Disclaimer: I only own Cadence McKnight, Maureen and Amos Lawrence, Nadine Banks and Chuck Williams. Everyone else is property of Disney.
Note: Sequel to 'Go be with the girl you love' but it can be read on its own.
Note 2: Special thanks to Peg for helping me out with my writer's block and writing a little bit-Love ya hun!
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After Kira finished unpacking her things, she went and knocked on Ethan's room. She waited as he came and answered the door.
"Hey, just thought I'd come by and tell you I'm going to go out for a walk." She informed him.
"Oh…Do you want some company?" Ethan asked. Kira saw the receiver lying on his bed, meaning he was still on the phone with Maryann. She gave him a smile.
"No, I'll be fine, just thought I'd let you know, so you're not worried or anything." She said. Ethan nodded.
"All right, well stop by when you get back, will ya? I don't need to be up half the night worrying about you." He said. Kira chuckled.
"Sure thing, dad." She said. Ethan rolled his eyes. "I'll see you later." She said as she left.
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Kira walked around Reefside, not really thinking about where she was going, but she somehow ended up in the woods by the museum. She paused, realizing where she was. She smiled softly as she thought back on that day so many years ago when she was there with Conner and Ethan. She slowly walked over to the exact spot where she and Conner fell through into the cave and sat down on the ground.
"Freak you out…..Freak you out……Freak you out.." Kira sang softly as they walked around the underground tunnel.
"Babe, can you keep it down? I'm trying to focus here." Conner sighed. Kira glared at the young man, her eyes burning with hatred.
"Did you just call me babe?" She turned to Ethan. "Did he just call me babe?" Ethan shrugged.
"I don't know. I wasn't listening. I was still grooving to your tune." He replied.
Kira was startled out of her thoughts as she heard footsteps approaching her. Kira quickly jumped up to her feet. Expecting some crazed weirdo or a member of the paparazzi who had somehow tracked her down and followed her, Kira quickly hid behind a tree. She peaked out from the side as a figure appeared and walked over to the spot where she had just been. Kira decided it was just best to leave. She turned and slowly left.
"Kira?" She heard the person call after her. Kira quickened her pace as she heard the person following her.
"Look pal, I don't know how much whatever tabloid it is this week is paying you, but I'm so not in the mood, so back off!" She snarled. She felt the person grab her arm to turn her around. Kira spun back and reeled her free fist back. She released, letting her fist connect with her pursuer's nose.
"Agh!" The guy exclaimed, releasing her and stumbling back. Kira turned around and went to leave.
"If you even try to sue, I'll tell 'em you grabbed me."
"Wasn't thinking of suing you." The person replied. "What kind of friend would that make me?" Kira's brow furrowed as she spun around. There was more light where they were now and Kira could now see Conner standing there, his hands cupped over his nose. Kira gasped.
"Conner! Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I had no idea.." She rushed over to him. "Are you okay? Did….Did I break it?" She asked.
"No." Conner said. He put his hands down and scrunched up his nose a bit. "Nothing's broken, just a little sore."
"I'm so sorry; I didn't know it was you, honestly." Kira said. Conner looked at her.
"Hey, it's my fault for just grabbing you like that." He said. Once she received confirmation that he was all right she took a few steps back, not wanting to be too close to him. Conner noticed this.
"I just..." He began to say, but stopped when he realized he wasn't sure what to say. He shrugged. "Sometimes I come out here……You know…….To think." He said. Kira nodded.
"Where's your daughter?" She asked.
"She's staying with Krista's parents for the night." Conner said. At the mention of Conner's deceased wife, Kira couldn't help but look down.
"I…..I'm sorry……About what I said to Krista that night……….I mean, I didn't mean it, I was just….Upset, ya know?" Kira said, kicking at some loose clumps of dirt with the toe of her shoe. She sighed. "If you want me to like……keep my distance, I will. I mean, I can't exactly go back to LA without Ethan, but I-"
"Kira." Conner said, cutting her off. She looked at him. "I never wanted you to 'keep your distance'. Not these last ten years, not now." He said. "You were one of my best friends. Do you have any idea how I felt when you didn't even come to my wedding? Or how I felt when Krista told me she was pregnant, and I was able to call everyone and tell them the good news, except you?" He asked. Kira bit her lip and shifted her eyes so she wasn't looking at him. There were so many responses that were on the tip of her tongue, but she thought back on what Ethan said to her earlier and decided to stay silent. "I shouldn't have blown up at you like that earlier today." He apologized. "I guess I was just so angry and upset and I wanted so badly to just find someone to direct that to-"
"And I provided a good target, I get it." Kira said, her tone a little icy. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said. Conner shook his head. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry Kira.. I sorry that you thought that things should have been different, and I'm sorry that I blamed you for Krista dying..." He trailed off. He looked down. The two were silent for a while.
"………So……To recap, we're both sorry?" Kira asked. Conner chuckled. He went over and pulled Kira into a hug. Kira was so taken off guard by this that she just stood there for a bit before raising her arms and hugging him back. It had been ten years since they had been this close, let alone hugged, and it felt good. Not just because of the romantic feelings she had for him, but because he had been one of her best friends and she did miss not seeing or talking to him all this time. They stood there for a while, hugging, as if they thought that it was making up for the last ten years. They then slowly pulled apart. They made their way back to where they had fallen through to the underground cave over a decade ago and sat down.
"So, did you ever bring Krista here?" Kira asked. Conner nodded.
"Once." He said. Kira looked at him. Conner understood the look. "No, I never told her about its significance." He said. "Just told her that I liked the quietness and serenity……Which is partly true." Kira nodded.
"Yeah, it is nice here." She said softly. The two stared up at the sky, watching the stars. Kira turned her head and looked at Conner. "Cadence is really beautiful." She said softly.
"Yeah, thank goodness she took more after her mother. Can you imagine my features on Cadence?" He asked. Kira laughed.
"Oh yeah, she would've been hideous. Thank goodness she looks nothing like you." Kira teased.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Conner said dryly. The two fell into a comfortable silence. "I'm actually glad I ran into you out here." He said, breaking the silence. "I wanted to thank you, for what you said to Cadie."
"What do you mean?" Kira asked. Conner looked at her.
"Well, after everyone left, I was just looking over some old pictures of me and Krista—Wedding photos, pictures of when Cadie was born, and I just…….Started like, bawling. And Cadie comes in and sits next to me, and do you know what she says? She says 'daddy, don't be sad….Mommy's playing with the angels.' I asked her what made her say that, and she told me 'Auntie Kira told me that.'." He gave Kira a small smile. "I just wanted to thank you for giving her something, ya know? I mean, ever since Krista died, I've been trying to come up with a way to explain to Cadie why her mother isn't around anymore, but I didn't know how." Kira returned his smile.
"I'm glad I could help." She said. "I remember when I was really young, I think a little bit younger than Cadie, my great grandmother passed away, and I didn't understand why my grandma and my mom were all sad and why we weren't going to be visiting her anymore, and my dad told me that because my great grandmother was so nice and everything, the angels wanted her to be their friend and wanted her to knit them her amazing sweaters and everything, so I just held onto that. Then when I was around fifteen, my grandmother died and one of my younger cousins kind of didn't get what was going on and I just told him what my dad told me when I was little—The angels wanted her to come up and be their friend, and bake them her famous chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. So today, when Cadie asked Cassidy why you were upset and why Krista wasn't around, I just remembered that and told it to her." Conner smiled.
"Thanks." He said.
"Your welcome. I'm surprised Cadie's already calling me 'auntie'. I mean, she just met me today."
"What can I say; my daughter latches on to anyone who spends more than fifteen minutes with her." He said lovingly of his daughter. "She loves attention, she loves people."
"A perfect mixture of her parents—your attention seeking, and Krista's warmth." Kira said, thinking back on that night during the graduation bonfire. Krista could've just walked away when she saw her with Derek, but she stepped in and did something about it because she knew Kira wasn't in the right state of mind. She kept trying to get through to Kira, to make things better—even to the point of saying she'd break up with Conner if it meant that Kira would talk to him. Looking back, Kira regretted being so stubborn and not accepting Krista's attempts to reaching out to her, and now it was too late.
"Regret's a powerful thing." Conner said, as if reading Kira's mind. She looked at him. "Your tone, it screamed of 'I wish I did something differently'." He explained. Kira nodded. She sighed.
"I just………Krista was a great person, I mean, she was kind, had a mind of her own, fought for what she believed in, and I just……I mean she was so nice to me and I was just so evil to her."
"Krista never blamed you for anything. I mean, I'll admit, when you didn't even speak to us at everyone else's wedding, and didn't come to our wedding, I wasn't exactly thinking too highly of you, but Krista," Conner said, pausing, thinking about his wife. "She never jumped in on that train of thought. She was so proud of you with all your success. Whenever I asked her why she cared so much, she'd tell me that you had a dream of becoming a professional musician, and you achieved it. You didn't compromise yourself or anything, and for that she was proud of you, even if you didn't know it." Kira looked down; she could feel tears stinging her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I should've called you guys. I should've come to your wedding—it shouldn't have taken me this long to quit being a pigheaded moron." She said, her voice cracking as she tried to hold in the tears that were coming from what Conner said to her. Conner shifted closer to her and put his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her close comfortingly, as if to tell her he forgave her.
"It's okay." He said softly. Kira sniffled and wiped at the few tears that had escaped. She looked at her watch.
"Wow, it's late. I should probably get back to the Inn; I don't want Ethan to be worried." She said. She got up and dusted the back of her pants. She stretched her hand out to Conner and helped him up to his feet.
"Let me walk you back, I mean what if the next time some one grabs you it actually is the paparazzi." Conner teased. Kira laughed and accepted his offer. The two walked out of the woods and towards the Inn.
