Author's Note:
This chapter comes a little earlier than I anticipated, but since I won't be near my laptop the next couple of days I decided to upload this now as it is already done and proofread.
Thanks to everyone reading my story and expressing their interests in this.
Present
"Spit it out already. What's the big surprise waiting for me?" Emma pushed as she climbed out of the passenger seat.
Eric had pulled into his parking spot in front of the apartment complex seconds ago and turned the motor off. He grabbed the flower bouquet that he had purchased for Nell from the backseat and opened the driver's side door to climb out of the vehicle. The rain had diminished a little, but thunder was still growling above their heads and the wind was harsh as it creeped into his wet clothes. He shivered involuntarily. Making sure his sister was following he hurried to the entrance of the building.
"I told you. You'd either have to figure this one out yourself on the drive here or you have to wait until we're upstairs," he reminded his sister, mischief lacing his voice.
"That's not fair," Emma pouted and followed him through the door and up the stairs to the third floor.
"It's not. This was a fair agreement," Eric replied playfully and took the last flight of stairs two at a time.
"I never even agreed to this little game of yours. You're a sneaky little bastard, Eric." He chuckled at that. "You know I don't like surprises, especially when you are so secretive about them," Emma retorted.
"I know for a fact, that you love surprises, Emma." Eric reached his apartment and opened the door for her. "You're just very impatient." He stepped aside to let her enter first then followed her, threw the keys on the counter in the hallway and headed straight for the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. Having watered he left them on the breakfast isle and went to his bedroom, pulling out a shirt and sweatpants that might just fit his sister, before resurfacing in the living room and throwing the clothes at his sister. She caught them reflexively.
"Here. Put these on. Wouldn't want you to get sick on my watch," he teased. She rolled her eyes at him. "Feel free to take a shower if you want. I'll have the surprise waiting for you when you're done."
"You better!" she warned with a stern look and a wave of her pointer in his direction as she walked backwards towards the bathroom.
Eric waited for her to vanish behind the closed door before returning to the bedroom to change into dry clothes as well. Being with his sister meant he wouldn't have to worry about his attire and therefore opted on his favorite pajama bottoms, red ones with polar bears printed across. He loved the feel of the soft flannel on his skin and it would also help return some warmth to his chilled legs. A long-sleeved shirt and a zip-hoodie joined the outfit. Satisfied with the warmth it provided he strolled back into the living room and over to the rack next to his plasma TV, which was filled with CDs, DVDs, Blurays and Games. His collection wasn't huge but carefully selected and he prided himself on the variety of genres featured there.
He crouched down to the bottom shelf, which held the possessions he held dearest. It wasn't their tangible value that made them so special to him, but the sentimental value, the memories they held. His fingers glided over the back of the covers before he extracted them from the shelf. He spread the bunch on the coffee table for Emma to find when she came out of the bathroom and with another long glance and a small smile on his lips he headed over to the attached kitchen area to prepare them some beverages to warm up after their little dance in the rain.
Eric switched the electric kettle on to heat some water for tea for Emma and then prepared himself some coffee. He normally wouldn't drink coffee this late in the afternoon unless he was facing an all-nighter at work, but the exhaustion from little sleep over the past few days pulled at him. He had promised Emma that he would make it up to her for having to work this morning, so he couldn't risk falling asleep on her now. A promise was a promise and he wouldn't forgive himself if today would be less than perfect for his sister.
As he pulled out two mugs from the hanging cupboard and a box with a very rare tea blend that Hetty had given him a while ago he heard the click of the door lock down the hall and turned around in time to see Emma appear in the living room. Emma wasn't that much smaller than him and therefore the clothes he had chosen didn't look too ridiculous on her. "So, where's my surprise?" she asked without beating around the bush. She shot him a demanding look.
Eric grinned at her and jerked his head in the direction of the lounge. Narrowing her eyes and pinning him with them for a little while longer she took a few long strides over to the coffee table, only turning away from him once she reached the edge of the couch. When her gaze fell on the DVDs spread out in front of her she couldn't help the gasp escaping her.
"Eric…" she breathed, clearly stunned by what she was presented with. She took the last remaining steps towards the coffee table and knelt down to inspect them, carefully caressing her finger over the covers. Eric watched her from a far, a content smile gracing his lips.
The kettle clicked and the coffee machine burped its last droplets of coffee, drawing Erics' attention back to the task in front of him. He poured the tea for his sister and the coffee for himself and joined the younger woman on the couch. He handed her the cup and asked, "Was it worth the suspense?" He already knew the answer but hearing it would be even more satisfying.
Emma glanced at him ever so briefly, but long enough for Eric to see the myriad of emotions crossing her features. Her face was an expression of awe and there was a sparkle in her eyes as well as a childlike smile that couldn't be rawer with honesty. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she fished for the right words to say. In the end she sputtered out the words that penetrated her conscience.
"This is… Wow… Yes." She looked at the disc she was currently holding in her hands. "I mean… A take of the very original West Side Story cast? Amazing! Gypsy, Cats, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera? These are all the classics!" she exclaimed as she browsed through the cases lying on front of her. She let her eyes roam around once more to see if she had missed anything outstanding and her gaze fell upon a black and orange case that took her breath away and she snatched the case in a tight grip holding it in Erics' face. "Avenue Q? Are you serious? We watched this when we visited New York!" She couldn't reign in her emotions anymore and settling her cup of tea on one of the free spots on the table she drew her brother in a crushing hug.
Eric carefully extended his arm holding the coffee as not to spill it all over the couch, Emma and himself he leaned a little into her embrace. "So you like your surprise?" he asked tentatively when she finally entangled herself from him, allowing him to breath normally again.
She gave him an incredulous look. "Do I like it? Duh! I love it, Eric! This is amazing!" she shouted out. She picked the 'Avenue Q' DVD back up and tapped her finger against it repeatedly. "We have to watch this! Like right now!" she demanded, bursting with excitement.
Eric grinned. They had both enjoyed this particular play when they had visited New York seven years ago and Emma hadn't been able to shut up about it for weeks after watching it. He had known that this would be her first choice when she came to see his collection. "Give me a sec." Eric grabbed the DVD from her hands and walked over to his TV equipment, powered it up and put the disc in before joining his sister on the couch again.
"This is gonna be awesome!" Emma laughed, snatched her tea from the coffee table and snuggled back into the soft cushions of the sofa, drawing her legs up in the seat and shifting until she found the most comfortable position for herself. Eric did the same, remote control nestled on the armrest next to him just in case.
Three hours later when the credits rolled Eric stood up to stretch his legs. He needed a break and Emma seemed to think so as well. Rain was pouring down in sheets once again and they decided to order some takeout instead of heading out to grab some food or preparing something themselves. The latter seemed impossible anyway with the meager contents of Erics' fridge considering he hadn't been home enough the past week to refill it with fresh food. Their decision amicably fell on Chinese, Emma opting for Chicken Lo Mein and Eric's choice falling on a simple Egg Tong Sui. He didn't feel particularly hungry, but in case he did build up an appetite later and as not to worry his sister he added egg rolls to the order.
The food arrived half an hour later and extracting two plates and flatware from the kitchen the siblings settled back on the sofa with the dishes. Eric started the second DVD, which Emma had decided would have to be 'West Side Story' and then opened the small soup container with his Egg Tong Sui while Emma already dug into her Chicken Lo Mein. Her hunger seemed ravenous, judging from the rapid speed with which she scarfed down the food. Her plate was already empty when Eric put the fourth spoon of soup into his mouth. Truth be told, he was eating slow-motion like, therefore it wasn't that much of a surprise.
Emma placed the empty plate on the coffee table and her eyes fell on her brother, who was listlessly drawing circles in the plastic cup. She frowned. "You gonna eat that or wait until it grows spores?" she finally asked.
Eric glanced up at her. He'd enjoyed watching 'Avenue Q' and it had taken his mind off of the irritating thoughts surfacing occasionally throughout the day, but now that the play was over he was reminded of their vacation which inevitably led his thoughts to the initial reason for their vacation. Neither his sisters' reassuring presence next to him nor the Musical now playing on the screen of his plasma helped him diverting his attention. Dark thoughts and unpleasant memories usually held his appetite at bay, so it was no surprise to him that food wasn't exactly on his mind right now. Frankly, he felt slightly nauseated by the mere thought of food whenever something was bothering him and now was no exception.
Emma knew of this bad habit of his from past experiences and Eric had no intention of worrying her, so he smiled at her apologetically and lied, "Sorry, but I'm still full from lunch." She saw right through it though.
Raising one eyebrow and narrowing her eyes in suspicion she called him on it. "And you expect me to believe that? Lunch was what? Seven hours ago?"
Eric shrugged and gazed intently at his soup. He knew she would see right through it. Back in their youth he had tried his best to hide his personal struggles not only from Emma and their mother but from others as well, but looking up to him not only like a brother but like a guide, a mentor as well Emma had noticed a lot more of his behavioral characteristics than he would have liked her to. There had been times before he decided on putting their mother in a nursing home when he had barely eaten or slept at all, sometimes for days on end. For weeks if not months he had barely lived off of a rushed breakfast consisting of a small bowl of fruit or cereal and hadn't allowed himself enough time for another meal the rest of the day, preoccupied with tending to his mother's needs and wishes throughout the rest of the day. In retrospect, it was a miracle that he had still functioned despite neglecting his own health like that.
Emma regarded him intently, unsure if she should dive deeper into the topic or leave him be for once. "You are a bad liar, you know that?" she accused him. Eric sighed and put the lid back on the soup container before placing it back on the coffee table, but once again decided against answering. His sister suppressed a sigh of herself and gave in. "Fine. I won't push," she reassured him and schooled her voice to sound more nonchalant with her next question. "Are you gonna eat the egg rolls?"
"I don't think so," Eric answered, relieved that Emma surrendered for once.
"They are mine, then. It would be a shame to see them go to waste," she said with an air of lightheartedness and treated herself to the still tinfoil wrapped spring rolls.
They watched the rest of the Musical in silence and started a third one right after that, but half an hour into it Emma dozed off and Eric, feeling beyond exhausted now, decided to turn off both the DVD player and the TV. After stretching both arms and legs and rubbing his burning eyes he shook his sister awake gently.
"Hey," she answered sleepily, rubbing at her tired eyes as well and stretching out. "What time is it?"
"Eleven thirty," Eric supplied after glancing at the clock hanging on the far wall of his living room. He covered his own yawn with a hand.
"I should be going then. I have early shift tomorrow," Emma answered and pushed herself up from the comfortable couch. Scratching her head she added ruefully, "And I still have half an hour of Metro and bus drive ahead of me."
Eric frowned at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You are not taking the Metro or the bus, Emma," he stated resolutely.
"I have no other choice. I could call a cab, but I refuse to pay a fortune when I have a pass for public transport," Emma declared, clearly confused why her brother would want her to do that.
"You're not taking a cab either," he added with slight exasperation and rolled his eyes at his younger sister.
"How the hell am I supposed to get home then?" She shot him a suspicious look.
"I'm driving you," he exclaimed, as if that wasn't obvious.
"What? No, Eric, you don't have to do that. You barely slept in days, you said so yourself. You must be beyond tired and I don't need to remind you that you have work tomorrow as well, do I?" Emma argued with his logic, but he wouldn't have any of it.
"No you don't, but I'm not gonna let you roam the streets of LA at this ungodly hour alone. There're too many dangers out there this time of night," he reminded her with raised eyebrows.
"Eric, I'm 26 and I've been out at night a lot more times than you can count. Nothing ever happened to me and if it does tonight, well I can fend for myself." She tried to sound annoyed, but was too tired to get the point across with her voice.
The blonde grimaced, knowing that there were enough dangers out there that she wouldn't be able to fend off on her own. Dangers that even trained agents couldn't handle by themselves. But he couldn't tell her that, so instead he reassured her, "I don't doubt that, but I couldn't live with my conscience if something did happen to you tonight just because I didn't drive you. Besides, the last bus from here departs in two minutes and you won't be able to catch that one."
Emma sighed and dropped her hands in defeat. "Alright. But don't blame me for losing precious hours of your beauty sleep."
He chuckled. "I won't."
Eric felt oddly triumphant about winning the argument with his sister. He felt more comfortable knowing she was dropped off right at her doorstep and therefore he ignored the ongoing arguments as he steered her to his car. About fifteen minutes later he parked his truck right in front of her apartment building.
"Thanks," Emma yawned. The steady roar of the car had almost lulled her back to sleep and she didn't feel like arguing anymore to Erics' relief.
"That's what big brothers are for." Eric gave her a lopsided grin, but it lacked in enthusiasm thanks to the fatigue residing in every one of his body cells.
Emma returned the smile and unstrapped her seatbelt. She leaned down to grab her bag but hesitated once it was sitting in her lap. "You know, I enjoyed today. Despite the adjustments we had to make thanks to the weather and," she gave him a pointed look, "you forgetting about that leave request."
"Thanks for the reminder. I so didn't need that," Eric replied wearily. He cringed inwardly as the reminder cut deeper than Emma intended. He knew it was just sisterly hazing, but it was enough for dreadful feelings to arise. He wouldn't let her know that though.
"Let me finish, already!" she punched him playfully in the shoulder, oblivious to the dark thoughts invading his mind. "You really made this worth our while with the Musicals. We should make this part of our routine."
"Yeah, we should," Eric agreed with a small smile.
Emma gave him a sloppy hug, which he returned as much as he could while still being strapped to the seat, and then turned to open the passenger door of the car. "Drive back safely."
"I will," he assured her. "Goodnight."
"Night," she echoed and slammed the car door closed, watching him drive away.
As a side note, I have to admit, I've only ever watched one Musical live and that was 'The Lion King'. I've seen bits and pieces of a presumably movie version of 'West Side Story' back in school, but I don't really remember any of it. I would love to visit Broadway one day, but unfortunately that's a goal so unreachable for me, both from a physical and monetary angle right now that I will most likely only visit it in my dreams.
- S.