Snapping back to the present, Emmett remembered Bay's question and answered simply, "Yeah, we'd sit and talk, sometimes bring a game or something, ate some food."
Bay looked around. "I like this place."
Emmett looked at her, and signed, "Me, too."
Over the next two weeks, Emmett managed to spend some quality time with Bay at least every other day. Fortunately, between Ty's temporary job at a hardware store and Ty's doctor's appointments, there wasn't much objection from that side, because he wasn't around when Emmett was.
When it was relatively nice out, Emmett and Bay would go to "their" park. Bay was picking up sign language more quickly than she had the first time, which didn't really surprise Emmett. He figured that some of her memories were being triggered and that helped. He didn't push it, though, because he didn't want her to pull away or think he was pressuring her to remember.
One of his favorite days was when he rode his bike to the Kennishes', and Bay decided that she'd like to try riding on it with him. After ascertaining that it was okay with Kathryn, off they went!
Bay held on tight to Emmett, and he relished every second of it. It was the closest and most intimate position they'd been in for almost a month! He wished they hadn't decided on a destination beforehand because he would've loved to just drive around and around aimlessly, enjoying Bay's embrace around his middle.
"Wow!" Bay said, her cheeks flushed, her hair windswept. "That was awesome!"
He beamed at her, shooting her his most winsome smile. "Wanna go again?" he asked.
She laughed at him. "Let's just sit down for a little bit."
They found a bench (instead of just sitting in the grass like they usually did), and sat there absorbing the sights and smells of nature. After five minutes of silence, Bay turned to Emmett and said simply, "I really like spending time with you."
Emmett smiled at her, but didn't respond. Inside him, though, there was a mini-Emmett jumping up and down, pumping his fist in the air, shouting, "YES!"
Another couple of minutes passed before Bay turned to him again. "I can see how we became close."
Emmett almost jumped out of his skin. "You mean you remember?" he signed excitedly, and then he started signing faster. "You remember us? You remember how we were together, how we got together, how close we were?"
Bay laughed at him a bit. "Whoa, ok, I don't know what second part of what you just said was, but as for the first part…no, I don't remember much about you and me yet, although I think I'm starting to remember on my own signs that I learned."
Emmett deflated momentarily, but quickly tried to wipe the disappointment off of his face before Bay could see it.
"I was just saying that after spending time with you over the past couple of weeks, I can understand more how we became close, like you told me when I first woke up and didn't think we were really friends. Understand, now?"
Emmett nodded, giving her a small smile, while the hope he had felt only a few seconds earlier fell *splat* to his feet. But he reminded himself about the positive things that Bay had said about him and her, and the hope was revived a little bit.
"Tell me more about how we became friends," Bay requested, stretching out her legs in front of her.
"You saw me standing outside Buckner, waiting for Daphne and taking pictures," Emmett said with a nostalgic little smile, remembering that first real interaction. "You had just gotten the picture of Regina when she was pregnant with you, and you wanted me to blow up the picture to see if we could see what the parking sticker in the window of the car said." Emmett laughed a little at the next part. "Instead of doing that, I just looked at the license plate and was able to get the address of where the car was located."
Bay tilted her head at him, "I didn't think of that?"
Emmett shook his head at her, grinning.
"I hope I'm smarter with the way my brain is now," Bay said, smirking, and Emmett laughed.
"Anyway, we ditched school and went to the car lot where the car was located and looked around," he continued.
"What?" Bay exclaimed. "That's crazy! How did you expect to find that one car in a whole lot of cars?"
Emmett smirked at her. "That's what you said back then, too."
Bay laughed, and Emmett continued with the story. "We actually found it pretty soon after we got there. You got all excited, looked in the car, didn't find anything, and then kicked the car in frustration." Emmett grinned, remembering Bay's next remark to him. "You ranted for a minute to me, and then you told me that I was the best listener that you knew. I convinced you to look back in the car once more, and you found a guitar pick."
Bay looked skeptical. "I found a guitar pick? What good did that do?"
Emmett laughed at how similar her reactions were now to back then. "You felt pretty much the same way back then. I, however, saved the day with my great memory!" he signed with pride.
Bay smirked at him. "Yeah? What'd you remember?"
Emmett feigned mock hurt at her skepticism. "I'll have you know, when Daphne and I were younger, we found a guitar case. When Regina saw us with it, she got really mad and grabbed it away. I didn't know what happened next."
Bay snorted at him. "Well, that's rather anticlimactic." Then she stopped, thinking for a moment, and asked. "How'd we communicate if I didn't know sign?"
Emmett grinned at her question. "Well, it was a little like when you first woke up from your coma, except harder because you really had never learned it. We basically played charades, but you caught on pretty quickly." Emmett paused and then continued, "I think you told me it was like I was speaking Russian."
She laughed again, and said, "So what happened next, Boris?"
He grinned, and told her. "Well, I remembered that Regina had left some of her stuff in our garage, so we went to look there. We didn't find the guitar case, but you found your birth certificate that stated your father's name: Angelo Sorrento. You were pretty excited about that."
Bay nodded, remembering that name.
"You researched the name and found a guy with that name who was around the right age and had your dark hair. He was a DJ, so you, Daphne, and I went to visit the club he was working at that night."
Emmett stopped talking, slightly alarmed by the strange look on Bay's face. "You okay?"
Bay nodded slowly. "And," she said slowly, "it was a gay bar, right? And we went to a diner afterwards?"
Emmett's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah!" he signed excitedly.
"I think I remember the feeling I had," Bay continued remembering slowly. "I felt disappointed and frustrated, like I didn't want to go through it again."
"That's right!" Emmett said. "You said you just wanted to give up!"
A smile spread across Bay's face. "I remembered something!" She scrunched up her nose a little bit. "You know, I never thought I'd be so excited to remember something I already knew."
Emmett felt his excitement mounting. If she remembered that, then maybe she remembered other stuff that happened around that time. "You know, in the middle of the father debacle, we also shared our first dance. Do you remember that?"
Brows furrowed, Bay concentrated, trying to think back to that time, seeing what she could remember. "It was like there was paint around…were we dancing in my garage?"
"Yeah!"
"Something about birds? Wait, that doesn't make any sense…there are no birds in my garage."
Emmett sat up straight, "No, you're right! There were bird noises on the tape we were dancing to!"
She gave him a strange look. "No offense, but how do you know?"
He laughed, realizing how strange it sounded. "You told me," he explained.
"Oh."
"The day after the whole gay bar-not real father thing, I came to visit you at your school. Do you remember that?" Emmett couldn't help it. He felt almost greedy with Bay's memories, as if he couldn't get enough of them. He couldn't resist hoping upon hope that she remembered their first kiss. That- that would be amazing.
Bay shook her head, looking a little worn out. "No, I'm sorry, I don't. Why, was it something important?"
Emmett felt his feelings of hope take another swoop downwards, but the fact that she had remembered some stuff, even some of their first dance together, made it easier. "That's for another time," he said. "Let me take you home."
After he dropped Bay off at home, he went back to his house, came in the door, and flopped down on the couch. He felt like he had gotten so close, like she had gotten so close, like they'd gotten so close to having her memory back, but then it ran away.
Looks like I'll have to continue being the one who remembers, he thought morosely.
He stared up at the ceiling, remembering other times from when they were together, the memories so clear he could almost see them on the ceiling, like a movie playing on a TV.
It was one of those chilly days that come along when nobody expects it, so most people are walking around freezing, wishing they had a sweater with them.
He had picked Bay up from school and they had decided to go to the park straight from Buckner, despite the weather. When he questioned her about the temperature outside, Bay said, "You know what they say, mind over matter! I'll think warm thoughts. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
He gave in, but made sure she knew that if she got cold, he would take her home. Neither of them wanted to get sick, but at least he had his jacket with him. Most people don't realize how cold it gets when you're riding a motorcycle; the wind feels like it's blowing right through you! So Emmett had his jacket with him that day, thankfully.
When they arrived at the park, they decided it was too chilly to just sit, so they walked around, hoping to warm up a bit that way. At some point, their hands intertwined, neither of them quite sure who had initiated it. They walked silently until Emmett felt a slight shudder go through Bay.
He looked at her, his gaze sharp. "Are you cold?"
"I'll be fine," she dismissed him.
Her argument would've been a little more convincing if he hadn't seen her shiver a little right after she told him that. He immediately took off his jacket and placed it around her. She reflexively drew the jacket closer to her, and then looked sheepishly at him when she realized what she'd just done. He smirked at her, silently victorious.
They continued walking, not really paying attention to anyone else who was walking around then, until a few seconds later, he felt the vibrations of Bay's laughter.
He looked at her questioningly. She signed, still shaking with laughter, "I'll tell you in a little bit."
They decided to go back home shortly after that, so they headed back to his bike. Before they got on, Emmett asked her what had been so funny.
Bay started to laugh again, her hands shaking as she told him. "There was an elderly couple walking behind us for a while back there. Soon after you gave me your jacket, the lady said to the man, "See, Ernie? Most boys these days only give a girl their jacket when they're hoping to get in their pants. But, that couple is different. You know how I know that, Ernie?" Ernie grunted and his wife continued, "Because they're holding hands. That's how I know. That's a sign that they'll last." Bay stopped, and then continued thoughtfully. "I think Ernie grunted again. I'm actually not sure that he could talk, which is possibly how they're still married."
Emmett, after hearing the story, joined in with her laughter, handing her his spare helmet. Then they mounted his motorcycle, her arms went around him, and they sped off into the distance.
Emmett smiled nostalgically, remembering the story. Back then, he and Bay had laughed at the lady's perspective. But now, Emmett couldn't help but hope that the lady was right and they would last…that he and Bay could go back to holding hands and being a couple.
A.N. Hey, everyone! Sorry this isn't so long, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Bay is starting to remember, little by little, so I think soon she'll remember everything…we have to see what happens before that comes about. There'll probably be some Ty interaction before she remembers. Please review and let me know what you think!