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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 19, 2009 7:19:09 GMT -5
Alison wished that she could just take whatever doubt or nightmares he had away. She hated to see him like this, but it was good to know that he was slowly making an improvement. There was no doubt that she was still going to be worried about him, however, since he agreed to see her, that worry seemed to calm down a little.
"Yes, I brought you a gift. I suppose it could be considered a little dorky on my part, but I thought maybe you would like it." Alison smiled and reached down with one hand to grab the bag she had set at her feet. She pulled out two comic books. "I know it's just comic books," she said, "but I thought that it would possibly entertain you for a little bit."
Alison extended the comics to him. "I wasn't sure if you liked any, so I brought a Fantastic Four and Spiderman. Personally, I think Fantastic Four is my favorite."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 19, 2009 21:40:49 GMT -5
Geoffrey blinked at her a moment, then looked down at the comic books. He had seen a comic book once, when he was much younger. Riley had shown him one. He had been fascinated by it; the vivid drawings and the motionless pictures, as well as the fantastic story, had fascinated him. He'd always wanted another one, but didn't know where to find them.
Looking back up at Alison, he broke into a smile.... and then he laughed. It was the first time he'd laughed since the whole ordeal had started. "I think I love you," he said, pulling her into his arms.
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 20, 2009 7:45:38 GMT -5
At first, Alison wasn't sure if he liked it or not but she watched his expressions. It was her grandmother who introduced her to comic books. One summer she went up to visit and there were several comics waiting for her. After that, Alison became hooked but that was just an unknown fact about her that she didn't mind sharing with Geoffrey.
When she saw the smile on his face and heard his laughter, a smile spread across her face. It was good to hear him laugh and see him smile after what had happened to him.
Alison let out a laugh when he pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. His words made her blush. "I think I love you too," she whispered quietly yet confidently. She wasn't sure if he was actually saying it, or if it was just one of those things that could have been said casually between friends. Alison knew that she meant what she said. The time they had spent apart gave her a lot of time to think. What was it that her grandmother used to tell her? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? She believed that whenever she saw Geoffrey again because the first sight of him again made her feel like she was brimming over with emotion.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 20, 2009 20:54:37 GMT -5
Actually, he meant it completely. He was learning the same lesson that his cousin Roland had learned not that long ago, that sometimes it's the little things that made one fall in love. Roland fell in love with Riley when he found out she liked horror movies. For Geoffrey, hearing that Alison liked comic books pushed him over the edge. And now he knew that Alison was the one for him. It felt like the sun was finally coming out after a long, cold, bleak winter.
"Thank you," he said, looking down at the comic books, and then back at her face. "They're just what I needed."
He set them down in his lap, and laid his hand against her cheek. "You're just what I needed. I was an idiot to send you away all those times."
Slowly, he moved in close to her and pressed his lips against hers.
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 20, 2009 21:26:06 GMT -5
"I'm glad you like them. I could always bring you more, if you wanted. There's a stand in London that carries those and a lot more." Alison felt excited that he liked them, and the smile on her face said so.
Heat rose to her cheeks as his hand touched it. She felt sure that if her grandmother was there, she would have been standing behind Geoffrey grinning widely and possibly a thumbs up. The thought of that would have sent her into a fit of laughter but Geoffrey's words caused her mind to stay exactly where it had been and didn't let it wonder off.
"Geoff," was the only thing she could get out, even though it came out as whisper, before previous thoughts vanished. She couldn't remember what she was going to say, but it didn't really matter. Alison's eyes closed shut just as their lips met.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 26, 2009 1:24:53 GMT -5
Physically, Geoffrey had come home three days ago. But as his lips touched Alison's, he realized instantly that he hadn't really been home. Not until now.
Her kiss had a healing effect on him, and he began to feel lighter, and more at ease. The feeling might fade a little after she ws gone, and he might still take a while to get back to himself. But she was the medicine he'd been aching for.
Pulling away at last, he looked into her eyes for a moment. "I need you, Alison. More than I ever realized."
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 26, 2009 6:19:03 GMT -5
Alison remembered Maia telling her about how Chase made her feel. She also remembered her telling her about how they met and how she knew that she fell in love with him. Right now, Alison could finally understand what her best friend had meant. She was floating on some cloud and it seemed that all the problems around just disappeared.
When he pulled away, her eyes opened to find his. Hearing that she was needed made her heart race more than it had been. She put a hand on his cheek. "You know that I'm always here. I'm not going anywhere soon."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 26, 2009 15:20:55 GMT -5
The timing was just so odd. He and Alison were really just in the early stages of their relationship; they were still just "dating." They had only kissed a couple of times. And then this whole thing happened, and he'd refused to see her out of some sort of misplaced pride. Was it fair to burden her now with his problems? He wasn't even used to having problems, so he wasn't good at asking for help.
His expression turned serious. "I can't promise that I'm going to be a very good boyfriend to you right now," he said. "I should be taking you out, fussing over you and treating you like a princess. But right now... I don't even really want to leave the house."
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 26, 2009 15:59:40 GMT -5
"Listen Geoff, I don't care about that fussing over stuff or treating like a princess. I don't care about that, especially right now. What I do really care about right now is the fact that you need to get better. That's it," she said becoming serious. As a result of her job, Alison felt like she should be able to attempt to make things right somehow.
"Don't worry about if you're being a good boyfriend or not. You're my first actual boyfriend, and it's not like I'm judging you on if I think you're good or not. If it helps you any, I think you're a pretty good one, even though the timing and stuff hasn't been all that great." She gave a light smile. "We have to get you better, alright? That's what the focus will be on."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 26, 2009 16:21:59 GMT -5
He really couldn't have asked for a better girlfriend. And maybe he was looking at it all the wrong way. Maybe he should just accept that he had got lucky in finding the perfect girl for him right when he needed her the most. It would be hard for him to let her just be there for him, but wasn't that what love was about--being able to lean on one another when it seemed like the world was falling apart?
By pushing her away, and giving her disclaimers, he was doing just what Riley would do. He was putting up walls where there didn't need to be any. And it wasn't that he ws afraid of intimacy or that he had trust issues or anything like that. Maybe it was that his need to take care of anyone was his own way of having control and keeping people at a distance. It was far easier to help other people with their problems than to talk about your own.
He smiled softly. "Until I'm feeling well enough to go out again, maybe you could stop over more often. I wouldn't inflict a full-scale family dinner on you, but maybe you can come over after dinner and we could watch movies."
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 26, 2009 17:16:28 GMT -5
She gave a quite laugh at the mention of not inflicting a full-scale family dinner. Alison remembered what the Christmas dinner had been like.
"That sounds like an alright plan. Of course, just let me know whenever you're feeling up to it. I have a couple of movies I could bring over if you wanted." At the moment, she would do almost anything he asked. "And, I can bring you more comic books. There's a few at the house, and I also happen to know the older gentleman who runs the booth in London by first name now. He's usually willing to make some kind of deal on the comics if you buy more than one." There was a gentle smile on her face.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 26, 2009 18:11:34 GMT -5
Geoffrey smiled. "Thanks," he said, feeling much lighter now. "That would be great. Why don't you come by tomorrow night, say around 8:00? I'll have this room set up for us, with popcorn and drinks, and we can just sit and watch a movie. What kind of movies do you like, anyway? We have a pretty good selection... Uncle Christopher tends to collect them on his travels, so we have a good supply. I haven't seen a lot of them myself, so maybe we can try something we've never seen."
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 26, 2009 18:57:47 GMT -5
"Around 8 sounds good. That'll give me enough time to change and everything before coming over." Alison was excited about the fact that he was willing to spend time with her. To her, it was a pretty good effort on his end to attempt bring himself back together.
"I'm not all that picky about what movie to watch. I just don't really care to much for the extremely sad ones, but other than that, it doesn't really matter to me. You can pick which one you want to see, and I'll watch it with you." She didn't mind what movie it was, she would watch it.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 26, 2009 20:34:59 GMT -5
"That sounds good," Geoffrey said. He would have to consult the movie library to decide what they could watch, but for the first time since... well, really, since before Roland's "death", Geoffrey was finally feeling excited about something.
"You don't have to leave yet, do you? Maybe we could play a game or something. Christine and I have been playing lots of games to keep busy... We could play cards if you wanted."
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 27, 2009 8:05:47 GMT -5
"No, I don't have to leave yet." She would stay for however long he wanted her to. She had already taken care of everything at home. Besides, Alison wasn't in any rush to get home. If he wanted her to stay until late, she could manage.
"A game would be good. I can't promise that I will be any good at card games. I haven't played in awhile, but I can be up for a couple of games." The last time she played cards was with her grandmother. She would probably remember a few things once she started to play.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 27, 2009 21:11:53 GMT -5
He smiled, but there was still a touch of sadness in his smile. "OK, cool. Wait right here. I'll go get the cards, and I'll see if Jensen can bring in some drinks and snacks."
He stood up and walked to the door. As he did, it was apparent that there was an extra spring in his step that had not been there when he walked into the room. He was already starting to look a little more like his old self.
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 27, 2009 21:43:50 GMT -5
"Sounds good." The extra spring in his step was noticed and it made her smile. Alison leaned back against the couch as Geoffrey left the room. She crossed her legs as she sat relaxed. There was a visible improvement since the time she had gotten there. Hopefully things would continue to improve.
She wished that he would have let her in at the beginning, but Alison wasn't raelly going to complain. After all, it was better now than never. She knew that she wouldn't give up even if he happened to changed his mind.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 27, 2009 23:15:11 GMT -5
It took a few minutes for Geoffrey to return. In addition to finding some cards, he went into the kitchen to ask that some snacks be sent down. The staff, all of whom knew what had happened to Geoffrey and how depressed he'd been about it, were so glad to see him looking a little like his old self again that they quickly got to work preparing much more food than was needed.
When Geoffrey came back into the room, he stopped for a minute and smiled at her. "Um, I think the staff's going a little overboard with our snacks," he said. "I was just thinking some pretzels and crackers, but I think they're making quiche or something." He rolled his eyes jokingly.
Nodding to a table over in the corner, he said, "Let's sit over there. What kind of card games are you good at?"
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Post by Alison Hale on Aug 28, 2009 8:25:27 GMT -5
Alison stood up and moved over to the table that Geoffrey nodded to. She took the chair opposite him. "I don't really know what I'm good at other than Go Fish." She let out a laugh. "I do know how to play rummy and poker as well, but that's about it. My grandmother used to think it was funny that she taught me how to play at an early age." Alison rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face.
"I'm up for any kind of game you want to play. Doesn't matter to me."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 2, 2009 17:31:43 GMT -5
As Geoffrey was thinking about what game to play, the doors opened and Jensen entered with a large platter with a pot of tea, cups, plates, and an assortment of small cakes and cookies.
"Thanks, Jensen," he said. "Please sent them down on the other side of the table."
Jensen set up the platter on the half of the table that they were no occupying and gave Geoffrey a quick smile before he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
"OK," Geoffrey said as he began to shuffle the cards. "I say we play poker. We can use those cookies as chips. What do you think?"
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