My Rescue • •

[Lexi Piper Ryanne]

Lexi had loved being in Corner Brook, and a little part of her was sad to be leaving so soon. The trip had flown by so fast, and she had been thoroughly welcomed by Denver’s family that it hadn’t taken long as all for them to dispel her initial nerves and fears. She had enjoyed seeing how happy her boyfriend was to be back in his childhood home and with his family. Plus, she had been treated to stories; many she already knew from him recounting them, but a few others from earlier years had brought the young New Yorker close to tears with laughter and a short lived teasing right over the doctor. She knew it wouldn’t last forever though, there would come a time when Denver would hear a tale or two about Lexi that she wished would be erased from the photo albums and the memories of her own family.

After a good few hours shopping with Meg and Sarah, Lexi’s arms were weighed down with bags and her face ached from laughing so much at their trip. They had tried on some ridiculous things, found amazing bargains and definitely shopped until they dropped. She was ready to spend what was left of the afternoon and evening just curled up with Denver while they watched a movie or chatted some more. This trip had been perfect, she had seen so many things and made hilarious memories that she would keep with her. She loved Denver’s family and how different they were to her own. Not that it affected how she felt in any way. They both knew that they had grown up in two very different places and styles, but it wasn’t something that was going to tear them apart as a couple. Lexi loved Denver more than she could put into words and this trip had let them spend more time together without worrying about the time or work the following day. Her internship at the Historical Society would start up the following week, Denny would be back at the hospital and real life would resume again, but right now none of that mattered. For once she was relaxing and enjoying herself without giving a thought to what was to come.

She was still laughing when the three of them returned to the house, laden with bags from their shopping trip. After promising to be right back, Lexi took to the stairs and turned towards the bedroom. She figured it would just be easier to put her bags in there since she would have to pack it all up in a bit anyway, but she also expected to see Denny in there since he hadn’t appeared after the commotion of the three returning in high spirits and with the high heels to match. At first she thought nothing of his absence, until she returned back downstairs and into the kitchen where Sarah was getting herself a drink from the refrigerator. It was only then that she realised Denver wasn’t in the house, since she knew he would have poked his head out by then to tease them all about their shopping habits. Curiosity getting the better of her, Lexi moved her hair out of her eyes and turned to the mother and daughter. “Is Denver out with friends?”

[/color] She asked, assuming that first. It was the look Sarah gave her in the next second that had the pretty brunette realising that her assumption was very wrong. Sarah spoke as though she thought Lexi knew everything, but the stunned silence from the New Yorker was more than enough to let the teenager know that this was the first she had heard of Denver’s father having passed away.

Lexi was still in that slight state of shock and confusion when the cemetery came into sight. Part of her wanted to go back to the house and pretend that she had never opened her mouth and asked where Denver was in the first place. There had to be a reason why she hadn’t known about this and now she just felt awkward, as though she was intruding where she didn’t belong. But Sarah had been quite determined in making sure Lexi found the handsome doctor. Her dark eyes finally fell on him, but she held back for a moment longer, feeling like some kind of trespasser. Slowly, she stepped forward, moving closer, but still hanging back enough to give him his space. “Denny?”[/color] Her voice was quiet, almost meek. She really didn’t want to interrupt this moment, but at the same time she was a little worried, still confused, and wanted to be close to him. She didn’t know what to do, but she wanted to do something helpful, if there was anything at all that she could do.
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• • •

TAGGED! Denny! <3
WORDS! 802!
OUTFIT! Sunshine Sweetie!
LYRICS! Each Other - - - Katharine McPhee
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Denver Gage Sawyer]

Denver had enjoyed the last two weeks being back home. He hadn't really realised how much he missed his home town until he was back there again. And this time was just that little bit better because Lexi had tagged along with him. He had wanted to share all that he'd known before her with her. That meant his family, his old friends, which thankfully only included the good apples, and the places around Corner Brook that he had adored as a child. Each day brought a new adventure, new places to show Lexi and of course, a couple days here and there where his sister and mother had dragged his poor girlfriend along to shopping trips. He had especially enjoyed taking a few days there to go to St. John's and see all the sights over there. The ghost walk had been a personal favourite. He loved walking down the street with Lexi curled into his side, whether she was faking the chills or they were real, it didn't matter. He felt needed when she'd move a little closer when their guide told a particularly gruesome story.

It was just lucky the tour happened all year round and not just near Halloween when the ghosts and ghouls were out move causing havoc. And showing her George Street had been a great highlight. His nineteen birthday, he'd been in New York at school so he hadn't been able to celebrate properly like if he'd been home. So when he'd gone visiting that summer a group of them spent the weekend in St. John's, they'd done George Street like pros, hitting up every single bar in the row for at least one drink before moving on. He hadn't put Lexi through that but a couple places, a couple drinks and some dancing wouldn't kill them. The area was so famous though for being so eclectic in its tastes. There were country bars next to top forty mix bars, a good old fashioned Irish pub next to a Latin inspired place. There was no denying the street had it's own way of life. Even with all that there was, there wasn't really enough to fill two weeks with different things. There were days when it was just casual strolls through the city, a show at the local theatre, or the movies once or twice. The women of his life went shopping a couple times and then things repeated.

They were on one of those shopping trips now which was why Denver had taken the time to go out to the cemetery and have a proper visit with his father. He'd been too young when the accident happened and Denver didn't remember the man at all but that didn't stop him from loving and missing the man he'd lost as a toddler. He stopped at the little corner store and picked up some small bouquet of flowers, talking to the woman who had owned the store since before Denver was born and smiled softly when she guessed who the bright flowers were for. She had known his father well, before everything had happened. And she had often said when Denver was still living at home how much he reminded her of him, how he would have been so proud of his son and how he had been so excited when Meg told him they were having a baby. Denver had stayed there only long enough to hear the story again and thank the neighbourhood granny for the pretty blooms before continuing on his way to the cemetery.

The place had always been a calming area for Denver. He'd always felt like he could go there whenever he was having a rough day and things would just be better when he finally got up and left again. He hadn't done it often but then, he also hadn't had that many rough days to begin with. Lexi didn't know about this side of things. He hadn't known how to tell her that the man she'd met their first night in Newfoundland had but hadn't been his father. Tony raised him and Denver called him dad but the man contributed no DNA to Denver's creation. But that was a minor detail for the family. Tony was Denver's father, end of story. Some might have thought it weird, but Denver sat by his father's headstone and spoke to him as though he were sitting there with him, holding up his half of the conversation. He told him all about Lexi and life in New York and how he was planning on staying there a while. He spoke about all the kids he was helping and how he hoped Sarah would go to New York for schooling because he missed her a lot when she wasn't around on her rare trips out. He talked about Tony and his mother, though not as much since he didn't really know anything. But mostly he kept going back to Lexi and the life he wanted to share with her. They'd been together for a while and Denver loved her a lot. He didn't know how ready he was for any next steps but he also knew that any next step, he wanted to take with Lexi. Denver wondered if he was making his father proud wherever he was and for some time he just sat there in silence, letting his tears fall.

Tony had done a good job for his part in making Denver the man he was. He had never been disappointed in his son, he'd always encouraged him to follow his heart, as did his mother. Denver couldn't have asked for better parents. They loved him for who he was, let him make his own mistakes and he knew without a doubt that they would be there for him if there was ever a time he really, absolutely needed them to be. He'd asked his father while he was sitting there how to tell Lexi about him. It was a rather big part of his life but he just hadn't been able to tell her about him. Not because he didn't want her to know but because he honestly didn't know how to breach the subject without it being awkward. But the one thing he should have done was tell her before the trip to Corner Brook. It hadn't occurred to him that Sarah would open her big mouth, even though that was her favourite pastime. He just figured she would know better. But he'd been wrong. Denver had been drying his eyes when he heard Lexi's familiar voice calling out his name and he turned, not even bothering to pretend like he hadn't just been sitting there bawling his eyes out and talking to a long since dead man that still held a piece of Denver's heart. "Hey," He said, a little roughly and coughed to clear his throat though it did nothing for him. "Come here." he added, reaching his arm out and beckoning her forward. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. Sort of." He continued with a shrug. It was probably strange, but his father was still a part of his life, even though things were not the way Denver would have liked and he wanted Lexi to at least know the man's name.

Tag|| Lexi! <3
Words|| 1 219
Clothes|| Distressed Doctor
Music|| Caught Up In You --Malese Jow
Notes|| <3

[Lexi Piper Ryanne]

Lexi loved finding out things about Denver’s past and putting real places and views with the stories he had told her over countless dinners and movies back in New York City. It made them seem so much more real, which of course they were, but Lexi could find herself imagining each tale playing out in front of her now that she actually knew what Corner Brook was like and wasn’t just relying on the images that she had conjured up through Denver’s words. It sounded crazy to say she would miss a place she had only been in for two weeks, but she meant it. She would miss the scenery, his family and the general atmosphere of the place. It was so vastly different from the world she was used to and at the same time it managed to capture her heart in the same way that New York had done for so many years already.

The concrete jungle would always be her home, but that didn’t mean that Lexi couldn’t love other places, too. Her family had travelled to places all over the globe when she had been growing up and there were cities and countries that she had fallen in love with over the years. Corner Brook was just going to be joining their ranks now, only she hoped there would be more chances to return here than there would be for some of the others. She had the money, but hardly the lack of responsibilities to jet off to Rome or Barcelona whenever the mood struck her. At least with Corner Brook she had Denver and his family there to hopefully give her reasons for more future trips. From these two weeks she knew that his family would definitely appreciate seeing the doctor more, even if it was difficult. Meg had already said as much and dropped a mention or two of future visits during their shopping trips. They were mentions that had Lexi smiling and almost blushing. Just the thought that his family expected her to be around in the future was more than she expected from this trip. And it really didn’t do any harm when it came to making her feel welcome!

Not once had Lexi stopped during the trip to think that there might be a darker part to Denver’s past. No one had mentioned anything, there had been no awkward moments after certain stories and she hadn’t clued in to anything around her that might suggest he hadn’t lived a near perfect childhood. In fact, if she hadn’t asked that question and Sarah hadn’t instantly told her about Denver’s biological father then Lexi would probably have returned to New York just as clueless about it all. She didn’t know why Denver had kept this to himself, but she knew him well enough to know there had to be a reason. Lexi didn’t need to know everything about his life, and the main reason for her shock had been because she had met Tony, heard Denver calling him dad and she honestly thought all the big moments of his life had been shared with her already during their conversations. Although, she couldn’t be too upset about it. She had her own secrets and tales that she was still keeping from the man she loved so much. Right now though, her mind was so far away from her own past that it was one of the few times she could truly forget about it. Lexi was worried about Denver and had no idea what to do in this situation. Any bad moments in the past since she had met him had usually been related to his job and a night of movies, take-out and relaxing was the go-to thing then. For this, she had no idea what to do.

Lexi had never really lost anyone. Thankfully, her parents and sisters were in good health with only Lexi ever being the one in the last twenty or so years to actually fall on the worrying side of sick. She had been to one funeral in her whole life and that had been when she was ten and a Great Aunt who she had met only twice before had finally succumbed to heart disease. Even then she felt uncomfortable around all those people mourning when she barely even knew the woman, but had to be there for the sake of her family. This was something she had never experienced for herself and it seemed to scare her more that she might say or do the wrong thing when finally near Denver. Or worse, he might not want her there at all and get mad that she invaded his time at his father’s graveside. The last thing she wanted to do was to make matters worse right now.

When she saw that he had been crying, her heart almost broke and the tears sprung to her own dark eyes, though she tried in vain to blink them back. In her mind she had no right to cry now. She was just so used to Denny being the one to comfort her, tease away those tears whenever she welled up at a silly movie or because of some ridiculous fight with one of her sisters that was usually resolved by the following afternoon. He was always the strong one, and to see him with red eyes and hear the crack in his voice was enough to shake her. Hesitantly she moved closer to Denny. Lexi still felt as though she was intruding on something that she ought not to be a part of. When she was close enough she reached out to grasp his hand and instinctively pushed herself closer to him, almost wrapping herself around his arm and into his side. Her eyes looked over the headstone, reading the name and dates as she squeezed Denver a little tighter. “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be here, but I was worried. Sarah told me everything. Are you okay?”

[/color] Shaking her head quickly, Lexi mentally slapped herself for asking such a ridiculous question. “Sorry, that was stupid.”[/color] She didn’t care about why this had been kept a secret; it didn’t matter. All Lexi was concerned about was Denver and how he was doing right now. She had never seen him like this and she had honestly thought that she had seen him when he was upset before, but this was something entirely new. She didn’t know how to make him feel better right now and she had never left more useless in her life, but she wanted to be able to do something, so for now, she just held onto his arm, letting him know she was there and listening.
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• • •

TAGGED! Denny! <3
WORDS! 1,123!
OUTFIT! Sunshine Sweetie!
LYRICS! Each Other - - - Katharine McPhee
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Denver Gage Sawyer]

Denver wasn’t a secretive person. He held things back at work because it was easier to talk to his patients when they didn’t know the full story right up front. He always spoke to the parents first before talking it all through with those kids. He didn’t believe in keeping them out of the loop, he had always maintained that they were the ones going through it all, they should know what’s happening. The one thing he could say for certain he kept quiet about was his biological father. And that was only because it was such an awkward subject when he told everyone the man in the photographs was his father; which Tony was. Tony was all Denver knew growing up. They didn’t hide anything from him, he had always known Sam was his real dad but he died when he was small. It wasn’t a secret but Denver had been small enough that Tony legally adopted him but Meg had wanted him to keep his name. And Sam’s parents talked as if Sarah was their granddaughter, too.

For Denver, it was just awkward to explain. He had never been the greatest with words to begin with so to have to explain all of that was just awkward. And he figured no one really needed to know the finer details about it all. But Lexi did. He had to tell her. He’d spent the entire trip thinking about how he was going to tell her, and even before that. Since he’d thought about inviting her to Corner Brook, he’d been thinking about it. And now he wished he’d just blurted it out. But then, he hadn’t wanted her to feel even more awkward about it all since she’d seemed nervous to begin with and Denny had wanted Lexi to enjoy herself. So in that aspect, he was glad he hadn’t told her yet. “It’s not silly. I’m okay, promise.” He said before he pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry she had to be the one to tell you. I should have said something I just didn’t know how.” He said with a sigh. He felt bad that it hadn’t been him to tell Lexi about the whole situation.

Denver sighed, wrapping his arms around Lexi and holding her close to him. He knew he zoned out for a second, looking at the grave marker with his father’s name and dates on it. But a moment later he shook his head and kissed Lexi’s temple again. “Lexi, this is my biological father, Sam Sawyer. He died when I was three of a brain aneurysm brought on by a snowboarding accident over on Marble Mountain. We passed it on the way into the city.” It wasn’t a good enough explanation but it was a start to one and that was what mattered. “Tony was his best friend; they had been neighbours their entire lives, brother basically. And he was there with Sam when it all happened. And he became my mom’s rock when she, we needed him around. I was too young to remember any of that but they’ve never hidden Sam from me. You’ve probably seen pictures around the house and just thought it was an uncle or something. My bedtime stories were about him and his childhood when I was little, most of Sarah’s, too now that I think about it.” He said with a soft chuckle.

Tag|| Lexi! <3
Words|| 570
Clothes|| Distressed Doctor
Music|| Caught Up In You --Malese Jow
Notes|| <3

[Lexi Piper Ryanne]

When it came to secrets, Lexi had unfortunately lived most of her life with them. It was only recently that that began to change. In her past it had started with hiding the bullying and torment, pretending like each day at school was a good one. Eventually that progressed to darker things and feelings that festered and were kept at bay behind a fake smile and manners until the day she collapsed. Even after that it took some time to really open up and talk about things. It was why she had continued paying the therapist for years after she was out of the woods; for someone to talk openly with.

With Denny she felt like she could talk about the bad days she had now and share silly stories from her past, but she still had her one big secret from him and the rest of the world. Lexi hadn’t given much thought to telling him about it, purposely ignoring it herself. Right now though she was focused on him and wanting to make sure that he was okay. Lexi wanted to do whatever she could to make him feel better right now, even if she had no clue about where to start. “Stop it. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

[/color] She scolded lightly, shaking her head as she twisted slightly to look up at him, but never let go of him. “I get it. Some things just aren’t so easy to bring up. And you should already know that you don’t have to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable.”[/color] She repeated as much whenever he mentioned having a bad day in New York. Lexi just wanted her boyfriend to be happy and well. If that meant she couldn’t know one or two things then she could cope with that. After all, she understood how secrets benefitted the one with them and she hated it when people pressured her into talking about things, so she never did it to others.

Leaning against Denver, Lexi let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was even holding. Closing her eyes for a second she squeezed him a little tighter, just letting him know that she was there and going nowhere. Then she looked at the grave, biting her lip to stop any more tears from creeping up on her. The story was heart breaking and something she couldn’t even begin to imagine. “It’s good that they never left Sam out.”[/color] She whispered once Denny was done telling her the truth. There was nothing in the Ryanne family history that she knew of that was remotely similar to this, and words were not her strong suit. Part of her didn’t know what to say and another part was just screaming for her to say something, anything. Lexi acted sort of on instinct and shifted a tiny bit closer to the grave marker, but she still didn’t know if she would be doing the right thing or if Denver would think she was interrupting his time here. Lexi just knew the silence would be worse than her words, even if they were terrible and useless. “Your son is the most amazing man I have ever met. Not only is he smart and sweet, but he has a heart of gold. It’s ridiculously easy to fall in love with him, which is exactly what I’ve done. I love him, and I hope you or the rest of the family don’t mind, but I plan on keeping him in New York for a while.”[/color] Biting her lip, Lexi was still feeling a little of the remaining nerves her worrying had brought on. She turned back into Denny and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest as her arms tightened around his waist.
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• • •

TAGGED! Denny! <3
WORDS! 635!
OUTFIT! Sunshine Sweetie!
LYRICS! Each Other - - - Katharine McPhee
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Denver Gage Sawyer]

Denver hadn’t brought a soul to his father’s grave in a very long time. He used to bring Sarah along on his birthday to set flowers down but they wouldn’t stay. Sarah knew what had happened, even when she was small but she’d never been overly fond of the stillness the cemetery provided. It was too quiet for the then small Sarah so Denver didn’t stay and usually circled back later when he was free to go alone. As far as his childhood friends were aware like everyone who didn’t actually know Sam, Tony was his father. Lexi was the first person outside the family that didn’t know before the accident to know now. “I know. But I don’t want to keep anything from you. I love you.” He said sincerely. Lexi was too good to him, and Denny knew it. She deserved so much and Denver wanted to give it all to her. She was just too sweet and so perfect that Denny hadn’t been able to not fall head over heels in love with the New Yorker.

“I don’t know if either of them could have, honestly.” Sam and Tony had been the closest thing to brothers and Meg had been Sam’s first love. They had made plans of being together forever and probably would have if he’d lived. But Denver wasn’t the type to live in the fairy tale of what if land. Because Sarah wouldn’t have been born and his sister was a big part of the Canadian man’s life. There might have been a sister, but that girl just wouldn’t have been Sarah. So really Denver was sad but okay with it all and he really hoped his father understood that. He missed him but while he’d been gone, great things happened and Denny wasn’t going to give that up. Denny didn’t know what Lexi was going to do turning more towards the tombstone but he couldn’t help but smile at her sweet words. She really was too good to be true sometimes. “I love you, Lex.” He said, pulling her closer to his side and giving her a soft kiss so she couldn't see those tears well in his eyes. He really didn’t deserve someone so amazing as Lexi.

With a sigh, Denver ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair. He’d been there for a while now and he was sure Lexi didn’t want to spend their last night in Corner Brook sitting in a hundred plus year old graveyard. “Come on. We should go.” He said softly, brushing his lips against the side of her head. He took another look at the name on the grey stone in front of them before getting to his feet and holding his hand out to help Lexi up. “Ma mentioned a good family dinner which usually means making line cooks of us all.” Denver said with a chuckle. “Thank you. I needed you here.” He continued after a moment of just holding Lexi close to his side. Pulling away, Denny touched the top of the stone, said his farewell and took Lexi’s hand to walk with her away and back to his childhood home.

Tag|| Lexi! <3
Words|| 530
Clothes|| Distressed Doctor
Music|| Caught Up In You --Malese Jow
Notes|| <3

[Lexi Piper Ryanne]

Lexi wasn’t experienced when it came to death and cemeteries. For her they were a place of history, but she had no reason to visit any regularly. She didn’t know how it felt to lose someone so close to her and it was a thought she didn’t like to dwell on. The brunette knew she was lucky in ways that others were not. That didn’t mean that she wanted to think about the dark reality she would one day have to face. She didn’t want to spend her days lost in sad thoughts and misery; she had been there once before and it was not an experience she would recommend. “So long as you’re not keeping a drop dead gorgeous, six foot in heels, blonde from me, I’m okay. And I love you, too, but if you need time to tell me something then take it.”

[/color] She said honestly, tossing in the light joke to try and cheer him up a little. Lexi had no idea how to do that right now, or even if it was a good idea, but she wanted to see at least a hint of a smile on Denny’s face again.

Lexi nodded her head silently. She thought she understood what Denver meant, but she didn’t want to ruin anything by opening her mouth and putting her foot in it. Words were not always her strong suit and a moment like this was not something she felt she could blush and ramble her way out of. Sometimes it was just better to remain silent and so she just hugged the doctor a little tighter. “It amazes me how I can’t get used to hearing that. But I love you, with everything I have.”[/color] She smiled, holding him a little closer before pressing her lips softly to his cheek. Denver was more than she could ever hope to find in her life and she had absolutely no intention of letting him slip away. There was just about nothing that she wouldn’t do to try to make him happy. Whenever something happened in her life he was the first person who popped into her mind, whether she was thinking of asking him for his advice or just excited to tell him some little bit of news. Him sharing this with her now, even if it hadn’t been how anyone planned it, was touching to her and meant more than words could express. Lexi couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult this was and yet she felt honoured to know the full story about Denver’s family and the man in so many of the photos around the house.

She looked up at him with wide brown eyes, trying to read his expression as he spoke. Standing upright and smoothing out her summery dress, she glanced back at the headstone and then took Denny’s hand in hers. “You can stay, if you want.”[/color] She said quietly, not wanting him to leave if he needed a few more minutes or even a little longer than that. “I can meet you back at the house if you want a bit more time alone.”[/color] She added, trying to reassure him just in case he did want to spend that little bit more time at the graveside. Lexi didn’t know if Denny had thought about his next trip to Corner Brook or if it would be in the near future. As far as she was concerned he could take all the time he needed and she could navigate her own way back to the house. A few wrong turnings wouldn’t be disastrous and she a little confident that she had mentally mapped out the things she considered landmarks of the area. “Anytime you need me, you’ve got me. And even all the times you don’t.”[/color] Lexi informed him with a loving smile, pushing herself up onto her toes to press a light kiss against his jaw.
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• • •

TAGGED! Denny! <3
WORDS! 657!
OUTFIT! Sunshine Sweetie!
LYRICS! Each Other - - - Katharine McPhee
NOTES! <3 <3 <3