Three weeks later

The fall was usually an exciting time for Sheridan.  Unlike most of her peers, she’d always been excited to start a new year of classes, and the feeling only became stronger when she was accepted into NYU.  Now, as she began to choose her classes for the new semester, she desperately tried to lose herself in the prospect of a new challenge, of new professors.  When she returned to school it meant she would finally be busy again, too busy to worry about stupid things like romance, and she’d been convincing herself that it was better that way.  Only the smallest part of her was holding her back from moving on, from moving forward with her life and her dream of following in her mothers footsteps as a world class physical therapist.

It was the love she had for Justin.

The love that she knew was beginning to flicker out like a candle in the wind.

She was trying so hard not to be mad at him.  She didn’t want to be, because she knew how much he loved her, how he had made her promise that she would hold her head up and be strong for him while they were forced to be apart.  She knew it wasn’t his fault she’d only been able to speak with him on the phone twice in the three weeks since he left for home.  He was just...busy, she was sure.  No, he didn’t explain himself during that first phone call, tell her what exactly was keeping him so busy that he couldn’t give her a quick call every evening, but then again...she didn’t ask, so she figured it wasn’t her place to feel badly about it.

Still, she wished she knew what was going on, and who it was going on with.

The second phone call had come two evenings ago, seemingly at the very last minute.  It was a little bit past ten, which was late for him.  At the ranch, Justin’s normal bedtime had been ten on the dot most of the time, due to his early morning routine.  But Sheridan figured Justin’s routine had changed drastically since he’d been home.  Neither she or her mother were there to loom over him anymore.  They couldn’t kick his ass into gear and make him keep his energy level up anymore.  She knew the only people staying with him now were his mother who naturally babied him, and Elisha, a friend...and whatever else she was.  Neither of those people were going to be hard on Justin, because they had their own agenda’s and probably figured he’d been through enough and it was time that he did what he wanted.  To say the call caught her off guard was an understatement.  She’d been ready to turn in, in fact, having been awake only due to the IM chat she’d been having with Marcy for most of the evening.  She even thought for a moment that it might have been Marcy calling her quickly, to remind her of some ridiculous theory she’d conjured up after they’d had signed off as to why it was that Justin didn’t seem to give a damn about her anymore.  She’d finally caved in one night after Justin had gone home, told Marcy everything, that she thought she loved Justin, and what they’d done together.  Surprisingly enough,  Marcy had been a lot more civil about it than she thought she would be.  A few giggles had erupted from her friend, but otherwise she’d had some pretty good advice, and Sheridan figured it was that advice alone that helped her to hold out for three weeks instead of cutting Justin off completely.

“Look...it’s okay Marcy,” she’d giggled into the receiver automatically.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Hey...Sher, it’s me.”

She felt the silliness fade out of her system quickly at the sound of Justin’s voice.  The pangs of worry surged through her, and for several moments she felt like she couldn’t breathe.  There were so many things she wanted to ask him in that instant.  Things that would make her sound pathetic, and weak, when he’d been counting on her to stay strong for him.  It was an overwhelming feeling.  So overwhelming that the only thing she could seem to get out was  ‘Oh...hi.’ like hearing his voice didn’t even matter to her. 

“Were you sleeping?” He asked her, the guilt in his voice apparent.  “I’m uh, real sorry.  I should have known that...”

“No,” she said immediately, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.  “No I just... I mean...”

“You weren’t expecting me to call,” he said, knowingly.

“I haven’t heard from you since the week you left,” she told him, not without regret. 

“You won’t believe the shit I’ve had to do,” he provided, like it was a good excuse.  “There’s people here all the time, Sheridan.  I can’t get a minute to myself and...you know, my mom has just been thrusting one thing in my face after the next...”

It was nothing she hadn’t been expecting, and she tried to suppress the heavy sigh from escaping her.  She didn’t want him to think he’d let her down, because the whole situation was something he couldn’t have prevented.  Her mother had told her this would happen from the start, that he would go home...move on, and leave her behind.  She hadn’t wanted to listen of course.  She was a stupid, foolish girl who fell in love with somebody she never really had in the first place.  “Listen,” she said, interrupting his excuses suddenly.  “I think that maybe...”

“I just wanted you to come down to the house this weekend,” he blurted out before she could finish.  “My mom had a formal family party for me already but my friends wanted to have one for me too.  It’ll be like a backyard barbeque.  I really want to see you.”

She’d sighed this time, knowing it was a bad move to take him up on his offer, that she could end things right then and move on without a regret.  It would have been the right thing for both of them...but the part of her that loved him didn’t want to let him go just yet.  After all, he was making an effort, and despite the fact that he hadn’t been doing much of anything regarding their relationship lately, she wouldn’t hold a grudge against him.  “You want me to come to your house?”

“Yeah.” She could hear him smiling a little.  “You can spend the weekend.  I dont have to be back at therapy til Monday afternoon.”

“The weekend?” She questioned him skeptically.  “I’m sure you’re mom won’t go for that.”

“Who cares?  She’s not here, she flew back to Tennessee for a little while.  My cousin Rachael has been helping out a little bit instead.  She won’t say anything.”

“Oh...”  A sudden brilliance had filled her up inside.  A weekend with Justin? Alone? Suddenly she forgot that she’d barely spoken to him in three weeks.  It didn’t even matter.  All that mattered was that she was still important to him, and everything, including her classes, went out the window after that.  “Well who else is going?” Was her next question.  She was never that shy, but after the attitude she’d received from Lynn Harless, and who she was sure was Elisha, she couldn’t say she was thrilled to be introduced to anybody else in Justin’s circle.

“Just some people,” he told her.  “I’ll introduce you, don’t worry okay?”

She realized he had no idea how much pressure would be on her shoulders walking into this weekend blind.  The people there wouldn’t know her, but she was positive they’d heard about her, and she was certain they didn’t approve.  “I don’t know...”

“Hey,” he said to her seriously.  “Do you not want to see me or something?”

“Justin,” she sighed harshly.  “That’s not it.”

“You promised me you weren’t going to worry about other people.”  His voice had been a little dark, and very sad.  “You said you were going to try really hard.”

“And I have been,” she partially snapped.  “God, Justin...I’m all alone here, you know that!  I haven’t spoken you to in three weeks, and you just expect me to come bounding into your house like everything is great...like our lives are so fucking normal.”

He was silent and so was she, for a very long moment.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you,” he finally said.  “I promise, I’ll explain it to you when you get here.”

It was a ploy to make her come, and she knew that, but at the same time...she knew she wasn’t going to say no to him.  She loved him, even though her future with him was still very uncertain.  “I have to talk you about what’s going to happen when I leave for school too,” she confessed, quietly.  “It’s getting close, Justin.”r32;
“We’ll figure all that out,” he promised her.  “We will.”

Despite their separation, he still seemed to be confident in them, and Sheridan didn’t really understand how he could be.  But maybe he was used to long distance relationships, due to how hectic his career had always been.  She tended to forget that, about the fact that he’d had girlfriends in the past, and the career too.  He’d made it work to some extent, she knew that.  So she figured she should have been giving him the benefit of the doubt, and wait to hear what he had to say.  She knew it would be good to see him, to feel his strong arms wrapped around her again, and so...like she knew she would from the moment his voice came on the line, she gave into him.  “I’ll be there on Saturday.”

“Saturday morning,” he corrected her with a chuckle. 

“Saturday morning,” she whispered back with a soft smile as she bit her lip. 

“I love you.” He said it first, sounding more sincere than she thought he’d be.  “You know that right?”

“Yeah,” she’d said quietly after a moment.  “I love you too.”

She hung up with a feeling of slight reassurance mixed with pangs of nervousness.  She wasn’t sure what to expect, all she knew was that she had to have her wits about her and not show her weak side when she saw Justin.  Despite everything, he sounded almost refreshed, and she began to wonder if he was better off at home with a different therapist, his friends by his side.  Of course, from the moment she met Justin she could tell he wasn’t the type that needed to be isolated.  It was his mother that made that decision for him.  The funny thing was, if she hadn’t...they never would have met.

But Sheridan had never believed in fate before, and she wasn’t about to start now.

She kept to herself mostly for the rest of the week, trying to avoid her mother if she could, because she didn’t want her to find out her weekend plans.  Of course, her mother knew Sheridan missed Justin, but she strongly discouraged her from seeing him, with good reason.  She was scared for her...she didn’t want to see her get hurt anymore than she was, but that didn’t matter to Sheridan.  She was going to see her boyfriend regardless of anybody else’s opinion, she just knew she’d be able to do it a lot easier without her mother breathing down her neck.  She made up a story instead, said some friends from school were in town for the last week of summer and she was going to camp out their hotel for the weekend.  As it turned out, it didn’t matter to her mother anyway.  She was going to a four day medical convention, and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.

It was perfect.

She bid her mother goodbye Friday afternoon, and spent the rest of the day and most of the evening throwing together a wardrobe for the weekend.  It was so stupid, as she’d never cared what she wore for Justin before.  But it was different now.  It was like...he’d been in her world before, and now she was entering his.  She knew what it entailed too.  His friends were rich, they lived a glamourous lifestyle, and as she stared at her clothes she realized just how much of a country girl she was.  Sure, she had a couple of dresses, but they were too much for a casual barbeque.  She found some jeans she’d intended on wearing back in New York, but knew she would have to put them to use, along with a few new blouses as well.  God, she hoped it was enough.  The one thing she didn’t want to have to deal with was ridicule.

It was bad enough she wasn’t accepted as somebody important in Justin’s life as it was.

It was almost impossible to sleep that night.  Each time she tried her dreams were immediately plagued with visions of angry people throwing things at her, or simply pointing and laughing.  She woke up in a cold sweat at three in the morning, and held her head in her hands.  She’d never felt so scared since her father died, and she knew she was probably overreacting.  It couldn’t be that bad...going to see him.  “I’ll fit in just fine,” she said to herself.

“Are you sure?” Came the familiar voice.

It was wonderful that she was hearing voices again.  She didn’t understand.  It had been awhile since it had happened, and she was sure that this time it was simply due to stress more than anything else.  She didn’t freak out this time because of this.  Instead, she got out of bed, staggered into her bathroom and flipped the light on, squinting her eyes for awhile due to the brightness before she was able to view herself more clearly in the mirror.

And what she saw in the background, nearly caused her to wet herself.

“What the fuck!” She screamed, as she stared back into the mirror.  There was Juan standing in front of the shower door, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans, staring back at her with the most serious expression she’d ever seen on his face.  It was eerie...scary, and she didn’t know what to think. She whirled around, quickly, ready to tackle him to the ground.  “How did you...”

But he wasn’t there.

“What’s going on...”  She was freaking out at this point, shivering and crying, muttering strange things to herself that she couldn’t make sense of.  She felt her body slide down to the floor, and she clutched her hair with her shaking hands.  “Holy shit...”  She took a few moments to catch her breath, to rationalize what she’d just seen.  No, it couldn’t have been Juan.  That was just insane.  Surely, she was losing it, and she would prove that to herself.  Scrambling to her feet, she ran over to her dresser and snatched her purse, dumping it’s contents out onto the bed, and plucked the folded up piece of paper she’d saved with Juan’s phone number on it out of the mound of stuff.  She knew it was late, but she didn’t really care.  She was sure she was hallucinating...

But still.

She dialed the number quickly, her hands shaking as she pressed the buttons on her cell phone.  It rang three times, and then...

“Shit...” A tired voice groaned.  “Who’s this?”

“S-sheridan,” she stuttered, nearly falling over in relief that it was really his voice she was hearing.

“Oh...”

She heard rustling in the background, and was sure she’d just woken up him up.  “Fuck, I’m sorry,” she said, still slightly hysterical.  “I just...I think I had a bad dream or something.”

“And you’re callin’ me?” He laughed tiredly.  “I’m flattered.”

“I just needed to make sure... I mean,” she paused and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.  “Where are you?”

“In my apartment...” He trailed off, as if he was more confused than she was.  “Should I be someplace else?”

“No.” She laughed, feeling like a complete asshole.  “You can go back to sleep.  I’m... I’m really sorry.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He said, sounding more awake now.  “You sound like something just scared the shit out of you.”

“I just have a big weekend,” she admitted with a nervous laugh.  “I think my brain is out of synch or something.”

“Yeah I um...I heard Justin is having a barbeque or something,” he said casually.  “Marty wants me to come.  Are you going?”

She was shocked.  “I...yeah...” she said, exasperated.  “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“I’m in town for this,” he laughed.  “So I guess I’ll be seeing you, huh?”

Although she wouldn’t have minded seeing Juan again, she definitely didn’t want to see him with Justin around.  She never mentioned him to Justin, and considering that they had made out before, she knew Justin more than likely wouldn’t have approved of him.  “I guess...”

“Hey look, you don’t have to worry,” he chuckled.  “Justin doesn’t have to know about...before.  If you want, I can just pretend we’ve never met before.  I’m good at that kind of thing.”

She perked up at his suggestion.  Sheridan wasn’t the type of person who would have suggested that sort of thing, just because it was a little bit rude, but Juan didn’t seem to mind.  He was trying to be her friend, and she was thankful.  “Are you sure?”

“Hey, I hate drama, and I don’t want to start something, you know?”

“Yeah,” she said, sighing heavily.  “Well, I appreciate it.”

“Sure thing.  Now, if you dont’ mind...”

“Oh...” She smacked her forehead with her hand.  “Yeah, I’m sure you want to go back to bed,” she laughed stupidly.

“I’ll just see you tomorrow,” he reassured her.  “But if you need anything, just call me back okay?”

She didn’t know why he cared, but she smiled anyway.  It was nice to have him in her life, despite the fact that she rarely spoke to him.  “Yeah, I will,” she said.  “Goodnight.”

“Don’t worry,” he said quickly before she could hang up.  “You’ll fit in fine.”

She stared at the phone as the line went dead.  That was weird.  It was like...he knew why she was worried.  No...that was stupid.  They hadn’t spoken for weeks, he couldn’t possibly know why she was so insecure.  Surely, he was able to read her emotions simply because she sounded scared.  He was just reassuring her out of coincidence.  She laughed out loud.  “I need to go to bed,” she groaned to herself.  “Before I start hearing more voices in my head.”

Something made her pass out cold once she got into bed, and she wasn’t sure what it was.  Maybe she had simply exhausted herself, but no matter...she was thankful for the few hours of sleep she was able to have before her buzzer went off at quarter to eight.  She was showered and dressed within a half hour, and didn’t hesitate to race to her car, one suitcase in each hand.  She found herself filled with excitement, knowing that in an hours time she would be with Justin again.  She threw her luggage into the back of the Ford, and quickly jumped into the drivers seat, determined to beat any sort of traffic that could come between her and the destination she needed to reach.

Traffic was lighter than expected, which put Sheridan in a better frame of mind as she pulled up to the familiar gated mansion.  The area was just as she remembered it, but she was sure the code had been changed on the pin pad, so she decided to ring the buzzer to avoid any awkward confrontation.  An unfamiliar female voice responded shortly after she’d pressed the button, and she stated her name with a shaky voice.

“Oh...Sheridan, yeah, come on through.” The slightly southern feminine voice responded, like she knew exactly who she was.

Sheridan felt uncomfortable already as the gates parted, but she didn’t hesitate to drive through them, knowing that Justin had surely been alerted to her arrival.  She knew she didn’t want to keep him waiting, even though she could have done without meeting the other people dwelling inside his massive house.  Maybe the house was big enough inside to give them some privacy.  It was all she could hope for once she parked the car and got out.  Standing at the bottom of the obviously new wheelchair ramp that lead to  Justin’s front door, she took a deep breathe, not really knowing what to expect, but trying desperately to make the negative feelings inside of her go someplace else.

The door opened before she could knock, and a petite brunette answered, her smile small and slightly tired.  Her outfit was simple, a black spaghetti strap tank with denim shorts and flip flops, and Sheridan started to relax a little bit.  She wasn’t so fancy, she seemed pretty normal actually, and that was good.  It meant she might not be as different from these people as she thought.  

“Hi,” she said, sticking her hand out for Sheridan to shake.  “Sheridan right?”

She nodded slightly.  “Yeah.” She forced a small smile and shook the woman’s hand.

“I’m Justin’s cousin, Rachael,” she informed her, before stepping aside so Sheridan could enter Justin’s home. 

“Oh, yeah he said you would be here,” Sheridan said, turning back to her once she heard the door close.

“Well...that’s nice.” Rachael flashed her the same simple smile she’d greeted her with before walking slightly ahead of her.  “Justin’s doing some phone interviews, so you can just follow me.  Do you have bags?”

“Yes,” Sheridan managed. 

“One of the guys can get them later on,” she reassured her as she began to walk further ahead.  “Hungry?”

“I um...well I didn’t eat,” Sheridan said back to her, raising her voice slightly because Rachael had walked a little too far ahead, and she was too scared to scurry any further up next to her. 

“Good, because we’re in the middle of breakfast.” Rachael chuckled.

Rachael seemed nice enough, but Sheridan knew that her pleasantness was pretty much being forced out right now.  She was sure it was for Justin’s sake, because they were family and Justin had more than likely told her how much he cared about her...to please be nice to her.  Sheridan did the best she could not to dwell on those feelings though, instead she focused on the interior of Justin’s house...the one he hadn’t been able to show her all those weeks ago during their secret trip back here.

The house seemed to sprawl out in all directions, and Sheridan noticed that most of it had been altered to suit Justin’s handicap.  He was sure his mother had done it all, but it reassured her a little bit, knowing he had independence here, that he could pretty much do for himself, and that was what he wanted all along.   It really was massive though.  There were three hallways that she followed Rachael down before they were dumped out into a huge eat in kitchen.  She immediately smelled the heavenly scent of sausage and pancakes filling the air, before she glanced over to her left...at the table...where another woman sat.  This one was blonde, and was more focused on the magazine she was flipping through than Sheridan’s sudden arrival.  She glanced at the cover, curious as to what could have been so intriguing and found that it was a copy of Parents Magazine.

She knew it was Elisha, without a doubt.

“Well sit,” Rachael laughed, as she pulled out a chair for her.  “Fill a plate, hun.  Don’t be scared.”

Elisha didn’t look up from her magazine.

Sheridan decided it was best not to comment, and simply did as Rachael told her.  She sat, filled her plate with samples of the various foods that were spread across the table, and began to eat her fill. It was so weird.  There was no conversation at all.  Rachael seemed intrigued with her cellphone and her breakfast now, and Elisha still hadn’t looked up from her magazine.  What did it mean? Was it always like this? Or was her presence so unwanted that the two women figured it was better not to say anything at all?  She wasn’t sure, but she wished that Justin would finish up whatever he was doing.  She knew with him by her side, she wouldn’t feel like such an outcast anymore.

She was halfway through her breakfast, and Elisha had started in on another magazine by the time the buzzing came.  Sheridan’s head shot up at the sound, not having expected it, and looked to Rachael for an answer who simply smiled again and got up from the chair she’d been sitting on.  She trotted across the kitchen and huffed as she pressed a button on the wall which Sheridan was sure was some kind of intercom.  “You rang?” Rachael droned.

“Yeah. I’m done...and starving...alone...in my room...”

“Oh hold on,” Rachael said, trying to sound serious but failing miserably.  “I’ll be up in a minute.”

His voice sounded amazing, despite the fact that he sounded a little bit agitated.  It didn’t matter though.  He was there, and she was going to see him in just a few minutes.  She couldn’t help but smile, but as she did, she found that Elisha had finally looked up from her magazine...

And was glaring at her.

“Hey Sheridan, do you want to come with?”

Sheridan managed to revert her gaze back to Rachael after a moment.  “You don’t mind?”

“No...I mean, that’s why you’re here, right?”  Rachael shrugged.

“Yeah.” Sheridan felt herself blush.  “I am.”

“Kay, come on.”

Rachael started away, and Sheridan got up from the table, not being able to help but look back at Elisha once more.  She was still staring at her, not glaring at her as much as she had been, but had a cold expression on her face nevertheless.  “Hi,” Sheridan said to her.  “Elisha right?”

Elisha drummed her fingers on the table top and surveyed Sheridan with her eyes, clicking her tongue in slight disapproval a moment later.  “Yeah,” she nodded.

“Well it’s nice to meet you,” Sheridan said softly.  “Do you um...do you know when you’re due?”  It wasn’t the fact that she was really interested, but she figured talking about the baby might get Elisha to warm up to her a little bit.

“February,” Elisha said without much enthusiasm.

Sheridan just nodded.  It was apparent that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, and she figured it was better to leave the girl alone...that she’d come around when she was ready.  “Well I’ll see you in a little while I guess...”

“So, let me get this straight,” Elisha spoke up before Sheridan could catch up with Rachael.  “You’re dating Justin?”

She turned slightly so she could look at her again.  Elisha seemed a little amused now, a defiant little smirk resting on her lips as she waited for a response.  Sheridan didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she knew she didn’t like it.  “Right,” she nodded. 

“Wow.”  Elisha pursed her lips together and nodded a little bit.  “Funny how he never talks about you.”

She laughed slightly and shook her head.  “Whatever.”

“Well I’m just trying to let you know,” Elisha continued innocently.  “I mean, generally if you’re dating somebody, you talk about them once in awhile with your friends and family.”

“Rachael seemed to know who I was,” Sheridan defended.

“Please,” she rolled her eyes.  “She has to know.  She’s his assistant now.”

“Hey...are you coming?”

Sheridan turned slightly.  Rachael had come back into the kitchen, and was staring at her like she didn’t know why she hadn’t followed her.  “I um...yeah...”

“Elisha,” Rachael narrowed her eyes at the blonde with a knowing expression.  “Don’t start.”

“Hey, I was just getting my point across,” Elisha grunted, pushing herself up from the table slowly and grabbing her magazines.  “She should know the truth.”

Sheridan stared at the massive bump in the middle of Elisha’s stomach, trying her best not to scowl.  She was a bitch.  A bitch who didn’t deserve to have Justin doing all of this for her, and the only reason he was, was because of that bump.  She sighed a little.  “You know...I can just go...”

“Ohh-hhh no,” Rachael said, grabbing her by the wrist and leading her away before Elisha could do anymore damage.  “Just forget her, okay? She’s...she has issues.”
r32;“Is everyone going to be like this?” Sheridan asked desperately.

Rachael let go of her wrist and stopped walking.  She turned back to Sheridan, with a sympathetic look on her face.  “Look, it’s not going to be...you know, normal.  I mean, a lot’s happened.  I don’t mind you being around Justin if that’s what he wants...if that’s what you want.  But I’ve never been one to be very opinionated about his love life, and I guess it’s why Justin puts a lot of his trust in me.  Just don’t take it personally, Sheridan.  We’ve all lost a friend this year, and I guess...part of Justin a long with him.” She shook her head sadly.  “Everybody just wants things to be normal again and for Justin to bring in an outsider...”

Sheridan stared at her, feeling her eyes widening with each passing second.

She didn’t belong here.  She wasn’t going to “fit in”, despite Juan’s reassurance.

“Look, just don’t worry,” Rachael said gently.  “I know Justin is dying to see you and that’s the important thing...so come on.”

Sheridan forced herself to follow along behind Rachael again, despite the fact that she would have much rather gotten back into her car and gone straight home. The rest of Justin’s group of friends hadn’t even arrived yet, and already Sheridan knew her place. It hurt, she could feel her heart breaking, but there was nothing she could do. Rachael’s explanation was clear...everybody was just fucking confused, and here she was...an outsider who was, according to Justin, his saving grace.  It sucked, and she wanted to run far away and never look back, but she knew Justin was waiting on her, and if she just left without saying anything he’d be devastated. 

She was stuck.

They took an elevator to the second floor of the mansion and Sheridan was pretty impressed with that.  It was strange, she didn’t think luxuries like this existed in the normal world, but she guessed Justin didn’t live in a normal world.  He had tons of money, that could buy him whatever he needed...

Well, except the use of his legs.

“It’s down here.”

Sheridan followed Rachael off the elevator and down another long hallway, until she heard the sound of a TV blaring behind a closed door.  Rachael knocked on it, and Sheridan knew it had to be Justin’s bedroom.

“Hey smart ass,” Rachael said, stealing a smirk her way.  “Are you decent?”

The sound of the TV lowered after a few moments.  “Yeah, but I smell.”

She rolled her eyes.  “I have no clue what attracts you to this man.”

Sheridan chuckled a little.  “He’s usually a lot more charming than that.”

“Seriously? You’ll have to point it out to me then...because  I’ve never bared witness to that once in my life.”  With that Rachael opened the door and marched inside the room.  “I’ve brought a gift.”

Sheridan watched as Justin craned his neck around his cousin, who eventually got the point and moved out of his line of vision.  He smiled a mile wide when he saw her, and Sheridan couldn’t hold hers back either.

“Hey!”  He held his arms out to her.

She ran to him, knowing how pathetic she must have seemed to Rachael just then, but not being able to help herself.  She needed him.  She had forgotten how badly she needed him to just...be there, and when she reached him, and he pulled her down into his embrace, the only thing she could do was bury her face in his shoulder, and let her emotions flow onto his tee shirt.

“Sher...”  She heard him say gently after awhile, as she felt his hand rubbing up and down her back.  “Sher, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she sobbed.  “I just...I just missed you I guess.”  She managed to compose herself enough to look up into his face.  She realized she hadn’t even given herself the chance to look him over.  He was scruffy again, obviously not having bothered to shave since the last time they were together, much to her dismay.  He was wearing glasses, something she wasn’t accustomed to, but figured he used them for reading.  He looked okay though, he had color in his face and a brilliance in his eyes that was unlike anything she’d seen before.  It was good.  It meant he was doing well, being taken care of, and that was really all she could have asked for. “Scruffy.”  She reached up and smiled as she toyed with the beard on his face. 

He chuckled a little bit and gently pulled her hand away, lacing his fingers through hers instead.  “I’m sorry.  Im sorry that...that I haven’t been around.”

She shook her head.  “I dont’ care about that now.”

“You care,” he nodded gently, looking up suddenly at Rachael, who was busy picking up some scattered junk lying on the floor.  “Hey Rach, can you give us a few?”

She turned back around, and Sheridan swallowed hard when she noticed her surveying them holding each other.  “Yeah...okay.”

She left quickly, the door thudding closed behind her, and Sheridan let out a breath that she felt like she’d been holding in since she walked into the house.

“The girls were okay to you right?” He asked automatically.

Sheridan didn’t look at him.  “It was fine.”

He frowned, obviously knowing that she wasn’t telling the truth.  “What happened?”

She shrugged.  “It’s nothing really.  I mean, Rachael is really nice and everything...”

“What’d Elisha say?”

She sighed.  “Can we just...not talk about it right now?”

He stroked his beard with his free hand, deep in thought for several moments before responding to her.  “I’ll just deal with her later.”  He kissed her on the side of the head and smiled.  “God, I missed you so much.”

He held her tighter and Sheridan reveled in the moment.  She was safe again, in his arms, and suddenly all the stress plaguing her about Justin’s friends started to magically melt away.  If she could have, she would have asked him to stay cooped up in his room with her all day.  But she was sure Justin didn’t want to do anything of the sort.  Still, she figured she could prolong their alone time by getting a little bit physical with him, so she looked up and pulled his face down towards hers so she could give him a long awaited kiss on the lips.

And it felt so good.