Rain On Me
Chapter Three
Written by Shay
Luis slid into his regular booth, shrugging out of his jacket, relieved
to finally be off duty for the night. This had become a ritual for him,
to come by the bar after his shift and wait for Rachel to get off and
give her a lift home. She protested every time, but always with a grin
and their usual banter followed. The two had settled into an easy
friendship after that first night he'd stumbled in, despondent and
heartbroken and it was hard to believe that had been nearly two months
ago. He was able to forget about Sheridan and Antonio and all that
entailed around her and she got him to smile, even after a long day.
He watched as she joked with a few of the regulars, and as if she
sensed his gaze, she looked up and smiled brightly, tossing him a quick
wave, which he returned. After getting the men their beers, she made
her way over to him, the familiar grin stretched up to her twinkling
green eyes.
"Hey, Harmony PD, what can I get ya?"
"Just a Coke, Rach."
"Laying low tonight, huh?"
Shrugging, he motioned towards the seat across from him. "Something
like that. You got time?"
Glancing around, she frowned. "Not at the moment. I've got a break in
about 15 though."
"All right," Luis nodded, exhaling loudly.
Rachel studied him for a moment. "You okay, Lo-Fitz? You're looking
stressed. Something happen?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
The concerned look didn't disappear from her eyes, but she nodded.
"I'll get your drink and I'll join you on my break."
"I'll be waiting," He said with his usual grin and watched as she
sauntered off. He was going to do this tonight. He was. Tonight was the
first step towards his new future. The one without Sheridan.
*******
It was another late night for her. Sighing, Sheridan slipped out from
beside the sleeping Antonio and padded across the room to the door,
pausing only to grab her robe. This had become a nightly ritual, it
seemed. Waking from her tortured slumber and leaving the room to
surround herself with memories of happier times.
Quietly, she ventured into the living room and to the front closet,
where the truth to all of her secrets lay. Opening the door slowly so
it wouldn't creak, she reached through the darkness to the top shelf,
blindly pushing the intrusive objects out of her way. Finally her hand
struck what she was looking for and she gently pulled it to the front
and down into her waiting arms. The box was a sturdy metal, copper in
color and despite it's cool exterior, it held all the warmth she had
left in her life. Glancing towards the bedroom to make sure Antonio
hadn't awoken, Sheridan silently made her way over to the couch,
lighting only a single candle on the table beside her to see.
Removing the tiny key from the pocket of her red silk robe, she
inserted it into the lock and opened it, her heart already pounding,
the tears already streaming down her cheeks, but above all else, the
smile already forming on her lips.
As she did every night, she removed the dried pressed rose first and
lifted it to her nose, inhaling the sweet scent it still somehow
managed to hold. Clutching the delicate flower, she closed her eyes and
allowed the memory of the moment to assault her, to take her back in
time. A second later, she reopened them to the darkened room and heaved
a sad sigh.
Settling back, she put the rose down and reached next for the first of
many photographs. This one, however, was her favorite. It was just him,
standing before the camera, smiling that smile that could make any
woman go weak in the knees. His eyes were dancing in laughter, at her
of course, as she tried to figure out how to use that blasted one-use
camera. It had been before everything had gone wrong. Before the first
double wedding fiasco, before the boat explosion, before Antonio.
Back when they were still happy and all they had to deal with was her
father and brother.
Tracing the outline of his grinning face, she whispered a faint. "I'm
sorry, Luis. I love you," and placed a light kiss on the glossy image
of days past.
*******
Antonio stood, hidden in the shadows, watching as his wife immersed
herself, once again, in memories of his brother. It took all his will
power not to go in there and rip the pictures she was gazing at so
lovingly from her hands and tear it to shreds. He had thought he'd
gotten rid of his nuisance months ago, when Luis had stalked off,
effectively ending whatever affair the two had going on. But here she
was, night after night, blubbering into that damn box.
He had to get this marriage consummated. And soon. Five and a half
months and still nothing. He felt his anger rising and turned to leave,
back to the bed before Sheridan returned. The last thing he needed was
her to find out...
*******
"So, what's up?" Rachel asked, dropping down across from Luis, a
content smile forming on her lips. It felt damn good to be off her feet!
Luis chuckled at her expression and swatted her hand away when she
reached for his glass, ignoring her pout. "Busy tonight, huh?"
Rachel made a face. "You have no idea. I've been on the floor since
five and I'm last cut. Sure you want to stick around that long?"
"Yep," He gave her a grin. "I have nowhere else to be tonight."
"Ah, that's right. You're the vice president to my presidency of the
no-life-loser-club. It's all work and no play for us, folks. Of course,
that's by choice on your part," She reminded him pointedly.
"Yeah, yeah," He dismissed the comment. "Actually, that's part of what
I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" She said, raising an eyebrow in interest.
Luis swallowed hard. This was it. The mere thought of asking anyone but
Sheridan out on a date was damn near inconceivable, but yet here he
was, about to do just that. He had to. He couldn't just sit around
mourning the death of his relationship with her for the rest of his
life. He had to move on. And Rachel was a good start. She had become
his best friend, not someone he saw romantically, but someone who could
help him get up and over that proverbial mountain. Taking a deep
breath, he met her gaze and let out a laugh when he saw her chewing
nervously on her lower lip. "It's nothing, horrible, I promise. I was
just wondering if you'd go out with me for dinner on Thursday?"
Surprise dawned on Rachel's face. "Like a date?"
Sensing her reluctance, Luis shrugged. "If you want."
Rachel seemed to choose her words carefully. It wasn't that she
wouldn't love to date a man like Luis, or even Luis himself. The man
was sexy as sin and she did have a pulse. However, he was still
reeling from his current situation. "Luis, I'm not so sure that's such
a good idea. I mean, you and Sheridan..."
"I know what you're going to say, Rach, but I can't sit around and
waste my life waiting. I love her, but we can't be together. So I have
to pick up the pieces and move on," Luis rambled.
Placing a comforting hand over his, Rachel nodded in agreement. "I
agree, Luis, and I'm glad you acknowledge that. But, it has only been
two months and you're still hurting. Every time you or I say her name
or you hear someone say something that sounds similar to her name, you
get this look on your face and I know it's still killing you inside. I
don't think you're ready to dive head first into the dating pool just
yet. Though I am flattered you chose me to be your first fishy," She
grinned and he shook his head in amusement.
"You're going to hold that over my head for years, aren't you?" He
asked with a sigh and she giggled.
"You bet, Lo-Fitz." She paused, tilting her head to the side. "Now
about Thursday...."
"I thought you said -"
"I said I wouldn't go out on a date with you," Rachel clarified. "I
never said no to dinner. We can still go, if you want. As friends.
Besides, I'd kinda like to see more of Harmony."
"As friends," Luis repeated with a nod. "Sure, why not. Beats working."
"No arguments there," Rachel readily agreed, standing up. "I have to
get back to my public. We'll talk more when I get off, okay?"
"Sure."
*******
The next few days seemed to go by in a blur for Luis. One of the guys
at the station sister had passed away and he had taken the time off to
fly out to California in order to attend her funeral and help his
elderly mother get ready for the move back East. This had left them a
little short staffed and so he had been picking up the slack, usually
the graveyard shift. It seemed that Thursday appeared out of nowhere
and here he was, standing in front of the mirror, clad only in a towel,
shaving for his dinner with Rachel. He was rather looking forward to
it, to be honest. With his work schedule and her hectic school/work
hours, they didn't usually get to see each other outside of the few
hours he spent at the bar waiting for her after he got off. Plus it
would be nice to be able to go out again, publicly, not the hush-hush
run around game he and Sheridan had been playing since her return to
Harmony.
Shaking his head, he pushed that thought away. He was not going to
think about her tonight. It might not be a date, but Luis was intent on
showing Rachel a good time, not wallow over his lost love.
With that mind set in place, he rinsed the razor off and headed back to
his room to dress.
*******
Fox was lounging out by the pool when a shadow suddenly fell upon him
and he lowered his designer glasses in annoyance, expecting one of the
servants or someone else he didn't care to see. Instead, above him
stood a petite form he'd grown accustomed to have appearing out of
nowhere, her brown eyes twinkling at him, her hands on her hips.
Sighing, he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"What can I do for you, Theresa?"
The smile that had been tugging at her lips finally shone through as
she moved one of his long legs aside so she could sit down. "You're
taking me to dinner at the Lobster Shack tonight."
His tanned nose crinkled, making him look younger then his years. "The
Lobster Shack? Theresa, dearest, I think your tail is too tight," He
teased with a smirk, tugging on her long dark ponytail, which she
promptly smacked his arm for.
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Fox. We have to be there tonight."
"Of what? The lobsters will live to see another day?"
"Not funny," Theresa frowned. "Antonio is taking Sheridan there
tonight."
"Well, it's safe to say he wasn't after the Crane fortune," Fox
murmured before shrugged. "So?"
Theresa shot him an exasperated look. "So! Luis is taking a date there
tonight and somebody has to be there to play peacemaker or we're going
to have a bigger mess on our hands then we already do! The last thing
we need is for Sheridan to get the idea that Luis has moved on."
Quirking an eyebrow, he asked. "Isn't he?"
"No. I asked him already and he admitted it's just two friends having
dinner. But if we're not there, Sheridan is likely to get the wrong
impression."
Exhaling loudly, Fox nodded his consent. "All right. I'll take you. On
one condition."
"Anything."
"That you'll let me take you on a real date tomorrow night."
Surprise filtered over Theresa face and she studied his face for a
moment before finally nodding. "Deal."
*******
Sheridan smoothed the blue fabric of her dress over her swollen middle,
smiling slightly as she was rewarded with a light kick from within. The
baby was active, to say the least. Especially the past week and it made
the days both easier and more difficult. Easier, because the reality of
it all had finally set in. She was going to be a mother. It gave her
reason to press on. But at the same time, her heart bled because the
man she wanted to share these precious moments with more than anyone
wasn't there with her.
But tonight she wasn't going to focus on that. She was determined to
let her mind rest and just enjoy the time out. Antonio promised her a
nice dinner and she was going to give him her undivided attention for
once. So what if they were going where they had their first - no, she
wasn't going there.
A knock on the bathroom door shook her out of her thoughts and
Antonio's concerned voice floated through.
"Sheridan, are you almost ready?"
Exhaling, she gazed at the reflection in the mirror. She looked almost
normal. Almost. But it would have to do.
"Yes. Let's go."
*******
"You're crazy," Luis laughed a little later that evening as he and
Rachel sat at their table. She was once again entertaining him with
stories of the going ons at school.
"You should've seen the professors face," Rachel giggled, taking a sip
of her wine. "I thought he was going to blow. Luckily I -" She paused
mid sentence when she realized he wasn't listening to her anymore, and
his face had darkened considerably. "Luis?"
He opened his mouth and uttered only one word. "Sheridan."
Twisting in her seat, Rachel craned her neck. "Where?"
"Over by the door, in the blue dress," Luis said lowly.
With that statement, Rachel caught sight of the beautiful blonde, the
one her friend loved so dearly, and the one who had hurt him so deeply.
A mans arm suddenly came around her waist and whispered something to
her, to which she nodded. Antonio, Rachel guessed. Returning her gaze
back to Luis, she offered a weak smile to the man who looked like he
was straining every ounce of willpower he had by not bolting over there
and beating his brother senseless. She had seen Luis in many conditions
over the past two months, from heartbroken to carefree, but never
had she seen such a mixture of anger, pain and love in his stormy dark
eyes.
"We can leave, if you want. Get out of here before they see us," She
offered.
Luis looked like he was about to agree, but then an expression of
defeat crossed his face. "Too late."
*******
With Antonio's arm around her waist, Sheridan followed him to their
table. The restaurant was unusually slow for this time of night, but
she was glad it was. Suddenly Antonio came to a stop.
"Hey, look, there's Luis. Let's go say hello."
Almost as if they were magnets, her eyes flew across the room where
they collided with Luis' brown orbs. They held the connection for a
moment, the first time since that day at the park, until he glanced
away, effectively breaking the spell.
She continued to stare at him as Antonio pulled her through the maze of
tables and patrons and it wasn't until they were a few feet away that
she realized that Luis wasn't alone. No, sitting across from him was
another person - another woman. And by the looks of things, they knew
each other pretty well. The crack in her heart split even further in
that second and she could've sworn everyone around them could hear it.
She didn't want to say hello anymore. Didn't want to exchange lame
pleasantries. But what could she do?
"Luis, fancy meeting you here," Antonio greeted as they ascended on the
table.
The other man glanced up at his brothers voice and smiled, standing to
shake his outstretched hand. The smile was very much forced, though,
Sheridan noted.
"Antonio, hey. What are you doing here?"
Antonio pulled her closer, possessively. "Taking my beautiful wife out
for dinner. Who's this?" He asked, finally acknowledging his brothers
company.
"Oh, this is Rachel. Rach, this is my older brother Antonio and his
wife, Sheridan," Luis introduced and Sheridan winced at the casual
manner in which he did. Like it didn't bother him. Like he didn't care.
But then she caught the glance he snuck at her and felt the hope rise a
little. Perhaps all was not lost.
"-- You, too," Luis' date was saying when Sheridan tuned back in and
she swallowed the not quite civil comments that nearly spilled out of
her mouth when the woman turned to her and smiled. "It's nice to meet
you."
Mimicking Luis' forced smile from earlier, she shook her proffered
hand. "You, too."
Suddenly Antonio's face lit up and he motioned towards their table.
"I've got a great idea! Why don't you two join us?"
Sheridan held her breath as she awaited Luis' answer, though she wasn't
sure whether or not she wanted him - them, to accept the offer.
Could she get through the night watching him with another woman?
"Ah, we wouldn't want to intrude," Luis said hesitantly, glancing over
at Rachel, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Hey, I invited you, remember? Besides, we haven't seen you much
lately, with all the extra time you've been putting in at work. And I'd
like to get to know Rachel here a little better," Antonio argued. "Come
on, Luis. I'm not taking no for an answer."
Sighing, Luis gave a short nod. "All right."
At his victory, Antonio grinned triumphantly. "Great!"
*******
"Great, they're both already here," Theresa groaned as Fox escorted her
towards the restaurant. She had spotted her brothers car pulling in and
Sheridan's when they had parked. She only prayed things hadn't
escalated too far out of control. She was determined to get Luis and
Sheridan back together, if it was the last thing she did, but they
certainly weren't making it easy.
"You think Aunt Sheridan's already seen your brother and his date?" Fox
asked.
"I don't know," Theresa replied, wringing her hands. "I hope not."
Fox didn't say anything as he opened the door for her to enter, quickly
scanning the large room for the familiar faces. He sighed when he saw
Luis and a dark-haired woman follow Antonio and his aunt to another
table. "Theresa," He murmured, nodding his head in their direction.
Theresa's face fell as her eyes followed his line of vision. "Shoot.
Well, we're just going to have to improvise, then." Standing tall, she
stalked over to the host and spoke to him in low tones, gesturing in
the general direction of the table her brothers were seated at. Fox
raised an eyebrow when he saw her slip the man a fifty and a smirk
spread across his face as she rejoined him.
"Bribing the waiters now, Theresa? I'm ashamed."
She shot him a look. "I did what had to be done."
Curious, he watched as the host made his way over to the table and said
something to Antonio, that apparently didn't make him very happy. The
two argued back and forth for a few moments when suddenly Theresa spat
out.
"Quit staring!"
Quickly Fox averted his gaze, but continued watching out of the corner
of his eye. The host said something and pointed in their direction and
Antonio's face brightened. He waved to get their attention and only
then did Theresa pretend to have noticed them. Smiling brightly, she
waved back and began pulling Fox towards the table.
"Show time."
******
"Theresa," Antonio greeted warmly, standing to envelope his sister in a
hug.
"Hey, Antonio," Theresa said, returning the greeting. "I didn't know
you were going to be here tonight. Hi Sheridan, Luis. You must be
Rachel, I'm Theresa," She finished, smiling at the brunette beside her
brother.
Rachel smiled back. "That's me. It's nice to meet you."
"Resa, what are you doing here?" Luis asked, narrowing his dark eyes at
her suspiciously. She knew he'd be here tonight.
Theresa merely gave him an innocent look. "I just wanted to get out of
the mansion for awhile. Rebecca and Ivy were getting on my nerves and
Fox was nice enough to accompany me."
The mention of Fox finally got the young man acknowledged and an
invitation for the two to join them was extended. As they sat, Theresa
shot Fox a triumphant look, which he just shook his head at.
Conversation at the table was strained at best. Antonio carried most of
the brunt, asking questions of Rachel and Fox, seemingly oblivious to
the longing looks exchanged between his wife and brother. At one point,
Theresa swore Sheridan was going to send Rachel six feet under with the
looks she was giving her. The other woman was very much aware of the
daggers being thrown her way and instinctively moved away from Luis,
which didn't seem to pacify the blonde in the least.
After dinner, as they waited on dessert, Antonio was talking about the
baby and Luis' cell phone rang. Theresa watched as her brother headed
outside to take the call. She had to get Sheridan out there. But how?
Then as if a light bulb had gone on over her head, Theresa stood up.
"I need to use the little girls room, if you'll excuse me. Sheridan,
would you?"
Sheridan looked surprised, but nodded and stood as well. "I'll be right
back."
*******
"So?" Sheridan inquired as the door shut securely behind them.
Theresa feigned naiveness, her eyes wide. "So, what?"
Sheridan gave her a pointed look. "You pulled me in here for one reason
or another, Theresa. So out with it."
Letting the facade fall, Theresa shrugged. "I just thought I better get
you out of there before you gauge Rachel's eyes out with your fork. I
saw the way you were looking at her."
Silence followed the statement before a low sob escaped her throat. "I
just can't believe he's dating already! It's barely been two months and
he's already out with another woman, like I meant nothing. And she's
beautiful. She's beautiful and smart and perfect for him in all the
way's that I'm not. And she hasn't broken his heart, like I have."
Concern washed over Theresa's features as she pulled her into a hug.
"Listen to me, Sheridan. Luis loves you. Despite everything, he loves
you and that has not changed. Rachel is nice and she's pretty, but
she's not you. And for the record, my brother isn't dating Rachel or
anyone else for that matter. He told me that himself."
Sheridan looked thoroughly relieved, albeit confused at this new piece
of information. "But I thought - "
"They're just friends," Theresa interrupted.
Those three words rewarded her with the first genuine smile of the
night. "So he isn't seeing anyone?"
With a smile of her own, Theresa shook her head. "No."
Relief coursed through Sheridan and she leaned against the sink. "I
still have a chance," she murmured.
Placing a hand over her sister-in-laws, the younger girl jerked her
head towards the door. "Why don't you go talk to him?"
"Do you think he would?" Sheridan asked hopefully.
"It's worth a try, wouldn't you say?"
Hesitating only momentarily, she nodded. "But what about Antonio?"
"I'll handle my brother," Theresa said. "You just go."
Sheridan took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. "Thank you
so much, Theresa."
"Anything for true love," She grinned, ushering her out of the room.
********
Sheridan paused just outside the glass doors the led out to the patio
of the restaurant. On most nights there were tables set up outside,
with customers enjoying the food outdoors, but tonight it was deserted.
Except for the lone figure of one man. He had his back to her, his
hands shoved in the pockets of his khaki pants and his posture
defeated. She took a deep breath, counted to ten and quietly slipped
out into the warm June night.
She wanted to speak, to say something, but words failed her. They'd
barely exchanged more then the usual pleasantries in the few brief
times they'd met over the past two months. It was an alien feeling to
her, to not know what to say to him. She'd even rather go back to the
days where they did nothing but fight, then this. At least then neither
of them had ever been at a loss for words.
Taking another step seemed to alert him of her presence as his body
tensed, but he didn't turn. However, he didn't walk away either, so she
took that as a sign and came to a stand still beside him. The silence
between them seemed to echo and finally he gave them reprieve.
"What are you doing out here?"
Well, it wasn't the greeting she had hoped for, but what could she
expect?
Looking down, she absentmindedly toyed with the bracelet on her wrist.
"I thought we could talk."
His jaw ticked at her words and he swallowed hard. "We have nothing to
talk about, Sheridan."
He turned to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Yes, we do."
Luis' eyes blazed at her words and he desperately tried to ignore the
sparks that shot through his body with one simple touch. Pulling her
hand from his arm, he dropped it. "No. We don't. Anything we had to say
to one another ended when you chose him over me." He turned to go
again, getting as far as the door when her voice gave him pause.
"Luis, please," Sheridan begged, her voice making him stop in his
tracks and turn around, to walk the few steps back to where she stood
in tears.
He was quiet for a minute, just taking that time to stare at her, to
let every emotion coursing through him filter across his face. "Please
what, Sheridan?" He finally asked, his voice hoarse. "Please come back
to you? Please put an end to all of this, stop all the hurt and pain?
I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I can't keep fighting this never-ending
battle when I'm getting nothing in return, when I'm fighting it alone.
I have no ammunition left, Sheridan. None."
"But - "
"You know," He interrupted as if he hadn't heard her. It felt too good
to get this off his chest, to tell her how he felt,
instead of the other way around. "We were so worried about Antonio, so
afraid that our love would kill him, that we never took a moment to
stop and think about what it would do to us. And look at us now,
Sheridan. It's killed us instead. It's destroyed us."
Sheridan shook her head, stepping closer to him. "It doesn't have to be
destroyed, Luis. We can fix it. I know we can."
Luis' gaze dropped sadly from the starlit sky to her face. "I used to
believe that. I'm not so sure anymore."
Swallowing the knot that had formed in her throat, she choked out.
"What are you saying?"
His brown eyes collided with her blue ones for an intense moment before
he spoke. "I'm dead inside, Sheridan. The only thing I feel anymore is
pain. I don't know if there is a way to fix that. I'm barely even a
shell of the person I once was."
Her tears seemed to overflow her body and she turned away, unable to
take the look of excruciating pain on his face, knowing she was the
source of it all. That she was the one who had broken this man, once so
strong. Wiping her eyes, she straightened. "I'm sorry."
Her apology was met with a brief silence until she lifted her gaze to
meet his.
"This is the worst, you know," He said, with a wry smile.
Confused, she blinked. "What?"
"Standing here. We're not more then what, two feet away from each
other? It's worse then when I thought you were dead. You're standing
there, more beautiful then ever, and I can't reach over and wipe the
tears from your eyes. I can't kiss you or take you home and make love
to you and tell you how much I love you, because you're not my wife.
You're not mine. You have my last name, but I'm not the one who gave it
to you."
His voice broke over the last statement and he turned away, but she
could see his shoulders shaking in the pale moonlight and her heart
shattered all over again. There had only been a few select moments that
she'd seen Luis so overcome with emotion - and this was one of them.
Because of her and her stupid misplaced sense of duty. Biting her lip,
she softly placed a hand on his back, felt his sharp intake of breath
and when he was facing her again, her hand was in his.
"I'm so sorry, Luis. I never meant to hurt you... it never was supposed
to go this far."
His voice was husky and his visage pained, but he nodded. "I know you
didn't, Sheridan. Neither of us meant for this to go this far. But it
did and here we are."
She didn't respond right away, but glanced up at his handsome profile a
second later. "Can I ask you something?"
Exhaling loudly, he gave a quick nod. "Of course."
Sheridan wiped a tear from her cheek and gripped the hand that was
still holding hers more tightly. With watery blue eyes, she held his
gaze, intent on getting the answer to desperately sought. "Is there any
hope for us?"
A small smile flickered across Luis' face and he sighed. "At the risk
of sounding like my sister... there will always be hope for us,
Sheridan. We're soul mates."
The the tears came cascading down her face at his words, a brilliant
smile also appeared and she reached up to gently touch his cheek. "I
love you, Luis."
"I love you, too. I don't know how not to," He said honestly, brushing
the wetness from her cheeks away.
The feeling of having his hand on her face made her breath catch in her
throat and their eyes met in a smoldering gaze, to which she could only
utter, "Kiss me, Luis. One last time."
There was only a moments hesitation on his part before he bent down and
captured her mouth in a bittersweet kiss. This meeting of lips was,
they both knew, good-bye for them. At least for the time being. But it
was also a silent vow on both ends, to fight for the love they shared.
********