and lifted
Amanda into his arms as gently as possible, easing the door closed quietly behind
him.
Teddy padded in sleepily
from where he had been curled in his warm bed in the kitchen, and walked over
to Justin, rubbing his head against Justin's leg so that the top of his head
also rubbed against Amanda's back. Justin didn't think it was a coincidence
that the Lab took opportunities to snuggle in ways that he was touching both
Amanda and Justin simultaneously – he was happy to see the two people that he
considered both of his “parents” back together again. He wanted them to stay
that way, and so made little efforts to bond the three of them more firmly.
Justin smiled down at the
handsome, happy dog. “Let's get our girl to bed without waking her up, OK,
boy?” he whispered, and Teddy swished his tail back and forth in agreement.
Justin carried Amanda into
the house and laid her down on the couch, propping the couch pillows beneath
her head as smoothly as he was able, trying with each small movement to jar her
only slightly, so as not to wake her.
He moved ninja quiet to the
front hall closet, from which he took an afghan, the one he remembered was her
favorite, because her mother had made it before she died. Justin carried the
warm knitted blanket over to a sleeping Amanda on the couch and spread it over
her, sitting down next to her on the couch as he did so.
In a movement that seemed
almost beyond his control, he reached out and brushed a golden curl from her
forehead, stroking his fingertips through the silken swirl of her hair. Her
eyes opened slightly and she inclined her head slightly so that she was looking
up at him. He froze. All the trouble that he'd gone to not to wake her, and now
this.
“Oh, hi, it's you,” she said
sleepily, yawning, and it was clear to Justin from her tone and affect that she
was not really conscious, but was still in deep in slumber, “You should stay
this time I missed you...” she trailed off into a whisper and her head fell
back to the pillow as her eyes closed again. He stared at her, frozen, for a
few more moments.
Suddenly, he heard Karina's
whispered voice, coming from the stairs. He had been so completely entranced by
Amanda's sleeping form, and her unconsciously mumbled words, that he hadn't
heard Karina's soft footsteps padding down the stairs.
“So, if she's Joey, does
that make you Pacey or Dawson?” she whispered.
He turned and gave her a
puzzled look, not certain he had heard her correctly.
“Dawson's Creek? The WB?
Long running show? Launched the careers of Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and
James Van Der Beek? Good God, people who have no cultural reference point are
impossible to deal with!” she smiled.
He shook his head
uncomprehendingly.
“Well, are you her
soul-mate, or are you the person she's meant to end up with?” Karina clarified.
After giving this a moment to sink in, she shrugged and, with a mischievous
half-smile, trotted back up the stairs, adding, “Food for thought.”
Justin looked back down at
the sleeping Amanda and brushed her golden hair back from her forehead. The
decision to stay and fight for Amanda, no matter how strong his inner instinct
to run and no matter what external obstacles blocked his path solidified within
him, and he whispered decisively, “Why can't I be both?”
Chapter 11
Justin stood in the kitchen, preparing to make coffee,
thinking about how happy he was that today was a new day, one that wasn't going
to be filled with the emotional roller coaster goings on which had been keeping
him on the edge of his seat from the moment that he had entered Hope Falls.
Nope. This was a new day. The morning looked to be
dawning clear and bright, and the plan was, in Justin's mind at least, that a
clear and bright day would follow it – and in more ways than just the weather.
Justin was determined that this day was going to be drama and incident free.
Justin reveled in the everyday routine act of making
coffee because
Amanda into his arms as gently as possible, easing the door closed quietly behind
him.
Teddy padded in sleepily
from where he had been curled in his warm bed in the kitchen, and walked over
to Justin, rubbing his head against Justin's leg so that the top of his head
also rubbed against Amanda's back. Justin didn't think it was a coincidence
that the Lab took opportunities to snuggle in ways that he was touching both
Amanda and Justin simultaneously – he was happy to see the two people that he
considered both of his “parents” back together again. He wanted them to stay
that way, and so made little efforts to bond the three of them more firmly.
Justin smiled down at the
handsome, happy dog. “Let's get our girl to bed without waking her up, OK,
boy?” he whispered, and Teddy swished his tail back and forth in agreement.
Justin carried Amanda into
the house and laid her down on the couch, propping the couch pillows beneath
her head as smoothly as he was able, trying with each small movement to jar her
only slightly, so as not to wake her.
He moved ninja quiet to the
front hall closet, from which he took an afghan, the one he remembered was her
favorite, because her mother had made it before she died. Justin carried the
warm knitted blanket over to a sleeping Amanda on the couch and spread it over
her, sitting down next to her on the couch as he did so.
In a movement that seemed
almost beyond his control, he reached out and brushed a golden curl from her
forehead, stroking his fingertips through the silken swirl of her hair. Her
eyes opened slightly and she inclined her head slightly so that she was looking
up at him. He froze. All the trouble that he'd gone to not to wake her, and now
this.
“Oh, hi, it's you,” she said
sleepily, yawning, and it was clear to Justin from her tone and affect that she
was not really conscious, but was still in deep in slumber, “You should stay
this time I missed you...” she trailed off into a whisper and her head fell
back to the pillow as her eyes closed again. He stared at her, frozen, for a
few more moments.
Suddenly, he heard Karina's
whispered voice, coming from the stairs. He had been so completely entranced by
Amanda's sleeping form, and her unconsciously mumbled words, that he hadn't
heard Karina's soft footsteps padding down the stairs.
“So, if she's Joey, does
that make you Pacey or Dawson?” she whispered.
He turned and gave her a
puzzled look, not certain he had heard her correctly.
“Dawson's Creek? The WB?
Long running show? Launched the careers of Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and
James Van Der Beek? Good God, people who have no cultural reference point are
impossible to deal with!” she smiled.
He shook his head
uncomprehendingly.
“Well, are you her
soul-mate, or are you the person she's meant to end up with?” Karina clarified.
After giving this a moment to sink in, she shrugged and, with a mischievous
half-smile, trotted back up the stairs, adding, “Food for thought.”
Justin looked back down at
the sleeping Amanda and brushed her golden hair back from her forehead. The
decision to stay and fight for Amanda, no matter how strong his inner instinct
to run and no matter what external obstacles blocked his path solidified within
him, and he whispered decisively, “Why can't I be both?”
Chapter 11
Justin stood in the kitchen, preparing to make coffee,
thinking about how happy he was that today was a new day, one that wasn't going
to be filled with the emotional roller coaster goings on which had been keeping
him on the edge of his seat from the moment that he had entered Hope Falls.
Nope. This was a new day. The morning looked to be
dawning clear and bright, and the plan was, in Justin's mind at least, that a
clear and bright day would follow it – and in more ways than just the weather.
Justin was determined that this day was going to be drama and incident free.
Justin reveled in the everyday routine act of making
coffee because
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