Title: Do You See the Signs?

Author: Liat

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Part 4:

"So, are you gonna see that Carrie girl again?"

Bright shrugged,

"I don't think so. Probably not. I'm finding that she's not really my type."

Colin looked at Bright out of the corner of his eye. He said,

"I thought any girl is your type, man."

Bright laughed, steering the car into the driveway. They climbed out of the car, grabbing bags from the trunk. As they approached the front door, a porch light came on. The door swung open and Rose Abbot's delighted squeal could be heard, probably, for 20 square miles. She pulled Bright and Colin into her arms all at once, squeezing them so hard they could hardly breathe. Harold came to the door to see what the fuss was about and his eyes widened with happiness when he saw his son and his son's best friend being choked by his wife. He said,

"Rose! Let the boys go, you're cutting off their airway."

Rose chuckled, letting go of the boys. She said,

"Oh, Harold, please."

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Colin waited until Rose had turned around to wince and rub his abused throat where her shoulder had dug in. Bright laughed at Colin, well used to those hugs. They stepped inside the house and Harold closed the door behind them. He reached for their bags, but the guys insisted that they carry them themselves. Bright and Colin climbed the stairs to Bright's old room. Colin grinned, pushing his duffel onto one of the beds. He turned to Bright and said,

"Feels like we're home, huh, Abbot?"

Bright glanced around uneasily. It felt good to be home, with his parents, but being back in Everwood put a nasty taste in the back of his throat, as well as an uncomfortable knot in the pit of his stomach. Colin sighed and walked over to bright to sling an arm about his shoulders. He said,

"Cheer up, Abbot. It's only for the weekend."

Bright nodded, eyeing his various sports trophies lined up on the top of his bureau, as if he had never left home. Not a speck of dust could be seen on them and they gleamed as if they had been presented to him just yesterday. It hit him how much his parents must really miss him and Amy. They had been gone for over 4 years and in all that time he had only visited a handful of times. Of course, for Christmas every year, staying through New Years, and then for some of the summer. But he had never stayed more than 2 weeks at a time. And whenever he returned to New York it always felt as if some invisible force had released the intense pressure on his windpipe. On his heart. Nodding again, Bright let Colin lead him out of the bedroom, then back down the stairs to the kitchen where Amy and Ephram were seated, chatting with Dr. Brown and Nina at the kitchen table.

* * *

Bright lay in bed, his fingers laced across his stomach as he stared at the ceiling fan whirl in slow circles. Colin was snoring lightly on the other side of the room, but Bright couldn't seem to fall asleep. Bright sighed, shifting onto his side to stare out the window as it snowed. The street lamps illuminated columns of the air, testifying just how had it was snowing. The cars would be buried in the morning and people would be stuck at home. Bright sighed again and just watched the snowflakes land on the windowpane, collecting into a steadily growing pile. Bright heard Colin snort and the bed creak as he sat up groggily. Rubbing his eyes, he said thickly,

"Bright?"

Bright turned over to look at Colin. He sat up.

"Yeah, C?"

Colin squinted, trying to see Bright's face more clearly. The illumination from the window was hurting his tired eyes. He murmured,

"Have you been awake this whole time?"

Bright nodded, drawing his knees up to rest his chin on them. Colin sighed and stood up to go sit on Bright's bed. He stared out the window, entranced by eddies of snow. Bright turned to look with him and he felt a warm hand on his back rubbing lightly. Bright sighed, closing his eyes. After a while, bright laid back, his head nestled into the pillow, patting the bed beside him for Colin to lie down. Colin complied, settling in next to Bright, shoulder-to-shoulder in the narrow bed. They talked for a while, then slowly, slowly drifted off.

* * *

When Bright woke up in the morning, Colin was still asleep. Some time during the night they had shifted, adjusting more to the lack of space. Bright noted, a tad embarrassed, that the position they were in could be termed 'spooning'. Bright started to move, but found that he was too comfortable and he didn't want to wake Colin. He was sleeping so peacefully, after all, his arm curled around Bright's shoulder and his face turned into the back of Bright's neck. Bright could feel Colin's warm breath drifting over his neck and shoulder and his back was warm where Colin was touching him. Very glad that they had shut and locked the door last night, Bright yawned widely, then fell back asleep.

When he woke a second time, a few hours later, he was aware in a change in Colin's breathing. Bright turned and found Colin on his back now, his eyes closed, but Bright knew he was awake. Colin smiled slightly when Bright loomed over him. Colin murmured,

"Look outside."

Bright turned to look outside and his breath caught in his throat. Everything was pure white, glistening. The snow, even on the road, was untouched. It was beautiful. The trees outside his window's branches were sagging under the weight of the snow that had collected on them. He could barely see the top of his car, though his mother and father's SUVs were visible from the middle of the windows, up. Bright felt the bed shift and Colin was next to him, peering out with him like the night before. The snow was still coming down, though not as hard as before. Bright looked at Colin. They grinned wickedly, then scrambled out of the bed, pulling on warm clothes, then dashing down stairs. They discovered Ephram in the kitchen at the table, Amy sitting in his lap drinking coffee. They smiled at Colin and Bright as they each grabbed some coffee. Amy said cheerfully,

"Morning, sunshine's. Sleep well?"

Bright shot Colin a covert look, then nodded at Amy, smiling back. They sat at the table across from Ephram and Amy. Ephram said, rubbing a hand up and down Amy's arm,

"Have you looked outside?"

Bright looked at Colin again, they grinned. Colin said,

"Oh, yeah. We've got plans for that old sled you have in the garage."

Amy laughed and said,

"I don't think that sled will hold your weight, guys."

Colin shrugged,

"That remains to be seen."

* * *

Bright leaned an elbow on the side of the car and, resting his head on his palm, drove his fingers into his hair. He said, glancing at Colin,

"That wasn't so bad, I guess. The snow was incredible. I'm surprised we got out of there."

Colin smiled, easing the little car around a bend. He said,

"I had a great time. Eph and Amy were smart to fly. Think we can make it in one shot again?"

Bright shrugged,

"If we switch turns driving, then yeah. God, I just can't get over how happy Amy and Ephram are. And how happy they've made my parents. And Delia and Sam have grown so much!"

Colin smiled,

"Don't forget little Julia. Not so little anymore."

Bright snorted,

"I still can't believe Nina let him name her after his first wife."

Colin smiled, shrugged,

"She knows that he loved Julia before, but she also knows that Andy loves her now. She's okay with it. I think that's cool."

Bright nodded, then closed his eyes to rest a little before it was his turn to drive.

***A/N: if y'all didn't catch that, Nina and Andy are married now and have another daughter named Julia***