Baggage Claim 2 - Part XXVII
I've spent all day thinking about this. This last part, that quite frankly, I don't want to send. I think Madame D said it best. I want more, but I don't want the end. I've had so much support and so much fun writing this fic, and I have no idea how I managed to drag it on for so long, but it's been a great ride.
I want to thank everybody who gave me feedback, you can't imagine how it warms my heart that people care enough to respond. Of course I've got my individual thank yous too...Madame D for being the best little whorehouse owner around...I promise I'll write something smutty for you one day ;D Kirke, for forcing me to expand my view and accept Lee as the wonderful little sex-monkey he is. Shaza, for letting me borrow her antlers and for keeping me going during those long winter months with "Letters From The Heart"...thank you girls so much, you have my undivided admiration.
Kirke, you are "Mrs. Novak," in this part. Lee's mum. That's you, no questions asked.
So here goes. After 27 parts, after 73 pages, afer 168 kb...after Six Months and Four Days (holy shit!), here's the Last Part of Baggage Claim 2.
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PART 27
I awoke in a strange bed. The walls were a wrong color, the alarm clock wasn't where it was supposed to be, and my body was humming with pleasant pain.
And then I remembered, and in that split second, I felt an intense wave of fear and anguish wash over me. I scrunched my eyes shut, not wanting to know if he was there or not. Please God, please...
A hand feathering onto my abdomen made me almost jump out of the bed. My eyes shot open and were greeted by the warm, mischievous smile of my Darren. My Darren, my lover, me, my, mine, sang my mind.
"Morning," he growled happily, curling up against me. I shifted so that I could reach him with my other hand, making sure he was really there. He curved into my caresses: shoulders, back, chest, face. I settled my roving touch on the wrist of his hand that threatened to dip below the covers into what was now well-charted territory.
"You're here," I said hoarsely.
"Did you think I wouldn't be?" he asked seriously.
"Yes," I answered, trying to ignore the constant film reel of last night's events running through my mind and the feel of his fingers brushing the juncture between my hip and thigh.
He dropped a kiss on my shoulder and let his head rest there. "I'm never leaving," he proclaimed.
I looked down at him, trying to gauge his sincerity. "Never leaving the bed?" I jibed.
His smile broke through as he tilted his head up to me. "Am I that good?"
I mirrored his smile, grinning rakishly, and rewarded him with slow, sweeping kiss. "Baby," I answered him, "You're the best."
~*~*~*~
Three weeks on and Christmas Morning upon us, things hadn't changed. Ben and I smoked on the terrace that morning, watching the ocean sweep my shoreline back yard. Our respective loves still asleep, Lee recharging from various press interviews. Ben couldn't sleep, so he joined me outside. And I, well, I rose every morning before dawn to thank the sun and the sea for what I'd been blessed with.
Just last night Darren and I had talked about his career.
"We wrote the first one as friends," Darren had said over dinner. "The second one as enemies. What about a third one as lovers?"
We had agreed to begin work on the new CD just after the new year, when Ben and Lee were going back to Australia.
"Lee's mum found out on Entertainment Tonight," Ben was saying.
"No good," I murmured around my cigarette. "She's a right protective one, Mrs. Novak. Good luck convincing her you're worthy enough of her "precious Lee.""
He smiled thinly at me. "I'm *not* worthy of him," he said, then turned back to the crashing waves. "But I'd be crazy not to try. And I'd be proud to have her as an in-law anyday, if she cares about him as much as I do."
I smiled warmly at my friend. "Who'd have thought we'd settle down?" I asked him. He laughed.
"We?"
But my reply was interrupted by a crash from the kitchen. We made our way inside to find Darren staring groggily at an offending coffee pot that had fallen on the floor in his efforts to use it. Lee noticed us coming in.
"Ooh, look Ben!" he said. "It's an international pop star!" Lee pointed at Darren. "Can we keep him?"
I laughed and Ben put his hands on his hips, mock scolding. "Now what have I told you about bringing home pets?"
Darren scowled. "Is that s'possed ta be a joke?" he grouched sleepily.
I sidled over to him and planted a kiss on his forehead. "You just need some proper waking up," I whispered to him.
He blushed and looked up at me, appearing ages younger than his years. "Any ideas?" he asked innocently.
"A few," I said pulling him out into the hallway and ravishing his tender mouth.
"How many is a few?" he panted, definitely awake.
I pretended to calculate for a moment, pinning him against the wall with my arms. Then I kissed him again. "Enough to last every morning for the rest of your life. Maybe more."
He smiled happily, and leaned into me, burying his face in my chest. "Just the right amount."
~ .FIN. ~