Sara's eyes opened slowly, focusing on the ceiling. She tried to get up but something kept her from moving. Looking down, she saw an arm draped across her waist. Turning her head slightly, she found her face inches from Jake's. Sara drew in a deep breath, not wanting to wake him.
Carefully she untangled herself from his grasp and slid out of bed. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Her eyes dropped to the ring on her finger.
"Who was she? What did she do to hurt him so bad."
"Her name was Caitlyn."
Sara jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned her head to see Jake standing in the bedroom doorway.
"Morning." He said, walking towards her, "You been awake long?"
"I just got up."
Jake walked over to the couch and sat next to Sara.
"I still remember the night I proposed to her. I had everything planned. We went to her favorite restaurant. I had the waiter slip the ring in a glass. I poured the champagne and handed her the glass. She saw the ring, then looked at me. I got down on one knee, with everyone staring at us. I didn't even get the words out and she said no."
"Why?"
"She didn't want to think about the night when she might get the call saying I was dead. I told her I would give up police work in a second but she knew that I wouldn't be happy without it. Being a cop is in my blood."
"So is that when you moved here?"
"Yeah…there were just too many memories in Los Angeles."
"Jake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
Jake turned to her. Their eyes locked for a moment. Sara felt herself moving closer to him, almost as if something was pulling her to him. When their lips were centimeters apart, she titled her head to the side and inched closer to him. Just as their lips were about to meet, someone knocked on the door. Sara pulled back and stood quickly. Before Jake could say anything, she rushed to the door, whispering
"That didn't happen…That didn't happen…That didn't happen."
She opened the door to see Alana standing outside with some papers in her hand
"Morning Alana."
"Good morning Mrs. Simmons. I wanted to drop some papers off for you and Robert. I forgot to give them to you when you checked in yesterday."
"Can you suggest a place to get some food." Sara said, "And please call me Grace."
"We have a first class dining room. Breakfast is served from 8 AM to 10 AM, lunch from Noon until 2 PM and dinner is from 6 PM to 8 PM."
"Good morning Alana." Jake said, coming from the bedroom.
"Good morning Mr. Simmons. Did you sleep well?"
Jake wrapped his arm around Sara, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
"It was the best." He said, tightening his grip on Sara.
Alana handed Sara the papers and said
"You'll find everything you need in there. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to stop by the front desk."
"Thanks Alana."
Sara pushed the door shut and slipped out from under Jake's arms. She headed back towards the bedroom when Jake said
"Sara, we need to talk."
"No, we need to get to work."
She walked into the bedroom and opened her dresser to take out some clothes.
"Sara, you can't deny that something almost happened."
She turned back to him.
"Jake we just got caught up in the moment, nothing more."
With that, she walked out of the room, leaving him on the couch.
When Sara emerged, the room was empty. She found a note from Jake on the bed, informing her that he went down to the dining room for breakfast. Sara slipped on her shoes and left the room.
As the elevator creeped down towards the main floor, she played the scene over and over in her head.
Could it be…Do I have feelings for Jake?
She looked down at the witchblade to see the colors swirling around. Every time she thought about Jake that happened. She stepped off the elevator and headed down the hall. Alana was sitting at the desk, looking through a magazine. When she saw Sara coming towards her, she shoved the magazine under some papers, trying to hide it. Sara couldn't help but smile.
"Sorry, I…I shouldn't have been doing that."
"Its not a problem."
"No, my father thinks things like that are a waste of valuable time."
"I won't tell if you don't."
A smile of relief crossed Alana's face.
"Thank you Mrs. Simmons."
"Alana, please to call me Grace."
"Sorry Mrs.…Grace."
"Better. Now can you tell me where the dining room is."
"Down that hall, through the double doors and it will be the first door on your left. Mr. Simmons went in there about 15 minutes ago. He seemed a little angry."
"I know. We…had a little disagreement this morning."
"I'm so sorry. Is there something I can do to help? Maybe I can see if my father is available."
"Actually I had a few questions… about…about what your father does here."
"Well I can try to answer them."
"I was wondering what other kinds of help he offers."
"Well he helps people that are addicted to drugs, smoking or alcohol. He helps people with anger management, he helps people who need to be more assertive. He does grief counseling, he works with corporations on office retreats."
"The girl who recommended Robert and I come said he knew a lot."
"Did she attend one of the sessions? Maybe I know her."
"Shelby Pryce."
Alana dropped the papers she was holding and they scattered all over the floor. She knelt down and began gathering them up. Sara knelt next to her and helped her gather the papers.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine, just having a clumsy day."
Once they gathered everything up, Sara and Alana stood slowly.
"Well I should go." Sara said, "Robert is probably looking for me."
Sara began walking down the hall. She walked into the dining room, looking around for Jake. Finally she spotted him sitting at a table with Jake and Elizabeth Singer. Slowly she made her way across the room.
She stopped behind Jake, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at her touch.
"Good morning."
"Morning Grace." Elizabeth said, smiling
Sara leaned down, whispering in his ear
"We need to talk."
"Like you said, there's nothing to talk about." He said, picking up a cup of coffee.
Sara pulled the chair out next to him and sat down. She reached out to touch his hand but he pulled away.
"Please Robert. I really need to talk to you. Its important."
"Save it Grace." He said, standing slowly.
Sara watched as he walked out of the dining area. Looking down at the muffin in front of her, she pushed it away. Hot tears welled up in her eyes.
What is happening to me?
She wiped away a stray tear and stood slowly
"Excuse me." She whispered
Sara ran out of the dining room and down the hall. She pushed the door open and ran up the path towards the woods, not stopping until she was deep in the woods. She fell to her knees, sobs racking her body.
"Its just an assignment. Why am I letting it get to me."
"Because you care for him."
She turned to see Danny standing behind her.
"Now you show up. Thanks a lot."
"Pez, I'm here to help you."
"Good, tell me how to get out of this."
She got to her feet and walked over to a tree. Slowly she sat down, drawing her knees up to her chest. Danny sat next to her.
"I can't do that. You have to face it."
"I don't want to Danny!"
"You have to…its part of your destiny."
"I can't fall in love with him Danny." She said, fresh tears in her eyes. "Because I don't think I can stand it if I lost him."
"What if I tell you that I can see into the future and you two have a happy life together."
"Can you?"
"No but it got you to stop crying." He said, "Now I think you need to find Jake and talk to him."
"I can't Danny. I won't let myself get that close to anyone again. First my dad, then you. I won't let it happen again."
"Love is about taking risks."
Sara leaned back against the tree, looking up.
"I'm done taking risks."
"Then what do you plan on doing. Sitting here all day."
"Until I think of something better."
Sara dropped her head against her knees. The colors on the witchblade began to swirl. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
Alana and Shelby were in the woods. She could see that Shelby was crying. Alana held out something to Shelby. With a shaking hand, she took it and slipped it into her jacket. Then they stood up and began walking away. A moment later, a figure dressed in dark clothing appeared from behind a tree. The person began to follow them. Sara saw the man grab Shelby and drag her off into the woods.
Sara jerked her head up
That must be when her parents had her taken. But what did Alana give her.
She looked around, finding herself alone in the woods. It was starting to get dark. Sara raised her warm to look at her watch but it was too dark to see the dial.
"Danny?" She whispered
He didn't appear. Sara stood slowly, wiping the dirt off her jeans. She began rubbing her arms, trying to get rid of the chill she was feeling.
She began walking through the dark woods, hoping she was going in the right direction.
"Danny if you are in the mood to help, now is the time." She whispered
"GRACE!" she heard someone shout in the distance
Jake!
She opened her mouth, almost shouting his name. Then she remembered where she was
"Robert! Over here!"
"Stay where you are! Keep shouting so we can find you."
"I'm here!" she shouted over and over until she saw a flashlight appear out of the woods.
Sara ran to Jake, throwing her arms around him. His arms tightened around her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Grace, I was so worried about you." He said, then whispered, "Sara are you all right."
She nodded, burying her head against his shoulder. Someone draped a blanket around her shoulders. She looked up to see John Malfat standing behind her.
"Are you all right Grace?"
"Yeah. I…I guess I got lost."
"Well you are all right now." Jake said, wrapping the blanket around her, "Now let's get you back to the room so you can clean up."
"Okay."
The group slowly made its way back to the main building. Once there, Jake led Sara to the elevator. When the door closed, Jake said
"Are you sure you are okay?"
"Yeah."
Nothing else was said. They stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall towards their room. Jake unlocked the door and opened it. She walked in, dropping the blanket behind her. Jake closed the door and followed her towards the bedroom.
Sara walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Jake sat on the bed, resting his head on his hands. Part of him wanted to tell Sara everything he was feeling but he knew that it was useless. She didn't love him…and she never would.
Sara turned the shower on, waiting for the water to warm up. She peeled of her clothes, dropping them to the floor. Looking around, she noticed that she didn't bring anything in to change into. She walked to the door, opening it slightly
"Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you hand me something to wear."
"Sure."
She listened while he opened the dresser drawer. After a moment, he shoved something in her hand. Sara pulled her arm back in to see that he handed her one of his T-shirt. She set it on the counter and walked back to the shower.
As she stepped in the shower, the warm water immediately relaxed her. She turned around, letting the water run through her hair. Turning again, she let the water run all over. She reached down, turning the water off.
Carefully she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. She picked up Jake's shirt and slipped it over her head, letting the towel fall to the floor. The shirt was long, almost touching her knees. Slowly she picked up the towel and began to dry her hair.
Walking towards the mirror, she picked up a comb and began pulling it through her hair. She picked up a rubber and from the counter and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"Tell him Sara."
She looked around for Danny but didn't see him.
"Take the risk."
"I can't." she whispered, "I won't lose him too."
She opened the bathroom door to see Jake sitting on the bed, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He stood when she appeared and said
"I…I'm gonna sleep on the couch tonight."
He started to walk away when she whispered
"Don't go."
He turned, looking at her.
"What?"
"Don't go." She said a little louder, "Stay here…with me."
Jake moved towards her slowly.
"I…don't…"
She reached up, pressing a finger against his lips to silence him.
"I want you to listen to what I have to say."
He nodded and she moved her finger.
"You were right this morning. Something did happen this morning. I am sure that if we weren't interrupted, it might have continued. The truth is that I am scared to let it happen. Anytime someone…gets close to me, something happens."
"Nothing bad is going to happen."
"How can you be so sure. Can you see the future?"
"No but…"
"There are no buts Jake, just like there are no guarantees that nothing will happen."
Sara started to turn away but Jake grabbed her arms. He spun her around so that she was facing him. Pulling her toward him, he pressed his lips against hers.
Sara's arms wrapped around his neck, tangling in his hair. Jake's arms wrapped around her waist. Breaking the kiss, he reached down and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her towards the bed. She pulled the blanket back and he set her down.
She slid over, giving him room. He climbed in bed, pulling the blanket up to his waist. Reaching over, he pulled her towards him. His lips found hers again. As they sank down slowly in the bed, he whispered
"I love you Sara Pezzini."