Chapter 31-2

Hoping for the best and expecting the worse, she cried out, her voice echoing across the empty space.  "Thomas!" He spun immediately, looking devastating in his grey casual jacket over dark jeans.  His eyes shone silver blue in the light reflected back from the water and they sought her out.  Now.  Here is when he looks angry, disappointed, cold. But instead, his face broke into a brilliant smile.  "Ali!" As she stood feeling small and silly, he sprinted towards her through the chairs, then hurdled over the wooden divider and wrapped her up in a hug that made her realise she'd finally come home.  "Ali," he said, "you made it!" "Thomas."  She nestled into him for a moment, allowing herself the luxury of his embrace without analysing why she was privileged to experience it.  "You're not angry?" "Why would I be angry?"  He pulled away and cupped her chin, staring into her and seeing her grief.  "Hey, what's going on?" "You were gone.  I was out all night, I thought you'd left, that I'd ruined everything again..."  She implored him using every cell in her body.  "I'm so sorry, Thomas, I promise, I wasn't doing anything wrong last night, I just had to sort things out with Otis, and now I'm good, and I don't want to lose you." "Hey, hey, slow down, Ali."  He hugged her again, using his strength to calm her.  "I'm not angry.  I figured you were working through some stuff, but I had to get back here for this lunch.  Didn't you get my note?" "No."  She recalled the housekeeper calling out to her as she ran. "And I hired a driver to wait for you to give you a lift back into the city.  Don't tell me he wasn't there?" "Oh.  I thought he was a sex-slave trader who wanted to kidnap me." "Well, that's totally logical," he said, an amused lilt in his voice. "Hey!  You try having a strange man drag you into his car!" she said, laughing through her shaky relief. Thomas ran his fingers over her sweaty hair.  "Ali, you need to know that I love you and that I'm a man, not a boy.  I'm not going to run off in a tantrum over nothing, or a miscommunication.  I trust you enough to hang out with someone from your past, and I'll trust you in the future to spend time with men and not worry about you sleeping with them.  This is what adults do - they trust and they forgive, and they don't fly off the handle." "I think...  I think I'd like to be an adult." "Good," he said, kissing her nose.  "Let's start now.  Hey, Mum?  Dad?" Ali watched in horror as Thomas called out to his parents.  "What are you doing?" "I'm introducing my parents to you." She watched the elegant couple making their way over.  "Thomas!  Look at me!  I look like a hobo!" "You're my hobo."  He grinned and kissed her, and suddenly her arguments seemed moot.  "Although, I do need to know what to introduce you as.  Are you Lex, or Sparrow?" Who am I?  She knew she wasn't Lex anymore; that girl was gone forever.  And even her time as Sparrow had passed, now she no longer needed to fly.  She still didn't love her full name of Alexandra, but she wanted to be known by the name that resonated in her soul. His parents reached their side and Thomas said, "Mum and Dad, I'd like you to meet the woman I love." And feeling like a true adult for the first time, she stuck her hand out and said, "Hello, Mr and Mrs Walsh.  My name is Ali." *** After a long and lovely chat over a late afternoon tea, Ali and Thomas waved off his parents, then turned to each other. "Would you like to walk home?" asked Ali, reaching for his hand.  "I have a story to tell you." "Sure."  He enfolded her fingers inside his.  "I like stories." They started the walk back and Ali took a deep breath.  "Well, this story starts the day my bag was stolen..." She told him everything, all the gory details, a guided tour of her basement and a close-up look at the corpses hidden there.  She didn't try to sugar-coat or make excuses for her behaviour, she simply relayed the facts. As she talked for an hour straight, their feet carried them through Sydney, over the Harbour Bridge and towards Thomas' home.  With every step, she could feel her past falling away, like dirt caught in the treads of her shoes that was slowly being released as she walked along.  She was lighter, freer, and no matter how Thomas reacted, she knew she wasn't that person anymore and she didn't have to suffer for the sins of her former self. When everything was exposed, when every last act had been divulged, Ali said, "I want you to know, I have been so scared.  I was afraid of loving again, and then terrified of losing you.  But I love you and I'm not afraid anymore." "Good, because you shouldn't be."  Thomas drew her to a stop at the top of the stairs leading down from the bridge and into the park across from his apartment.  All around them, Sydney hummed happily, but all Ali could see was Thomas and his calm silver eyes.  "I love you, Ali, no matter what lies behind you, because all I can see is what lies in front of us.  You aren't Lex anymore, and if you ever start acting Lex-ish again, don't worry, I'll let you know pretty quick." She laughed, and it felt good.  "That sounds like a good plan." They kissed, the late afternoon sunshine warming their skin as their lips met and the wind whipped around them merrily.  Ali could feel Thomas' essence through his kiss, his strength and wisdom and acceptance pouring into her, and finally, the doors to her heart burst open.  There was nothing left to hide, nothing left to forgive or run from.  She was reborn in that moment, not because of Thomas, but because she found the strength to forgive herself. He drew away, his eyes dancing.  "Actually, I have quite a few good plans in store for us." "Oh really, Mr Walsh?"  She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed each of his knuckles in turn, making him groan in pleasure. "Not just those kinds of plans, although, make no mistake, I am going to take you upstairs after this and we are not leaving my bed for the next twenty-four hours at least." Ali shivered happily as his arms snaked around behind her and drew her close to his body.  "Are you sure your assistant won't have your head for taking time off work?" "You and I both know there are more important things than work.  But I'm prepared to hide under the bed if you are."  He kissed her neck and her skin raised up in goose bumps.  "But I'm talking about much bigger plans for our future, for our legacy.  Are you in?" Feeling light enough to float off the bridge and away with Thomas into the sky, Ali smiled and said, "I'm all in."