Strangers [COMPLETE]

Chapter 9: Midnight Conversations

"I missed you so much, Isaac." Spencer said to her son as they were about to go to sleep. She insisted that her parents take her room, and she slept in Isaac's bed with him. She didn't mind; it reminded her of when Isaac was a baby, and he would fall asleep on her chest.

"I missed you too, mommy." Isaac said, crawling to his mother and cuddling next to her. Spencer missed having her son with her. She felt like three months without him was too long. She was glad to finally have him back by her side.

After Spencer asked if Isaac was ready for bed, she listened to her son's many stories of his summer vacation with his dad. Isaac chattered on about going camping, and then traveling to Ohio to visit Mark's older sister. Isaac also shared his excitement for school to start, since he was starting kindergarten in a week. He had a habit of getting extremely excited while telling stories, but Spencer didn't mind. It was just something little kids did. She even found herself doing it sometimes.

Once Isaac started to get tired, he curled up next to his mother again. "Goodnight, mommy." He said.

"Goodnight, honey. I love you." Spencer said, petting her son's hair and kissing him on his forehead.

Isaac, overcome by a feeling of comfort and ready to give in, mumbled something that sounded like "I love you too," and he immediately fell asleep. Spencer hoped that he would have good dreams.

Spencer's phone, which was on the nightstand, buzzed. She carefully made sure not to wake up Isaac when she grabbed it. He looked so peaceful as he slept. She had received a text message from Toby.

"Goodnight, beautiful."

Spencer smiled to herself when she received the text message from Toby. She carefully made her way to the living room to call him. She needed to hear his voice.

"Hey, baby." She was welcomed by his deep, sexy voice.

"Hi, Isaac just fell asleep, so I figured we could talk." She said.

"Are you really considering moving to New York?" Toby asked bluntly. He didn't want to ask her, because he was afraid she'd say yes. He was scared she'd actually consider leaving him.

"No. I mean, they are thinking about promoting me to New York, but if they do, I'm saying no." She answered.

"Really? Not just for me, right? Because if it is just for me I can't live with that-"

"No. Part of it is for you, but my life is here. New York is so busy and loud. I'd hate it there."

Toby sighed in relief. He was so glad she wasn't moving. He couldn't stand the thought of her being hundreds of miles away.  He awkwardly tried to change the subject. "So, I was thinking that I could take you and Isaac on base to show him some planes. I know it may be boring for you, but I figured Isaac might like it."

"I think that's a great idea. I work tomorrow, so maybe this weekend?" Spencer asked, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"Sounds perfect," Toby said, "I think I'll let you get some sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight, Toby." She said. All she wanted was for him to hold her in his muscular arms, but just hearing his voice was good enough for now.

"Goodnight, beautiful." He said, then hanging up the phone.

Toby sat alone in his apartment, almost ready to go to sleep. He missed holding Spencer at night, even if she did kick occasionally, and tried to bite his nails. The summer was over now, and now it was time to go back to their regular schedules. They wouldn't have time to see each other as much.

He got ready for bed, wanting to start over the entire summer. He wanted to relive meeting her.

The next morning, Toby got a call from his boss. He had received some news that within the next two weeks, he'd be leaving for Syria. For eight months.

And to think, he was worried that she would be leaving. He didn't know how to tell her. She was so happy right now with her family; when he imagined him ruining that, he cringed. What he had with her was so perfect. He couldn't just leave her.

He visited her at her apartment, and smiled upon her answering the door in some pajama shorts and one of his shirts. It had become a habit of hers to start taking his shirts. She loved the way they felt, and he loved the way she looked in them. The shirt fell right above her knees, and it was like she was always getting a hug from him.

"Hey," she said, "I was just about to get ready for work. But keep quiet, Isaac and my parents are still sleeping."

He watched as she hurriedly brought him into the tiny apartment  and shuffled to the couch. He couldn't help but notice how incredibly beautiful she looked.

"What?" Spencer asked, noticing that Toby had been staring at her.

"Nothing," he said, "you're just so beautiful."

Spencer blushed. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked, crawling onto his lap and kissing him lightly.

"No thanks, I just came to tell you something," he said. He hated having to break the news to her.

"What is it?" Spencer asked, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

Toby couldn't just ruin her morning. He knew that she would be crushed if he told her the truth. He wanted to tell her; he knew he had to eventually.

Maybe for now, she didn't have to know.

"I love you so much." He said. He wasn't lying to her, he really did love her. That's just not what he really came to say.

Spencer smiled. She ran her hands through Toby's light brown hair. Spencer kissed Toby's soft lips, then rubbing their noses together as she said, "I love you, too."