::Brook::

"Did Alex say if he was going to be back here in time for dinner?" Jenny yelled to me from the kitchen where she had started to cook dinner.

"He didn't," I yelled back, stretching my legs out on the couch where Jenny had left me propped up by a bunch of pillows and watching re-runs of Friends.

"Can you find out?" she asked, appearing in the doorway. "I'd like to know if I'm cooking for one or two since I assume you're still not eating..." she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll have toast. And that's it," I decided.

I had a serious issue with throwing up so if not eating while I had to take the stupid pain medication and antibiotics was what I had to do to not get sick, I was fine with that.

"Fine," Jenny sighed and went back into the kitchen. "Let me know what Alex says."

I picked up my phone that was sitting next to me and quickly sent Alex a text.

Hey. Jenn wants to know if you'll be back here in time for dinner.

I practically had to throw him out of my apartment come three o’clock when Jenny got home from school. I really, truly appreciated him taking care of me, especially the part where he helped me change my clothes and then cleaned the bathroom after I'd gotten sick but I felt terrible that he'd been away for so long and was only in town for a few days
and hadn't even made it home once.

He tried to convince me that he didn't mind not seeing his dog but I knew that was a lie. The only thing I didn't have to worry about was him going to see his parents. They were actually in the UK too visiting family and Alex had actually just seen them the week before. I’m not even sure if they were back in the states yet.

I know he felt trapped at my house because he didn't have his car. It took a lot of convincing but I finally got him to agree to take my car and go see his dogs and check on the house and whatever else he needed to do. Normally Rian would have been at the house but he had gone to California to see Cassadee.

It was a little unsettling to me that Alex had to go to his ex's house to see the dogs but he assured me it wasn't a big deal. She told him she probably wouldn’t even be home when he got there and was leaving the back door unlocked for him. He never had given me a reason to worry about her so I was trying not to.

I was also trying not to think about the fact that come tomorrow afternoon, Alex needed to be on a train to New York City for some photo shoot. I wasn't prepared for another month without him, especially after these last two days. It was dawning on me just how much I really did like him.

I was pulled from my thoughts when my phone vibrated in my hand.

Definitely. I'll be back in about twenty minutes actually. Do you need anything?

I smiled before sending back another message.

Just you. ;)

"He'll be back in twenty minutes," I yelled to Jenny and she appeared in the doorway again.

"You think he's going to spend the night again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "I hope so."

"Really?" she smirked. "Doesn't it hurt?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Doesn't what hurt?"

"Having sex when you only had an organ ripped from your body a few days ago?"

"Jenn, no! We didn't... We haven't... We're definitely not going to tonight," I assured her.

"I can't believe you got this guy so whipped and he hasn't gotten laid yet," she said to herself as she headed back into the kitchen.

"He's not whipped," I yelled to her. "And it's not that big of a deal," I said mostly to myself at this point.

Sure, Alex and I had known each other for almost two months and I'm sure under normal circumstances other people would have slept together already. Our situation was different. If I was being honest, I wasn't the girl that just had sex. The guy had to be really special and I had to be completely ready. Alex and I weren't even a couple so I most definitely was not ready yet.

::Alex::

I felt pretty bad about leaving Brook to stop home for a little while and go see my dogs but she had been so persistent about me going that I almost felt even worse not going.

I tried to be quick when I got to my house, quickly walking through to make sure everything was in order. I took a few things out of my suitcase and replaced them with things I thought I would need in Canada.

As I drove over to Lina's house, I hoped she wasn't home like she'd told me earlier. I know I needed to talk to her about what happened between us in Europe but I really didn't have it in me to do it today. All I wanted to do was spend some time with my dogs and get back to Brook.

I pulled up in front of Lina's house and thankfully did not see her car. Maybe things were finally going my way when it came to her.

I slipped into her backyard and went into her house through the back door. Immediately the dogs came running and started jumping around my feet excitedly. I crouched down and gave both dogs equal attention with petting, belly rubs and scratching them behind their ears.

"How've you guys been?" I asked, knowing they couldn't answer but the way their tails were wagging, I knew they were happy to see me.

I rummaged through the cabinets in the kitchen and eventually found where Lina stored the dog food. I fed them and then afterward since it was unusually nice outside for February, I let the dogs out in the yard and watched them run around for a bit.

Brook had been texting me to see if I was going to be back for dinner and I know it was lame but I couldn't fight back the smile that spread across my face after I'd asked her if she needed anything and she replied Just you.

After watching the dogs run around for about fifteen minutes, I was finally able to get them back in the house and after playing with them a little longer, I decided it was time to get back to Brook's. It was getting late and I didn't want to risk Lina coming home.

I made sure the dogs' water bowls were filled with fresh water and I locked up the back door, figuring I'd just go out the front door this time.

"See you in a few weeks, boys," I said, giving each dog a few more head scratches before I opened the front door.

"Holy shit!"

I couldn't believe my luck - well, actually I could. Of course, just as I was leaving, Lina would be standing at the front door fishing in her purse for her keys.

"Lina. Hi," I said awkwardly.

It took her a second to catch her breath. I couldn't exactly blame her. I would have been startled too.

"A-Alex," she said, turning around for a second and realizing my car was nowhere to be found. "I didn't know you were still here. How did you get here?" she asked, confused.

"Um," I bit my lip. "I borrowed a friend's car. That's kind of why I'm in a rush to get out of here."

"Oh," she nodded slowly. "Well, do you think you have five minutes to spare? I actually have something for you," she said, walking passed me and entering her house, the dogs getting all riled up again.

"Okay," I sighed. "Five minutes," I said and followed her.

"I'll be right back," she said, setting her stuff down on the kitchen table before disappearing down the hall.

I shifted awkwardly from foot to foot until she reappeared.
"What is that?" I asked, getting a quick glance at the something silver in her hand.

She passed it over to me. "Looks like your watch. I found it in my hotel room that day in Europe after you left."

I stared at the watch for a second, everything (that I could remember and thought I remembered) came flooding back to me and I felt sick suddenly.

"Thanks, Lina," I forced a smile. "I thought I lost this thing," I said, trying to put the watch back on.

"Let me help you," she said, taking a few steps to close the space between us and taking the watch from me and easily clasping it around my wrist. "Perfect," she said, now cradling my hand in hers, glancing up at me.

"Yep, thanks," I said, jerking my hand away. "I really should get going."

"Oh," she said, her face twisting up kind of sad. "Did you maybe want to stay for dinner? I was going to make-"

"I'm sorry," I cut her off. "I really am. But I can't. I have plans with someone else. I'll see you later, okay?"

I felt bad for the way things were going with Lina. Sure, I wasn't in love with her anymore, but that didn't mean I didn't care about her on some level. I'd known her almost half of my life and with all the mutual friends we had, I knew she wasn't going to completely disappear from my life no matter who I was dating.

I gave her a quick hug and thanked her for my watch before quickly leaving the house before it could get any more awkward.

I sighed loudly as I started up Brook's car and pulled away from the driveway. I hadn't while I drove to my house and then to Lina's, but I now flipped on the radio, in hopes of distracting myself a bit from my thoughts as I drove.

A smile spread across my face when the CD in the player switched on and my voice filled the car. I ejected the CD for a second to see exactly what it was and smiled a little more when I saw it was a blank CD and written in sharpie was "Here's my favorite songs. You'll like them. Love, Sami."

I pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later and if I was being honest with myself, I was excited. I'd been gone about two hours and I was already beginning to miss Brook - which wasn't good, seeing as tomorrow I left again and I was gone for another month.

"Alex!" Brook squeaked from the couch when I walked back into the apartment.

"Hey you," I smiled, walking over to her and greeting her with a quick kiss. "It smiles great in here. What is she cooking?"

She shrugged, scrunching up her face. "Some chicken thing."

"Still not eating?" I asked, frowning a bit.

She shook her head. "The smell alone of food is making me gag."

"It will pass," I assured her, kissing the top of her head. "Promise."

She smiled, leaning up and kissing me lightly. "Thanks."

"Hey, Alex," Jenny said walking into the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "You're back just in time. Dinner is ready."

"Great," I nodded. "It smells really good."

"Thanks," she practically beamed before she headed back into the kitchen.

"I taught her everything she knows in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure that's my recipe she used," Brook whispered.

I laughed a little, helping her stand up. "Be nice."

"I'm always nice," she said with a smirk, making our way to the dinner table.

We sat down to eat and Brook and Jenny fell into a comfortable conversation about something that happened in one of Jenny's classes. I'd occasionally offer some input and answer a question when I asked but for the most part I was content watching Brook banter back and forth with her friend excitedly. She seemed to be feeling a bit better, which made me feel a little less awful for leaving the next day.

Thankfully, Jenny and I were able to convince Brook to eat something other than just a piece of toast. While, she had only eaten about half a piece of plain chicken, I figured it was better that just toast.

After dinner, I got Brook situated on the couch again before going back into the kitchen to help Jenny clean up dinner. She told me that I didn't have to help her, but I insisted. It was the least I could do after she had cooked me dinner.

"So, what's on the agenda for the rest of the night?" I asked, plopping down on the couch next to Brook and she immediately rested her legs in my lap.

"Well," she said, changing the channel on the TV. "It's Monday. So that means the Voice is on from 8-10 and Pretty Little Liars is on from 8-9. So, we're going to watch the first hour of the Voice live and DVR Pretty Little Liars. Then, when the second hour of the Voice starts, we watch Pretty Little Liars on the DVR and record the Voice. And then after Pretty Little Liars, we watch the end of the Voice," she explained, as if it should make sense to me.

"Why not just DVR the entire two hours of the Voice and just watch Pretty Little Liars live?"

Jenny plopped down on the recliner on the other side of the living room and laughed. "Have you ever watched an episode of Pretty Little Liars? You need to be able to pause and rewind that shit."

I nodded, laughing a little. "Good to know."

"Shh..." Brook hissed. "It's starting."

Over the next few hours I discovered a few new things about Brook. While watching the Voice, each time a judge turned his or her chair around to pick a contestant for their team, her eyes would fill up with tears and while watching Pretty Little Liars, she practically watched the entire thing from behind her throw blanket. She later explained that she was always afraid of what was going to pop out at one of the girls. It was kind of adorable.

By eleven-fifteen, Brook could barely keep her eyes open and we decided to get into bed, where we layed together for a little while watching an episode of Friends on Nick at Nite. I knew she had most definitely seen this episode before because if she wasn't reciting parts of the episode under her breath, she was giggling to herself before the really funny part actually happened. This was something Jack had a habit of doing while watching movies and it drove me crazy. With Brook, it was cute.

"I can't believe you have to leave tomorrow already," she said, lifting her head from my chest and resting it on my shoulder.

"I know," I frowned, tightening my arm around her waist and carefully pulling her closer. "It sucks."

"It totally does," she said, "and even more that I couldn't do anything fun. Again, I'm sorry about that."

"Hey," I looked down at her. "I already told you not to do that. Don't apologize that you got sick. I was completely content with everything we did these past two days."

"Okay," she smiled and I kissed her forehead. "What time do you have to be at the train station tomorrow?"

"About one o’clock. The train leaves at one-fifteen."

"Oh good! You'll still be around to watch the Giants victory parade with me. Did you figure out how you're going to get to the train station?" she asked.

"I'll take a cab," I said. "It's no big deal."

"A cab? Alex, don't be silly. I'll drive you."

"No," I shook my head. "That's silly. I'll be fine with a cab."

"Alex." she frowned. "I can handle a ten minute drive."

"No way, Brook. Not a chance," I said. "I appreciate it but it's okay."

"Fine," she sighed. "If you won't let me drive you, let Jenny drive so I can at least take the ride."

"Brook, come on..."

"She won't mind. She has her late classes Tuesdays so it's fine. Please?" she pouted.

I sighed. "Okay, fine. Don't you think you should ask Jenny first though?"

"Please," she laughed. "She won't tell me no. Jenny!" she called out.

About seven seconds later the door banged open and Jenny was standing there, looking a lot worried and a little out of breath. "What's wrong?"

"You're going to drive Alex to the train station tomorrow for one o’clock, okay?"

Jenny nodded slowly. "Yeah. Sure..."

"Are you sure?" I asked from behind Brook.

"Absolutely. I don't mind," she shrugged.

"Thanks," I shot her a smile and she nodded before heading out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I want to be able to see you off," Brook said, shifting little so she was cuddled into my side again, her head resting on my chest.

"I guess that's okay," I said, running my fingers up and down her arm. "Hey, so about that thing I was trying to tell you before..." I started.

She looked up at me, shaking her head. "I don't want to do this now," she said softly. "Not when I'm half asleep and you're about to leave."

"Yeah but Brook-" I tried but she cut me off.

"It's okay," she assured me. "We made it this far without knowing these things. What's another month?"

I shrugged. "Okay. If you're sure."

"I'm sure," she said, leaning up a little and kissing my chin. "I'd rather spend the rest of the night laying with you like this, because come tomorrow night when you're not here, I'm really going to miss you."

I squeezed her a little tighter. "Well you can rest assured that wherever I am I will be missing you too."
***

Notes

Story title: Taylor Swift - Sparks Fly
Chapter title: Maroon 5 - Sweetest Goodbye
Brook's outfit.