"Where are they?!" Brian asked, pacing the floor. It was 8:17pm…Becca and Terri had been gone for almost five hours, and the hospital was only twenty minutes away. Brian sat down, sighed, and stood back up again and paced.
"Brian, here, drink this." Amber told him and handed him some hot tea to calm his nerves.
"Thanks." Brian replied and sipped it…as he paced. Amber walked over to the couch and sat beside Kevin, curling up in his arms.
"This whole thing sucks." She muttered.
"Don't think about it." Kevin told her and kissed her forehead, "It'll be ok."
"Is that a car?!" AJ asked, jumping out of his seat to the window, "Nope…just one passing by." He sighed and walked back over to his seat.
"I'm sure they are ok." Howie tried to be encouraging, but it didn't really work.
"Nice try hon." Erin told him, snuggling against him. Right then Terri and Becca burst through the door.
"Where have you all been?" AJ asked, enveloping Terri in a hug.
"We did our homework…" Terri replied.
"Yea! We found out that the paychecks of one nurse, Nancy Warrick, had been mailed to the same house that Andy Stroh lived! Shannon questioned her and she said that she was his girlfriend, but denies ever touching the file. We called Heather and the police will be questioning her more and they are going to go to her house and see if Andy is there!" Becca informed excitedly.
"Just in time for Terri and Lexi's birthdays!" AJ exclaimed.
"When are your birthdays?" Brian asked.
"April Fools day, and Lexi's is April 3rd." Terri replied, "And today is March 31st!"
That Night
"Come here, honey." AJ told Terri as she walked into their room. The lights were out, but the TV was illuminating the room. Terri walked to the bed, slid off her socks, and then climbed under the covers with AJ, resting her head on his shoulder. "Hey T, we need to talk honey." AJ told her softly. Terri's heart began to race as thoughts of AJ leaving her inundated her mind.
"W-what?" She asked, propping herself up to look at him, but she couldn't, she just looked down at her hands. She tried so desperately to look in his eyes, but couldn't.
"Do you still care for me?" He asked…what a relief! An easy question.
"Of course I do!" She exclaimed looking up at him with a smile. AJ didn't seem to share her enthusiasm.
"No…think about it for a moment. Do you care for me?" AJ asked. Terri again took her eyes away from his. The feelings she had for AJ were so profound, but she hadn't shown them. She had been so busy the last two weeks with this whole mess that she hadn't had time for him. She thought about how he must have felt and what she probably was like and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Is that a no?" AJ asked, praying to God it wasn't.
"No. I love you Bone." Terri replied, looking straight into his eyes this time. AJ smiled and they took each other into their arms, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting…this whole thing-"
"No, I know. I don't blame you…I just didn't know how you felt." AJ replied, holding her tight, as though it was to be their last embrace.
"But I should've been more caring. Don't worry, this is all over for me and my "Nancy Drew Tendencies," I promise." She told him and kissed him.
"Hey Terri?"
"What?" She asked, looking into his dark brown eyes.
"I love you too." He told her, causing a smile to spread across her face like a virus that wouldn't go away.
"I thought you'd never say it." She sighed.
"Hey…happy birthday." AJ told her, looking at the clock, "You're 22 years and three minutes old." They both laughed as they laid back, snuggling in each other's arms. "What do you want for your first birthday present?"
Terri thought for a minute, then spoke. "Well, you know how Jonathan was my technical first…not by choice let me remind you."
"Yeah?" AJ asked, shifting onto his side to look at her.
"Well…could we scratch that and make my birthday present be my first time…with you?" She asked, turning a brighter shade of pink with each word that escaped her lips. AJ smiled at how cute she was, she was like a little girl that was embarrassed to ask a question.
"Are you sure?" AJ asked, not sure himself whether she really wanted that, or wanted to do it to prove she loved him. She smiled as he brushed some hair from her face with his fingertips.
"AJ, you know when I say something I mean it. Plus, you've probably had hundreds of women in your bed…why should I be any different?" She asked, joking around, but the words stung a little bit.
"Not hundreds…more like…3." AJ told her, rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Well, why should I be any different?" Terri questioned, wondering why he was so hesitant to make love.
"Because I love you more than I loved them." AJ replied, "And I don't want you to regret anything." She smiled at how concerned he was and leaned over him.
"Believe me, you'll regret passing this up." She replied, pressing her lips to his.
"OK, my body was convinced, and now my mind agrees." AJ told her, switching off the TV with the remote control.
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
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