A/N ~ *It was a nice surprise to hear from my fellow caffeinated Gabby Shipper, The Gabby Effect. Since catching up recently we decided to try and attempt on combining our "forces" to bring a little Gabby back into the basement of our shipper lives. Since reading TGE's latest FF I was reminded of the only Gabby story I had posted and I felt like I should either end or continue it, so here it is. Unbeta'd but written. Enjoy.*


Chapter 3

The last ten minutes of their drive up the secluded dark muddy road were filled with static from the radio. Occasionally a lyric from a song would come through. Songs about heartbreak and drinking would come in and out of the static in pieces. They didn't mind the noise because the only song that mattered was the one beating in their chests.

They pulled up to the cabin, miles out of town and far from the city lights that robbed them of the starlight they both loved. He may have spent hours in his basement with his head down and mind filled with calculations, but he loved watching the stars. She did too. Although, she may have been high-strung on Caf-Pow! And tuned out the rest of the world with loud music, deep down she loved watching the glimmer of stars in silence. Throughout the years they had known each other, that's what they had done many times before. After her traditional birthday dinner, they would find themselves here, far from the distractions that filled their lives. Alone, they would sit here together on the tailgate of his truck and simply watch the twinkling of stars that took light years to reach their eyes.

However, tonight was not one of those nights when he would steal her away from the ever-lively city to peer into the cosmos. He may have still been a theft, but it wasn't because of the barefoot bride he drove far away from the foolish groom that abandoned her at the altar today. He remained the ever-silent theft that only took back what was his. A smile tugged on his lips at that thought, because he knew as possessive as that may have sounded, she was good at taking what she wanted too. He may have been the one who kissed her on the deserted dancefloor or the one driving the truck, but she was the one who stole his heart tonight.

Dark stormy clouds hid the stars they loved, but they didn't care – tonight those pretty lights that traveled millions of miles to dance for them didn't matter at all. Tonight, there was something that seem to have waited longer than those sparkling lights in the cosmos. It was the flames of love that had since turned to embers in the cold corners of their hearts. It lay dormant, undisturbed, and ignored, except on rare occasions when they lingered just a bit longer in a hug or when his lips pressed ever so closely next to hers.

Arriving at the cabin, he pulled up and parked at the spot he always did. As the engine shut off, she leaned up a kissed his jawline. A smile emerged from his stoic gaze as he turned to her. Eyes as dark as the forest that surrounded them met his. While dark deep blue seas met hers.

Licking his lips, he leaned in and captured the soft smile that beamed at him in the dark. Turning in his seat they quietly lost themselves in the slow captivating kiss until the sound of the rain falling on the cab of the truck drew them out of the intoxication of lips they weren't allowed to taste for years.

"We should go in." He said in a low voice as he rested his head against hers.

Licking the taste of him from her lips, "Okay..." she breathed.

Taking a deep breath, he found it difficult for him to be apart from her because it felt as if he had to tear himself away from her while he simply opened the truck door. Placing his keys in his mouth he turned around and held out a hand. A gentle smile pulled on his lips as he watched her scoot over to his side of the truck. Seeing her bare feet, he came closer, and without saying a word he slid his arm under her dress below her thighs and wrapped the other around her. He heard her take in a breath as he lifted her out of the truck.

Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as he kicked the truck door shut. The rain came down gently upon their heads. She laughed as the cold splashes hit her exposed skin and how it seemed to darken his hair as they made their way to the door. He chuckled as she looked at him with a questioning expression, surprised that he didn't put her down once they were on the porch.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked with a bright smile.

"Carrying you over the damn threshold..." He replied with the set of keys still dangling from his mouth.

She giggled as he dropped the keys onto her. Biting her bottom lip she unlocked the door and opened it. Gripping the keys tightly in her hand she wrapped her arm around his neck again as he stepped into the cabin with her safely in his arms.

The light from a distant lightning strike lit up the dark as she looked at him. His silver hair was dark grey and droplets of rain were gently running down his face as he took her over the threshold. Her heart and breath seemed to shudder as their eyes met. It had been decades but in this flash of lightning, she saw the glimmer of the younger man she fell for all those years ago.

The simple act of being carried over the threshold signified many things for a married woman and although she didn't have a ring on her finger tonight, she knew exactly how it felt to be in the arms of someone you would want to spend the rest of your life with. For her, being carried over the threshold meant that perhaps they were walking out of their old lives and into something familiar but new. As the blue hue began to dissipate again, she smiled as she looked out the door before, he kicked it shut. The storm was raging in the distance and the dark black trees still swayed in the wind. For her, being carried over the threshold of their cabin also signified that he would always carry her away from any storm that may rage in their lives and as the door shut, she couldn't help but feel relief. Relief that this also meant that whatever was lurking outside or in their past could no longer come into their lives.

Feeling him begin to lower her brought her thoughts back to him. She smiled noticing just how gentle he was with her as he set her down. It wasn't anything new for him to be so delicate with her but tonight he seemed to take extra care of her.

As her feet hit the wooden floor, she looked up at him while the dim blue flashes from the lightning striking miles away lit up the dark. She saw his eyes fixated on her as if she was the only and most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His soft words that he spoke in the dark, confirmed that for her.

"You're beautiful." He told her quietly.

Smiling she looked down at her now ruined dress. There was nothing beautiful about it, let alone her, she thought. Giggling she looked back up at him.

"I think you need to get your eyes checked, gunny." She smiled back.

Stepping closer he cupped her face in both of his hands. "I could go blind and I'd still find you beautiful... Abbs." He said softly.

Looking up at him in the darkness she half expected to wake from this dream. Times when she would lay awake in her room, it didn't take long for her thoughts to drift to him. She would daydream of all the things she hoped that he would say to her. Confess his feelings to her like did earlier, but she had stopped dreaming those silly things after she accepted the proposal from the man, she hoped would have loved her more than the Marine standing in the cabin with her tonight. Feeling her heart race, she snaked her hands up his arms and then around his neck. She felt her breath shudder as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Pulling her closer to him, his lips met hers in the nearly blinding blackness. Soft sensual kisses confirmed to them that this was no dream. It was happening and, on all nights, it was the night of her wedding day. She was supposed to walk down the aisle to call someone else hers, but as fate would have it, instead it was a night of reclamation.

Ending their kiss, he stepped back from her before things progressed any further.

"Should build a fire," he said as he let her go.

Taking a breath, she watched him tend the fireplace while she made her way over to the bed in the corner. Sitting down, she pulled at the pins in her hair that seemed to take hours to get right. Only hours ago, she was selecting all the perfect things to wear on the day she would remember for the rest of her life. It all seemed so stupid now, she told herself as she carelessly dropped the pins to the floor. Her long black hair fell around her face as she ran her fingers through it. Smiling she straighten her hair out as the spark of flames began to flicker in the dark.

She quietly watched him as he placed pieces of wood in the fireplace. The dark retreated as the warm glow from the fire filled the cabin. In silence, she watched him rise and turn around to face her. A half-grin on his lips and his hair damp, she watched as he pulled the hoodie up over his head and drop it at his feet. Smiling she watched him approach. Why she ever wasted her time and money on the groom and this day she didn't understand, because right here was the one person who didn't care about the material things that she foolishly spent her savings on. He could care less about what she wore; to him, she would always be beautiful. He didn't mind how long it took for her hair to get fixed, it could be tangled and, in a mess, and he still would find her attractive. Hell, she was sitting on the bed in a ruined dress, without shoes, her hair wild & the make-up that took an hour to perfect was washed away by the rain and still... he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked shyly as he held out his hand to her.

Taking her hand in his, he pulled her to her feet.

"Just thinking that he should have asked you to marry him sooner," he replied.

"Why?" She laughed.

He shrugged at her as he slowly began to turn her away from him.

"Maybe if he did, I would have come to my senses sooner... I had to get close to losing you to realize that I can't live without you, Abs." He said quietly as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Giggling she felt her back press against his chest. Her smile grew brighter as she felt his soft lips press against the back of her shoulder. He gently brushed aside her hair as he continued to leave a trail of soft butterfly-like kisses toward her neck.

"Abs..." He said between kisses.

With her eyes shut, she replied. "Yeah?"

"How much do you... love this dress?" He asked her in a low voice that gave her chills.

She giggled. "Well, I can't return it if that's what you're asking."

"So, is it worth keeping or not?" He said as he nipped at her neck that causing her to bite her bottom lip.

"Ugh..." She trailed off as she lost herself in the intoxicating sensation of being his only focus.

"Abs" He said again clearing the fog from her mind that he proudly took credit for.

"Um, don't want to keep it" She breathed with her eyes still closed.

"Cost much?" He asked as he reached for the knife, he never left home without.

"Seven... eight grand." She foolishly admitted.

Tearing himself away from her neck he looked at her face and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Finally opening her eyes, she hesitantly turned her head to face him. "Pathetic huh?"

"Wow..." was his only response as he looked down at her dress.

"Why?" She asked as she continued to look at him.

Ignoring her question, instead, he pulled his left arm from around her waist and gripped the top of her dress, just below her collarbone.

Worried she noticed how forcefully he gripped her dress and looked at him once again.

The smile that started the spark in her heart for him years ago, flashed at her as he softly replied.

"I'll spend all night making this up to you."

Before she could reply his right hand came up to her chest gripping the knife he pulled from his belt. She took in a breath as the sharp knife cut through the designer fabric with ease and with each thread cut, he severed every barrier that kept them apart now and in the past.

"You're mine," he whispered.


The end or...?
I'll leave that up to you.