Distant Shores 2: Waves Of Time

Night Owls

Two weeks later....

It's about one in the morning and you and Edward are having trouble sleeping; no doubt because of the full moon deadline tomorrow night. You let out a satisfied, relaxed groan as Edward gently massages your swollen feet. You carefully rub your fifteen week bump. You've had to let out even more of your clothes lately. If your baby keeps growing at this rate, you'll run out of thread and fabric.

Edward finishes up and lays down on one arm, while gently stroking your cheek with his other hand.

"That felt amazing, Edward. Thank you."

You lean in and kiss him, feeling him smile against your lips.

"It's the least I could do, darling. You're doing all the work making this baby. I'm so proud of you, Coral. And I'm so happy you made us parents. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful woman to share my life with."

You let yourself indulge in this sweet family moment before reality comes crashing down.

"I'm worried about tomorrow. We couldn't find a way that both Robert and I could stay. What if I end up going back?"

He puts his index finger to your lips.

"Hush. No need to get all worked up. I vowed to find a way to make you stay and I intend to keep that promise. We will find the answer because I'm not letting you go."

The past two weeks you, Edward, Oliver, Charlie, and Robert went through every thick, rainbow tome in the Atlantis library, and found....absolutely nothing. Every piece of parchment that mentioned the curse kept saying the same thing; prove that blood is thicker than water, and one descendant can forever stay.

When you weren't doing research you were spending time with your crew. You wanted to enjoy their company as much as you could. They were all settling into Atlantis nicely, and you loved discovering something new in the magical land with them every day. Luckily you had warned them about being related to Robert, but it was still a shock when they were reunited with him. Needless to say it wasn't a warm welcome, not that he cared.

Eventually Edward falls asleep and you crawl out of bed slowly so you don't wake him. You tenderly brush his curly auburn hair off his forehead and lean down to press a kiss there.

"I love you so much. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, past, present, and future."

You adjust the fluffy indigo blanket so it's covering his shoulders, tiptoe out of the room, and silently close the door. You're not quite sure where you are going; you're sort of just letting your feet guide you.

As you're walking down the hall you pass the door to Charlie's room, noticing that it's cracked open. You quietly approach to close it when you see a sight that makes you smile, and secretly wish you had your phone on you to capture the moment.

Oliver is lying on the bed with his head against the backboard, leaning against one of the big aquamarine pillows, sound asleep. His white undershirt is slightly rumpled because Charlie's peacefully sleeping with her head resting on his chest; her wavy brown hair cascading down to his lap. One of Oliver's arms is tucked behind his head, while the other gently rests on Charlie's waist. Their coats, hats, and boots are kicked into a messy pile by the foot of the bed. It's obvious that while they may not have had sex (Oliver is too much of a gentleman to try anything like that so soon) they are being intimate in other ways. Slowly they're leaning to trust in love after years of being told by their fathers they don't deserve it.

Why should I be the only one who gets a happy ending?

You sneak into the room and see books scattered on the bed, so you stack them on the end table. The books are from the library of Atlantis. Even though you all agreed to call it a night at eleven, they still kept searching for ways to help you.

You heart melts as you gaze down at them.

"I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you. I love you guys."

You blow out the candle in the turtle shaped lantern on the nightstand and sneak out of the room, closing the door behind you.

You continue your walk, letting your mind wander. You don't even realize it, but your feet led you right to the base of the temple's opening. On your right is an alcove, hidden away from the waterfall overhead. You duck under it and are surprised when it leads you to a small golden room. The room has two turquoise armchairs with huge backs, a small hearth with a roaring fire going, and what looks like a snow globe, resting on an orange tea table. You settle into an armchair and warm your hands up by the fire, seeing bright silver sparks coming out of the flames and you know instantly that the fire is controlled by Triton magic.

This room is the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts. You've just finished getting comfortable when you hear a familiar gruff voice sound from behind you.

"I thought I was the only one who knew about this place."

You turn around in the chair and look up.

"What can I say? Great minds think alike."

"I'll give you that, girl. I found this little alcove about four days ago. I find it easier to collect my thoughts by myself."

You chuckle.

"Until little old me ruined your plans again."

Robert sits down in the other chair and you notice he's holding two clear glasses with some kind of purple mixture inside. He hands you one of them.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight either, so I guess my intuition paid off."

You look at the contents of the glass in your hand and take a whiff. It's a fruity scent and it smells like blueberries.

"It's not poison, girl. It's a Triton rendition of a smoothie. It's got blueberries and strawberries in it. I know you've been on a fruit kick lately. I mean you were devouring mangoes, kiwis, and berries the whole time we were in the library."

"Well aren't you observant."

He huffs at you, but the peace offering was nice so you decide to meet him halfway.

"Thanks. This is actually really sweet of you."

You take a sip and let the cool, creamy concoction explode your taste buds. You gingerly rest a hand on your bump; baby really does like berries.

"Yeah well, don't get used to it."

That's more like the Robert I know.

You both fall into a companionable silence, the only noise is the fire crackling. You decide to try and talk to him about a question that had been piquing your curiosity since he mentioned it.

"Robert, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

He lets out a sigh.

"You can ask, doesn't mean I'll answer."

"Fair enough. But also for the record you can ask me anything too. I mean we are cousins after all."

He lets out a small laugh.

"Yeah I've heard."

You take another sip of your smoothie as you consider your words.

"I guess I'd like to know more about your life before you time traveled. Your childhood, your parents..."

You see pain cross Robert's face, but he composes himself and and nods.

"If you're sure you want to know; it ain't a happy story."