* baby just say yes ;;

[jason andrew irving]

“Got everything?” Jason grinned, looking over at his girlfriend, wondering just how much more she could cram into her suitcase. He was clearly excited, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stood there, watching Ana check everything over. There was only one reason why this was better than Dylan coming out to see him and that was because he’d get to see his parents for more than five minutes and actually get to see his friends from back in New York, too. And if he counted the fact that he wasn’t going to be on an airplane, get off and collect his brother and then fly back out to Utah, that was two reasons. Yes, his parents had planned to have him stay for dinner and perhaps even overnight when he was going to pick up Dylan, but they couldn’t get their schedules worked out to work that way. Besides, this one was a surprise. He couldn’t wait to see his parents’ faces when he showed up on their doorstep with his girlfriend.

Picking up her suitcase, he cringed and set it down before picking it back up with his right hand, forgetting that his left wrist still protested when he tried to pick up too much weight in his excitement. He still had no idea how he was going to go the full week and a half without his parents noticing something was wrong with it. It had been feeling better lately, probably because of the brace he had been wearing most of the time, but it still wasn’t completely healed. That was the problem with doctors; they knew too much when it came to injuries and pain sometimes, like when he was trying to hide the fact he hadn’t gotten his most recent injury looked at. Oh well, he knew he was already going to spend some time in the hospital, anyways. Surgery for broken ribs wasn’t exactly common, but it had been necessary in Jason’s case and his parents had made it clear that they were interested in seeing what exactly Saint Mark’s had done in the case of half of a person’s ribs being snapped, some in more than one place. He was definitely going to ask them about those medicines that supposedly faded scars, too. Even after six or so months after his first surgery, he was still too self conscious to really go out on a public beach without his shirt on. Located on the left side of his torso, they weren’t easy to hide unless, of course, he had a shirt on.

Jason grinned as he bounded out the door, tossing Ana’s bag gently in the trunk of his car before he went to the passenger’s door, holding it open for his girlfriend, closing it as soon as she was in and nearly skipped to the other side. Looking over at her as he backed out of the driveway, he couldn’t help but let his smile grow. “Don’t worry. They‘re going to love you.” “They” meaning his parents and his friends. He laughed as he put the top down, knowing she knew a lot about them, but he couldn’t help but tell her a little more as he drove down the familiar roads, heading towards the airport. “My dad‘s kind of quiet, but he has a great sense of humor. Well at least I think so,” he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye and grinning. “My mom‘s much more talkative, but just like him, she‘s a total sweetheart.” He couldn’t help but laugh again, almost knowing exactly what she would do when she saw Ana standing next to him. “And just to warn you, she‘ll probably be so excited to see you and give you a huge hug and thank you over and over for taking care of me.” With a touch of humor, he couldn’t help but add, “Both after the accident and just in general. She always joked about how I was going to survive on my own when I constantly tripped over myself.” If it was possible, his smile grew even more as he thought about his baby brother who had just recently celebrated his eighth birthday. “And Dylan. Dylan‘s great.” That just about summed up his little brother, at least in his eyes. Sure, he was a little quiet around new people, but it didn’t take long for his true colors to shine through. He knew he had told her all of this before, but the realization that she was actually going to meet his family was really setting in now and he couldn’t help being excited.

The young man’s excitement kept building as they got closer to the airport and his grin only got bigger as the airplanes came into sight. Once they were in the parking garage, he found a spot much quicker than he expected to and he pulled the luggage from the trunk, looking around the poorly lit area. “Yellow five, remember that, you know I won‘t,” he grinned at Ana, knowing it was true; he‘d forget the area they parked in in no time. Handing her her suitcase, he wheeled his behind him, heading first to check their bags. After that, it was through security, which if it was anything like the airport in New York, might take a while.

Going through security didn’t take nearly as long as he expected, though Ana had warned him this was Utah, not New York and as they sat at their terminal gate, he fumbled through his carry on, knowing he hadn’t packed too much to do, just a bright yellow hoodie in case the plane got cold and a couple miscellaneous things, like his iPod, in case Ana fell asleep and he couldn’t and of course some food. The drinks they’d have to get on the plane because of all the new laws in effect to ward off terrorist attacks. Now came the hard part - waiting. Jason was usually a fairly patient person, but when it came to waiting on something he was incredibly excited for, that was when his foot would start to bounce, he’d start to tap his fingers a bit and just generally become antsy. Some would call it pre-flight nerves if they didn’t know him, but it was really just his excitement to finally get off the ground and head back to his hometown. Of course, shopping in New York City would be a bonus, too. Salt Lake was considered a big city, but to him it wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the Big Apple. Pulling the drawstrings on his carry on to close it, he moved his arm next to Ana’s and entwined his fingers with hers. “Still nervous?” he asked gently, a small, reassuring smile on his face. They still had about an hour before their plane started boarding; he had a feeling the closer they got to boarding time, the more nervous she’d be.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

TAGS : Miss Bailey
WORD COUNT : 1,162
WEARING : click
DRIVING : 2009 Mercedes Benz
LYRIC CREDIT : Love Story by Taylor Swift

[ana isabel bailey]

WITH A LITTLE GRUNT, ANA PRESSED ONE LAST
shirt into the suitcase sitting on her bed. She'd thought she was packed, but as always she'd started worrying she had forgotten something and figured it was better to over pack than under pack. Pressing the lid on the suitcase down, however, she found out just how full the thing really was as the zipper refused to go. Forgetting her boyfriend was standing there watching her, she hopped up on her bed and then plopped down on the suitcase, grinning sheepishly when she looked up to see him before beginning to pull on the metal zipper to her polka dotted white suitcase, the weight of her body compressing the clothes enough that it pulled straight over. Zipping the other side up she hopped off with a self-satisfied smile, setting her hands on her hips. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him when he asked her if she had everything. "Nooo," she told him with a playful little smile, "I just have to grab one more pair of shoes." She giggled at his response, watching him seem to almost jump up and down in place. He'd been waiting for her probably a lot longer than he'd intended, and this time it had nothing to do with shoes or the fact that she'd been raised by a very laid-back mother who didn't entirely understand the concept of being on time. No, for once she had a fairly valid excuse. She'd been up most of the night, tossing and turning, made quite obvious by the tangle of sheets at the foot of her bed, both from nerves and the fact that her apartment felt like a bon fire had been lit in each room. A few days ago the air conditioner had kicked out and stopped working and though she'd asked her landlord to fix it, he had yet to. She was hoping when she came back, a week and a half from now that he'd have it fixed. She hadn't quite fallen into much of a sleep until around three-thirty and so when only three and a half hours later she'd heard knocking on her door she was too tired to remember why anyone would be. So she'd shown up in the doorway in nothing but her nightgown with her hair a complete mess and stared at him for a moment before her eyes widened and she started muttering to herself as she left the door ajar for him to come in and started erratically half running back to her bedroom, pulling her gown over her head as she did and giving Jason a rather fine view of her bare naked backside, excluding what was covered by the pitiful lacy excuse for underwear.

YAWNING, ANA PICKED UP THE HOODIE JASON HAD
told her to bring, slinging it over her arm before stepping over to slide her feet into a pair of flip flops. Giving herself the once over she knew she didn't look as nice as she would like to for the first time she met Dr. and Dr. Irving. The plain tee shirt and jeans wouldn't have been her choice, honestly, but anything nicer wouldn't have been good for traveling in. Glancing at Jason though she remembered what one of her girly magazines had said about complimenting one's boyfriend when going to meet his parents. It was supposed to make the two of you look more in sync and well matched for each other... or something like that. Of course it had also advised that she should wear a dress, but that didn't sound very fun for trying to get comfy on the plane, or in general really. Occasionally she'd wear a skirt, but she had to be in the mood for that, and as tired as she was she just wanted to look passable and be comfortable for the four and a half hours she'd be confined to a little seat. Brushing her fingers through her straight blond hair she turned back to where Jason was taking her suitcase, missing his discomfort at trying to lift it with the wrong hand. If it weren't for his own good she wouldn't do it, but if by the end of the week he'd somehow managed to get away with the whole untreated broken wrist deal she was going to rat him out. She only had so much power over him, but if his parents ganged up on him too he was basically doomed. Oh well, Jason had a way of managing to give himself away. She doubted she'd have to be the bad guy.

HER FEET DRAGGING SLOWLY BEHIND HIM OUT THE
door, she stopped to lock her now completely empty apartment. They'd dropped the dogs off together the night before and Annie had already taken care of putting her mail on hold and all that. It was just trying to do things like pack that got her a bit flustered. When she finally turned from the door he'd somehow managed to toss her suitcase in the trunk and was already standing by the passenger's door and she smiled a bit. She had a distinctly tired look, even though she felt his excitement. Hers was a bit more of a nervous excitement, his assurances aside, but she was kind of hyped for their trip anyway. It would be the most fun she'd had all summer and of course she got to see the world he talked about all the time so that alone was something to get excited over. She nervously fiddled with her keys as he backed out of the parking space in front of her apartment, looking up and smiling at him when he said they'd love her, dropping her keys down into her black purse and grabbing a pony tail holder before setting it down by her feet. Looping her hair up, she listened to him with a little smile. She'd heard it all before of course, but now that she was so close to actually getting to meet them she was listening to his every word. She couldn't help but think his description of his parents sort of sounded like them. It was a passing thought though that slipped from her when he said his mother was probably going to give her a big hug. She laughed a bit, smiling. She certainly hoped he was right about his mom. She cared about all of them liking her, but his mom especially just because of the whole terrible mother-in-law thing.

HIS EXCITEMENT SEEMED TO GROW MORE AND MORE
the closer they got and Annie just watched him with a little smile as they drove. She always got that way when her family from Louisiana came to visit and even the occasional cousin from Spain. She'd never really been separated from her mother or any friends that were especially dear to her though so she couldn't really imagine just how excited he was. Once he'd parked she followed him across the street to the actual airport. It all felt very strange to her, but she just kept with him, doing what he told her to do with the monstrous suit case that somehow managed to be well below the maximum weight to avoid fees, sort of shocking her. Aside from the baggage woman looking at her like she was an idiot for not taking her license out of her wallet it went fine and they made their way over to security. She laughed when she saw the perhaps twenty people in line, poking Jason in the side to say she'd told him so. She hit another bump when her purse and shoes went through the x-ray, a tall, imposing security official nearly making the already stressed woman cry when he wielded the bottle of lotion she'd forgot was in her bag and accused her of being a security threat. It hadn't been intentional, of course, but she'd just listened until he shoved her bag back at her and threw the mostly empty bottle away. Pulling her flip flops back on just as a slightly nervous but clearly relieved Jason joined her to pick up his bag. She'd raised an eyebrow, but dismissed it as nothing. She figured he'd probably just been worried about the pins in his ribs setting off the metal detector.

THEY MADE THEIR WAY BACK TO THE TERMINAL,
now sitting among the couple other people on their flight. Most seemed to be business people, though that wasn't unexpected. Not many people flew to Utah for their own amusement, after all. Pulling a piece off the cinnamon roll she'd bought once they were past security she glanced over her shoulder to make sure their flight wasn't delayed, On Time still showing on the screen. As it was they'd be getting there at four o'clock Eastern time and just getting their rental car and luggage would probably take another hour. Then of course they'd have to actually drive. All in all she knew it was going to be a long day. At the moment though she seemed pretty calm, her leg bouncing a bit from where it was crossed over the other, but otherwise she seemed shockingly chill. "Want the rest," she offered, even though he'd already eaten. She'd eaten half of it, the center of course as it was the best, and whether it was the fact that the roll was huge or just her nerves ruining her appetite she had no interest in finishing it. Taking a sip of her coffee she glanced over with a little shrug at his question, "I guess a little, but as of right now I'm ok," she said casually, down playing it a bit, though it didn't really matter with the way he knew her. Setting her coffee cup down she smiled sweetly, giving him a quick kiss, "Like you said, I have you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1654
( WEARING )
this
( LYRICS )
ingrid michaelson - "the way i am"
( COMMENTS )
haha, with the fourth paragraph i assumed he didn't pull a gaylord focker and therefore was trying to get through security without his bag/him being searched in front of annie.

[jason andrew irving]

Standing behind his girlfriend, who was clearly stressed, in line for security, he glowered at the security guard as he practically called her a terrorist, his dark eyes clearly showing his aggravation with the man. Scowling as Ana looked like she was about to cry, he nearly stepped in and said something to the security guard about there being a difference between airport security and harassment but before he had a chance to say anything, the man snatched up Ana’s lotion that was clearly almost empty and let her go through. His eyes narrowed as he stepped up, pulling his wallet from his back pocket, flipping through it for a moment and wondering if he had forgotten the credit-card like piece of plastic the hospital had given him “just in case” he set off security alarms somewhere. Giving a little shrug, he set the wallet down in one of the baskets they had set aside and stepped through, figuring all he’d have to do would be to show his two scars down his side to prove he wasn’t some sort of terrorist. Luckily, he made it through without a problem, though he had a feeling coming home from New York would be much worse. He wasn’t sure if his parents would be able to make another one for him or not, or if they’d have to call Saint Mark’s and get his records and such or if he was just screwed if he beeped somewhere.

He retrieved his bag and his wallet from the belt, giving the tall security guard one last cold look as he slid his wallet into his back pocket before stepping over to his girlfriend, resting a hand on her lower back as they headed towards their terminal. “Most security guards are helpful, not nasty,” he growled, clearly annoyed with the man’s attitude. There were nicer ways to say that lotion wasn’t allowed since not everybody who showed up at an airport had flown before. Only as they walked away did he realize he probably could have got the man’s name from his nametag and register a complaint somewhere in the airport. He could probably find the place to complain and describe the man and they’d know who he was, but then again if they liked him, they might say they didn’t know who he was talking about. Pushing his annoyance aside, he pulled their tickets from his wallet and looked at the terminal number, following the signs in the direction they pointed.

The chairs that they had in front of the gates were obviously uncomfortable. Bright blue and plastic with only a little padding on the bottom, he sighed and shifted slightly, cracking his back before he leaned back against it, smiling as Ana picked off a piece of her cinnamon roll. Cinnabon, like Starbucks, must have had at least one store in every airport. Of course, the smell of both places was enough to make him want to go buy something, which is probably why they did so well. He shrugged and shook his head when she offered him the rest of her cinnamon roll, holding out a hand to take the plate. He was stuffed after the two huge pieces of pizza he had bought from Sbarro. The crust was thin, but the pieces were huge and it tasted delicious. Well, as good as airport food could taste. Standing up, he stretched a little bit before heading over to the nearest trash can and tossing their plates in it and heading back over to her. His eyebrows rose a bit as she seemed unusually calm but he didn’t want to make it any worse. As she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, his lips curved upwards a little bit, an adoring look on his face. “You‘re right, you do,” he grinned. Of course he had just been joking when he told her that before, but he figured flying with someone she knew extremely well would be better than flying alone on her first time.

His foot started to bounce again as he slid his phone from his pocket and checked the time. They still had a half hour before the plane even began to board. Of course, being in first class, they’d be on the plane first, but that meant waiting even more, only they’d actually be on the plane. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he reached for his small bag, digging through to see if he had brought any gum. A thoughtful look crossed his face and he looked over at his girlfriend. “Did you bring any gum?” He knew the answer before she even said it, though. On the way home from her mom’s house after they had planned the funeral for her father, she had told him even though she had been chewing gum all the time when they had first started dating, it hadn’t been because she liked gum. Nodding his head in response to her question, he picked up the strings of his bag and stood up, slinging it over one shoulder and holding out his hand for her. “You‘ll probably want some then,” he said, looking for one of the little gift shops all airports had.

There was one located not too far from their gate and he walked into the little store that only had three sides; the one side was open for people to come and go. All of the little airport shops seemed to be the same unless it was a big, touristy city. They sold drinks, snacks, gum, magazines and little miscellaneous stuffed animals, some which had t-shirts with the city’s name on them. Shooting Ana a teasing look, he glanced down at one of the magazines she had back at her house before he picked up a pack of gum, asking her what kind she wanted and picking it up as well. He paid for the gum and they headed back to their gate, Jason looking around at the other people in the airport. It wasn’t nearly as busy as the New York airport seemed to always be, but Salt Lake wasn’t nearly as big of an attraction as the Big Apple. “The gum will keep your ears from hurting when we take off. Your ears will pop more than once and sometimes when they don’t pop all the way, they hurt. Just keep chewing and if that doesn’t work, swallow,” he explained, wondering if she had heard that before or not.

Looking out the huge glass window by the little door they’d be walking through in a little while, he watched a large plane pulled in and park in front of their gate. That must be their flight to the east coast. The sight of the airplane made him even more excited and he looked over at Ana with a grin on his face. Remembering that he couldn’t find his little medical card, a mildly curious look crossed his face. “Oh, when we get on the plane, remind me to look for my little card thing that the hospital gave me. I can’t remember if I brought it or not.” A little laugh escaped him as he imagined himself at the New York airport on the way home trying to explain why he had beeped when he went through security and there was no metal on him what so ever. That would be interesting, that was for sure. He had heard that all you had to do was show them your scars and they were usually quite understanding, but he couldn’t remember if that was before nine-eleven or after and whether or not they’d actually want to see that. Other pins were usually in more common places, like the arm or the ankle, so the scars would be easier to see than his. Of course, he was definitely thankful for that. Letting the thoughts go, he figured he could worry about that when the time came and he settled himself down in one of the uncomfortable blue chairs again, checking his phone and sighing at the time. Noon could not come fast enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,356
WEARING : click
COMMENTS : Haha, alrighty then. That would have been awkwardly funny but it really didn't cross my mind.

[ana isabel bailey]

A BUBBLY GIGGLE ESCAPED HER WHEN THE
memory of him saying that came back to her, his hands on her hips and a teasing look in his eye as he whispered it in her ear. Smirking, she leaned in and gave him another quick kiss before settling back into her own space, her fingers still entwined with his, sort of snickering to herself at the thought. It was, admittedly, a bit funny when she actually thought about it, though of course with their luck they'd be caught by a flight attendant and end up in jail. At least that way her first flight and the first time she met his parents would be memorable. "Oh, hi, Dr. Irving. So great to meet you. And thank you for bailing me out of jail for getting busy with your son on an airplane. Oh his shoe? Somewhere over Nebraska, I think. His foot got stuck in the toilet..." Yes, that would be quite the introduction. Anyway, as much as Ana hated getting in trouble for things she doubted she'd ever be willing to try that anyway, though jokes aside she didn't think Jason was that daring either. She didn't care what Cosmo had to say about the excitement of risky hook-ups. It wasn't something that particularly interested her enough to try it. The most action Jason was getting was a little snuggling, but she was grateful she had him to snuggle up to at least. It was better than freaking out all by herself and Jason always did have a very calming way about him where she was concerned. Really, that was probably the only reason she wasn't stalking around in a little circle like a dog that had been pinned up for too long.

THE LONGER THEY SAT THERE THOUGH AND THE
closer they got to the first boarding call the more she felt like she was about to lose it. She had never really been a fidgetter so aside from her calf bouncing up and down and her already pale face looking drained of all color it wasn't all that clear. Sighing slightly her blue eyes widened a bit at his question, slowly shaking her head. She didn't like gum all that much, she'd finally had the guts to admit that, but she'd never really known Jason to be the type to chew gum either. She could only remember him doing that only once maybe twice the whole time she'd known him, actually. "No," she said slowly, a confused tone to her voice, "Why?" She shrugged a bit when he told her she'd want some, standing and taking his hand. She was still sort of confused, but figured it was best to just go with it.

WANDERING INTO THE LITTLE STORE WITH HIM SHE
darted a look around quickly, wondering why anyone would actually want a Utah sweatshirt or an I Heart Salt Lake bumper sticker. Following him to the counter where at least a hundred different kinds of gum and candy were sitting on the little racks. A little smile crossed her face as he glanced from her to one of the magazines, giggling when she spotted the title in the top right hand corner where the most raunchy of titles always was. Even if he didn't really believe her she didn't usually read those articles, mostly sticking to the fashion and celebrity portions of the magazine. Occasionally she'd read some of the dating articles as they did have some nice ideas for dates or whatever, but honestly she didn't really bother with that section. A lot of their ideas were just too dirty for her taste. Besides, they kept things exciting on their own, or at least they had back when they'd been sleeping together; she didn't really have a need for someone else's ideas.

"MMM, PIÑA COLADA," ANA POINTED WITH A
little smile when he asked her about gum. Of course she knew it was just going to taste fruity and not that much like the drink, but it was preferable to his choice. "Now what exactly do I need gum for," she asked him, looping her hand around his bicep and gazing up at him, ignoring the look the cashier gave her as she took his money like she was dull. Picking the little package off the counter she dropped it in her purse for later, nodding as he told her. When he said it she seemed to remember hearing something or another about that, but it just hadn't really clicked. She frowned a bit when he said they would hurt, hoping they wouldn't too much. She hated that feeling when driving in a hilly area, and they were going much higher than that. Oh well, she'd survive, or at least she hoped so.

HER LEG SUDDENLY STARTED BOUNCING A BIT
quicker when the plane taxied up to the gate. A grin broke her lips when she saw his, laughing a bit a kissing him on the cheek. "You're too cute," she said with a laugh, waiting to see people start walking out of the little jutting walk way. She gazed out the window at the plane for a moment, looking up and nodding a bit when he said he needed to look for the card. "That's probably a good idea. Just in case," she agreed. It could save him the trouble of getting felt up by some awkward security guard and having that metal detecting wand ran everywhere. Instead they could just check that and let him go if he set the metal detector off instead of making things complicated. She figured they might be able to get him another one though since she assumed his parents were probably capable of acquiring one. And if they weren't he had the two long lines down his side as evidence. Surely security was understanding enough to let him go if he had to lift his shirt up like that in public.

HEARING HER TEXT RINGER GO OFF, ANA PICKED UP
her purse, slipping her red LG chocolate out and smiling when she saw her mother had texted her. Hitting ok she read the message and sent a quick reply back, glancing over at Jason's curious gaze. "Mom says have fun and sends her love," she told him with a little smile. Mariana was letting her grudge go slowly for her daughter's sake. Yes, she was the one that had pushed Anabel back toward him, but that didn't mean she was exactly over it. And of course, she was always going to be a bit upset that her daughter found marriage a good idea, but that was just something she had to accept. Permission aside, the woman was always going to resent it in some small way.

AS PASSENGERS BEGAN TO APPEAR FROM OFF
the plane she watched them wander by. None of them seemed as though they'd been traumatized. She watched a family as they walked by, her eyes widening a bit when the dad opened his mouth, sounding very stereotypically New York, almost like one of the guys out of My Cousin Vinny, her eyes getting a bit bigger when the woman replied back sounding sort of like Marisa Tomei. His parents talked like him, right? No strange nasally accents that would fast get on her nerves. Oh well, better to be prepared she thought as she spoke quietly near his ear, "Your parents talk like you, right?" With anyone else it would have seemed kind of rude, but she knew he wouldn't really care. Not that she could say much about his parents having a weird accent. Just look at her mother. Even in English it could sometimes sound like she was still speaking Spanish.

THE FLOW OF PASSENGERS GOT A BIT SLOWER UNTIL
no one seemed to be getting off, though Ana knew they would need to clean the plane or whatever else before anyone could get on. Sighing, she shut her eyes for a moment, trying to escape from the intensifying scared feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew this was a fear she needed to conquer, but she didn't really want to. Oh well, better now than later. They'd been talking about this trip for a while, she knew it was going to come eventually, and anyway she wanted to go somewhere nice on their honeymoon one of these days. That would require flying too and so would a lot of things. She glanced toward the woman with the speaker as she announced they would now begin boarding first class. Ana didn't move, just stayed nibbling her lip and watching a few stuffy looking businessmen wander over to the stewardess. She assumed they were just flying coach. Jason hadn't said otherwise after all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1463
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

His dark eyebrows rose ever so slightly when she told him what the text her mom had sent said. Regardless of how things seemed to be going now, he knew he still wasn’t Mariana’s favorite person and he completely understood why. Just like he had told Ana when they had decided to get back together, he wouldn’t want his daughter around a guy who had done the same thing he had. A little smile crossed his face, though, as he opened his mouth to speak. “Tell mom I said we will and you‘ll make it back to Utah in one piece, I promise.” His smile faded slightly, wondering if the “I promise” had been the wrong thing to say. The last time he had promised Mariana something he promised he wouldn’t ever hurt her daughter and well, that hadn’t happened. Regardless of whether or not her grudge against him was slowly ebbing away or not, he still held one of his own over himself. It didn’t show nearly as much as it use to, but it was still there and he doubted it would go away anytime soon.

A little chuckle slipped from him when she asked about the way his parents talked. “I guess,” he said with a little shrug, a questioning quality to his voice. “I mean, they have an accent compared to the people who have lived here all their lives, but so do I. It‘s just not your stereotypical New Yorker accent, but those are really the New York City folk who talk like that.” He shrugged again, a smile on his face. Even though he had vacationed all across the US, he had never really given the way anyone talked a thought. Well, when they had been down in Southern Kentucky and Tennessee on their way down to Florida he noticed they talked much differently than the people in New York, but other than the occasional “y’all” he pretty much let it slide. England was another story, though that could be because of all the movies with the people who spoke in British accents.

Looking over at his girlfriend, he gave her hand a little squeeze as she closed her eyes, her face looking a little bit paler than usual. He leaned over towards her and kissed her on the cheek, an encouraging smile on his face. He knew he could say a bunch of encouraging words and tell her it would be fine, but he also knew that when you were nervous that meant nothing. Instead, he left his lips next to her cheeks and murmured three little words. “I love you.” As he pulled away, there was a smile on his face, an absolutely adoring look in his eyes.

A woman’s voice came on over the speaker, saying first class was now boarding and he squeezed her hand again, grabbing the little strings on his bag and standing up, giving a little tug on her hand as she just sat there. “Surprise! First class,” he grinned, keeping a hold of her hand as he fished the tickets out from his wallet on their way over to the woman standing by the door that led to the long walkway to the plane sitting outside. After she looked them over and let them on, he glanced over at his girlfriend and chuckled at her expression, letting his hand fall from hers and instead rested it on her waist, letting her know he was there for her. Glancing at the tickets again, he followed the numbers to their seats, looking at two rather large, squishy looking seats with plenty of leg room for him, which in coach on some flights never happened. A teasing grin crossed his face as he looked at where their seats were located and he glanced over at her, holding back a laugh. They were in the very last row of first class, and the way the rows were staggered, the last row on the other side was located a little bit in front of them instead of directly across. “Window or isle?” he asked her, securing their carry-ons in the compartment above their seat while she settled herself in the seat. Snapping the compartment shut, he sat down in the seat next to Annie, pulling the armrest in between them up and rested his arm across her shoulders. “If you get cold and your hoodie doesn‘t cut it, let me know. I brought a blanket, just in case.” A little grin crossed his face as he thought about the two of them curled up together underneath of his polka-dotted blanket up in the back of first class.

After first class was boarded and before they let on coach, a stewardess came through with her cart already, asking if anyone wanted anything to drink. With a single glance over at Ana, he asked what they had to drink on the plane. “You look like you need something, honey. What do you want?” The alcohol was the only thing that cost extra and he knew that neither one of them would be having any of that. After they got their drinks, Jason smiled, dropping the tray in front of Annie down so she had some place to set her drink. Of course the trays would have to go up before they took off and the stewardess would come by to pick up their cans, empty or not, but they still had to wait for the rest of the plane to board.

He knew getting on a plane the first time wasn’t always fun and it didn’t help that the first thing that they had sitting out for you to see was an emergency guide on the nearest exits and such. And then, before the plane actually took off, the stewardesses would go through a step by step instruction of what to do if the oxygen masks popped out and how to put them on. They always said to put yours on first and then worry about helping others, but he knew if anything happened for those ugly yellow masks to pop out, Ana’s was going on first and then he’d worry about his. Well, there was always the chance that he’d end up passing out and hitting his head on something and only make things harder on Ana, especially with his luck, but whatever happened, she was getting the oxygen first.

It took a little while for the rest of the plane to board and he sat there impatiently, jiggling his foot as everyone found the way to their seats. Finally, they did last call and the woman who had gone through with the cart to see if they wanted anything to drink came back through and picked up their garbage. Sliding his arm from around her as the announcements came on to make sure the seats were upright and the trays were locked in position, he snapped the armrest back down and slid their trays back into the seat in front of them. Reaching around himself, he put the little seat belt on and held his hand out for Ana. As the televisions came on and did a step by step run through of what would happen in case of an emergency, he lifted her hand up and kissed it, leaning over to tell her something as the stewardess demonstrated the proper way to put the yellow oxygen mask on. “Even if the masks pop out, it doesn‘t mean the plane‘s going down,” he murmured quietly and squeezed her hand gently.

Finally, the plane headed towards the runway and he rested his hand on her thigh, knowing she was nervous. Glancing over at her, his dark eyes meeting her blue ones, he gave her an encouraging smile and leaned his head over to hers. “If you get a little too nervous, let me know,” he murmured to her, a little smile on his face. There was definitely one good thing about being in the back of their section of the plane. Taking a deep breath, he took his hand that wasn‘t touching her and tipped her face towards him. “Like I said, you won‘t even know we‘re in the air then,” he breathed, his lips just an inch from hers. His eyes stared into hers for a moment, realizing the last time he did this, he had been completely trashed to the point she thought he was killing himself. His lips curved upwards ever so slightly before he closed the gap, his dark eyes flickering shut and his lips parting shortly after they met hers, his tongue finding its way into her mouth and sliding against hers smoothly. After he gave a short, gentle suck, he pulled his tongue back into his mouth and his lips met each other again, giving her a little peck to end the short kiss. Pulling away, he opened his eyes and he smiled at her as the plane continued to taxi towards the runway. “See?” He hadn’t realized his heart would feel like it was racing after he did that or just how much he missed the sweet way she tasted. The plane rotated, slowing down a bit before it started to pick up speed and he squeezed her thigh gently before picking up his hand, offering it for her to hold. To him, take off just felt like the beginning of a roller coaster, but he knew to some people it was the worst part of the flight.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,583
WEARING : click

[ana isabel bailey]

ANA LAUGHED A BIT, LOOKING A TOUCH GUILTY
about the question. It didn't really matter, of course, she was just curious more than anything. She nodded a bit when he said it was New York city people that talked that way, which made sense to her. She had never been to New York though, so she only knew what was in the movies. Squeezing his hand a bit she smiled moving her mouth back toward his ear, "Well I think your voice is sexy," she told him with a little flirtatious laugh, pressing her lips to his ear. It would be just fine she decided. After all he hadn't gotten his voice from no where, so it was doubtful his dad sounded like the Godfather or something. For all she knew his family was going to think her accent was weird. Not that she had much of one really since she'd grown up speaking mostly Spanish at home and when everyone started teasing her for her stilted English she'd sat at home watching TV and copying what they said back, trying to sound as normal as possible leaving her without either her dad's soft spoken Southern or her mom's weird Spanglish and just sort of a generic tone to her sweet voice.

FEELING HIS GENTLE SQUEEZE OF HER HAND, ANA
opened her eyes, smiling unsurely at him, sighing as he kissed her pale cheek. Most people probably couldn't notice she had lost the color in her cheeks simply because there wasn't much there to be lost, but he of course would simply because he knew her as well as he did, both her personality and her appearance. She expected him to say the typical 'It'll be fine' or something similar and when he said something very different it brought a smile to her nervous face. As he pulled away she looked over at him, her blue eyes bluer than ever against her pasty skin, "I love you, too," she murmured back, the words not even half of what shone in her eyes when she said it. She was, of course, doing this because of what he meant to her, and that reason alone.

A BLOND EYEBROW RAISED, SHE GAZED UP AT HIM A
bit perplexed when he picked up his bag and stood, not quite linking things together well enough to figure out on her own that they were in first class, at least not until he said so. A smile broke her lips and she slipped her purse up over her bony shoulder. That explained why he'd only let her see the boarding passes long enough to get past security, hoping she wouldn't notice. "You're going to spoil me, you know," she told him as he handed the tickets to the airline employee for her to scan them, watching their names pop up on the little screen before the woman told them to have a nice flight. Walking down the long slanted walkway she gazed around her, still clearly on edge as the actual plane came into sight. She gave him a wavering smile as he set his hand against her waist, stepping through the little door on to the plane a half step ahead of him, laughing to herself as she realized the song humming through the speakers was 'New York, New York.' She let him guide her along, snickering a bit to herself when she too noticed the location of the seats, thinking back again to their conversation while in line for the bumper cars, even though it was all in good fun. "Aisle, this time, I think," she decided, figuring she'd rather not be so close to the window if it might make her nervous, even though they could pull the shutter down. Maybe next time if this flight went ok. She handed him her bag, keeping her purse with her to slide under the seat in front of her since it had her gum and her iPod as well as a couple of magazines wedged in it. Once he'd slid in she followed him so he wouldn't have to climb over her. The chilly air of the plane already getting to her she slipped her lightweight gray hoodie over her head, careful not to whack her boyfriend with any flying limbs, grinning when he said he'd brought a blanket. "What, don't want to use my hot pink one," she asked him with a teasing smile, liking the thought just as much as he did. Considering she hadn't really slept the night before she wouldn't be shocked if she did fall asleep at some point, as long as she could calm down about the whole fourty thousand feet in the air deal.

SHE SMILED CONGENIALLY AT THE LADY OFFERING
them drinks, uncertain at first whether they had to pay for them. She shrugged a bit when he said she needed something, thinking to herself a bit sourly that she'd most like one of those famous little liquor bottles before asking for a ginger ale. Not that she especially liked the bitter drink, she just figured it might help her stomach. Passing Jason's drink to him she then took hers, popping the top and taking a sip. She laughed a bit when he moved a little clip on the front of the seat in front of her, making a table fall and she set the little can down. Snuggling up to him a bit she lazily watched other passengers shuffle by, careful to keep herself out of the aisle. She supposed that was another good reason to have him sit near the window; he couldn't get hit in the head by someone walking by.

WHEN EVERYONE WAS FINALLY ON, THE NERVOUS
feeling got to her again, knowing they were minutes from actually taking off. She shifted anxiously when they made the announcements about preparing for takeoff, sliding her purse out for a moment to turn her phone off. She didn't have any games or anything fun like that to use it for so it just made better sense to not bother finding the airplane mode feature. Pushing the purse back under the seat she buckled the little belt low around her hips, sighing as the safety procedure video began. She didn't want to think about what to do if they ended up in a major body of water or where to go if the plane combusted, even though she listened to the speech. Watching the woman on the screen snap a yellow oxygen mask over her face her nose wrinkled, glancing over when Jason kissed her hand telling her that it didn't neccessarily mean they were going to die if the masks did pop out. She shook her head a bit as they told everyone to do their mask first and worry about children and other passengers second. All she could think was there was no way her kid was blacking out because she was busy getting air for herself. Though she was sure most everyone else would agree with the standard procedure, she just couldn't help but disagree. She'd be making sure the man next to her could breathe first, though she sincerely hoped nothing did happen.

FEELING THE PLANE BEGIN TO CRAWL BACKWARD
she realized it didn't feel any different than being in a car. She glanced over as he rested a hand on her thigh, an encouraging smile on his face when she looked over at him, his dark head moving a bit closer to hers. Feeling his fingers on her jaw she let him turn her head where he wanted it, her eyes already looking a bit less alert as she relaxed a bit, knowing already he was about to kiss her. She felt his warm breath against her lips and she smiled a teensy bit, her eyes focused on his, quoting back, "Oh, really?" Her eyelashes met each other as she felt his lips touch hers. She felt his lips part, but they'd done that for a while now, both of them, seeming to think about it for a moment before just settling on keeping their mouths shut. Feeling his tongue touch her slightly parted lips though came as a surprise, one that made her entire being feel a bit weak. Separating her lips more she let the kiss deepen, her fingers for whatever reason coming to rest against his chest, feeling his heart thud almost as fast as hers. She had to hold back the very subtle wanting noise that seemed to rise in her throat as he gently sucked, his mouth pulling away from hers only a moment later and giving her a final peck before he was gone. She gazed at him for a long moment, smiling to herself, nodding at his single word, "You really are going to spoil me." She'd missed those intimate kisses more than she'd thought, a lot more actually and just trying to draw back the memory of it had certainly not done him justice.

HER MIND SHIFTED AWAY FROM HIS DELIGHTFUL
kissing when the plane turned and began to pick up speed, taking his hand when he offered it and dropping her head against his chest like a little kid, wondering just how fast they were moving. She shut her eyes as the plane tilted, the front rising and she waited for some sort of feeling to tell her the other wheels had lifted, only sensing a tiny shift as the plane denied gravity. Opening her eyes she glanced up at him, "That's it," she whispered in surprise, laughing a bit as she glanced past him out the little rectangular window. "I feel like such a baby now," she said with a shake of her head, clearly a bit bewildered that it was really that simple. And then she felt it, the pressure in her ears, and she groaned a bit, swallowing deeply like he'd told her to do before reaching for her purse to get a stick of the fruity gum which seemed to help. Settling back she gave him a half smile, still waiting for the plane to crash or something, though she felt about a million times better as the plane climbed higher.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1905 with tags
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

A little chuckle escaped him when she repeated her words from earlier and he shrugged, a little grin on his face. “I don‘t mind.” It was true; he had never minded spoiling anyone who meant anything to him and she definitely meant more to him than anyone else ever had. Besides, he hadn’t really considered first class to be spoiling, just more comfortable. And it really hadn’t been that much more expensive that the other seats, not that the price tag was the selling point. He figured with the price difference not being that big and it being Ana’s first flight, she might as well be comfortable. Some of those seats in coach did not have nearly enough leg room, though for her it could be a different story since her legs were shorter than his. And well, if she considered his kisses spoiling her, then yes, she was going to be quite spoiled.

As she turned her head to rest it against his chest, taking the hand that she wasn’t holding it and rubbing her head gently. For a short moment, he wondered if she could still hear his heart pounding much faster than normal after their kiss. His memory certainly hadn’t done it justice. As she glanced up at him, he chuckled at her surprise at the simplicity of what it was like to take off in an airplane, kissing the top of her head. With a little shrug, he smiled slightly when she said she felt like a baby. “You don’t quite know what to expect when something this large is defying gravity,” he said rather simply, looking a little bit perplexed when she groaned slightly before his ears started to pop, too. He didn’t reach into his pocket where he had stored his gum right away; he’d rather wait until he needed it than chew on it only minutes into the flight.

Only a short while later, his ears stopped popping as the plane leveled out and a little ding was heard when the seatbelt light went off and a man’s voice was heard over the speakers, telling them it was okay to move around now. He always found it kind of funny when they said it was safe to get up and walk to the bathroom but to keep the belt on when seated. Unhooking the little belt around his waist, he slid the armrest up again and reached underneath of his seat for his bright yellow hoodie, sliding his arms into it, careful not to his girlfriend but succeeding in smacking his hand against the side of the plane. He didn’t really realize it had been his left hand he smacked until he felt the dull throbbing start up in his wrist a moment later. With a little sigh, he rested his other arm around Ana’s shoulders, letting her lean against him.

“You‘re tired, why don‘t you try taking a nap?” he suggested, a little smirk crossing his face as he remembered how she answered the door. It wasn’t just the fact that she had obviously just woken up when he knocked on her apartment door, but the sheets crumpled up in a little ball at the bottom of the bed and just how hot her apartment had been that told him she hadn’t slept well. Of course, it figured as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the pilot’s voice came on over the speakers, saying they would be experiencing minor turbulence and to stay in their seats for the time being. The seat belt light flashed back on and he sighed, slightly annoyed, and clicked the belt back in place, wrapping his fingers through Ana’s again. He didn’t know how she’d take the bumps since the biggest fear for most people was the plane going down. He kept a steady eye on her as the plane started to shake slightly, moving his face a little bit closer to hers. “Are you okay?” he asked, clearly concerned. The short patch of turbulence didn’t last long and the light for the passengers to keep their seat belts on flicked off again. With a small smile, Jason rested his arm around her shoulders again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Other than a couple smaller patches of turbulence, the rest of the flight went rather smoothly and of course Jason enjoyed having Ana curled up next to him. His dark, bushy eyebrows rose slightly as he felt the plane start to drop a bit, an excited grin crossing his face as the pilot’s voice came back on, saying they were starting their decent towards LaGuardia. The JFK Airport was closer to where he lived, but to get a flight from Salt Lake to JFK required a layover. Glancing over at his girlfriend, he placed a little kiss on her cheek as he started to feel the pressure build up in his ears again but with a quick swallow, they popped. Slipping his arm from around Ana for the first time in a couple hours, he took her hot pink blanket and folded it up so they’d have less to do when the plane finally taxied into the gate at LaGuardia. Well, it was more of his excitement to get off of the plane that drove him to fold up the blanket than having less to do when they landed.

Finally, he felt the jerk and the bump as the plane touched down on the runway and the quick speed drop. His foot started to bounce impatiently again as the plane slowed until it felt like it was crawling and he watched the familiar airport unfold through the little window beside him. Looking over at Annie again, a huge, excited grin crossed his face and his leg started to jiggle faster as he saw the gate the plane was clearly heading to. All he wanted to do was get off of the plane and head to the house where he had spent most of his life. Of course, there was still a couple things they’d have to do once they got off of the plane, like actually picking up their luggage and getting the car they would be driving for the next week and a half.

After what felt like ages, they were finally allowed off of the plane and he looked past Annie, checking their seats. “Do we have everything?” he asked, knowing he’d probably end up leaving something behind. He did end up finding his medical card about half way through the flight in the very bottom of his carry on. Of course that was where it was but at least he found it before they got back to the airport and it was now in his wallet by his driver’s license. Walking up the raised walkway, an excited bounce in his step, he slid his arm around Ana’s waist and steered her down to where their luggage would - hopefully - be waiting for them. He knew sometimes it took a little while for them to get all of the bags off of the plane, especially when it was a large flight or a busy day, though it really wasn’t either.

Taking the familiar way down to the luggage claim, he looked for the little conveyer belt that would have their bags on it. He sighed as he saw it not moving and he wrapped his other arm around his girlfriend, resting his chin on her head as he waited for the belt to start moving. “I live about an hour, hour and fifteen minutes from here, depending on the traffic,” he said with a little shrug. New York City traffic was always bad; he was planning on dropping their car off at the rental place on their first day in the city and just walking or taking the subway everywhere they went. It was so much faster, not to mention parking places were nearly impossible to find. Luckily, they didn’t have to go through Manhattan to get to where he lived.

A loud buzzing noise started him and he looked over at the belt, seeing a light flashing as it started to move. Watching the different bags start to come out of the little door, he sighed, just wanting to get on the road. He had called in to the rental place and reserved a car a few weeks before they left and called again the day before to make sure their car was still reserved, as he did with the plane tickets, so hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to get the car. Taking a few steps closer to the belt as he caught sight of Annie’s polka dotted bag, he scooped it up and set it down beside her, glad to see his plain black duffle bag was only a few behind hers. As he threw it over his shoulder, his carry on on his back, he took Ana’s hand and led her through the crowded airport down to where the car rentals were.

It was a good thing he was familiar with the place, otherwise he would definitely get lost. Usually when his parents had flown out, they had taken the JFK airport because it was closer to where they lived and not quite as busy, but there had been quite a few times when JKF didn’t have a direct flight to where they wanted to go or LaGuardia had fewer layovers, like the time they went to Los Angeles. He had never had to rent a car from here before, but it was right outside so he knew where it was. As he hoped, it didn’t take long to get the car, just paperwork, and he took their bags out to the white Pontiac, looking it over before he opened the trunk and set their bags in it. Opening the passenger’s door for her, he grinned. “And it’s a convertible,” he teased, giving her a little kiss before closing the door behind her.

Settling himself into the driver’s seat, his eyes widened as the seat was about an inch from the steering wheel and he slid it back, laughing as he did. “Were you driving this last?” he asked his girlfriend, clearly teasing as his long legs were finally no longer cramped. Snapping his seat belt in place, he turned the car on and put it in drive, letting the hard, convertible top slide down as he always did with his Mercedes in nice weather. Pulling out onto the familiar roads, he reached over and squeezed Ana’s hand. “Almost there!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,758
WEARING : click
RENTAL CAR : Pontiac G6
COMMENTS : I sort of blew through the last two paragraphs. Sorry if they suck...

[ana isabel bailey]

ANA GLANCED UP A BIT UNSURELY WHEN A LITTLE
ding sound came from the speakers above their heads, looking less on edge when the pilot announced they'd reached cruising altitude. Sighing a bit she blew a tiny bubble with her gum before pulling the wrapper out of her pocket and turning away from her boyfriend to spit it out, wrapping it in the napkin she'd kept from when she'd gotten her ginger ale and sliding it in the little pocket on the seat in front of her for lack of anything better to do. Of course she'd throw it away when a stewardess came back by, but in the mean time that was her solution. She giggled a bit when she heard a thump, looking up at where his arm was just coming away from the wall, shaking her head a bit. "Need me to kiss it," she teased, leaning her small frame closer to him when he wrapped an arm around her.

HER GAZE HAD A DISTINCTLY TIRED LOOK TO IT
even though she'd had a cup of coffee with her cinnamon roll. When Jason suggested a nap she figured there wasn't much of a point in denying the fact she was exhausted and just let out a sigh, "Once the adrenaline works off some I probably will." Right now she was still a little too hyped from the coffee and her nerves to even think about falling asleep. She glanced up as the speaker came on again and sighed a bit wearily at the word turbulence. She was not looking forward to this part of flying, even though Jason said it wasn't so bad. Ana smiled just slightly at him as he took her hand, her face losing its color again. Not knowing bothered her, even though what he'd described hadn't sounded bad at all. Feeling the plane shake a bit she swallowed, nodding her head a bit at his question, chirping, "Yeah," just as the plane dropped and her hand tightened on his. After that though it was only another tremor and then the plane leveled off and the seatbelt sign turned back off. Annie let out a sigh as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, dropping her head against his chest before smiling a bit and undoing her seat belt, standing up and getting her blanket out of the baggage compartment. She grinned at him before laughing at the look he gave back as she sat back down, curling up beside him and tossing the blanket over them.

____________________________________

FEELING WARM LIPS ON HER CHEEK, ANNIE
wondered for a brief moment why she was waking up snuggled up next to her boyfriend, catching the tail end of the announcement about LaGuardia. She hadn't expected to sleep the entire flight, though she figured it was probably best she had. At least this way she wouldn't look completely haggard meeting his family. "Are we there yet," she joked, tilting her head to gently kiss his neck, right on his Adam's apple. She tightened the arm she had tossed around his waist in a hug before slipping away, redoing her seat belt and reaching under the seat in front of her for her gum. She knew Jason thought it was a bit silly, but she didn't have a lot of tolerance for the pain that came with the pressure building up too much. Actually, she didn't have tolerance for any sort of pain at all.

ANA'S TEETH BIT INTO HER LIP AS THE PLANE
rattled violently before rapidly slowing as it rolled down the runway, coming to a speed that she could tell was driving Jason crazy. A warm smile crossed her face at his excited grin, setting a hand on the leg that wasn't jumping up and down. As they welcomed the passengers to New York she seemed to pick up a bit more of his excitement, flashing her teeth at him as they plane manuevered next to the shoot jutting off the building. The seat belt sign clicking off again she undid hers and stood up, stretching a bit to get the tight feeling out of her joints from sitting like that for four hours. Grabbing her purse she popped open the compartment with their carry-on's and pulled hers out, stuffing her blanket inside so she didn't have to carry it. "I think so," she nodded when Jason asked her if the had everything, following him as they moved slowly down the aisle and off the plane.

SHE LET HIM GUIDE HER DOWN THE RAMP TO A GATE
much like the one they'd left behind in Utah before leading her back out and to baggage. She would have been all turned around in the big airport otherwise. She kept gazing around her, looking for something new and exciting but the airport really wasn't very exciting, just a couple posters here and there of the New York City skyline. She was excited of course to be spending time with his family, but she was just as excited for actually getting to be in the city. They'd never taken a vacation before and she was quite looking forward to their first one. Stopping in front of the baggage claim she noticed the conveyor belt wasn't moving and she sighed a bit, hoping they wouldn't have to wait forever. It was already a little after four in this new time zone and especially since they were showing up unannounced she figured it was best they didn't get there too late. Though she doubted his parents would care even if they did. If her son showed up on her doorstep after being gone for two years she'd be completely beside herself, even if it was three in the morning.

RESTING HER CHEEK AGAINST HIS SOFT GRAY T-SHIRT
she waited quite impatiently, already knowing this part of the flying process from when family had come to visit them. She wrapped her arms around him as he placed his chin on top of her blond head, an eye on the winding belt. She simply nodded when he said it would be around an hours drive from here, not minding that too much. She jumped when he did at the loud noise and flashing light, laughing at the two of them, slowly slipping from his hold so he could chase their suitcases. She wasn't even going to try with hers considering she had had trouble lifting it on to the scale when they were checking it. It wasn't so much that it was heavy as it was bulky, though heavy fit its description as well. He didn't seem to have a problem with it though, which just figured, and she pulled the handle out to roll it, shaking her head at his single duffle bag. She had no idea how he could pack a week and a half's worth of clothes in that small space.

WATCHING HIM FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK ON THE
rental, Ana shook her head, wondering who decided a twenty-two year old should be allowed to vote, smoke, and drink, but good lord forbid they wanted to rent a car without an insane amount of hurdles in their way including a slightly ridiculous fee. When they finally handed him the key she let out a sigh of relief, walking with him into the parking garage to the white car, smiling at his little tease, her smile getting bigger at his quick kiss before sliding into the passenger's seat. She watched him slide in beside her, his chest nearly hitting the wheel and his legs bent awkwardly in the short space they had. "Hey," she exclaimed at his joke about her height, laughing and swatting in his direction playfully. As he pulled out onto the roads leading out of the airport she gazed around her, noticing even from where they were how different everything looked compared to Utah. It was actually sort of refreshing. She grinned as he squeezed her hand to say they were almost there, tightening her grip back and gazing at him adoringly, "Yep."

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( WORD COUNT )
1347
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
meh, not spectacular. =\

[jason andrew irving]

When he was finally out of the traffic around LaGuardia and on the freeway he had been on hundreds of times, he picked up speed, going over the speed limit more than he did when he was in Utah. It might put him out of his comfort zone when it came to him being behind the wheel, but in his excitement to get back home he didn’t really give the wreck a second thought. About half way to his house, he stopped to go through a drive through and get food for them. Ana had been asleep during the “meal” they handed out in first class and even though he had gulped down his sandwich in about two bites, he didn’t mind grabbing something else to eat. He had parked to let them get out and stretch their legs a bit, though he got the food to go and he did something he hadn’t done in over six months; he ate while he was driving. Even though it was only about two thirty in the time that they were use to, Annie had basically missed lunch and she hadn’t really eaten a lot of her cinnamon roll for breakfast. Fast food wasn’t really a good choice in showing her what New York food was like, but it was, well, fast. He figured his parents would probably be cooking dinner if not eating by the time they got to their house and when they were feeding three and two more showed up, there wouldn’t be enough food unless they were still in their over-cooking phase. Either way, he figured it would be a good idea and it might give Annie a little bit more energy. At least she’d be able to adjust to the time zone fairly well if she was still tired; he had a feeling he’d be up half the night, still use to Utah’s time.

When the highway sign read “Colonie, Next Exit,” he was practically bouncing out of his seat. Driving through the familiar neighborhood, he realized not much had really changed. All of the large houses still looked incredibly nice and lawns and the landscaping were neatly done. Some of the houses here made his house in Salt Lake look rather dull. Pulling into the driveway of a rather large, tan colored house, he laughed and rolled his eyes, not surprised to see that the three car garage was sitting empty and his parents’ cars were sitting in the driveway. It seemed like they only brought them inside at night or when the weather was bad. Perhaps that was why he did the same thing. His dad’s black Audi sat over in front of the separate, single car door while his mom’s blue Volvo sat in front of the main garage. Sure, they looked like nice, expensive cars until you looked down the street and saw incredibly flashy cars sitting in his neighbors’ driveways. Down three houses was a Mercedes that made Jason’s look ancient and a few doors down from that was a sleek, black Porsche. Catching sight of the flashy cars, he laughed and rolled his eyes. “They always had to have the newest, flashiest things. Looks like that hasn‘t changed.” Remembering the one online chat he and Ana had, he burst out laughing as he put their rented car in park. “Their kid was usually the one who started the ‘my yacht is bigger than yours‘ discussions.”

Stepping out of the white rental car, he bounded around to his girlfriend’s door and opened it for her, giving her a little kiss on the lips, a huge grin flickering across his face before he headed to the trunk, pulling their bags from it, careful this time to not lift anything with his left hand. Shutting the trunk, he headed up to the familiar front porch, looking at the house he grew up in, feeling like he was about to burst. Passing the little table that was set on the large concrete slab, he stepped over to the door on the left and rang the doorbell. There were so many memories in this house and he stood there rather impatiently, resting an arm around Ana’s waist. Only a few seconds later he heard footsteps and the door starting to open and he gave Ana a little squeeze, a huge grin crossing his face at his mom’s face when she finally opened the door all the way to see her oldest son. His arm fell away from Ana as his mom threw her arms around him, obviously thrilled to see him as she called for his dad to come to the door.

As she pulled away, looking him over, it was very clear where Jason got his looks. He had the same deep brown eyes and dark, curly hair that his mom did, only hers fell down a couple inches past her shoulders. They both had the same, slightly pronounced cheek bones and smooth jaw bones. Even their noses were nearly identical. The only difference was that he was a few inches taller than her, though as Jake Irving appeared by the door, it was easy to see why he was taller than his mom; he was just as tall as his dad and built the same way with broad, gently sloping shoulders and a rather fit look to him. After his dad gave him a hug, he stepped back and rested a hand on Ana’s waist, nudging her to step slightly in front of him. Before he could introduce her to his parents, a huge smile crossed his mom’s face and she stepped forward just as Jason had predicted and gave her son’s girlfriend a huge hug. “Ana, it‘s so nice to finally meet you, we‘ve heard so much about you.” As Sophie pulled away, clearly thrilled that both of them were there, she smiled as she watched Jason’s arm slid around the woman at his side again. “Thank you for looking after Jason, it means so much to us to know there was someone there for him.”

Glancing over at his girlfriend, Jason flashed an “I-told-you-so” look before he smiled back at his parents. “Annie, these are my parents, Jake and Sophie. Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Ana.” Like he had told her, his dad was the quieter of the two and he just stepped forward to shake Annie’s hand, a warm smile on his face. “Well there‘s no need to stand out here, come in,” his mom said, ushering them inside and his dad stepped forward, picking up Annie’s bag before Jason had a chance to. “Dylan!” his mom called and a moment later, scurrying feet could be heard as the little boy slid in to the room, looking at his mom in a slightly confused way before he saw his Jason and squealed, launching himself at his older brother. “Jason!”

[/color] Laughing, he dropped his duffle bag and scooped up the eight year old, cringing as he use his left wrist without thinking.

As he squeezed the little boy in his arms, a thrilled look gleaming in his eyes, he caught his mom’s scrutinizing gaze, knowing she had caught his brief pain and he let his eyes slide over to Annie instead. He hadn’t been home five minutes and Doctor Sophie Irving could already tell something was off. Turning to look at his girlfriend, the eight year old still in his arm, he grinned as Dylan looked at her and whispered something in Jason’s ear and he nodded his head in response. The little boy did it again and as Jason nodded again, a warm, affectionate smile spreading across his face, Dylan wiggled out of his older brother’s arms and ran over to Ana, throwing his arms around her as high up as he could reach, smiling up at her with the same smile Jason had. The little boy looked exactly the same as Jason did at that age and if one didn’t know better, they would think Dylan was Jason’s son as much as they looked alike even now. It was clear they both got the majority of their looks from their mom.

Bending over to pick up his duffle bag, he tossed it over his left shoulder and grabbed Annie’s suitcase with the other hand, knowing he’d have to be careful about what he did with his wrist around his mom now. Motioning towards the staircase with his head, he grinned at his girlfriend. “Come on, I’ll show you where you’re sleeping. Looking at his family, clearly happy to be home his grin grew a little bit. “We’ll be down in a minute.”[/color] He followed the stairs up to the second couch, dropping his bag on it before backtracking to the door to his old bedroom. Not much had changed, that was for sure. The walls were still a bright, royal blue, a large, white stripe around the top of the room and the ribbons he won from riding his horse still decorated the wall above his bed, pictures of his horse and his friends on the other walls. A little color flooded in his cheeks when he saw the picture of him with his ex, kissing her on the cheek; he had forgotten that picture was on the wall. With a little shrug, he set Annie’s polka dotted suitcase down on the queen sized bed and turned to his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her towards him as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her suitcase. Pulling her towards him even more so she was sitting on his lap, he smiled before he pressed his lips to hers, giving her a long kiss, his lips curved in a small smile as he did; he definitely missed kissing her like this. When he pulled away, his hands were resting on her lower back and there was a content smile on his face. “I told you they’d love you,” he said simply, nothing but utter love showing in his eyes.

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WORD COUNT : 1,677
WEARING : click
RENTAL CAR : Pontiac G6
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[ana isabel bailey]

GAZING AROUND HER AT WHAT THEY WERE PASSING
as they got out of the city she couldn't help but oggle how green everything was. Not that northern Utah was barren like the southern part of the state, but what was green was a sort of yellowish green, not the deep green they had here. She couldn't help but muse for a moment if this was someplace Jason would want to move back to someday. She wouldn't tell him no if he asked, well, depending on how she got along with his parents. If they really did like her though, it could work out well. Of course there was always her mother to think of there, she reminded herself. She wouldn't want to hurt her feelings by going so far away, especially considering the fact Ana was Mariana's only local family. If it weren't for her mother's attachment to Eligio she'd just tell her to come with them, but she doubted her mom would ever leave her friend (or whatever it was they were). Oh well, there was no sense in thinking that far in the future. When she said someday she meant around the time Jason was ready to start working and they could start thinking about kids, which was another four or five years in the future. They might as well just finish their college where they were now. She couldn't help but laugh a bit to herself when she realized that could quite possibly make three doctor Irvings in one relatively small town, remembering his stories about his parents' confusion when someone paged for a Dr. Irving. It was a shame she didn't have much of an interest in becoming a doctor, otherwise she could make number four and just further add to the confusion.

WHEN SHE SAW THE SIGN DIRECTING THEM OFF
the interstate she couldn't help but feel his excitement and develop her own nerves all over again. Pulling her pink heart sunglass off she checked her make up which was purposefully very toned down. Oh, she still had her usual thick eyeliner, that was just how she liked it, but she only reapplied a very light gloss to her lips and her blush was just a very gentle pink. Not that her makeup was ever distasteful, at least not it her opinion, but she'd definitely shot for the sweeter look today and probably would the rest of the time they were in Colonie. From there her attention turned to her tattoos, the ones that were visible anyway, touching the two small stars on her right forearm and then the ones on her wrists, first the large black star that she'd had since she was seventeen and then her final tattoo, a dainty pink heart on the other with his initial in it. Jason had never said, but she didn't guess his parents had a problem with tattoos. He didn't have any, but he'd never said he didn't like hers and she would assume his parents were probably of the same opinion. All of them were after all rather dainty, which she'd done intentionally so they could be covered and she was now wondering if she should have done so with a bit of concealer earlier. She glanced at the hoodie on her lap, but she knew she'd look a bit dumb with the weather being as hot as it was showing up in a sweatshirt. Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders, letting it go. They'd see them eventually anyway, or so she assumed, though most of them were unnoticeable unless one spent a lot of time around her. It had taken Jason a while to notice that she had more than just the black star on her wrist when they started dating and she'd finally just taken the time to point all of them out so he wouldn't keep spotting them and going 'Is that a tattoo or a weird freckle?'

REALIZING THEY WERE DRIVING THROUGH A
neighboorhood that definitely looked like the kind two doctors would live in she stopped freaking out about his parents having any weird prejudices, taking the houses they passed in. The neighborhood was a lovely little place, the sort you could just picture the guy next to her fifteen years younger learning to ride a bike in. As he slowed and turned into a driveway to the side of a relatively large house she smiled, touching his arm, "This place is beautiful," she told him quietly, staring at the light bricks on the house. She wondered what it was like to have a home to return to that you'd grown up in. Undoing her seat belt she glanced over at him, happy that he was happy. She gazed down the street a bit to see what he was talking about, her eyes widening at the shining cars she saw. She laughed when he mentioned the my yacht is bigger than your yacht conversations, glancing at him and then slyly back toward the shiny cars. "They have a yacht," she asked with piqued interest, the tiny smile on her lips that she was trying to hide giving away that she was joking around, "Then goodbye sailboat boy," she teased.

SHE SET HER HAND ON THE DOOR HANDLE READY TO
go as he hopped out of the driver's seat and around to her side. Slipping her purse over her shoulder she stepped out, smiling at his little kiss before following him to the trunk, waiting sort of impatiently as he pulled their bags out. Once he'd shut the trunk she followed him up to the porch, wondering which entrance was the right one as she kept behind him. Fidgetting with the handle of her suitcase as he pressed the doorbell, she smiled when he squeezed her waist. As the door opened she chewed the inside of her lip, a smile coming to her face when his mom appeared, wrapping her son in her arms and calling for her husband. Annie watched them quietly, knowing that would be her one day. When his mother stepped back she took in her features, still standing quietly a bit behind her boyfriend. She couldn't help but notice that his mom looked just like him, same coloring and facial features, and as such she was a very attractive woman, even in her forties. When a slightly heavy-set man appeared and gave Jason a hug she glanced him over, noting that while there was not much of a resemblance in the face, her boyfriend had his father's frame.

AT HIS URGING SHE STEPPED FORWARD A HALF
step, smiling slightly at his parents, her eyes widening as the woman stepped forward and wrapped Ana in a warm hug, making the younger woman laugh before returning the hug. "Oh," she said with a genuine smile at her words, "Same here." As his mom stepped back, Ana smiled at her, glancing over a bit as Jason wrapped an arm around her waist. She glanced back and shook her head at Sophie's words, a smile still on her lips. She'd had something or another planned to say, but she seemed to just forget it, saying what came to her. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat," her eyes glanced up at the man she loved, looking to his dad and his mom before saying simply, "You have a wonderful son." Though she was talking about Jason she meant that for them. She shook her head at Jason's all-knowing look before he officially introduced them. Taking his dad's hand she noticed where the long fingers came from saying to him and his wife as well, "Nice to meet you." He definitely was a quiet man, but he was friendly and she supposed that was what mattered.

AS JAKE REACHED FOR HER SUITCASE SHE
realized that was also where Jason had gotten his gentlemanlike manners. Following the short train of people into the well-decorated living room, she glanced around herself, finding again that Jason's good taste came from one of his parents. She glanced over at Sophie as she called her younger son, hearing a kid's clomping footsteps and then seeing the famous eight year old appear, smiling to herself at his downright adorableness before he caught sight of his big brother, finding herself laughing as he raced over to him. She caught the pained look that crossed his face as he lifted the boy with his bad wrist, glancing over at his mother and knowing she'd seen if from the look she was giving him. Sliding her hands casually in her back pockets she glanced down at her toes, wiggling them a bit before glancing back up to see Jason and Dylan staring at her. A perplexed look crossed her face when the little boy whispered in her boyfriend's ear making Jason just grin and nod as he gazed at her before the boy squirmed to get down rushing over to the blond. She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her stomach. "Hi," she greeted, leaning down to give him a better hug.

ANA NODDED WHEN JASON NODDED TOWARD
the stairs, grinning at his family before following him to the second floor of the house, gazing around as he dropped his duffel bag on it and then led her over to a bright blue painted room. She figured out immediately it had been his, gazing at the ribbons and the pictures, not letting the picture of him with his ex-girlfriend bother her. What was he supposed to do, call his parents and ask them to take it down? When he'd moved out she had been his world, and that was fine. Ana had known about her almost as long as she'd known Jason, and she'd made up her mind that she wasn't going to pretend they'd never been together. It was just reality and for whatever reason he'd ultimately ended up with Annie instead. She looked away from the various pictures as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him and then further until she was sitting in his lap on the edge of the bed. His long, slow kiss making her smile as the fingers of one hand splayed across his neck and the other rested on his hip. She sighed a bit happily as she gazed at him, rolling her eyes a bit before giving him a more simple kiss, "Oh fine, you were right this time," she teased. Sitting back and looking around her she glanced back at him, "Don't you want to stay in your old room?" She couldn't help but wonder if his preference to sleep seperate was his own or his parents'. Not that it mattered, of course, she hadn't known what to expect anyway, but she figured if he wanted to sleep in here she could sleep wherever he'd been intending. She changed the topic after a moment, smiling at him a bit, "Hey, what was Dylan asking you?" Curiosity was getting the best of her there, though she knew they needed to get back downstairs.

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( WORD COUNT )
1843
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
kinda rushed ending but i wanted to get both questions in there.

[jason andrew irving]

He stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend as she called him sailboat boy, picking up a slightly serious tone. “Mmm, I think he‘s married. Or engaged. I think that‘s what my dad said one of the last times I talked to him.” With a little shrug, he laughed, knowing his girlfriend had just been kidding. He couldn’t help but wonder, just for a moment as he stepped over to her door, how long it would be before it was them that was engaged if that was even still in their future. Even though it hadn’t been brought up in the time they had been back together, he was almost certain it was. Why else would she have wanted to go through all of the trouble of getting back together if it wasn’t forever? She didn’t know it, but deep in his carry on was the little velvet box that her engagement ring had come in, just in case something came up and he felt like it was the right moment. Of course he was a little nervous about it since that discussion hadn’t come up before, but he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her; he could only hope that her feelings on the subject hadn’t changed.

When his mother wrapped Annie in a hug, he could only wish he was on the other side to see his girlfriend’s face. It was probably quite similar to his when he had met her mom for the first time and she had kissed him on the cheek. He was half surprised his mom didn’t do that to Ana - though his girlfriend seemed to be rather adjusted to that sort of custom - because of one of the conversations he had had with his mom not too long ago. He couldn’t remember exactly what it was he had been telling her, but it was something about how wonderful his girlfriend was and his mom had just laughed slightly. “Jason hon, as much as you talk about her I swear I know her,” had been her reply. “Now I just have to actually meet her.” He chuckled a little bit when Ana said she’d take care of him all over again. “Let‘s just hope you don‘t have to,” he said with a little grin on his face. A not-so-serious wreck, sure, he’d take that over having surgery again any day. Heck, he’d even do the whole week long hospital stay as long as the operating room was out of the picture. “Though with the way I am…” he joked, and a smile crossed his mom’s face as she shook her head a little bit as his dad chuckled, both of them clearly agreeing.

He couldn’t help but smile at Annie’s sweet words, rolling his eyes a little bit as she called him wonderful, squeezing her waist. She may think so, and he knew his parents did too, but he thought it was a bit of overkill, still feeling a twinge of guilt about what had happened a couple months back. It was very, very slowly ebbing away as Annie made it clear she still loved him, though he knew there would always be a little bit of it still lingering around, reminding him not to do anything stupid ever again. He pushed the thoughts back as they stepped into his old house and as he looked around he realized it wasn’t just the neighborhood that had stayed the same; not much in his house had changed, either. The younger pictures of Dylan were slowly being replaced by the eight year old’s slightly older face, though there were still a few of him when he was six and seven, too, as well as an array of pictures of Jason that had been there as long as he could remember; some of his favorites being his senior pictures one of which was with his horse. Along with all of the pictures he recognized, there was also a picture he hadn’t seen before; one of Dylan on a very familiar looking horse with a big grin on his face, a blue ribbon in his hand. When Jason had still been around, the little boy had just been learning how to ride and now he was showing the crazy mare. Well, Casey had always been better behaved for Dylan than she had been for him. She had never dumped him into a wooden pole two and a half feet off the ground. The tall thoroughbred had acted like she was carrying precious cargo, which in Jason’s eyes she was, whenever Dylan was on her back.

Even the picture he had got from his parents and his friends couldn’t prepare him for how much his little brother had changed in the last two years and as he scooped the eight year old up, he realized just how much he had grown. As he automatically winced when he felt the sharp pain go up his wrist and glanced over at his mom to see the look on her face, he knew she’d be keeping a close eye on him for any more signs of pain from him and he sighed, hoping it wouldn‘t bruise as it tended to do after he felt the sharp pain. One of the two doctors in the house would be sure to notice it with the way their oldest son was, even if it was just a little discolored. He figured he’d just check in his old bathroom for the ace bandages that had always been up there. Surely they didn’t get rid of those; he could just wrap it up at night. That plan would work until he remembered he wasn’t sleeping in a room with a door; he was sleeping on the couch outside of his room where his parents would pass before they left for work in the morning, probably before he woke up. Giving a little sigh as he set the wiggly eight year old down to bolt over to his girlfriend, he shook his head slightly, a smile on his face. It wasn’t like he had really expected to keep that from his parents the whole time he was in New York, he just figured it would be after the first five minutes he was home.

As he headed up the stairs, he looked around the house, a long sigh escaping him. He had definitely missed living here, even if his own life in Salt Lake had fallen into place. After he dropped his bag next to the couch, his little bag he had taken on the airplane right on top of it, he led Annie into his old room, smiling at some of the other pictures on the wall. There was one of Casey’s face, the big white blaze looking even bigger as the horse had tried to eat his camera, one of him on her back going over a jump that was probably three feet high, a little strip of him and his friends from one of those photo booths and a bunch of other random ones, mostly of or with his friends, though there was one of him with the Eiffel tower in the background where he looked like he was trying to eat it. A little snort of laughter slipped from him as he looked at that, shaking his head as he pulled Ana towards him.

Sighing a little sadly as his lips left hers, he smiled at her little tease. Like he had told her, his parents were more than happy to meet her; the only other girl he had been in love with had been his best friend for years before they started dating, so they had obviously known her for a while. They weren’t critical people, either. As long as Annie really loved him that was really all they cared about. With a little shrug at her question, he wrapped his arms around her waist again and held her close to him, his fingertips resting at the bottom of her shirt as he leaned back with a sigh, his legs still hanging over the edge of the bed as he laid down, pulling her with him. “Not necessarily, I‘ll be fine on the couch,” he said, giving another little shrug. He wasn’t going to make her sleep on the couch so he could have his old bed and he wasn’t going to be like ‘oh, we’re sleeping together again’ if she wasn’t comfortable with it. His parents wouldn’t care if they stayed in the same bed; they knew she had lived with him long after he was able to move around on his own again and he hadn’t denied the fact that they shared a bed, so that wasn’t a problem, it was more of what she would think about it than anything. He definitely wouldn’t mind falling asleep with her in his arms again as long as his nightmares stayed away.

He giggled as she asked about Dylan’s whispering and he pressed his lips against hers for a brief moment. “Eight year olds see everything so simply. Well the first time ‘She‘s pretty. She‘s your girlfriend?’ and the second time it wasn’t really a question, he said ‘Good, you love her then.’” With a little laugh, he kissed her again. “And he‘s definitely right about that.” Letting his lips linger along hers again, parting them slightly, he couldn’t help but smile. Kids saw everything like it was black and white; it either was or it wasn’t, there were no silly complications. Rolling onto his side so she slid off of him, he sighed and pulled away from her, knowing they needed to get downstairs since he told his family they’d only be a minute. Taking her hand, he sat up with a little smile on her face, leading her down to the kitchen where his mom was cooking something or another, the smell absolutely wonderful.

“Have you two had dinner yet?” Jake asked, his voice one that could easily be mistaken for Jason’s, at least on the phone. With a little shrug, Jason grinned. “Well we had fast food if you call that dinner. We figured you wouldn‘t be expecting two more so we‘d eat on the way.” A grin spread across Jake’s face and he chuckled. “Well then I guess we‘ll have to go out for dessert in a bit. Ana, are you sure you‘re not hungry?” Turning away from the dinner she was cooking, Jason’s mom looked over at him, a smile on her face. “Jason doesn‘t have to speak for you, you know,” she said kindly, and Jason shrugged, knowing his mom was right. “If we’re going out for dessert in a bit, I don’t want to have anything now otherwise I won’t be able to eat dessert,” he said with a little laugh, offering one of the empty chairs at the table to Annie before sitting down in the one next to it. He figured he’d still sit at the dinner table instead of disappearing only a few minutes after he arrived while they ate, though he figured he’d end up eating something as he sat there; his mom had always been a wonderful cook. As he heard the rattle of plates and silverware, he looked over to see his mom carrying two more plates as well as an array of silverware, setting it down in front of them. “Just in case you want something, there‘s more than enough,” she said with a little smile.

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WORD COUNT : 1,925
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky
COMMENTS : my longest yet, I do believe (:

[ana isabel bailey]

"WELL DARN," THE BLOND JOKED WHEN HE TOLD
her the son was either engaged or married, watching her boyfriend climb out of the car. He knew she really couldn't care less about status or money or any of that. No matter what some people thought about her dating him, she really hadn't known at first he was from a wealthy family, considering he wasn't much of an 'oh, look at what I have' sort of person, and honestly she probably would hate him if he was. Oh she liked the fact that he had money, of course, but it was an icing on the cake sort of thing that to her really only meant more stability for her and the kids that she was pretty sure were still in their future. He'd been saying before they got back together he didn't want any after all, but she was hoping at any rate that he had only been saying that because he was alone. She very definitely wanted kids, he knew that, but half the reason she wanted them had to do with him. She knew he would be an amazing dad, she had no doubt about it. If he no longer wanted that she figured she'd just deal because she loved him, but it would hurt to not have that family with him. Her thoughts moved away from that when he placed a little kiss on her lips, making her smile, "Hey, maybe he'll see you're home and come over for a 'my wife is hotter than your girlfriend' conversation," she teased as she followed him to the back of the car, wondering who would win that contest.

ANA LAUGHED A BIT WHEN HE SAID HE HOPED SHE
wouldn't have to take care of him again, shaking her head when he commented on his tendency to acquire injuries quite easily. In unison both herself and his parents laughed, knowing how incredibly true his words were. Still smiling at his joke she looked to his parents to say simply that he was wonderful. As he squeezed her waist she shrugged simply, catching his little smile, though somewhat disbelieving look. She couldn't help the way she felt about him. Yes, he had hurt her, but they'd both been miserable long enough over that, and no matter how long it took she'd made up her mind that she was willing to wait for him to move past it. She'd made that mistake with the wreck and there was no way she was doing it again.

HER BODY LYING ALONG HIS FELT SO RIGHT AS HE
pulled her back with him. Both of their shirts had ridden up a bit with the movement and she could feel the bit of hair that ran from his belly button down against her pale skin. The hand that was resting on his hip lifted as he shrugged, pushing a bit of straight nearly black hair away from his dark face as she gazed at him quietly, not sure if she should suggest what she wanted to or not. The more she thought of it she was pretty certain his parents wouldn't care. If they had a problem with it they would have expressed that months ago when she'd moved in with him for a time. Letting out a little sigh she figured it was best to at least bring it up, see where he stood. "Jason," she began gently, "Would you rather just sleep in here with me?" She'd sort of sensed he wouldn't do it unless she asked him, which was why she had, but she also knew with him the offer wasn't enough. "I wouldn't mind if you did," she told him, the look on her face clearly showing that she wanted him to, though she wasn't about to say that aloud. She didn't see much of a chance of anything physical happening by sleeping in the same bed at his parents' house; it was just that, his parents' house. Knowing his parents and even his little brother were rather nearby was sort of a mood killer. Besides, no matter how good those lips felt on hers, she wasn't sure she was ready for them to go any lower. She didn't really know, honestly, but then again she didn't think she would until it just happened. It wasn't like she was going to buy a bunch of rose petals and candles and plan things out after all. She'd always thought planning sex was just, well, awkward.

SHE SMILED AT HIS GIGGLE, HIS CHEST RISING AND
falling beneath hers a strange feel she'd forgotten about. His lips pressing to hers she took in a deep breath, savoring the feeling even as he pulled back. She nodded her head at his observation of young children's view on the world, a smile crossing her lips. That was definitely true she decided, but it was one of the things that made them sort of remarkable in their own right. She laughed when he told her Dylan had said she was pretty, her left calf rising in the air and her toes curling like a giddy teenage girl as she listened to the second part of the kid's question, smiling and nodding a bit. When he told her the second thing he'd whispered to him she realized why he'd looked at her that way and why he'd said children saw things very simply, her lips curved in a smile as he kissed her, the smile breaking into a tiny grin when he said his brother was right about that. "He most certainly is," she agreed before he kissed her again. When his lips parted she smiled to herself, this time doing the kissing as she let her tongue run over his for a minute, not taking her lips away even after she stopped. As he rolled them onto their sides and pulled away she smiled at him just slightly, knowing they definitely did need to go back downstairs and spend some time with his family. That's what they'd come all this way for after all. As he took her hand and they sat up together she laughed a tiny bit at him, her hand reaching to smooth some hair on the back of his head that had stuck up a bit, like it tended to do when he laid on his back. She was just sort of used to it now she supposed as it didn't bother her half as much as it used to.

AS THEY STARTED DOWN THE STAIRS, ANNIE'S HAND
rested the banister just in case her boyfriend tripped and she went down with him, knowing him all too well. She hadn't seen him fall the night he'd broken his wrist, but there were plenty more times he had tripped and managed to catch himself. Spotting his little brother she smiled, taking her mind off any unwanted thoughts as she leaned closer to Jason where only he could hear her, "Our kids had better be half as cute as Dylan." She simply grinned when he looked her way, shrugging a bit. It was probably the first time since they'd gotten back together she'd said anything at all about their future, mainly just because she hadn't wanted to jump ahead of herself. It had been a month and a half though and at this point it didn't seem like either of them were giving up or had changed their minds.

ANA'S EYES TURNED TO HIS DAD WHEN HE SPOKE,
sounding almost identical to his son. She'd talked to him once for less than a minute on the phone, and he'd sounded like Jason, but everyone sounded like each other on the phone, at least to her. She couldn't even say how many times she'd started talking to the wrong person, once even singing happy birthday to her dad instead of her cousin when she'd dialed the wrong number. Jason was the first to say anything and so she just kept quiet, having nothing to add to that. She opened her mouth to answer his dad's question, laughing when Sophie told her Jason didn't have to answer for her. "It's fine, I'm used to it," she said with another laugh and a shrug, "But no, I'm fine, thanks. That does smell wonderful though," she said with a smile, her eyes going from Jake to his wife with the second sentence. She took the chair Jason offered, sliding up to the table, her head turning to look up at him as he walked behind her chair to take the one next to it. "Since when are you not a bottomless pit," she asked with a teasing grin as he sat down next to her. She was very clearly loosening up a bit around his parents. She smiled when his mom set plates and silverware out for them, thanking her before her eyes widened a bit, realizing she should have offered earlier. "Do you need any help with anything," she asked, clearly talking about the food. She always felt sort of awkward being served in all honesty, coming from a family where she'd been expected to help cook from the time she was three or four. Obviously those jobs had been simple, getting things like a potato from the pantry or whatever, but her mother had expected her to be there whenever possible. It meant for some good memories, at any rate, no matter how much she'd hated it the older she got. Of course her mother cooked strictly Spanish food which meant while Ana could make those dishes from memory with no need for a recipe, she was not especially good with much else. Italian and other meditteranean things were easy for her, but if Jason had wanted a girl that would be standing there deep frying chicken and whipping up mash potatoes that was certainly not her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1648
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
ooh, that's exciting. :)

[jason andrew irving]

A happy little sigh slid from him as he felt their shirts riding up a little bit. It brought back some subtle feelings he hadn’t had in a while, but he shook them off quickly. They hadn’t even shared a bed in a while and he knew he was far from ready to go any farther with her. Oh, he had missed kissing her the way he had began to again and he knew once they got there, their physical relationship would be much better than his memories allowed him to remember, but he was afraid. Afraid that the sour memories of his infidelity would come back and kill the mood. And if that happened once, he knew it would happen again and scare him off of the idea for quite some time and that was not something he wanted to do. He just had to wait until he was sure he was ready, to put the past behind him. That was going to take some time, he knew that, but he also knew he couldn’t wait forever if they wanted to keep their sanity or even have a family like they had previously planned. Yes, he had told her online he no longer wanted kids, but that had been when he had decided it would be nearly impossible to find someone who meant as much to him as Annie did and he didn’t want to be a single dad. Now that they were back together, though, kids were back in the picture; he knew a family was something she wanted as much as he did.

He hesitated, not quite sure what to say in response to her question. Of course he wanted to but he was a little unsure if it was a good idea or not. No, it wasn’t his parents he was concerned about; he and his ex had shared his bed before when they were home and they obviously knew about Ana staying with him. It wasn’t the temptation of having sex with her, even though his parents and his little brother were down the hall. It was simply the most recent nightmare he had that kept him from wanting to stay with her. He had seen the little bruise he left on her ankle before and though that hadn’t been bad, what if he thrashed a different way and ended up hitting her somewhere else or hitting her harder and left a much larger bruise? A mildly surprised look crossed his face when she said she really wouldn’t mind and he let out a long, slow sigh, the look on her face nearly enough for him to give in. “Ana…I‘d love to, but…” he sighed again, his voice dropping as he started to mumble, his eyes on the wall next to the bed. “the other night I had another nightmare. It was the first in a while, but I just don‘t want to risk hurting you.” With another little sigh, he shrugged, his eyes meeting hers again. “If you really want me to, though, I will.” A little smile crossed his lips at her response and he gave her a little kiss.

She surprised him as she leaned closer to him and a smile crossed his face at her words, stopping on the steps and kissing her again. As he pulled away, he grinned, his lips going up to her ear. “Well with you as their mom they should be.” He went to give her a little kiss again, his lips pulling into a smile as Dylan caught them and squealed. “Eww, cooties!” Laughing, he looked over at Annie, smiling as they headed down the rest of the steps. “Though it is hard to beat that.”

Grinning at his girlfriend’s comment about being a bottomless pit, he shrugged. “When dessert is in the picture,” he teased, reaching over underneath of the table with his left hand to rest it on her leg. He figured it would be best if he kept that wrist out of sight for now. Out of sight, out of mind, right? The last thing he wanted was for his parents to see it when it was swollen up again and drag him into the hospital with them. He figured since it had gone untreated for as long as it had he’d need some sort of surgery on it and that wasn’t something he wanted to go through yet again. Sure, he’d have to get it done before his real job started, but he could put it off for another four years if he looked at it that way. He smiled at his girlfriend’s politeness, asking if she needed to help with anything and knowing almost immediately what his mom would say. “Ana, that’s sweet. You’ve had a long day, though, Jake and I have it. Besides, we‘re almost done,” she said as they brought over the large pasta dish. Just as he though, his parents would get along with her perfectly fine. Looking over at Ana with a grin on his face and shrugging, he scooped off a spoonful of the pasta onto his plate. He had forgotten how good some of his mom’s dinners were. “Bottomless pit time. You have got to try this.” Smiling, he tossed a spoonful on her plate. It wasn’t a typical dish, it was kind of like a salad and a pasta together in one dish. It was spaghetti with some greens mixed in it along with a bunch of different kinds of seafood. After he forced the food on Ana, he dug into the pasta dish in front of him. Jake rolled his eyes, laughing as he watched his oldest son. “I suppose we’ll go out to get dessert later tonight. We can head over to the Cheesecake Factory about ten, they‘re open until midnight.” At the mention of ‘cheesecake,’ Jason’s eyes lit up as he glanced over at his dad, just nodding as he was unable to say anything through the mix of seafood in his mouth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dinner not only tasted fantastic, but things went rather smoothly, too. As he had predicted, his parents absolutely loved Annie and Dylan, well Dylan was Dylan. He was just as happy as could be. Refusing Ana’s help yet again, Jake cleared the table, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. “It‘s suppose to be a nice night, why don‘t we go out on the roof?” his mom suggested with a little smile. Standing up, Jason slid his arm back around Annie’s waist, looking completely content. He had always loved going out on the roof on warm, clear nights; it was always so nice. “Don’t worry I can’t fall off,” he said to Ana, but loud enough for them all to hear. “There’s a banister around the little part of the roof we go on. It was Jason-proofed long ago.” His parents couldn’t help but laugh. “Long before he had a chance to fall off,” his dad joked as they headed up the steps.

Stepping away from his girlfriend, Jason smiled and told her to go ahead out, hoping she’d get either the couch or loveseat that was part of the outdoor furniture set sitting out there. Along with those two pieces, there was also a couple chairs and a smaller, round table. If the kitchen was upstairs, they probably would have used it to eat on, but since it would be hard to bring all of the food upstairs, they only did that occasionally, usually when they ordered a pizza or something simple like that. “I‘ll be out in a minute, I‘m going to take my stuff into the room,” he said with a little shrug. Grabbing his two bags from where they sat next to the squishy couch that was no longer going to be a mock bed, he lugged it into his old room and tossing it next to his dresser. Looking around at all of the pictures, a little smile crossed his face as he thought about where some of them had been taken and the memories that went with them. Shaking his head, the little smile still there, he pulled his green blanket from his airplane carry on and began digging through it, looking for a little box he had brought with him, just in case. He didn’t really want to ask her in front of his parents; he had always felt like that was added pressure to say yes, but he figured if the time was right and he was sitting next to her, he could just whisper it so only she could hear. Pulling her ring from the box, he slipped it into his jeans pocket and grabbed the blanket, a happy smile on his face, like it had been all day, as he stepped out with his family. Sitting down next to Ana, he tossed his blanket over the two of them. Even if it wasn’t chilly, he had always found it more comfortable to have a blanket around.

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WORD COUNT : 1,520
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky
DINNER : oh yum, that looks good.
COMMENTS : I feel like I'm rushing through this, but I didn't know what else to do. =/

[ana isabel bailey]

ANA WATCHED HIM HESITATE, WONDERING WHAT
made him do that exactly since he'd until now very casually shrugged it off. Obviously he wanted to, he just didn't feel like he should. Feeling she needed to say something more, she told him in her own way that she wanted him to, as she most definitely did want. They hadn't fell asleep together like that in so long and she missed it. Until now though when he'd pulled her body on top of his she'd forgotten how it felt to be that close to anyone, and especially to him. His chest deflated beneath her as he let all of his breath out slowly as though distressed. Dropping her head onto his chest she listened to his voice drop off into an almost embarassed mumble and she prompted, "But what," as his eyes turned away. It was her turn for her eyebrows to raise at his words and she lifted her head, slowly shaking it. She looked concerned, a contrast to the more frightened look she'd always had when he talked about the nightmares and other things that had plagued his since the accident. Her fingertips that had been passively resting against his neck moved, gently stroking the soft skin as she nodded when he opened the offer back up, "Yes, I still want you to." She let out a sort of relieved sigh as he slightly smiled and gave her a kiss, accepting that as his agreement.

AS HE STOPPED AT HER WORDS AND MOVED TO KISS
her on the stairs her happy smile still there and it only widened at what he whispered, unable to keep herself from giggling girlishly. As he started to kiss her again she heard Dylan's exclamation before his lips could get to hers and she laughed, turning her head to look down at the little boy. "Only boys have cooties," she called playfully, smirking at Jason before taking the next step down. She just shrugged when he said it would be hard to beat that, "Nahhh, not with you as their dad," she flirted softly just before they walked into the kitchen.

HER EYES ROLLED WHEN HE RESPONDED TO HER
tease and she made a disbelieving sound, "Only you always have room for dessert." Feeling his hand come to rest on her mid-thigh, she covered it with her own, her fingers sliding between his in a sort of one-sided embrace. She couldn't help but wonder if Sophie was eventually going to corner him, or if she'd try to get an answer out of Annie, who wouldn't lie. Not that she didn't love him, and she definitely didn't want him to have to go through whatever it took to fix his arm, but she still tended to think it was best to just have it done already. She'd given up on bugging him about it though, knowing her efforts were very much futile. She figured his parents would be a lot more effective, so at this point the problem was theirs.

ANNIE LAUGHED SLIGHTLY WHEN HIS MOM SAID
they'd had a long day, shrugging a bit, "I slept almost the entire flight," she said casually, the thumb of her free hand tapping the table. She let it go though seeing that they truly were nearly done. Annie gazed curiously at the pasta, not entirely sure what the dish was though it looked good. She laughed a bit at her boyfriend's words, handing him her plate since he was closer to the bowl. She had been sort of curious as to what kind of foods Jason had eaten growing up and he was right, if most meals were something like this it really wasn't much different than her own cooking. Much more mannerly than him she forked a small clump of noodles and the leafy greens, pulling them onto her spoon before twirling them into a neat little bundle and popping the bite in her mouth. Instantly the flavor of the wine struck her, mixed with the strong peppery taste of what she was now certain was arugula. Her mouth full as she chewed the al dente noodles she glanced up as Jake spoke able only to snort with humour at the excited expression on Jason's face that he'd worn all day. She couldn't really blame him though; they had the world's best cheesecake, or at least she thought so. Freeing a clam from its shell she glanced up at his mom to compliment her on the meal before popping the chewy seafood into her mouth.

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SETTING A HAND ON HER USUALLY FLAT
stomach, Ana chuckled at the way it stuck out a bit from eating too much, an embarassed little smile crossing her lips when Jason's eyes looked to see what humored her. Reaching over she poked his equally slightly protruding tummy, glancing up as his dad began to pick up plates. "Are you sure I can't help somehow," she asked, already knowing the answer. Even so she felt better if she at least asked. Sitting back she glanced at the three remaining people at the table, besides herself, glancing back at Sophie when she said something about going on the roof, her eyes widening a bit, confused. She hadn't really noticed there being a little patio off the upstairs family room. As everyone stood she unsurely did the same, still confused. She couldn't really see the entire family climbing out a window to sit on the shingles. She shot an unsure gaze at Jason as they all headed for the stairs, unable to keep from smiling when he said he couldn't fall off though she was sure he could find a way. She laughed a bit at the words Jason-proofed, still a bit confused as they reached the second floor. She'd only rarely seen a porch on the second floor of a house, once or twice in Louisiana on older style homes. She glanced up curiously as Jason excused himself, not paying it any mind though she didn't see why that couldn't be done later. Following his parents out the French doors she gazed around, laughing as she figured out there was in fact a patio on their roof. It was a bit strange, but she supposed she kind of liked it as she picked the loveseat to sit on, thinking ahead to when Jason rejoined them. Letting out a little sigh, she listened to his parents' conversation, watching them with a slightly wistful look. They were very, well, loving; it was easy to see who had taught Jason how to be with a girlfriend, just by the way his dad especially acted. It did not, of course, come half as easy to her, though she had a more mellow temperment than her mom which made things a bit easier at times she supposed.

SHE SMILED AT HER BOYFRIEND AS HE WALKED
out onto the patio, shifting a bit on the loveseat to make room for him, though of course she would move back near to him once he was settled. Once he was seated she drew her bare feet up onto the seat with her, shifting the blanket he tossed over them to better cover herself, though she wasn't really cold. Moving closer to him so they were sitting hip to hip she rested a hand on his thigh as she dropped her head against his chest. A funny expression crossed her face as she heard his heart, pounding faster than normal, something that usually only happened when he was nervous or arroused, though she didn't see why he would be either. "Why's your heart beating so fast," she asked him quietly, her blue eyes gazing up at him a bit curiously.

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( WORD COUNT )
idk. i'll count later
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
eh, it's fine. i'm excited for them. =D

[jason andrew irving]

His bushy eyebrows rose as Ana chuckled slightly, glancing over at her. As she poked his rather full belly he stuck his tongue at her, poking her back. He always did have a tendency to eat too much of his mom’s cooking. And Annie’s. And well, any food that tasted good in general. Looking over at her belly, a small, wishful smile crossed his face at the simple thought that flickered through his mind. Now that the subject of their future had basically been brought up, he couldn’t wait to see what it looked like when she was a few months pregnant. Oh, he knew that was at least four years off unless he was a bit careless when they decided to start having sex again. Most of the time he was, well, prepared but there had been a couple times, like the one evening he had snuck up behind her in the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a few little kisses on the neck and the next thing he knew they were warming up the counter top, when he hadn‘t been quite as careful. No, how ever much he wanted to see her with a baby bump, he’d much rather wait until he had a real job so it was him paying for their child, not his parents.

“Just relax, Ana, we’ve got it,” Jake said kindly with a smile on his face. His mom shot Jason a teasing look as she picked up his plate. “Jason could help, though.” Laughing as he went to stand up, Sophie rested a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Honey, I was kidding. Relax.” His parents had always been like that; sweet, always willing to pick up whenever there was company, though Jason didn’t really consider himself company. Just like Annie, he was completely willing to help if it was needed, though even growing up he hadn’t really had to do much, a few daily chores and whatever his parents couldn‘t get to throughout the day; keep his room and his bathroom clean, load and unload the dishwasher, occasionally dust or something simple like that, but other than that his parents had done it all, even with their busy schedule at the hospital.

He couldn’t help but laugh a little at Annie’s confused expression; she must have missed the little patio above the one they had stood on when they first arrived. It was definitely one of his favorite parts of his old house. His friends all had the same expression that Ana did when he suggested they go sit on the roof until they realized there actually was a place to sit. And there were definitely a few good memories up here, too. His first kiss had happened here, a few weeks after what would be a two year relationship began. Quite a few sleep overs with his guy friends had happened out here during the summer, too. There had even been a couple as they got older where his would-be girlfriend came, too. His parents had talked to him enough; they weren’t concerned with much happening.

As he stepped out onto the raised patio, Dylan slid past him and scurried off towards his room. With a little laugh at his younger brother, he sat down on the love seat next to his girlfriend, lifting up his arm so she could slide under it. As she curled up against him, he rested his arm around her shoulders. Smiling as she rested her head against his, he sighed rather contently as he looked over at his parents. They had such a wonderful relationship even years and years after they were married. He supposed that was what happened when they had married each other because they were more than just a couple, they had been best friends, too. Kind of the way he and Ana were. Looking down at her a little, he tilted his head curiously when she questioned his heartbeat. He hadn’t even realized it had picked up when he grabbed the ring from his bag, though it would make sense since he was nervous about it. The only time there had been any clear discussion of their lives together had been earlier in the day when she brought up their kids. So all he did to answer her was smile and shrug before placing a little kiss on her cheek.

He was saved from her questioning anymore as Dylan opened the door, a large box in his hands. Setting it down on the table, Jason laughed as he saw it was a game of Clue. Well, Clue Junior: The Case of the Missing Cake. Dylan was getting towards the upper end of the age spectrum, but it was still fun for him. Squeezing Annie’s waist, Jason sat up a little bit, picking up one of the character pieces; the rather goofy looking older man dressed in all green. “Well we could make this a very quick game and just say it was me who ate the cake…” he teased, looking around at his family and his girlfriend. “That wouldn’t be as fun, though.

After two games, both of which Dylan had won without much trouble, the sun had completely set and the stars were shining brightly. They had put everything back in the colorful Clue box which now sat in the middle of the table, everyone sitting back and talking. With Ana’s head resting against his chest again as they had been before the game, Jason’s heart started racing again as he started playing with the idea of proposing again. He still wasn’t crazy about asking her in front of his parents; he didn’t want her to feel like she had to say yes. All of those TV shows where the man would take his girlfriend to a fancy restaurant and get down on one knee half way through their dinner, sure it was romantic, but it really put her on the spot, put a lot of pressure on her. Sure, it was a huge question to answer, but he couldn’t imagine making her do it in front of a huge audience.

With a little shrug to himself, he reached into the pocket where he had slid the platinum band, glad it wasn’t on the same side she was. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he kept it underneath of his polka dotted blanket as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Moving his lips so they were next to her ear, he thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest. If she still had her head on his chest, it would probably be a dead give away for what he was going to ask. His lips pulled up into a smile as he murmured quietly so she’d be the only one who heard what he was saying. “I know I‘ve done some really, really stupid stuff and we haven‘t been back together that long, but Annie, I love you. You don‘t have to say anything right now if you‘d rather wait until we‘re alone..” His smile grew as he went on, moving his hands so she would be the only one to see the ring as he spoke. “…Annie, will you marry me?”

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WORD COUNT : 1,214
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky