For the next month Marie spent her time packing, arranging her classes at school, and helping to train Sam. Lance had told her that she didn�t need any of her furniture since the room was already furnished, and she had argued until he told her to shut up. The only pieces of furniture that she refused to leave behind were her drawing desk and easel. All her things were packed in U-Haul boxes and she was ready to go.
Marie looked at her watch and then up at the arrival screen for Delta airlines. Lance was due any minute. It had been two months since she had since him and she could hardly contain her excitement. His flight was scheduled to land ten minutes ago but she knew with the new security issues it would be a little while before he got down to baggage claim. Not to mention the fact that she believed Delta stood for Doesn�t.Ever.Leave.The.Airport.
She looked down at her watch again and sighed in frustration. When she looked up she saw Lance, smiling widely, coming down the escalators. He had on a t-shirt and jeans, and a baseball cap to shield his eyes, and House was right behind him. She beamed excitedly and slightly bounced in place. She quickly made her way through the sea of people and launched herself at Lance just as he got off, careful not to shout his name since he was trying to be incognito.
Lance dropped his backpack and wrapped his arms around her tightly, squeezing and lifting her off the ground a bit. �God, I�ve missed you!�
Marie giggled and gasped for breath at the tightness. �I missed you, too, but if you don�t lighten up I�m going to be missing my oxygen.�
Lance blushed and let go, taking her in. Her hair was pulled back into two buns, and she was wearing a forrest green button down with khaki capris. Her face was positively glowing and she had a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
Marie looked past Lance and grinned at House. She pushed past him and embraced the large man. �House, it�s so good to see you! How are you?�
House let out a deep chuckle and squeezed her back. Marie was one of the only friends that actually acknowledged the guards, let alone talked to them, and he had become good friends with her. �I�m doing good. How�re you? Excited about the trip?�
Marie pulled back, her eyes wide and shining with anticipation, and exclaimed, �Yes! My dad�s ready to get rid of me since all I talk about is the trip.�
Lance peered around the room as House and Marie chatted. The longer they stayed there the bigger the chances of him being recognized got, and he�d rather not have that happen around Marie. She was one of the few friends he had that never had to experience all the chaos that surrounded him. He knew that would all change when she came to live with him, but he was willing to sacrifice a tiny part of that if it meant she was to be closer to him.
He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet anxiously. �We shouldn�t stay here too long, should we?�
House looked over Marie�s head at Lance and shook his head. �No, you and Marie should go out to the car while I get your luggage.�
�All right,� replied Marie. She told House where she was parked and how to get there before linking her arm with Lance and pulling him away.
When they were safely secured in the elevator to the parking lot, Lance took off his hat and sunglasses. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair and grinned. �All your stuff packed?�
�Yep. I taped the last box right before coming out to get you.�
�Always gotta wait till the last minute, huh?� chuckled Lance.
�Hey now! I didn�t realize I had so much shit until I had to pack it all.�
The elevator dinged and Lance hastily pushed his cap and glasses back on. Two girls around Marie�s age walked in, suitcases wheeling in behind them. Lance cringed inwardly and turned so he wasn�t facing them.
Marie snickered. �So, uh, James, you ready for our road trip?�
Lance made a face at the usage of his first name and glared at Marie even though she couldn�t see him. �More or less. I�m actually looking forward to it since I don�t get to drive all that often.�
�Well, you�re more than welcome to drive my little piece of crap car all you want. No one�s stopping ya.� She bit her lip in thought and continued, �So, is H coming with us or is he going on somewhere else?�
�John actually wants him to come with us but I talked him out of it so he�s going to go into the city to see Joe,� explained Lance, peering at the girls suspiciously.
One of the girls suddenly burst out, �Oh my god!� Lance made a face and pulled the hat lower over his eyes. She grabbed the magazine the other girl was reading and pointed to a picture of Orlando Bloom. �Damn, that man�s fine. I�d do him.�
Marie covered her mouth to stifle her giggles and looked at Lance, who let out relieved sigh. The elevator stopped and the two girls exited. When the doors closed, Marie burst out laughing.
Lance took off his glasses and glared at her. �Oh sure, yuck it up.�
�Yuck, yuck, yuck!�
Lance rolled his eyes and laughed, grateful to be around Marie again. The elevator stopped and they exited into the parking lot to wait for House to arrive with Lance�s bag.
~*~
�So, how long do you think it�ll take to get to California from here?� asked Mr. Andrews.
Lance swallowed the bite of pizza and wiped his mouth with his napkin. �Well, it�s supposed to take us around two days, but I think we�ll just putter along and enjoy the ride.� He turned to look at Marie and continued, �If you don�t mind, that is?�
�Oh, heck no!� she answered. �I don�t mind at all. We can stop and see the world�s biggest ball of twine!�
Lance shook his head and laughed. �Oh man, I remember having to stop at all those tourist traps on our last tour cause JC and Justin wanted to see them. Y�all are nuts, I tell ya.�
Marie stuck out her tongue and gathered up the dishes. Lance stood to help but she batted away his hand and went into the kitchen. Lance shrugged and sat back down in his seat, and looked at Mr. Andrews nervously. Not once had he been nervous during his encounters with Marie�s father, but Lance was taking his little girl across the country and Lance knew that he was about to get a little �talk�.
Mr. Andrews� voice broke the silence, �Lance, loosen up. You look a little pale.�
Lance let out a small laugh and took a sip of his drink. �Sorry, it�s just that I can�t help but get the feeling that I�m going to be getting a little talk here.�
Mr. Andrews face turned somber for a minute before he looked up at Lance, looking older than he ever did. �Lance, I want you to know that I trust you with my daughter. You�re a good man and I know that nothing will happen to her if you�re there.�
�She�s one of my best friends, I�d never let anything happen to her.�
�Marie would probably kill me if she ever found out I told you this, but I want you to know that she isn�t as hard as she makes herself out to be.�
�I�m not following,� answered Lance, his voice lower in case Marie happened to walk in.
�Marie�s a strong woman, there�s no doubt about that, but she�s still na�ve about a few things. She hides it extremely well but she�s still very innocent. I also know that she�s a very competent woman and can take care of herself, but I�d feel better knowing I have your word that she�ll be ok when you two leave tomorrow.�
Lance looked Mr. Andrews in the eyes and said, �You have my word. I�d never let anything bad happen to her.�
�Good,� said Mr. Andrews, smiling. �Because if something ever did happen to her, I�ve got a shotgun and a very large backyard.�