Nobody's Home (AA, Zan, Adult, UC/CC) [COMPLETE]

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To_Kiss_A_Frog
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Nobody's Home (AA, Zan, Adult, UC/CC) [COMPLETE]

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Title: Nobody's Home
Author: To_Kiss_A_Frog
Rating: ADULT/MATURE
Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recgonize
Summary: After just getting out of a relationship, Zan doesn't expect to get back into one so soon but finds himself changing his mind when he meets up with a girl he's known her entire life. No relationship is perfect, things happen and people change and when a situation happens, threatening to tear them apart, they have to have faith in one another to find their way back home.

Image

"Hello?"

"It's me, I totally need you right now"

"What happened?"

"I'm meeting his parents tonight and I have no idea what to wear or how to act or... anything, you have to help me."

"Listen to me, money is not everything, it doesn't mean that one person is better than another, just remember that okay? But yes, i'll help you, whatever you need, i'm there for you."

"You are so the best person in the world! Okay, how about I pick you up because... well because I'm pulling up to your driveway now so would you please come outside and get in?"

"How convenient...fine, I'll be right out"

"Bye"

"Bye"


~&~&~&~&~&


"What about this one?" Isabel asked, holding up a light blue floral pring sundress while she stood in the only empty spot in the whole room while the rest of the floor was blanketed with discarded dresses, skirts, tops and slacks.

"Isabel, you need to calm down, it's just dinner, wear something you're comfortable in and I'm sure you'll look great" Daphne encouraged, glancing up from the book she was reading only to find a frown on her friend's face. "Okay... let's go over something first. Alex completely adores you, he always has and you seem to really like him, so nothing else beyond that really matters, not even whether or not his parents like your dress."

Sighing heavily, Isabel dropped down on the bed beside her best friend. "That's easy for you to say, your family is rich, you don't have to worry about some guy's parents thinking you aren't good enough or you're some gold digger," she exclaimed, falling back against the mattress. "What if they don't like me and make him stop seeing me?" she wondered.

“How many times have you spent the night at my house?” Daphne asked then.

“About a thousand” Isabel replied, “Why?”

“Do you remember coming downstairs and eating breakfast in your pajamas or lying all over the couch in face cream while we watched chick flicks with my mom or even the time we came back from shopping for your first date with Alex and dripping all over the foyer and up the stairs when we walked in because of that damn rain storm that showed up out of nowhere?”

“Yeah…” she answered, slowly, unsure of where this was going.

“Well you said it, my parents are rich, maybe even richer than the Whitmans and you did all of those things around them” Daphne pointed out, helpfully. “Money isn’t everything and not everyone that has a lot of it are snobs and mean, some of them are just as down to earth as the family that works hard at the same job every day, trying to make ends meet. You are what Alex likes, not your family or money or house or anything else, just you, so wear whatever you feel beautiful in and I’m sure he’ll agree.”

“Thanks Daffy” Isabel said, pulling the shorter girl into a hug. “You’re the best.”

“So get dressed, you only have…” she trailed off, looking down at her watch. “Twenty minutes until Alex gets here.”

That was enough to make Isabel jump up and grab something up off the floor, running to the bathroom to change before coming back out to put on her make up while Daphne stood behind her, tying the long blonde tresses up in an elegant twist that complimented the ivory dress she chose, perfectly. After fastening a pair of gold hoops to her ears, Isabel glanced at her clock with four minutes to spare.

“Oh shit, I just forgot…I’m the one that drove you here” Isabel remembered, eyes widening dramatically. “I’m sure Alex wouldn’t mind dropping you off on the way” she suggested, biting at the corner of her lip.

“I live in the complete opposite direction from Alex’s house” Daphne reminded. “But it’s no big deal, it isn’t that far away, I’ll just walk” she said, shrugging her shoulders indifferently, already reaching for her house keys which she’d dropped down on Isabel’s vanity table earlier.

“No” she said, shaking her head negatively. “Wait here real quick” she said, walking out of the room, dragging Zan back in a couple moments later. “Okay, here’s the thing, I’m supposed to meet Alex’s parents tonight but I was like really nervous and didn’t know what to wear and didn’t know how to act so I called Daffy and begged her to come over and I went and picked her up before we were even off the phone and we spent all this time figuring out what I would wear and she was such a big help but now Alex is on his way over and I just remembered that I picked her up and don’t have time to drop her off and she said she would walk but it’ll be dark soon and that’s a bad idea, don’t you think?” she said all at once.

“Breathe before you turn blue” Zan coached teasingly. “Now, in five words or less, what do you want me to do?” he asked, hands on her shoulders comfortingly.

“Take Daffy home for me?” she requested.

“See, breathing and actually making sense isn’t that hard to do” Zan said, smirking in that annoying older brother way before, releasing his hold and turning towards Daphne. “Ready?” he asked, reaching for Isabel’s keys.

“Uh huh” Daphne replied, accepting the thank you hug from Isabel before following Zan out, meeting Alex in the driveway on their way out.

“Hey Daffy” he greeted. “Zan”

“Bye Alex” they both returned, climbing into the old army jeep Zan drove. “So do I have to take you home right away or…” he trailed off suggestively.

“My dad had business in Tucson this morning and my mom went with him” she replied, letting the implication hang in the air, unable to help the smile that crossed her lips when he sped up a bit.

If anybody knew what was going on between them, they’d think they were crazy. Zan was twenty one and just coming out of a six month long relationship while Daphne was only seventeen and his younger sister’s best friend. They hadn’t meant for anything to happen, it had been purely coincidental that they’d even run into one another outside of the Evans home but once they did they spent the whole day talking, finding that they actually had a lot in common despite their age difference.

Daphne was a smart girl, she knew that even now, two weeks later, Zan was still unsure about what they were doing, mostly because he was concerned about hurting her but she assured him that it was just a fun thing for her like it was for him, no feelings involved since it really couldn’t go anywhere what with him in college at UCLA and her still attending private school in Las Cruces while living in Roswell. He just didn’t want either to get attached and neither wanted to hurt Isabel so they decided to just keep things quiet and continue only while both could look at it as something fun to do.

Pulling into her driveway, Zan cut the engine and waited to make sure this was what Daphne wanted, grinning when she grabbed his arm to pull him out through her side, barely giving him the opportunity to grab his keys.

The house was empty and so quiet without her parents around. Because she was away during the week, home only on weekends, her parents didn’t feel the need to have a maid or house staff around for the two of them so when they were gone, the house really was empty, something she was going to make the most of now.

Holding his hand, Daphne led the way upstairs and straight to her room, not bothering to turn the light on as they walked in. The room, large and spacious, was white with pale lavender carpeting and a plum comforter with accent pillows and curtains to match. Her desk was cluttered with papers and books she brought home for the summer and despite living there only part time, the room had a very comfortable and lived in feel to it.

Not wasting any time, Zan fused his lips together with hers, their tongues meeting as hands roamed hungrily over clothes. Slowly, he walked them backwards until the backs of his knees met the edge of the bed, dropping down against the soft mattress he brought her with him.

Taking advantage of their sitting position, Zan cupped her face in his hands as her body straddled his lap to accommodate the new seating arrangement. Once he felt her relax against him, Zan began running his hands lightly over her back, starting at the nape of her neck all the way down to the waist band of the small khaki shorts she wore, moaning slightly as her hips lightly grinded against his.

When she still didn’t protest to his wandering, Zan moved his hands forward, stroking her sides with the tips of his fingers, barely brushing up against the side of her breast along the way, eliciting an approving moan.

While Zan continued with his exploration, Daphne lowered her own hands, running them beneath his shirt over the rigged planes of his abs, feeling him groan into her mouth. Releasing his hold on her, he lifted his arms up when he felt her trying to push his shirt up relishing in the feel of her small hands that were now running over the bare skin of his chest and shoulders.

He wanted to keep kissing her but knew there was something he had to tell her first, before things got out of hand.

His arms still around her waist, hugging her to him, Zan buried his face in her neck as he whispered in her ear, “I want you so much but… if you say the word, we’ll stop, no questions asked.” Sincerity clear in his voice, meaning every word he said.

“I want you too” Daphne whispered back, nudging his gaze back her, wanting him to see the sincerity in her voice.

Without needing further encouragement, Zan returned his mouth to hers for a hungry kiss, their passion quickly escalating as their hands roamed over bare skin, wanting to get as close to the other as possible. Pulling her tank top up and off with his roaming hands, Zan groaned low in his throat at the sight of her exposed breasts, cupping the fullness of them in his palms.

“Hmm…Zan” she moaned as he ran the pad of his thumb over the stiffened peak of her nipple, repeating the action to hear his name on her lips again.

Pulling her back against him, Zan turned them over until he was lying above Daphne on the bed as he slowly started to slide her shorts down her hips, giving her plenty of time to stop him if she wanted, before pulling them all the way down the leanness of her legs, leaving only a small scrap of material to hide her from him. “You are so beautiful” he told her, his voice thick with lust as he trailed kisses from the base of her throat, across her collarbone and down to the full roundness of her right breast, swirling his tongue lightly over the aroused peak before pulling it into his mouth, sucking greedily.

The moans and sounds of pleasure she made were causing the straining erection in Zan’s pants to pulse uncomfortably, wanting to be released from its confinements and buried deep inside her.

Continuing his ministrations, he felt Daphne’s hands drift lower until they freed him from his jeans, dipping into his boxers to stroke him in a slow up and down motion that was slowly driving him crazy.

“Take these off” she panted, trying to push them past his hips. Zan lifted off the bed enough to help her until neither wore any clothes, completely exposed to one another. Zan continued his journey down Daphne’s body until he reached the juncture between her legs. Seeing no protestations in her eyes, he lowered his mouth, his tongue snaking out to lick her, placing his hands down on her hips when they tried to buck up off the bed at first contact.

Her moans spurred him as he continued to lick, suck and kiss her until she was writhing in ecstasy, calling out his name as she tumbled over. Crawling up until he lay beside her, he waited for her to open her eyes, wanting more than anything to keep going but unwilling to make her in any way, uncomfortable. Rather than answer with words, Daphne pulled his mouth down to hers, tongue instantly meeting his as they kissed, deep and hungrily. “I still want you” she said against his lips.

“I want you too” he added quietly but paused, needing to know one other thing before they went any farther. “Have you ever done this before?” he asked, not wanting to embarrass her but figuring he should know first.

“Once but it wasn’t that great” she admitted, honestly.

“Well let’s see if we can make this time better for you” he said, leaning over to grab his wallet, pulling a small foil packet from one of the pockets. Rolling the latex against his already straining member, Zan returned to his position between her legs, stroking her cheek lightly with his finger until she opened her eyes. “I want to see your eyes when I push inside you” he whispered, causing her to moan and the husky timber of his words

Zan lowered his mouth to hers, exploring her mouth thoroughly as he lightly rubbed the tip of his erection against her opening, swallowing her moans. Pushing a bit more insistently until he was all the way in and buried to the hilt. Unable to take the stillness, she began lifting her hips to his, causing Zan to groan in pleasure.

Knowing that she wanted this just as much as he did, he countered her movements, stroking deep inside her and loving the feel of how tight and wet she was. Slowly, he slid in and out, taking her mouth back in several lazy kisses until she began moaning each time he buried himself deep inside her. “Uh!” she panted, raising her hips to meet his every thrust.

“Baby, you feel so good” he whispered in her ear, raising one leg into the crook of his arm to get even closer, groaning at the sensations the new angle caused in both of them. Letting her responses guide his actions, Zan began to move faster, drawing closer to the end with each stroke as her quiet moans urged him on. Wanting to make this completely enjoyable for her, he lowered his hand to where they were joined and began rubbing light circles, causing Daphne to moan louder until she was writhing against him, calling out his name. Free to let go, with several powerful thrusts, Zan came, releasing a torrent of cum as he groaned low in his throat.

Rolling over, Zan took Daphne with him so she was sprawled across his chest and it was there that they both fell asleep.


~&~&~&~&~&


The bed beside him was empty when Zan woke up later that night. Looking over at the clock he realized he’d only been asleep for an hour but the sky was already dark outside the window. Grabbing his boxers and jeans, Zan went in search of Daphne, finally finding her close to five minutes later, sitting in the kitchen, and eating ice cream while she talked on the phone.

Standing in the doorway, he just watched as she talked, not wanting to speak up when he realized who she was talking to. “Okay, hiding yourself in the bathroom because of one little mistake is definitely not the way to go. Now, it’s like I said, Alex likes you for who you are to him, no other reason and if his parents don’t like you…well they can go to hell because you make their son happy, now go back out there and relax” she coached.

“I know…I love you to Isabel, now go, bye.”

“What’d she do?” Zan asked, startling Daphne enough that she dropped the spoon, the clatter echoing throughout the lonely house. “Sorry” he smirked, bending down to pick it up for her, finding himself wondering if she was wearing anything beneath the very short yellow bath robe.

“You want some?” she offered, holding the carton out.

“Thanks” he said, taking the spoon back, digging into the pecan praline. “So what happened with Isabel, why was she hiding in a bathroom?” he asked, amusement and obvious affection for his younger sister, shining in his eyes.

“She got nervous and knocked a glass over at the dinner table” Daphne replied, shrugging indifferently. “It just had water in it but she felt horrible and ran out of the room before anyone could say anything.”

“She worries too much about things that aren’t important” Zan commented, swallowing a spoonful before going on to elaborate. “I know that Alex doesn’t give a shit about the money his parents have, he likes Izzy, plain and simple but she’s gonna lose him if she keeps thinking about what he has” he stated, pointing out her unfounded insecurity.

“I don’t think she’s uncomfortable about being around someone that comes from a lot because she practically lives here with me, I think it’s more about her own thoughts of measuring up against some of the girls he dated in the past” Daphne admitted, having gotten that impression a few times before.

“What kind of girls does he date?”

“The girls at Fontaine Prep mostly” Daphne replied. “But I don’t think it’s a big deal, all those girls were mean and snobby and Alex is nothing like that, but I think Isabel feels…”

“Inadequate” Zan finished for her, having gotten the same impression. “She’ll be okay, she just still has a few things to learn, and…unfortunately, I have to go” he added, glancing at the clock against the back wall.

“That’s too bad, you sure I can’t…persuade you to stay?” she asked, teasingly, watching as his eyes darkened with desire at her tone.

Standing and pulling her up with him, Zan’s arms encircled her waist. “Since there was only one other time, I’m guessing you’ve never done it on a kitchen table, huh?” he asked, nipping at the skin of her neck as he pressed her close against him.

“No” she moaned, hearing the clatter of the spoon hitting the ground again before Zan placed his arms under hers, lifting her up onto the table. Unzipping his jeans and lowering them and his boxers enough to free himself he guided it straight to her, checking first to make sure she was ready before pushing in in one strong thrust, his eyes widening with the realization of what he was doing. “I forgot a…”

“Pill” she whispered wrapping her arms around his neck, hearing him groan in pleasure as he began moving. Daphne rested her head against his shoulder as he continued to pound inside of her, each move bringing them closer to the release they both desired.

One arm continued to hold her while the other hand tugged at the belt of her robe, parting the material far enough to dip his head down and pull a bouncing breast into his mouth, never ceasing his movements against her lower body.

Hearing her breathing become more ragged, Zan used both hands on her hips to hold her steady while he pushed in out and powerfully until he felt her let go, enjoying the way his name sounded against her lips as she moaned delightedly, her hips pushing back against his, trying to help him achieve his own release, nearly reaching bursting point before it shattered through him, causing a loud groan deep in his throat.

“You’re really good at that” she whispered as they leaned against one another, catching their breath.

Chuckling quietly at the comment, he raised her chin, lifting her mouth to his for a quick kiss. “I would definitely have to return the compliment” he replied. “And now I don’t want go” he groaned, lightly tugging on her hair when she laughed at him. “Well…I am going to be alone for the next three days, maybe you can come and visit me some time” she told him, innocently, feeling him twitch inside her, causing her to laugh even louder while he smiled against her neck, thinking he was going to enjoy his vacation this summer.
Last edited by To_Kiss_A_Frog on Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:30 pm, edited 28 times in total.
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To_Kiss_A_Frog
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.2

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 2

“Okay, I need to ask you something really personal and you can totally say it’s none of my business but…but please try to give me an answer” Isabel requested as they lounged around her bedroom. After calling relatively early the next morning, she’d pleaded with Daphne to come over because she wanted to have a face to face talk about what had happened at Alex’s house the night before.

Hearing the distress in her voice, Daphne pulled on a white tank top over a sports bra and didn’t bother to change out of the small red running shorts she was already wearing, figuring it wouldn’t really matter since Mr. and Mrs. Evans would be at work and Zan would most likely still be asleep. Grabbing her keys, she got into her car, an old ’67 Camaro Convertible that her father had spent years restoring for her and drove through the quiet streets of Roswell.

Isabel must have been standing by the window waiting because she pulled her inside before Daphne had a chance to knock. Then, after a very detailed description of the events which had ended well enough once she calmed down, Isabel proceeded to grill her about the girls at her prep school and questioned whether or not she’d ever see Alex talk to any of his exes or if any of them talked about trying to win him back. Daphne briefly wondered how a girl who was so beautiful could be some insecure about herself.

“Go ahead and I’ll see what I can do” Daphne replied, expecting some question about how short the girls wore their uniform skirts or whether what time their dorm curfew was but got something else entirely.

“Have you ever had sex before” she blurted out, causing Daphne’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“Are you thinking about having sex with Alex?” she asked, knowing that that was the real reason for the question.

“I’m not sure…I mean I think I want to and I think that he wants to but…but what if it hurts or what if I don’t like it” Isabel questioned, biting her lip nervously, as she gazed down at her comforter, unable to look Daphne in the eye.

“It’s gonna hurt the first time” Daphne acknowledged, her way of saying yes, she had done it before. “But it helps if you’re comfortable with the guy, otherwise it’ll be really awkward and…not at all fun” her own experience ruined the first time around by doing it just to get it over with and choosing a guy that didn’t take his time and was finished before she’d even gotten started.

“How was your first time?” Isabel asked then, finally getting the courage to look up.

“Less than stellar” she admitted. “But I also didn’t care about the guy, I was just something I did once and to be honest, if I could take it back and do it over again some other time with someone else, I definitely would.”

“I don’t want Alex to wish he could take it back” Isabel confessed, vulnerability in her tone and eyes.

“For now, let Alex worry about himself and you worry about you” Daphne advised, reasonably. “Don’t do this because you think he wants you to, do it because you really care about him and because you really want to but most importantly, use a condom or get on the pill but…you need to always have some sort of birth control, no exceptions.”

“If I get on the pill, my mom will know and…well I’m too chicken to buy condoms, I’d feel like everyone was staring at me and judging me.”

“The only thing buying condoms means is that you’re smart enough to be safe, they have no reason to judge” Daphne pointed out. “But tell you what, talk to Alex, decide together if this is something you’re both really ready for, and if you are…I’ll get the condoms for you, a jumbo sized box and everything” she offered, laughing at the scandalized look on Isabel’s face.

“Gah” she said before they both burst into giggles, neither saying anything for a long time when Isabel finally got up the courage to ask another question. “So you had a bad first time, has there been a better second time since then?”

“There has been” she agreed. “Just one another guy but I don’t want to talk about him” she said. “I’ll answer questions but I’d rather just leave details about him out for now.”

Respecting her choice, Isabel nodded in acknowledgement but took her up on her offer. “So what’s it like? I mean, I know where everything goes and what’s supposed to happen but what’s it like once it happens?” she queried and Daphne felt for her then, realizing that Isabel couldn’t talk about this as freely with her mother as Daphne had been able to with hers. Deciding that if this was the only way her friend was going to learn anything, she’d answer whatever questions, embarrassing or not.

“Well…like I said, it hurts at first but then it’s just a bit awkward; you might or might not get anything out of it that first time but the more you do it, the easier it gets so the better it feels” she said, continuing despite the blush staining Isabel’s cheeks. “Just make sure you do a lot of before stuff first, kissing and touching and it shouldn’t be so bad” Daphne advised, figuring that was all Isabel would be able to handle for now.

“Wow” she commented. “Okay, so I’ll talk to Alex and if we decide to…you know, then I’ll let you know and maybe you can get the…things, for me.”

“Word of advice, if you’re going to have sex and use condoms, you need to be able to say the words” she teased, getting a face full of pillow for her comment.

Quickly retaliating, Daphne grabbed another from the head of the bed and swatted back at her, missing and falling off the bed with a resounding thud while Isabel sat above her on the bed, laughing uncontrollably at the sight of Daphne sprawled on the ground.

“Urg!” groaned Zan as he walked in unannounced. “Could the two of you be any louder?” he asked, causing both girls to laugh even harder, having watched an episode of Friends earlier, his question reminding them of Chandler. “Teenage girls suck” he muttered darkly, turning to walk out, glaring when he got hit in the back of the head with two pillows.

“I swear, he’s been in such a foul mood since he broke up with his girlfriend” Isabel commented, straightening up her messed bed when Daphne decided to stay on the carpet. “She was a total bitch to him and when he finally saw it and broke up with her, she gave him such a hard time and tried to make him feel like crap, and brought up all sorts of crap about…heaven knows what” she volunteered.

“I’m totally starved, how about breakfast, my treat” Daphne offered, changing the subject because she felt uncomfortable discussing Zan’s private life, feeling that if she knew anything it would be because he wanted to tell her, not because Isabel did.

“Sounds like a plan, let me just change and I’ll meet you downstairs” Isabel replied, referring to the star and moon pajamas she was still wearing. Nodding, Daphne got up and excused herself, finding Zan sitting at the breakfast table, head down and though she wasn’t sure, it sounded like he was making strange noises.

“Are you hung over?” she asked, his head snapping up in surprise, groaning darkly before closing his eyes and lowering it back to the table.

“No more beer, never again” he muttered, causing laughter to bubble up while Daphne did a horrible job of hiding her amusement at his predicament. Shaking her head, she walked around him and reached up into the cupboard, missing the way his eyes followed her movements as even more skin was revealed with that action, and grabbed glass. Digging around in the fridge, she found a carton of orange juice and poured him a tall glass.

“Drink” she instructed while Isabel walked into the room. “We’re going for food, you want anything?” she offered.

“Food?” he asked, perking up at the offer. “Yes please, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and a side of toast” he ordered. “But don’t worry about the juice” he added, lifting his glass in a sort of salute to the two. Rolling her eyes, Daphne followed Isabel out, shooting a him a reprimanding glare after he brushed his hand against her ass when she walked by, receiving a smirk in response.

They drove to the Crashdown Café, a popular teen hang out in the evenings but a quiet place for the old folk in the morning. The early bird coffee drinkers were out by then and the lunch crowd was still a couple hours away so it didn’t take long to receive their order, despite the large size of it.

Isabel held the cartons in her lap as the drove back to her house, staring out the window and trying not to listen when someone called Daphne on her cell.

“No way, not with a bunch of couples” Daphne responded to her friend’s idea that they got out to a new club in Las Cruces since one of the guys knew a bouncer that usually let them without checking their ID. “Because that sucks” she replied, then quickly changing her mind. “Hold up a second Karen. Hey Isabel, do you want to come with me to a club tonight, you can bring Alex if you want?” she offered, knowing she wouldn’t feel like an uncomfortable third around the two of them.

“But we’re not eighteen” Isabel replied, obviously contemplating it but still nervous about saying yes.

“I know a guy that knows a guy so it’s no big deal as long as no one drinks” Daphne replied. “So how about it, I’ll even drive?”

“I guess I could just tell my parents that I’m spending the night at your house” Isabel considered before a full blown smile broke out on her face. “Okay, count me in.”

“Alright Karen, I’ll go but I’m bringing Whitman and his girlfriend with me” Daphne told the other girl on the other end of the line, receiving an easy acceptance. “It’ll be cool, besides the friends that invited me are really nice and can’t stand girls that act like snobs” she reassured Isabel knowing that even if she wasn’t thinking it now, she would be thinking it later.

“I’ll call Alex and ask him if he wants to go after we finish breakfast”

“Good deal”

When they got back to the house, Zan was still in the same position they had left him in, looking just as pitiful as before. “We brought food” Isabel said in a sing song voice, dangling the bag just out of reach when he made a grab for it. “First, I need your help with something” she told, him setting the food down on the counter before turning back to face her brother.

Quirking an eyebrow, Zan sat there, not saying anything as he waited for her to speak. “I need you to cover for me.”

“Why” he asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously while Isabel blushed under his scrutiny.

“I’m going to some club tonight in Las Cruces with Daffy and I’m going to spend the night at her place after but I need you to cover in case mom or dad ask anything before we get back” Isabel explained, both girls watching as he his glare didn’t at all diminish.

“And what kind of club lets seventeen year old girls in?” he questioned, a pointed look on his face.

“The kind that has a friend of a friend” Isabel replied, raising her chin defiantly in a move that even made Daphne proud. “Besides, you owe me from all the times I covered for you in high school when you were really out drinking or…or getting laid” she threw out but this time Daphne wasn’t able to hold in her laughter, that phrase sounding so foreign coming from Isabel’s mouth while Zan stared at his sister in shock that she’d actually said that out loud.

“Are you the one teaching her to say shit like that?” Zan asked, turning accusing eyes to Daphne whose laughter immediately subsided at the implication.

“How could I coach her to say something I knew nothing about?” Daphne quickly defended.

“But it was your idea to go to the club” Zan stated rather than asked, already knowing that it hadn’t been Isabel who suggested it.

“All I did was ask if she wanted to come with me, I didn’t put a gun to her head or anything” she stated, anger lacing her voice as he continued to push, knowing that she was about to soon reach her limit. It was one thing to give her a hard time about her own choices and mistakes but to blame the behavior of his sister on her was just too much, no matter what had happened between them the night before.

“Do you know how stupid it is to go to clubs when you’re seventeen, knowing that older men go there to get drunk and hit on younger girls?” he questioned and had they been alone, Daphne would have commented on the fact that he was an older guy that got drunk the previous night, after he had had sex with a younger girl.

Extremely irritated by now, Daphne turned to Isabel, an apologetic look on her face. “It’s no big deal Izzy, I’ll give you a call when I get back and you can still come spend the night if you want” she offered, smiling gently and not bothering to collect her food before grabbing her keys off the table and walking out through the back door.

She could hear the two siblings still arguing inside but she didn’t bother to slow her pace, going around front, getting in her car and heading straight out of town, not in he mood to go and sit inside a big empty house, especially after the way her morning seemed to be turning out.


~&~&~&~&~&


Zan’s jeep was parked in the driveway when Daphne drove in an hour later, though on closer inspection, he wasn’t in it. After stopping in her space, she picked up her purse, deciding a conversation with him was inevitable and got out, finding him sitting on her front steps when she walked up to the door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, unlocking the door in favor of avoiding his stare.

“I came to apologize” was his quiet reply. Making the decision to at least hear him out, she left the door open behind her when she walked in, going straight to the oversized couch in the living room and getting comfortable, hearing his footsteps on the tile as he came closer. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I was just really surprised by what Isabel said and asked me to do.”

“And instead of realizing that your sister is growing up and might want to try out a few things, you immediately blame me for corrupting your sister, since I’m obviously not a saint” Daphne added for him, shaking her head at his poor excuse for an apology.

“That’s not what I meant” Zan defended, crossing his arms in front of him in a gesture to show defiance.

“Tell me this Zan, if I told you that some friends invited me to go out to some club, would you give me a hard time about it?” she questioned.

“I’d advise against it, but I wouldn’t give you a hard time” he replied.

“Okay, then why do it to Isabel? She and I are the same age, in case you’ve forgotten” Daphne reminded, quirking her eyebrow pointedly. “You also have to understand that while I have great parents, I also have part time parents that usually leave me home alone a lot, which means that I had to learn at a really young age what the difference between right and wrong were and I had to make and pay for my own mistakes, so wouldn’t you want Isabel to learn from someone who really cares about her, than on her own which she would inevitably do anyway?”

“But that’s different, she’s my sister, she’s…so much more naïve than you are and I don’t just mean because of what happened between us last night, I mean that she’s naïve about everything” Zan said, his argument understandable, but still biased in a brotherly way.

“And she won’t want to be naïve forever, she will go to clubs, she will go to parties and she’s already seeing a boy, so you need to either sit down and explain to her why you’re concerned or you need to give her a chance to prove to you and herself that she really can handle things on her own” Daphne advised, maybe not knowing their relationship as brother and sister, but definitely knowing her best friend.

“And what if she can’t handle it?” he asked.

“Then she has me and if I can’t handle it, she still has you” Daphne replied, softly.

Running a hand through his hair, Zan looked around him before finally turning his eyes down to meet hers. “I really didn’t mean to insult you, I’ve never thought you were a bad influence on her and I still don’t think that, I’m sorry.”

“Forgiven” was her simply reply. “So how were your pancakes?”

“Don’t know, Isabel through them in the garbage disposal after you left” Zan said, smirking in remembrance. “She was kind of mad at me for what I said to you” he explained.

“I assumed as much.”

“So…big empty house” he commented, looking around again before giving her a pointed look.

“We’re not even dating and you want make up sex” Daphne stated flatly, his grin enough of an answer. “Sit” she said while getting up. “I’m going to go get something to drink first” she explained, making her way to the kitchen for a glass of water after he said he didn’t want anything, hoping that the cold liquid she drank would be able to relieve some of the hunger she felt from not eating her bacon and eggs combo earlier.

She had to stop before she even got to the living room when the sound of the phone ringing chimed throughout the house. “Hello?” she answered.

“Hey babe, it’s Josh.”

“What do you want?” she asked, wary of the guy who she hadn’t spoken to since they had sex, more than five months before.

“I just wanted to call and ask how you were, see if maybe you wanted to catch a flick with me sometime or…maybe do something else together” he added, his voice husky with want though it did absolutely nothing in the way of turning her on.

“Yeah, that’s…not gonna happen again” she flat out told him.

“What, can’t handle me?” he asked, his voice cocky and self appreciative.

“More like don’t want to” she retorted, laughing at his sorry attempt at enticing her into sleeping with him again. “Now if you’d mind not calling again, it’d be greatly appreciated, thanks, buh bye now” she said, placing the phone back on the cradle, finding Zan leaning against the doorframe, observing her appraisingly, “What?” she asked.

“I guess you really can handle yourself, huh?” he asked

Before she could comment, the phone rang again, only this time it was her mom, wanting to call and let her know that she was sorry but they were going to have to stay away from an extra three days but that they were going to deposit more money in her account in case she needed something or wanted to get take out for the remainder of the week.

Zan went back tot the living room, leaving her to talk in private which she was grateful for since he didn’t need to hear about her dysfunction, however infrequent it was when t happened.

“Alright mom, love you too, bye” she said, finally off the phone, after receiving the sixth apology by her count. At least they always seemed sorry when their trips got extended which was better than no heads up. Pushing the errant strands of hair behind her ear, Daphne took a deep breath, pushing her parents and their trip to the back of her head before going out to join Zan where he patiently waited for her in the living room.
Last edited by To_Kiss_A_Frog on Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:16 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.3

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 3


After looking around at the pictures on the mantel, Zan dropped down into the nearest chair, not hearing Daphne walk in, alerted to her presence only after she ran her fingers lightly through his hair. “Hey” he greeted while she came around to park herself in his lap, straddling his waist. The small shorts she wore rode up dangerously high and from the position she sat in, he had a teasing view of her breasts which were right at eye level.

Without saying anything back, she leaned in and kissed him, deep and thoroughly, causing him to moan loudly in her mouth while his hands rested low on her back, nearly cupping her ass as he pulled her closer towards him. Her hands snaked between their two bodies and began to ease his shirt up while he moved his hands forward, resting lightly against her thighs before gliding up into her shorts, finding that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath them, groaning in approval.

After he helped free himself from his shirt, her hands roamed over his chest, while his hands instantly returned to their place on her body, grabbing the hem of her tank top to lift over her head, pulling her sports top along with it, revealing her full bare breasts. Unable to resist, he leaned in and captured one rosy peak in his mouth, tugging lightly when he heard her moaning pleasurably, her hands busy trying to pull his belt free, not bothering to remove it completely before tugging at his button and zipper.

As he switched from one side to the other, he couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped when she reached her hand inside, feeling the smooth skin covering his very hard erection.

Pushing her up gently, he pulled at her shorts then his pants and boxers down in one smooth motion before bringing her back into his lap, his fingers instantly digging deep inside her, feeling her coat his finger with each stroke. “Are you sure we should be doing this on your couch?” he asked through their lust filled haze.

“Does it bother you” she asked, her lips trailing hot kisses down his neck.

“No” he panted back as her hands continued their up and down motion against his thick member.

“Then don’t worry about it” she panted back as his hand increased its speed, rubbing in small, even circles as she felt her pleasure build higher than it already was. “Okay” he whispered back, gently pulling her hands away before pulling her down on his hard erection, eliciting twin sighs of pleasure. Wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, she began to lift herself up and down along his shaft, her pace increasing with each downward motion, feeling him deep inside of her each time.

They moved fluidly against each other, their passion building higher every time their hips slammed together. “Uh…Zan” she moaned as she got closer and closer to the end. Wanting to feel her beneath him when he came, Zan placed his hands on her hips to stop their motion. Careful to not break their connection, he cupped her ass and lifted her up along with him before kneeling down to deposit her on the carpet in front of the coffee table. Hooking both legs in the crooks of his arms, Zan began thrusting inside of her, building the passion up all over again, leaving both of them moaning and panting each time their hips met.

The sounds of their pleasure got even louder as both approached the end. Wanting her to go over first, Zan released one leg and leaned down to pull the tip of her breast back into his mouth, sucking lightly, the combination enough to stimulate her into orgasm, calling out his name as pleasure washed over her in waves of ecstasy that left her panting and breathless, having never experienced an orgasm, from oral or other, as strong as the ones she was having with Zan.

Hearing her cry of release, Zan continued thrusting until it became too much for him and he let go, filling her with his essence, triggering her second release as she came around him, intensifying the pleasure he was already feeling. Before he could collapse on top of her, Zan pulled out, feeling the loss of her heat before rolling onto his side, his shoulder touching hers as they slowly came down from their high.

“If this is what happens, can we have another fight later?” he asked, hearing Daphne laugh beside him.

“I’m hungry” she said instead once her laughter had subsided. “What about you?” she asked, turning to face him while he stroked a hand over her cheek lightly, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin.

“Starved” he admitted, continuing his affectionate gesture though he didn’t realize it seemed that way. “You wouldn’t happen to have pancakes lying around your kitchen, would you?” he asked in a pathetic voice, finally dropping his hand away.

“Come on” Daphne cajoled, pulling on her shorts and tank top, minus the bra while he only wore his boxers and pants, minus the shirt. Taking his hand, she led him, like a little boy, into the kitchen, pushing him down on a chair while she rummaged around for something to eat. “I have waffles” she said, holding up the eggo box. “Blueberry and regular”

“Blueberry” he said while she kept two of the regular ones for herself, dropping them down into the four slotted toaster. Digging around, she finally found the syrup just as the toaster went off, popping the four slices up suddenly. “Thank you” he said, when she handed him a plate and fork, finishing up her waffles before grabbing juice, two cups and sitting down.

“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked, when she noticed his fork was still resting on the table and he had his hands in his lap.

“It’s rude to eat when the other person isn’t sitting at the table yet” he replied, shrugging his shoulders as if to show it was a simple answer.

Nodding, Daphne smiled, not used to being waited for. The guys she went to school may have nice cars and rich daddies but manners, they did not, with few exceptions, namely Alex and his friend Ray.

“So what about tonight, are you gonna let Isabel go if she wants to or are you still uncomfortable about it?” she asked in between bites.

“Definitely still uncomfortable” he replied, taking a long drink of juice before adding, “But you’re right, she’s old enough to make her own choices and I’d rather that she tell me the truth about things than lie because she feels I won’t understand so as long as you’re careful, you stay away from guys old enough to drink and keep your cell phone on, I’ll cover for her with my parents” he shrewdly negotiated.

“Stay away from guys old enough to drink, huh? So I guess that means you gotta go” Daphne teased with a straight face.

“Smart ass” he muttered. “Better than being a dumb ass” she retorted, as he finished the last two words along with her, both knowing the old come back. “Fine, we’ll do as you ask, but just so you know, I‘ve been there before and truthfully, it really isn’t that rough.

“This may sound like a stupid question, but why would you want to go to a club you’re too young to be in?” Zan questioned, an honestly curious expression on his face as he stilled his eating long enough to wait for an answer.

“It was about curiosity at first, I wanted to know what the big deal was and then afterwards, it was just another place to hang with my friends. There’s good music and no one knows you, so you can just blend in and do your thing without anyone being the wiser” Daphne explained, having not really thought about her reasoning until he asked. It usually was just something she did but thinking about, she supposed it was because of the anonymity being in a place she wasn’t supposed to be in, brought her.

At school she was the popular girl, no richer than any of the others, maybe a bit smarter but someone the guys wanted to lay and the girls wanted to hang with. She had pressures and obligations and a responsibility that she’d never wanted but when she was out, like at the club, in a place where the only people who knew her were the ones she came with, she could disappear. She wasn’t the girl on the student council, she was the girl with the green eyes. She wasn’t the girl who organized the food drive, she was the girl with long caramel hair. She wasn’t the girl that everyone went to when they needed something, she was the girl dancing in her own world, and that was the way she liked it.

“So you go to lose yourself” Zan stated bluntly.

“I’m not gonna give you some poor little rich girl sob story, I just sometimes want to forget who I am and it’s easy to do that in place filled with people that don’t know you” Daphne replied.

“I guess I can understand that, I’ve wanted to forget a lot of things before” Zan acknowledged with a thoughtful expression. “But the bad part about getting lost is that it seems so much more real than before when you finally surface again.”

“What about you then? You go out and you drink, why drink enough to get drunk?” Daphne questioned, taking herself out of the spotlight for a minute.

“I don’t do it to forget anything” Zan stated firstly. “But I like the feeling of not caring what I do or say since I have to be responsible the rest of the time” he explained, his story not all that different from her own, just with a different twist.

Pushing her plate back, Daphne stood up, watching how his eyes followed her as she came closer, pushing his plate back before perching herself securely in his lap, feeling his arms come around her to hold her in place. “Right now, I’m not caring whether you’re responsible or not, so go ahead and say or do whatever… you… want” she said, punctuating the last three words with a solid kiss to the mouth.

Smirking, Zan trailed one hand up her back until it was buried in her hair and pulled her mouth down to his, the fire quick to flame between them. It may have just been a reason to lighten things up between them, but no matter the reason, now that they had begun again, neither was going to complain.


~&~&~&~&~&


“Here” Isabel said, holding out a small slip of paper as she walked into Daphne’s room. She’d been there enough times that she usually just let herself in when she knew Daphne was home or alone.

“What’s this?” Daphne asked, momentarily stopping her perusal of the closet to receive the note.

“It’s Zan’s cell phone number, he said to keep it and call if we need anything at all” Isabel replied, dropping her bag down on the floor and flopping back against Daphne’s bed. “I also gave him yours” she added as an afterthought.

It wasn’t that all they did was have sex that they never talked, it was just that any time he did call her, he just called her house and it was basically the same for her only sometimes they never got around to talking depending on whether or not Isabel answered on one of the times she meant for him to. It didn’t matter really, she enjoyed talking to her best friend and she saw Zan on a pretty regular basis despite the fact that they had only been talking and spending time with one another for a couple of weeks.

“It totally sucks that you’re like six inches shorter than me otherwise I’d be able to wear that cute blue top you have” Isabel stated, eyes closed in thought, most likely trying to picture what she wanted to wear for the night.

“My mom’s about your size and she has it in red if you want” Daphne offered, shrugging as though it were no big deal.

“Are you serious!? I couldn’t wear you’re mother’s top, what if she found out and got mad or what if I accidentally spilt something or even if…”

“Whoa, calm yourself” Daphne coached. “It’s just a shirt and she has so many that I seriously doubt she would notice it was gone if she went through her closet with an inventory list and a magnifying glass” she stated dryly, rolling her eyes at her mother’s disorganization and short memory when it came to the things she bought and owned.

“You really think I could wear it?” she asked, her voice timid but hopeful.

“Yes, I’ll even go get it for you and you can decide what you want to pair it with” Daphne offered, trekking into her mother’s closet, fully aware that it may be some time before anyone saw her again. Among disorganization, the word messy sprung to mind as she dug through racks and drawers full of various colored outfits and accessories, finally finding it beneath a pile of unworn slacks. “Victory” she said, holding her hand up triumphantly, a pleased smile on her face as she returned to her room, seeing that Isabel was obviously going to need some help with this.

“Here” she said, handing her the fully lined red lace racerback tank with a scoop neck and scalloped hemline, while pulling the skirt she’d chosen, far away from her. Digging through her friend’s bag, she found something that would work perfectly. “Try this” she said, holding out a short flowing black skirt that came to just above her knee. “And I have some knee high boots you can pair with that.”

“What are you gonna wear?” Isabel asked, having not seen anything pulled out besides a few t-shirts though she suspected those were just sitting there because they hadn’t been put away yet.

“I picked your outfit, so you can pick mine” Daphne volunteered. “Pick what you want and I’ll wear whatever you tell me to” she said, flopping back to rest while Isabel pursued her closet.

She was very nearly asleep when Isabel shook her, proudly holding out a pair of black leather pants and a silky green halter that was a shade darker than her eyes, the back only hold together by a single string across the middle of it. Smiling, Daphne took the outfit and got up to start on Isabel’s look for the night, advising her to do her make up darker, smokier than usual while she set her hair in hot rollers.

While they waited the appropriate half hour, Daphne got to work straightening her own wavy hair, allowing Isabel, who was actually very good at it, to do her make up while they sat around talking. “So what did Alex say when you asked him to come along?”

“He was so surprised that I was going that he was speechless for at least two minutes, I actually thought he hung up” Isabel said, giggling happily. “But then he was real excited, he said he knew some guys that went to that club and they told him that the music was great. I just wish I was a better dancer” she added, her smile faltering some.

“Well…” Daphne trailed off as she began pulling the rollers away, leaving behind big bouncy curls which she ran some flexi gel through, enough to hold in place but still be able to run her fingers through it, it also softened the curls a bit. “I’ll take care of the dancing, don’t worry about that” she offered, wanting Isabel to have fun and be comfortable at the same time.

After another half hour of primping and dressing, they were ready to go, so grabbing her keys, purse and cell phone plus a short leather jacket in case she got cold, Daphne led the way to her car, putting the top up so their hair wouldn’t go crazy in the wind before driving out to go pick up Alex.

He came out almost instantly which led both girls to believe that he was staring out the window and waiting for them by the front door. Hopping into the back seat, he was dressed casually in loose fitted jeans and a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. While Alex wasn’t a big guy, he also wasn’t scrawny and actually pulled the look off nicely.

“Wow, all the guys are totally going to envy me for walking in with two hot chicks” he stated, a proud grin on his face. So he was a bit of a dork too, but he was really nice.

The drive took a bit over an hour but they occupied themselves with singing really loudly to really bad music on the radio, always a fun thing to do on road trips. They were enjoying themselves so much that Isabel didn’t even think to get nervous the closer they got, that is until Daphne pulled into the parking lot of the trendy hotspot, Devil’s Angel.

With a girl on each side, Alex led the way to the door, the line not very long considering it was relatively early, at least by club standards, but give it another half hour and….

“Daph, hey” the bouncer greeted with a hug. “They with you?” he asked, looking Isabel up and down, causing her to blush and Alex to stand in front of her protectively. “Down boy, I’m just looking” he said, winking at Daphne before handing them three bracelets and ushering them inside.

“I’m gonna go get something to drink” Daphne offered while Alex looked for a table. Fastening her bracelet, she went up to the bar, immediately getting the attention of the guy tending. “Hi, I’d like two cokes and a sprite”

“Would you like some rum in that?” he asked, a mischievous smirk on his face and glint in his eye as he looked her up and down.

Holding up her hand, flashing the neon yellow bracelet she replied, “I’ll just take them as they are, please.”

By the time she returned to the table, a few people from school had arrived and were already laughing and dancing around. “Thanks” Isabel replied, relieving her sprite.

“Don’t just set it down anywhere and don’t drink it again if you leave it to get up and dance” Daphne advised, figuring Isabel might not have already known that. “Tommy, hey” she greeted when one of her friends came out of the crowd, heading straight for her. She got up to hug him, flashing a smile at Isabel when he pulled her out onto the floor with him.

Tommy was a really nice guy, already eighteen, and an incredible dancer but he was also gay so without having to worry about attraction between either of them, they often danced together, each glad to have someone that could keep up. “That Whitman’s girl?” he asked, a few songs later, nodding to where her friends still sat, Alex laughing with his friends while Isabel looked uncomfortable.

“You wanna help me get him to pay more attention to her?” she asked, knowing that he knew what she meant.

The thing with his…lifestyle choices, was that very few people knew about it. Most thought there was something going on between her and Tommy because of the time they spent together, grinding their hips on the floor but as sexual as it looked, there was definitely not anything sexual about it. Alex didn’t have to know this and in the process they’d help Isabel along with him. “Be right back” he said, a smirk in place as he walked towards her blonde bombshell of a friend.

Daphne watched as he leaned forward and whispered something in Isabel’s ear, nodding in acknowledgement when she turned questioning eyes towards her. With a small smile on her face, Isabel let Tommy lead her onto the floor, wrapping her arms around his neck while his hands guided her hips gently against his. Daphne continued to dance on her own, sure that Isabel was in good hands, literally, with Tommy.

As one song led into another, she felt hands against her hips as someone danced behind her than another set as the song wore on. She didn’t really care who danced with her as long as they could keep up and didn’t try anything more than dance. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to find Isabel who nodded inconspicuously to where Alex looked bothered. “One more” Daphne said, deciding to give Alex Whitman one last show.

Grabbing Tommy, he began dancing with Isabel again while Daphne stood behind him, the three dancing in a sexy boy sandwich. His hips moved hotly against both girls as he turned from one to the other, their bodies moving fluidly as the last strains to ‘Sweet dreams’ by Marilyn Manson as it played overhead.

With a quick thanks to both, Isabel returned the table, instantly pulled in by Alex as she sat. “Thank you” Daphne mouthed to Tommy, their bodies never ceasing motion as they continued to dance only with each other for the rest of the night.

“Zan called to check up on us earlier” Isabel stated as the two girls lounged around Daphne’s room later that night, having already changed and showered, both ready for bed but not quite sleep enough yet. “Casey told me that Alex answered your phone and he told him that you and I were grinding on the floor with some guy and I’m not sure what Zan said but I think he scolded Alex” she added with a laugh.

“Did you ever tell Alex about Tommy?” Daphne inquired, pushing the part about Zan aside for the night.

“Nope, I figure it’ll remind him to not ignore me the next time” she replied, flippantly.

“I’m impressed but where did shy Isabel go?”

“She went out to a club and danced with a hot guy” Isabel stated, smiling proudly. “Even if he was gay” she added quietly before both girls erupted in laughter. “Thank you, for taking me and making me get out there, I had a lot of fun and…I also know that it was because of you that Zan agreed to help so, thanks for that too” she said in a sincere voice.

“You deserve to have fun, I’m glad you did” Daphne replied.

Yawning lightly, both settled back, neither bothered by sleeping in the same bed, especially since it was such a large bed, and one after the other, drifted off into sleep.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.4 5/3/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 4

After a month passed since the night at the club, things were still going strong with Alex, so well in fact that one afternoon, Isabel called, saying that she needed for Daphne to come over and that it was very important so she needed to hurry. Not sure what to expect, Daphne rushed out and was immediately pulled inside and dragged upstairs as soon as she arrived, something that was becoming quite the habit with her new dramatic friend.

“So what’s the big emergency?” Daphne asked once Isabel had released her hold, not seeing a tornado of clothes so it couldn’t be another dinner.

“Do you remember how you said you would help me when I was ready, well Alex and I talked and we’re ready so…so I now I need you to help me” she nervously confessed. “Will you still…?” she asked.

“Are you sure that you’re ready and that Alex is the person you want to do this with?”

Nodding, Isabel answered, “I’m sure.”

“Then yes, I’ll still help you” Daphne agreed, nearly falling over when the much taller girl lunged at her, throwing her arms around Daphne in a thankful embrace. “Can’t help if I choke to death” she added, their height difference very prominent as Isabel’s arm hugged around her neck.

“Sorry” Isabel apologized as the two girls laughed.

“So when are you planning to have your night?”

“Tonight, which also brings me to something else” Isabel said, the nervousness back in her voice as she paced across the carpeted floor. “You remember what happened with Zan the night I asked him to help cover for me while we went to that club so asking for help now is definitely out which means I was hoping that maybe…well, could you keep him busy or something, just until I leave for the night?” she requested.

“You want me to hang out with your brother?” she questioned.

“Yes, otherwise he’s gonna see me before I leave and know that I’m going out with Alex and I’m so afraid that he’s going to take one glance and know what I’m up to and send me back up to my room” she said, practically worrying a hole in the floor from her walking.

“Okay, get your purse and we’ll go out now and get some things for your night and when you’re nearly ready to leave tonight, I’ll get him to watch… sports center or something” Daphne offered, pulling Isabel out of the room.

The drug store was basically empty when they pulled up and because she was nervous about the whole thing, Daphne assured Isabel that she could wait in the car while she got down to purchase what they’d need.

A draft of cool air hit her heated skin as soon as Daphne stepped inside the small pharmacy. Without preamble, she walked over to the condom section and picked out a box of six, staying away from the extra sensitive, not sure and not really wanting to know whether or not Alex could hold his own yet, so to speak. She also grabbed a small tube of lubricant in case they needed it, though again, she didn’t want to know whether or not there would be a problem that would require use of the cool jelly. As a little gag gift, she also bought a three pack of flavored condoms, knowing Isabel would blush when she saw those.

Taking her items up to the counter she returned the shop keeper’s curious stare with an unaffected look of her own. Though it was the middle of the day, when he handed her the small white paper bag, he added a sarcastic, “Have a nice night.”

Biting back a retort, she cursed small towns, knowing that it was people like him that made people like Isabel nervous and by extension, stupid, because they were afraid to go in and buy what they needed.

“Here you go” she said, handing it to Isabel. “Trying not to use it all in one night” she said with a smirk when Isabel looked into the bag, sputtering nervously when she saw all that was inside.

“Why are these flavored?” she asked curiously.

“At the risk of getting really personal here, exactly how far have you and Alex gotten?” Daphne questioned as they drove back to her house.

“Kissing and stuff” she said nonchalantly.

“What kind of stuff?” Daphne persisted.

“He touched me once, but not down there…up top” she added. “Is that bad?” she asked, apprehensively.

“Did your mom ever give you the talk?” Daphne bluntly questioned, not worrying about the blush that crept up Isabel’s face, knowing that it was worth embarrassing her if it meant she learned something since at this point, she doubted Isabel knew much beyond what was supposed to go where.

“Not really…I mean, well no, she didn’t, but she tried it just got…really embarrassing for the both of us and…and never finished” Isabel admitted.

Daphne didn’t say anything for the rest of drive, thinking over her friend’s words. When they got back to the Evans house, they went straight to her room and though Isabel felt slightly inadequate then, she continued on as though their talk in the car never happened. “I can’t believe you actually like to sit and watch sports center” she stated as she deposited the contents of the bag into her bedside drawer.

“Isabel, sit” Daphne commanded, pulling her forward and pushing her to sit down on the bed. “Think of baseball, there are four bases, first is kissing, second is being felt up above the clothes, third is touching beneath clothes and home base is sex. That’s the easy way to put it but there’s a lot in between all that. The flavored condoms are for oral sex, the guy puts it on and you give him a blow job and when he cums, it stays in there rather than in your mouth” she told, seeing more of a blush happen.

“Oral sex works both ways but neither of you has to do it if you aren’t comfortable with it, which isn’t all that uncommon. I also told you that sex would hurt a bit the first time, which is true, so make sure that Alex goes slow with you at first and tell him if something feels weird or awkward or downright bad” Daphne advised helpfully.

“Also, if you do it more than once in a real short span of time, always use a new condom, don’t flush them because that’s bad, just toss them in a garbage can or something and no matter how many jokes you may have heard guys make, you never, ever, double bag because that increases that chance that it might break.”

“Where’d you learn all this from?” Isabel asked. “I mean, you must have known before the first time so did your mom tell you or one of your friends or something?”

“I had Q&A with my mom when I was younger and that’s how I learned about sex and the bases and stuff but the oral part was something I learned on my own…you know, curiosity, experimentation”

“So then you’ve also given a…”

“Blow job, and yes, I’ve given and received oral before” Daphne answered, being truthful despite the awkwardness because she wanted her friend to be prepared for anything and Isabel shouldn’t have to suffer just because it was too weird to talk about with her mom. “And to be honest, you can go there tonight with the expectation of having sex but if you aren’t comfortable, you can wait and if you decide that you want to start and little slower and work on the whole oral thing first, that’s okay too, but you don’t ever have to do anything that you don’t want to and I’m sure Alex would understand too.”

They changed the subject then, talking about school, parents and hair, anything really to get Isabel’s mind off of sex thoughts and whether or not she was ready to take the next step with Alex. When it was time to start getting ready, Daphne helped her pick out an outfit and curled her hair before going to run interference with Zan, a task that she was not at all disappointed in having.

Knocking on his door, she waited for the obligatory ‘Come in’ before gently pushing it open, leaning against it while she waited for him to move his arm away from his eyes. When she still didn’t say anything, he finally looked up, surprise on his face when he saw who was there. “Hey” he greeted. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, playfully, beckoning her forward.

“Isabel is getting ready for a date and I told her I was going to come hang with you for a bit” she replied, smiling down at him when he pulled her to stand between his legs, placing her hands down on his shoulders for balance.

“And how long do you think Isabel is gonna be busy for?” he asked, an intrigued grin on his face.

“A while” she answered.

“Good” he replied, rising up to go lock the door and turn the volume up on his television while Daphne looked around. His room looked very masculine with various sports posters, trophies and a blue and green plaid comforter. Pulling her back to him, Zan lowered his head to nip at the skin of her neck, flicking his tongue out to soothe the sting, careful not to leave a mark. Lowering his hands to cup her ass, he lifted her up, her legs instantly wrapping around his torso.

Lips meeting, he backed them into the far wall, her body pressed between it and him. Supporting her slight weight with one arm, the other began sliding the material of her shirt up and she released her hands from around his neck to assist, removing her bra along with it. While his tongue dueled with hers, she snaked her hands between their bodies to release the button on his jeans and ease the zipper down, hearing him groan when his straining erection was finally allowed room.

With one hand, he pushed aside the lace of her underwear beneath the very short skirt she wore and guided himself straight into her, both moaning at the feel. Settling her more firmly against him, he used both hands to begin lifting her up and down, the position allowing him to sink so deep inside of her with each downward motion.

It wasn’t long before they were both panting, straining to get to the end as he bounced her more insistently down on his erection. Feeling her release, his mouth rose up to meet hers, swallowing her cries of ecstasy as she contracted all around him, tightening so that he couldn’t help but go over with her as her mouth stayed pressed against his to return the favor as he moaned out with a deep sated feeling.

Catching their breath, it was a couple minutes before he finally lowered her down to the ground, bending to pick up her discarded clothing and politely handing them back to her. “I don’t think she realized this is what you meant by hanging with me” Zan stated once they’d moved to the bed, dropping down against the mattress as they recovered from their strenuous act.

“Probably not” Daphne agreed, laughing.

“So do you have to rush out when Isabel leaves?” he asked.

“Not really, why?”

“Some of my friends wanted me to go down to Las Cruces and meet them at that club you went to a few weeks backs, apparently it really is the hot spot” Zan explained. “You wanna go?” he asked, turning to look at her.

“Are you sure because I’m pretty sure that all of your friends are old enough to drink and wasn’t that one of the rules?” she asked, a pointed expression on her face, hiding the amusement threatening to surface. She watched as he narrowed his eyes and noticed a second too late what he intended to do, not able to get away before he pinned her beneath him with his body while his hands went to her sides, causing her laughter to erupt, not relenting until she could hardly breathe but even then, he didn’t bother to remove himself, holding both hands over her head.

“The rules don’t apply to me” he said then, a confident grin though despite his cockiness, she didn’t feel like turning him down.

“Well if you want me to go, you’re gonna have to release me so that I can go home and change” Daphne replied, her way of saying yes without saying the words and giving him a small victory.

“I’ll pick you up in forty five minutes” he replied, letting go but waiting for her to push him off, laughing when she tried. With mock indignance, she straightened her skirt and unlocked the door, hearing him laugh behind her as she slammed it closed. Quickly checking to make sure Isabel’s room was empty, Daphne went out to her car but took her time getting home, knowing that if it was just her, forty five minutes was more than enough time.


~&~&~&~&~&


“Is this what you looked like the last time?” Zan asked when Daphne opened the door wearing another pair of black leather pants, paired up with a tight cobalt blue halter that had several strings cris crossing along the smooth expanse of her back. She’d left her hair wavy and partially up with a few face framing strands and the heel on her boots raised her up a couple inches.

“Well I haven’t changed my face since the last time so I would have to say yes” was Daphne’s sarcastic retort, grabbing her purse and keys, making sure the door was securely locked before following him out to the jeep, allowing him to help her in.

“No wonder there were guys all over you the last time” he commented.

“Alex was exaggerating, there was only one guy and he’s someone I’ve known forever” Daphne replied, rolling her eyes at him while he returned the sentiment, amusement in both their gazes while he put the jeep in gear and started the semi-long drive to Las Cruces. “So who are the guys you wanted to hang with tonight?” she asked after several minutes of silence.

“Some guys I graduated high school with that now go to school at NMSU” he answered simply since long sentences we’re next to impossible to hear with the wind blowing around them. Daphne nodded, holding her hair with one hand to keep it from smacking her in the face while the other stayed perched in her lap, drumming them in an unconscious habit against her purse.

Lucky for Daphne, the bouncer that liked her best was working the door when they pulled up. Getting to the back of the line, they made small talk while they waited to get in. “Where’ve you been hiding yourself?” Sean asked as he enveloped her in a big hug.

“Around” she said, receiving the neon bracelet he gave her, prepared to give one to Zan when he held out his license to show that he really was old enough to be in there.

“Have a nice night” he wished as they walked passed him, into the pulsing atmosphere of the club, bodies pushed up against each other as beats echoed throughout the dark club.

“Over there” Zan said, leaning down to talk in her ear as he took hold of her hand to lead her through the people and over towards the table his friends all sat around. “Hey” he said, greeting them. “This is my friend Daphne and this is Daniel Pierce, Doug Shellow, his girlfriend Pam and Jack Connor” he introduced.

“I’m grabbing some beer, anybody want?” one of the guys, Daniel, asked.

“No thanks…nah” both Daphne and Zan answered. “I’m driving” he said as explanation when Daphne looked at him funny.

“If that’s why, I can drive back, it’s no big deal” she offered.

“It isn’t a…” he trailed off when a hand ran itself along his back, trailing to the front of his shoulder. “Liz, hey” he greeted, giving the other brunette a light hug. “How’ve you been?” he asked.

“There’s nothing between them, just old friends” Pam whispered when Daphne sat down beside her.

“It isn’t like that with me and Zan either” Daphne replied. “I live here and he lives there, we’re just having fun for now” she explained, receiving a nod but skeptical look from the other girl.

“Hey, you wanna dance?” a tall blonde guy came over to ask Daphne.

“Sure” she agreed, seeing that Zan was still busy. “Watch my drink for me?” she asked Pam before taking the offered hand and heading out onto the dance floor.

Back at the table Zan and Danny chatted with Liz, talking and remembering old stories about past times spent in various clubs and in trouble while Pam sat, her attention divided between her boyfriend beside her and watching Zan stare out onto the floor every now and then where his friend was still enjoying herself while two guys danced around her, each vying for her attention. She noticed that he’d been checking up on her every so often, most likely to make sure she was okay and not being pulled around by any of the guys but she could see jealously lingering behind the amber depths, having known him long enough to see the signs.

“You might want to check on your friend out there” Pam suggested after a few more minutes. “Her body’s drawing quite a crowd and I don’t think that the hose stretches that far” she retorted, laughing when Zan narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. ‘Just friends, my ass’ she thought.

“Yeah, sure…I’ll be right back” he assured, saying bye to Liz before making his way to the center where Daphne danced. “Can I have this one?” he whispered into her ear.

“It’s yours” she agreed as the two held each other loosely while the song blended into the next and couples around them went crazy as ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails started to play while the lights around them dimmed even more, bathing the dance floor in near total darkness.

You let me violate you
You let me desecrate you
You let me penetrate you
You let me complicate you
Help me
I broke apart my insides
Help me
I’ve got no soul to sell
Help me
The only thing that works for me
Help me get away from myself


The waning sounds of the music filled the room and as they got into the song, Zan pulled Daphne much closer to his body, one arm wrapped around her back as the other held the nape of her neck. Their hips moved together fluently, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck as they swayed.

I wanna fuck you like an animal
I wanna feel you from the inside
I wanna fuck you like an animal
My whole existence is flawed
You get me closer to god


“Can I cut in?” a dark haired guy, one that had been trying to get her attention all night, asked as he drew their gazes away from one another.

“Next one” Daphne answered, and turned away, waiting until he was gone before whispering in Zan’s ear. “Can we get lost in the crowd, I really would rather dance with you instead?” she requested.

Nodding in agreement, they danced their way through a group of people until they were near the back corner of the club, mostly hidden from general view but still on the dance floor.

You can have my isolation
You can have the hate that it brings
You can have my absence of faith
You can have my everything
Help me
Tear down my reason
Help me
It’s your sex I can smell
Help me
You make me perfect
Help me become someone else

I wanna fuck you like an animal
I wanna feel you from the inside
I wanna fuck you like an animal
My whole existence is flawed
You get me closer to god


As the song drew to a close, Zan and Daphne moved against each other in perfect rhythm, their hips grinding into each other hotly while both tightened the grip they held on each other, their eyes locked.

Through every forest
Above the trees
Within my stomach
Scraped off my knees
I drink the honey inside your hive
You are the reason I stay alive


The music stopped for seconds until the next came on.
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To_Kiss_A_Frog
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.5 5/5/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 5

Pressed up against the smooth stone wall along the back alley of the club, Zan and Daphne devoured each other, their mouths hungrily meeting, tongues caressing as hands grinded over their clothes and hands roamed beneath them. Wanting to get closer, but knowing they couldn’t in some darkened alley where anyone could walk by, Zan moved his body away from hers, grabbing her hand to pull her back to the jeep.

Daphne wasn’t sure where they were going but sincerely hoped it wasn’t all the way back to Roswell, she was too wound up to wait that long.

She looked around them as Zan seemed to be driving her out further into the desert, a very secluded area in the desert. He’d barely cut the engine before he was reaching over to pull her into his lap, his hands working hard to untie the laces of her shirt, at least so they were loose enough that he could lift the shirt off her.

Daphne’s own fingers went to work on the buttons of his shirt as she lowered her mouth to kiss a trail down his lips to the column of his throat, hearing his moan of approval in her ear.

Once they were both topless, Zan lifted her up enough to set her back on the seat so that he could pull her leather pants down the creamy skin of her legs, eager to get her completely exposed. They worked as a team, to divest her of all her clothes though he still had his pants on when he lifted her back into his lap, his erection peaking out from the slit in his boxers and the open fly in his jeans.

Neither really caring much about that at the moment, she lifted herself up, sinking back down on him, both letting out simultaneous moans of pleasure as soon as he was buried deep inside of her. Without wasting any time, they began a fast rhythm that matched that feverish pitch their hearts beat in. His hands assisted her as their hips slammed together, each time bringing them closer, their earlier actions making them both all the more eager to reach completion.

The sounds of their pleasure echoed around them into the still, empty night, breathing erratic as they moaned into each others mouth.

Unable to take much more, Daphne threw her head back, a pleasurable scream coming from her mouth as she came, her hips relentless against his as she worked to bring him the end he desired so much.

Latching on to one bouncing breast, Zan ran his tongue along the tip, eliciting more sounds of enjoyment as he lifted his hips into hers, knowing he was close but wanting to see if he could make her feel good all over again before he let go. Hands on hips, he moved her the way he wanted, causing the tip of his erection to hit a particularly sensitive spot several times and feeling the beginning flutters over another release, he brought her down hard against him, feeling her contract as she came again, her voice no more than a whisper as she panted while he buried his face in her neck, exploding inside her, his own voice a groan of satisfaction.

Spent, they slumped against one another, both too tired to move as their hearts slowed and their breathing evened out.

It was a long time before either spoke but noticing her shiver, Zan wrapped his arms tighter around her body, drawing her close as he asked, “Are you cold?”

“A little” she replied.

It was still a few minutes after that before they separated, both missing the warmth the other provided against the windy night as they got dressed. Zan reached into the seat behind him and pulled out a sweater that Isabel had left the last time she was with him. “Here” he offered. “I’m sure Izzy won’t mind” he said, handing her the long pink zip up hoodie.

“Thanks” she replied when something finally occurred to her. “Oh my gosh, you’re friends are going to think we’re totally weird for taking off the way we did” she stated, remembering how he’d grabbed her hand and practically pulled her out of the club, not stopping until they were outside, alone, which was why this whole jeep experience started.

Laughing, Zan shook his head lightly, “I don’t think weird is the word they’ll use” he replied, laughing louder when she groaned. “It’s not a big deal, at least we waited until we’re alone. Pam and Doug actually started, pressed up against a wall in some bar, and I don’t just mean making out, I mean her hand was in his pants and he was about to do something back to her when Danny noticed and very reluctantly, got them to separate.”

“How’d he do that?” Daphne queried.

“Trust me when I say that you don’t want to know” Zan replied, now shaking his head in disgust as he remembered the incident.

Daphne laughed then and by some sort of silent mutual agreement, he started heading back to Roswell, driving a bit slower than before now that it was late, giving them a better opportunity to talk. She learned a few more interesting things about Zan and his friends, things she probably would have been much better off not knowing.

Either way, the two really enjoyed themselves and though it wasn’t the first time nor would be the last time, they had fun together and nothing else besides that really mattered just then.


~&~&~&~&~&


It was a month later before Daphne finally admitted to herself that she had feelings for Zan and another two weeks after that before he acknowledged that he didn’t just feel lust and friendship for her. The problem was that they established rules in the beginning for a reason and neither wanted to break them, knowing that they were going to be separated for months while at school.

They both made a choice to keep quiet… that was until something happened and Zan could no longer deny what he felt, either to himself or to Daphne.


~&~&~&~&~&


“So where is Alex taking you tonight?” Daphne questioned as she watched Isabel run around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to find something to wear, a very usual occurrence, especially since the night the two finally slept together only a week and half before. They decided they weren’t as ready as they originally thought and held off for a while but when it did eventually happen, Isabel couldn’t have been happier and now they screwed like bunnies.

“Hey, Izzy, do you know where my charger is, I thought I left it in the kitchen yesterday?” Zan asked as he strolled in, cell phone in hand.

“Nope, haven’t seen it” she replied while Daphne’s own phone began to ring.

“Hello?” she answered pleasantly, the smile falling from her face the more she listened to the voice on the other end. Around her, Isabel and Zan stopped talking, noticing the way she sat, rigid and unblinking. They never heard a response from her before she nodded and hung up the phone, letting it slip out of her hands.

Frowning, Isabel came forward, “Daffy?” she asked, still receiving no response, looking to Zan who shrugged before coming further into the room, moving to squat down in front of where she sat on the bed. “Hey” he said, resting his hands down on her knees. “Hey”

As though being touched snapped her out of the trance she’d fallen in, she dropped her eyes down to where his hand lay before looking back around to see Isabel who anxiously stood beside the bed, watching. “I have to go” she said, pushing his hands off her, not bothering with the phone as she practically ran out of the room, both siblings right behind her.

“Wait” Zan said, grabbing her around the waist and her pulling back into his chest when she struggled to get away.

“No, I have to go, I have to leave, I have to…I have to…go” she said, the last word coming out as a sob as she broke down, allowing Zan to slide her down to the floor, never releasing the hold he had on her. She couldn’t have stopped the tears if she tried as they fell freely from her eyes. He rubbed her back soothingly while her hands clutched the front of his shirt, trying to stay as close to his warmth as possible as a shuttering chill went up her spine.

They stayed that way, holding on to one another, comforting and drawing comfort, for a long while and when he finally pulled back to look in her eyes, he found them closed as she slumbered peacefully against him. He gestured to Isabel who had, at some point, sat down beside them, silently telling her to rise so that he could stand and pull Daphne up with him. Cradling her like a child in his arms, Zan carried here back upstairs and to his bedroom, taking the throw blanket Isabel offered and gently covered her with it.

Zan sat down on the bed beside her sleeping form, lightly stroking the hair away from her face, not noticing when Isabel returned, cell phone in hand. “I checked the caller ID, the last call she got was from the police station” she informed, biting her lip in nervousness.

“Go on your date Isabel, she’s gonna sleep for a while and I don’t think she’ll want to talk when she wakes” Zan advised, glancing over at his sister, raising a hand to fend off her protests. “I know you want to be here for her but…but I really don’t think she needs that now, I think she needs to be able to fight or yell at some one and she won’t do that to you” he explained.

“How can I go out when something bad obviously happened?” Isabel questioned.

“You can do it because you know that Daphne would tell you the same thing” he replied. “Besides, I’ll be here and you can take my cell so that I can call when she wakes up or if she needs you” he offered, pulling he phone out of his pocket and handing it over. Biting back another protest, Isabel just nodded, took the phone and moved to walk out. “Take her keys too” he called out. “So she can’t drive off when she wakes up.”

Settling back beside her, Zan pulled her into the safety of his arms, holding her close as he eventually fell asleep, listening to her even breaths.


~&~&~&~&~&


When he woke up, it took Zan a few moments to realize he shouldn’t be alone in the room. Tossing the blanket away from his body, he got up, searching all over his house before finally finding Daphne sitting outside on an old porch swing while Diane Evans had her wrapped up in a motherly embrace, rocking her gently as silent tears fell down her cheeks.

His heart clenched painfully at seeing her look so broken but didn’t make his presence known, glad that she at least found comfort with his mother though he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that she hadn’t been able to come to him. He turned to go back inside when she caught sight of his retreating form. “Zan” she called out, no more than a whisper but he heard and turned just as she came forward to throw her arms around him, holding him tightly as she pressed her face to his chest, just over his heart beat.

Nodding towards his mother, she got up and left the two alone, touching her son’s shoulder briefly before going back inside.

Waiting until she pulled away, Zan framed her face, wiping the tears away and asked in a soft voice, “Don’t you want to tell me about it?”

Shaking her head lightly in agreement, she let Zan lead her back to the vacated swing, crawling into his lap as his arms encircled her body. “It was the sheriff; he said they went by my house first. They were on their way to the airport, they were supposed to be home right now” she said, almost inaudibly as she valiantly tried to keep her tears at bay. “Some big truck lost control and…and it hit…they didn’t make it” she finally choked out. “The police in Atlanta called the station here and…oh my god Zan, they’re gone.”

Tightening his hold, he tucked her close, letting her just cry it out, knowing that there would be nothing to say that could it better or even easier. All he could do was promise that he would be there for her while she needed him, it was really all that anyone could do at this point.

Daphne stayed at the Evans house that night and when she returned home later the next day, she did it with both Zan and Isabel beside her. Family from other towns had to be called and arrangements had to be made but she did that alone, she said that keeping her mind on long lost cousins and flower arrangements made it easier to forget, even for just a little while.

The ceremony was three days later, small and definitely somber. No more than twenty five family members and close friends were there but that was because Daphne didn’t want a lot of people who didn’t even really know her parents to be there, feeling it was disrespectful to act sad when you had no reason to be. The whole Evans family and Alex went, they were the ones that stood by her, surrounding her between them at the service and then later at the burial ground.

Throughout the whole event, one hand was held by Isabel and the other by Zan with both their parents behind them, protectively.

Isabel was the one to go with her to the reading of her parents’ wills. The family attorney, Cal Langley, explained to her that both her parents left every thing to each other firstly and then to her in the event that they were both gone. She received the title to their house and the deeds to two other properties they owned through their own inheritances, a penthouse in Manhattan that had belonged to her maternal grandparents and a home in Tucson that belonged to her paternal ones.

She was given the full amounts of their bank accounts, early access to her trust fund and when she turned twenty one she would get seventy five percent controlling stock in her father’s company which was based out of Albuquerque and had five other locations in Atlanta, Tucson, New Orleans, Tulsa and Dallas though she would have to appoint someone to act on her behalf until she became of age to handle it on her own. There was also a series of other stocks and bonds her parents had as well as more responsibility that she’d ever anticipated or wanted.

“Why don’t you come back to my house for a little while, have lunch and maybe watch Sex and the City, there’s supposed to be an all day marathon on HBO” Isabel suggested as they drove back from the lawyer’s office in Clovis.

“Isabel, you don’t have to…”

“Please” she added. “I really want you to” she pleaded and not wanting to hurt her feelings after everything the Evans family had done for her, Daphne agreed, deciding there was something else she had to do while she was there anyway.

When they arrived, Isabel went upstairs to change while Daphne went in search of Philip Evans, finding him watching a ball game on TV. “Mr. Evans, can I speak with you in private please, you and Mrs. Evans, actually?” she requested.

Sharing a quick look, both nodded, leading her to the study they’d converted into an office for the two of them a few years back. “Is everything alright?” Diane questioned, running her hands lightly through Daphne’s hair.

“Actually, I wanted to talk business so I’d like this to be professional” Daphne replied, taking a step back, not meaning any offense but needing to do this right if she was going to do it at all. She tried to ignore their surprised looks as she took a seat in front of one of the desks, waiting for them to sit down as well.

“To start off, Mr. Cal Langley in Clovis has been my parents’ attorney for some time, but I hardly know him at all and I would also prefer it if someone I knew and trusted was the one handling my affairs, so Mr. Evans, I’d like to officially hire you to become my attorney. I’ll pay you your standard fee and along with that, I’ll need you to speak on my behalf in all business matters until my twenty first birthday at which time, we can reevaluate your position and happiness with the company and find something for you to continue with.”

“I’m…flattered, that you would want me to do this but it’s a big step and I need you to be sure this is really what you want” Philip replied, looking to Diane for agreement.

“I have known you and Mrs. Evans since I was a little girl, I’ve always felt welcome in your home and you both did so much for me the last few days, I am positive that if I have to trust anyone to act on my behalf, that it’s a member of your family” Daphne stated, her determination unwavering. “I’d also like to mention that you won’t have to be at the office in Albuquerque everyday, you would just need to be available for meetings and questions and I’ll always be a very big part of the day to day operations while I’m learning it, I just can’t legally make decisions.”

“What about school, dear, how are you going to be able to concentrate on both?” Diane asked.

“I have that worked out, I just need for you to agree to this” Daphne replied, looking imploringly towards both.

Looking back at his wife in silent question, the two seemed to come to some sort of conclusion as Philip replied, “I graciously accept your offer.”

“Good, so as your first official act as my lawyer, I want you to draw up papers to set up two individual trusts that won’t be accessible for one year’s time on both” Daphne instructed, waiting as he grabbed a pen and paper to jot down all her terms and the amount of each trust.

“What will the two names be?” he asked.

“Isabel Amanda Evans and Zander Xavier Evans” she replied, causing both to look up at her in shock.

“But why would you…?” Diane trailed off.

“I don’t want Isabel to have to worry about college and I don’t want Zan to have to worry about starting his life after college” Daphne replied. “If it makes things easier we can say that my parents set up the first one because of how close Isabel and I were and we can figure something out to tell Zan when the time comes, but I want to do this.”

It took some arguing but when Daphne pointedly reminding that he was now her lawyer and she was the client, he had to comply with her request. They went over a few other things, small details of Philip’s new position, responsibilities and such they would both be acquiring that they ended up staying locked in the office for close to an hour.

“What’s going on?” Isabel questioned as soon as they walked out.

“I just hired your father to be my lawyer since I’ll need someone to act for me until I become of age” Daphne replied, simple as that. “Come on, let’s get to that marathon” she suggested, steering her friend away while Diane and Philip leaned against each other, unsure of what to make of the new changes but knowing they were in for something new and different.


~&~&~&~&~&


“How’s your sandwich?” Zan asked as they sat around her kitchen eating peanut butter and jelly, courtesy of his lack of culinary skills.

“It’s great, thanks” Daphne replied, smiling lightly. Despite everything that had been going on around her lately, she wasn’t so distracted that she didn’t notice something was up with him, but she decided to just wait and see if he would tell her what it was, not having to wait long when five minutes later he pushed his plate away and grabbed her hand leading her out before she could even finish chewing.

“Okay” he said, sitting her down on the couch as he paced in front of her, a nervous expression on his face. “I know that my timing probably sucks what with…everything, but I’m leaving in four days and there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead” Daphne encouraged, curious as to what had him so wound up.

“We have rules, the kind that are basically supposed to keep us from being anything more than friendly fuck buddies. They’re there because I’m leaving and you’re still here so there would really be no point to start something we might not be able to finish” Zan stated, her words serving as a reminder that she had more than crossed that line the last week.

“Zan, I’m sorry, I know that the last few days have been…well, more than you asked for but…”

“No” he interrupted her. “That isn’t what I meant, the point I’m trying to make is that you aren’t the one that broke the rules, I am.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that this was supposed to be a friends with benefits sort of thing, I’m saying that I didn’t want more than that but…but I got more. Damn it, I’m not even saying this right, okay, what I’m trying to tell you is that I have feelings for you and not just friendly ones, I’m talking the kind that make you crazy and happy and weird all the same time” he struggled to explain, finally just dropping down on the floor in front of her. “What I’m trying to say is that I fell in love you.”

“Wow” Daphne whispered, feeling his hands intertwine with her own. “I broke the rules too, I fell in love with you too” she admitted.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Zan raised their joined hands to her face, framing it gently before releasing her fingers and pulling her lips down to his.

They kissed and they talked, Daphne admitted that she’d been taking duel credit classes for a year and a half now so not only would she start college off with eighteen hours, but it had been enough to finish school early and she would be done in December to start college in the spring. They talked about her maybe going to school in California, they talked about what she was going to do now, they talked about a lot of things, most of them not settled but the one thing they did agree on was that they wanted to be together


~&~&~&~&~&


Four days later, Zan left to go back to college in LA. One day after that he called to tell her that his ex-girlfriend had sought him out his first day back and not only was she three and a half months pregnant, but he was also the father. Five minutes later, not knowing what else to do, she yelled and ten minutes after that, she nearly cried, suspecting he was very near breaking point as well. Fifty minutes later, they broke up and wouldn’t speak again until a little more than four years later.
Last edited by To_Kiss_A_Frog on Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.6 5/7/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 6


Daffy:
I can’t believe that you’re all the way in New York when you should be here in New Mexico, or at least less than a couple thousand miles away from home. I wish you were still here, I really miss you but I guess I can understand why you felt the need to leave after everything that happened, I still can’t believe I never realized it and I wish you’d been able to come to me at the time but better late than never. I truly do hope you like the city even if inside I’m praying you don’t so that you can come back. Tell me about school and the classes you signed up to take. Mom says hello and dad said he’ll e-mail you the reports you wanted as soon as he’s done with them. I sill can’t believe he left his job in Clovis but then you gave him this really great opportunity and I know he’s happy with it so I’m happy for him. Well I have to go, Alex is picking me up in a few minutes, but please take care of yourself and e-mail me or call if you need anything or just want to talk. I love you.
Isabel


~&~&~&~&~&


Isabel:
So tell me again how you in the hell you managed to get a condom stuck inside of you?!?! This leads me to believe, though I’d rather not think about it, that you and Alex were engaging in some pretty freaky stuff (insert your blush here). So yesterday, I was on the subway and when I got off at Canal Street, there was this guy sitting in the corner with a guitar, playing Bad Bad Leroy Brown, which of course made me think of you and that time Phoebe was trying to teach Joey to play. So I stop and talk to him and ask if he’s a Jim Croce fan and he says, no, but have you ever seen that show friends? Phoebe’s pretty hot. Can you believe that?! So I sat with him for a set, turns out he goes to NYU, a music major and his name’s Billy. It’s crazy how easy it is to meet people in the city.
-Daphne-


~&~&~&~&~&


Izzy,
Hey, I just wanted to write and say I was sorry for not being around at Christmas time, Ava wasn’t feeling well and I needed to be here. I already called mom and dad but they said you were out with Alex and you never answer your cell so…hope everything is still good for you and call me if you need me. Take care of yourself little sister and we’ll talk later, bye.
Zan


~&~&~&~&~&


Daffy:
Let me just start by saying that I know you’re the one who sent those flowers to Ava’s grave site and the toys to baby Max, even if you wouldn’t put your name on the card. Don’t worry, Zan doesn’t suspect anything, he probably thinks it was one of Ava’s relatives or something. Personally, I thought it was a nice gesture. The whole day totally sucked and I don’t get back to Roswell until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe you should call him, I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.
Izzy


~&~&~&~&~&


Miss Daphne Forrest:
This letter is to confirm that your order was sent to and received by Atwood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. We appreciate your business and we hope you’ll think of us for your next event.

Confirmation Number: 619E2O
Roger Prince
Evergreen Florists


~&~&~&~&~&


Daffy:
So I tried calling your cell and got voice mail which means you’re either behind a camera lens or in front of a computer. I just wanted to let you know that I got the congratulation roses you sent me and I’m totally bummed that you can’t come to my graduation but I realize that the only reason you’re taking the trip to Indiana is so that my dad won’t have to, so for that, thank you. I know that I’m the one graduating in a couple of days but I just wanted to say how proud I am of you for all you’ve been doing with your new company. Dad says you’re a natural and that the others are starting to come around and listen to you a bit more, which is great.
I’m totally not good with mushy stuff in person, it’s just really hard to talk about certain things but I want to tell you now that you did a really remarkable thing, no one would have blamed you for not being able to handle everything that was put on your plate, you were seventeen and owned a company in six different locations but you put your dreams on hold to take care of things and…well like I said before, I’m really proud of you.
So on a much lighter note, I expect for you to take time out to call the new graduate sometime soon, and please take care of yourself, I’ll be here when you need me, don’t ever forget that.
Lots of Love,
Izzy


~&~&~&~&~&


Daffy:
So I just finished talking to my dad, how could you not tell me that your parents left me a college trust? He says you wanted it to be a surprise so I guess you’re forgiven but I can’t believe how generous that was. Since I can’t say this to them, I’d like to say thank you to you. I start UMASS in two weeks, can you believe it, and we’ll actually be within a few hours of each other now, yea!! Alex is psyched about being accepted into Harvard, I can’t believe I’m dating an Ivy Leaguer. Okay, well I gotta go but as soon as I get to Boston, you will definitely have to come visit and maybe the three of us can hang in New York some time too, you’ll have to introduce us to all the crazy people you’re always meeting.
Lots of Love,
Izzy


~&~&~&~&~&


Daffy:
I know that you’re parked in front of your computer right now working on those…things, you work on but I really really really need for you to call me…soon!!!!! Alex and I just got into this really big argument and I’m not even sure if we broke up or not, I need my best friend, so call me!!!!
Izzy


~&~&~&~&~&


Izzy:
So I tried calling your cell and some automated system told me some garbage about…hell if I know so I’m writing to let you know, first of all that your cell company sucks and second that my train will be arriving at 4:25, so let me know if you can make it otherwise I’ll just take a cab to the apartment. See you soon, lots of love.
Daphne


~&~&~&~&~&


Izzy,
It was amazing, last night Max said his first word, you have no idea how incredible it was to hear him say dad, or at least some baby version of it but it was still great. Works good, life and friends are good, how about you? Call me sometime and take care.
Zan


~&~&~&~&~&


Daffy:
Phone tag sucks! Okay so, I know that you have to fly back to Indiana in a couple days and I was wondering if maybe you could take some stuff with you to give to my dad for me. He’s doing this project for my mom for her birthday and wants like all these pictures and scrap memorabilia to put together some sort of…thing, I’m not really sure of the details but do you think you can help me out, otherwise I’ll just send them to Roswell.
I seriously hope you aren’t burning yourself out, between all the classes you take and the work you do, you need a break and please don’t tell me that you’ll rest when you graduate because as freakishly close as that is, you still need time for you, okay.
Lots of Love,
Izzy


~&~&~&~&~&


Miss Daphne Forrest:
This letter is to confirm that your order was sent to and received by Diane Elizabeth Evans in Roswell, New Mexico. We appreciate your business and we hope you’ll think of us for your next event.

Confirmation Number: 724P9K
Roger Prince
Evergreen Florists


~&~&~&~&~&


Daphne:
I left a phone message for you but to be on the safe side I wanted to reiterate that we need to talk, it’s very important, concerning some new business, so I would appreciate a call, at any time of the day is fine. On a more personal note, I hope that this e-mail finds you well and I know that Diane called you a few weeks ago but thank you for considering her on her birthday.
Cordially,
Philip D. Evans


~&~&~&~&~&


Izzy:
Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I have a class at 3:00PM on Thursday but I should be done in time to pick you up, if not I’ll send you a message but either way, someone will be there for you. I can’t believe you’re coming back to the city, Billy, Serena and Vicky can’t wait to see you and Alex again. Well I have a phone conference to deal with now but have a safe train ride and I’ll see you soon. Lots of Love, babe.
Daphne


~&~&~&~&~&


Izzy:
So I totally had déjà vu!!! I walk into this little coffee shop in the village and I order a caramel latté because I totally can’t stand regular coffee and the girl behind the counter gives me my drink and I reach out to take it from her and look up when I hear the little jingle above the door and in walks this guy, the same guy that’s always here which isn’t the really weird part, but since I looked up, I stopped paying attention to what I was doing for a second and I ended up dropping my phone out of my purse, so I bend down to pick it up and he bends down to pick it up and I know that it hasn’t happened before but I can’t help the really strange feeling that it has.
Okay, so you’re probably ready to lock me up in an asylum for that comment but it’s the truth. So the guy hands me my phone and he has these beautiful blue eyes and he’s actually really nice. So I sit down to drink my drink and he asks if he can join me so I say okay and we talk…a lot. It turns out that this guy is a biochemist that works for Medicam Research Labs and guess what! I have a date, so I’ll call you later and let you know how things go, say hi to Alex for me. Lots of Love.
Daphne


~&~&~&~&~&


Daphne:
Hey, it’s Alex; okay I need your help! I want to propose but I don’t how or what to do and you’re her best friend, so tell me what to do.


~&~&~&~&~&


Daph,
I won’t be able to make the flight with you but I have one a couple hours later. I’m really sorry about that but I’m stuck in the labs and I really even shouldn’t be online right now, but…so I’ll see you soon baby, have a nice flight
Grant


~&~&~&~&~&


Daphne:
I can’t believe I’m really doing this, thank you for taking time off, I know how crazy and hectic things are for you right now. Alex and I are flying down tomorrow so I’ll see you in two days when you get there. Take care, lots of love and…and hot damn, I’m happy!!!
The Future Isabel Whitman


A/N: I know it might seem like i'm killing people off but no one else will die, just to set any minds at ease
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.7 5/10/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 7

~&~&~&~&~&~Six Days to Go~&~&~&~&~&~

A car was waiting for Daphne when she arrived in Albuquerque, set up by Philip when he learned that neither Isabel or Alex would be able to pick her up at the airport because of the last minute planning they were doing. The car was a sleek black mustang convertible but rather than get out on the road and try it out, she opted to go to the office instead to check up on some things there while she waited for Grant’s plane to get in since he would only be about an hour and a half behind her.

DCF Developing, which resided in the top five floors of the Silver Skies Building, stood tall and proud in what seemed to be the center of the city, the building, large and prominent towering over all the others around it.

Despite not spending a lot of time there, she’d visited enough times growing up and the occasional visit over the years that the building receptionist and security guards knew her by face and waved politely as she walked through the lobby to the elevators and straight to the top floor where all the executive offices and board rooms resided.

When he started with the company, Philip was given a large corner office with a huge window and exquisite view but she’d kept her father’s old office for herself, unable to see anyone else, even Mr. Evans, sitting behind the impressive mahogany desk. Around her, secretaries looked up as she walked through the office, though it wasn’t an unusual occurrence, she knew that even after all this time, a few of them were still reluctant to put their faith in her because of her age and many felt that someone else, possibly one of their bosses, should have been asked to run the company rather than have her take over the responsibilities herself with the help of Philip.

“Hi Kathleen, any messages?” she asked. Kathleen Topolsky had been her father’s secretary for many years before his death so it had been no question for Daphne whether or not to keep her, she knew the layout as well as Damien, himself had and she’d been very useful over the last four years.

“Daphne, it’s so good to see you again” she said, jumping up from her chair to envelope the younger woman in a warm embrace of friendship and affection. “You get more beautiful every time I see you” she gushed and though Daphne had to admit it wasn’t very professional to talk the way they did, she’d known Kathleen for too long to just treat her like an employee or request that she be treated as an employer, no matter who frowned upon it.

“It’s good to see you too” Daphne returned, smiling at the older woman before she released her hold and went around the desk to collect a small stack of messages for her.

“Here you go, they’re all yours since Philip called and said he wouldn’t be in for the rest of the day” Kathleen explained, instantly turning to the computer to key a few things before bringing up a schedule. “While you’re here, let me know when you’re available for meetings, conferences and consultations” she diligently requested.

“The 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd are out for visits but I’ll accept phone conferences on all those days with the exception of the day of the wedding, the 21st but other than that, I’ll be available when needed, you’ll just have to call or page me and we’ll work something out” Daphne agreed, knowing that with Philip out for the next week, she’d have to spend her ten day vacation working in order to cover his absence.

When she agreed to come home early to help Isabel with last minute wedding plans, she hadn’t realized that she was going to end up staying for so long but Grant had time off as well and since they were already going to be in New Mexico for the wedding, he asked to stick around afterwards so that he could see where she’d grown up and what kind of job she had that took her away so often. He knew that she did something with hotels but even after seven months of dating, that was the extent of it because giving details would mean explaining about her parents and while he knew they were killed in accident a few years back, she’d never been able to say much more than that. Grant said he understood her reluctance but he wanted to take this opportunity to get to know her.

The interesting thing about her business was that it all started in Tucson, Arizona where her father was originally from. He built up a hotel as a pet project his father gave him as a way to teach responsibility and proper business ethics but once he got bit by the bug, he wanted to expand, he wanted bigger and better so after two years of success with Forrest Towers, he built another one Dallas and then so forth. Around the third hotel, he’d already been married for three years and Daphne was on the way but before she was born, his mother died, passing on the developing firm she had owned in Albuquerque as part of an inheritance from her own father many years before.

He’d been reluctant but eventually decided to change the name of the company and turned it around completely, solely using it for the purpose of developing hotels, his and others.

About four years after that, he developed the hotel in New Orleans and then eventually the one in Atlanta, which he’d just finished at the time of their accident. He’d had plans to start one in Indiana within the next two years, depending on how well his last one did and after the huge success it created, Daphne went on to build her first hotel, the one he’d intended.

So now she was the owner of six hotels and one developing company but DCF resided in a city that didn’t have a Forrest Towers, something she was considering changing but she still had another year and half before she could start a new project. The hotel in Indiana, while doing great, still needed time to grow and thrive before they could expand again but until then, she was a very rich lady, a millionaire many times over but what made her feel good about that was knowing that some of it had been because of her success and not an inheritance, something she was proud of.

“I’ll keep those days cleared and see what I can arrange in the way of keeping you basically freed up” Kathleen assured.

After going over a few more details, Daphne retreated to her office to get started while she still had time to kill. She’d kept the same furniture, desk, lamps, leather couches and chairs but she’d added her own personal touches like a large plant in the corner, small knick knacks, frames and her own chair, slightly smaller but still as nice, feeling that she hadn’t yet proven herself enough to sit in her father’s chair.

Picking up the phone, she dialed a familiar number, waiting only two rings before a courteous voice answered. “Forrest Towers, Mr. Davis’ office”

“Yes, this is Daphne Forrest, may I please speak with Mr. Davis” she requested as she sorted through some mail.

“Yes ma’am, one moment please” the secretary said on the other end and again, she had to wait barely a moment before someone picked up. “Miss Forrest, this is Mr. Davis, what can I do for you?” he asked.

“Brody, hi, listen I looked over your proposal for the changes you requested and while I understand them, I’m not so sure that now is the right time, so what I’m suggesting is that you and I sit down after Christmas, either in person or on the phone and I’d like for you to go over them one by one with me and we’ll see what we can work out.”

“I’ll have my secretary call yours so we can arrange a time that’s convenient for you” he agreed amicably though she could hear his disappointment at being put off for another week and a half.

“That’ll be fine, thank you Brody.”

Since her twenty first birthday, less than a year ago, Daphne took over complete control of her companies though she still relied heavily on Philip since he was the only one she had complete trust in and felt complete loyalty from. Her board was still apprehensive and though it was taking time, slowly but surely, she was beginning to win them over. She realized that technically it didn’t matter what they thought of her, she owned the companies and seventy five percent controlling stock but the last thing she wanted was to be a tyrant, she wanted a democracy and no matter how long it took, she would be accepted.

A few calls and about a dozen forms later, Daphne looked at her watch, seeing that she had just enough time to make it to the airport to pick up Grant.

Placing the papers she’d been reading over into her briefcase, she turned out the light and locked the door before going to Kathleen. “I’m going back to Roswell this afternoon but send me a message if you need something and if Merris Wheeler calls again, please defer her to Mrs. Dupree and she should be able to take care of it” she instructed, flipping though some pages she found on Kathleen’s desk, a bad habit, before taking two, and replacing the others on the desk. Used to the habit that Daphne had picked up from her father, Mrs. Topolsky didn’t even bat an eyelash at the action.

“Then I’ll see you when I see you and please drive safely” she added, something Daphne noticed everyone said to her.

“I will, and thank you.”

The drive back to the airport was fairly easy due to the time of day it was. She got there in time to sit down on an uncomfortable, orange plastic chair and read until a shadow fell over her. Looking up, she found tall dark and handsome.

Grant Sorensen, her biochemist was fairly tall with sandy brown hair a shade darker than her own and big blue eyes that were currently sparkling happily at seeing her again, having been kept apart by business for the last week. A smile broke out on her face as she put the papers down before she was lifted from her chair and swept up in his embrace. “I missed you” he whispered into her ear.

Pulling back enough to see his face, she kissed him lightly on the mouth. “I missed you too. Come on, let’s get your bags and maybe some lunch before we head to alien town” she joked, rolling her eyes as she smoothed down her business skirt and jacket, though her comment was more of a cover, hating every time she returned to Roswell.

There had been very few visits over the years, most of them dealing with Philip, Diane and Isabel but each time she’d stayed in a hotel, not wanting to return to her house, a place she hadn’t set foot in since the day she got on a plane to go to New York four years before. Diane arranged to have someone go in twice a month to dust and take care of the landscape but for the most part, it had stayed unoccupied.

Now that Grant was with her, she had no choice but to go back, but it wasn’t something she could really explain to him, she wasn’t even really able to explain it to the Evans family and they were her family as far as she considered them. “I’m not really hungry so unless you are, how about we just wait and eat when we get to Roswell?” he suggested, taking her hand to lead her towards the baggage claim area.

“Sure, why not” Daphne agreed, giving him a forced smile though he didn’t seem to notice it was less than enthusiastic.

Grant offered to drive but Daphne insisted she was fine, figuring that if she was driving, she’d at least have something to take her mind off of where she was headed and who she would see when she got there.

It had been really difficult, but a few months after he left, Daphne finally broke down and admitted to Isabel some of what had happened between her and Zan over the summer. To say that she had been surprised was an understatement but she handled it very well and ended up being just as supportive as she always was about things.

“…So Zan said that things are progressing nicely and Ava is just…”

“Isabel, stop” Daphne demanded, unable to take any more after having already sat through the last half hour update on Zan and Ava and the status of her pregnancy. She knew it wasn’t Isabel’s fault, she had no idea that it would be so painful for Daphne to hear these things because she had no idea what Zan had meant to her.

“I’m sorry, am I boring you?” Isabel questioned, a contrite expression on her face.

Sorry that she hurt her friend’s feelings, Daphne reached out and placed her hand over Isabel’s. “There’s something that I should tell you…it’s about Zan and me and something that happened this summer.”

“What is it?” Isabel queried, sitting up straighter as she prepared to listen.

“When he first came home, we ran into each other a few times and talked but after a while we decided to…spend more time together and see how things went but there were rules, neither of us were supposed to get attached because he was leaving and I still live here but…”

“Wait a minute, are you saying that you and my brother…dated?” she asked unsurely. “But why? Why wouldn’t you tell me, I wouldn’t have been mad at you, did you think I would be mad?” Isabel wondered, vulnerability and a tinge of hurt swimming in the depths of her brown eyes as she waited for an answer.

“I didn’t say anything because at first it was nothing and then when it was something to me I still didn’t say anything because I was…I guess I was embarrassed that I broke the rules…that I started to feel something when I was positive it was all just in fun for him” Daphne struggled to explain, remembering how hard it had been to keep it all inside but how she’d done it because she didn’t want to ruin the friendships she had with both Evans siblings.

Isabel didn’t say anything for a long time but when she did, it wasn't to yell like she could and should have, it wasn't to scold and it wasn't angry but it was to put her arm around Daphne and say, “So what else happened?” Daphne had to admit that she knew Isabel would have most likely been supportive had she told her while it was going on but truthfully, she had always been the strong one, the independent one and Zan came along and changed that, he made her vulnerable and she didn’t want to disappoint her best friend by showing her the side that wasn’t entirely as strong as the rest of her was.

“My parents happened and the two of you were…amazing to me” Daphne replied. “But Zan was leaving soon and…I don’t know, but then one night he came over and made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches” she said, stopping to laugh in remembrance of the mess he made from the simple food. “It was…unexpected but he told me that he had feelings for me too and that he didn’t care that he was going away, he wanted to be with me.”

“And then Ava happened” Isabel finished for her, catching on very quickly why Daphne couldn’t stand to hear about what was going on in Zan’s world.

“We talked for an hour and in the end…he told me that he was going to move in with her to be close to the baby and, I just couldn’t handle it and he wasn’t sure if he could either so we just decided to…split, and I haven’t talked to him since.”

The two talked for a while after that but when Isabel finally worked up the courage to ask, it was Daphne’s turn to be surprised. “So this is totally not some thing that I would normally want to know, but…well I was wondering if the person, the second person that you were talking about…well was he the one that…did the two of you…damn it to hell, did you have sex with Zan?” she finally blurted out.

Daphne’s eyes widened dramatically at the question, not expecting that to come from Isabel’s mouth but now that it had, she wasn’t going to lie. Shaking her head lightly in confirmation, Daphne replied. “Yes, we did”

Again, Isabel was silent but eventually offered a gentle smile to let her know that while she seriously thought it was gross, she still understood and wasn’t angry. “Isabel, I need to ask something of you, I need for you to please not tell Zan I told you, I don’t want him to know how much this still hurts me.”

“I won’t, I promise and I’ll stop talking about him so much, or at least about the…you know” Isabel agreed.

It had been weird at first after that day but they were best friends and could get through anything and when Daphne went away to New York to attend college, they still remained close despite the distance, calling, e-mailing and using messenger and now that she was getting married, Isabel had no other thought in her head when it came to choosing a maid of honor, her best friend, Daphne.

Along the way she and Grant made idle chit chat, answering whatever questions he asked but for the most part it was like every other visit, the closer she got to town, the more the memories began to seep in until they would consume her again. A life she had with her parents, days when she was allowed to be young and innocent. There were silly adventures with Isabel, family meals with her own and the Evans and then there were the times with Zan, laughing and talking, sleeping on her couch with him, in his bed, in hers.

Then realization hit her, she was about to go home and sleep in the same bed with Grant that she once had with Zan. Internally groaning at the thought, she vaguely wondered if she would ever completely get over the guy she’d spent three short months with four years ago.

There it was, the sign welcoming you to Roswell with a large green alien beside the words. “That’s…interesting” Grant commented as they drove by it.

Rolling her eyes, Daphne smiled, taking the turn off that would lead to Vinewood Circle, watching the small surprise cross his eyes at the size of her estate when they pulled up into the driveway. She knew it was a big house and that the grounds stretched out pretty far but she supposed he was only surprised since it was a small town, figuring houses like this didn’t live in places where the population was less than 10,000.

“Come on” she said, pulling the keys out of the ignition, handing them to him so he would have something to drive while they were in town. Daphne would just pull her old Camaro out of the garage and use it, it had always been her favorite anyway. Carrying most of the bags, Grant followed behind as she led the way up the front steps and into the grand house she’d called home for seventeen years.

The place was spotless and decorated for Christmas, complete with a large tree in her living room which she figured had been Diane’s doing.

Because there were so many people coming in for the wedding and she had so much room, Daphne had offered up her home as a sort of hotel which she found pretty amusing given her line of work. Her house along with the Whitman estate and Evans house were going to house immediate family and friends while the others would stay at a nearby hotel throughout the duration of the visit.

Isabel had invited Billy and Serena, two of Daphne’s friends from New York who she had really gotten to know over the last few years, so the two of them along with Isabel’s aunt and uncle, Nancy and Jeff Parker plus her cousin Lonnie and her boyfriend, Rath, would also being staying over with two guest rooms to spare since her parents’ bedroom was off limits.

Giving him the abbreviated tour, Daphne led Grant around, showing him where everything was before finally taking a deep breath and leading him upstairs to her old bedroom. Slowly pushing the door open, she was assaulted with a blast from the past but continued on despite the slight discomfort. Grant smiled as he put her bags down while she got to work on unpacking.

They were almost finished getting settled before going out for some food when Daphne’s cell phone rang, playing the old song ‘Going to the Chapel’ which was currently Isabel’s personal ring tone. “Hello?”

“You’re totally gonna hate me but please remember that we are best friends and I’m getting married in six days” Isabel rushed to get out as soon as she heard Daphne’s voice.

Laughing at her dramatics when it was probably something as simple as wanting to change the bride’s maids hair styles or something equally as inane, Daphne calmly replied, “There is nothing you can do to make me hate you, now what’s the problem Isabel?” she asked, offering a smile to Grant who quirked an eyebrow in amusement, having met Isabel enough times to understand what Daphne was now dealing with.

“There were some people who were going to stay at Alex’s house but his parents kind of double booked a few guest bedrooms and the hotels don’t have any openings since it’s the holidays so I need for you to house six people.”

“That’s not so bad, I have two spare rooms and one of the couples can either sleep on the pull out in the office or I can and they can have my room” Daphne offered, figuring that if worse can to worse, she could always sleep in her parents room or the pool house.

“Thank you, but first let me tell you who’s coming” Isabel replied, not waiting before barreling on. “There are these two couples, friends of Zan from Chicago that I’ve gotten to know pretty well over the years, Michael and Maria Guerin plus Kyle and Tess Valenti.”

“It doesn’t matter Isabel, I said it was fine” Daphne replied, knowing it meant possibly seeing Zan but the chances were probably slim what with all the work she had to do.

“Daffy, the fifth and sixth people are Zan and his son Max” Isabel stated and though it wasn’t the first time and most likely would not be the last, the phone slid from Daphne’s fingers and straight to the ground.
Last edited by To_Kiss_A_Frog on Wed May 11, 2005 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.8 5/12/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 8

“I’ll have a Will Smith, space fries and a cherry coke” Daphne ordered, smiling at the waitress before she walked away. The Crashdown Café, owned and operated by Larry and Jennifer Trilling, an old couple who had a strange fascination with aliens, had been a favorite for Isabel and Daphne when they were younger and if she remembered correctly, Isabel had even worked there one summer when they were fifteen, or at least a few weeks that summer before quitting because she kept dropping things.

“So do you want to tell me why you freaked earlier on the phone with Isabel?” Grant questioned as he sat across from her in the booth, a patient expression on his face as he leaned back against the padded red vinyl.

“I didn’t freak out” Daphne quickly defended. “I was just surprised by all the people she wanted me to take in” she explained, feeling bad for the lie she was telling. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Grant with the truth, but besides telling Isabel a few years back, Daphne had never talked about Zan with anyone, not even Billy who had become like a best friend behind Isabel. It just wasn’t something she felt comfortable talking about, especially since she’d yet to tell Grant she loved him.

“Seemed like more than that” Grant replied, but didn’t push.

“I just have a lot to deal with right now; coming back is never easy with my parents being gone and I have to schedule work into my vacation so that Philip has time off and it’s just a lot to handle on top of…of staying at my house since I haven’t done that…ever, since I went away to school” Daphne admitted which in part was very true, those things were difficult, she knew she could handle them but it didn’t mean it was easy.

Surprised by her answer, Grant scooted out of his seat to come sit beside her. “I hadn’t realized it was so difficult for you to go back to that house. You never really talk about what happened and I guess I just assumed that you were fine with staying there again” he replied, rubbing small circles against her hand with his thumb, something meant to soothe but his proximity as they talked about something so…buried inside of her was just too much to handle.

“Here comes our food” she said, gesturing towards the teenager carrying their plates. Hoping he would take the hint, she forced a tight smile when he didn’t and remained seated beside her.

“So tell me something about Roswell, a place you liked going to or something you liked doing” Grant requested, suggesting several possible topics only Daphne didn’t feel like sharing right now, instantly feeling guilty because she knew he just wanted to know her, there was so much that he didn’t and he’d been really patient this whole time, never pushing or asking for more than she was ready to give but she could also see why he would want to know more, especially now that they were in the town she grew up in.

“Well I always liked this place” she offered. “Isabel and I used to eat here on the weekends when I was home from school.”

“You said you went to private school right, where was that?”

“Las Cruces, a bit over an hour away” Daphne replied, sprinkling her burger with a liberal amount of Tabasco, a really bad habit she picked up from Zan during the time she spent together and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t shake it, burgers just seemed so plain without the spicy taste.

They spent the next half hour playing Q&A and though it was basically harmless, Daphne felt almost drained, having to rehash old things, however harmless they may have seemed to Grant, that she just didn’t want to remember. “I’ll be right back, I just have to go to the men’s room and then you can show me that weird museum across the street.”

Nodding with a small smile, Daphne slumped back against the seat once he was out of sight. Hearing the door jingle in front of her, she looked up in time to see a small child with dark hair and baby blue eyes come barreling in. From a distance he almost looked like…

Zan, accompanied by Alex, came rushing in, both stopping dead in their tracks when they saw her. He looked different, stronger and more grown up. His hair was neater, a little spiked because of its length and he had a goatee. “Daph, hey, I’m glad you made it in okay” Alex said, coming forward to the rescue, having been privy to the information of her past via Isabel a few years before. She got up to return his embrace, hearing him whisper ‘sorry’ in her ear before he pulled away.

“Told you I was faster” the little boy from earlier said as he came to stand before the adults, his arms crossed in front of him proudly. “Who are you?” he then added, catching sight of Daphne.

“Max” both Zan and Alex were quick to scold though she took no offense.

“Daphne” she said, holding her hand out. “Your aunt Isabel and I are best friends” she introduced.

“You’re the lady we’re staying with” Max stated, reluctantly taking her hand. “Alex, hey” another voice greeted and if Daphne could fade into the background she would definitely choose that moment to do it in. Turning, she saw Grant shaking Alex’s hand before introducing himself to Zan who looked about as reluctant to shake his hand as Max had with Daphne. “Are you here for Isabel and Alex’s wedding?” he politely asked.

“Zan is Isabel’s older brother” Daphne spoke up, wanting nothing more than to just get away while she could. “And this is his son, Max” she quietly added.

“Nice to meet you both” Grant returned, obviously not feeling the tension that was so thick Daphne wasn’t sure how she was still breathing.

“Right, so we were on our way out but there’s a key beneath…”

“The African Violet” Zan finished for her, belatedly realizing what he’d done. “Yeah” Daphne replied, continuing on. “So just make yourself at home, you know where everything is and we’ll…see you later” she replied, tossing some money down on the table for the waitress before taking Grant’s hand and as discretely as she could, pulled him out. “So, the museum?” she asked.

“What about a drive instead?” Grant suggested, not taking no for an answer as he led her to the parked mustang. Holding the door open for her, he waited until she was seated before going around to the driver’s side. Both were aware that he didn’t know where he was going so the fact that he didn’t ask and just drove showed that he just wanted to get away and talk.

Once there were out of the city limits, he slowed down enough so that they could talk without the wind whipping around to eat up their voices. “Do you want to tell me why things were so awkward back there?” he asked, showing that he had in fact noticed.

‘No’ Daphne thought but out loud she simply replied, “Why do you think that?”

“There are a lot of things in this world that I don’t know but it wasn’t hard to see that things were weird between all of you when I walked up, any particular reason?” he asked again, giving her a chance to come clean and she even suspected that he would understand it given how long ago it happened but despite all of that, she still couldn’t tell him, not without making things worse between them.

“It wasn’t weird, I just haven’t seen Zan in over four years and it was a surprise” Daphne replied. “He looked different” she added as an afterthought. “Plus I’ve never seen his son before.”

“What about his wife?” Grant casually asked.

“They weren’t married and she died during child birth” Daphne replied, her voice low. No matter how upset she’d been when Zan first told her about Ava, she’d been truly sorry for him when Isabel called one night to tell her what had happened. Daphne had been grateful that his son survived, knowing that Zan would have been devastated if he hadn’t.

Isabel also wondered why every year she had flowers sent to he cemetery when she hadn’t even known Ava but the way Daphne looked at it, she still really cared for Zan, in spite of everything that happened, she wanted him to be happy and his son obviously made him happy so there was no harm in sending flowers to the woman who gave her life for Zan’s child.

“Sorry to hear that” Grant replied, a tone of genuine sympathy in his voice for a woman he didn’t even know, but then that’s just the way he was, he always felt for everyone. “May I ask why the two of you haven’t spoken if you obviously grew up around him by extension of Isabel?” he queried.

“The last time I saw him was during summer vacation, right before he found about that he was gonna be a father. After that I went away to school and I guess we were never at the same place at the same time so it’s been…a while since we last talked” Daphne explained which was true except for the fact that it wasn’t a coincidence, she made sure to never be around when she knew he was, however, the wedding was one event she couldn’t avoid.

“I guess I could understand that” Grant acknowledged while Daphne said a quick thank you above that he didn’t question her any further on the matter.

They drove around for a while longer, talking though this time it was about the town and the wedding plus a bit more about what she did for a living and why should would have to work throughout the week. Grant said he understood though it was obvious that he was a bit disappointed about it. Later, it was to a very full house that they returned.


~&~&~&~&~&


Billy and Serena offered to sleep on the pull out in the pool house though Daphne suspected because it was away from everyone and she had witnessed first hand just how loud to the two could get with their activities if the mood struck and she supposed it was a good thing they were out of the house so Max wouldn’t have to hear any of it either.

“Okay, Mike and Maria the second door on your left, Tess and Kyle the last door on your right; Mr. and Mrs. Parker, the third on your right; Lonnie and Rath the second on your right; and Zan and Max, the first on your left” Daphne instructed. “The two on the left share a bathroom, the last on the right has its own and The Parkers and Rath will share another. There’s also one down here just before you hit the den, and another that adjoins to my office. You’re all welcome to anything in the fridge, use of all the TV’s, the pool and basically anything in the house. The phone number to the house, my cell and the address here are all on the fridge if you need anything or order food” she finished, looking at everyone for questions, comments or basically just…anything.

Then, as though someone turned the volume up, they all began talking at once, some arguing with one another over who was carrying bags and who wanted to eat what but yelling was better than silence, at least Daphne figured it was. Seeing this as her opportunity to get some work done, Daphne slipped out and headed to her office, not noticing the one set of eyes that saw her departure.

Safely inside, she lifted her briefcase onto the desk and dug out the reports from earlier. The latest occupancy reports had just been faxed in and apparently they were all booked solid starting this week past the New Year, having only a 10% drop the week after that which was better than she had expected.

When her father owned the hotels, he didn’t have a specialized theme for each one nor was it a generic look, it was always an elegant, understated but very tasteful look which Daphne worked hard to achieve when she had the Tower in Indiana built. She chose soft neutral colors with splashes of bold that were highlighted because of the natural colors around them, creating a very elegant feel that apparently, was very popular right now. She handpicked the executives and checked on them regularly, seeing more of them than any other staff crew in her company.

A very soft knock on the door, drew her attention away, “Come in” she called out, expecting to see Grant or even one of her guests but she didn’t expect the guest that walked in. “Hi, are you lost?” she asked, setting the papers down as she pulled off her reading glasses.

“No” he replied, shaking his head. “Daddy said I was rude earlier and when I’m rude, I need to tell the person sorry so I came to say that I was sorry.”

Biting her lip in thought, she asked, “Do you think you were rude?”

“I didn’t mean to be” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well then thank you for saying you were sorry, I appreciate that” Daphne stated, smiling gently to show that she wasn’t upset by the way he acted around her earlier at the Crashdown.

“He has your picture.” It was so quiet, almost inaudible that she shouldn’t have heard it, but she did. “There’s a lady that always comes over but he doesn’t have her picture. I wanted to ask who you were but I thought it would be rude, so I didn’t” he went on to explain as though they were old friends.

Another knock on the door came then, instantly quieting him as they both turned to see Grant walk in. “Would you give us a few moments please?” Daphne requested, seeing his slight frown but nod of agreement as he closed the door softly behind him.

“Would it be rude if I said I didn’t like him?” Max asked then.

“Why don’t you like him?” she asked back rather than answer, not really sure how she should.

“Don’t know” he said, shrugging again. “Just don’t. If you and aunt Izzy are best friends, does that mean you knew my mom?” If she thought it wasn’t possible for her heart to break any more, she was wrong, feeling the pieces shatter all around her at the innocent question and the hopeful expression he wore while he waited for her answer.

“I’m afraid I didn’t” she replied, gently, seeing his face fall.

“I never knew her, but I wish I did; I miss her too but daddy says that it isn’t weird”

“I miss my mom too” Daphne admitted, however strange it was, knowing that this young person in front of her would be the only one who could understand exactly how much.

“Where is she?” Max asked, looking up with a curious, childlike stare.

“She and my dad died when I was younger.”

“I’m sorry” he replied.

“I’m sorry for you too” she returned.

“Daddy gave me a picture of my mom to keep, do you have a picture of your mom and dad, it might help you not miss them so much” Max stated as he slid off his chair and came around to her side of the desk. “Close your eyes” he instructed, placing a hand over them until he was satisfied that she would comply though she had no clue as to what he was going to do.

“Imagine a lady, with short blonde hair; it’s really straight and she has eyes that are blue, kind of like mine; she’s smiling too” A few moments later he told her to open them again. “Now you know my mom too.”

Getting up from her seat, Daphne went to a book shelf and pulled out a blue, leather bound book and brought it over to the desk, lifting Max up to sit on the top before she leaned back and spread the book open across his lap. She flipped through a few pages before she stopped, pointing down at the picture of two people, a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, standing beside a woman with the same caramel colored hair and emerald eyes as Daphne had. They were smiling, their arms around one another and they looked really happy. “Now you know my mom and dad too” she told, returning the smile he gave her.

“Maybe they know each other…you know, up there” he said, lifting a finger to put up at the ceiling.

“Maybe” Daphne acknowledged.

Another knock on the door sounded; swiping a quick hand across her face to wipe away the stray tears, she called out for the person to come in, not at all surprised to find it was Zan, a strange look on his face. “Max, what did I tell you about disturbing Daphne while you’re here” he said in a voice that could only be described as parental.

Frowning at the implication, Daphne closed the album, putting it on the desk behind them before lifting Max down. “He wasn’t disturbing me, we were just talking” she defended, unable to keep the bite from her voice. “He wanted to apologize to me for something” she added, smiling back down at Max when he looked up at her, a pleased expression on his face, most likely for sticking up for him.

“I see” Zan replied. “Come on Max, let’s get settled in” he told, holding his hand out for his son to come forward and take.

In a last second move, Max turned and wrapped quick arms around Daphne, removing them almost as soon as they landed before hurrying off with his father whose eyes momentarily flashed before the two walked out, leaving Daphne to feel very cold and alone once they were gone.


~&~&~&~&~&


“Hi Grant” Isabel greeted, hugging him lightly before moving to Daphne, pulling her into a strong embrace, full of comfort that can only come from knowing someone all your life. “Do you mind if I steal her away for a couple minutes to go over a few wedding plans?” she asked, receiving an obliging nod from him before leading her away and back into the office she’d just resurfaced from no more than half an hour before. “I’m so sorry” was the first thing she said as soon as the door was closed.

“Isabel, it’s…”

“Completely unfair, I know” she cut in before Daphne could finish her sentence. “But there was no room at our house and with Alex’s family showing up to his I didn’t know what to do and then mom suggested that they all stay with you and I wasn’t supposed to know anything so I couldn’t say any thing in front of Zan and mom really doesn’t know anything about the whole thing so he couldn’t protest either and I know this totally sucks for you and I’m just so really sorry.”

“Isabel, breathe, the brain does need oxygen” Daphne coached, hands on her friend’s shoulders as she demonstrated a few deep breaths. “Now that we’re calm again…it’s not a big deal, it’s only a few days and even though I was surprised at first, I’m definitely okay now” she assured.

“Really?” she asked in a hopeful voice.

“Really” Daphne agreed. “So stop worrying, you’re my best friend, I love you and you’re getting married, so focus on the last part and I’ll handle having Zan and Max here.”

“Thank you” Isabel said, teary eyed as she pulled Daphne back into a hug. “But what about you, what’s it like being back here?”

“Not so bad with all these people around” Daphne admitted, sighing lightly as the two broke apart. “But to be honest, I’m dreading the night, I need noise and Grant is one of those sleepers that need complete silence otherwise he’ll be restless the whole time.”

“Has he been asking a lot of questions about things?”

“An understatement but he still doesn’t know what happened with them and he doesn’t know everything about my job though in my defense, he’s never really asked what I do besides the first time he asked what I was majoring in and I told him why I chose business” she said, shrugging indifferently. “I also haven’t told him anything about Zan, by name or otherwise.”

“That last one isn’t so bad, as long as it’s not a factor in your life” Isabel kindly pointed out.

“What do you mean by that?” Daphne questioned, genuinely perplexed by the comment.

“I mean that you don’t have to tell Grant about Zan as long as Zan isn’t the reason why you keep yourself so closed off” Isabel elaborated, dropping down into a chair, gesturing for Daphne to take the one beside it. “You are this…super woman, you do everything for everyone which doesn’t leave a lot of time for you and I just don’t want for you to waste the little time you do allow yourself, closed up because you’re afraid of getting hurt again.”

Her concern was just one example of how much Isabel had learned and grown up over the years. Gone was the shy and extremely innocent teenager of before, in her place was a confident woman who, although still loopy at times, was an incredible person and a very loyal friend.

“There are just certain parts of my life that are off limits, they might not always be but for now, they are, at least to Grant and any other man that may come in and out of my life” Daphne explained, truly believing in her words. “I may do a lot of things and I may be a lot of things to a lot of people but really I’m just this girl who had to grow up before she was ready and who, at times, doesn’t know where she belongs anymore” she admitted, struggling to maintain her usual, tough demeanor though finding it very hard.

“I may not have always known this but I know that it hasn’t been easy on you, that you don’t lead this fun and glamorous life just because you have money” Isabel acknowledged, squeezing her hand comfortingly. “But I’m always here for you, okay, that will never change” she promised, her last words a repeat of the same ones Daphne spoke to her before leaving Roswell.

“Thanks Isabel”

“Anytime”

“So…I guess we should get back out there, Mike is cooking for everybody”

“Uh, if you’re ever in Chicago, you have to go to his restaurant, The SpaceBar and Grill, his food is out of this world…thus, the name for the place” she informed, giggling at her joke. “Anyway, he’s a great cook, you’re totally gonna love whatever he makes tonight” she assured.

“Sounds great” Daphne agreed, though inside she was thinking over her friend’s words and her own feelings.

She wasn’t sure what was going to happen in the future with her and Grant but she had to promise herself that no matter what, her past would not coincide with her future , it couldn’t, not now and not ever.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.9 5/15/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 9

Just before dinner was ready, Philip called to let Daphne know he’d received their Atlanta and New Orleans projections and was going to fax them over right away. Placing them on the desk once they’d come through, she didn’t even read them before walking away, the delicious smells from the kitchen enough to hurry her.

Upon entering, she found people sitting around the counter, the breakfast nook and the island, all eating except for two who sat up on the counter, plates in their lap, waiting and tears nearly formed in her eyes as she realized why. Zan was big on polite manners and it was obvious just how much he rubbed that off on his son as they waited for her to come in and serve herself before they started eating. Standing in front of the island, she smiled lightly at Max when he smiled at her and dug into the heavenly food, spaghetti with a thick, luscious sauce along with homemade, rich and buttery garlic bread and a side of lasagna.

Everyone talked around her, the group from New York getting to know the friends from Chicago. Billy and Maria had music in common to talk about while Mike made small talk with Serena who was an art student, something he seemed to be very interested in. Grant talked with Alex and Isabel while Tess and Kyle kept Zan and Max occupied. The Parkers were mostly quiet, occasionally adding to random conversations but for the most part, seemed fine with just eating and fading in.

Things were going well, people were getting along and just as they were emptying their plates, handing them to Daphne and Tess, who’d volunteered to clean up, Max accidentally let his slip and dropped it to the floor with a loud clatter that had most cringing at the sound. Having been behind him at the time, Daphne instinctively reached out to snatch him up, not wanting him to accidentally step on the broken glass.

She saw Zan’s eyes widen at the gesture while Max’s own eyes widened in remorse. “I’m sorry” he whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms around her neck, burying his face in her hair.

“It’s okay Max, it was an accident” she said quietly, running a soothing hand up and down his back but when Zan came forward, she disentangled the little boy’s hold and handed him to his father. “I’ll be right back Tess, I’m just gonna go get a mop and broom” she said, walking carefully as she went off in search of some thing to sweep up the glass and clean the spaghetti sauce up off the floor.

Digging around in the laundry room, the place where her mother used to keep cleaning supplies, she nearly coughed up a lung with all the dust around.

“Where’s Tess?” she asked, finding only Zan in the kitchen when she returned, minutes later.

“Her cell phone rang so I told her I would help until she was finished” Zan replied, turning away from the dishes in the sink to take the broom and dustpan away from her. She noticed that the larger pieces had already been picked up and all that was left, besides the food, were small shards. “I’m sorry about Max, if…”

“It was an accident” she repeated before he could say anything else. “I used to drop crockery all the time when I was younger” she said, the words just slipping out as she started working on removing the red stain from the white tile with a dish rag, having been unable to find a mop anywhere. It was a little difficult, given what she was wearing at the time but she kept working anyway.

“So does Max” Zan replied. “I usually give him a paper or plastic plate but I didn’t see any in the cabinet.”

“Yeah, well…I don’t exactly spend a lot of time here” Daphne replied, though she kept her eyes down the whole time, knowing that she couldn’t look up at him if she wanted to retain the nonchalance she had around her, the same casual indifference she had used most times with him before admitting the way she truly felt.

“Silence can be foreboding when all it does is remind you of the things you’ve lost”

She wished she could be, but she wasn’t surprised that he understood, he always had and it was what made losing him before so hard; she hadn’t just lost the man she loved, she lost a really good friend too. What was it about the Evans children that made her hold them so close to her heart?

Briefly, she wondered if he was talking about Ava, but didn’t have the guts to ask, nor was she sure she wanted the answer. “Thanks” she said when he finished cleaning up the glass. She expected him to leave then but he didn’t, he just went back to washing the dishes, despite the fact that there were a lot of them and that she had a dishwasher.

“Your hotel in Indiana is nice” he commented, seemingly out of nowhere.

Not missing a beat, Daphne couldn’t help the small smile that lit her face at the compliment before asking, “You’ve been there?”

“I had a business trip a couple months back and the architecture firm I work for likes the Forrest Tower suites down here so it’s where they sent me when I went to Indianapolis” Zan replied, and she could hear the pride he had for her in his voice, even after all of this time, and though she hated to admit it, it really made her feel good. “It kind of reminds me of a cross between the one in New Orleans and the one in Tucson” he added as an after thought.

“That’s what I was going for, neutral like the one in Arizona and bold like the one in Louisiana” Daphne said, beaming because he’d figured it out. It was almost like a pat on the back, but still casual, reminiscent of something her father might have said if he’d been around.

“Hey Zan, phone, it’s Eileen” Kyle walked in, cell phone in hand, holding it out to Zan who stiffened, almost imperceptibly, at the announcement.

“I can finish” she offered then, wanting him to just walk away now that she’d started to let her guard down. “Thanks though”

Zan nodded, smiling lightly before taking the phone from Kyle. “Nice digs you got here” he complimented, hopping up on the counter space she had just vacated.

“Thanks, I hope everyone’s comfortable.”

“We are” Kyle acknowledged. “It was nice of you to let everyone stay here on such short notice” he politely added, throwing in a charming grin for effect. Daphne smiled back, going about collecting dishes. “So…you’re the chick he was screwing before he found out about Max” he stated, so casually though for Daphne, it was like he’d punched her in the gut and in her surprise, another dish hit the ground as it fell from her sudsy fingers. “Shit, I’m sorry” he hurriedly apologized as they both bent down to clean up the new mess.

“What happened?” Isabel asked, hurrying in a few moments later, Maria and Zan not far behind.

“Slippery fingers, must be a new epidemic” Daphne replied, making light of the whole thing as she moved to grab the broom again.

“I’ll help, you guys can go finish doing…whatever” Kyle offered as he took the dustpan, bending down to hold it while Daphne swept this mess inside.

“Actually, you’re the hostess, why don’t you go sit or work or something and I’ll help Kyle finish up” Maria instructed, handing Daphne a towel to dry her hands off with before she moved over to the sink full of suds, the fourth person to take on the job in less than twenty minutes.

“She won’t give up until you listen so…” Isabel trailed off, pulling Daphne away.

“Hey babe, there you are” Grant greeted as she walked into the living room. He rose from his seat, pulling her close though she had no idea where his sudden burst of affection was coming from, he was usually really conservative when it came to PDA’s. “We were all thinking of watching a movie, do you have anything around or should we just drop by the video store?” he asked, running his hands through her hair methodically.

“Yeah, I’ll go get them” Daphne replied, stepping away before he could say anything.

Packed away in a box somewhere that she never got around to taking, were some movies that hadn’t been at the top of her favorite’s list though she wasn’t sure if there would be anything that all of them would enjoy, it seemed like her living room was a melting pot of varying personalities. Digging around, she found Braveheart; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; My Best Friend’s Wedding, a bunch of old Disney movies from when she was younger and the first Harry Potter.

Taking the DVD’s downstairs she laid them out. “Sorry but this is all I have here.”

The votes were divided in half between Braveheart and Crouching Tiger. “So the Braveheart people can watch in here” she said, handing the box to Mike. “And the Tiger people can go to the den” she said, giving the second box to Maria, who had just emptied the sink and filled the dishwasher, while everyone split and Daphne went back to the recently vacated kitchen to dig around for popcorn, remembering Isabel had said something about it when she did some shopping for the place a couple days ago.

“Whatcha looking for?”

“Popcorn, you wanna help me” Daphne asked, beckoning Max into the pantry with her, getting him to look on the lower shelves while she looked higher, sighing lightly when she found it on the highest shelf; Isabel would have had no problem placing it up there but the vertically challenged would have a hard time retrieving it. “Would you do me a favor? Would you go back to the living room and ask for someone tall to come help me?” she requested.

Sure that he was gone, she began jumping up, trying to reach for it but a skirt and heals weren’t exactly ideal and she was still a few inches too short.

“You should get a step ladder” Zan stated from where he leaned against the doorframe. Looking down at Max who stood beside him, she rose a curious eyebrow and then as though he understood, “You wanted someone tall and daddy seems real tall” he said, looking up at his father like Zan was some sort of super hero.

“Taller than you anyway” Zan added to Daphne as he came forward, stopping just behind her as he reached up, his arms caging her between his body and the shelves. She could have sworn he pressed his hips against her on purpose though she wasn’t about to say anything with his four year old standing within hearing distance.

“Thanks” she replied, sarcastically as she accepted the box he handed to her. Pushing past him she began tossing bags in the microwave, digging around for bowls while it popped.

“So what movie do I get to watch?” Max asked then.

“I forgot about that” Zan admitted, looking down at his son appraisingly as though to assess whether or not he could handle Crouching Tiger, the more tame of the two.

“He can watch something on the TV in my room if he wants” Daphne offered, shrugging indifferently.

“Can I watch Harry Potter?” he asked, looking anxiously between the two. Zan looked at Daphne as though to say ‘thanks’ before turning back to his son. “I suppose we can watch it” he agreed.

Daphne, realizing that he would want to stay with Max to make sure he stayed out of trouble, swooped in, not minding helping since she wasn’t all that interested in either movie they picked to watch. “You can watch Braveheart Zan, I don’t mind watching Harry Potter again” she said as she divided the popcorn into two large bowls and one smaller one. “Really” she added when she noted his reluctance.

“What about your…friend, wouldn’t he want you to sit and watch a movie with him?” he asked in an even tone that had Daphne barely able to contain a retort which she did for the benefit of his child.

“I hardly think he’d be bothered if I went upstairs alone with Max” Daphne informed, smiling tightly as she handed the young boy a bowl, adding a quick “two hands” as he followed her out of the room, while she didn’t bother to check if Zan was following them. “Here you go” she said, handing out the food before making her way to the next room to do the same, lastly taking the bowl from Max as they went upstairs.

While she got the movie ready, Max walked around her room, looking at pictures and the little souvenirs she had everywhere. He laughed at a couple of her and Isabel and even asked a few questions about where they were or how old they’d been at the time. “Do you want to see something kind of funny?” she asked, already reaching into the top drawer of the writing desk.

“Yeah” he said, excitedly as he hopped up onto the bed.

Finding the right picture, she closed the drawer and sat down beside him, handing him the Polaroid of Zan, barely awake, hair everywhere as he stood without a shirt, looking lost and confused at the fun age of fifteen.

Isabel had taken it when they were eleven but when she threatened to show it to some girl he was seeing at the time after he did something to her, she gave it to Daphne and told her to hold it for safe keeping in case Zan went through her room. The event to use it never came up so she’d kept it for…ten years now. He looked so young and so…unaffected by the world then.

“Can I show this to him?” he asked, before handing the picture back.

“I’m afraid he’ll try to take it away from me if we do, so let’s just keep this little secret between us” Daphne replied, seeing his face fall at the comment but unsure as to why he was so disappointed. “Hey” she gently said, touching his arm lightly until he turned his eyes back to her.

“We don’t keep secrets, daddy says we shouldn’t” Max explained.

“Okay…then you can show him but he has to agree to give it back” Daphne negotiated, bumping his shoulder lightly in a friendly gesture, seeing his smile return before she tossed back in the drawer and grabbed the remote to turn the TV and DVD player on.

The two lay down on their stomachs in front of the TV, watching and laughing at all the appropriate places, finishing the popcorn about halfway through. When the other movies ended, Zan came upstairs to retrieve Max, sure that he was sleepy by now but when he walked in the room, his heart felt like someone with an iron fist was squeezing it.

There, on the bed, lay Daphne, completely asleep while Max, also slumbering, lay with his body curled into her side, his small fist holding tight to the material of her shirt.


~&~&~&~&~&~Five Days to Go~&~&~&~&~&~


“Now I want all of you to come out so I can see how you look” Isabel called out as four curtains simultaneously opened and four women, clad in long, silky, Christmas colored dresses, emerged. Maria, Serena and Tess, the three bridesmaids wore hunter green, the bodice tight and held up by two thin straps while the skirt of the dress fell in a full line down their bodies and a small fish tail trailed behind them.

Daphne, the maid of honor, wore a crimson red dress, the same style only hers was strapless but the rest of the dress was identical to the others.

“You all look beautiful” Isabel complimented, awe in her voice as she walked around each woman, checking the fit on the dresses before coming back to stand in front of them again. “They’re perfect” she told the seamstress, beaming brightly.

Quickly but carefully, they changed back into their regular clothes, accepting the garment bags for the dresses. There were still two more stops to go before they could break for lunch, a final check on the cake to make sure everything was set with the baker and then they’d have to stop by and pick up Alex’s five year old cousin, Olivia, who was the flower girl, so they could take her along to Isabel’s final fitting at a different store.

Max was going to be the ring bearer and all the males had gotten fitted the day before for their tuxes though Daphne got quite a shock when she learned that Zan and not Ray, was the best man and therefore, her escort for the event. She also learned that his girlfriend, Eileen, was going to be flying in in a couple of days, late because she had work she couldn’t get out of it.

Lunch was at the Crashdown, salads and tea for the others who wanted to look good in their dresses while Daphne, who didn’t care about counting calories, had and another Will Smith with fries. “How the hell do you look the way you do when you eat the way you do?” Tess questioned as she munched on some lettuce.

“She’s blessed or something” Isabel answered for her. “She always eats crap and it’s like the weight goes to her boobs or something because they’re the only things on her body that seem to grow” she replied, clapping a hand over her mouth when she realized Olivia was right there, listening to them talk with a curious expression on her face.

Afterwards, they separated, Maria, Tess and Serena to go make last minute preparations for the bachelorette party while Daphne, upon Isabel’s insistence accompanied her and Olivia to the fitting.

Inside the Camaro, there wasn’t much of an opportunity to talk but as soon as they stopped, psycho, panicking Isabel took over and began bombarding Daphne with what if questions. “What if it doesn’t fit and they don’t have time to fix it or what if they lost the dress or they spilled something on it? What if it looks hideous on me now that I’m…?”

“Isabel” she scolded. “You’re scaring the child” she whispered, gesturing with her eyes to Olivia whose own eyes were bugged out.

Instantly contrite, she tried to send the young girl a reassuring smile before they ventured inside, the fitting proving that all her worries were completely unfounded as she came out of the dressing room looking every bit the princess in the pure white strapless dress whose style was similar to bridesmaid dresses only her skirt was fuller and the bodice of her dress had barely visible, embroidered beads in a discrete flower pattern, making the top almost shimmer in the light.

“It’s perfect Isabel…you look perfect” Daphne said, hugging her best friend who had tears in her eyes.

“I gonna be so happy with Alex” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

“Of course you are” Daphne agreed, wiping at Isabel’s tears. “You’re going to have a beautiful wedding and a wonderful marriage, guaranteed” she assured.

It had been touch and go for a while a couple years back when Isabel had a pregnancy scare, something that was enough to shake both their worlds upside down and make them really consider what they were doing and whether or not they still wanted to be with each other. In the end, after a lot of unsurety and even some really big fights, they’d come out of stronger, something that wasn’t very common but thankfully had happened with them.

Nodding, in a small but definite voice, Isabel replied “He’s my forever, he’s my happily ever after.”

Smiling, “I know he is” she agreed, truly happy for her friend who was really more of a sister than anything else, she always had been. Carefully, she helped undo the little buttons and pulled down the zipper before stepping out of the dressing to wait for Isabel to finish. Afraid that something might happen to it or that Alex might see it, Isabel opted to leave it in the store until the day before the wedding but they took Olivia’s dress, a mini version of Isabel’s dress only with two thick straps to hold it up.

Daphne stayed with Isabel for the rest of the day, helping with all the little things a maid of honor was supposed to do but when they were done for the day, she retreated into her home office, several things to take care of and a conference call to make between herself and the six hotel managers. She had figures that had been faxed over by Philip and Kathleen along with a few notes she’d made and questions she had.

So wrapped up in her business, Daphne didn’t think about Grant or the fact that he was most likely somewhere in the house, waiting for her but when she finally unlocked the door and came out later, he made sure she knew then, though that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Last edited by To_Kiss_A_Frog on Mon May 16, 2005 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Nobody's Home (Zan fic/ PG13-NC17) UC/CC Pt.10 5/17/05

Post by To_Kiss_A_Frog »

Chapter 10

“Why did you invite me to come along?” Grant asked as soon as she walked into her bedroom late that afternoon. She stopped in place, surprised by the question while he looked back her, a serious expression adorning his face.

“Why would you ask me that?” she questioned back, knowing he didn’t really want an answer, he was just trying to make a point and he was using the question as a lead into whatever the real problem was. Closing the door behind her, Daphne took a seat on the edge of the bed, opposite him and gave him her attention while she waited for him to say something else.

“Look, I realize that you have to be there for Isabel right now but you aren’t just being a maid of honor, you’re being a work horse that just spent the last two and a half hours, locked up in her office, doing who knows what” Grant complained, fixing her with a pointed stare, daring her to deny it.

“Just because I left New York doesn’t mean I left my work, it’s a permanent thing” Daphne explained.

“So then at least tell me about it” he requested. “I know absolutely nothing about what you do for a living besides knowing it has something to do with a hotel and your business major.” She refrained from pointing out that it wasn’t as if she was deliberately hiding it but he’d never really tried to ask her anything about it, he had just accepted that she had another side to her life that he wasn’t a part of.

“Six” she corrected.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“There are six hotels; I own all of them along with a developing firm in Albuquerque” Daphne stated, seeing his look of astonishment and knowing she was in for a lot more questions now.

Putting two and two together, “You own Forrest Towers” he stated, straight to the point.

“That would be me” she acknowledged. “I told you that my parents died when I was younger, well…the companies were an inheritance, except for the Indiana one, that was my project.”

“You’re barely twenty one, how could you run a company much less seven of them?” he questioned, his tone laced with disbelief.

“I work hard, I’m a quick study and it isn’t as though I did it alone, I had Philip Evans along with the other managers to help me” she replied, shrugging, unsure of how to explain things. “I don’t know Grant, I just…well I guess I just did what I had to do. So now you can see why I’m so busy all the time and why I’m always running around everywhere, flying from one place to another, I have really big obligations.”

“No kidding” he muttered beneath his breath. “Why didn’t you say something before?” he queried but his tone was so neutral that she had no idea what was going on in his head right now.

“Because the topic eventually leads to questions I don’t want to answer” Daphne replied, as honestly as she could.

“You’re parents” he correctly guessed. “I’m twenty seven years old and have a hard time balancing my job at the lab with extra time for me and you’re a twenty one year old corporate tycoon, this is just insane” he said, running an anxious hand threw his hair. She knew this was strange for him, and she’d never really had to tell anyone before what she did for a living because the ones did know were the people who’d known her from the beginning. Billy and Serena once asked if she was ‘loaded’ when they first set foot in her apartment, the inherited penthouse, and she just said, yeah, and that had been the end of it, no questions asked passed that.

Finally turning to face her with masked eyes, she knew that whatever was coming wasn’t going to be good if he felt the need to close himself off before saying it. “Daphne, I’m not sure if this is gonna work between us” he admitted after a long pause of silence.

“Why…because I own a company?” she questioned. “Because I’ve owned it the whole time you’ve known me and it was never a problem before” she felt the need to point out though the sinking feeling in her stomach was a strong indicator that her words didn’t matter, this was about to end and it wouldn’t be for the right reasons either, this was going to be about male pride.

“Yeah, and you’ve never had time for me either, I’m always this fleeting thought on your way out of town. I’m this e-mail you write since you’re already sitting in front of a computer” Grant argued, turning everything around on her. “This isn’t gonna work because right now you don’t have time in your life for me and…and I don’t want to be someone’s afterthought.”

“You mean you don’t want to be in someone’s shadow” she corrected, clenching her firsts tightly in her lap to keep herself in check, unable to remember a time when she’d been as angry as she was now. “You know, its one thing to be uncomfortable with what you just learned and to voice that, but it’s quite another to use it as an excuse against me because you can’t handle it.”

“That’s bullshit Daphne, I’m not uncomfortable with anything, I’m just sick of coming in second, to your job, to Isabel, to Philip Evans, to all of it, I’m sick of it” he yelled, standing up, towering over her as though he needed the added height to feel better about it. She looked at him, wandering who this man was, replacing the normally gentle and caring boyfriend she had. This Dr. Jekyll was completely different from the Mr. Hyde he had been only minutes before.

“Then why didn’t you ever say anything before?” Daphne questioned him. “Why not this morning, last night or even last week, why now, when you know the truth about me, do you suddenly realize you aren’t coming in first all the time? Hmm?”

“I thought maybe we could work through it but I realize we can’t, you’re never going to have the time for me and it’s only going get worse the bigger you try to expand” he defended, his excuse a poor one, flimsy and completely transparent but if he wasn’t going to honest, she wasn’t going to force him to admit anything.

“Alright then, I’m not gonna beg you to stay nor am I gonna fight for a relationship you obviously don’t want” Daphne stated, also rising to a standing position. “You want out? Fine, you’re out, now get out.”

“On the way” Grant retorted while shaking her head, Daphne threw the door open, not watching where she was going as she bounded down the stairs and straight into Zan on the landing.

Not bothering to apologize, she kept on going until she made it to her office, locking the door behind her and sliding down to the ground. Was it ever going to be enough, would she ever be enough or would something always come along and knock her down just as she learned to stand again? Was it even worth trying again when in the end, no matter how hard she held on, she would always fall again?


~&~&~&~&~&~Four Days to Go~&~&~&~&~&~


Thankfully, everyone had been either out or out of sight when Grant left the night before but unfortunately, that meant she’d now have to explain that he was gone. At least she’d been able to play music in her room when she went to sleep now that he wasn’t around to ask her not to.

She seemed to be the first one up the next morning, finding no one around as she walked through the house to the kitchen. Needing caffeine but cringing at the thought of coffee, she rummaged inside her fridge, finding a can of Dr. Pepper that she quickly popped the top on and took a nice, long drink from. “Doesn’t that upset your stomach?” Mike asked as he walked in, looking fresh and ready to start the day.

“Coffee upsets my stomach, this” she said, holding the can up. “I can definitely handle” she replied, watching the smirk form on his face. “Are you always an early riser?”

“Maria snores” he said in explanation. “You want some breakfast before you go to…I’m guessing work by the way you’re dressed?” he asked, indicating the short navy blue skirt and short sleeved, lace button down shirt, tucked out while the matching navy jacket lay across the back of a chair.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m not really a breakfast person” Daphne replied, having never been able to stomach food so early in the morning despite being able to consume sugary, caffeinated beverages and equally unhealthy bars of chocolate. Taking another long drink, she tossed the empty can in the trash bin, seeing Mike’s appraisingly look.

“Can you drink beer as fast as you just finished that soda?” he wondered.

“Depends on the beer, I hate anything light but Budweiser isn’t bad and Corona with lime is really good” she replied, seeing his approving nod and that look alone made Daphne realize she’d just been tested and passed.

“Here” Mike said, tossing her an apple. “Fruit isn’t really breakfast” he stated.

Nodding back, Daphne took her jacket and her apple and walked out. “Thanks” she called out over her shoulder. Hating that she had to go in today but knowing that if she could get it over with early, she’d have time to help Isabel later, she got inside her car and drove off, making a quick stop to fill up before turning onto the highway, headed for Albuquerque.

Today she had a meeting with Courtney Banks, a young widow that wanted to take her millions and invest in something that would give her more millions. She had called a few days before to schedule a meeting with Philip about developing a small string of hotels along the west coast but at the time he forgot he wasn’t going to be around which left Daphne as the only one to take the meeting since she refused to meet with someone who wasn’t in charge.

“Morning Kathleen” she greeted, receiving the slips of messages, mail and figures she had asked for.

“Morning Daphne” Kathleen returned with a pleasant grin. “You’re nine o’clock with Mrs. Banks was pushed back to 9:30 but Mr. Ramirez requested a word with you before you left so if you like, I can call his secretary” she offered while internally, Daphne was groaning.

“That won’t be necessary, I’ll just go myself” Daphne replied, tossing the papers back down on Kathleen’s desk. Setting down her briefcase which her secretary instantly brought into her work area, Daphne straightened her jacket and walked across the floor to the adjacent office where an even older woman, Sidney Mills, sat typing a letter. “Hello Mrs. Mills, I’m here to speak with Mr. Ramirez” she told the white haired woman, seeing her look up and down before shooting Daphne a disapproving look though she still nodded, leaning over her desk to pick up the phone.

“Mr. Ramirez will see you now” she said, before going on with her work as though the boss wasn’t standing right in front of her.

“Thanks” she dryly told the woman before moving to the door, not bothering to knock before walking in. “Good morning Jesse” she greeted, coming forward to shake his head. “Mrs. Topolsky said you wished to speak with me about something.”

“Please, sit” he offered before returning to his own seat. “I received a call from Mr. Ross, yesterday evening, and he had some concerns about the Indiana project that he wanted to discuss with me and I have to say that I agree with a few of the points he made.”

“Which points would those be?” Daphne asked, leaning back in her chair, primly folding her hands in her lap in a position she liked to think of as, the calm before the storm.

“Just a few things to increase productivity, such as…” He went on to explain various things she’d been over with Mr. Ross and the other managers just the day before during their conference. At the time, she’d realized he was unhappy with some of her decision but she’d put a lot of careful consideration in her choices and she also had Philip’s backing, one hundred percent.

Patiently, she listened and waited for him to finish before finally speaking up. “I discussed all these issues with Mr. Ross yesterday, most likely just before he called you and while I can see why you might look at it the way he does, I, on the other hand, do not, and I stand firm behind the choices I made, no exception.”

She wasn’t a tyrant or a dictator but she was getting really tired of people going around her to either Philip or one of the other executives and one way or another, it was going to stop.

“So you’re saying that you aren’t open to any discussion if the outcome isn’t one you agree with” Jesse said, turning her words around and spitting them back out at her, another thing she was getting very tired of.

Frustration getting the best of her, Daphne got up and walked out of the office. “Excuse me!” she called out, climbing onto a chair. “Would everyone please call their bosses out here for a moment, thank you?!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Jesse questioned when he followed her out.

Not answering, she waited for the others to step out onto the floor. “My name is Daphne Forrest and in case you didn’t remember, I own this company and the six hotels we do primary business with. I am twenty one years old, I wear skirts that come up to my knees and sometimes above them and I am a female. Now, if any one has a problem with any of these things, please tell me now and we will discuss it, but I will not tolerate anyone going around me to Philip, I will not tolerate disapproving looks because of my wardrobe” she added, looking down at Mrs. Mills, then. “I will not have my words turned around on me and I will not tolerate being treated like anything less than your boss.”

“I will, however, take full responsibility for my choices and actions, I will try and work through any problems you bring to me and I will sit down and listen to everyone who has something to say. Any questions?” she asked, receiving nothing but nods from the other bosses.

Stepping forward, Jesse lent his hand up to help her down which she graciously accepted. Placing both hands on her shoulders once she was safely back on the ground, he looked her straight in the eye. “He did something like that once when he first took over for your grandfather, must run in your blood.”

He couldn’t have given her a better compliment if he had told her she was a business genius. Smiling, she lightly removed his hands, “So then maybe you’ll give Mr. Ross a call and let him know that the changes are on hold as of now, and possibly remind him that what the boss says, goes.” He nodded, accepting her words before returning to his office. “Good day Sidney” she added the sour old woman, turning on her heel and returning just in time to greet Mrs. Banks.

“Quite the theatric, I must say, if you’re the woman handling my account, we’re going to get along just fine” she told, grinning as they shook hands.

“Right this way” Daphne directed, seeing the quick thumbs up from Kathleen on her way in.


~&~&~&~&~&


“Hello?”

“Daffy, it’s me, I need you” Isabel whispered almost inaudibly that Daphne had to strain to hear her.

“First of all, why are you whispering and secondly, what do you need?” she asked, looking around her, seeing traffic start to slow. “What the hell” she muttered to herself. “Shit” she said, dropping the phone to down shift as she tried to stop in time, knowing she wouldn’t make it, she quickly threw it back into fourth and gunned her engine before cutting into the exit and safely making it out and avoiding hitting the car that had been in front of her.

Apparently the thin sheet of ice, despite the less than freezing weather, on the freeway hadn’t been salted yet and cars were slipping and sliding before bumping into each other. It looked like something out of a bad movie.

Hearing screams from somewhere in the car, Daphne tried to figure out where it was coming from before remembering Isabel. “Damn” she cursed as she reached over to pick up the phone. “Sorry, traffic” she said, cutting Isabel off, mid rant. “So what did you need?” she asked again as though nothing had happened.

“You scared the hell out of me, I heard you swear and then you dropped the phone” Isabel yelled once she realized Daphne was safe.

“I had to downshift” Daphne meekly replied.

“Whatever, listen, I need for you to call the florist you hired and confirm everything.”

“I got the confirmation e-mail this morning” Daphne replied, one step ahead. “You will have your flowers and garland and the bouquets will get here, red and white poinsettias.”

Emitting a soft sigh, Isabel replied, “Good, and thank you so much for getting them for me, I know they’re really exclusive and it couldn’t have been easy.”

“No big deal” Daphne replied, shrugging it off. “So was that all you needed or is there something else?” she asked, carefully driving though staying down on the access road, knowing it would take longer but would be safer for now.

“Actually, there is something you should know” Isabel stated and Daphne instantly knew by her tone that this wouldn’t be good. “You’re going to have one more houseguest, Eileen, Zan’s girlfriend is coming a day early and she should be there by tonight.”

“Well…” Daphne said, not sure what she was supposed to say to that. “I guess I’ll…see her then.” What could she say, things were long since over between her and Zan, she was a grown up now, four years had passed and they had led different lives, it was about time she started letting him go, completely this time and maybe seeing him with another woman would be just the thing to make it happen.

“Okay” was Isabel’s quiet reply. “Thanks again, I’ll see you later.”

She made it back to Roswell, an hour and a half later and just in time for her stomach to protest not being fed, having missed lunch because of her back to back meetings and about a dozen messages she had to return. Pulling into the Crashdown, she saw a familiar jeep parked in one of the spaces and actually contemplated going somewhere else, but if she was going to get over him, she’d need to start now.

Putting the car in park, she grabbed her purse and confidently walked inside, hearing the cute little jingle as she opened the door. Max was the first to spot her, sliding out of his seat to come forward and greet her. “Daphne” he said, simply, once he was in front of her.

“Hey” she smiled, ruffling his hair. “Whatcha doing here?”

“Eating, duh” he replied. “Come on” he said, taking her hand to pull her towards the booth Zan still sat in, as he watched the two interact with one another. “Daphne’s gonna eat with us” he stated, sliding in and looking up at her expectantly, waiting for her to slide in beside him.

Glancing at Zan, she saw his small nod of approval before following suit and taking a seat. “Hi, welcome to the Crashdown Café, what can I get you?”

“Will Smith, space fries and a cherry coke” she ordered without looking at the menu, she didn’t have to, it’s what she always ordered.

“Be right back.”

“So you’re just coming in from work?” Zan said, observing her attire.

“Yeah, I had a few meetings to take for your dad, so…did the two of you just get here or…”

“We just ordered” Max answered before she finished asking. “Daddy was telling me about when aunt Izzy used to work here” he added, with an anxious grin on his little face and a combination of the look and the memory of Isabel made Daphne laugh in response.

“I guess you remember that dropping things runs in my family” Zan dryly retorted.

“That was quite a two weeks” Daphne acknowledged. “But I can’t remember if she actually made any money or if it all went back to replacing broken dishes” she added, remembering the mortification on Isabel’s face every time she broke something new. It was always easy to tell when she was working by the sound of glass hitting the floor in the back of the restaurant.

“Actually I think that even after that, she still owed Larry ten bucks” Zan replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

The three chatted for a few more minutes before the waitress brought their three plates of food. Simultaneously, both Zan and Daphne reached for the Tabasco, both letting go when they felt the other’s hand. “Go ahead” Zan offered, gesturing for her to take the bottle.

Max wore a curious expression as he watched her douse the burger. “Daddy does that” he stated, looking to his father who was looking at Daphne.

“Well it does make the burger taste better” Daphne told, handing the bottle to Zan when she was done. “What about you, what do you put in your burger?” she asked, peaking at his conspiratorially.

“Ketchup and mustard, it’s what normal people use” Max replied, shrugging indifferently.

“Are you saying that your dad isn’t normal?” Zan questioned in mock offense, eyebrow raised curiously while Max looked up and smiled big and brightly at his father.

“Duh” was his reply, causing both adults to laugh out loud and the blunt retort.

“See, even your kid knows you’re weird” Daphne stated, innocently taking a bite out of her burger, noticing the stares of both males at the table. “What?” she asked, picking up a napkin to wipe at her mouth.

“You’re weird too” Max answered her.

“Gee, thanks” but there was laughter in her voice as she said it.

Afterwards, Max asked a lot of questions about Isabel, about his dad and about growing up in Roswell. He seemed genuinely curious and truly interested in every joke they told or story they recounted. When lunch was over, Zan and Max walked Daphne out to her car which eventually led to Max asking to ride with her instead because her car looked cool.

“I’m sorry, I’m not going home yet, I still have a few things to do around town first, but…” she added, seeing his face fall in disappointment. “If your dad doesn’t mind, I can just take your jeep and the two of you can take my car instead” she suggested.

“Are you sure?” Zan questioned, glancing between her and the jeep. Daphne knew it wasn’t that he didn’t trust her to handle it, he was most likely considering the way she was dressed and the completely open vehicle.

“Yep” she said, digging the keys out of her purse. “Here” she said, handing them over and accepting his in return. “You can just toss my briefcase in the back seat and I’ll get it later.”

“Go ahead and get inside Max, I’ll be right there” Zan instructed, handing his son the keys. “Come on” he then said to Daphne, leading her over to where he had parked. Holding out his hand, he helped her up and she noticed his quick glance down as her skirt rode up high on her leg. She thought he would leave then but he didn’t and when she looked at his face, she knew he had something to say.

“Go ahead” she said in encouragement, knowing that the sooner he got it out, the sooner she could go off to run here errands.

“Why are you so good with him?” he asked and Daphne found that she truly wasn’t offended or surprised by the question. She had noticed all the strange looks on his face every time she and Max talked and she had refrained from commenting on them, she knew that eventually he would have something to ask.

“Truth?” she asked as she started up the engine, her hand resting lightly on the gear shift. Seeing his nod, she threw it in reverse but held down on the break. “Because he reminds me of you” she replied, and backed away before he could reply. Waving lightly, she drove off, leaving him, surprised, behind her.
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