Disclaimer: I don't own it or get paid for it : ) I don't own the characters and therefore have no hope of making any money off this.

jnp: Thanks for the kind words. Hang on to your seat; it's gonna be a bit of a wild ride . . .

CHAPTER 22

Stiles showed the address on the letter to the taxi driver. "Do you know it?"

"Ocean View Drive, of course. There are some very beautiful houses there."

"How long will it take?"

"It's on the other side of the island. About 20 minutes."

The ride was the longest 20 minutes of Stiles' life.

Stiles knew where he was going as soon as the driver got to the street. It was their house, the one he and Terri had fallen in love with five years earlier. When the driver stopped Stiles didn't move; he sat there staring at the house.

"Sir, we are here."

"Oh, yeah. Do you know--- do you know anything about the owner?"

"It is a woman. She is a bit of a recluse; very few have seen her. That is all I know."

"Thank you." Stiles paid the driver and stood at the end of the driveway thinking, 'Could Terri really be alive and in this house? Is it possible?'

Stiles' feet felt like lead as he made his way to the door. He couldn't feel his fingers as he pushed the round bell. He wondered if anyone would come.

Terri wasn't expecting anyone that night so she was surprised to hear the doorbell and ignored it.

After several minutes with no answer, Stiles was kicking himself for believing that Terri was really alive. It just wasn't possible. When he stepped away from the house he noticed a couple of lights on so he decided to go back and ring one more time.

He had given up for good and started walking away when he heard a voice behind him. Terri couldn't see who it was, but for some reason she couldn't explain, she felt compelled to call him back.

"May I help you?"

The voice was familiar, but Stiles turned around to see a woman he didn't recognize.

"Stiles?" This time Terri said it out loud. When the man at her door turned around and it was indeed Stiles, Terri froze. She wanted to run to him, put her arms around him and hug and kiss him, but all she could think about was that day at the hotel, the day she met his fiancée.

"I'm sorry, do I know . . ." He stopped and looked at the woman closely. It had been a long time, but Stiles recognized the smile.

"Terri?"

She shook her head yes.

"But how? You don't look--" He stopped again and walked closer.

"Well a little . . ."

Stiles didn't know how to act. This couldn't be Terri, but it sounded like her and kind of looked like her.

Terri took his hand and led him into the house. "I'll be right back. Promise you won't leave."

"I promise." Not only did Stiles not leave, he didn't move. It was all too surreal.

Terri went to the bathroom and removed her red wig and green contact lenses and brushed her hair then returned to Stiles.

"Is it really you?"

Terri nodded again. "Yes, it's really me." She added and allowed a smile to creep across her face.

She knew Stiles was Stiles, but she couldn't believe he was really there, in her house.

The two stood just staring at one another for several minutes. Stiles wasn't sure what to think. He still wasn't convinced the woman standing in front of him was really Terri; he had to be sure.

"How do I know it's really you?"

"Ask me something about us, anything."

"Where was our first kiss?"

"In Nice."

"Where in Nice?"

"On a boat. The Recompense to be exact."

"Where was our first date?"

"Ireland. We went to the pub below your grandfather's place."

"Where did we sit?"

"At the booth with the chess set."

"Was it old or new?"

"The pub or the chess set?"

"The chess set." Stiles answered a little sarcastically.

"It was new. They replaced the old one because you swallowed a pawn when you were six. They replaced that pawn with a salt shaker because no one wanted to touch the other one. At least that's what you told me when I asked how you knew it was a new set." Terri smiled when she repeated that story.

Stiles wasn't finished with her though.

"What's my favorite color?"

"I have no idea. I asked you long before we got married and all you told me was that you're colorblind.

"What's my first name?"

"Alistair. You were named after your paternal grandfather. My turn. Where were we when you first promised to take me to dinner?"

"Afghanistan."

"How long was it before we had that dinner?"

Stiles smiled sheepishly. This woman was indeed his wife or the best double he'd ever come across. "I plead the fifth." Terri laughed at his answer. She, of course, already knew he was really her husband, but she enjoyed the exchange; it was good to see him and talk to him after all this time.

"Why are you here?"

The smile left Stiles' face.

"I brought you here—five years ago. Each of us buried something important to us in the small cove on the western side of the island. We promised to come back in five years and add to it."

Terri's eyes began to water though a smile was on her face. It wasn't a coincidence; he did remember their promise. Though as suddenly as it had appeared the smiled disappeared as Terri remembered "the other woman."

Stiles noticed the change in her expression and thought it was time to ask about the letter. He took it out of his pocket and handed it to her. When Terri first "died," he often had dreams where she suddenly appeared. He wanted to touch her, grab her and hold onto her, but he was still a little apprehensive.

"Did you write this?"

Terri examined the letter closely. "You've been to the cove?"

"Yeah." Stiles was so thrilled to be standing in front of his wife he didn't think to tell Terri how he got the letter.

"I promised you I'd come back. Have you been here all these years? Why did you let me think you were dead all of this time? I've missed you."

Terri walked over to where Stiles was standing and put her hand on his cheek.

"I've missed you too."

"I don't understand. Why didn't you come to me? What happened?"

"Oh Stiles, I'm so sorry—I couldn't. I thought it was for the best."

"What do you mean, for the best, the best for whom? Do you have any idea. . ." Stiles was raising his voice. His emotions were flip-flopping as he went from being in shock to ecstatic, to angry.

"Stiles please, I didn't mean to hurt you. Our being apart hasn't been easy for me either."

Stiles looked at her intently and asked sadly, "Do you have any idea what it was like for me when I found out you were kidnapped, then taken to North Korea, then killed? Quinn brought me your wedding rings. I saw you in a casket, a casket I had to pick out! We had a funeral. Tell me what happened—please." Stiles said more hurt and disappointed than angry.

Terri took both of his hands in hers and sat down with him.

"Stiles, I am so sorry, about everything. I didn't think I had a choice."

Terri went on to explain the deal Quinn made with her: her life in exchange for her silence.

"Believe me; I've thought about you every day since I last saw you."

"You could have told me. We could have worked out something. Anything would have been better than being apart from you. What about your family? Your mother didn't take the news very well. She blamed me for what happened; she didn't speak to me for months. After I told her the truth about your death, well most of it, she actually slapped me! She said I should have taken better care of you.

I kept trying to remember the last conversation we had and I couldn't. I just know it was a stupid argument; an argument I started. I didn't eat or sleep for four days waiting to hear if they rescued you from the North Koreans. Terri, I had to pick out a casket, go to your funeral! I---"

"Stop it!" Terri was crying, not because she was sad, but because she was a little angry which surprised her almost as much as it did Stiles.

"Do I know what you've gone through? You haven't changed at all, have you? I was trying to protect you and my family.

My mother was right, you should have taken better care of me! Where were you, huh? Where were you when I was shot, when I was dumped into a trunk? I waited for you to come. I told them you would come and they would pay for what they'd done, but you never came."

Terri paused, wiping the tears from her face, trying to compose herself. As Stiles could see the pain on her face and he wanted to go to her; he had never really seen her cry like that. He gently put his hand on her should as he approached her from behind. Terri knocked it off as she spun to face him.

"I've seen you perform all kinds of missions in all kinds of conditions and you didn't fail, but what about me? Why couldn't you take care of me? I needed you! I was counting on you! While you were worrying about sleeping I was trying to stay alive. I was the one who was pregnant and got kidnapped and thrown in a trunk. She paused for a few seconds before adding, "And shot! I'm the one who was carted off to North Korea and ---"

Terri stopped suddenly. She didn't want to talk about what happened in Korea; she really didn't want to talk about any of it. Stiles wanted to know what they had done to her, but he was afraid to ask.

"I did come for you Terri, but it was too late. Joshua took me to where you were. He had a plan to get you out but something went wrong. I was there when they shot you, but by the time I got to the barn you were gone. Right as I got to the barn there was an explosion. At first, I thought you died then—that you were still in the barn. When I found out you'd been taken to Korea, I begged Quinn to send me. He wouldn't let me come for you. He said I was too emotionally involved."

Stiles saw that Terri was still crying, almost shaking as she listened to him; he needed to change direction. He calmed himself and continued.

"But, you're right, I should have protected you; I should have done something. I asked myself every day for months why I didn't make Quinn send me, why I didn't go to Gage, something."

Stiles paused then said in almost a whisper, "I am so sorry, about everything. I've missed you so much. I love you. I always will."

As he was apologizing, Stiles put his hand on Terri's cheek and wiped away the tears with his thumb. With his other hand, he led her back to the couch. She closed her eyes and leaned her head into his hand; she missed his touch and right then she wanted to be close to him. Stiles leaned in and kissed her. Terri returned his kiss eagerly. It had been four years since they had been this close. Their kissing became passionate and Stiles untied Terri's robe and put his hands around her waist. When he began removing the robe Terri pushed him away.
"Stop, I can't do this."

"I'm sorry. I just—what's wrong?"

Terri took Stiles' other hand from her waist and got up, walking away from him. When she got to the end of the couch she turned back toward him and answered his question with a sad voice.

"You're engaged to another woman. That's what's wrong."