Episode Twenty Eight

Ace Repairs

Jamie sat slouched in a chair, waiting for them to finish replacing the tire. He had gone to take the truck for a test drive that morning, only to stop to fill the gas tank and discover one of the tires wasn't in the best of shape. He hadn't wanted to risk a blowout while going along the steep roads down to the cabin and the lodge, so here he was, waiting and reading a 10 year-old copy of 'Car and Driver'.

"Well, what do you think?"

Jamie perked up at the familiar voice and turned. Standing at the other end of the garage were Julian and Hank, talking to the man who owned the garage. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling this conversation was important, so he strained to hear them.

"I think it was definitely cut," the garage owner said as he turned something voer in his hand. "Hastily. Maybe whoever did it didn't get the chance to finish."

Julian nodded and took whatever it was back. "Thankd for your help," he said as he and Hank started to leave. Julian pulled out a cell phone and dialed.

Jamie was about to call out a greeting when he heard a phrase that left him speechless.

"Malcolm, it's Julian. It's official, we need to make this a murder investigation," Julian said. "Yeah, someone delibrately killed Mike."

The Brady House - Summer's Room

Summer stood in front of her full length mirror, staring at her reflection critically. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a pink shirt with lacy accents. She had spent nearly an hour on her hair, making sure it had soft waves that framed her face.She heard a car pulling up out front and ran to her window. She stared down at the red truck now sitting in the driveway, and grinned when she saw Jamie climb out of it.

Summer slipped on her sneakers, grabbed her small purse, and ran down the stairs. She threw the door, surprising Jamie who'd been about to knock. "Hi," she said, smiling.

"Hey," Jamie replied. "You ready?"

"Yup. How long do we have before People start arriving for the party?" Summer asked as she locked the door and followed Jamie to the truck.

"Around 2 hours," Jamie replied. "All to ourselves."

"Goodie," Summer said, grinning.

Jamie laughed slightly as they go into the truck. "As long as the only person around me is you, I'm happy," he said.

Summer frowned and lightly brushed her hand over Jamie's cheek. "What's wrong?"

Jamie snorted. "I guess I can't hide things that well, huh?"

"Not from me," Summer replied. "Now what's wrong?"

"I overheard something. Julian thinks the brakeline on the jeep was delibrately cut."

"What?" Summer asked, shocked.

"He was talking to a mechanic, who said the brakeline was definitely cut. My dad was murdered," Jamie explained.

"Oh my God. Why would someone do that?" Summer asked.

"He arrested a lot of creeps, maybe one of them got out of jail," Jamie speculated. "All I know is someone killed him."

"You know what that means?" Summer asked.

"What?"

"It means it wasn't your fault. It means that whoever did it would have done something else to get him. It wasn't your fault, Jamie."

Jamie noded. "I guess..."

"It was never your fault, Jamie," Summer repeated. "Now you have proof it wasn't. And now they'll find who did it and the blame will be on them."

"Yeah."

"So," Summer said, changing the subject. "You wanna tell me about this romantic dinner you have planned?"

Jamie smiled, this time a completely genuine smile. "I'm not telling."

"Just a hint?"

"Nope."

"Meanie!"

"I think you'll say differently when you see what I have planned for us."

Bowen Cabin

As they entered the cabin, Jamie held his hand over Summer's eyes. "Keep those eyes closed," he ordered as he stopped just inside the door. "No peeking."

"Yes sir," Summer said in a teasing voice as she waited.

Jamie quickly hurried around the room and lit the candles that were spread throughout. Then he returned to Summer's side and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Open them."

Summer opened her eyes and looked around, her smile growing a she saw the soft candlelight that filled the livingroom. "It's beautiful," she said.

"Not as beautiful as you," Jamie whispered in Summer's ear. "In keeping with your happy memories theme, we're eating picnic style, though we've got candlelight instead of firelight..."

"It's too hot for a fire," Summer replied. "And the candles are great." She pulled out of Jamie's arms and pulled him over to the blanket spread on the floor. "Come on, James, sit with me."

Jamie smiled and gave Summer a kiss. "I love it when you say my first name."

"James," Summer repeated, sitting down and pulling Jamie with her. "Shut up and kiss me."

Jamie laughed. "Your wish is my command," he said, kissing her again.

Summer wrapped one arm around Jamie, one hand resting against the back of his head, while the other hand she ran up his arm. She slid her hand under his sleeve and ran her fingers along his shoulderblade, but stopped when she felt his body tense up. Summer pulled back and looked down. "Sorry," she said. "I forgot."

Jamie lifted her chin with his hand. "Hey, it's okay. So did I. For the first timr in forever, I forgot about it."

"And I reminded you."

"No, Summer, you're the one who made me forget," Jamie told her. "I wish..."

"What?"

"I wish I could forget it entirely. I can handle having to get the blood tests every few months. I can handle the possibilities. I just don't know if I can handle remembering it. I don't want to think of... him... when you touch me, but I do. And I hate it."

Summer reached up and cradled Jamie's face in her hands. "Let me help you forget," she whispered, gently kissing him. "Let me help you think of me and only me." She slowly lowered one hand to the bottom of Jamie's t-shirt, and she slowly pulled it up, ready to stop if he told her to. Intead she felt Jamie's hands join hers, and soon his shirt had been pulled up and over his head.

Jamie swallowed, fighting down the panic that was trying to overtake him as Summer lightly ran her fingers over his chest. The touch is different, he told himself. She won't hurt me.

Summer tried to get eye contact with Jamie, but saw that he was staring over her shoulder. She pulled off her t-shirt, leaving only her bikini top, then gently turned Jamie's face to meet her gaze. "Jamie, look at me," she whispered. "It's okay. If you want me to stop, just say so."

"I don't want you to stop," Jamie said, leaning in to kiss Sumer. "I just..."

"I know," Summer said. "You don't have to be scared, it's okay. Just tell me what you want, Jamie."

"I want you," Jamie replied, his voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear. "But..."

"If you want to keep going, we'll keep going," Summer said.

"But we shouldn't," Jamie said. "Summer, I could... I don't know if he... he might have had something. I might have something."

"I don't care."

"Summer..."

"No, Jamie. I don't care," Summer repeated. "You are the only person I ever wanna be with. And I want to help you, Jamie. I want to help you forget. Let me help you."

Jamie closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head forward so his forehead rested against Summer's. "Are you sure?"

"I am. Are you?"

Jamie snorted. "How can I be sure, Summer?"

"Are you sure you want to be with me?"

"You're the only one I want to be with."

"Then forget the bad, Jamie," Summer said, pulling back and reaching behind her to untie her top. "Make love to me, Jamie," she said.

Jamie nodded and kissed Summer, one hand on her back and one slowly untying the sides of the bikini bottoms. He pulled back long enough for them to both finish getting undressed. For a moment he let hsi eyes wander over Summer, taking in the site of her body, then he pulled her clsoe again and slowly lowered her down to the blanket, kissing her neck and shoulder as he did.

Grant Lodge

"Remind me why I have no problem with my sister being alone with her boyfriend at a private cabin?" Matt asked as he, Diego, Maria, and Aaron walked into the lodge.

"Because he's Jamie," Diego replied. "A perfect gentlemen who woudn't dream of doing anything."

"He's a 16 year-old guy, of course he'll dream of it," Matt replied, frowning.

Maria laughed. "But he won't do anything!"

"What? He took a vow of celibacy?"

Aaron smirked and leaned against the doorframe. "This is Jamie Bowen we're talking about. He's probably determined to wait until marriage like his parents did." And let's not forget the whole it's not safe thing, he added silently.

"How do you know they did?" Diego countered. "Mike and Elizabeth's anniversary was in mid-July. Jamie was born in early January. That's less than 8 months."

Aaron's cocky posture faltered slightly. "Maybe he was premature?"

"Or maybe Mike and Elizabeth didn't wait," Diego said, grinning. "Trust me, those two may have been like 30, but they still acted like a pair of horny teenagers soemtimes. I remember that quite well. 'Diego, why don't you take Jamie and Maria out in he yard to play?' and sometimes we could actually hear them..."

"That is just beyond gross," Aaron said. "I don't want to think of parents having sex."

"How do you think you were created/"

"I like to pretend it was artificial insemination," Aaron said. "Or maybe miraculous conception."

"Please tell me you aren't comparing your mother to the Holy Mother," Maria said.

"No," Aaron said. "I don't think that highly of her," Aaron admitted, laughing.

"So, what kinda grub we gonna have at this thing?" Matt asked.

"Burgers, hotdogs, chips, soda, basic party stuff," Aaron replied. "There's also plenty of non fattening things since the cheerleaders always worry about putting on weight," he added, rolling his eyes.

"Oh no," Matt said, lookign outside. "It's raining."

"It'll pass soon, spring storms always last like 10 minutes then it's sunny and warm again," Maria said.

Bowen Cabin

Lying here with you,
Listening to the rain,
Smiling just to see, The smile upon your face,
These are the moments, I thank God that I'm alive,
These are the moments, I'll remember all my life,
I found all I've waited for,
And I could not ask for more.
Looking in your eyes,
Seeing all I need,
Everything you are, Is everything to me,
These are the moments, I know heaven must exist,
These are the moments, I know all I need is this,
I have all I've waited for,
And I could not ask for more.

Jamie and Summer lay on the blanket, part of it pulled over their bodies, listening to the sound of a gentle rain falling outside. Jamie gently played with Summer's hair as her head rested on his chest. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love you, more."

"Not possible."

Summer lifted her head and turned towards Jamie, a smile on her lips. "Why do you always say that?" she asked.

"It's true, there's no way a love exists that's more, or stronger, than how much I love you," he replied. "Summer, you just risked a whole hell of a lot for this. For me. You put your future, your life at risk for me. How could I not love you as much as humanly possible?"

Summer smiled and kissed him. "We'll be okay, Jamie. I know it. There's no way God would add anything else to this pile of crap he's loaded down on us."

"Such romantic talk," Jamie teased.

Summer slightly slapped Jamie's chest, then ran her fingers down to Jamie's stomach to see how he'd react. She smiled as he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Let a guy recover, will you?" he joked.

Summer smiled and ran her hand along his stomach and lower. "What do you feel?" she asked him.

Jamie smiled. "You," he replied. "Only you." He pulled her into a kiss. "I wish you could have been my first, Summer."

Summer pulled back. "I am," she said, putting her hand against his cheek. "What that...what he did doesn't count. It wasn't... we made love, Jamie. We love eachother and what we did was out of love. What he did... that wasn't even worthy of being called sex. It was horrible, and disgusting, and cruel. But it doesn't count, Jamie. He was not your first."

Jamie leaned his forehead against Summer's. "You were my first," he repeated, needing to hear himself say it.

"Whatever happens, happens. I'm going to be with you. I'm going to hold your hand, kiss you, love you. Whatever and whenever you need. I will be there."

Jamie closed his eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"We should get cleaned up and head to the lodge," Summer said.

"We never had our dinner," Jamie replied, sitting up.

"I think we had more fun then we would have had eating dinner," Summer said, laughing. "Don't you?"

"Oh yeah," Jamie said, grinning. "It was still incredibly stupid of us."

"We're teenagers, we're suppose to be stupid," came Summer's reply as she started hunting for her clothes.

"Good point" Jamie replied, grabbing his trunks.

As they finished getting dressed and headed out to the truck, the sun broke through the clouds and shined it's early evening light on them.

"That's a sign, Jamie," Summer said, leaning her head against Jamie's shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine." She tilted her head to look up at him. "You believe that, don't you?"

"I believe everything you tell me," Jamie replied.

"What if I told you I was from Princess from Mars?"

"I'd be flattered that I got to made love to a Princess," Jamie said.

Summer smiled and turned. "Well, that was a lie."

"I know, but you're prettier than any princess. More like a goddess," Jamie replied, kissing Summer softly. "Come on, let's get to the party before they send out a search party," he added.

End Of Episode Twenty Eight