Hi all!
Thanks for the great reviews! I really appreciate them.
Zi Marquise - In response to your question, the original Force members resigned from the Garrison so they could stay on Arus. Dante and Caleb stayed with the Garrison and were reassigned elsewhere. I explained it in the beginning of "A Long Awaited Love Story", sometimes they make it back to Arus to visit, but they have moved on.
Big Fluffy Brain Candy Warning: This chapter is quite fluffy, I just couldn't resist. But things will be changing with the next chapter.
Thank you all!
Enjoy,
Failte
Sky stood with their luggage while she watched Erik at the counter, talking to the airline employee, a pretty blonde woman who kept checking her computer screen. That is not her real hair color, Sky thought. And those aren't real. Seriously, how can she walk around with those things?
She watched as Erik smiled and nodded before turning around. He shrugged and walked back over to join her.
"Well, Sky, there seems to be a problem."
"What do you mean?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, "They overbooked the flight and we lost our seats."
"You're kidding me."
"Nope. The next direct flight to Boston is tomorrow morning. Or we can take a flight to Pittsburgh this evening, have a three hour layover, fly from there to D.C. and a two hour layover, and from there to Boston. We would arrive tomorrow morning around five and we wouldn't be able to sit together."
"What about other airlines?" She asked.
"We can try that, or…" He trailed off and looked around.
"Or what?"
"I have a plan."
"Uh oh."
Erik grinned at her, "Let's drive."
"Drive! That's gotta be twelve hours."
"More like fifteen, but I've seen the way you drive, we could make it in thirteen."
"I don't know, Erik."
He smiled, "Come on, Sunny, think about it. We could see the country, spend some quality time together."
"It's a long trip."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice, "We could stop and get a hotel room for the night and really spend some quality time alone together."
Sky pursed her lips while she considered that. It did sound like fun. They could stop and eat at little out of the way restaurants, hit a few shops, it could be fun. "Yeah, let's do it."
Erik stole a quick kiss from her and grinned, "I'll go see about getting a car and you call Cady, let her know we won't be back tonight."
"When should I tell her to expect us?"
"Tell her we'll call her tomorrow."
"Okay, get us something sporty!" She called after him as she pulled out her communicator.
"Erik and Sky won't be back tonight," Cady told Tristan after slipping her communicator back in her bag.
The two of them had stopped in Springfield on their way back from Albany to do a little shopping and have lunch. They were sitting at a small table in a coffee shop, sipping gourmet lattes and sampling some sweet goodies.
"What happened?" He asked, biting into a mocha brownie.
"They're plane was overbooked and they lost their seats, so they decided to rent a car and drive back."
"They're nuts."
"Sky sounded excited. I think it sounds romantic, just the two of them driving across half the country together."
"They'll kill each other."
"They will not."
"At least there are plenty of wooded areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania where bodies can be hidden."
"That's not funny, Tristan."
He grinned at her, "I thought it was. So, I guess this means we get another night alone."
"Except for your parents."
"Oh, I don't know," he reached across the table and laced his fingers through hers. "We could get in the car, turn left, and go until we find a nice little inn in New Hampshire."
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh yeah."
Cady grinned at, "Then let's do it."
"Where are we?" Sky mumbled, as she opened her eyes and rubbed the sleep from them.
"Somewhere in Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border."
"How much further?"
"I thought we could make it to Pennsylvania and find some place to stay."
She pulled the lever that brought her seat upright, "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"That's okay, your snoring is music to my ears."
"I don't snore."
"Yes you do."
"No, I don't."
"Okay, if you don't think you do, then you don't, even though you do."
Sky looked at him, trying to figure out what he had just said. "Whatever. When are you going to let me drive?"
"Later," he replied, pressing on the gas and bringing the new Mustang up to just past 80.
"That's what you said before," she whined. "You said once we got out of Indiana, I could drive."
"When we get into Pennsylvania, past Pittsburgh, you can drive."
"I better."
"I promise," he vowed.
"I wonder how Figment's doing?"
"I bet she's curled up on the floor with Greedo, sound asleep."
"He better be nice to her."
Erik chuckled.
"What? He can be one mean dog, I swear my father isn't training him at all. He takes her toys and snaps at her when she tries to take them back. Poor Figment, I should call and see how she is."
"Sky…"
"Figment is so passive, she won't fight him back."
"Figment is not passive and she gives as good as she gets."
"Don't stand up for that little thug," Sky gasped.
"Is this what it's going to be like when we have kids?"
"What do you mean?"
"Figment is fine, your parents are taking good care of her."
"Are you going to be this flippant with our children?"
"She's a dog, Schuyler, and I trust your parents."
"I trust my parents, I just don't trust their bully of a dog."
Erik sighed, "She's fine."
"What time is it on Arus?"
He quietly did the math, "Uh, its 2 am tomorrow morning."
"So I can call in four hours, Dad'll be up."
"How many kids do you want to have?"
Sky chewed on her lower lip. They had often mentioned the fact that they had planned to have a family some day, but they had never really discussed it. "Three."
"Three?"
"Yeah. The first one when I'm twenty-five, the second at twenty-seven, and the third at twenty-nine."
"You have this all planned out, huh?"
"I want to have all my kids before I'm thirty."
"Why?"
"I don't want to be an older mother," she explained. "I mean, think about it. Uncle Keith was thirty-nine when Nicky was born, by the time he finishes school, Keith will be almost sixty."
"Do I get a say in this?"
"Of course you do. Why? How many kids do you want?"
"I always pictured us having just one."
Sky shook her head, "I always wanted a brother or sister. I mean, I had Cady and the others, but it just wasn't the same. I was always jealous of what they had."
"Okay, then two."
"Or three."
"We'll see."
"We have plenty of time."
He nodded, "And we can get plenty of practice making the babies."
Sky rolled her eyes, "Glad to see you're keeping this all in perspective."
"Of course. Welcome to Pennsylvania, Sunny."
"Can I drive now?"
"We're making good time, I don't want to stop."
"You are such a jerk."
"There's an atlas in the pocket behind my seat, get it out and navigate for me, will you?"
She reached back and tugged the book out, laying it on her lap and turning on the overhead lamp, "What am I looking for?"
"Zelienople, Pennsylvania," he told her. "It should be about half an hour north of Pittsburgh."
Sky studied the map a moment, "Okay, found it. What's there?"
"I heard it might be a nice place to stay."
She looked at him, suspiciously, "What do you have planned?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't know anything about Pennsylvania, how do you know about this town?"
"I was talking to the guy at the rental car counter and he was from Pittsburgh. When I told him where we were going and that we were going to stop somewhere he told me about Zelienople." Erik reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and handed her a slip of paper with the town name scrawled across the top and what looked like directions beneath it. "See?"
"Well, that was nice of him."
"Yeah, he said that it was where he and his wife spent their wedding night before driving up to Niagara Falls."
"So, it's romantic, huh?"
"That's what I hear."
Just over half an hour later, Erik pulled the silver Mustang into the small parking lot beside an old stone mansion. The sign in the front had read, 'The Hideaway Bed & Breakfast'.
"You can't just walk into someplace like this and expect there to be a room," Sky said.
"I don't know about you," Erik replied, unbuckling his seatbelt. "But I am starving. If we can get a room here, we can drop off our stuff and go find somewhere to eat."
She laid a hand on her stomach, "Okay, sounds good to me."
"Stay here, I'll come help you with the bags if there's a room."
"All right, but I get to drive to the restaurant."
"Deal."
Sky sat back and looked around. The house was huge with a wrap around porch and two towers. The porch was outlined with strings of small white lights that were lit against the sunset sky. She couldn't see any other houses in the area, the backyard was largely dominated by a flower garden with a rose covered arbor and a gazebo. It was beautiful.
Erik jogged down the steps and yanked open her door, pulling her from her reverie.
"We're in luck, Sunny, they had a room available."
"Good. This place is beautiful."
"Aren't you glad we lost our seats on the plane?"
She kissed his cheek, "Yeah, I am. This has been a lot of fun."
Erik pulled their bags out of the back and led her up the steps. "We're in room twelve on the second floor."
Sky followed him through the small lobby where a middle aged woman sat behind the desk. She smiled sweetly as they walked by and up the wide, carpeted staircase. The hallway was narrow and lit by small lights in sconces hanging on the walls. Her feet sank into the thick carpeting as he stopped in front of a dark wood door with a brass number 12 hanging on it.
"Oh my," Sky gasped when Erik opened the door and stepped aside so she could walk in.
A king sized bed dominated the room. Made of heavy wood, it was a canopy bed with thick maroon drapes tied to the poles. Two small lamps sat on antique bedside tables and a door leading to the bathroom was to the left of the bed. On the wall to the right was a fireplace with a fire already roaring inside. Vases of fresh flowers sat on either end of the mantel and a painting of an autumn countryside hung above it. An antique desk and dresser were to the left of the door with a small television sitting on top of the dresser. A small table and two wing chairs sat between two windows framed in curtains that matched the drapes on the bed on the wall opposite the fireplace. On top of the table was a small meal set out.
Sky walked slowly into the room, her eyes wide as she was surrounded by the warmth and intimacy of the room. Upon closer inspection she saw rose petals sprinkled across the down filled duvet. She turned slowly and looked at Erik. He had closed the door and was leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest, a small smile on his lips.
"You planned all this," she whispered.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said simply.
She stepped closer to him, "We didn't lose our seats on the plane, did we?"
Erik smiled in response.
"You had this planned all along, didn't you?"
He took her hands and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I got to thinking about it when you were talking about getting some time off alone."
She tilted her head back and smiled at him, "So you did do all this on purpose?"
"Well, our anniversary is coming up soon and since we took this vacation, I can't imagine that we'd be able to get more time off next month. So I thought we could celebrate a little early."
"How did I get so lucky?" She whispered. "You amaze me."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," she kissed him tenderly.
"Come on," he took her hand. "I am starving."
"I didn't think bed and breakfasts served dinner."
"If you place an order, this place will pack you a picnic lunch, when I explained that we would be coming in late and that this was our first anniversary, they said they would see what they could do for us."
Sky felt silly as tears pricked her eyes. He is too much, this is too much. What did I ever do to deserve this? To deserve him. Before she knew what she was doing, she whirled around and threw herself at him.
Caught off guard, Erik stumbled back against the wall. He quickly regained his balance and deepened the kiss, caressing her tongue with his own. His hands rested on her hips, but quickly slid down to cup her buttocks as he lifted her off the ground and her legs wrapped around his waist. The meal was forgotten as they moved awkwardly across the room and landed in a heap on the bed.
Sky giggled as he broke the kiss.
"Something funny?" He asked huskily as he lifted his head.
"Not funny," she replied. "Very, very happy."
"Me too." He pushed her jacket off her shoulders and threw it aside. "You make me happy, my Sky."
With her heart racing, Sky grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him on top of her, pressing her lips to his in a kiss full if urgency and emotion. His fingers slipped beneath her sweater, gently stroking her sides. She moved her hands between them, tugging at his buttons until she felt his heated flesh under her hands. Pushing the shirt off his shoulders, Sky pulled it off his arms and tossed it aside before rolling over and reversing their positions. She straddled his hips and sat up, looking at him through heavy lidded eyes.
His thick, dark blonde hair was mussed from her hands, his lips red and swollen, and his cheeks flushed. She ran her hands over his chest, feeling the feathery soft hair that covered his pecs and trailed down his stomach to disappear beneath the waistband of his jeans. He was so handsome. She licked her lips and raised a hand to push her hair behind her ear. "I love you."
He sat up, grabbing the hem of her sweater, pulling it over her head. "Less talk, more making out," he mumbled, kissing her hard.
Sky laid on her back and stared at the wooden frame of the canopy above them. She concentrated on catching her breath. "Wow."
Erik was sprawled beside her, also trying to regain his composure. "Yeah, wow. That was…"
"Amazing?"
He rolled onto his side and smiled down at her, "Yeah, amazing."
She shifted her gaze to his and grinned, "Wanna another go?"
"Geez, Sunny, I need some down time here to recuperate. You wear me out."
"You sound like you need some nourishment."
"I think you're right."
Sky looked around and saw his shirt hanging where she had thrown it, over the headboard. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and buttoned it up, loving the feel of the soft cotton against her skin and the scent of his soap. Swinging her legs over the side of the massive bed, she padded over to the small table and looked at what was set out for them.
Erik piled all the pillows against the headboard and sat back, watching her. His shirt came to mid thigh and she had left the top three buttons undone. She made his mouth water more than the food ever could.
Sky returned to the bed and sat down, tucking her legs under her, "This looks great."
The plates were filled with cold, homemade fried chicken, biscuits, and mashed potatoes.
"Good, strength building food," he quipped, grabbing a chicken breast off his plate.
"Do you think it was hot when we got here?"
"Don't care," Erik mumbled around a mouthful. "What's to drink?"
"It's on the table."
He looked at her with doe eyes, "But I'm not wearing anything under this blanket."
Grumbling good naturedly, Sky retrieved the bottle of sparkling grape juice and glasses from the table. "Is that dessert?" She asked, pointing to the remaining dish, a small, covered, silverplate.
"Probably, but you have to eat your dinner first, young lady," Erik said, uncorking the bottle. He handed her a filled glass and gently tapped his against hers, "To us."
She grinned, settling beside him, leaning back against the pillows. "To us."
They ate in silence a few moments, stealing little glances at each other.
"I can't believe you found this place," Sky said, looking around, picking up a stray rose petal. "Wait until I tell Cady about this."
"Trying to make her jealous?"
She leaned over and kissed him, "Of course. I have to rub in the fact that my boyfriend is more romantic than hers."
"Oh yeah? You compare boyfriends?"
"Yup, and you are always winning."
"Really?"
"You are in my little world."
Erik grinned, "I think I would like to visit your little world some day."
"The sky is purple, the grass is blue and there are unicorns."
"Really? I wouldn't have put unicorns in your world."
Sky shrugged, "I like unicorns."
"What color is the water?"
"Very light yellow."
"Your world sounds odd."
"Fine, you're not invited."
"Fine, you can't drive the Mustang tomorrow."
Sky gasped, sitting up on her knees, "You promised!"
Erik winked at her, "You have to be a good girl and show me you deserve that privilege."
She cocked an eyebrow, "Well, what we just did a little while ago, that was not something a good girl would do."
He slid his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his jeans, pulling them on. Standing, he turned to face her and gathered up their plates. "Thank goodness you're not a good girl."
Sky rolled her eyes and sipped her juice, "You're a bad influence on me, Erik Johansson."
"Hell yeah," he set the plates on the table and picked up the covered plate. "Ready for dessert?"
"Always."
"I spoke to Mrs. O'Neill, she and her husband run this place, and I when I asked her if she could make one of their picnic lunches for dinner, I asked her about dessert." He settled back on the bed beside her. "I explained to her that the beautiful woman I was bringing with me had an insatiable sweet tooth and was there anything she could do about it, especially if there was anything with peanut butter. Well, Mrs. O'Neill is a sweet woman. You know, her husband bought her this place as a twenty-fifth anniversary present, running a B&B had always been her dream, so she has a soft spot for anniversaries and young love."
"And?"
"And," Erik pulled the cover off. "Let's see what she came up with."
Sky lowered her gaze to the plate. It took her a moment to realize what it was and she fell over on her side, laughing so hard she couldn't speak.
"Now keep in mind that I had spoken with Mrs. O'Neill last night, so she didn't have a lot of time to come up with much."
She sat up, "I love you, Erik, and I love that you did this."
He looked down at the carefully piled chocolate peanut butter cups and picked the top one off, offering it to her lips, "For you."
Giggling softly, Sky opened her mouth and gently bit into the candy. Erik popped the rest of it into his mouth. She looked down at the plate, there had to be a dozen peanut butter cups neatly piled in a pyramid shape. Picking up another one, she noticed something else, something underneath the candy.
"Erik, what's that?"
"What?"
"That?"
He pushed aside the candy and pulled out what a deep maroon velvet box. "It's your present."
"You didn't have to do anything else, this has been amazing, I don't know what to say. You…" Sky stopped when he pressed a finger to her lips.
"Schuyler, I have a question to ask you."
Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard.
"I was going to try and come up with some romantic way to do this, some poetry or something. But I couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound cheesy or silly. You know I love you, Sunny. You know you mean more to me than anything else in the world. I don't know how else to say it other than I love you, will you marry me?" He flipped open the box and held it out for her to see.
She looked down at the ring, an oval cut ruby with two smaller oval cut diamonds on either side set in gold.
"I was going to get you the traditional diamond, but then I saw this ring and it made me think of you. I wanted to give you something uniquely you."
She raised her gaze to him, "Erik…"
"Before you give me an answer, I think you should know that I had to agree to a few conditions before I proposed to you. I spoke to your father, we had a long talk actually, and I had to promise that if you agreed to marry me, we would wait at least two years, he wants you to finish school first. So, will you accept this ring and marry me…in a couple of years?"
Sky pursed her lips, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She looked back at the ring as she tried to figure out how to respond. Finally, in true Collier style, she went with the smartass reply.
"And to think I just got you a PlayStation game for our anniversary."
"Schuyler," he growled.
She sighed dramatically, "I guess I have to marry you. I don't want you to have to have that tattoo lasered off your butt."
"Really?" He grinned.
"Yes!" She kissed him. "Yes! A thousand times, yes!"
Erik cupped the back of her head and kissed her as deeply, as tenderly as he could. Sky wound her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer as they fell back on the bed.
"Wait, hold on a sec," Erik broke the kiss.
"What?" She looked at him, bewildered.
He picked up the plate of candy and set it on the bedside tale. He then pulled the ring from the box, leaving the box on the table. "I have something I have to do first."
Sky smiled and held her left hand out to him.
Erik took her hand and gently kissed her fingertips, "I love you, my Sky."
"I love you, Erik."
He slid the ring on third finger of her left hand and kissed her palm.
Cady stood in front of a store window, studying the display of antiques. Well, the sign said they were antiques, but she only saw junk.
She and Tristan had found a room in an inn near the ocean. They had checked in just as the sun was setting, casting an ethereal glow over the water. Tristan had found a small café nestled among locally owned storefronts and they had eaten a small meal. Now, as it was getting late, they had decided to take a walk.
"See anything interesting?" Tristan asked.
"There are certainly some interesting things," she mumbled, studying the pink ceramic poodle sitting on a table. "People actually buy this stuff?"
"Sure they do. I'm actually quite partial to the stool in the shape of a turtle."
"Please tell me you're not."
"I think it's kind of cool."
"I see I have all the taste in this relationship."
"Well," he slung his arm around her shoulders. "You did pick me."
"Oh, did I?"
"Yup. You were smitten the first time you saw me."
Cady raised her eyebrows as they started back toward their inn, "And you had choice in the matter?"
"No, I didn't. I mean, come on Cady, you're hot. Any guy you set your sights on is lost."
"So you're telling me that you weren't at all interested in me until I worked my magic on you."
"I thought you were pretty, but then you winked at me and wiggled your butt and, well, I was totally lost."
"I never wiggled my butt," she gasped.
"Sure you did. It's one of those girly wiles that you woman don't even know you do. The way you walk, the way you carry yourself, it makes your butt wiggle, very sexy."
"So if I walked differently, if I didn't wiggle my butt as you put it, then we wouldn't be together today?"
"Probably not."
Cady gasped and elbowed him in the side, "You superficial jerk!"
Tristan laughed and pressed a kiss to her hair, "Oh, Cady, you know I love you. I was hot for your bod the first time I saw you, even before I saw you wiggle your butt."
"Keep this up and you'll never see my butt wiggle again," she grumbled.
"Please don't say that," he pleaded. "If I can't see your butt wiggle, I may as well give up living."
Cady smiled in spite of herself, "So then I hold your life in my hands, huh?"
"You have since the moment I met you."
She smiled softly and slid her arm around his waist, "When we're old and I lose my looks and my butt jiggles instead of wiggles, will you still love me?"
Tristan stopped and turned to face her. "You know I was kidding, right?"
"I know, I just…"
"Cady, I love you because you're sweet and smart and kind and funny. Your beauty is more than just physical, it is so much deeper, so much more."
She smiled and kissed him, "I just wanted to hear your answer."
He turned and took her hand, starting their walk back to the inn again. "I mean your physical beauty and butt wiggles are just the icing on the cake."
"Tristan."
"Don't worry, by the time your butt starts jiggling, mine will be too."
"I'm sure by then I'll have traded you in for a younger model," she told him haughtily.
He held open the door for her as they entered the bright warmth of the inn's lobby. "Oh really?"
"Yes," she lowered her voice. "So you better take advantage of this hot body while you can."
Tristan looked at her, surprised. For all their playful flirting, he was still not used to her outright teasing. "Why, your highness, you're downright naughty."
"You seem to have that affect on me, Lieutenant."
Without another word, Tristan pulled her up the steps and to their room.
Sky sighed contentedly. She was lying on the massive canopy bed, her eyes half closed, as Erik lay with her. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist and his head lay pillowed on her chest, his warm breath caressing her skin as he slept. She combed her fingers gently through his hair, feeling relaxed, loved, and just a little giddy.
She lifted her left hand and studied the ring, her heart racing. She was still in shock that he had proposed. They were engaged. He was her fiancé. A quiet, excited giggle escaped her lips. Sky had known that they would someday marry, but now that it was actually going to happen, it seemed a little unreal to her.So what if they had to wait two years. What's two years when they were going to spend their lives together?
Sky felt the weight shift off her chest as Erik lifted his head. He had been watching her as she looked at her ring, a silly smile on her face.
"What's on your mind, Sunny?" He whispered hoarsely.
"When did you talk to my dad about this?"
Erik unwrapped his arms from her and stretched out beside her, resting his head on his fist. "A couple of weeks ago. You and Cady went shopping, so I went to your parent's house and spoke to your father. We sat on the porch and talked for over two hours."
"What about?"
"My intentions, the future I saw for us. I think he was testing me to make sure I really meant this, that it wasn't some childish daydream, that I really wanted to marry you, make a life with you, take care of you."
She giggled, "Take care of me?"
"Yeah, take care of you. I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself, so don't get all defensive on me. I'm saying that I want to take care of you. I want to be there for you and with you, forever."
Sky kissed him, "I wasn't getting defensive, I think it's sweet."
Erik pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her, "I still feel like I have a lot to prove to your father."
She smiled and settled her cheek against his chest, "Don't take it personally, hon, but you are always going to feel that way with my father. He's a little protective of me."
"A little?"
"Too bad we have to wait two years."
"Why the hurry, Sunny?"
She shrugged, "I don't know, I would just like to have it done, have it official."
"Well, we could always go to Vegas and stand before an Elvis impersonator."
"Okay, let's do it."
"I was kidding, Sky."
She lifted her head and looked down at him, "I'm not. Let's do it."
"Because you'd regret it later."
"I would never regret marrying you."
Erik lifted his head and gave her a quick kiss, "I know that. I mean you would regret getting married that way. Can you honestly tell me that you don't want your parents there? You don't want your dad to walk you down the aisle? You don't want Cady standing with you as your Maid of Honor?"
"True, but I would like to be married by an Elvis impersonator."
"Well, we have a couple of years to hire one."
"Will we get married on Arus or Pollux?"
"We have time to figure that out later."
Sky laid her hand on his chest, examining her ring, "You know, I never really wore jewelry before we started dating."
"That's good, I don't want you wearing jewelry from anyone else."
"Cady is going to be so jealous."
He smirked, "That's just an added bonus."
