It Started With 'I Do' (A Creatures/Dexter Manning fanfic)

Chapter 5: Someday

"Goodbye, Mom!" I shouted across the house as I headed out the door to work. "I might be home late tonight if that's okay."

"No problem, sweetheart. Have a nice day!" Mom responded back. I closed the door and got into my '08 Civic, on my way to my job as a first grade teacher at Bear Creek Elementary School.

I've been living at home with my mom ever since my engagement to Jacob... fell through. She can barely work because of her chronic asthma, but with her disability combined with my teacher's salary, we're able to support each other - it's not much, but it's enough to get by. She's been working from home as well, which has brought in some extra income. Lucky me, Ashley and Seamus offered to cover my expenses to get to Chicago.

As for my job, I love it. This is my second year as a teacher and I've loved every moment of it. I've always loved being around kids, especially with having younger cousins, and I hope to have a few of my own someday. My kids at work make everything okay, no matter what I have going on in my own life.

I pull into the parking lot of my school, watching the first set of buses unload.

"Hey, Mrs. Dawson!" my principal, Mr. Miller, greeted as I checked in at the front office. "How was your vacation?"

I smiled. "It was fantastic, but I'm glad to be back here."

"Yeah, your kiddos really missed you."

"I can't wait to see them. See you later, Mr. Miller!" I grabbed my attendance folder and walked to the other end of school to my classroom. My assistant guided most of our students in, and when I walked in they all turned their attention to me.

"Ms. Rachel!" they shouted in unison before they ran up to me, all ambushing me in a hug. "We missed you so much."

"I missed you all too. I can't wait to show you some of my pictures." I guided them over to the reading mat and turned on the computer. My assistant, Ms. Pitts, came over to me and gave me a hug.

"I'm so glad to have you back, Rachel. How was your trip?"

"I'm going to show the class my pictures now. Also" - I pulled her close to whisper in her ear - "I have something to tell you later."

She nodded and went back to her own desk. The computer finished booting up and I plugged in my flash drive, waiting for that message to appear. "So how was everybody while I was gone?" I asked to pass the time.

"Good," everyone responded in unison and nodded. Finally I saw the "ready to use" message and opened up my pictures folder, clicking on the first one: outside the window on the plane ride there.

My students awe'd in excitement and I flipped through the pictures, explaining each one. There were all kinds of pictures: my hotel view, the actual wedding itself, exploring Chicago. Then I got to one that I held the closest: my first picture with Dex.

"Who's that, Ms. Rachel?" one of my students asked.

I smiled. "That's Dexter Manning, he's a special guy I met while I was there."

"Oh, like your boyfriend?" someone else asked, and they all giggled.

Yeah, my boyfriend? I mean, he's amazing but I just met him this weekend. And he's so far away and after what went down between me and Jacob, perhaps a long-distance relationship isn't the best arrangement for me at the moment. But I'd love to give him a try, maybe someday.

"Kinda," I finally answered. There were several of us and as I continued to click through them I began to miss him. I began to miss his dark hair and his green eyes and his accent. And I missed the way he made me feel so loved, like I would never let him go. I just missed everything about him.

Before long I felt a couple tears prick at my eyes. My students caught on to them. "Ms. Rachel, are you okay?"

I wiped them away quickly and put on a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." I got to the last picture in the folder and closed down the window. Ms. Pitts came over to me and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Do you need to step out?" she asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine really. I'll tell you more later." We guided the students to their seats and I began the lesson for the day.

~~~

Three and a half hours later it was time for lunch. I lined up my students at the door and we led them to the cafeteria. They received their food and sat down, and Mrs. Pitts and I took a seat at the end of the table.

"So," she started. "Tell me more about this fella you met."

"Well, he's funny, caring, handsome of course, and all around amazing. I was paired with him in the wedding and he works with the groom, Seamus. But there's a small problem."

"Oh?" We were acting like a couple gossiping teenagers, which is why Ms. Pitts is the best assistant ever.

"He lives all the way in Colorado."

"That's it? Honey, miles are just numbers when you really love someone."

"But that's the problem. After my engagement fell apart, I'm not sure if I can handle long-distance. I wish I could but I'm not ready for that, emotionally at least. But, then again, he did say he would see me again."

"See? If he wants to see you so badly, he's willing to make a way. But I have to ask you. How exactly would you feel if, let's say, you talked to him two weeks from today and he said, 'Rachel, I love you, will you be my girlfriend'?"

I thought deeply about it. "I think I'd have to say yes. I mean, he kissed me like he would ask something like that."

Ms. Pitts squealed with excitement. "Really? That was fast."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," I smirked. I leaned back a little bit, thinking about his kisses. Several minutes later, it was time for us to head back to the classroom and wrap up the rest of the day. I knew that I had someone waiting for me on the other end of Skype when I got home.

(A/N: Sorry if this part seemed kind of rushed. I know it's been a few weeks since I've put out a part and I'm having a case of writer's block for the next few parts. But until I get past that, I should be good to go!)

(Song: Someday, The Strokes.)