Last Thing I Remember • •

[Emmett Reuben Winchester]

Emmett had no real plans for the summer months. A short weekend trip home had been enough for him a few weeks ago and he probably wouldn’t return until his dad’s birthday in November. Too many painful memories, lies and secrets came about visiting that charming and historical place. He preferred to lose himself in the hustle and bustle of New York and the dreams he had now. Plus, the summer months in the museum brought in more tour groups of people who were keen to ask questions and listen to Emmett talk passionately about the history behind the exhibitions and the discoveries. The summer meant less school groups, but Emmett’s lively idea of a tour didn’t falter just because he didn’t have those young minds to enrich and remind him of his years teaching in Oxford. He didn’t mind covering the hours left open when Gabe returned to Nebraska to show his girlfriend off to his family. He also didn’t mind listening to vacation stories or laughing at the photographs of those friends who did manage to escape to some tropical shore for a week or two.

He would have been content to spend his summer in the concrete jungle and in his usual routine. The morning when Delia showed up at his door when he was still running his fingers through sopping wet hair seemed to suggest that things were about to go differently. His Scottish buddy was barking at him to hurry up and pack a bag, but Emmett was fighting with a t-shirt sticking to his still damp shoulders to try to find his usual travel duffle. He knew Delia well enough to know that asking questions would only result in her digging out one of his many NERF guns and shooting at him each time he opened his mouth. Instead, Emmett chose to just comply and shout a few remarks through to her while he crammed t-shirts, jeans and all the other necessities into the bag. Emerging from his bedroom with the duffle slung over his shoulders and his favourite sunglasses resting on his head, he shot the redhead a look and then stooped down to grab the discarded boots by the couch. “So, care to fill me in yet?”

[/color] He asked, shoving his feet into the footwear and hastily tying the laces before pushing himself back up to full height. “Do I need my saxophone? Will there be a required jacket? Will the children be okay without me?”[/color] By children he was of course referencing his three pet rats who took up residence in a large corner of his living room. There was a neighbour a few doors down who would always take care of the critters at a moment’s notice for Emmett. He just didn’t want to text him and ask him if Delia planned on bringing them both back in the morning or even a few hours’ time. He wouldn’t be surprised of anything when it came to his fellow tour guide and her antics.
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• • •

TAGGED! Delia!
WORDS! 537!
OUTFIT! Casual Mess
LYRICS! Last Night (Vegas) - - - Breathe Carolina
NOTES! <3

[Delia Sierra Reynolds]

Delia had been weary of calling into the radio station but she’d done it anyway because really, who could it hurt. She would either get through or not. It was a surprise that she’d gotten through! She had known the song the second they’d played the clip and said as much, laughing when the victory music had come over the air. She’d stayed on the phone to give them her information and set up a time that she could come in and sign what she needed to. When she’d gotten there after an interesting day completely booked with tours, she’d given them the names for the tickets, hers and Emmett’s since she’d decided during the day that they’d deserved a break. And the next day she spoke to their boss about getting the days off that they needed. It was a tiny bit short notice but Delia had given her boss enough time to switch around shifts for a couple days all while keeping it all on the quiet side because she’d made the older woman promise not to tell Emmett about it.

It had just about killed the Scottish girl not to tell Emmett about the trip just to get him as excited as she was but that would have ruined it all. So she’d called her niece up and told the preteen all about what her devilish aunt had planned. Delia wasn’t any good at keeping secrets. Not telling Meredith what she was getting for Christmas, her birthday or any other gift related holiday was a task in itself! But she’d managed to keep her mouth shut to Emmett and was going to reward herself when they got to the surprise destination with something expensive and frivolous. As much as she wanted to go home for a week or two during the summer to see Meredith, it just wasn’t possible right now, which she’d explained to the young girl. But she had also made plans for the youngster to visit New York soon for some early Christmas shopping done.

The night before their flight, Delia spent hours going through what she was going to pack. It was only four days but that was four days of clothing that needed to be packed. But she had managed to choose what she wanted and tossed it into a carry on since it was all she would need. In the morning she woke up early so she could shower and double check everything before hailing a cab and rushing over to Emmett’s to surprise him; which she obviously had so she was pleased. And while she just kept telling him to pack a bag, she looked through his cupboards for a munch since she hadn’t thought about grabbing something before she’d left for his place. “No.” Delia called from the kitchen, grinning when she spotted the chocolate chip cookies. She turned back to the living room once she had the package open and a cookie hanging from her mouth. Rolling her eyes, Delia took a bite of the cookie and licked the crumbs that were left away. “No, maybe, call someone.” Delia finally said before finishing off the cookie in her hand. She was not letting Emmett know until they got to the airport just where they were going. She had called the airport herself the night before to make sure all the arrangements were made and that two tickets were there with her name. She added Emmett’s to the second ticket and doubled checked what time they should be there for.

Tag|| Emmett! <3
Words|| 591
Clothes|| Viva Las Vegas, Baby!
Music|| Waking Up In Vegas -- Katy Perry
Notes|| <3

[Emmett Reuben Winchester]

Emmett didn’t really go on vacation. When he had been a teacher in England he had taken his classes on trips to places in Europe, but they were what he considered his breaks. The teenagers were often well behaved enough for him to give them some freedom, but with the certain knowledge that he expected them back at the café, hotel or fountain by a certain time and in one peace. The rest of the time while that was happening he would be enjoying the views and the sights himself, usually with one or two of the students who didn’t really have friendship groups to go off gallivanting with. After returning stateside, Emmett’s “vacations” were the drive home and the various places he chose to stop along the way, just to drag out the whole arriving part. His mom had said he was behaving like a child on his last visit, but Emmett was still in the state of mind where he was allowed to be angry and disappointed in everyone there. They seemed to be making no attempt to make anything better and even on the good days of his life when home was the last thing on his mind, he still had that scar on his side to remind him that he had too big of a heart sometimes.

It was pretty much the only secret in his life that he could and would keep. The rest of the time he was the guy who was fit to burst when he knew something. Anyone who knew him knew better than to trust him with any secret, even if it was only something relatively small. Emmett just had too much energy and excitement for things that other people probably wouldn’t share his enthusiasm for. He had seen it time and time again over the years, especially when he had been teaching and would tell his class of an exciting new find or exhibit on somewhere. Still, everyone else around him being disappointed did nothing to ruin his mood about it all.

He had no idea what was happening right now and there was little thought put into what he was tossing into his bag. A few t-shirts, a shirt he snatched from his wardrobe, another pair of jeans and then he shoved in another pair of boots almost identical to ones he had on. Boots were his kind of shoe. Emmett knew that bombarding Delia with demands for answers would be entirely pointless. He knew she wouldn’t share anything until she wanted to, much like the cookies that were his, but that he now bet he wouldn’t be able to get his hands on. “I really wish you’d said yes to the saxophone.”

[/color] He sighed, pouting slightly as he pulled his phone from the charger, tossing that into his bag while he dialled the number for his neighbour and quickly arranged for the man to take care of his rats. Once that was taken care of, he slipped his phone into his pocket and his sunglasses up on his nose. “Well, let’s get on with this then! Whatever ‘this’ even is.”[/color] He said, subtly reminding her that he still had no clue about what was happening.
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• • •

TAGGED! Delia!
WORDS! 570!
OUTFIT! Casual Mess
LYRICS! Last Night (Vegas) - - - Breathe Carolina
NOTES! <3

[Delia Sierra Reynolds]

Delia was good at keeping secrets. If she hadn’t been, her entire bad girl phase wouldn’t have lasted half as long as it had. It probably would have continued on longer if Meredith hadn’t been there when she’d fallen out of that tree. Delia was a smart girl with a stupid phase in her past. She wasn’t about to fall down that particular rabbit hole again and since she’d been there and knew what really happened then, she wasn’t about to let Meredith go there either. Plus Meredith was a hell of a lot happier than Delia had been at her age. So keeping this secret from Emmett was too easy for Delia. Even with how excited she was to go. The furthest she’d ever gone was from home in Scotland to New York. And there hadn’t been any vacations before then or after it. This trip to Vegas would be her first real vacation; even if it was only four days.

The red headed Scot almost wished they were doing a road trip sort of thing for this. Just so she could see all sorts of different places. She was going to do that eventually, maybe a road trip to California or something and make stops all along the way to see the silly things Americans were so proud of they had to put them on display. “Don’t forget to pack swim shorts and a jumper.” She called from the kitchen knowing both would probably come in handy but still not giving him any more than that. If he managed to figure it out before they got to their gate and finally saw and heard where they were going, great but Delia was not going to tell him until the airport and their gate. “You could but there’s really not going to be any time for it.” Delia could keep this up all day and probably would have if they were driving. But there wasn’t that much time and the prize was for plane tickets so it was a plane they were going to take.

“Don’t be so subtle. It’s not going to get me to tell you any faster.” Delia said with an eye roll. As if Emmett’s subtle remark would do anything to get her to slip. She was good at keeping things quiet. As Emmett locked up, Delia pulled her glasses free from her hair and set them on her nose. She hailed a taxi when they hit the street, sliding in the back seat when one of those yellow cars pulled to a stop in front of them. She told the driver LAX but nothing more and sat back to enjoy the annoyingly long drive out to the airport. Thankfully at that hour the streets were fairly clear and they managed to get there at a decent time. “Hold my bag?” she asked, pushing her carry on into his hands after taking her wallet out and going up to the counter to collect their tickets. Returning to Emmett, she took her bag back and linked her arm with his to drag him to the terminal the woman behind the counter reminded her of. “This way.” She said still not giving her partner in crime anything to go by.

Tag|| Emmett! <3
Words|| 543
Clothes|| Viva Las Vegas, Baby!
Music|| Waking Up In Vegas -- Katy Perry
Notes|| <3

[Emmett Reuben Winchester]

Emmett had been given a secret he had never even wanted. He hated secrets and lies and did a good job of avoiding them for most of his life. The only one he had now was the worst one he had ever heard and no matter how much he tried to forget about it, Emmett found a permanent reminder whenever he removed his shirt. He didn’t regret the choice he had made, he couldn’t, but he did hate the heavy secret that had come with making that choice. He had to accept that he couldn’t change it, that talking about it could only make things worse, and that he would never be able to forget about it. It made going home a bit of a challenge for him and with his hobbies and interests it was hardly like his idea of roadtrips and vacations appealed to some of his nearest and dearest in his life. Plus, he had struggled to sit still long enough to set lesson plans in Oxford let alone try to find a vacation that suited him.

Poking his head out from around his bedroom door, Emmett peered down the stairs to his kitchen and furrowed his brows. “You need me shirtless and wet on this surprise trip?”

[/color] He asked in slight confusion, before diving back into his room. He had to dig through two drawers to find his swim shorts, but once he had them he simply tossed them into the bag with everything else. “There is always the time for the saxophone.”[/color] Emmett said matter-of-factly, shaking his finger in Delia’s direction as he came running down the stairs, his feet barely touching each one on the way down. It was probably a miracle he didn’t manage to fall down the last few or trip himself up once he did reach flat ground again.

“Being blunt wouldn’t exactly make you tell me either.”[/color] Emmett huffed, acting more like he was eight years old rather than twenty-eight. Blindly, he followed Delia. He didn’t really have much of a choice since he didn’t have the faintest clue what was happening and she seemed to be the one who knew what was going on. All he could hope for was that she wasn’t about to lead him to certain death. He had no clue where the cab driver was taking them, but the confusion grew when they were on the final approach to the airport. He hadn’t booked time off work, had nothing planned and there was really no reason for them to be there. Both he and Delia had cars, drove about and normally that was how Emmett crossed state borders when the time came. He didn’t have the inconvenience of security and gate calls that way. “If you’ve brought me along to hold your bag that nice driver can take me home again.”[/color] Emmett stated, still taking the bag from the redhead, but glaring at her back as she walked away. “This is starting to feel more like a kidnapping than a surprise, you know.”[/color] He pointed out, sighing as Delia dragged him off again in a whole new direction this time.
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• • •

TAGGED! Delia!
WORDS! 561!
OUTFIT! Casual Mess
LYRICS! Last Night (Vegas) - - - Breathe Carolina
NOTES! <3

[Delia Sierra Reynolds]

Delia's eyes sparked with mischief as she looked over at Emmett. "Now there's a thought." She said but didn't elaborate on anything more. This was a surprise and she was damn well going to keep it for as long as she possibly could; which only really meant the airport terminal but she could live with that. By then it would have been the airport telling him not her which would have meant she kept her little surprise and that worked for the tall redhead. Surprises and little treats had always been enjoyable for the tall ginger. She downright loved surprises and actively wished there were more good ones in her life. She’d already been dealt a ton of really bad surprises in her life; a few good ones were something she needed. It was probably why she was so excited about this trip to Vegas. It was a nice surprise to find out she’d won when she’d called into the radio station. She couldn’t complain much really, after all, she did pack up and move, she did get into the programme she wanted at NYU and she had a job she really loved. “Normally I would be all for you dragging along your saxophone but in this case, there really won’t be any time for it. You’ll be lucky to sleep!” Delia said, with just a teasing hint of what may be ahead of them. She wasn’t going to flat out tell Emmett where they were going or what they were doing but she could say this or that and keep the guessing game up a little longer.

Laughing, Delia shook her head. When he was right, he was right. Being blunt would have gotten her to spill her little surprise as quickly as the subtle approach had. It was under lock and key until they got to their terminal in the airport and the message boards revealed their destination. "Good to know you're learning." She teased. Delia, like Emmett would have preferred the road trip way of getting to their destination, not only did they not have all those pesky security checks but it also meant thirty-six hours of the lanky tour guide being clueless as opposed to the five he was going to be now. But the whole thing was for a round trip for two to Las Vegas for four days and three nights. And there wasn’t much of an itinerary to speak of aside from their arrival and departure; there was only one late show tickets booked for them for a comedian that Delia hadn’t caught the name of. But other than that, their trip was their own and they could so as they pleased with the time away from New York and the museum.

"Yes, that's exactly what I did and oh look! He's gone. I guess you're out of luck." She called over her shoulder as she walked off to the counter. Emmett was making all of this extremely difficult. Why in the hell couldn't he just be patient and wait to find out what was happening like a normal person. Admittedly, she did kind of kidnap him so she could understand, in this case, his annoyance. But it was just like a game! He had to play to find out the winner! "Oh shut up you big baby. You'll like this, I promise. And if you don't you can whisk me off on some grand surprise that I will love of your own." She tossed at him with an eye roll to match her tone. She was not giving this up. Their gate wasn't all that far off since they weren't leaving the country and those gates were miles off. Shortly after starting their walk through the airport halls and passing through only a handful of security checks, they arrived at their gate which proudly announced their departure to Las Vegas and the McCarran International Airport. “Surprise!”

Tag|| Emmett! <3
Words|| 654
Clothes|| Viva Las Vegas, Baby!
Music|| Waking Up In Vegas -- Katy Perry
Notes|| <3