Post by StoryGirl83 on Nov 10, 2011 0:46:17 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Five – Time to Go
Emily scrambled into the kitchen. She would have run past Callie Ranard, the day chef, but Callie’s voice called her to a halt. Emily turned around and nibbled on her bottom lip. “Sorry, Callie. It took me almost an hour to get out of the parking lot at the museum. Who knew I’d be trying to leave . . .” Emily stopped seeing Callie’s palm facing her.
“I’m sure it’s a fascinating story,” Callie commented, “but right now, I don’t care. Chris promised he’d still be showing up, but he’s not here yet either and I have to go.” She pulled off her apron. “You’re in charge until he gets here.”
Emily’s eyes widened. “What?!”
“You heard me,” Callie brushed aside Emily’s disbelief. “I suggest you put Ty in charge of the kitchen for the time being. He can cook everything on the menu and he’s been flirting with the new girl.”
“Addison?!” Emily stared at Callie shocked, “but . . .”
“Not Addison,” Callie denied. “The poor little rich girl doesn’t start until Monday. And if she was working tonight, I’d suggest putting her in the kitchen. Have you tried her cooking? Oh, wow!”
“So what new girl?” Emily asked, feeling a bit over whelmed. Chris had better make it there fast.
“Her name is Lindsey,” Callie announced as she reached into Piper’s office and grabbed her purse off a hook. “I’ll let Ty introduce you. She’s sixteen.”
“Why are you putting me in charge?” Emily asked, getting to the biggest question on her mind.
“You just so happen to be the only person on the staff who is here and staying for the night who is over the age of eighteen. Chelsea will be here in an hour, but I’m not waiting that long.” Callie pulled her keys out of her pocket and headed toward the back door. She was gone before Emily could real form any sort of protest.
Emily stared at the door for several second and then the door from the main room swung open and she found herself very eager for Chris to get there.
At that moment, Chris was standing outside the Psychiatric hospital with JD. Chris had wanted to leave, but JD had convinced him to stay. It didn’t matter much. He was beginning to not care what JD thought. He needed to leave. It wasn’t so much that he disliked JD or even that he was bored. He just needed to get away from the supernatural for a while now that everyone was safely cured. And he didn’t see why they needed him here. JD hadn’t said much other than to convince him to stay and Cassia didn’t need his help any more.
That was when the phone in his pocket began to ring. It was funny how little he remembered that phone, but today he’d needed it. He pulled it out of his pocket, giving JD an apologetic look.
JD shrugged. Conversation was not necessary. He took the time to close his eyes and checked on his charges.
Chris put his phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Wow, you answered a lot quicker this time,” Emily commented. “When are you coming here?”
Chris glanced at JD. “Um.”
“Chris, you can’t leave me alone here,” Emily pleaded. “Callie left me here, in charge. I am not prepared for this.”
Chris frowned. “She left you in charge?”
“She did,” Emily confirmed. “Please say you’ll be here soon.”
Chris glanced over at JD, again. “I’m not sure. I’ll try.”
“Everyone is cured, right?” she asked, concerned. “You left the museum hours ago.”
“I know,” he agreed. “But we found others who needed the cure. And then I ran into another person in need of help,” which I couldn’t give her.
“Well, hurry,” she pleaded. “I’m terrified they are going to realize I can’t do this.”
Chris looked down at his wrist watch. “Ten minutes,” he announced, catching JD’s attention. “I will be there in ten minutes.”
JD frowned, “But . . .”
“You know where I’ll be,” Chris reminded him, holding the phone away from his mouth. He put the phone next to his car just quick enough to get the tail end of Emily’s “thank you.” He sighed. “I’ll see you soon, Emily.”
As soon as they hung up he felt JD looking at him.
“Ten minutes?”
Chris shrugged. “It’s clear that you don’t actually need me here. She does.”
JD sighed, but he did nod.
“Since we are just waiting, why don’t you tell me about yourself,” Chris suggested. “How long have you been a whitelighter?”
“Over twenty-one years,” JD said after several seconds. “You can ask Sam about me.”
Chris raised an eyebrow in surprised. “Sam Wilder?”
JD nodded. “He was my whitelighter back in the fifties.”
“Fifties?” Chris blinked. “You don’t look that old.”
“JD chuckled. “Like I said, asked Sam. I was born less than a decade after your dad, but I died at twenty-two over a year after you were born.” He glanced behind him as the doors to the psychiatric hospital opened. “Looks like you are going to be returning to work soon.”
Cassia was headed toward them with Daniel. In her hand was a paper bag. When she stepped in front of Chris she smiled. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m kind of stunned that Danny’s plan actually worked.”
“Would you quit calling me that,” Daniel wrinkled his nose. “You’re making me feel like a ten-year-old.”
She reached over and chucked his chin. “You’re my little brother. I have to have some way to remind you of that.”
He smiled. “Do you have to leave?”
“In a minute, I’m afraid,” she replied with a sad smile. She turned to look at Chris. “I have something for your dad,” she informed him as she pulled a manila envelope out of the paper bag. “Could you see to it that he gets this?”
Chris frowned as he took the envelope from her. “What is it?”
She allowed herself a mischievous grin. “Take a look.”
Chris opened the envelope and looked inside. He reached in and pulled out a small rectangular piece of plastic. As he looked at it, his eyes widened. “Is this real?”
“Real enough,” she assured him. “It’s all real. I went to the elders when I found out what he was planning and I got permission to pursue this. I think I kind of guilted them into it, but this is something they should have done years ago, so I have no problem with it.”
Chris dropped the item back in the envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper and scanned it. He held it up to her. “I suppose the elders made this?”
She shook her head with a laugh. “No, actually that would be the United States government.”
Chris looked at her surprised. “The United States government? How’d you manage that?”
She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s more legal than the stuff my brother pulled. “At least I went through the proper legal channels.” She have her brother a look of amusement. “He browbeat people using our brother-in-law’s name.” Seeing Chris’ continued hesitation, she urged him, “Go ahead. Bring it to your dad. He needs it.”
Chris peered into the envelope for a second before asking, “You’re sure these are real?”
She nodded. “I’m sure. Don’t worry about it.”
He smiled, still a bit unsure.
“Didn’t you have to get going?” JD asked, defusing the silence.
Chris nodded. Envelope in hand he orbed out.
JD turned around to look at Cassia. “Since I’m sure your time is limited, I’m out of here, too.” With that he orbed out leaving the two siblings alone.
“He’s right,” Cassia commented as she turned to Daniel, “I can’t stay long.”
“I know,” he admitted, a lump in his throat. “If you ever need a place to stay, even if you can’t tell us, you’re welcome at my home. You’re my sister. Even your elders can’t change that.”
Cassia wrapped her arms around him and then got up on her tip toes to give him a kiss. “At least I get the chance to say good-bye this time.”
Daniel hugged her back. “I love you, Cass. So do Ash and Belle.” When he let her go, he pulled out his wallet and looked until he found a picture. He removed the picture and handed it to her. “Keep this. I can get another.”
She took the picture from him and looked at it. The faces of her three siblings, their spouces, and their various children looked back at her. She grinned at Daniel as she tucked it into her pocket. “Thank you. I love you, Danny.” She gave him another hug before she orbed out.
Daniel followed the trail she left with his eyes and gulped. He sighed as he headed toward his car, wishing things had been different.
“The families of most whitelighters never even imagine whitelighters exist let alone know their lost loved one is one,” a teenager boy leaning against Daniel’s car informed him.
Daniel frowned at him. “Who are you?”
“Sorry for being brash with you earlier,” the boy commented. “I needed to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into before she answered you.”
Daniel frowned. “You’re the elder? You look like a twelve-year-old.”
He shrugged. “My name is Kevin Shepherd. And I’m older than I look.”
“Right,” Daniel scowled. “Whitelighters don’t age because they’re dead, so elders don’t either.” He looked up at Kevin and asked. “What moron would put a twelve-year-old in a position of authority?”
Kevin was silent for several seconds. Finally, in a soft voice he replied, “If you must know, I was thirteen when I got this job, but it’s not about my age, which is closer to what you saw earlier than to this. I’m here to give you a choice to make.”
Daniel looked at him curiously. “You mean you aren’t here to erase my memory?”
Kevin shook his head. “Not at present, that is unless of course you want me to.” When Daniel shook his head, Kevin continued with, “Cassia is going to go before the elders, myself included, and we will decide what will happen as a result of this day.” Kevin suspected had she not been under him, then he would not have been included. “To my knowledge nothing like this has ever happened before. Most of the time whitelighters come from families with no magical backgrounds,” Kevin informed him with a curious look. “How’d you out about all this anyone?”
“Does it matter?” Daniel returned.
“I guess not,” Kevin admitted. “I was just curious.”
“You said something about choices,” Daniel pressed.
Kevin nodded. “Choices. Right. You already know you have the choice of forgetting everything about this.”
“The choices I’ll actually like, please,” Daniel gave him an annoyed look. “Otherwise I am heading home, because this conversation is not worth it.”
Kevin sighed. “I need your word that you will not tell your family that you found her.”
Daniel’s frown deepened. “They know what I’ve been doing. They’ll ask.”
“Put them off,” Kevin suggested.
“Why should I?” Daniel growled.
“Because,” Kevin informed him, indicating up with his chin, “They’ll look on it better if they feel They can trust you. And as I said, most whitelighter’s families never know anything about whitelighters or even magic. It’s highly unlikely that They will let you see her, again, but it might help her, if they know her brother can be trusted. Besides, if they decided to wipe your memory,” he continued, ignoring Daniel’s annoyed look, “it’s better if they don’t have to do it to your whole family or even more people.”
“Why can’t you just let us be?” Daniel snarled. “She can do her job, look out for her charges, and still have a chance to spend time with her family. We won’t tell anyone about this, about magic. I think the fact that we haven’t yet, should tell you that.”
“And if we did, how would you even begin to explain your dead sister showing up?”
Daniel grinned at that and pulled out the same piece of paper he had shown Cassia. “With this.”
Kevin read it and chuckled. “Imaginative, but I don’t think that answers all the questions.”
“Oh, I think I’ve got all those questions covered,” Daniel assured him. “Give me a chance to prove it.”
“This isn’t going to go the way you want it to,” Kevin informed him, feeling sorry for the guy. “Enjoy the knowledge of knowing she’s all right, while you have it.”
“And how long is that?” Daniel wanted to know. He was pretty fed up with the whole thing.
Kevin shrugged. “Time moves differently Up There. It could be weeks or even months.”
“At least mention my idea,” Daniel requested. “I explained it to Cass. She can explain it to you.”
“Nothing will come of it,” Kevin repeated, “but I’ll bring it up.”
Daniel sighed. “I don’t want to forget. Even if I won’t be seeing her, again, I don’t want to forget.”
Kevin nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. If it helps, I understand.”
“You can’t possibly,” Daniel scowled at him. “When have you ever been in my situation?”
“I haven’t,” Kevin replied. “I’ve been in hers.” Before Daniel could form a reply Kevin disappeared in blue-white lights. He knew Daniel would do what he asked, at least for a while.
Daniel closed his eyes for several seconds. He was not looking forward to Belle’s call asking how his day had been, but if it helped Cass, he’d keep that conversation completely mundane.
Chris strode into The Manor. He walked past Becky Davis, a girl who worked as a greeter with the barest of grins.
“Chris, you’re late getting here,” Becky commented.
Chris stopped and looked at her. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. I promised Emily I’d relieve her as soon as I arrived.”
“She didn’t seem all that upset about being in charge,” Becky commented.
Chris gave her a look.
Becky shrugged. “Okay, so I haven’t been in the main room since I started work. Still, how much trouble could she be having? We all like her.”
Chris smiled and made a tiny sound of appreciation. “I’m sure she would be glad to hear that. Has it been busy tonight?”
“A bit,” Becky admitted. “And Ty’s been a pretty distracted all night,” she added with a laugh. “The new girl’s caught his eye.”
“New girl?” Chris questioned. “Mom didn’t mention a new girl.”
Becky shrugged. “Her name’s Lindsey. She’s a waitress.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “Okay, well, I’d better go meet her. Anything else I should know?”
Becky considered this and shook her head. “Not really. The rooms full in there, but I think most everyone has their food, so it’s mostly getting drinks and stuff.”
Chris nodded. “Thanks.” With another quick smile at her he headed into the main part of the restaurant. He headed straight for the kitchen. Inside he found Ty Addington stirring something in a skillet.
Emily was balancing plates on a tray. She looked up at the sound of the door opening. She grinned at the sight of him. “Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show.”
“I told you I’d be here soon,” he reminded her.
“Is everything all right?”
His smile broadened. “Yes, everything’s all right.”
“You’re brother?”
“Probably home by now,” he decided.
“You don’t know?”
He shook his head. “I don’t check in with him all the time. Once I knew everything was going to be all right over there, I had other things to finish. You hear from your brother?”
She grinned. “Both of them actually. And apparently, they had a long talk with each other. Nate convinced Matt that I don’t need quit my job here.”
“Well, that’s good,” he concluded. “We don’t want to lose you here.” He turned to look at Ty. “Would you like some help with that?”
Emily smiled and headed back into the kitchen with her tray.
Ty shook his head. “Na, I’m fine. You want me back out on the floor after this?”
Chris nodded. “You’re not really supposed to be in the kitchen, so let’s not press our luck. Maybe in a few years when you are older and it’s, legal to have you back here.”
“If it’s not legal to have me work back here, then why is it required that I can cook in order to work here?” Ty wanted to know.
Chris shrugged. “We’ve been over this before. It’s legal to have you do some things in the kitchen, just not all. Once you turn eighteen, you can do most everything, but until then, you are still required to know how to help out in the kitchen when needed. I appreciate you doing this and I’m sorry that you don’t like the rules, but I didn’t make them.”
Ty sighed. He looked at Chris for a moment and made a face. “No, you just break them when it suits you.”
Chris glanced around the kitchen and gave Ty an amused look. “And you don’t?”
Ty looked at him for several seconds before he started to chuckle. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. So back to waiting tables, huh?”
Chris nodded with a smile. “Yep, back to waiting tables. You stick around here, and we’ll get you in this kitchen more often, but you’ve still got to wait until you turn eighteen.”
Ty nodded, letting Chris take over the stove and he changed out of his apron and cleaned up so he could head into the main room to wait tables. “Give me time. I’ll have your place in this kitchen in a few years.”
Chris chuckled. “We’ll see. In the mean time, thanks for helping out.” Once Ty had left the room, Chris turned to the food on the stove. It was so nice to be able to relax and work. Chris chuckled as he appreciated the irony of that thought. Most people didn’t think of work as place to relax.