's going to fix your arm."
"Val,"
insisted Susan.
"Susie, Dr.
Connell's good at fixing arms…" A twinkle grew in Tyler's eyes at that comment.
"Val… pwease?"
Pwease was an
irresistible word.
"I don't know
if I should," said Val, her voice doubtful but showing signs of complying. "The
hospital would get mad if I administered treatment. I don't work for them."
"If I get paid
and I conduct some form of treatment, they wouldn't have anything
legally," Tyler told her, entering the conversation. "And if no one tells…"
"Sure,"
sighed Val. "Tyler, I'll check it over if you can set it…?"
"Sure."
It didn't take
too long. Tyler and Val studiously avoided eye contact.
"All done,"
announced Tyler. Susie's arm sported a new purple splint for the compression
fracture. "You can take it off in three weeks, most likely, if it's healed. Come
back in a week or two so that we can check on it."
"Thank you
very much," said Mrs. Jackson thankfully. "Dr. Lanier… Dr. Connell…"
"Bye-bye!"
Susie said perkily, sucking the green lollipop.
"No problem,"
responded Val. Tyler echoed her. Susie bounced out the door after her mother,
and the door swung shut after them.
"I suppose the
cheerleading team has a new recruit in eight or nine years, hm?" inquired Val
with a smile.
"Val…"
Tyler, if not
Val, had realized they were alone. Val's eyes widened as she turned to face
him.
"I came here
to tell you we can't," she stated brusquely. "We can't… Tyler, you'll watch her
walk down the aisle and you'll say your vows and you'll kiss her and you'll be
a happily married man. Us doesn't exist anyway. This is nothing. The kiss was
nothing. We are nothing."
The last words
cut deep.
"Fine," he
said, covering up any emotion. "Are you coming to the wedding?"
"Yes?" Val's
voice trembled as she added a question mark to the statement. Her eyes pleaded
apology. "Tyler… we… we just can't. The kiss was a mistake. Role-playing. Go
get married to Heather. Have fun. Lead a perfect life. No kids, because Heather
doesn't want them, but it won't be such a bad life." She inhaled deeply,
needing the air for what she was going to say.
"I mean, it's
not like I love you or anything," she finished.
YAY. I FINISHED!!! No, not the story, though it might
make a nice cliffie for the end… anywhos. I'm sorry it took so long to get out.
I was having trouble writing the whole things with Susie. If any of the details
are wrong, I apologize. Heather, Tyler, Val, Hank, Jamie, Caitie, the EMS
station of the squad, and Tyler/Val's relationship belong to Disney/Alliance
Atlantis. Spot, Kara, the wedding rehearsal, Susie, Mrs. Jackson, the receptionist,
and Susie's green lollipop belong to me. Bye bye!
---Ivy
PS… I am obliged to say that it sucks, because it did, but
maybe it was a LEETLE good. I don't know. Please review and tell me?
Thankies!!!
