Happy Birthday BuffyBot76! I hope you have a wonderful day. Best wishes. About your review - I don't mind writing this for you. I just hope you like it.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed.
Well this is the first chapter. It is pretty much a one-shot. Next chapter will be Téa with someone else. I am having difficulty with what I should do so any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you and enjoy.
* * *
Slowly Téa awoke. Sunlight was shining through a slit in the curtains onto Téa's face where it lay on a pillow. 'Wait a minute, pillow? Curtains? The last thing that I remember was that crazy woman and her rock.' Téa began to feel panic building rapidly in her chest.
"Hey Gorgeous." She shifted and came face to face with Joey, who was grinning happily. He held a breakfast tray that he offered to her.
This seemed very strange to Téa. Yet she felt herself reach out and accept the tray. She could think freely yet she seemed to be operating on autopilot.
'Holy Hell, it must be that woman, it really happened. I'm in the future. She examined Joey, now that she thought about it he did appear to be a bit older. Either that or I'm going insane. No, it must be that woman. After all if Ancient Egyptian spirits can live inside enchanted jewellery this should be a piece of cake. That would explain why I seem to have no control over my body. I must just be supposed to watch.'
Satisfied with this answer Téa settled for simply going with the flow. It was a bizarre sensation, like watching a movie through her own eyes.
Joey perched himself on the edge of the bed as Téa began to eat.
"I'm going to go shower while you eat that. Remember we have to be at the airport by 9 o'clock." He finally said.
"I know. Are you going to tell me where we are going?"
"It's a surprise. You'll find out when we get there." He stood up and walked over to another door. When he opened it Téa caught a glimpse of a bathroom before he shut the door after him. 'Wow! Joey. I never would have guessed. I wonder where we're going.' Despite herself Téa felt herself getting drawn into this vision. Evidently her future self felt the same way, she began to eat faster.
She had just finished her cup of coffee when Joey re-entered the room. His wet hair was even messier then normal and he was dressed in jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. He stopped by the closet to slip his denim jacket on. Grinning he reached over her and removed the tray. Then he turned lightening fast and yanked the duvet from her body. Téa shrieked, attempting to cover herself back up.
"Joey!"
'Ya got ta get up now." He replied simply, grabbing the tray and exiting the room. Grumbling Téa marched through the only other door available to wash and get ready for her trip.
* * *
"Come on Téa. Hurry up, we'll miss the plane if you keep moving so slowly." Joey was pulling furiously on Téa's arm, dragging them through the airport terminal at breakneck speed. Her legs working as fast as they could Téa just managed to keep from being dragged over.
She could hear the contents of her handbag rattling around. Wincing she sent up a silent prayer nothing was broken then nearly crashed headlong into Joey who had stopped at their gate, E6.
The attendant waiting at the door hid a smile with a carefully manicured hand before taking their boarding passes from Joey. He hadn't allowed Téa to have hers as it had their destination printed on it. He was still insisting that their vacation spot be kept a secret.
They walked quickly through the covered ramp leading to the plane. At the door to the plane another attendant who looked strikingly similar to the one they had just left met them.
"This way Sir, Madam. " smiled the attendant. She directed them to their seats. As Joey and Téa made themselves comfortable two flight attendants began to give an outline of the safety procedure.
Already being well versed in the standard safety code for air travel the couple paid little attention to the display. When the safety exhibition was complete the captain's voice came over the loud speaker.
"Hello to all our passengers. This is your captain speaking. Please make sure your seatbelts are on as we begin our non-stop flight to …" Téa stopped being able to hear after this because Joey had lunged over and covered her ears. Téa mock scowled at him but he just smiled.
"It's a surprise." He insisted. With a sigh Téa looked away. Opening her bag she removed a book and began to read.
* * *
"We thank you for flying with us. If all passengers would please disembark now we would appreciate it. We hope you enjoy your stay."
Joey and Téa joined the flow of people leaving the aircraft. As they entered the main terminal Téa spotted a sign welcoming visitors to Fiji. She turned to a madly grinning Joey with shock written all over her face.
"Fiji? We're on a tropical island? Oh Joey, thank you, thank you." She threw herself at him. He caught her and pulled her into a hug.
"Good surprise?" he whispered into her ear.
"Yes. The best. Thanks Joey." She leant forward and kissed him, entwining her arms around his neck. When the line they were in began to move they had to break apart, but she took his hand.
Téa continued to bounce excitably through customs. Through the baggage pick up. And as they exited the building, to find the courtesy van that would take them to the hotel. On the drive there kept Téa twisting in her seat, trying to see everything. Joey smiled; he loved how she looked when she was happy.
The van pulled up outside a one-story hotel. The building was neat and the garden well tended. The driver of the van and the bellhop loaded their luggage onto a trolley that the bellhop wheeled into the reception area.
Approaching the desk Joey began to search his pockets. The woman behind the counter waited patiently until he found the piece of paper he was looking for. When he had finally handed it over she perused the sheet for a moment before smiling.
"Ah, hello Mr Wheeler. If you would just sign these." She handed him some papers, which he quickly signed. "Thank you. Here's your room key and Philip will show you where you are staying." She indicated the bellhop.
Joey and Téa followed him through a set of wooden double doors. He led them down a corridor and outside through another set of doors. They began to walk down a wide brick path bordered by well-kept gardens.
Philip started to speak. "All of our rooms are separate. The breakfast room is over there." He pointed toward a blue door at one end of the main building. "The beach can be reached by that path over there. And this is your room." He opened the door. Standing back out of their way so that Joey and Téa could enter first Philip then followed them in, depositing their luggage by the door. He waited to see if there was anything else required of him.
Téa started to look around ("Hey look, we have a view of the beach!") while Joey turned to Philip. "Hey thanks man." He handed him a generous tip. Philip nodded and left.
The rooms were lovely decided Téa. At the moment they were standing in a large foyer/sitting room. Two other doors lead off that room presumably into a bedroom and bathroom. Téa moved off to explore those.
The three rooms were all done in shades of blue and had a tropical theme. Joey settled down on one of the darker blue sofas, they contrasted well with the pale blue walls and wood floors. Looking around he smiled. 'Perfect'
Téa sat on the bed and bounced lightly trying to test how comfortable it was. 'Oh, it's beautiful.' The indigo bedspread was decorated with wave pattern stitching that Téa idly picked at before she found her eyes drawn to an image on the wall. It depicted a beach at sunset. In the foreground a couple embraced, they were in silhouette against the glorious gold of the setting sun.
Here Joey found her a few minutes later.
"It's stunning isn't it?" she said pointing to the painting.
"Sure is." Replied Joey. "But there's something else in here I like better."
"What." Asked Téa, surveying her surroundings. Joey rolled his eyes.
"You"
"Oh" She blushed. It struck Joey then just how cute she was. She blushed even after all this time.
"Hey, you want to go for a walk?"
"Of course, but shouldn't we unpack first?"
Joey waved a hand dismissively. "We can do that later."
Téa swung her legs off the bed and stood up. "Alright, I'll just get my handbag." As she walked out of the room Joey hung back. Instead he moved to one of the bedside cabinets.
Opening the top draw he was relieved to see it was full of tourist pamphlets. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small box. The kind used to keep small items of jewellery in, which made sense, as inside was something he had spent two weeks searching jewellery stores for. An engagement ring.
Closing his eyes a moment he breathed in deeply.
'Later.' He decided and proceeded to bury the box carefully under the pamphlets before hurrying out after Téa.
He joined Téa by the door where she was waiting. "Where do you want to go?"
"The beach I think would be nice."
The pair took the path that had been indicated to them by Philip. They track led them into the thick jungle like growth that seemed to completely surround the buildings that made up the hotel. After about two minutes of walking they cleared the thick muddle of plants on either side of them and stepped out on to pristine sand.
The bay that the hotel was situated in was magnificent. The water sparkled in the sun, clear and a brilliant turquoise. The tangle of plants they had just exited reached right to the sand. Scattered around were other guests, couples and families, enjoying the sun. Their laughter flitted over the sand to the couple.
They turned to begin walking down the beach away from the other holidaymakers. Two small boys in swimsuits dashed by throwing a red beach ball between them.
Téa glanced at them then returned her gaze to Joey. She closed the distance between them and leant her head against his shoulder. As she did so one of the boys ran past colliding with her.
The blow knocked her off balance and she fell heavily. Feeling her ankle wrench sideways caused a soft exclamation to escape her lips. Joey was at her side in an instant. Followed a few seconds later by a woman who introduced herself as the boys mother.
"Téa, are you okay?" Joey looked frantic.
"I'm fine." She hastened to assure him. Trying to stand back up she managed to raise herself up a few centimetres before falling back with a hiss of pain.
"I'll get the doctor." Said the woman, turning and hurrying up the path.
Gently Joey helped Téa sit up; he kept one arm around her shoulders. "Where does it hurt?"
"My ankle" she pointed to her foot, which was even now swelling.
"Okay. What do we have here?" The doctor had arrived running, the woman was standing behind him looking worried. He lowered himself down beside Téa and began to carefully test the area around her ankle. After a few minutes he sat back.
" It's just sprained. It will hurt for a bit but I can give you some codeine. That should help with the pain, I recommend you keep off that leg for a day or two."
"Good thing we're here for a week then." Said Téa, her teeth gritted. "Hey Joey, let's head back to our room." She grinned suddenly. "I can sit down and read, while you unpack."
The doctor smiled at the indignant look on Joey's face.
"A good idea Miss. You couldn't have chosen a better time, there is a storm expected in an hour or two."
Téa looked shocked. "You mean you get storms here?"
"Have you never heard of a tropical rainstorm?"
* * *
Prying open the fridge door with one hand, the other clutching two glasses, Joey perused the selection of beverages on offer. Eventually he settled on two lemonades. He would have preferred something stronger, in the hope it would give him the necessary courage to go through with his plans, but alcohol might interfere with the pain medication that Téa was on.
Across the room Téa, seated by the window, twitched aside the curtain to get a look outside. Instead of being able to see the beach as she would of just an hour ago all that was visible was a maelstrom. Iron-grey clouds boiled across the sky while furious waves hurled themselves onto the cold sands of the bay.
Sighing she turned from the bleak view. "So much for the bikini idea."
"You could wear it now anyway, I promise not to complain" said Joey, making his way over to her with two full glasses. "Hey! Hey!" He dodged the cushion hurled at him.
Accepting her glass with a giggle Téa took a sip just as the speaker in the corner of the room blared into life.
"Attention all guests. Report to the breakfast room immediately, Cyclone Lewis is approaching. Repeat: All guests please report to the breakfast room"
Joey and Téa shared a look of horror before beginning to move toward the door, Téa with a distinct limp. Suddenly Joey skidded to a halt. 'The ring.'
"Hang on a sec." He turned and sprinted into the bedroom. Diving at the bedside cabinet he wrenched the drawer out. Snatching the small velvet box from among the mess he dropped the drawer. It hit the carpet and overturned, spilling its contents, but Joey was already at the bedroom door.
In the time it had taken Joey to collect the ring Téa had only just made it the five or so metres to the door. Seizing his jacket off the back of a chair Joey approached her. Carefully he wrapped her in the coat then scoped her into his arms. Awkwardly he reached for the door handle. Opening the door he edged out into hell.
The wind tore at their clothes. Téa whimpered and snuggled closer against him. Joey took a few staggering steps onto the path. The main building and the breakfast room's distinctive blue door were a hundred metres away but to Joey it seemed like miles. Grimly he put one foot in front of the other. Rain lashed at them, stinging any unprotected skin. Feeling Téa's tight hold on his shirt he realised she was terrified. A surge of adrenalin rushed through him; there was no way that he would let anything happen to this girl.
With renewed strength he continued his trek. Dodging larger pieces of debris he lurched toward the door that would admit them to the safety of the main building.
Tottering the last few steps he reached it, crashing into it with the force of the wind, knocking his shoulder heavily. He had turned to take the blow instead of Téa. Fumbling with the handle he released the catch and stumbled into the shelter.
Willing hands forced the door shut after their entry. Joey stepped to the side out of the way and gently lowered Téa to the ground while surveying his surroundings.
All the tables had been pushed to one side; cots had replaced them. Everywhere there were people. They were sitting on the cots or walking between them, talking in hushed voices. It looked like a refugee camp.
He sighed, looking down at Téa. "So much for a peaceful vacation."
She wrapped her arms around him. "Doesn't matter. The important thing is you're here. I haven't seen you properly for ages. You've been away at all those tournaments. I missed you, you know?" When she noticed he wasn't returning her hug she stepped back carefully, looking confused.
Joey was looking to the side gnawing at his lower lip. He seemed to reach a decision; he took a deep breath and transferred his gaze to Téa.
Reaching into his pocket he knelt. Téa continued to look puzzled. 'What's he doing? He …Oh God!' Joey had opened a small red velvet box. Nestled inside was a diamond solitaire ring.
Joey took her hand and locked eyes with her. "Téa, will you do me this honour? Marry me."
She gasped clapping her hands to her mouth. "Oh, oh Joey. Yes. Yes." Smiling she drew him to his feet. Deftly he slid the ring onto her finger.
At that moment someone else entered from outside. Much like when they had entered the door flew open, only this time someone was in the way. The door connected with the back of Téa's head with a resounding crack.
The glorious smile suspended on her lips Téa slumped forward into Joey's arms, unconscious.
* * *
For the second time that day Téa found herself slowly regaining consciousness. This time though she could feel someone stroking her hair.
"…Geez Téa, what a day for you, huh? I can't believe this. You said yes, you actually said yes." He seemed overwhelmed "I'm going to make you so happy. Oh, man. This was meant to be perfect; I've been planning the proposal for weeks. All those tournaments were just so I could get the money for this. But everything just went wrong."
Téa shifted so she could see his face. "Don't worry, it'll be something to tell the grandchildren."
Joey smiled, giving her such a tender look that she felt her heart lurch. A moment later so did the rest of her body in a sickeningly familiar way, and then the world went dark.
