| Chapter 56 "Baby, what do you think they got us?" Nick asked. Tara smiled, "I have no idea, but whatever it is, it's big. Did you see the look on Gideon's face when he told us? He doesn't get that look about just anything." Nick laughed, "True." "Here make yourself useful," Tara said, handing him a wash cloth and turning around so Nick could wash her back. Nick took the cloth and worked it in a slow circular motion, until he had covered her entire back. "That feels good," she said, "It's amazing how sore your muscles get when you don't use them for a while." "Yeah," Nick said, "Let's not do that again. Not that I don't like sleeping, but three weeks is a little much." Tara took the wash cloth from Nick, making him turn around in the tub so she could wash his back. "I just wonder what they did," Nick mused. Tara laughed at him, "I swear, you're like a kid on Christmas eve." Nick turned and smirked at her, "I happen to like presents, so sue me." "Naw, how bout I tickle you instead," Tara said, reaching up and grabbing his ticklish spot on his neck. Nick tried to get away from her, "Stop! Ahhhh, stop!" he laughed, kicking water all over the floor. Tara let go of him as he turned to face her. They both had soap suds all over their faces from Nick's flailing. Nick reach up and brushed a clump of suds from Tara's cheek, looking deep into her eyes, "I love you." She smiled, wiping suds from his chin, "I love you too." Nick bit his bottom lip, then licked it, "Tara, I know this is a strange place to do this, and I don't have a ring or anything, but I love you so much. What do ya say about us getting married when we get back? We could do some small little thing, or a big thing if ya want, I don't care. I want you to be my wife, and I don't wanna wait anymore. So whatdoya say? Will you marry me?" Tara looked at him shocked, then slowly a grin spread across her face, "I thought you'd never ask. Of course I will." Nick wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him, "I'll get you whatever kind of ring you want when we get back." "Nick, I don't care about having a ring," she said. He smiled at her, leaning in and softly kissing her lips, "I'll get you one anyway." Tara laughed, "Fine, but you have to pick it out and surprise me." "OK," Nick agreed, kissing her again. "You know, if we keep this up, we'll be late meeting Gideon and them for our surprise," Tara reminded him. Nick slowly ran his hands down her back, "They can wait." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn was standing in the kitchen, fussing with something on the stove. Brian walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, "Morning." She laughed, "More like afternoon," she said, turning to face him. Brian had just gotten out of the shower, his hair was still wet, and he had only bothered to put on a pair of shorts before coming into the kitchen. Lyn ran her hand though his wet hair, pulling him to her and planting a kiss on his cheek before turning her attention back to the stove. Brian looked over her shoulder, "What ya cooking?" "Lunch," she said, "It should be done in a few minutes." "Can I help?" he asked. "Sure, get the plates out," she instructed. Brain walked over to the cabinet and grabbed the plates, turning back around to look into the living room. "We have company," he announced, just before Gideon, Micah, Jade, Tracy, Nick and Tara appeared. "Hey guys," Brian said, setting the plates on the counter and walking into the living room, hugging his friends. Nick and Tara both took him a group hug. When they parted Nick and Tara noticed his scars for the first time. Brian watched them as they inspected each one, neither saying a word. He noticed they had the same look in their eyes that Tracy and the rest had when they looked at him. It was one of great respect with a hint of sadness. He smiled at them, "I'm fine guys, really." Nick and Tara both looked at him. "Brian, I'm so sorry. I should've known ...." Nick started. Brian held his hand up, "Don't even go there. There is no way you could've known, and I'm not gonna have you doing this every time we see each other. Now drop it, and let's have some lunch, I'm starving." Tara leaned over whispering to Nick, "Guess he told you huh?" Nick laughed, "I guess so." Everyone walked into the kitchen and sat down. "So you guys look rested," Lyn said. "Yeah, three weeks of sleep tends to do that to ya," Tara laughed. Lyn sat some glasses on the table, and Tara noticed her ring. "Lyn, that's beautiful! Is that what I think it is?" she asked. Lyn and Brian smiled at each other. "Yeah, Brian asked me to marry him," she answered. "Cool," Nick said, grinning. Brian looked at him, "OK, out with it." "What?" Nick asked, playing innocent. "Whatever it is that has that stupid grin plastered on your face," Brian laughed. "Oh, well ... I asked Tara to marry me too," Nick said. "You did?" Gideon and Micah said at the same time. Nick nodded, "Yeah, this morning before we left." All the girls hugged each other, completely excited. Brian sat down next to Nick, "Well looks like we're in this together huh?" "Always," Nick replied with a smile. "Are you scared yet?" Brian asked. Nick laughed, "No, why?" Brian nodded toward the group of girls, "Cause they're already planning." Nick looked over, "Oh ... um ...maybe just a little then." The group ate lunch, catching up on everything. Brian filled Nick in on what happened with Evi, and the meeting management wanted to have in a few weeks. Nick kept trying to get Gideon and Micah to say something about their surprise, but neither would. Lyn told Tara all about how Brian proposed to her, and in turn Tara told Lyn how Nick did. She laughed, "In the tub? Nick you asked her in the tub?" Nick blushed, "Well, it just felt like the right time, ya know?" Lyn laughed shaking her head, "Yeah, I know." Brian nudged Nick with his elbow, "You romantic you." "Oh stop," Nick said, rolling his eyes. "I thought it was wonderful," Tara said, "Very unique and um .... bubbly." Everyone burst out laughing as Nick turned nine shades of red. After everyone settled down, Gideon cleared his throat, "You know if we're gonna see everyone before we give you your gift, we need to get going." Nick and Tara reluctantly got up, helping Lyn and Brian clear the table before they left. "I've got my phone with me now, so I'll call and let you know what our �gift' was," Nick said. "OK, talk to ya soon," Brian said, hugging his friend. "We'll get together on the wedding plans soon," Tara told Lyn. Lyn smiled, "Alright, be careful." "Always," Tara said, smiling at her. "Does anyone know about your engagement?" Nick asked. "Not yet," Brian answered. "Oh, can I tell them!? Please???" Nick begged. Brian and Lyn laughed, "Sure knock yourself out," Brian said. Nick grinned as the group gathered in the living room. "Bye," Tara said, as they vanished. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick and Tara looked around as they appeared on a road. The sun was on it's decent for the day, and a warm breeze welcomed them. Nick looked around, the place seemed familiar to him, "Where are we?" "Florida," Jade answered. "The Keys to be exact," Tracy said. Nick smiled, "So, where does this road lead?" "Come on and find out," Micah said, walking in front of them. Nick and Tara took each others hand and walked down the road. They rounded a corner and stopped, as the road came to an end and what looked like a ferry was coming toward them. "What is this?" Tara asked. Gideon smiled at her, "Look." Tara and Nick looked across the water to see a large island a few hundred yards off shore. They could see the lush green plants, and the roof top of a building. They glanced at each other, not sure what they where looking at. Micah put his hands on their shoulders, "Welcome to your new home. Welcome to Angel Island." Nick and Tara's eyes grew wide with surprise and shock. "How did you ....?" Nick asked. "The previous owner is a �friend' and was more than happy to give you the land," Gideon explained. "Then we had a crew come down and build the house," Jade added. "A whole island, for us?" Tara asked, still shocked. "Yes, for you. This will be a safe haven for you when you're not with us. Nothing from the demon world can get close to it," Micah said. The ferry arrived and they all got on for the peaceful ride. Nick and Tara stood at the front, watching in amazement as the island got closer, and they could see more detail. The lush plants gave way to a well manicured lawn. And the roof top became the most gorgeous house either of them had ever seen. It was similar to their house outside the city, but was larger and had windows everywhere to let the view in. The ferry docked and they stepped off, walking up the road in silence. A virtual forest of tropical plants lined the road up to the circle drive. Nick looked over, seeing his cars in the garage. "How did you get those here?" he asked. The four smiled at him. "Your things are inside," Jade said. Nick took Tara's hand and lead her up the steps, marveling at the huge marble columns. Tara squeezed his hand, bringing his attention to the towering double front doors. He smiled at her as they both pushed the doors open, stepping inside. They glanced at each other, tears in their eyes. The house was perfect for them. It had white marble floors, white walls and ceilings. The large open floor plan drew your attention out the windows to the water. They slowly walked around, investigating. Their personal effects where placed here and there. The living room and kitchen where open to each other, making it great for get togethers. Nick wondered over to the windows looking out at the large deck. "How do you get out there?" he asked. Gideon walked over and pressed a button on the wall. The windows retracted, opening the room to the outside. Nick couldn't hide his smile, "I love it." He walked along the deck, looking at the pool that seemed to blend with the ocean. He noticed a trail leading through the tropical plants away from the house. "Where does that go?" he asked. "Down to the beach and boat dock," Micah said. Nick turned back to Tara who was still in the kitchen looking around, "Baby, we have our own beach!" She laughed, walking over and looking. "Come on, there's still more to see," Tracy said, pulling the two back inside and giving them the grand tour. Tara had her own exercise room, while Nick had his own art room. There was a full studio on one end of the house, and a movie theater on the other. As they went upstairs, Tara was trying to keep track of where everything was. "Up here are the guest rooms and master bedroom," Tracy said. They passed by the guest rooms, looking in each one. They where all huge, with their own baths. "Now down here," Jade said, "Is your room." They stopped at the double doors at the end of the hall, waiting for Tara and Nick to catch up to them. When they did, they opened the doors, letting them inside. "Oh my God," Tara muttered, walking in. "This is just ....... awesome," Nick said, looking around. The bedroom had white carpet throughout, white walls and the ceiling was painted sky blue with puffy clouds here and there. The bed was on a raised platform, that rotated. There where two huge walk in closets, and the bathroom was incredible. The shower was enormous, as was the Jacuzzi tub. "Man you could fit ten people in here," Nick marveled, climbing in the tub. Tara laughed at him, still looking around. "We have to show you the best part," Jade said, pulling them back into the room. She walked over and pressed a button, and as below in the living room, the windows retracted, opening the room to the outside. Nick sat down on the bed, looking out at the view. Tara joined him. "Nick, press the button on the platform next to you," Gideon said. He looked down and pressed the button, grabbing onto the bed as the entire platform began to move. It slowly tracked its way out onto the private deck and rotated to face the ocean. "This is so cool," he and Tara said at the same time, causing the others to giggle. They sat silently for a few moments, trying to take everything in. "Guys, thank you so much," Tara said. "Yeah, this is just to much," Nick said. The four smiled at them. "There's one more thing," Micah said. "Oh man, I'm not sure I can handle much more," Nick laughed. "Follow us," Tracy said, walking out of the bedroom. Nick and Tara followed behind them, downstairs and out of the house. They walked around the side of the house to a trail that lead into the forest. "Follow the path," Gideon said, smiling. "Um, OK," Nick said, squeezing Tara's hand as they headed down the trail. They walked for a few minutes, wondering what this was about, until they heard it. It was the soft whimper of a puppy. "What the...?" Nick said, as they came upon a rock formation, the opening of cave facing them. Tara smiled as Angel emerged from the cave, trotting up to them, followed by four black puppies. Nick dropped to his knees, hugging the wolf, "Hey girl, I missed you." Angel barked at him for a moment. "Your babies? These are yours?" Nick asked. Angel barked, wagging her tail. "You have some beautiful pups," Tara said, playing with them. Angel barked again, as another wolf appeared from the cave. It was a large male. He was solid black with yellow eyes. Nick looked up and smiled as he came closer, "So, this is the daddy huh?" The male barked at Nick, causing Nick and Tara to both laugh. "OK, I'll call you by your name from now on," Nick said, standing up. "We'll let you get back to your family, Angel. We'll see you in the morning," Tara said. Tara and Nick started back down the trail. Nick looked back, "Nice to meet you Brian," he said, stifling a laugh. They waited until they where far enough down the trail so the wolves couldn't hear them, then burst out laughing. "I knew she always liked Brian, but this is to much," Tara laughed. "Yeah, what are the odds of finding a wolf who's name is Brian?" Nick snickered. "Oh man, wait til Bri hears about this, he'll die," Tara said. "Oh no! Let's not tell him till he comes to visit. I don't wanna miss the look on his face," Nick laughed. Tara slapped his arm, "You're mean, but I like it." Nick grinned at her, "Yup, I know you do." They exited the trial to find the group waiting on them. "OK, where did Mr. Brian come from?" Nick asked. "She met him after we took her home," Jade said. "And his name is Brian?" Tara asked. "Yeah, go figure huh?" Gideon laughed. "So they live here now?" Nick asked. "Yes, they have free reign of the island, except for the house. They will only enter if you ask them to. They are well taken care of, so you don't have to worry about feeding them. And they'll keep the curious paparazzi from getting to close," Micah said. "Cool," Nick said, walking back to the house. Tara joined him on the porch. "You guys coming?" Nick asked, seeing them standing on the drive. "No, this is where we leave you," Gideon said. Nick and Tara walked down the stairs, hugging their friends. "Thank you so much," Nick said. "We'll drop in, in a few days," Micah said. "Alright, we'll be looking forward to it," Tara smiled. "In the meantime, get back to your lives. Talk to your family, let them know what's going on," Gideon said, staring at Nick. Nick nodded, "OK, but I'm telling you, dad is gonna freak." They all laughed. "We'll see you in a few days," Tracy said, hugging Tara. "Alright, bye," she said, watching as the group joined hands and vanished from the island. Nick turned to Tara, "Well Mrs. soon to be Carter, you wanna try out that bed again?" Tara laughed, "Only if you can catch me," she said, taking off inside the house at a dead run. Nick laughed, running after her, pushing the door closed behind him. Chapter 57 |