That Which Leads Us Home - Chapter 1, After Math
That Which Leads us Home
by Frakkin_Eh
Rating: K for now....
Authors notes: This story is a sequel of sorts to the Movie 'For All time' starring Mark Harmon and Mary McDonnell. It picks up in the second to last scene in the movie. If you have not seen the movie you should be able to follow the story anyway as I hope (fingers crossed on that one) that I've provided enough information in the story about what happened prior to the timeline the story takes place in. You should watch the movie though, for no other reason than it's a wonderful little movie and .. well, Mary's in it.
Chapter 1 - After Math
Charles splayed his body over them like a blanket as debris fell like rain around them. As the dust began to settle Laura struggled beneath his weight.
“Mary! Oh my God, where’s Mary?”
“Laura.” Charles said, as he grabbed her by the arms. “She’s right here… right here with us.”
“Oh my baby!” she exclaimed, as she pulled her daughter into her arms. “Mary, are you hurt?” she asked, as she ran her hands over her daughters shoulders and arms in search of any apparent injuries.
“No Mamm, I’m alright.” Mary sobbed.
Laura trembled from head to toe. As she took in the sight of the gazebo where she’d been standing she shuddered. Confusion clouded her brain as she tried to make sense of it all.
In search of the answers she didn’t have, she turned to Charles. “What happened?”
“There was a gas explosion.” he said. “When I realized it was going to blow I had to get you away from there… I didn’t think I would make it back in time…..” Charles placed his hand on her elbow.
Laura stiffened and took in a quick breath at the feel of his hand on her arm. In response to her reaction he removed his hand, holding it in mid air in an apologetic gesture. “I’m sorry.”
Fighting the rush of emotions surging through her she closed her eyes briefly and then set focus on the ground at her feet. “Why are you here Mr. Lattimer?”
“I ummm. I had to come back, I had to …. It’s a long story Laura.”
She shot him a look of warning. He held his hand up once again. “Sorry… Mrs. Brown.… please. Is there somewhere private we can go?... where we can talk? Laur…. Mrs. Brown I desperately need to talk to you…”
Charles ached at the pain that was set in her features. The way her brow knit tightly, the way she pursed her lips together, the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. “We’ve nothing to say to each other Mr. Lattimer.”
“Please…. If you’d just give me a chance to explain….”
“Laura! Mary!” Charles’s pleas were cut short by Mrs. Clark making her way across the park in a flutter. “Oh my Heavens.” The older woman pulled her daughter and granddaughter into her arms and openly sobbed tears of relief.
“Gramma! Mr. Lattimer saved us!” Mary exclaimed when her grandmother finally released them.
“Did he now?” Mrs. Clarke asked.
“Yep.” Mary continued, now more excited over the recent events than upset. “He came running and grabbed me and then went running over to get Mama and then ran as fast as he could away before everything blew up.”
Mrs. Clark simply looked down at her granddaughter. “Very well then, I suppose we owe Mr. Latimer a great deal of gratitude.” She said reluctantly. She then turned her attention to Charles. “Thank you Mr. Lattimer. Thank you for saving my girls.”
Charles gave her an apprehensive smile. He knew the woman didn’t like him, he knew she had serious reservations about him, and he wasn’t sure how much she knew about the last time he and Laura had seen each other. “I’m just very relieved that we managed to evacuate the park before the explosion.” He said.
“Well so am I Mr. Lattimer.” She said in agreement.
Mrs. Clark studied his face for a brief moment. She’d made no secret that she didn’t like him and that she hadn’t been happy about his sudden appearance in Summerville and consequent friendship with her daughter.
She recalled the sight of her daughter returning from the river… her boots and hat in her arms, her hair disheveled, tears running down her face. While Laura had said nothing of what had happened that day it was clear that she’d been hurt deeply. In her opinion Laura had been through enough heartache in her life. She didn’t need the likes of Charles Lattimer adding to it.
She did however, recognize that the man had just saved her daughters life. As the old woman bent to rub a smudge of dirt from her granddaughters face she looked up at Charles “I don’t know how I could possibly repay you Mr. Lattimer.”
“There’s no need to repay me Mrs. Clark. Knowing that your family is safe is all I need.”
Mrs. Clark gave him a polite nod. “Well, nevertheless…. Perhaps we could extend an invitation to dinner…”
“That won’t be necessary Mama.” Laura cut in. “I believe Mr. Lattimer will be making his way back to St. Louis. In fact, I thought you’d already left Mr. Lattimer.” Laura maintained eye contact no longer than absolutely necessary, and then focused on a spec of dirt that sat on her daughter’s shoulder.
“I had Mrs. Brown. But then I realized that I’d left something very precious behind and had to return.”
“Very well Mr. Lattimer. While I truly do extend my deepest gratitude for what you did for Mary and I today, I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”
“You’re not holding me up Mrs. Brown.” He said with soft regret.
The awkward silence that hung in the air was thicker than the dust around them. Looking at her daughter’s face, Mrs. Clark could see the strain etched in her jaw line. To some it would most likely go unnoticed, but to her it was clear. Her daughter was in emotional agony and hung dangerously close to the brink of tears. Desperate to shield her from any further anguish she broke the silence. “Well then, I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one day. If you don’t mind Mr. Lattimer, I’d like to take my family home now.”
Charles gave her a disappointed but understanding smile. “By all means Mrs. Clark.”
As she gently took her granddaughter by the hand she turned to Charles. “I thank you again Mr. Lattimer. “
Charles stood and watched as Laura, Mary and Mrs. Clark made their way through the park. His heart ached as both relief and regret flooded through him. For while he had successfully saved Laura from an awful fate he was hit by the realization that he may have lost her forever. For this was not a time and place that took marriage lightly. In her eyes he was married, he had told her as much. In her eyes he had inadvertently courted her, won her over, and then had tried to take advantage of her. In her eyes he had deceived her, for contrary to what she had been led to believe, his intentions had never been honorable. His intentions had been cruel and dishonest. He was a married man.
“Oh Laura” he said under his breath. “How in the world am I going to make this right with you?”
Chapter 2
by Frakkin_Eh
Rating: K for now....
Authors notes: This story is a sequel of sorts to the Movie 'For All time' starring Mark Harmon and Mary McDonnell. It picks up in the second to last scene in the movie. If you have not seen the movie you should be able to follow the story anyway as I hope (fingers crossed on that one) that I've provided enough information in the story about what happened prior to the timeline the story takes place in. You should watch the movie though, for no other reason than it's a wonderful little movie and .. well, Mary's in it.
Chapter 1 - After Math
Charles splayed his body over them like a blanket as debris fell like rain around them. As the dust began to settle Laura struggled beneath his weight.
“Mary! Oh my God, where’s Mary?”
“Laura.” Charles said, as he grabbed her by the arms. “She’s right here… right here with us.”
“Oh my baby!” she exclaimed, as she pulled her daughter into her arms. “Mary, are you hurt?” she asked, as she ran her hands over her daughters shoulders and arms in search of any apparent injuries.
“No Mamm, I’m alright.” Mary sobbed.
Laura trembled from head to toe. As she took in the sight of the gazebo where she’d been standing she shuddered. Confusion clouded her brain as she tried to make sense of it all.
In search of the answers she didn’t have, she turned to Charles. “What happened?”
“There was a gas explosion.” he said. “When I realized it was going to blow I had to get you away from there… I didn’t think I would make it back in time…..” Charles placed his hand on her elbow.
Laura stiffened and took in a quick breath at the feel of his hand on her arm. In response to her reaction he removed his hand, holding it in mid air in an apologetic gesture. “I’m sorry.”
Fighting the rush of emotions surging through her she closed her eyes briefly and then set focus on the ground at her feet. “Why are you here Mr. Lattimer?”
“I ummm. I had to come back, I had to …. It’s a long story Laura.”
She shot him a look of warning. He held his hand up once again. “Sorry… Mrs. Brown.… please. Is there somewhere private we can go?... where we can talk? Laur…. Mrs. Brown I desperately need to talk to you…”
Charles ached at the pain that was set in her features. The way her brow knit tightly, the way she pursed her lips together, the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. “We’ve nothing to say to each other Mr. Lattimer.”
“Please…. If you’d just give me a chance to explain….”
“Laura! Mary!” Charles’s pleas were cut short by Mrs. Clark making her way across the park in a flutter. “Oh my Heavens.” The older woman pulled her daughter and granddaughter into her arms and openly sobbed tears of relief.
“Gramma! Mr. Lattimer saved us!” Mary exclaimed when her grandmother finally released them.
“Did he now?” Mrs. Clarke asked.
“Yep.” Mary continued, now more excited over the recent events than upset. “He came running and grabbed me and then went running over to get Mama and then ran as fast as he could away before everything blew up.”
Mrs. Clark simply looked down at her granddaughter. “Very well then, I suppose we owe Mr. Latimer a great deal of gratitude.” She said reluctantly. She then turned her attention to Charles. “Thank you Mr. Lattimer. Thank you for saving my girls.”
Charles gave her an apprehensive smile. He knew the woman didn’t like him, he knew she had serious reservations about him, and he wasn’t sure how much she knew about the last time he and Laura had seen each other. “I’m just very relieved that we managed to evacuate the park before the explosion.” He said.
“Well so am I Mr. Lattimer.” She said in agreement.
Mrs. Clark studied his face for a brief moment. She’d made no secret that she didn’t like him and that she hadn’t been happy about his sudden appearance in Summerville and consequent friendship with her daughter.
She recalled the sight of her daughter returning from the river… her boots and hat in her arms, her hair disheveled, tears running down her face. While Laura had said nothing of what had happened that day it was clear that she’d been hurt deeply. In her opinion Laura had been through enough heartache in her life. She didn’t need the likes of Charles Lattimer adding to it.
She did however, recognize that the man had just saved her daughters life. As the old woman bent to rub a smudge of dirt from her granddaughters face she looked up at Charles “I don’t know how I could possibly repay you Mr. Lattimer.”
“There’s no need to repay me Mrs. Clark. Knowing that your family is safe is all I need.”
Mrs. Clark gave him a polite nod. “Well, nevertheless…. Perhaps we could extend an invitation to dinner…”
“That won’t be necessary Mama.” Laura cut in. “I believe Mr. Lattimer will be making his way back to St. Louis. In fact, I thought you’d already left Mr. Lattimer.” Laura maintained eye contact no longer than absolutely necessary, and then focused on a spec of dirt that sat on her daughter’s shoulder.
“I had Mrs. Brown. But then I realized that I’d left something very precious behind and had to return.”
“Very well Mr. Lattimer. While I truly do extend my deepest gratitude for what you did for Mary and I today, I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”
“You’re not holding me up Mrs. Brown.” He said with soft regret.
The awkward silence that hung in the air was thicker than the dust around them. Looking at her daughter’s face, Mrs. Clark could see the strain etched in her jaw line. To some it would most likely go unnoticed, but to her it was clear. Her daughter was in emotional agony and hung dangerously close to the brink of tears. Desperate to shield her from any further anguish she broke the silence. “Well then, I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one day. If you don’t mind Mr. Lattimer, I’d like to take my family home now.”
Charles gave her a disappointed but understanding smile. “By all means Mrs. Clark.”
As she gently took her granddaughter by the hand she turned to Charles. “I thank you again Mr. Lattimer. “
Charles stood and watched as Laura, Mary and Mrs. Clark made their way through the park. His heart ached as both relief and regret flooded through him. For while he had successfully saved Laura from an awful fate he was hit by the realization that he may have lost her forever. For this was not a time and place that took marriage lightly. In her eyes he was married, he had told her as much. In her eyes he had inadvertently courted her, won her over, and then had tried to take advantage of her. In her eyes he had deceived her, for contrary to what she had been led to believe, his intentions had never been honorable. His intentions had been cruel and dishonest. He was a married man.
“Oh Laura” he said under his breath. “How in the world am I going to make this right with you?”
Chapter 2