> She reached up and gently cupped his face, meeting and keeping his gaze
> "I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Derek. Close your
eyes."
>
> "Close your eyes, Derek." she repeated with a gentle smile, voice still
> quiet. When he did she put her forehead against his.
>
> "I want you Derek, don't you know that? Now, tomorrow, next week, next
> year..... holding your hand," she paused and followed words with action by
> slipping her left hand into his right one and lacing their fingers
together
> "working, talking..."
>
> ".. going toe to toe with you when we disagree on something," she added
with
> quiet humor before giving him a soft but quick kiss "exasperating you to
no
> end.. making love with you...."
>
> This last part was said softly and she touched his face again and waited
for
> him to open his eyes, her own sincere and emotions clear in her eyes.
>
> "I came back to you, Derek." And she had. She had willingly given up
what
> she had thought was her salvation for him, had even died. Surely he
> couldn't have serious doubts...?
>
> "Yes," she murmured quietly "I'm very sure."
>
Derek:
Truthfully, he hadn't known that, however as he listened to her words,
letting them sink into his consciousness, and as he opened his eyes and
gazed down into hers, he could not only feel it, but see it as well. He
rather wished that he had asked her, what she'd told Michael when he wanted
to know why she loved him. He didn't really see any good reason why she
should. However, for the first time he was certain that it was true and
that realization completely bowled him over. For a rare moment, he was
completely speechless. He still had his concerns, after all she was still
significantly younger than he and that made him feel as though he were
taking advantage of her. Though the conviction in her voice and eyes did
help to alleviate this somewhat. The trouble remained that he had his own
moral demons to fight regarding this issue. It did seem quite clear that
Julia did not harbor such reservations.
Derek was very aware that it was time to make a decision. He pushed his
concerns to the back of his mind. This was the same place where most of his
troubles and worries simmered until he figured out what to do about him.
His decision, which felt so right in most respects, was to go with his heart
and prayed that was the right choice. As his power of speech returned to
him, Derek reached up and removed Julia's hand from his face, kissing her
fingers delicately. "We should go inside," he suggested. The rest of this
"conversation" should take place in more private surroundings. Even though
it was very late, Derek knew better than to take for granted that no one
would turn up, because the moment you did such a thing, there someone was.
