Date Submitted: 8/3/01
Title of Story: "Deja Vu: Beginnings Ch. 4"
Author: shuis_4everinlove@hotmail.com

Chapter Four

Victoria and Noah walked through the garden, holding hands, and talking. All of a sudden they turned the corner and ran right into Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald and Hank Bennett.

“Now what do we have here,” said Hank as he eyed the pair.

“Um… hi Uncle Hank, how are you?” Noah said nervously.

“Fine. And how might you be?”

“Oh, great.”

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce me to this lovely young lady?”

“Uh, yeah. Uncle Hank, this is Victoria Crane. Victoria, this is Hank Bennett.”

Victoria shook Hank’s hand sheepishly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Hank replied. “So, what brings you and my nephew out here?”

“Oh, we were just talking.”

“And you had to come here to talk?” Luis questioned.

Victoria and Noah were both silent.

“That’s what I thought. Noah, can I talk to you for a minute.”

“Okay.” Noah turned to Victoria. “Do you mind?”

“No, that’s fine. Luis, is Sheridan in the cottage?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Well, I think I’ll go visit her. I haven’t really had a chance to see too much of her yet.”

Victoria walked away, looking over her shoulder to see Noah walk off the other way with Hank and Luis. They were talking in hushed voices, but she was pretty sure that Luis at least was trying to save Noah from falling into the clutches of a Crane. She sighed. ‘I hope it doesn’t work. I don’t want to lose him, especially not now, when things are just starting.”

Victoria got to the cottage door, and opened it. Sheridan was sitting on the sofa, looking very bored. At the sound of the door she looked up, and smiled at her niece.

“Hello Victoria. How nice of you to drop by. I’m going out of my mind with boredom!”

“Yes, I can see that. I’m surprised your bodyguard left you alone, after all I’ve heard about him.”

“Sometimes people act differently then you would have expected,” Sheridan said sadly.

“Luis seems nice.”

“Yes well, so did Jean-Luc.”

“An interesting comparison. So, what’s up with you and Luis? And don’t say nothing, I can tell. Especially after what happened this morning at the Book Café.”

“Oh, you were there?”

“Yes, and I heard a lot of confusing things.”

“Tell me about it. I still sometimes can’t believe it. I wouldn’t, either, if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes.”

“Seen what. Sheridan, what happened.”

“It’s a long story, but basically I heard Luis brag about using me to get back at the Cranes.”

Victoria was shocked. “I can’t believe it! I knew Luis hated our family, but he still seemed like a decent guy.”

“I know. I was beginning to think we might have a future. But now that will never happen.”

“Maybe not. Luis was quite persistent in denying it.”

“That’s the worse part of it! If only he’d admit to it, we could get passed this. But he won’t, so I can’t trust him.”

“Well, maybe we should talk about something different, this is just depressing.”

“That sounds good. So, what have you been up to?”

“Oh, I was saw a movie with a… friend.”

“What movie was it?”

“Um… I actually don’t remember.”

“So… who’s the guy?”

“Sheridan!”

“Well, you went with a ‘friend’, and how else would you not know what movie you saw unless it was a guy you were with.”

“Fine, you win. It was this guy I met at the Taylor’s party last night.”

“Does this guy have a name?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to tell you it.”

“Why not?”

“I like torturing you. Plus he’s not exactly the type of guy that Father and Grandfather would approve of, so the less that people know, the better.”

“Oh. So he’s not of the so-called ‘better class’?”

“No, not really.”

“But he was at the party?”

“Yes, though I don’t know why. But I don’t care, because if he hadn’t been there we wouldn’t have met.”

“Well, I hope you and this mystery guy luck, but eventually Julian and my father will find out.”

“I’m hoping for that to be a long time from now. Actually, I guess I might as well tell you his name, Luis and Hank are trying to scare him away right now I think.”

“What! Why?”

“I think it’s because he’s Hank’s nephew, Noah Bennett.”

“That explains things. And I’m not surprised that Luis is warning him away from the ‘Big Bad Cranes’.”

Just at that moment the three men walked into the cottage. Victoria looked at all three of them, but couldn’t read anything on their faces. She needed to talk to Noah.

“Hey,” she said smiling, “Noah, shouldn’t you get back into town. I it’s about dinner time. I’ll drive you back.”

“Okay,” he said swiftly.

Victoria walked past Hank and Luis. “I’ll come back later Aunt Sheridan, and we can talk some more.” Then she went out the door, with Noah behind her.

They didn’t talk all the way to the car, and Victoria was getting worried. She tried to mentally prepare herself for the worst, but she knew she couldn’t let go without a fight. As soon as they got into her Mercedes, she turned to him.

“Noah, I know that Luis and Hank warned you that getting involved with a Crane is a bad idea, and I know sometimes it is. But I think what we have here is going to work, and I don’t think that you should just walk out on us. But if you are, tell me now, because I need to know, and…

“Wait a minute. Who said anything about us breaking up. We only just got together, it would be a shame to end it so soon.”

Victoria stared at Noah. “You mean…?”

“Yes.”

Victoria smiled, and threw her arms around Noah. “Oh my God, you scared me for a second.”

“You don’t have to worry. No one is going to scare me away from you.”

“And don’t you worry about anything that my father or grand father do. I’m sure that’s what one of the main issues that Luis told you about.”

“Yeah, it was. And my dad’s also warned my about crossing them, he says they destroy everything they touch. But I know that can’t be right, because they’re your relatives, and you are defiantly haven’t been destroyed or corrupted.”

“Why thank you. That’s really sweet. We definitely should go out sometime.”

“Yeah. How about tomorrow?”

“Sure, what do you want to do?”

By the time they reached the Bennett house, the couple had made plans for the next week. And they had both decided to still keep their relationship a secret.

“Well,” Noah said as the car stopped, “this would be my stop. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“And the next day, and the next day, and so on.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

Noah started to get out of the car, then stopped, and leaned over to Victoria and kissed her. Then he got out, closed the door, and walked up to the front door. Victoria stayed there after he went inside, watching him through the windows. Finally she started the car again, and drove home.

That night, when she was getting ready for bed, she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” she called out, and was surprised to see Ivy walk in. “Mother, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to apologize for last night. You’re right, it’s your life, and your the one who is running it. I was just trying to protect you.”

“I know you were. But just because you and Sam broke up doesn’t mean that Noah and I don’t have a chance. But I’m sorry about what happened, and I’m sorry for this morning too. I’ll apologize to Ethan and Theresa when I see them next.”

“Thank you Darling. Well, I better let you get your rest. Goodnight Victoria.”

“Goodnight Mommy,” Victoria said, surprising both herself and her mother. Ivy smiled, and walked out the door.

‘It’s amazing how much I’ve missed saying that,’ Victoria thought. ‘It’s been so long.’

Victoria Crane drew the covers up around herself, and went to bed, anticipating more dreams of her and Noah.