Salvation

Chapter 18: Recovering Lost Time

After a few hours of driving, Marc pulls the van over at a gas station to fuel up and grab some snacks. Glancing at the passenger seat, he sees that Darci is still curled up in her seat with her head resting against the window. Leaning over the middle consol, Marc gently shakes her shoulder making her jump awake at the movement.

"I'm up!" she shouts and then yawns right after, proving to Marc how tired she really is. Brushing her red hair out of her face, he kisses her forehead gently.

"It's ok Darci, I'm just letting you know that I've stopped for gas. If you want to get out and stretch your legs now would be a good time, might be the last for a while. I plan on driving a few more hours before stopping for the night." Getting out of the car Marc heads into the convenient store and gas station. As he opens the door he looks behind and sees Darci following him.

Grasping his hand, she follows him around the store as he picks up a few items for the trip including a lot of junk food and water. Handing Darci a couple of bags of chips, they head over to the till to pay for their food and gas.

Heading back to the van, Marc and Darci drop their loot into the back seat and climb back into the front to drive for a few hours longer.

***

The ride for the rest of the day was quiet and uneventful. Marc kept himself busy by driving and thinking about how Darci would enjoy the surprise he had in store for her when they arrived at their destination in three days time.

Darci entertained herself by playing with the radio and CD player, mostly just to annoy Marc though. She enjoyed seeing him try to stop her from changing all of his music settings, though he did fail as when he got out for a quick break she cranked the bass all the way up and the volume as much as she could stand, then put on the song with the most bass.

After that incident, Marc took all of the CDs and threw them into the very back of the van so she couldn't reach them anymore. Since that happened, the rest of the trip was spent in almost silence, just Marc's choice of music left on the radio.

Growing bored fast, Darci decides to attempt to get answers from Marc again. "So, how much longer do we have to go before we arrive to wherever we're going?" She asks, watching him from the corner of her eye as the windshield wipers wipe the rain that hits the windshield off.

"We should be there by tomorrow afternoon, maybe sooner depending on the traffic." Looking over at her, he slowly lifts his lips into a smile. "I know what you're trying to do right now, you're trying to get information from me. Face it, with my line of work, you can't pull that on me; because I know how to use that too."

Darci glares at him then softens her expression. "You know, we never did really catch up these past 3 years, or actually, more like the past 9 years. So, starting from then, what have I all missed from your life?"

Hesitant to answer her question, Marc moves to turn the radio up a little louder and he avoids her gaze. "Marc? What's wrong?" Feeling her hand on his arm, he turns away from her to look sideways out the window.

Knowing inside that he couldn't avoid this question forever, Marc takes in a deep breath and hesitantly starts talking. "Well, at the beginning, I was still getting used to Nunavut. I knew nobody there, so for my sixteen birthday, I just stayed home with my parents. After the first month there, I had met some of the kids in my class and became good friends with them."

Listening intently, Darci leans forward and offers support occasionally, letting him know that she's there for him. Slowly and patiently they trade stories from the time they got separated until where they are now. By the end of the day, Darci and Marc caught each other up on almost everything that they've missed. Except for one thing.

"Marc..." Darci starts, unsure where she's going with her thought, "I, um, I overheard you talking on the phone the first day I was with you." Sensing him tense beside her, she continues on, not wanting her nerves to give up on her yet. "I'm sorry I was the cause for you to quit your job. I never meant for my showing up to harm anyone I care about, especially you. But, why didn't you tell me? I mean, I know you told me about you being a police officer and all, but why didn't you tell me you worked undercover as well?"

Avoiding her gaze again, Marc looks out the window and takes a deep breath before he begins talking. "I didn't want to tell you because I thought that you'd think of me saving you as just a job, when it's so much more than that. Yes, I did work as an undercover cop, and yes, I was working on the sex slavery, but I never, ever would have sat back and watched you be sold to anyone. It still kills me that I had actually sunk down to their level, all to save the person I love more than anything in the world."

Taking a shaky breath in he turns the van into a hotel parking lot. Turning the car off, he turns in his seat to look at Darci, tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. Reaching over, he brushes her cheek with his thumb as the tears start to flow.

"Marc, I know you. I know you didn't treat me as part of your job. You've never treated me like anything less than your equal, and for that I thank you. But please, I can't stand to see you blame yourself anymore than you already have. Sure buying me to save me may kill you, but seeing you beat yourself up about it kills me."

Undoing her seatbelt, Darci moves closer to Marc and wraps her arms around him, pulling him into a soft hug. "Please, let's just put it behind us, let's forget it ever happened and move on. Together." Sniffling back her tears, Darci lifts her head from his shoulder and kisses him softly and slowly on the lips.

Nodding, Marc releases her and gets out of the van and goes around to her side and opens the door for her. Walking hand in hand, they enter the hotel and get a room for the night.