Beneath A Moonless Sky

[Laurel Wayland]

Once there was a night
beneath a moonless sky,
too dark to see a thing
too dark to even try.

Laurel hadn't slept a wink. She was too excited, too nervous. She had been looking forward to this night for a week, for this was the night she would finally see her beloved Eric again. She'd been on holiday at the seaside with her family for six days, unable to do anything but write to him and hope he received her letters. Finally she had gotten word from him, and they agreed to meet at the abandoned fairgrounds the night after she returned.

I stole to your side,
to tell you I must go.
I couldn't see your face,
but sensed you even so.

Dressed in nothing but her white chemise, which was admittedly very pretty with a shoulder-bearing neckline and a great deal of lace on the elbow-length sleeves, she wrapped a dark blue tasseled shawl around her shoulders and crept down the stairs of her family's huge house, into the foyer, and plucking a candle from the sconce by the door, she slipped out the front door and into the night.

And I touched you.
And I felt you.
And I heard those ravishing refrains.
The music of your pulse.
The singing in your veins.

It took Laurel the better part of an hour to reach the old fairgrounds. Her feet were tired and aching by the time she arrived, and her candle had burned quite low. She hoped she would be able to make it home by it's faint light. She needed to be back in her bed before dawn, or she would be missed. She was to return to Saint Augustine's in the morning anyway, so she needed to get home and pack her things back into her trunk.

And I held you.
And I touched you.
And embraced you.
And I felt you.
And with every breath and every sigh.
I felt no longer scared.
I felt no longer shy.
At last our feelings bared
beneath a moonless sky.

Laurel pulled the shawl tightly around her shoulders. The nights were still chilly, and she had not thought to wear anything warmer so desperate was she to get to Eric's side. She didn't even think to be embarrassed about walking through the middle of Devil's Hollow in her night dress. She wished now that she'd dressed properly, however, because the night chill was starting to work its way through her shawl and into her bones. As she waited for Eric to arrive, she began to shiver against the cold.

And blind in the dark,
as soul gazed into soul;
I looked into your heart
and saw you pure and whole.

Cloaked under the night
with nothing to suppress,
a woman and a man
no more and yet no less.

[Eric Calder]

Eric was running a little late. Another murder... this time it was a woman's body found in an alley. When he had heard the news, his heart had skipped a beat, fearing it might be someone he knew... his mother, his sister or... "Laurel," he said, jogging up to her and taking her into his arms, spinning around with her for a moment and kissing her neck. He seemed breathless.

Setting her down, his lips connected with hers for a moment, his chest heaving a little when he pulled back and brushed her hair away from her face. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said, blue eyes looking right into hers. "There was another murder..." He held her tight, taking in everything about her. He knew he had to catch the one who was doing this... He didn't want Laurel's body to be the next one lying dead and cold on the ground... His dear Laurel.

He was wearing a black suit as usual, white shirt and black vest with his black suit jacket over it. "Are you cold?" he asked her, knowing she must be just from looking at her, standing there in her nightgown. He slipped out of his jacket and set it over her shoulders.

[Laurel Wayland]

Laurel cupped Eric's face in her soft hands as he spun her in a circle. She kissed him back deeply, her fingers tangling themselves in his dark curls. He looked so handsome in his dark suit; she didn't want to take her eyes off of him. He broke away from her, but she stole one more brief kiss before he spoke.

"I'm sorry I'm late. There was another murder..." His voice trailed off and he held her tightly against his chest. She knew he must be exhausted and emotionally drained, and yet he had still come out here to be with her tonight. This was why she loved him. "Are you cold?" He asked. Without waiting for her to respond, he draped his coat over her thin shoulders. She breathed in his scent and buried her face in his chest once more. This was her favorite way to be held, with his arms around her and her face pressed to his heart.

"Who?" She inquired, worry evident in her voice. "On Benedict Lane again?" She had been very careful about locking her doors and windows every night before bed after the grisly murders of her next door neighbors, but the thought that she'd been sneaking about that very night while murderers were on the loose gave her chills. Not to mention the fact that she hated knowing that Eric was out running around after dangerous criminals. If anything happened to him, she would be devastated beyond repair.

"Promise me you'll be careful," she said to him, looking up into his bright blue eyes with her exquisite green ones. "I'd prefer not to wear black for a month on your account." She offered him a little sideways smile, to let him know that she was playing with him.

She ran a hand through his hair and pulled his face down to hers and placed a butterfly-light kiss on his cheek. Then she moved her mouth to his, her kiss becoming more exploratory and needy. With her other hand she took his hand and guided it to her waist. She could feel the roughness of his skin through her thin nightgown, and she got chills all over again. This time, however, they had nothing to do with the presence of the killer.

[Eric Calder]

Eric shook his head at her and sighed deeply. "This one was a young woman... found in an alley way," he said, letting her kiss him. He held onto her waist, running his thumb over the material of her nightgown. He broke their kiss, looking down at her in a serious way. "You have no need to worry about me, Laurel," he said, giving her a small, fleeting smile. "I can handle this. I'm worried for you..."

He kissed her neck and then brushed his lips against her jaw line. "I want you to be careful." He didn't want to even say out loud that he didn't want her to be the next body found. "Just don't do anything too risky. I can't be sure how long it's going to take to find this creep." His other hand came up to tuck her hair behind her ear. He didn't know what he would do if he walked in on a murder scene only to find that it was Laurel. It would probably drive him mad. The idea of whoever the hell this was, killing someone he cared for... it drove him to the edge, egging him on to catch the person before they could so much as get near his loved ones.

[Laurel Wayland]

Laurel suppressed a shiver as Eric's lips brushed the thin skin of her neck. She clutched his lapels in her fists, pulling him against her as her caressed her jaw with his lips, and unable to bear it, she guided his mouth to hers. "I don't want to go back to school tomorrow," she whispered, barely breaking the kiss enough to speak. She smiled against his lips. "You should whisk me away on your white horse and take me away from all this," she said, only half teasing. She had wished many times that they could just run away, but she knew it was impossible.

Suddenly, she pulled away from the kiss, looking fearfully over her shoulder. She'd heard footsteps in the dark, coming from somewhere close behind her. "Who's there?" She called, perhaps foolishly. She turned to face the empty night, pressing her back against Eric's body, as though that would make her invisible.

Out of the darkness stepped a tall man with curly, sandy-blond hair and the same piercing green eyes as Laurel. Laurel let out a sigh of relief as she recognized her oldest brother.

"James!" She hissed, relieved that it was not the killer, but terrified that he'd seen her with Eric. "What in God's name are you doing here?"

James, who was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, looked at her seriously. "I followed you. You are the loudest person under Heaven, Laurie, I swear. If you're going to sneak away in the dead of night, you'd do well not to wake the whole bloody house. Father is livid."

Laurel closed her eyes and seemed to slump against Eric's chest. "Blast," she swore. "He sent you? Please, please Jimmy, don't tell him," she begged her favorite brother. She turned to face Eric and gazed up at him with apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry," she said. She felt as though she might break into tears at any moment.

[Eric Calder]

"I'll write to you," Eric said to her, smiling as she worried over school. "I'll try to come see you too... don't worry, I have my ways." He had been about to kiss her, but he heard it too and pulled her back a little... until he saw who it was.

Eric's face paled before going red and he rubbed the back of his neck. Her brother... great. He stayed quiet as Laurel begged with her brother because he honestly didn't want to cause any problems that would only make their situation worse. Looking down at her as she spoke, Eric melted on the spot, but he did not go forward to comfort her... not with her brother right there. "Don't be," he said to her when she apologized, feeling bad. His blue eyes glanced over to her brother and he rubbed the back of his own neck. "It's my fault..."

[Laurel Wayland]

James eyed Eric with distaste. He didn't like the fact that his little sister was sneaking out to be with a man, but at least he was a respectable man of good breeding. He had a good job, albeit a dangerous one. James ran a hand backwards through his blond curls and shook his head at Laurel.

"This is foolish," he said. "Father knows you're meeting him. His anger is nothing compared to mother's, though." James cast his eyes toward James. "I'm not going to rat either of you out," he said, a his voice tired. "Just take care of her?" He turned to go, and with a few steps he disappeared into the dark.

Laurel offered her brother a sincere, but small, smile and she mouthed "thank you" to him. The whole time he'd been speaking, she'd pressed her back to Eric's chest, as though afraid he might disappear from behind her. Once James was gone, she turned back to him and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. "I don't care what my mother and father think," she said boldly. "We'll find a way to be together. Right?" She was still afraid that Eric was going to come to his senses and realize he had much better prospects out there than her.

[Eric Calder]

((Blah, sorry it's been a few days girl. Couldn't concentrate from all the breathing problems. Get this, I found out I don't really have asthma. Go figure. On the brighter side of things, I finally finished fixing up that other forum I told you about. ))

Eric stood tall and with a very serious demeanor as Laurel's brother spoke. Nodding his head, he was completely sincere when he answered the man's request. "Of course," he said. He would always take care of her. His blue eyes stayed on this man until he disappeared into the darkness, staying on the spot where he disappeared. That is, until Laurel turned back to him...

A small smile crossed his face as she brushed back his hair from his eyes. Taking her hand before she could pull it away, he held it and kissed it, gazing down at her with sincerity. "Always," he said, staring at her. He didn't give a rat's ass what her mother might think. He wasn't exactly Mrs. Wayland's biggest fan. "I promise you, no horrifying beast(he was speaking of her mother of course) shall ever come between us." He brushed his lips against hers, speaking softly.

[Laurel Wayland]

Laurel accepted the kiss from Eric with a smile and a kiss of her own. "I'm sorry about James," she said. "He really does mean well. He's my favorite of my brothers. He's just very... protective." She wrapped her arms around Eric's fit waist and held herself against him. He was so warm and comfortable. She longed to just stay here with him forever, letting the warmth of him filter through her thin chemise. She thought nothing of the cold air of the night, what with Eric holding her close.

"Fearsome beasts aside," she said, looking up at her beloved detective, "I would like you to meet my father. Perhaps he ... well, perhaps he could arrange something so that we could meet at an hour other than dark-thirty." She giggled at the very thought of Eric standing before her father, asking for her hand. It was something she'd dreamt of since first meeting Eric, and she fervently hoped that Eric would agree to the meeting. That would, of course, be the easy part. The difficult bit would be convincing her father to meet Eric, and even more daunting was the idea of getting Mrs. Wayland to let the detective into their home.

((Sorry this took so long!! I've been in the hospital off and on and my medicine has had me sleeping for days at a time.))