No Time to Waste
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
Chapter 56
Night of the Fates
`
"Do you think they'll be okay in there?" Jo asked her husband as they sat in the living room. While the TV was on, neither one was paying attention to it, their thoughts centered on the two teenagers in the den.
During the conversation between Matt, Miranda, and their parents, the parents left no doubt that, while they were disappointed and concerned, they weren't going to try to break them up. While it was all true, they were careful to reinforce the point about no separation, in hopes that it would prevent that particular nightmare trigger from hitting them tonight, when they would be starting the night in separate rooms.
This didn't stop dinner from being a tense affair, as everyone seemed to be on eggshells. Even Lily, who had been brought there from the birthday party at her mother's request, seemed to sense it, and fell into a far more sullen mood than was normal for her.
Finally, Gordo found a way to remark on the situation, while also giving Matt and Miranda a helpful idea. "You know, I've been thinking about all this, and I just realized something." Everyone looked at him, amazed that somebody would actually talk about it, annoyed that he would bring it up, and interested in what he had to say. "Almost every morning after a nightmare, you two have talked it out, alone, and you've been much better for it. Right?" The two of them nodded, figuring that Lizzie had told him that. "And if either of you has one tonight, we already have a good idea why it would happen. Right?" This time, everyone except Lily agreed, but were clearly puzzled about what he was driving at. "Then why not talk it out before you go to bed? Maybe, if you do it before the problem happens, you won't have the problem."
For a long moment, they just looked at him, not sure if this was a stroke of genius, or insanity.
In the end, they decided that it was worth trying. So after dinner, once Gordo's mother came to pick him up and Edward and Daniella took Lily home, Matt and Miranda retreated to the den to talk. That wasn't unusual in and of itself, since while things were as they were, the couple had been given about an hour each night to unwind from the day, in the hopes that it might lead to more peaceful nights. An idea that, for the most part, seems to have worked.
What concerned their parents about this were two things. First, while they all believed that Gordo was probably right, they were worried that talking about it might strengthen, not soften, any nightmares tonight. Second, they knew that one of the couple's preferred forms of winding down was some form of 'making out'. While logic suggested that they didn't go very far during just one hour in a lockless room, tonight they might be alone in there for all of the three hours before bed. And while there was still no lock on that door, and they were there to seriously talk things out, the fact was that the talk would doubtless have to cover the physical borders they'd just crossed. Seeing each other completely nude, touching and . . . manipulating each other's most private parts. Would they be strong enough to talk about it and NOT end up repeating it, or perhaps even going as far as they would have if not for Lizzie's interruption?
"I don't know." Sam answered his wife honestly.
"I don't see how we could have tried Gordo's idea and not taking that chance." Jo continued, almost talking to herself. "But I'm still worried."
He gently took her hand. "We all are."
~~~~
"Do you . . . regret what we did?" Matt asked. They were sitting on the cot in the den, facing each other. They were about a half-hour into their talk, when he asked this after a brief lull in the discussion.
"It probably was too soon . . ." Miranda began, believing they were still on their previous line of discussion. When she saw the look on his face, however, she realized what he was really thinking about. She remembered his earlier doubts that a 'kid' like him could really please her. Although this afternoon should have left little room for doubt, she suspected that was what was wrong. Taking his hand in hers, she brought it up to her lips, and deliberately kissed his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb in turn. "Stop doubting yourself, darling. I've never given myself better, or louder, than you gave me." While he blushed some at that remark, he also brightened a little. "In fact, I think I needed more help from you than you did from me."
"Well, you did keep trying to go too fast, and it hurt." He teased.
She gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. Then she eyed him in mock suspension, and spoke in a playful voice. "How did you know so much about how to do that to me? How did you know about using your thumb like that?"
His blush deepened. "Well . . . you see . . . it's like . . ." he stammered, unsure of how much he should say.
That's when the lightbulb of a memory came to her. "Is that what you and Ethan talked about, that day the three of us confronted Kate?" He slowly nodded. His body language suggested to her that he was ashamed to admit that it hadn't been his idea. Gently, she took his chin and made him look at her. "He may have told you about it, but YOU did it. And you did it wonderfully."
His face brightened again at the complement. But then, as if remembering something, his face took a questioning look. "What were you going to say at first, about too soon?"
She spoke in her gentlest voice. "I was thinking about that deal with our folks." She saw he knew what she meant, and she didn't want to repeat what had been covered so many times already today. "I just hope mom's idea will be enough."
Matt wasn't put off so easily. "But if it wasn't for Lizzie, we would have reached the limit with two years left to go. Do you really think that we can hold out for TWO YEARS and not go any further?"
She looked at him a moment, then kissed him full on the lips to give herself time to think of how to word her thoughts. That, and because she wanted to. When they came up for air, she answered him. "I don't know, but if we can't, then we'll just have to wait a few more years for that. In the mean time, we'd have to sneak around, taking every opportunity to be together, while trying to keep from getting caught." He was clearly confused by the calmness with which she said that. "In other words, we'd be like a NORMAL pair of teenage lovers." She kissed him again. Mid-kiss, she placed her hand on his hip, over his sweat pants. Then she slowly moved it forward, until only her fingertips could feel his pelvic bone, then broke the kiss just long enough to say. "I can think of worse fates, can't you?" she asked before returning to the kiss.
As his mouth was busy again before he could respond, he gave his response by being far more daring with his hand then she had been. First, he found her spine where it was exposed near her waistband. Then he ran his hand, under her shirt, up to her shoulder blades. He ran his hand back down her spine, back to her waistband, then repeated the action. He knew this excited her, and he enjoyed feeling her reaction, but he had more in mind. On the fourth trip down her spine, he didn't stop at her waistband.
She was surprised to feel the hand that had been arousing her along her spine slip under her waistbands. She loved the feel of his hand on her backside with nothing between them, so she didn't move to stop him. She felt a further thrill when his hand began to move around toward her front, but she reluctantly stopped him before he could reach his target. Seeing the questioning, almost hurt look in his eyes, she said. "I'd love you to do that again. But we both know that I'm not quiet when you get me going like that, and your folks are in the living room. I have no doubt they'd hear me."
His expression changed. The hurt was gone, as he realized she was probably right. That didn't keep him from trying to find a way around this problem. "You couldn't be so loud if we kissed while doing it."
She smiled at him. "We can try that next time we know we're alone. But I don't want to take that chance, with your parents so close, until we know if it works."
He exhaled loudly, accepting her point. "You're right." His hand, which had been held in place as they spoke, retreated out from under her waistband. Just as she noticed the mischievous look return to his eyes, she felt that the hand didn't lose contact with her body, but slide further up, under her top, until it settled upon her breast. "Is this still okay?"
"Of course." She smiled. "But before we really get into that, I need to ask you something." His hand froze, and he frowned. "I know you told them you believe them about never trying to break us up. But I also know you, at least about that. Please, look into my eyes, and tell me if you believe them."
Their eyes met easily. For a long moment, there was silence. Then finally, he answered. "Yes." The way he said that, it sounded like he surprised himself with the answer. "For the first time, I honestly believe them about that."
She saw the relief in his eyes, and felt relief wash over her. "I believe them, too." They kept eye contact for a long moment, then slowly moved into another kiss.
~~~~~~~~
When they emerged from the den two-and-a-half hours after entering, Jo was in the kitchen while Sam was in the living room. They both moved when they heard the door open. Jo got there first. "Are you two ready for tonight?" she asked in a would-be-calm voice.
They had expected one of them to say something half-clever, half-cliche, like 'as ready as I'll ever be'. Instead, as Sam got there, Matt answered "I think so." His voice showed a hint of surprise, but even more belief in his words.
"I know so." Miranda said that in a tone that had a clearly forced calm about it, but showed no less belief in the words than Matt had.
That surprised the adults for a moment, then Sam looked at Jo. "You get the feeling we're more nervous than they are?"
~~~~~~~~
After saying their goodnights, Miranda and Jo went to the den for the night, while Matt and Sam headed up the stairs to Matt's room. As he approached the door, Matt realized just how long it had been since he'd spent the night in there. Settling in, the mattress felt absurdly soft compared to the sleeping bags he'd been using. He was also becoming acutely aware of Miranda's absence.
Downstairs, Miranda was settling down, trying hard not to let the cloud of dread she felt at his absence consume her.
`
As they faded to sleep, both had the same unwanted thought come to them. 'This could be a long night.'
~~~~~~~~
When it first began, Miranda was sure that she had fallen into her old nightmare of watching Matt beaten to death. Now, however, Miranda was beginning to notice things that didn't fit. While the faceless thugs remained the same, she had yet to see who it was they were fighting. She had assumed, at first, that it was Matt. But now, she wasn't sure. Something within her made her believe it was him, yet wasn't him, at the same time. She had no idea what THAT was supposed to mean.
And what in the world was that clanging noise?
~~
Again, it was night. Again, they were being pursued. And yet, this felt different somehow. When they finally had the chance to catch their breath, Matt looked around. That's when he realized it. While the skyline looked similar, he saw enough differences to realize that they weren't in Hillridge. Every other time he was in this nightmare, they were being chased in and around Hillridge.
Before he could think on it further, the chase was on again.
~~
She had concluded that this wasn't the same nightmare when show started noticing something from within the melee. At first, they looked like flashes from a pocket camera, but that made no sense to her. Then she realized they were flashes of the reflected light off of metal. While that made more sense than the camera idea, she couldn't figure out what that meant.
Then she saw the person in the middle of the melee.
~~
'End of the line' Matt thought. Even though he'd figured out that this wasn't the same nightmare, this one was clearly base on it. And now, here they were, at the final battleground. This seemed to look the same as always. He wondered if that meant the battle would be, as well.
Everything followed the old pattern, until the figure leading the hunters entered the light. To his surprise and relief, it wasn't Mr. Sanchez. It wasn't anyone he knew. It looked like one of the generic zombies from the b-movie he, Lanny, and Melina had watched a few months back. His relief was short-lived when he realized that they were still giving them no way out but a fight.
Then he saw the two bright lights coming towards them.
~~
When Miranda saw who was fighting the thugs, she was relieved, annoyed, and nearly in hysterical laughter about it. What she couldn't understand is how in the world this particular character came to be in her dream. But there was no mistaking him. She remembered the absurdly colored armor from that pop-up card over two years ago, although she guessed that the exaggerated codpiece was her own mind's addition.
She had managed to compose herself by the time the battle was won. But she nearly lost it again when he knelt before her, set his helm on the ground, took her hand, and introduced himself.
"Sir Matthew at your service, my lady."
Just as she wondered what 'service' this knightly form of Matt would be willing for, she awoke.
~~
Matt was momentarily frozen in shock when the car, a four-door sedan with liberal amounts of armor plating added, came to a stop next to them, having plowed through several of their nameless pursuers to get there.
"Get in, you overgrown chimp!" Melina snapped from behind the steering wheel. "Your folks didn't send me so I could be gawked at!"
That snapped him back into action. He helped Miranda into the back, then took the passenger seat next to Melina. She was dressed like a female Mad Max.
"Hold on." She hit the gas as she said that, throwing both Matt and Miranda back into their seats, and running down several more enemies. "The weapon controls are in front of you, use them!" She barked.
That's when he noticed the dozen or so buttons and switches on the dash in front of him. He thought the one marked 'F-T' looked promising. When he pushed it, he learned the 'F-T' meant 'Flame-Thrower'.
Then he woke up.
~~
There was a dull . . . something at the back of her mind. It was similar to the connection, yet there was no sense of alarm, no panic. Even so, she felt sure she needed to check on him. Trying carefully not to wake Jo, she slipped out of the den.
~~
After carefully latching his door, Matt moved quietly to the stairs. But after just one step, he saw movement in the hall below, and stopped. As soon as he saw her hair, he know who it was. As he began down again, she turned to the sound.
They met at the foot of the stairs. "Are you okay?" they whispered simultaneously.
"Yeah." Miranda answered first. "Did you have a dream?"
"Yeah. It was like the nightmare, except . . ."
"Different. With a better ending."
"You too?"
"Yeah."
After a moment's pause. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. But in the morning. We might be up all night if we start now."
"What's wrong with that?"
She gave him a quick, gentle kiss. "There will be plenty of other times you can keep me up all night."
`
When they said their goodnights and separated, the two adults who had been listening returned to their sleeping bags to feign sleep, both relieved at what they'd heard.
This was going to be alright. They were going to be all right.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know this is going to be a shock for some of you. Just don't panic at the next sentence until you read the whole note. This is the end of the main part of the story. THERE IS MORE TO COME! I'm not going to leave you hanging on any of the plot threads here. However, I believe that what's left can be told in a series of epilogs, which is what I've chosen to do.
Now the good news. As I have already planned out most of the epilogs, and as I don't expect as much detail work to be needed in most of them, I think it safe to say that the pace at which the epilogs are posted will be much faster than the pace of the main story chapters.
I hope you've enjoyed this story thus far, and I hope you like what's to come. If you a question, or if you have a favorite plot thread you want to make sure I remember to wrap up (I'm only human), please either include it in a review, or e-mail me directly at the address on my member's page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
Chapter 56
Night of the Fates
`
"Do you think they'll be okay in there?" Jo asked her husband as they sat in the living room. While the TV was on, neither one was paying attention to it, their thoughts centered on the two teenagers in the den.
During the conversation between Matt, Miranda, and their parents, the parents left no doubt that, while they were disappointed and concerned, they weren't going to try to break them up. While it was all true, they were careful to reinforce the point about no separation, in hopes that it would prevent that particular nightmare trigger from hitting them tonight, when they would be starting the night in separate rooms.
This didn't stop dinner from being a tense affair, as everyone seemed to be on eggshells. Even Lily, who had been brought there from the birthday party at her mother's request, seemed to sense it, and fell into a far more sullen mood than was normal for her.
Finally, Gordo found a way to remark on the situation, while also giving Matt and Miranda a helpful idea. "You know, I've been thinking about all this, and I just realized something." Everyone looked at him, amazed that somebody would actually talk about it, annoyed that he would bring it up, and interested in what he had to say. "Almost every morning after a nightmare, you two have talked it out, alone, and you've been much better for it. Right?" The two of them nodded, figuring that Lizzie had told him that. "And if either of you has one tonight, we already have a good idea why it would happen. Right?" This time, everyone except Lily agreed, but were clearly puzzled about what he was driving at. "Then why not talk it out before you go to bed? Maybe, if you do it before the problem happens, you won't have the problem."
For a long moment, they just looked at him, not sure if this was a stroke of genius, or insanity.
In the end, they decided that it was worth trying. So after dinner, once Gordo's mother came to pick him up and Edward and Daniella took Lily home, Matt and Miranda retreated to the den to talk. That wasn't unusual in and of itself, since while things were as they were, the couple had been given about an hour each night to unwind from the day, in the hopes that it might lead to more peaceful nights. An idea that, for the most part, seems to have worked.
What concerned their parents about this were two things. First, while they all believed that Gordo was probably right, they were worried that talking about it might strengthen, not soften, any nightmares tonight. Second, they knew that one of the couple's preferred forms of winding down was some form of 'making out'. While logic suggested that they didn't go very far during just one hour in a lockless room, tonight they might be alone in there for all of the three hours before bed. And while there was still no lock on that door, and they were there to seriously talk things out, the fact was that the talk would doubtless have to cover the physical borders they'd just crossed. Seeing each other completely nude, touching and . . . manipulating each other's most private parts. Would they be strong enough to talk about it and NOT end up repeating it, or perhaps even going as far as they would have if not for Lizzie's interruption?
"I don't know." Sam answered his wife honestly.
"I don't see how we could have tried Gordo's idea and not taking that chance." Jo continued, almost talking to herself. "But I'm still worried."
He gently took her hand. "We all are."
~~~~
"Do you . . . regret what we did?" Matt asked. They were sitting on the cot in the den, facing each other. They were about a half-hour into their talk, when he asked this after a brief lull in the discussion.
"It probably was too soon . . ." Miranda began, believing they were still on their previous line of discussion. When she saw the look on his face, however, she realized what he was really thinking about. She remembered his earlier doubts that a 'kid' like him could really please her. Although this afternoon should have left little room for doubt, she suspected that was what was wrong. Taking his hand in hers, she brought it up to her lips, and deliberately kissed his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb in turn. "Stop doubting yourself, darling. I've never given myself better, or louder, than you gave me." While he blushed some at that remark, he also brightened a little. "In fact, I think I needed more help from you than you did from me."
"Well, you did keep trying to go too fast, and it hurt." He teased.
She gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. Then she eyed him in mock suspension, and spoke in a playful voice. "How did you know so much about how to do that to me? How did you know about using your thumb like that?"
His blush deepened. "Well . . . you see . . . it's like . . ." he stammered, unsure of how much he should say.
That's when the lightbulb of a memory came to her. "Is that what you and Ethan talked about, that day the three of us confronted Kate?" He slowly nodded. His body language suggested to her that he was ashamed to admit that it hadn't been his idea. Gently, she took his chin and made him look at her. "He may have told you about it, but YOU did it. And you did it wonderfully."
His face brightened again at the complement. But then, as if remembering something, his face took a questioning look. "What were you going to say at first, about too soon?"
She spoke in her gentlest voice. "I was thinking about that deal with our folks." She saw he knew what she meant, and she didn't want to repeat what had been covered so many times already today. "I just hope mom's idea will be enough."
Matt wasn't put off so easily. "But if it wasn't for Lizzie, we would have reached the limit with two years left to go. Do you really think that we can hold out for TWO YEARS and not go any further?"
She looked at him a moment, then kissed him full on the lips to give herself time to think of how to word her thoughts. That, and because she wanted to. When they came up for air, she answered him. "I don't know, but if we can't, then we'll just have to wait a few more years for that. In the mean time, we'd have to sneak around, taking every opportunity to be together, while trying to keep from getting caught." He was clearly confused by the calmness with which she said that. "In other words, we'd be like a NORMAL pair of teenage lovers." She kissed him again. Mid-kiss, she placed her hand on his hip, over his sweat pants. Then she slowly moved it forward, until only her fingertips could feel his pelvic bone, then broke the kiss just long enough to say. "I can think of worse fates, can't you?" she asked before returning to the kiss.
As his mouth was busy again before he could respond, he gave his response by being far more daring with his hand then she had been. First, he found her spine where it was exposed near her waistband. Then he ran his hand, under her shirt, up to her shoulder blades. He ran his hand back down her spine, back to her waistband, then repeated the action. He knew this excited her, and he enjoyed feeling her reaction, but he had more in mind. On the fourth trip down her spine, he didn't stop at her waistband.
She was surprised to feel the hand that had been arousing her along her spine slip under her waistbands. She loved the feel of his hand on her backside with nothing between them, so she didn't move to stop him. She felt a further thrill when his hand began to move around toward her front, but she reluctantly stopped him before he could reach his target. Seeing the questioning, almost hurt look in his eyes, she said. "I'd love you to do that again. But we both know that I'm not quiet when you get me going like that, and your folks are in the living room. I have no doubt they'd hear me."
His expression changed. The hurt was gone, as he realized she was probably right. That didn't keep him from trying to find a way around this problem. "You couldn't be so loud if we kissed while doing it."
She smiled at him. "We can try that next time we know we're alone. But I don't want to take that chance, with your parents so close, until we know if it works."
He exhaled loudly, accepting her point. "You're right." His hand, which had been held in place as they spoke, retreated out from under her waistband. Just as she noticed the mischievous look return to his eyes, she felt that the hand didn't lose contact with her body, but slide further up, under her top, until it settled upon her breast. "Is this still okay?"
"Of course." She smiled. "But before we really get into that, I need to ask you something." His hand froze, and he frowned. "I know you told them you believe them about never trying to break us up. But I also know you, at least about that. Please, look into my eyes, and tell me if you believe them."
Their eyes met easily. For a long moment, there was silence. Then finally, he answered. "Yes." The way he said that, it sounded like he surprised himself with the answer. "For the first time, I honestly believe them about that."
She saw the relief in his eyes, and felt relief wash over her. "I believe them, too." They kept eye contact for a long moment, then slowly moved into another kiss.
~~~~~~~~
When they emerged from the den two-and-a-half hours after entering, Jo was in the kitchen while Sam was in the living room. They both moved when they heard the door open. Jo got there first. "Are you two ready for tonight?" she asked in a would-be-calm voice.
They had expected one of them to say something half-clever, half-cliche, like 'as ready as I'll ever be'. Instead, as Sam got there, Matt answered "I think so." His voice showed a hint of surprise, but even more belief in his words.
"I know so." Miranda said that in a tone that had a clearly forced calm about it, but showed no less belief in the words than Matt had.
That surprised the adults for a moment, then Sam looked at Jo. "You get the feeling we're more nervous than they are?"
~~~~~~~~
After saying their goodnights, Miranda and Jo went to the den for the night, while Matt and Sam headed up the stairs to Matt's room. As he approached the door, Matt realized just how long it had been since he'd spent the night in there. Settling in, the mattress felt absurdly soft compared to the sleeping bags he'd been using. He was also becoming acutely aware of Miranda's absence.
Downstairs, Miranda was settling down, trying hard not to let the cloud of dread she felt at his absence consume her.
`
As they faded to sleep, both had the same unwanted thought come to them. 'This could be a long night.'
~~~~~~~~
When it first began, Miranda was sure that she had fallen into her old nightmare of watching Matt beaten to death. Now, however, Miranda was beginning to notice things that didn't fit. While the faceless thugs remained the same, she had yet to see who it was they were fighting. She had assumed, at first, that it was Matt. But now, she wasn't sure. Something within her made her believe it was him, yet wasn't him, at the same time. She had no idea what THAT was supposed to mean.
And what in the world was that clanging noise?
~~
Again, it was night. Again, they were being pursued. And yet, this felt different somehow. When they finally had the chance to catch their breath, Matt looked around. That's when he realized it. While the skyline looked similar, he saw enough differences to realize that they weren't in Hillridge. Every other time he was in this nightmare, they were being chased in and around Hillridge.
Before he could think on it further, the chase was on again.
~~
She had concluded that this wasn't the same nightmare when show started noticing something from within the melee. At first, they looked like flashes from a pocket camera, but that made no sense to her. Then she realized they were flashes of the reflected light off of metal. While that made more sense than the camera idea, she couldn't figure out what that meant.
Then she saw the person in the middle of the melee.
~~
'End of the line' Matt thought. Even though he'd figured out that this wasn't the same nightmare, this one was clearly base on it. And now, here they were, at the final battleground. This seemed to look the same as always. He wondered if that meant the battle would be, as well.
Everything followed the old pattern, until the figure leading the hunters entered the light. To his surprise and relief, it wasn't Mr. Sanchez. It wasn't anyone he knew. It looked like one of the generic zombies from the b-movie he, Lanny, and Melina had watched a few months back. His relief was short-lived when he realized that they were still giving them no way out but a fight.
Then he saw the two bright lights coming towards them.
~~
When Miranda saw who was fighting the thugs, she was relieved, annoyed, and nearly in hysterical laughter about it. What she couldn't understand is how in the world this particular character came to be in her dream. But there was no mistaking him. She remembered the absurdly colored armor from that pop-up card over two years ago, although she guessed that the exaggerated codpiece was her own mind's addition.
She had managed to compose herself by the time the battle was won. But she nearly lost it again when he knelt before her, set his helm on the ground, took her hand, and introduced himself.
"Sir Matthew at your service, my lady."
Just as she wondered what 'service' this knightly form of Matt would be willing for, she awoke.
~~
Matt was momentarily frozen in shock when the car, a four-door sedan with liberal amounts of armor plating added, came to a stop next to them, having plowed through several of their nameless pursuers to get there.
"Get in, you overgrown chimp!" Melina snapped from behind the steering wheel. "Your folks didn't send me so I could be gawked at!"
That snapped him back into action. He helped Miranda into the back, then took the passenger seat next to Melina. She was dressed like a female Mad Max.
"Hold on." She hit the gas as she said that, throwing both Matt and Miranda back into their seats, and running down several more enemies. "The weapon controls are in front of you, use them!" She barked.
That's when he noticed the dozen or so buttons and switches on the dash in front of him. He thought the one marked 'F-T' looked promising. When he pushed it, he learned the 'F-T' meant 'Flame-Thrower'.
Then he woke up.
~~
There was a dull . . . something at the back of her mind. It was similar to the connection, yet there was no sense of alarm, no panic. Even so, she felt sure she needed to check on him. Trying carefully not to wake Jo, she slipped out of the den.
~~
After carefully latching his door, Matt moved quietly to the stairs. But after just one step, he saw movement in the hall below, and stopped. As soon as he saw her hair, he know who it was. As he began down again, she turned to the sound.
They met at the foot of the stairs. "Are you okay?" they whispered simultaneously.
"Yeah." Miranda answered first. "Did you have a dream?"
"Yeah. It was like the nightmare, except . . ."
"Different. With a better ending."
"You too?"
"Yeah."
After a moment's pause. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. But in the morning. We might be up all night if we start now."
"What's wrong with that?"
She gave him a quick, gentle kiss. "There will be plenty of other times you can keep me up all night."
`
When they said their goodnights and separated, the two adults who had been listening returned to their sleeping bags to feign sleep, both relieved at what they'd heard.
This was going to be alright. They were going to be all right.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know this is going to be a shock for some of you. Just don't panic at the next sentence until you read the whole note. This is the end of the main part of the story. THERE IS MORE TO COME! I'm not going to leave you hanging on any of the plot threads here. However, I believe that what's left can be told in a series of epilogs, which is what I've chosen to do.
Now the good news. As I have already planned out most of the epilogs, and as I don't expect as much detail work to be needed in most of them, I think it safe to say that the pace at which the epilogs are posted will be much faster than the pace of the main story chapters.
I hope you've enjoyed this story thus far, and I hope you like what's to come. If you a question, or if you have a favorite plot thread you want to make sure I remember to wrap up (I'm only human), please either include it in a review, or e-mail me directly at the address on my member's page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~