Sunday Snippet: Come Here Often

May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's and mother figures out there. J

So… S.H.I.E.L.D. should have a great season ender and hopefully a kick awesome season two! Really glad to see it got renewed. Arrow… man, my head is still spinning from last week's episode. I'm REALLY looking forward to the finale. I've heard some rumors about what to expect and I'm dying to see how things wind up. Orphan Black? The show makes my brain spin. Can't say I'm sad to see one particular dude gone, mainly because it plays directly in to what I'd love to see happen with Rachel. And the stuff with Helena makes my skin crawl, seriously.

Tonight's post is from, Come Here Often, a novella about starting over after a huge trial. The couple goes through the wringer in this one.

Here's the tagline:

Neely survives a war but not without considerable emotional damage. When Ace offers her everything she's ever wanted, she turns him down, believing they can't pick up where they left off. Ace aims to prove they don't have to.

And a sneaky peek…

Neely hesitated midway up the hill. "Ace, what are you going to do with the rest of his life?" She still had trouble wrapping her head around leaving the military.

Ace reached out and tugged her toward him. "You." His mouth curved in a grin.

Neely blinked. "What?" Had her imagination gone completely crazy?

He quirked a brow. "You heard me. We're done, Neely. Finished the journey." He hauled her closer.  "And we're still here. Don't you think it's time we figure us out?"

Neely would love nothing more. But…

She eased away, just a little. "Ace. We don't know what happened to me." Having her mind wiped kept a constant fissure of worry in the back of her brain.

She had no idea what her captors might have done to her.

He leaned in close. "Did you miss the part where I don't care? It doesn't matter, Neels. Do you remember the first night we met? What happened?"

She nodded, pretty certain no amount of messing about in her gray matter would ever remove the memory.

He continued. "How did it feel? The table we almost had sex on. The guilt afterwards?" He cupped her face. "Have you forgotten any of that?"

She shook her head back and forth. Nope. She didn't have any trouble visualizing how close they'd come to crossing a line on her dining room table.

He pushed more. "How about the day of the attack? Do you remember it?"

She frowned. "Of course. I thought you were dead that day." Her heart thudded painfully at the memory.

He nudged her shoulder. "What did it feel like? When you found out I wasn't?"

She huffed out a sigh. "Like I could breathe again."

Ace ticked off every moment he could think of, things that meant something to them. Jumping behind enemy lines every thirty-three hours, so tired and wired on stims they couldn't think straight. The huge victory when he'd used her plan to blow a refinery that lit the sky up like a light show. The first kiss they shared, after she returned from scouting mission… five days late. Good, happy memories.

Followed by the not so good. Ace reminded her of the cat and mouse game she'd played with an informant—she'd almost lost her life to a knife wound. The huge altercation they'd had after she tumbled into bed with… hell, she didn't even remember the guy's name, but they'd come to blows over it. She'd punched him first and he slugged her back, because she'd pushed him over the limit. And finally, he hit the big one.

"What about the night we slept under the stars and consummated how we felt?" He met her gaze. "Do you remember that?"

Gads, she'd never forget. She'd left him the next morning, terrified he'd wake up and hate her. He had—because she didn't trust him. During the following month, he spoke to her only if he absolutely had to.

She kept her eyes on his, nodding. "We were finally supposed to talk, but I ended up in the back of a transport headed for enemy territory."

He nodded. "You remember all of it."

She swallowed hard. "I'm reliving every moment." Except the three months she'd been held captive.

Ace pushed on. "Tell me you're not feeling every moment, too."

"I can't." Her voice came out a whisper.

"Then that's the answer, Neely. In, out, upside down. We've been through it all. If you remember and feel our past, then what's the problem?"

She had no idea, but there had to be one. She didn't do normal, happy or anything along those lines.

Her gaze lifted. "I'm the problem. I might know and remember Neely, but I'm not her. At least not the same her. I can't find way to move past that to build a life with you."

Ace sighed. "You know what. Fine. We're done." He let go of her and shook his head. "Consider this the end of Jaybird and Buckman." He turned on his heel and strode away, stopping at the crest of the hill to look out over the valley below.

Neely's heart broke, aching for the past she didn't have a right to claim. Her gaze dropped. It hurt to look at Ace, so utterly and unconditionally full of support. So different and not like him. The man needed an answer and reason for everything.

And she couldn't give him one. A simple truth smacked her in the face. Since her return, he'd never once asked her what happened. He'd taken one look at her and scooped her up into his arms, holding on like he'd never, ever, let go.

This one is so much fun to work on but the sages are pesky imps and only dole out brief little scenes. I have a feeling the transitional parts will be a challenge.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye