Disclaimer: I don't own it or get paid for it : )
a/n: if you've read Ear's "Love Takes Time" some of this will look familiar :)
Chapter 13
Katherine McCavoy had a good life by all accounts. She had a beautiful home, good health, and two successful businesses, but she always seemed a little sad to her good friend and business partner, Lyn. She seemed sadder than usual lately.
"Kay, what's going on with you? You should be thrilled; we've got out first major account in the states--the one we've been waiting for. Instead, you barely smile. What's going on?"
"It's nothing Lyn. I am thrilled, really. I'm just a little tired with all of the preparations landing the account."
"Kay, please talk to me. You've not been yourself the past week or so and it's not about the account. I can tell it's more than that."
Kay wanted to talk to Lyn, to someone. She'd kept her secrets far too long, but she was afraid. If what she knew got out her life and the life of everyone she told would be in danger. "Lyn, I'm fine, really."
"Uhn un. You are not fine and I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on with you."
Kay thought that maybe she could tell her something, but what? After a long silence, she spoke.
"Lyn, Friday would have been an anniversary."
"Your wedding anniversary?"
Kay smiled. "No, five years ago Friday I fell in love. We came here on a date and left knowing we would eventually be together forever."
"Oh, how sweet. I'm sorry things didn't work out that way. What happened?"
"He promised to bring me back here in five years; we fell in love with this island too. We actually talked about buying a summer home here, our dream house. I guess I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Obviously, things didn't work out like we planned."
Lyn assumed Terri's lost love had died. "Oh, honey, I had no idea. All this time I assumed you were single because you liked it that way. How did he die?"
Kay didn't want to say any more. She'd already said more about her lost love in five minutes than she had in the almost four years she'd been on the island.
"Lyn, I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about this anymore. I'll be fine, really. I'm sure that when the date passes, I'll be okay."
Lyn agreed to let it drop, but she was intrigued. This was the most Kay had said about her past--ever. She was an amazing artist, in demand more than she could keep up, but she'd never mentioned where she'd been trained. She never said where she got her money, nothing. Now she mentions a former lover. Lyn was determined to find out more.
_______________________________________________________
When Lyn left, Kay went to her attic. She opened a large trunk and pulled out a journal. She turned to the first page, dated June 7, 2003, and began reading.
"My dearest love,
I saw our dream house today, the one on Andros Island with all the windows, overlooking the ocean. Maybe I can buy it for us one day; I live here now. I miss you. I wish I could see you, but that isn't possible, at least not now. . .
I'm sorry about everything. There's so much that has happened the past few weeks. Holland accused me of being the mole; I was kidnapped, shot, beaten, and taken to Korea. But I'll be okay and I'll come home to you.
The meeting I had when we got back from Montreal was with Jackson and Holland.
Holland denied it, but he thought I was the mole. By the time I left the meeting I suspected Joshua. Yeah, Joshua, "dad." I didn't want to believe he could betray his country, that he was the one responsible for your ambush in Iraq, so I confronted him before I said anything to anyone else. I was mad at you that night. If only I'd told you what I suspected, asked you to come with me instead of being so stubborn. Maybe we would be together right now.
Joshua's friends, the North Koreans, picked me up after I left the bookstore where I confronted him. They took me to a farm somewhere. I really did try to get out, but I couldn't. The night they were going to take me to Korea, I managed to get Joshua's gun. I was sure they were going to let me go when I threatened Joshua so I started walking away. That's the last thing I remember about that night.
When I woke up I found out I'd been shot. The next day, or maybe it was later the same day, they took me to North Korea. Joshua's contact, Jin Kim wanted me to work with their people, share my technical experience. Stiles, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there. I think I was there a couple of days; I'm not sure because the days started to run together. I was alone in my small room when someone broke down the door.
I went from terrified to thrilled when I saw who it was--Mattingly and George. They rescued me and took me to a safe house. I practically begged them to let me call you, but they said it was too dangerous, that I should wait until we got home. Three days later they told me to get ready to go. When I got in the car, Quinn was there. . ."
Terri left out Kim's reaction to her pregnancy and the bomb. It was all still too painful. The letter continued with the details of Quinn's arrival.
*** "Mr. Quinn, what are you doing here? You don't usually perform extractions."
"No, and I won't be this time either."
"What do you mean? Do you know about Joshua?"
"Of course. He's working with the Koreans at my behest." ***
I was in shock. I knew Quinn could be ruthless, but what on earth was going on? I was so scared; if Quinn wasn't there to extract me, I couldn't imagine why he was there."
"Quinn told me that the Koreans would suspect the CIA had rescued me, so he would arrange to make it look like I was dead. If the Koreans suspected the truth, Joshua's cover would be blown; they would most likely kill him and ruin Quinn's chances of further manipulating their intelligence. In exchange for my life, I had to agree to disappear. Quinn said I owed him. He said living alone on free soil was better than living as a captive in North Korea. Stiles, he threatened to hurt you or my family if I contacted any of you. I couldn't take a chance that he was telling the truth, so I agreed.
I'm so sorry, about everything.
I came to Andros to start a new life for myself. I'm Katherine McCavoy now, artist and business owner, lonely woman.
Maybe you'll remember your promise to come back in five years from our first date here. That's only four years away. Maybe you'll come; maybe we'll see each other again. I want to see you again. I need you.
I love you Mr. Stiles.
Your wife,
Terri"
As Terri finished reading the letter she could barely see through her tears. It was four years after she wrote that letter and she still loved him and missed him like it was yesterday. She read a few more letters--she had written one every day since she arrived--and closed the book. She made a deal with herself two years ago: On the five year anniversary of their visit to the island, the day they were to dig up their time capsule, she would close the book for good and move on. She often wondered if Stiles had moved on. Had he married again, did he have a family, was he happy? She took out a pen and started writing.
"Dear Stiles,
Three days from now will be the fifth anniversary of our visit here. Do you remember?
That was one of the best times of my life! We said we'd come back and dig up our time capsule and add something to it--something we would come back for five years after that. I'm going. Will you be here? I want to see you again."
That was it. Only three more letters before the journal would be buried. Some of her letters were short, some long, but writing all of them kept her sane. She'd been clinging to the hope that one day, she could have her old life back.
a/n: if you've read Ear's "Love Takes Time" some of this will look familiar :)
Chapter 13
Katherine McCavoy had a good life by all accounts. She had a beautiful home, good health, and two successful businesses, but she always seemed a little sad to her good friend and business partner, Lyn. She seemed sadder than usual lately.
"Kay, what's going on with you? You should be thrilled; we've got out first major account in the states--the one we've been waiting for. Instead, you barely smile. What's going on?"
"It's nothing Lyn. I am thrilled, really. I'm just a little tired with all of the preparations landing the account."
"Kay, please talk to me. You've not been yourself the past week or so and it's not about the account. I can tell it's more than that."
Kay wanted to talk to Lyn, to someone. She'd kept her secrets far too long, but she was afraid. If what she knew got out her life and the life of everyone she told would be in danger. "Lyn, I'm fine, really."
"Uhn un. You are not fine and I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on with you."
Kay thought that maybe she could tell her something, but what? After a long silence, she spoke.
"Lyn, Friday would have been an anniversary."
"Your wedding anniversary?"
Kay smiled. "No, five years ago Friday I fell in love. We came here on a date and left knowing we would eventually be together forever."
"Oh, how sweet. I'm sorry things didn't work out that way. What happened?"
"He promised to bring me back here in five years; we fell in love with this island too. We actually talked about buying a summer home here, our dream house. I guess I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Obviously, things didn't work out like we planned."
Lyn assumed Terri's lost love had died. "Oh, honey, I had no idea. All this time I assumed you were single because you liked it that way. How did he die?"
Kay didn't want to say any more. She'd already said more about her lost love in five minutes than she had in the almost four years she'd been on the island.
"Lyn, I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about this anymore. I'll be fine, really. I'm sure that when the date passes, I'll be okay."
Lyn agreed to let it drop, but she was intrigued. This was the most Kay had said about her past--ever. She was an amazing artist, in demand more than she could keep up, but she'd never mentioned where she'd been trained. She never said where she got her money, nothing. Now she mentions a former lover. Lyn was determined to find out more.
_______________________________________________________
When Lyn left, Kay went to her attic. She opened a large trunk and pulled out a journal. She turned to the first page, dated June 7, 2003, and began reading.
"My dearest love,
I saw our dream house today, the one on Andros Island with all the windows, overlooking the ocean. Maybe I can buy it for us one day; I live here now. I miss you. I wish I could see you, but that isn't possible, at least not now. . .
I'm sorry about everything. There's so much that has happened the past few weeks. Holland accused me of being the mole; I was kidnapped, shot, beaten, and taken to Korea. But I'll be okay and I'll come home to you.
The meeting I had when we got back from Montreal was with Jackson and Holland.
Holland denied it, but he thought I was the mole. By the time I left the meeting I suspected Joshua. Yeah, Joshua, "dad." I didn't want to believe he could betray his country, that he was the one responsible for your ambush in Iraq, so I confronted him before I said anything to anyone else. I was mad at you that night. If only I'd told you what I suspected, asked you to come with me instead of being so stubborn. Maybe we would be together right now.
Joshua's friends, the North Koreans, picked me up after I left the bookstore where I confronted him. They took me to a farm somewhere. I really did try to get out, but I couldn't. The night they were going to take me to Korea, I managed to get Joshua's gun. I was sure they were going to let me go when I threatened Joshua so I started walking away. That's the last thing I remember about that night.
When I woke up I found out I'd been shot. The next day, or maybe it was later the same day, they took me to North Korea. Joshua's contact, Jin Kim wanted me to work with their people, share my technical experience. Stiles, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there. I think I was there a couple of days; I'm not sure because the days started to run together. I was alone in my small room when someone broke down the door.
I went from terrified to thrilled when I saw who it was--Mattingly and George. They rescued me and took me to a safe house. I practically begged them to let me call you, but they said it was too dangerous, that I should wait until we got home. Three days later they told me to get ready to go. When I got in the car, Quinn was there. . ."
Terri left out Kim's reaction to her pregnancy and the bomb. It was all still too painful. The letter continued with the details of Quinn's arrival.
*** "Mr. Quinn, what are you doing here? You don't usually perform extractions."
"No, and I won't be this time either."
"What do you mean? Do you know about Joshua?"
"Of course. He's working with the Koreans at my behest." ***
I was in shock. I knew Quinn could be ruthless, but what on earth was going on? I was so scared; if Quinn wasn't there to extract me, I couldn't imagine why he was there."
"Quinn told me that the Koreans would suspect the CIA had rescued me, so he would arrange to make it look like I was dead. If the Koreans suspected the truth, Joshua's cover would be blown; they would most likely kill him and ruin Quinn's chances of further manipulating their intelligence. In exchange for my life, I had to agree to disappear. Quinn said I owed him. He said living alone on free soil was better than living as a captive in North Korea. Stiles, he threatened to hurt you or my family if I contacted any of you. I couldn't take a chance that he was telling the truth, so I agreed.
I'm so sorry, about everything.
I came to Andros to start a new life for myself. I'm Katherine McCavoy now, artist and business owner, lonely woman.
Maybe you'll remember your promise to come back in five years from our first date here. That's only four years away. Maybe you'll come; maybe we'll see each other again. I want to see you again. I need you.
I love you Mr. Stiles.
Your wife,
Terri"
As Terri finished reading the letter she could barely see through her tears. It was four years after she wrote that letter and she still loved him and missed him like it was yesterday. She read a few more letters--she had written one every day since she arrived--and closed the book. She made a deal with herself two years ago: On the five year anniversary of their visit to the island, the day they were to dig up their time capsule, she would close the book for good and move on. She often wondered if Stiles had moved on. Had he married again, did he have a family, was he happy? She took out a pen and started writing.
"Dear Stiles,
Three days from now will be the fifth anniversary of our visit here. Do you remember?
That was one of the best times of my life! We said we'd come back and dig up our time capsule and add something to it--something we would come back for five years after that. I'm going. Will you be here? I want to see you again."
That was it. Only three more letters before the journal would be buried. Some of her letters were short, some long, but writing all of them kept her sane. She'd been clinging to the hope that one day, she could have her old life back.