Chapter
44: Gathering Storm
Van was
getting antsy. Waiting for Sara’s answer was killing him on the inside, yet he
sat there and waited patiently, though it was completely against his nature. He
could see the myriad of emotions running through her eyes as she tried to figure
out what she would say. He could only pray that she didn’t reject him. His
heart probably wouldn’t be able to stand the rejection. But then again, this
was the craziest thing he had ever done, especially since it was on a whim, and
not completely thought out.
“Yes!”
Sara finally replied, with tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she
wrapped her arms around Van and kissed him. He let out a sigh of relief,
silently thanking God that she had agreed. At that same moment, he could feel
her hands run through his hair as she straddled him. He pulled away, her face in
his hands, and just looked at her as hot tears ran down her cheeks.
“I love
you,” Van whispered whole heartedly. Sara’s smile widened as his fingers
wiped away her tears. She leaned in once more, this time for a slow and sensual
kiss as her body wrapped around him.
“I
know,” she told him softly, her head falling on his chest as he held her a
little closer. “So, what do we do now?” Sara added in a low murmur.
“I
don’t know,” he replied, stroking her golden locks.
“How
about we stay here and just watch the stars for the rest of the night?” Sara
suggested. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never could since
“Anything,”
Van said, softly kissing her forehead. She sighed deeply, feeling his fingers
make their way down her arm until his hand rested over hers. In the background,
she could hear soft music playing, the lyrics drifting through the air.
I’ll
be your dream
I’ll be your wish
I’ll be your fantasy
I’ll be your hope
I’ll be your love
Be everything that you need
I’ll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong I will be faithful
’Cause I’m counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning, yeah
I
wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
“Dance
with me,” Van whispered, hearing the music as well. Sara looked up at him a
little surprised, but happy that he had asked. They slid off the hood of the
car, and he took her right hand, his left wrapped around her waist and pulled
her closer to his body. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes closing
as she took everything in.
And
when the stars are shining
Brightly in the velvet sky,
I’ll make a wish to send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the
Pleasure in the certainty
That we’re surrounded by the
Comfort and protection of
The highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you
I
wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
“I think
you’ve made me the happiest person in the entire world,” she said softly,
letting go of his hand so she could wrap her arms around his neck. “After the
Witchblade entered my life, I lost all hope of getting married since this thing
seems to kill off anyone and everyone I fall in love with.”
“But you
gotta remember, I’m not just anyone,” Van replied. “We’ve shared a
lifetime. I might not know how it went, but I know this time around, I’ll do
everything I can to make you happy.”
Sara
smiled as their lips locked for another sweet and sensuous kiss. “Just promise
me you’ll never hurt me,” she whispered.
“I
promised you once, and I’ll promise you again. I’ll never hurt you,” he
reaffirmed, holding her close as if he’d never let her go.
Oh
can you see it baby?
You don’t have to close your eyes
’Cause it’s standing right here before you
All that you need will surely come
I’ll
be your dream I’ll be your wish
I’ll be your fantasy
I’ll be your hope I’ll be your love
Be everything that you need
I’ll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I
wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
I
wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
*~*~*
Vicky
yawned as she stirred in her seat. It took her a minute to figure out where she
was, then realized she and Deaq were still looking for Van. They had probably
searched through every single club in LA, having found nothing. She stretched
and yawned again.
“Hey,
sleeping beauty,” Deaq teased when he noticed she was up.
“Mmmm…
What time is?” Vicky mumbled, her eyes still heavy with exhaustion.
“It’s
almost four in the morning,” he answered.
“Jeez!
How long have I been sleeping?” she replied, a little startled that she had
been out for so long.
“Nearly
three hours.”
“Well,
why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because
I could see how tired you were.”
Vicky
merely nodded her head as she folded her arms over her chest and yawned yet
again. “Any sign of Van yet?” she questioned.
“No. I
think it’s time to start worrying. I even talked to his friend, Johnny O, and
he hasn’t seen him all night. I was just about to head back to the Candy Store
and tell Billie. You want me to drop you off at Sara’s?” Deaq offered.
“Nah, I
still need to get my stuff,” she replied. “Besides, I don’t care if I lose
a little bit of sleep. I’ll probably be knocked out right through today and
wake up tomorrow. That seems like the best idea I’ve had so far. So what if I
miss another day of sightseeing in LA. I’d rather sleep.”
“You and
me both,” he said. “But I don’t think Billie’s gonna like it if we hold
off these cases any longer, especially with all that we learned yesterday.”
“Yeah,
that’s some pretty interesting shit. I think it got everyone thinking, ‘What
if all these murders are connected?’” Vicky remarked, feeling another wave
of sleepiness hit her as she forced her eyes to stay open.
“I know
that’s what I was thinking. Billie’s probably up already looking for
information that’ll help rule anything in or out. Leave it to her to find out
all of the information and give it to us whenever it’s needed. Sorta makes you
wonder if she ever sleeps.” They pulled into the parking lot and got out of
the car.
“What do
you think Billie will do when she finds out Van is still AWOL?” Vicky replied
as she made her way to the door and waited patiently for Deaq to unlock it. As
they entered the warehouse, both noticed that something was amiss. All was quiet
except for the soft music playing in the background. A few other things were out
of place as well, like the lighting, which was darker than normal. Deaq
cautiously stepped past Billie’s office to find her and Ian on the couch in
the lounge, a blanket wrapped around them with clothes spread out all over the
floor, asleep in each other’s arms.
“Holy
shit,” he whispered as he grabbed Vicky’s arm and held her back before she
stepped any closer. He pulled them back a little further away from the lounge as
she gave him that “what the hell is going on” look. He pointed in their
direction so should could get a better look without having to interrupt
anything.
Vicky’s
hand quickly went to cover her mouth as her eyes widened with surprise. “Holy
shit is right!” she commented, giggling a bit.
“I think
we’d better get out of here before we see more than we wanna see,” Deaq
replied, dragging her out of the warehouse without giving a second glance to the
sleeping couple and clearly remembering the last time this had happened, which
was unfortunately not too long ago.
“Now
what?” Vicky questioned once they were outside.
“I’ll
take you over to Sara’s. You’ll just have to pick up your stuff later,” he
answered. “We don’t wanna wake Billie, especially after something like that.
God knows what she’ll do to us.” Vicky nodded her response. After hearing
what had happened with Sara and Van, the last thing she wanted to see was a
pissed off Billie. ‘Oh, wait, I already have, but that’s probably nothing
compared to what’ll happen to us if we disturb her now,’ Vicky thought as
she sat down in the passenger’s seat, her eyes immediately going heavy with
sleep. ‘Damn, I really need to get to bed soon, or I’m gonna pass out right
here again.’
They were
back on the road, and within minutes, reached the apartment complex. Vicky
stepped out of the car sleepily, her head a little fuzzy. It was clear to Deaq
she needed help up the stairs seeing how she wobbled over the pavement. He
wrapped his arm around her waist and led her up to Sara’s apartment on the
second floor. They knocked on her door and waited, hoping that she wouldn’t be
so angry if they woke her. When an answer didn’t come for several minutes,
Deaq resorted to calling her home line thinking that she probably turned off her
cell. Still, there was no answer. Now was probably the time to get a little more
worried.
“Where
the hell is she?” Vicky questioned, realizing her friend probably wasn’t
home.
“You
think she might be looking for Van?” Deaq replied.
“Judging
how pissed she was at him when she left, I seriously doubt it, but not totally
impossible,” she said, knocking on the door again, hoping that she was wrong.
Still, Sara didn’t answer. Vicky made a visual pass around the parking lot to
see if she could spot Sara’s bike, but it was nowhere to be found. “Shit,
she’s gone,” Vicky cursed.
“Alright,
time to call Billie,” he declared.
“Let’s
just hope she doesn’t get pissed,” she replied.
*~*~*
Billie
could hear the phone in her office begin to ring, shattering her sweet sleep.
She rolled off Ian’s chest and began to search for the first piece of clothing
she could find. It happened to be his shirt, which she slipped over her naked
body and walked over to her desk.
“This
better be good news or I will kill you,” she warned in a low growl.
“Nice
talking to you, too, Billie,” Deaq replied, trying to sound cheerful even
though she could tell he had bad news to report.
“Did you
find Van?”
“No.
Sara’s gone too.”
“What?”
Billie nearly shrieked, waking Ian in the process. He sat up to find that Billie
was gone and immediately followed her voice to the office where she stood, half
naked, on the phone, a very unsettling look on her face. “What do you mean
she’s gone?”
“I
stopped to drop Vicky off at her apartment, which is when she noticed Sara’s
bike was gone,” Deaq explained.
“Shit,” Billie cursed under her breath. She began to rub her temple when a pair of hands wrapped around her waist and nearly startled her. She spun around to find Ian standing behind her, a worried look on his face.
“What’s
going on?” he whispered.
Cupping
her hand over the receiver, Billie replied, “Sara’s gone.”
“What do
you wanna do?” Deaq asked before Ian had time to react.
“I’m
putting out an APB to the entire county to see if they’ve spotted either Sara
or Van. Until we get a lead, I want you to stay put, understood?” Billie
barked her orders.
“Yes,
sir,” Deaq replied as he hung up the phone.
Billie
slammed down her receiver, her mind clouded over with what she’d do to both of
them once they were found. She quickly called the precinct and gave the officer
on dispatch all the information regarding Van and Sara, then hung up. Where the
hell were they anyway? They couldn’t have gone that far.
“Billie,”
Ian whispered gently so not to startle her. She looked in his direction, her
deep blue eyes on fire. He pulled a few of her long, dark strands of hair away
from her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Calm down.”
“How can
I calm down when I have two officers missing without a trace?” she nearly
yelled, her heart racing a mile a minute. “Why the hell aren’t you worried?
I thought you’d be hopping into your clothes this second and going to look for
them.”
“I
would, it’s just that you’re wearing my shirt,” Ian tried to lighten the
mood with a simple joke. Billie relaxed somewhat in his arms, but she remained a
little rigid at the edges. “Why are you so angry?”
“Because,”
she hesitated with her answer. “Because I worry about anyone and everyone
I’m in charge of. It’s just one of those things, ya know? Van’s my friend,
and Sara’s… Sara… I don’t know about Sara. I just feel something for
her, something like I gotta protect her. I dunno. I can’t describe it. It’s
just so strange.”
“It’s
understandable,” Ian reassured her. “We all feel that way about Sara, at
least all those of us who know about the Witchblade. There are also a few that
don’t know about it and feel that way towards her. She always seems to be
getting herself into trouble, so she needs protection for all who are close to
her.”
“So,
what are we gonna do?” Billie asked.
“I’ll
try to find her using our link, and if I can’t, we’ll just have to start
searching ourselves,” he answered, kissing her forehead once more before she
slipped out of his grasp. She took off his shirt and handed it back to him.
Billie
placed a soft kiss on his cheek and whispered, “Good luck,” then sauntered
back to the couch to find her clothes.
*~*~*
“So,
what are we gonna tell everybody when we get back?” Sara whispered as she
nestled herself closer to Van while they lay together on the hood of his car
again.
He sighed,
not having thought that far into the future. “You wanna keep the engagement a
secret until after we finish these cases?” he replied, his fingers running
through her hair.
“That
would probably be the best idea, but it’s kinda hard not to notice a ring this
big,” she answered, holding up her hand and gazing at it once again, the smile
unable to disappear from her face. It was then that Sara noticed her watch and
the time. “Shit, it’s almost five in the morning! I think we’d better
start heading back to LA now.”
“Just
hold on for a few more minutes,” Van chided. “Let the sun rise, then we’ll
go.”
Sara
looked over at him, the smile on her face turning into a grin as she replied,
“You are such a romantic,” then kissed him. She lay back down using his arm
as her pillow and looked out across the sky as the first faint traces of dawn
began to appear in the west. It changed from a deep shade of indigo to a dark
purple hue that kept lightening as the minutes passed until it was a light pink
color. The golden rays of the sun finally peeked through the morning clouds,
illuminating the sky with its fingertips of rose.
In the
amount of time that it took for the sun to come up and finally settle in the
sky, Sara had fallen asleep, her cheek pressed up against Van’s shoulder and
the rest of her body wrapped around his. He kissed her forehead and nestled up
against her as well, closing his eyes as he breathed in the sweet scent of her
hair until he too was asleep.
Sara was
in the midst of a wonderful dream when she felt something strange and out of
place. It felt like there was someone in her head, floating around, picking
through her brain. She immediately shot up, panting. Looking around the hilltop,
Sara could see nothing out of the ordinary. When she turned to Van, she found
that he was asleep as well, which completely ruled him out as a suspect. As she
lay back down next to him, she felt the presence again.
“What
the fuck?” Sara mumbled to herself as she tried to fall asleep again, but it
was useless. That presence was still bugging the hell out of her. She needed to
know what was going on, and NOW! Concentrating, she felt the Witchblade swirl
into action on her wrist. It quickly picked up on the presence and amplified it.
‘Where
are you, Sara?’ came a surprisingly familiar voice.
“
“What?
Huh?” he panted, looking around sleepily to find Sara pacing beside the car.
“What’s going on?”
“
“
“Yeah!”
she replied.
“Like in
a dream or something?”
“No!
He’s actually in my head! Like picking through it! And I don’t know how to
kick him out!”
Van was
still confused. What the hell was she talking about? He wondered. This was just
too much for him to process this early in the morning. “Can’t you just talk
him out or something?” he questioned.
“Talk
him out? How the hell am I supposed to do that!” Sara barked, now clearly
frustrated.
“I
don’t know! Use the Witchblade,” Van suggested.
Sara sat
on the edge of the hood and began to concentrate again. With the Witchblade’s
help, she managed calm down and listen to Ian without letting him know she was.
‘Sara!’
he continued to call to her, trying to get an answer back.
‘What?’
she yelled back angrily, feeling his surprise through their connection almost
immediately. ‘What the hell are you doing in my head? How did you get here?
Why are you here? What did you see? It better not have been anything
important!’
‘Where
are you, Sara? We’re all worried about you and Van. Have you seen him?’ Ian
asked calmly. He knew all too well that Sara was agitated, and didn’t want to
make her anymore pissed off than she already was.
‘We’re
in
‘I’ll
tell you when you get back,’ he replied, then broke the connection, leaving
her along again to ponder what had just happened.
‘Ian!
Ian!’ Sara yelled, but realized it was useless. She snapped out of her deep
thoughts to find Van gazing at her intently.
“What
happened?” he asked.
“We have
to go,” she blatantly replied, grabbing her helmet and strapping it onto her
head. “Ian’s gonna explain this all to me when we get back.” Sara got on
her bike and kick started the engine. “See ya when we get to LA.”
“See ya,” Van called to her as she rushed off, the anger present in her voice. He knew not to push her any further than she already was, and stayed back a couple hundred feet as they flew down the highway at top speed. Sara was on the warpath, ready to take her anger out on the first person who dared to cross her path. Van made sure it wasn’t him.
A/N: Music: "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden