The Beach Chapter One

Emily sighed happily as she walked along the beach. After leaving Sebastian's house and still excited about meeting him for dinner, she had gone home to her apartment to type up a formal vacate notice for her terrible current roommate. He wasn't home, so she had left the note on the counter and changed out of her scrubs from the work at the hospital. She was now wearing some cute blue jean shorts, a bikini beneath her clothes, and a plain white v-neck t-shirt. Her sandals swung loosely by the straps on her fingers as she walked, the breeze keeping her dark hair from her face. She had time to waste until dinner with Sebastian that night, and she'd already gotten a lot of packing done. She smiled to herself and set about putting her toes in the cool ocean water.

The beach had always been one of Luke's favourite places to get away from the farm when he wanted some time to relax, so when he had left the diner he had instinctively made his way here. It was so quiet and calm and as he stood on the edge of the water, his jeans rolled up slightly and his boots and socks discarded a short distance behind him, he looked out to the seemingly never-ending sea before taking a deep contented breath and letting out a loud sigh whilst he closed his eyes. 

Emily smiled contentedly to herself as she wiggled her toes in the water, watching small fish skim back and forth in the shallows of the meandering waves. She went back up the sand a bit and kept walking. She was looking out towards the horizon as she strolled, only vaguely aware of someone else's presence on the beach with her. She wasn't watching the ground ahead of her, so when she very suddenly tripped over a pair of work boots in the sand, she wasn't prepared. It might not have been so bad--cute, even--if she'd simply stumbled a step or two, but Emily never did anything small when it came to her clumsiness. She ended up on her stomach, face-first in the sand, all kicking legs and sprawled arms, and landed with a scream that cut off into a grunted "oof!"

Luke's eyes snapped open and he whirled round to identify the cause of the noise. He stood stunned though when he found a woman, face down in the sand, legs kicking frantically behind her. After a moment he seemed to come to and quickly hurried forward grabbing for her hand to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked in a soft but no less concerned voice, his brown eyes fixed on her.

Emily accepted the stranger's help gratefully, standing with sand raining off of her. She coughed and spluttered, trying to remove the sand from her mouth and nose. "Yes, I'm okay, thanks... This happens to me a lot, actually. Well, not this specifically, but accidents in general," she explained in vain, brushing her front free of sand. The entire process of clearing herself of sand was less than graceful or attractive.

"I think this particular accident might be my fault.." Luke replied looking embarrassed when he noticed his boots lying on their sides next to Emily, sand scattered over them. "My shoes were in your way. I'm sorry. There's never usually anyone else around when I come here." He took a small step back to allow her some space, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets as he did.

Emily shook her head without looking at him. "Its okay! I don't blame you for this, the beach is usually empty when I come, too." she said. She finally dusted herself free of the last bits of finely granulated sediment and stood straight, combing her fingers through her ebony tresses to fix it back from her pale face and blue eyes. She smiled at him prettily and said, "I'm Emily," and offered her hand for him to shake.

"Luke." He replied as he freed one of his hands from his pockets and took hold of hers and though it was obvious he had a strong grip, he shook it gently. He released her hand and pulled back but paused before slowly reaching forward and brushing the last few grains of sand from her shoulder. "There. All gone." He said sounding a little embarrassed by his actions as he lowered his hand and pulled his other from his pocket to rub the back of his tanned neck, his skin showing a sign of many long hours spent outside under the hot sun.

"Nice to meet you, Luke," Emily smiled brightly and then sighed, Absently brushing off her other shoulder too. She coughed lightly and said, "well, this was a delightfully awkward meet-cute, but I think I'll leave you be now..." she mumbled, her cheeks pinked. She turned, gathering up her sandals from where they had landed in the sand near her, and started to walk on down the beach, grumbling and cursing herself and her clumsiness.

"It was nice meeting you too.." Luke replied softly under his breath as he watched her go. You should go after her. Talk to someone for once..make a friend. He thought to himself but at first he didn't move. Suddenly he grabbed up his boots and socks and took a few confident steps after Emily before stopping, his expression slightly distressed and unsure. He took a step back then a step forward, then back again as he struggled with his decision before he finally let out a loud and frustrated huff, throwing his boots down as he did and dropping down to sit on the sand, his gaze once more out to sea as he silently scolded himself for his timid nature.

Emily continued to grumble to herself as she strode away from Luke, but she couldn't help but glance back at him. He seemed upset about something as he sat there in the sand, and she suddenly felt bad. She stopped walking, fidgeted with her sandals, and then sighed and made her way back to him. She was never one to leave someone in distress. "Um... Luke? I'm sorry, I feel like I owe you an apology... I didn't mean to ruin your beach day."

Luke quickly looked up at her and gaped slightly at her apology before shaking his head and blushing. "N-no..you haven't ruined my day!" He stumbled over his words quickly before standing up. "My mood..it has nothing to do with your fall." He continued then after taking a small breath suddenly blurted out. "Shall we walk together?" His words came in a hurry as if he were worried that if he stopped to think about what he was doing, he wouldn't do it at all.  

Emily blinked, a little surprised by the question, but she had noticed his nervous demeanor and how rushed he was to get it out of his system. She gave him an empathetic smile and nodded. "Sure, I'd like that." she said and adjusted her sandals in her grip. She motioned for him to lead the way and started walking beside him, putting her feet in the water. "So, Luke, what do you do? Where do you live?" she asked conversationally.

Luke hurriedly gathered up his boots once more then moved to walk beside Emily. "I run my own farm on the edge of town, got a little house there. I grow all types of food, been told its the best in the world." He chuckled bashfully. "Got some horses and cows too, so I'm kept busy but I love it." He smiled and this time it seemed genuine and relaxed. If there was ever a conversation that would make Luke talk, it was his farm. "What about you?" He asked in return, glancing sideways at her.

Emily smiled at him. "Wow! I love horses! I used to ride when I was younger, but I haven't gotten to lately. I work as a nursing assistant most days, and I'm in medical school, so that keeps me pretty busy too... I'm about one class and twenty work hours away from becoming a resident. I'll be a full-fledged doctor in about a year." she smiled proudly.

"A doctor? You must be really smart. I haven't got the brains for anything like that." Luke replied with another smile. "If you like.." He started and his voice seemed to shrink back again. "..you can come see my horses. Anytime you like. They'd probably be glad of a new face. They're probably tired of just seeing me everyday. Got no one else up there with me." He said and gave another shy laugh.

Emily's face brightened up, her blue eyes gleaming at him. "That sounds wonderful! I would like that very much." she smiled. "I haven't ridden in years, but it would be nice to get back into it when I have some time." She chuckled and shrugged, looking ahead again. "I have a feeling my life is about to get rather busy in the near future..."
 
Luke's expression seemed to brighten considerably when Emily accepted his offer and he visibly seemed to relax. "Busy? You have a lot of work coming up?" He asked politely as they walked.

"Well, I need about twenty hours of work credit for my class, and if I squeeze it all into one week, I can get it done and over with... I have a final to study for, and I have to prepare for my residency." Emily explained with a sigh and a tired smile. "Once I start my residency, I could be working 22-hour days..." She shrugged and looked at him. She wondered if the dark patches under her eyes became at all more noticeable after that statement. "But once I graduate and get a job practicing, it'll all be worth it."

"And I thought I worked a lot." Luke chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "But you're right it's worth it. I built my farm up from nothing. Bought it when it was this old rundown little building and I worked and worked until I had a thriving business where people come from miles and miles around to buy my produce. You just sometimes need to remember to allow yourself to take a break. Its okay to rest sometimes." He said with a small smile.

Emily looked up at him slightly from under her dark hair and she nodded in agreement. "You're right... I'll remember that." she said softly. She looked ahead as they kept walking and she sighed happily at the sight of the empty beach and waves rolling on the shore. "Well, I should be heading back to my apartment... I'm moving out tomorrow and I need to finish packing."

Luke seemed a little saddened by her words but as he lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch, his expression suddenly changed to one of shock. "Is that the time?!" He exclaimed before he suddenly sank down to sit on the sand and frantically pull on his socks and boots. "I didn't mean to be gone so long from the farm, I'm gonna be behind on all my work now." As he finished tying his laces he jumped to his feet then looked at Emily with an embarrassed smile. "The horses will be mad if I miss feeding time.."

Emily gave a small chuckle. "I would hate for you to keep them waiting on my account," she said lightly. Mostly she felt better about having to leave him to finish packing. She offered him her hand to shake and said, "It was nice to meet you, Luke. Maybe I'll see you around town sometime? Or, ya know... if one of your horses ever kicks you for being late to feeding time, I'll see you in my ER?"

Luke laughed as he took her hand and shook it lightly. "It's a date!" He said jokingly without thinking then suddenly gaped and shook his head at the realisation of what he said hit. " Uh..no..no I mean ok..sure." He groaned inwardly then let go of her hand. "Good luck with your work..See you around." He spoke quickly then turned and hurried off towards his truck before she could respond at his words.

Emily tilted her head at Luke as she watched him go, her own cheeks slightly pinked by his words. Her smile stayed on, even as he hurried to go, once again feeling sympathy for his struggles, and she turned and after rinsing her feet and replacing her sandals on them, she clutched her bag to her side and hurried back into town.

---

Sophie's diner was close to the beach, so it was a short walk after dinner to get to the sand. Emily took in a deep breath of the fresh sea air, chilled with the incoming twilight. She paused to remove her white tennis shoes and socks before stepping onto the sand, holding them in her hand as she walked. She smiled up at Sebastian. "You didn't have to pay the bill, you know... Risk offered to pay it."

"Risk's company was a happy accident. We were celebrating your move, it was my pleasure to pay," Sabastion replied as he strolled along next to her, admiring the line the beach made as it met the ocean, how it seemed alive as the waves lapped at the sand, causing the line to shift and change with each ebb and flow. He held their dessert carefully in one arm so it would not swing or bump against him, ruining the dessert inside, while his other hand held his shoes with socks tucked inside. He had rolled up his pants just above the ankles as well to keep them clear of the sand as they walked. "If you should ever go on a date with Risk instead, I would of course not protest his paying for your meal."

Emily looked at him skeptically and let out a light, genuinely amused laugh. "Well thanks. But I don't think Risk and I are compatible." she said, looking ahead again, but glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Besides, I have my eyes on someone else."

"That doesn't surprise me," Sabastion said, his tone not accusatory. It was more like he was recalling an earlier conversation, and he went on to explain. "I was surprised to hear you did not have a boyfriend already, or a fiance. I never noticed a ring of course, but I always assumed you were smart enough not to wear it at work. Then again you are... 26? I suppose that's a bit young to be engaged... Or not. Really, what do I know on the subject." He huffed in mock self depreciation before falling silent for a moment, just enjoying the sand under their feet. He glanced at Emily and was struck again with how much like a painting she was. The way her hair flowed like black water, caught up in the ocean breeze, a striking contrast as it would slide against her neck, or shoulder, or cheek. "If he, or she, will make you happy, I hope you capture their heart. I think the only way you might not is if they were blind and deaf."

Emily was grateful that the dimness of the early evening twilight made the warm rush of scarlet in her cheeks less noticeable. It did not, however, hide her smile. Her stomach was full of butterflies and her heart was pounding just from the compliment. "Thank you, Sebastian... that's very kind of you to say." she said sincerely, then giggled and shrugged, pushing some of her hair back from her face in the wind. "I sure hope I do, too... he already makes me undoubtedly happy."

"Have you told him that? I would guess not, you don't seem the forward type," Sabastion replied, his tone trailing off thoughtfully. He shook his head, both to clear his thoughts and to apologize. "I'm sorry, that's a rude thing to say to someone, a judgement about them." He looked at her with a considering frown. "It makes me curious though, what you must think of me."

Emily couldn't help but laugh at his observation. "No, you're right, I'm not very forward when I don't have to be..." she giggled, tilting her head up at him. She stopped walking past the water and instead turned to face it, stepping into the oncoming foam. She and gasped, giving a small shiver when the water left her feet on an outward tide, exposing her feet to the breeze. "Cold!" she giggled. She looked at him again and smiled. "Maybe I should be more forward with him, though... Maybe it would be a good risk letting him know how I feel?"

"I suppose that's for you to decide?" he offered in reply, then held up the bag with their desserts as if to show it to her. With a little motion of his head he invited her to join him as he walked a few paces from the water where the sand would stay dry and safe. After a half moment of consideration, he sat down, exhibiting a surprising amount of grace for someone just sitting on a beach.

Emily watched him and subtly rolled her eyes and shook her head. He was oblivious, but she found that adorable. She followed him to the dryer incline of the sand dune and sat, brushing her hands off on her jeans once she was settled. She helped dig into the bag with him and pulled out his box of pie, offering it to him with a fork.

Sabastion accepted with a soft 'thank you'. Once she had her own, he pushed in on the bag a little to bury it slightly in the sand and prevent it from flying away while they ate. He didn't open his box immediately though, instead looking out over the waves, sparkling like a thousand stars skittering across the salt water, bursting into multihued life under the soon to be setting beams of the sun. "Emily," he said quietly after a long moment of observation. "Why did you want to be a doctor?"

Emily had just taken her first bite of her pie when he had asked his question, and she looked at him with her hand over her mouth politely as she chewed. "Mm," she started, and then swallowed, "I just really like helping people, I guess... But I also really enjoy it. I enjoy biology and chemistry and anatomy, and everything that goes into it. I don't really know why, but I've always enjoyed it. I've been reading medical texts since... I dunno... Middle school?" she shrugged. "I come from a long family line of medical professionals, so I suppose that might have something to do with it." she looked out over the water too and asked, "what about you? What made you want to be a doctor?"

"I don't think that's the right question for me," Sabastion said quietly, listening to the short waves break against the sand. "I needed to be a doctor." He didn't continue, instead opting to look at her and let the corners of his mouth quirk up a little. "It's good to hear you are passionate about it. Passion is critical for being a good doctor. I think if I did not know your major, and I only knew you, I still wouldn't doubt that, whatever you were doing, it was to help others. I don't know you well, yet, but you seem pretty unselfish."

Emily's brows furrowed, but she was smiling. "Thank you," she said. "Though I consider selfishness and selflessness to go hand in hand..." she said, looking down at her pie. "I mean... Take medical school for example. I had a boyfriend who was not happy about how much time I had to spend at school, at clinicals, studying, and just reading... He said I was being selfish. But how can I help others as a doctor if I am not first selfish as a student?"

"I think it sounds more like he was the selfish one." Sabastion finally opened his box to poke almost listlessly at the pie inside with his fork. "I think it is rather selfless to sacrifice so much of your time and energy in hopes of helping so many others. And I do not think it is any less selfless if you derive joy from that sacrifice. I think that just makes you a genuinely good human being." He looked at her as if to punctuate the point as he finally took a bite of the pie. His eyes widened a bit in surprise as he chewed, only speaking again once he swallowed. "This is quite good."

"Yes it is!" Emily agreed through a laugh, covering her mouth politely. "The look on your face says it all!" She smiled at him widely, licking some sticky blueberry off her lip as an afterthought, and turned back to the ocean. "This is a great ending to this day... I'm very glad we came out." She looked at him again and smiled warmly. This time it was her turn to admire him in the dim twilight, and fluorescent lighting of the sidewalk lamps behind them, casting a sort of faint white light on them from afar. It cast him in shadow, deep and dramatic, along with the fading golden hues of the last of the sunlight before it would fade behind the horizon. She blushed and quickly looked back down at her pie, picking at it with her fork.

"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" Sabastion asked as he cut off another bite of his pie, already happily nearly finished. "We could attend to things you need if you like. I'm certain there are things you would like for the home. If you are living there, I would think some of your things should be around as well, right? I could take down some of my paintings if you wanted to hang some pictures," he offered before placing the bit of pie in his mouth, watching her for the reply as he chewed.

She shook her head and raised her eyes to him again shyly. "No... No plans. But I don't really need anything else. I have plenty for now. Besides, your home is lovely exactly how it is, I wouldn't dream of changing anything about it." She finished off the last bits of her pie and opened the bag back up to deposit her trash.

"Perhaps I'll enjoy sleeping in then," Sabastion decided and finished his own pie and added the trash to the bag. He stood, dusted off his butt while being careful not to get any on Emily, picked up the bag, then held his hand out to help her stand up. "If the hospital doesn't call me that is."

She took his proffered hand with a grateful smile and stood up with his help. Once she was on her feet, she took a moment to dust herself off on her bottom, then grabbed up her shoes and socks. "Shall we keep walking?" she asked, motioning on down the beach in the direction they had been going. "Or should we head back to your place? I-I mean... our place... Er... home." she stammered, blushing at the implications her first sentence had held.

Sabastion offered her a fond quirk of his lips and gave a little jerk of his head towards the streets. "I would like to go home. My sleep was interrupted today so I am a bit tired. Besides, I am an old man, I tire early." He punctuated the joke with a little smile. "Will you be joining me? I won't blame you if you want to admire the beautiful view a while longer."

Emily smiled at his joke, Absently smoothing her dark hair behind her ears. "I want to go home, too." She said. "And you're not old. Not to me, anyway." She shrugged and turned, heading back up to the sidewalk and paused at a bench to sit and brush off her feet before donning her socks and shoes.

"I appreciate you humoring me," Sabastion thanked her. He took a moment to toss their trash into a bin before putting on his own shoes. Once he was ready he held his hand out to her again. He was beginning to wonder himself if it was habit or desire that made him want to help her to her feet. He decided to put that away for later consideration in favor of just getting home for some sleep.

Once again she graced him with an appreciative smile and took his hand with her smaller, pale one. She stood from the bench, adjusted her purse, and turned to continue on, politely waiting for him to keep pace with her on the sidewalk.

---

Once they were at the beach Jade kicked her sandals off, gave Dorian a kiss on the cheek and walked straight into the water. The minute toes touched the water she felt instant relief, as if her worries and stress was washed away. A shiver ran down her spine as her muscles relaxed. Sighing softly she wrapped her arms around her chest and stared out into the ocean.

It was only a few moments before strong, warm arms joined hers and held her back against a firm chest. Dorian had also removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, and joined her in the shallow water, chin resting on her shoulder as he looked out at the ocean, pink with the setting sun. He may joke about his jealousy, but he knew in his heart if anything took Jade from him it would be the sea. As she was facing forward, he wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at the ocean defiantly, then shivered as a slightly higher wave broke over his knees, wetting the lower part of his pants he had rolled up. He pouted unhappily but still did not release Jade or make noise. The ocean set her at ease, brought her peace. He didn't want to disturb that, only add his comfort to it.

Jade leaned her head back against Dorian's shoulder, relaxing into his embrace. "I'm really not sure what got into Archer. I mean... I'm not blind I know he's always had feelings for me but it's not as if we've ever dated or promised ourselves to each other or anything. He has no claim to me. Plus as one of my best friends he should want to get to know you. Try to see what I see in you. I guess I just don't understand what's going on. Maybe the war changed him too much or maybe my heart's just too big and I'm too kind?"

"Perhaps both?" Dorian offered gently, letting her relax against him as they watched the ocean. "I also think, to some extent, he may be unhappy because he feels he missed the chance he wanted with you. I think everyone goes through that at some point, when we realize we can't have it all..." He almost trailed off as he took a moment in his own mind, remembering something he wasn't completely talking about. In the end, he gave her a gentle squeeze, a hug from his already embracing arms. "Try not to let it worry you too much. Things will be better tomorrow, I am sure of it. Jade.. you did nothing wrong. He's just hurt, I'm sure of it." He paused, then frowned. "And also maybe he really doesn't like me," he added more candidly. "That's ok. Nobody likes everybody. It's a statistical impossibility."

"He doesn't know you Dorian. How can he not like someone he doesn't even know? He can't." Jade's shoulder's stiffened stubbornly as she shook her head. "No he was just being a jerk. Maybe you're right, it could be because he missed his chance but thats neither here nor there. We never talked about me waiting for him. He can't just assume I would. Whatever... I think I'd like to go home. Maybe go for a ride." Jade's mind was starting to drift and become agitated and she didn't want to take it out on Dorian so she thought it was probably best to end there night.

"Ride tomorrow," Dorian purred and pressed a kiss to her neck, the spot warm against the cool air. "Turning in for the night sounds like a good idea. We both have work in the morning. Come on-" He released her and offered his hand. "I'll walk you home." He had to get his bike anyway.

Jade looked over at Dorian and slid her hand into his and nodded her head. "Sure." Wiggling her toes in the sand a few more times she allowed the water to lap at her ankles a little bit longer. Taking a deep breath she turned and allowed Dorian to lead her back to boto Jade's House.

BotO Athens Harbor
Blood of the Olympians
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