Tony's Salvation—Chapter 20
At four a.m., Laurie's internal alarm clock wakes her up. For a moment she lies there, enjoying the warmth of Tony lying next to her. He's spooned up against her, holding her close to him and she can feel his breath against her hair. She reluctantly slips out of bed so that she can relieve her bladder. When she comes out of the bathroom, his hands are searching the bed for her missing warmth.
Laurie slips back into bed, and Tony pulls her against him, hugging her close. She lays her head on his chest and she can hear his heartbeat slowing down. She strokes his arm, reassuring him that she's there and his heart slows to its normal steady pace. Without realizing it she falls back asleep completely at ease with her companion.
Tony wakes up fully an hour later. To his body's way of thinking it's almost seven a.m., not five. He lays there for a full minute, marveling at the peace he's feeling. With a sigh he decides to shower and dress before waking up the beauty beside him. He pads over to his room and picks up his overnight bag, bringing it and his back pack into Laurie's room.
He sets them on the floor and picks out a soft pair of jeans and black t-shirt. As there is still a bit of chill in the rooms he also pulls out a gray Ohio State sweatshirt to put on if the chill gets to be too much.
He glances back at the bed as he enters her bathroom and smiles at yet another similarity between them. She's sleeping on her side and as he watches she pulls the pillow he'd been using towards her and places her head where his had lain.
Ten minutes later and he's sitting beside her on the bed, rubbing the water out of his hair with a sky-blue towel (yes, Alix they are nice thick, thirsty towels…soft ones too ^_^) He reaches out to caress her face when he notices the scar on her left hand. As it's partially buried under his pillow, he can't tell too much about it, other than it apparently went deep and happened a long time ago.
He lightly starts tracing her cheek and she sleepily turns over, blinking at him owlishly as she tries to focus. Unable to resist, he leans down and kisses her
"That's a great wake up call." Her voice is still slightly husky due to just waking up.
"Mmm…I could get used to it, how about you?" Tony freezes when the words leave his lips. He doesn't realize how much he means them until they are spoken. His confusion at how deep his emotions actually go is echoed in his eyes.
Laurie raises her left hand to his cheek "It's okay Tony; we're taking things one day at a time remember? There is no rushing on either side unless one of us says so."
Tony's relief is almost palpable and he leans down to kiss her again relishing her responsiveness. When he finally lets her come up for air again she says, "But if you don't quit that soon, we're going to be doing a lot more than kissing."
Her droll comment elicits a blush; something that he didn't know he was capable of. Rather than attract more attention to himself he tells her, "In a way I wouldn't mind doing more, but in this case I think you're right. We're rushing a bit, even for me."
He stands up and she sighs as he leaves the bed. She looks up at him when he says, "Why don't you go shower and I'll start some breakfast for us."
When she nods her acceptance he leans in once more and gives her a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Join me when you're finished; I'm sure I'll need some assistance by then."
She starts to sit up when she realizes that she's naked from the waist up. She pulls a sheet up and just before he leaves the room she says, "Thank you Tony; for not rushing things. If you want coffee just touch the brew button on the pot, it should be ready."
He heads out the door and she stretches sighing at the events of the previous night. Both of them have been affected by the dream and with the possibility of recognition, she needs to consult with an expert. Contemplating her options, she steps into the shower.
Fifteen minutes later and she's wearing jeans, comfortable shoes and a loose cotton shirt. She pulls a purple sweater out of the closet and wraps it around her waist for the journey to her cabin later that day. She smiles when she realizes that aside from an odd twinge every now and again, her bruises are almost gone and so is the pain. She heads downstairs, squeezing the water out of her hair with a towel.
Tony's in the kitchen, looking surprisingly at home. The skillet is heated and he's pouring the last of some batter into the bottom of the pan. He looks over at her when she stops in the doorway.
"Hey beautiful, you feeling better?"
She nods and tosses the towel into the hamper that is kept in the ante room. She runs her fingers through her hair in a quick attempt at combing, before she stops at the sink and washes her hands. She walks over to the cupboard to bring out plates and silverware, secretly watching Tony as he flips the pancakes and whistles to himself.
"Maybe I should hire you as a part-time cook?"
Her gentle teasing brings a smile to his face as he turns off the stove and carries the pancakes to the table. She sets the maple syrup in the microwave to warm it up and brings out a small jar of peanut butter. Tony raises an eyebrow at the peanut butter but says nothing else about it. Laurie shrugs it off; she's always preferred peanut butter and syrup with her pancakes and waffles.
Reaching into the fridge she pulls out the milk and some orange juice. She sets these down and then pulls out two large glasses. She pours milk into hers and the juice into his. Once again he realizes that this is part of who and what she is; this instinctive knowledge of what he prefers to drink when he's having pancakes.
It occurs to him that she'd known he normally drinks coffee in the mornings. She'd said as much when she'd told him about the coffee pot. Only when he's eating an actual meal does he forego the caffeinated beverage.
Once they've finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen Tony asks her what the rest of the day will entail. Laurie drapes the dishtowel she'd been using over the back of a chair as she thinks about the day ahead.
"I was planning on going to my cabin. You can tag along if you'd like to; we can take a walk afterwards."
"Will I need to take anything with me?"
"You might need a jacket, other than that not really. Unless you want to grab some bottles of water out of the fridge. I don't think I stocked up the last time I was home."
Tony nods and heads upstairs for his jacket. As a side thought he empties his backpack of everything except his camera and goes back downstairs where he pulls several bottles of water out of the fridge. He then walks to the front of the store where Laurie is just pulling up in her Jeep Compass Sport 4x4.
Tony hands Laurie two bottles of water, and then sets his pack in the back. Laurie motions for him to buckle up as she puts the waters into the drink console. Once he's ready, she puts the vehicle into gear and they head out of town.
Tony is in awe when he sees the Rocky Mountains at such a close range.
"How do you keep the tourists out?
"This road is not on any map and few people dare venture this far out."
"Why? It's beautiful."
"And until a few years ago, extremely hazardous. My friends and I spent a great deal of time and money to find a secluded hideaway; this is the one I chose."
"You mean that there are more of them out here?"
"Mmm. Normally I would have just teleported, but I wanted you to see why I love living up here."
She pulls into an underground garage and then turns to face him. He's still in awe at what little he's seen.
"Come on Tony, if you decide to visit you'll need access codes; I can give them to you when we leave."
"Access codes? You live in the side of a mountain; who's going to try entering a mountain fortress?"
"You'd be surprised. And the codes allow you entrance to the house. Without it, you'll be stuck outside. The system is one of part of a high tech security system designed to protect the occupants within."
"It's like Smart House…made for TV movie starring Katey Sagal and Kevin Kilner." A soft whap on the back of his head brings his attention back to the present. He gives her a sheepish shrug and she smiles as she types in the current password. Tony looks it over critically and says that it could be broken easily.
"Not really. The code changes every week; I give a mental command so therefore I'm the only one who knows what the code is unless I tell someone else. Come on in and I'll open up some windows. It's going to be a warm day and the house needs airing out."
As she wanders from room to room Tony can see a visible relaxing in her walk. That's when he realizes that while she can create a mental sanctuary for her mind, this is the physical representation. This is the spot that she comes to recharge her batteries be they mental or physical.
Laurie glides back over to him and Tony smiles at the happiness reflected in her eyes. She gives him a hug which he returns and then she asks him if he'd like to take a walk with her.
"What about the alarm?"
"Turned off while we're out here."
She opens the back door and Tony catches his breath at the view in front of him. Evergreen trees line the perimeter around the house. There's a faint path leading into the forest and riotous cascades of flowers proceed around the house like a colorful moat. As he watches a deer steps to the edge of the path, then calmly walks away. She takes his hand in hers as she starts walking down the path. As they get closer to the entrance of the forest, Tony can almost hear the gurgling of a brook and softly asks her,
"How do you manage to tear yourself away from all this?"
"I can leave since I know that I can always come back here. I don't have to worry about where my home is; it's here. Admittedly it has been a bit lonely sometimes, but I'm hoping to change that someday."
"Anyone in particular you gonna share this with?"
She looks up at the wistful tone in his voice. She can see longing in his green eyes; a yearning for home and someone special to love him. She steps closer to him and takes his other hand in hers.
"I'm looking at my main candidate right now."
His gaze is locked on hers and he can see the sincerity in her eyes. Her hands have tightened slightly on his, emphasizing the truth behind her words. He shivers slightly and for a moment she wonders if she's scaring him when a breeze alerts her to the changing weather conditions. The temperature is dropping…fast. She takes a firmer grip on his right hand and tells him to follow her. Cold rain is pelting them when they finally reach the porch.
"Damn, where'd that come from?" Tony's grateful he'd kept his sweatshirt on and is almost wishing he'd kept his jacket with him.
"Unexpected showers and snow storms aren't that unusual this high up." She opens the door and ushers him inside. He realizes that the porch leads to the laundry room as he picks up a clean towel from the dryer and hands it to her.
"Thanks. Sorry about that," she gives him a droll look, "for some reason I forgot to check the weather channel this morning."
He laughs at the expression on her face as they head into the kitchen. They're sitting at the table when it finally dawns on her that his hand is still in hers and he's making no effort to remove it. Then she realizes that the hand he's holding is her left one; the one with the heart shaped scar. He's caressing the scar in an absent minded manner and she can tell that he's wondering just what would have caused that kind of scar.
A/N: Next chapter...the truth behind Laurie's scar.