~~~Sheridan's cottage~~~
Luis lay on Sheridan's couch, unable to sleep, listening to the thunder
rumbling in the distance. Sheridan didn't want him there... she'd made
that
plain, demanding that he go. He wasn't about to leave her alone until
those
drug dealers, Roger and Pierre, were captured and he'd told her so.
They'd
argued... nothing new about that... and amazingly he'd won the round.
Sheridan had scowled at him, stuck her arrogant Crane nose in the air
and
stalked to her bedroom, slamming the door for good measure.
That was an hour ago. Luis punched the pillow he'd found in the closet,
hoping to get comfortable.He was edgy, and it had nothing to do with
the
storm that was coming. It had to do with the woman sleeping in the next
room.
She was the most impossible, pigheaded woman he'd ever laid eyes on.
Ten
minutes together and they were at each other's throats... guaranteed.
She
knew every button to push to set him off and he was sure she revelled
in it.
She made his blood boil... and therein lay his problem. Just when he
thought
he was going to go crazy he got this incredible urge to haul her into
his
arms and shut her up with a kiss... Damn! He was never going to get
to
sleep.
Sheridan had retreated to her bedroom, livid at Luis and near tears of
frustration. She wished he'd just leave her alone and stay away from
her,
because she couldn't stand to be near him. He hated her and she was
falling
in love with him. Falling? Hell, she was so deep already she'd never
escape.
She lay there in bed, trying not to hear the thunder that was getting
closer
by the minute. Luis was out there on the couch, doing his duty to
protect
her. He'd told her so himself, that it was his job. Not that she didn't
feel
safe, because she did... she trusted him with her life. It just hurt to
know
that he was there because she was part of his job, when he meant so
much more
to her.
Thunder rumbled, lightning lit up the room for a split second and
Sheridan
shuddered. She hated storms, always had. She felt foolish as her
anxiety rose
and she tried to give herself a pep talk. "This is silly Sheridan,"
she
whispered. "It's not even close... get a grip on yourself..." The
words
weren't helping, especially since the storm was getting nearer. The
fear
began to overtake her, thrusting her back to the past...
Luis swore and got up off the couch. He was never going to sleep
anyway,
between the storm and thinking of Sheridan. He stood at the window,
watching
the rain pound down and the lightning colour the sky. The thunder
crashed
again, so near that the windows rattled gently. A particularly loud and
long
rumble subsided, leaving a strange silence... only Luis realized that
the
silence didn't extend to the inside of the cottage. Sheridan was
crying. It
wasn't loud, but she was definitely crying.
He flew to her door, knocking and receiving no answer. He knew she
didn't
want to see him, but she could've hurt herself. He opened the door and
peered
inside, "Sheridan?"
The light from her bedside lamp shone onto the bed, revealing that it
was
empty. He could still hear her sobbing so he knew she was in the room.
He
moved inside, seeing her and his heart lurched. She was on the floor in
the
corner, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her face was a mask of terror,
pale,
almost white. Tears were rolling down her face and she was rocking
slowly
back and forth. Luis approached her slowly, not wanting to spook her.
"Sheridan..." She didn't seem to know he was there, she just kept
sobbing
and rocking. As Luis knelt down beside her he noticed her eyes... they
were
glazed over, as though she were in another place. Another deafening
clap of
thunder shook the cottage and she flinched, rocking faster. "Sheridan,
hey,
it's alright." He touched her arm and her eyes snapped into focus. She
glanced at him and they were filled with terror. More thunder rumbled
and she
launched herself into his arms.
Luis was surprised, but he enfolded her in his arms. She buried her
face in
his neck and he could feel her hot tears on his skin. She was trembling
and
he held her tightly. "Shhhh, it's okay... I've got you." He stood and
she
scrambled up with him, her arms still in a death grip around his neck.
"Come
on..." He scooped her up in his arms and carried her out into the
living
room. Another loud bang caused her to tremble and whimper. "Here we
go...
I'm going to put you on the couch..." He started to put her down, but
she
tightened her grip on him and whispered, "Please don't leave me
Luis..."
"Okay, I won't leave Sheridan... I promise." Instead of putting her
down he
sat, settling her down on his lap. "It's alright Sheridan, the storm
won't
hurt you."
Sheridan clung to him. taking deep, ragged breathes. Being close to him
was
calming her down and she could feel her anxiety receding. Finally she
lifted
her tearstained face from his shoulder and peered up at him. "I'm
sorry
Luis... I'm such a baby," she whispered. He smiled gently at her.
"It's
alright Sheridan. You can't help being afraid. We're all afraid of
something." She frowned, unable to believe Luis could be afraid of
anything. "What are you afraid of?" He looked a bit embarrassed.
"Snakes."
"Snakes? Really?" "Yeah, they really creep me out," Luis
admitted.
Another clap of thunder made Sheridan jump and he ran his hand
soothingly up
and down her arm. "When I was little, about 5 I guess, my brother,
Antonio
put a garter snake down my shirt and I couldn't get it out. Since then,
I
can't even look at a snake." Sheridan nodded her head in
understanding, her
silky hair brushing his face. "You know," he said, "it might help to
talk
about why you're so afraid of storms."
Sheridan wanted to tell him, but she knew she could never reveal the
whole
story. How she'd stood over that dead body, her hands dripping blood,
with
Father accusing her of killing someone... that could never be told.
Still,
she could tell the part about the storm. Alistair had wanted to scare
her
into never talking about the body... he told her if she did that she
would be
dead too. Then he'd locked her in a coffin-like wooden box, telling her
that
she'd see what death was like... she shuddered in Luis's arms. "Hey,"
he
said, "you don't have to talk about it."
Sheridan glanced up at him, this wonderful, kind, gentle man that she
already
loved. "I want to tell you," she whispered, drawing a deep breath.
"When I
was nine I got in trouble, Alistair decided I needed to be punished. He
locked me in this wooden box..." her voice cracked and Luis tightened
his
hold on her. "I cried and screamed to get out, but the box was in the
basement and nobody could hear me. There was a terrible storm that
night... I
could see the lightning brightening the whole room, through the cracks
in the
box. The thunder was so loud..."
Luis was disgusted and furious. He held her tightly and said, "That man
deserves to be strung up... how long did the bastard keep you in
there?"
"All night... the next morning he let me out and warned me to be good.
Since
then, storms just send me right back to that night." He cuddled her
close
and told her,"It's alright now. You're not alone and I won't let
anything
happen to you." "Because it's your job to protect people..."
Sheridan
mumbled. Luis agreed. "Yeah, it's my job." She was so much more
than a
job to him. He would risk his life for her... in fact he had, several
times,
in Paris. Obviously she was telling him that she only wanted him in her
life
as a cop. She confirmed that by scrambling off his lap and retreating
to the
other end of the couch.
She'd had to get off his lap... it was embarrassing to be snuggling
into the
body of a man who wasn't interested.
Oh, she supposed he liked her
alright...
or else he wouldn't have been so nice to her, but he would never care
about
her the way she cared about him. She knew that for a fact. All her
life all
she'd ever really wanted was love... something that eluded her at every
turn.
Other that perhaps Ethan, even her own family didn't love her. She knew
that
there was something about her that was essentially unlovable, and she'd
learned to live with it. So why did that knowledge hurt so much now?
After
being snuggled in his arms the room seemed cold and she shivered. The
storm
was receding and she was no longer afraid... now she was embarrassed.
Luis
was looking at her in that funny way he did sometimes. It made her want
to
squirm... she'd swear he could see right into her soul when he looked
at her
like that.
Luis watched her sitting there. She looked uncomfortable. He shouldn't
have
held her on his lap that way... obviously she hadn't liked it. Her eyes
still
looked a little panicked, although the storm was all but gone. 'She's
probably scared of me...' he thought. She cleared her throat then,
"Um,
Luis..." "yeah?" "I, uh, want to thank you for this. It's...
well,
it's above and beyond the call of duty."
"It's okay Sheridan. I'm
glad I
could help." "You did help," she whispered. "Being alone in storms
is much
worse for me." For a moment Luis thought he saw more than gratitude
in her
eyes, then it was gone.
Sheridan wished she had the nerve to move back to him and let him hold
her,
but she knew better. All actions like that would bring her was more
pain. She
raised her eyes to his face and found that he was staring at her again.
Probably thinking how terrible she looked. After all that bawling her
eyes
were sure to be all red and puffy, and her hair... well, she didn't
even want
to imagine what that looked like. She turned away self-consciously and
tried
to smooth her hair out. "I must be a real sight..." Luis smiled a
little
and said, "You always look beautiful Sheridan." ' Did I say that out
loud?'
he asked himself. He must have, because she was smiling back at him.
"Thanks Luis, but I know I'm a wreck right now." She stood and moved
to the
window. "It looks like the storm is gone... but I'm sure it will come
back.
The weather forecast called for them all night." She shivered at the
thought.
Luis came to stand beside her and he lay his hand on her arm. "It's
alright.
If the storms come back you won't be alone Sheridan."
At that moment, the storms were the last things on Sheridans mind. All
she
could focus on was his hand where it touched her, and she ached for him
to
touch her more... She looked up at him, and he was staring right into
her
eyes.
It was like time froze and they stood there, trapped in each
others
gaze for the longest time. Then Luis broke the gaze and took his hand
away.
Sheridan felt so cold and alone then, that she just wanted to cry
again.
Luis saw the look of despair on her face and knew it was there because
he'd
been touching her... how could his touch be so repulsive to her? "I'm
sorry
Sheridan... I keep touching you... but dammit, I can't seem to help
myself!"
he ground out the words and turned away, moving to stand at the other
window.
Sheridan felt a little flutter of hope in her heart and she turned to
watch
him. He couldn't keep from touching her? That didn't exactly sound like
someone who hated her... "Luis?" "What?" "I... I like it when
you
touch me." There! She'd said it. Luis turned around to look at her.
"You
do?" he sounded hopeful. Sheridan gave him a shy smile and nodded,
"Yeah, I
do. In fact, I like it a lot." "I thought... well, you move away all
the
time...?" he was confused. "I move away because I did like it... and
I
thought... well, I thought you were just being nice and that you really
don't
like me much and..." She didn't say anything else because then he was
there,
right in front of her and his hands were cupping her face and then he
kissed
her... a long, slow kiss that made her want to melt into a puddle.
Luis continued kissing her, unable to get enough of her soft, sweet
lips.
He'd dreamed of kissing her like this... they'd kissed before of
course, on
the wharf, in Julian's office, in the jail cell... but this kiss was
different. He wasn't half asleep and the kiss wasn't a cover up for
someone
else's benefit. This kiss was about the passion and desire that had
been
bubbling between them for months. And it was wonderful... better than
he'd
imagined. He moaned softly, wrapping his arms tightly around her,
running
them over her back.
Sheridan trailed her hands up over his neck, threading them through his
hair
and pulling his head closer, deepening the kiss. This was unlike any
kiss
she'd ever experienced before... it was so passionate and full of love
that
her heart ached. Could it be possible? Could Luis really love her? This
kiss
seemed to indicate it, but maybe she was reading too much into it...
but
right now she didn't care. She was fervently kissing the man she loved
and he
was kissing her back just as eagerly and that was enough for her now.
Finally Luis broke the kiss and rested his head against hers while they
looked into each others eyes and tried to catch their breath. "Wow..."
he
said, after a minute. "You bet, wow." she agreed. "What have we
been
doing all these months..." he whispered. "I don't know Luis...
wasting time
I guess." "Yeah, wasting time and letting foolish things like pride
get
between us." Luis said. Sheridan smiled a little. "Yes, pride and,
in my
case, fear." "Fear? Of me?" Luis couldn't stand the thought that
she
might have feared him. "No." Sheridan reached a hand up and stroked
his
cheek.
"Not fear of you... of myself and my past... my track record
with men.
I knew what I was feeling for you was getting stronger every day, much
stronger than anything I'd ever felt before. The thought of losing
that, the
way i've lost every other relationship... well, it made me afraid to
take the
risk." She dropped her head and continued quietly, "Nobody's ever loved
me,
why should this be any different..."
Luis put his hand under her chin , forcing her to look up at him. "Hey,
I
don't want to hear you talk like that... I love you Sheridan Crane!"
Tears
pooled in her eyes, "If only I could really believe that Luis..."
"Believe it! I've been half in love with you since the first time I saw
you.
I love you Sheridan." Sheridan looked into his eyes and she could
see it
there... he was telling the truth. "Oh, Luis... I love you too. More
than
you'll ever know." He pulled her close and they held each other for
the
longest time.
A rumble of thunder signal the return of the storm, but this time
Sheridan
didn't jump. She felt safe and secure in the arms of the man she
loved... the
man who loved her. The man she was meant to be with for the rest of her
life.
THE END
