Remembrance
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4.
Her mouth was open though this did not help her to say any words. So she just stood there for a moment looking as if she was about to speak though there really wasn't anything to say.
Instead, she looked down at her wrist where a heavy man's watch hung, smiling a secret that he knew he was somehow a part of.
He looked at the golden band, the classic face that stirred some old memory within him and suddenly an epiphany was reached. "That was my father's watch."
Sydney looked up, a strange light in her eyes as she nodded slightly. "Yes."
And then words, his words, came from his mouth, familiar in shape and sound to his lips and, though he felt as if this was a new speech, could not help but wonder at this strange sense of déjà vu which overcame him.
"This watch belonged to my father.
"It's broken now… but it used to keep perfect time."
He felt the nervousness start to creep up his throat but he knew that this had to be said no matter what way it was said.
"And when he gave it to me, he said you could set your heart by this watch. It stopped October 1st. The day we met."
He stopped then, feeling all the weight of the watch dragging his hand to the floor; he felt as if he had just offered the world and all he could see was a strange expression of wonderment and slight confusion crossing her face.
It was at the moment he wished he had taken back his words. But then again, he was glad that he didn't for he could see the way a small smile began to form on her face.
Her pager went off.
His did too.
He cleared his throat, effectively breaking the moment that he wanted to last forever. "Kendall."
There was slight hesitation on her side and he wondered if she was still apprehensive about his statement. But then she tilted her face so that it caught the light and smiled. "Me too."
Somehow, he knew that her answer was far more than what it seemed to be. It was an answer to the unspoken question.
Her heart had stopped too.
"October first."
She lifted her head smiling a little tearfully. "I hope you know what I meant by my answer."
He smiled back, wondering how he could ever have forgotten this woman that he already loved so much. This woman he remembered loving more than life itself. "Sydney… I knew your answer before I asked the question," he stepped and took her hands in his, a finger lying slightly against the heavy golden band.
"Syd, I've only known you, to my present knowledge, for a couple hours but I already know deep inside of myself that you are the love that I somehow foolishly lost.
"My heart may have stopped on October first and has restarted since then but at this moment, right here, standing before you receiving memories that I don't recall living, I can only be sure of one thing.
"Today is March 18th and my heart has stopped again."
She exhaled in a little puff of breath, escaping her lips with a laugh of utter happiness. She moved into his arms, laying her head on his shoulder, feeling complete once again as he wrapped her in his embrace.
Breathing in the smell of him, she held onto him tight, never wanting to let him go. She lifted her head, a little reluctantly, so that she could look him in the eye. "Michael… you never have to worry about being the man I remember. No matter who you are or whoever you think you are, you will always be the man I love." She kissed him quickly on the lips, kissed him again with little presses of her lips against his before kissing him once more on the cheek.
His hand made its way to the back of her neck and he pressed his lips against her forehead and felt a relief that he didn't remember ever feeling rush through his body as he realized that for the first time, he felt complete. He couldn't help wondering how many times she had gone through these tearful embraces, how many times she had gotten her hopes up at his recollections only to have to start all over again at the beginning of the morning.
A teardrop landed against the side of his neck and she brushed it away with a finger which stayed there after it had served its purpose. "I love you Michael. I love you so much."
The words were a whisper as if they were so full of emotion that they could not bear to be said any louder.
"Sydney… I can't believe at how happy I feel right now."
She grinned at him, entwining her fingers with his. "I can believe my happiness. I just don't understand how I came upon you. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have you here."
He laughed at her. "You're stealing all my lines." He brought his lips on hers in a dizzy kiss fueled by romance and champagne.
They were hand in hand as they walked towards his car. The minute they entered it, she leaned against him, pressing her lips against his temple, his cheek, everywhere but his mouth until he groaned in frustration and guided her lips to his own, tracing them with the tips of his fingers even as he was kissing them with his own lips.
His hand traced circles around her back, fingering the soft silk of the dress that had nearly caused him to drop dead when he had first caught sight of her.
Funny how now he just wanted to get it off.
He pulled away, leaning against the window. "Sydney, I've had two glasses of champagne and I'm fine but I won't be if you keep kissing me."
She smiled. "You just can't handle it."
"Don't I know it? How am I supposed to concentrate on anything else knowing that you are just sitting there?"
"You're my handler Vaughn. You're supposed to know how to handle me."
Starting the car with a smile on his face and a laugh in his eyes, he held one hand against her mouth and set the other on the steering wheel. "First of all, I am your former handler… let's please be clear on that. And second of all, you know just as well as I that the word "handle" when it comes to us has taken on an entirely different meaning."
"And with that new meaning in mind, you are my handler." She leaned over, kissing the spot where his neck met his jaw line. "All right, take me home."
He bent down to kiss the spot where her neck met her jaw line. His voice wasn't above a whisper either. "I don't know if I should be saying this yet but I think I love you too."
"You do. You'll remember soon enough."
"I have."
"More."
TBC…
Thank you so much all of you guys who have been reading and reviewing this fic; I for some reason always have a really easy time writing this chapter and that's partly because of this plotline (that I really like) and mostly because of the wonderful response, support, and feedback that I am receiving from all of you.
You guys are truly fantastic and I just wanted to thank you again for making me feel so loved ::blushes::
The last chapter of AUS is written but I'm think of rewriting it because for some reason it doesn't seem to fit in very well and I don't know how else to change it so it might take a couple more days. As always, you can definitely ask me to rewrite the chapter (especially because it is the last one) and I'll do my best.
Feedback is always greatly appreciated-
~jEnNIFer