Take me Home

[Sam Lettington]

Cool spring morning, the fog was set over the lake and just foggy in general. That was Lexi's favorite weather. Having lived in London she was used to the dense temperature it was homey in her opinion. It was the perfect weather in her mind. She got up early just to go running then as usual made her way to the barn. It was always relaxing to be there. Especially when the trees were just barely about to bloom, the fog layer was thick and it was just cool enough that she wouldn't sweat heavily. You may be wondering what a very distinguished woman like Lexi Knightely was doing at a stable at5:30 in the morning on a weekday? Well let me tell you. Thats because riding was her life... Literally some may say that just because but it was true with Lexi she was a Olympic medalist in eventing. Now she didn't brag about it or anything she was proud but this is what she did for a living.

Lexi was good at what she did. Strong, fit, energetic, but oh so focused. Not a thing in this world could distract her from her horse when she was on board and going over a course. She was dead serious about it and didn't fool around.... well she rarely joked around... maybe. She knew how to have fun but she had to take it seriously this is her life support without it she'd basically die. Her horse Gemini was a princess Lexi made sure she got nothing but the best. Gem wasn't a brat mind you Lexi didn't let her get away with being pushy or nosey. They were champions. But to understand all of who Lexi Knightley is now you have to know who she was before and therefore we will be taking you back a few years.

Lexi was put up for adoption when she was just a baby and was adopted by a couple whom she's known as her parents and that was how it was. But she came in contact with her full sibling of her birth parents, Hayley. Lexi made it known to hayley that she would always be her sister no matter where she was. And at the time she was in Spain... or Londan or Australia. Her adopted parents did a lot of traveling and took Lexi along and taught her the trade... which was their major corperation. But they also introduced her horses when she was about 2... lets just say she fell in love at first sight of them. Thats where it basically started and it took off from there.

When she was about 20 was when she was in Pinewood and at that time she was dating Sebastian Kings.... or so she thought but he just so happened to be sleeping with her cousin and her sister.... Asshole... but you really had to know him to understand... but even then it was iffy. She found out and was devistated. For one she thought they actually had something. They were perfect in her mind. His parents where got along with her adoptive ones and they both loved riding and were very competitive. Not only did she love him but he was her best friend. It hurt like hell when she found out what he was doing. She had to get out... so she buried herself in her riding... and trained her heart out... and thats how she made it to the olympics.

She tried to stay in contact with her sister especially after she found out she was pregnant and stayed in her life as much as she could. And about 5 or 6 years later was when she came back... after of course she went to the olympics. And she as she knew she would... ran into Sebastian... but unexpectantly she found herself still inlove with him. She had to hide it though since he was now engaged/married. But she found it harder and harder since he kept coming to her talking to her about her problems and asking her for advice. To him she was just a good buddy but to her he was still so much more. Then one stupid day came along and they were both drunk and one thing lead to another. But before anything happened he called her Chey, his fiance/wife's name, and Lexi being not as drunk as he pulled back shutting him out. He didn't remember a thing and she pretended it didn't happen.

He ended up dragging it out of her and she was basically destroyed by that and ran away from her feelings. That was when she found Austin... not that she was looking... but he sort of kept her from flying away just when she wanted to. She didn't really know how she felt about him but he slyly asked her out and she just went along with it. But after realizing how good he made her feel and how sweet he was it was just.... perfect so to speak. Minus the part that he was several years younger then herself. But then again so was Sebastian... SHe had gotten over the whole age difference thing... after you get older it doesn't matter so much. And so here they were dating and now living with each other.... and if you could keep it to yourself she was pregnant but that word hadn't spread around yet and she wasn't sure she wanted it to. Not that it wouldn't be noticeable soon... In most cases she'd say she was just gaining weight but she was in the best condition of her life so being pregnant was the only liable reason. So she'd have to tell eventually... but not now.

Back to the now though. After being at the barn for a few hours going over trails and the jumping course and doing some dressage work... the basic routine just to stay in shape in their off season. It was about 1 now... having done all that and cooling Gemini off and giving them both a bath with the hose then drying her off again then putting her away and feeding her and cleaning the tack and returning it to its place. And now she had to drive home, to her and Austin's gorgeous house on the lake. Mind you it wasn't really hers but he asked her to move in with him... Well what happened was he made sure she didn't go back to London... but they didn't tell anyone else she stayed in Pinewood... she just hid out at his house... and well never moved back to her place after that. And why would she want to move back to her scrawny appartment when she had this huge house.

She made it back home and stripped herself on her way up the stairs. She stood under the hot water for a while just trying to relax letting it wash away the grim of the morning excersizes. It didn't quite register that she didn't see Austin... then again she wasn't really looking for him on her way up but as far as she knew he was in the lab working... but she didn't go in there not that she didn't know how to work a computer or whatever but she wasn't exactly supposed to know about his work since it was top secret government junk. So she stayed away for the most part unless she was come getting him to take a break.... Anyways, she wrapped a towel around herself as she stepped out of the shower and walked into her closet.

She had it made no more major drama life was set on cruise control and she was just sitting back enjoying the ride. She never wanted to go back to the way it was... in fact her worst nightmare was that this was all just a dream. But it wasn't she was living the life of a famous person and she was livin it up. All she needed to do was decide what to wear and she was set for the day... What would life unfold before her? Guess you'd just have to stick around and find out...

[austin]

There was no one way to describe Austin Gaines. He was a million contradictions within himself, and it was literally impossible to find a single adjective to describe him. People had tried, but always failed to find one that was actually a word in the English dictionary. There were probably whole research teams trying to figure Austin out, but none of them would ever even come close. He was one of a kind, and as such, no one could ever really understand him. It was entirely possible that the pot back in freshman year had taken a little more of a toll on him than he thought... but chances were that was just the way he was born.

He was without a doubt the single most nerdy guy on the face of the earth. If it was technology, he probably knew more about it than the person who created it. Computers, phones, ipods, TV's, video games, videos, graphics, software, hardware, internet, hell even lighting and the electrical/computer part of cars. He was your go to man on anything involving any sort of modern technology. Odds were if he couldn't fix it, it was far beyond repair. He could do math in his head like nobody's business, whether it was simple addition multiplication division subtraction or some complicated quantum physics problem he could solve it in an extremely short time.

He also happened to be extremely athletic... at least in body type. He was well muscled, despite the fact that he didn't really work out much at all, and he was tall. Of course, he was quite uncoordinated, and sports were a major no go with him, but that didn't matter. Back when he lived in California he had been a surfing instructor, and the beach he worked at soon became called "Austin's beach" by all the locals because every single girl in the area knew that he would be found there and often took advantage of that... or at least tried to. In that sense he was quite the "jock" appearance wise.

Wondering how he got to be like that? Well, I'll tell you. He was adopted at birth by a family in California who were... lets face it, loaded. Everyone knew he was adopted, and it became pretty evident as they got older. His brothers were sports stars, all reaching maturity and excelling in sports at an early age. But Austin... well he was another case entirely. He was basically a major nerd, a geek. Because of this the number of friends he had was equaled in that to the amount of hand eye coordination he had... yup, you guessed it... zilch. Thanks to that, he had more than enough time to spend on the computer simply figuring stuff out.

By the time he reached middle school, he was practically a professional with all things computer, and started moving on to cell phones and other such technology. When he hit high school, he was still a nerd... but instead of going with the big glasses and all that, he went for the hippie deal. Yes, I mean real true blue hippie. He did the long rather wild hair, the tie-dye shirts, the pot and occasionally other drugs, though none of them ever really became addictions that he would have to fight.

Sophomore year he moved onto the "Science guy" look with the no frame glasses, the tidy hair, constantly in the lab doing something or another. He also started tutoring for math, and damn was he ever good at it. He could teach somebody something in about 10 seconds flat with no problem. That was when people first started liking him more. Once they found out that he was more fluent in technology than... well lets just say if there was going to be a Tony Stark in the school, it would be Austin. All his peers started bringing their virus infected computers to him, their cell phones, their music players, their whatever they were having issues with, to him, and he'd do what he could to fix them or else at least diagnose the problem so they could get it fixed.

Junior year the nerd look went out the window all together and he started teaching surfing lessons. That was when his popularity sky-rocketed...among the women anyway. The other guys didn't like it too much... especially the ones he worked with who started getting less business because of the "new hot instructor" who just happened to be single and very available. Of course, he didn't stay single for long, especially when he met Alex Chasse the summer before his senior year. He was quite in love with her, and she seemed to be in love with him too. Sure, his 6'1" dwarfed her 5'2" but that didn't matter, she was hot, and they were happy together.

Anyway, Alex left at the end of the summer, and Austin went on with life as he had before. After graduation he moved away from California to Pinewood West Virginia. He'd made several good investments that had come back and dumped truck loads of moolah into his lap very quickly, not to mention the government job he had. They had to pay him a lot of money to keep him on their side. Someone like him not being paid by them could be a very dangerous thread to the government. He could hack their systems and sell their information without ever knowing he'd done it. For that reason he had a ridiculously high salary for what he considered very little work.

Once there he happened to run into Alex again, and quickly discovered he still had feelings for her. He didn't say anything though, since she was engaged and all, and the last thing he wanted was to cause problems in her relationship. Besides, she and Anthony were perfect for each other, and he deserved her. So he was going to stay out of it. That was when he ran into Lexi. Sebastian warned him that Lexi was breakable, and Austin being just as overly confident with himself stated that he would be "very delicate with the fragile inner workings of Lexi's heart" and took the plunge. He'd met her and had been hanging out with her quite a bit when the airport systems went down. Of course he was the one they called to fix it.

While in the middle of repairing the damage of a fried server, he noticed Lexi in the line of passengers waiting for the system to be back up so they could get on their planes and leave. He wasn't about to fix the computers and let Lexi fly away though. So he went over and talked her into staying, then finished the job, and took Lexi home with him. He was very much in love with her, and wasn't sure he could handle letting another woman he had feelings for fly away without a word of protest. Of course he then had that sly way of asking her out, she agreed, and eventually the feelings became mutual. Needless to say it was smooth sailing from there.

She was right in her assumption that he was downstairs in the lab working on yet another project. He could get so wrapped up in those things that he would lose all track of time. A lot of what he did required intense concentration, and he had a habit of concentrating so hard on what he was doing that he completely forgot about everything else. Lexi dealt with that though, and had made it a habit to come down and force him to take a break before he completely fried his brain. Of course, he was usually quite willing to take a break once she derailed his one track train. He couldn't help it... she was hot.

Anyway, he had set the gears in motion for whatever he was working on, and headed upstairs to see if she was back yet. His life pretty much involved a bit of riding, work, and most of all Lexi. He was slightly obsessed with her...in a good way. When he got up there, he heard the shower water shut off, and knew that was her. He headed up to their bedroom where he knew he would find her, with that one and only Austin smirk playing across his face. He stepped up to her quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist. Hey baby. He said with a grin over her shoulder. have I told you lately how much you turn me on every time I see you? Of course he knew he had... he told her just about every time he saw her, but hey, things that were repeated had to be important, right? Besides, he was madly in love with her, and those were the sorts of things people told each other when they were in love.

[Sam Lettington]

Lexi grew up in London and Spain her best friend being now a famous singer living a double life. It started in London till she was about 5 or 6 around there then they moved to Spain where she met Aaron/Enrique they basically grew up together then at about sometime in her high school years she moved to london for a couple of years then to New York where her father being big in horse racing introduced her to Alex and Alessandra. They bonded for quite a while but then things changed and Lexi moved to pinewood. Thats when everything went rocky. London is where she gets her strong british accent and it amazes people when she can go from strong english to spanish to new york slang. Growing up and moving around a lot was good for her it heped develop her people skills that she highly lacked mainly because she thought heavily before she acted which made her and Sebastians relationship so unlikely but they do say opposites attract.

Sebastian and Lexi's relationship changed Lexi a lot she's come out of her shell a lot since then although it was hard due to the fact that she got hurt deeply over it. First cut is the deepest if you know what i mean. But having grown from the experience she slowly but surely moved on. And thats when thankfully Austin came into the picture. He wasn't her usual type but then again she wasn't really big on dating so she didn't have the right to have a type. He was nerdy but hot so it was ok in her mind. Lexi on the other hand was far from nerdy. She was athletic and spent nearly her whole life outside. But she was also a musician and was big on classics. The piano was her favorite and she could play just about anything but she didn't brag so no one really knew. But other then that one thing she was your typical eventer with a gymnist body.

Now months after first dating Austin here she was pregnant with his child and hiding that and another secret from basically the whole world. She was just figuring out a way to say it to make it sound better then it was. But there would be a time and place for that and she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Right now the only thing on her mind was the classical music playing in the bed room and finding something to wear other then her robe. Her feet danced gently on the floor to the music and she closed her eyes letting it sweep her away. Next thing she knew Austins arms were wrapped around her. Her breath tickled her neck and she shivers in his grasp. "hey" she murmered to him in response.

A smile played on her face as he continued to speak. mmm she cooed to him still continuing to smile and sway to the music. "maybe once or twice but i love hearing it. She finay opened her eyes and looked into his twisting in his arms so she was facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck. They were perfect for each other and she was more then happy to be pregnant with his baby even if that meant she had to take a break from the second thing she loved the most. Riding. Which didn't mean she wouldn't be at the barn any chance she could get. Just not riding. Which was a bummer since her life revolved around it but it was ok so long as she was with the man she loved. Things couldn't get any better for her.

Now Austin and Lexi hadn't talked at all about getting married and in fact it really hadn't entered her mind at all. Marriage just seemed so... "big" this year with Sebastian and Chey's wedding and Alex and Anthony's... and Charlie and Hayley's almost wedding. That was a whole other story too.... Hayley was... not the most put together person. Lexi loved her despite it because she was her sister but she wasn't the easiest person to get along with or handle. And Lexi oved Chuck and Melody always and even Charlie. He was the last person she'd blame, it was sad really but Charlie was a good dad and he had it all under control... for the most part. So as you can see Pinewood as far from a simple smal town.

[austin]

Austin's relationship with Alex was really the only one he cared to remember. He'd had plenty of flings and one night stands... and a few friends with benefits... but before Lexi, Alex was really the only one he actually had feelings for. He really didn't fall into a particular category there either. He wasn't quite like... say Anthony who was only in it for the relationship and actually loved the girl he was with, but he wasn't like Sebastian used to be either in that he wasn't in it only for the sex. He kind of fell on a happy medium there. He wanted to find a girl that would stay with him, but he wasn't expecting to find love through the one night stands. They were just in it for the sex there, and he knew it, so he wouldn't look for anything more. Flings... they were possible... but unlikely, so he wasn't really looking there either. Friends with benefits... well he was fairly sure those relationships weren't going to get anymore than that, so he didn't look there either.

To be perfectly honest, he really wasn't looking at all when he saw Lexi for the first time. She had been bringing her horse up to the barn after working him, and he'd just put Vodka back after a trail ride, and had been talking to Sebastian when she started coming their way. Honestly the first thought that entered his mind when he saw her was "......." yup... you guessed it. Nothing. She was unbelievably hot and there was pretty much no words that could do her justice. He was enamored to say the least... and that was when Sebastian warned him to be careful with her. He knew Austin too well, and the expression that had crossed his face had probably said just exactly what he was thinking. Sure he was only 19 and she was 25, but that wasn't about to throw Austin Gaines off the trail... oh hell no. He was just as c.ocky as Sebastian, and he knew he had a good chance at this.

Of course, Austin had something that most guys didn't have that tended to give him a better chance than most... and that was his incredible ability to be a c.ocky ass yet at the same time, somehow also amazingly sweet. Sure guys like Sebastian could pretend to be all kind and caring to get the girl into bed, but Austin... well he didn't have to pretend. He was just an over all nice guy, and most of the time when he was "bragging" about something he usually wasn't serious. He could make fun of himself... hell he had to, I mean really, if people saw the pictures from his high school years they'd be in hysterics. He found it pretty entertaining himself... it was jut one more way he wasn't like most guys. He'd been there and done that, and "enjoyed every minute of his lack of sanity."

I'm sure you can't imagine how awkward it was for him to tell Alex that he still had feelings for her. Sebastian and Austin had run into one another at the Park and then happened upon Hayley and Alex. The girls got drunk... well Alex did, Hayley just got high... and Sebastian and Austin figured it would be a good idea to get them home before they did something stupid. Sebastian apparently could tell that Austin still had a thing for Alex, because the look he gave him pretty much said "if I have to choose between Anthony and you, I'd go with Anthony, so stay away from his fiance." Austin couldn't say he blamed him... who wouldn't take Anthony over Austin? Hell if Austin was given a choice between himself or Anthony he'd probably take Anthony. He was a hell of a lot better person than Austin and 99.9% of the world's population, and Austin was glad Alex had found him.

Of course, when they got back to the house, Austin told Alex that he would be better off not going in, she of course asked why, and even he with his quick wit couldn't come up with an answer that didn't come across awkwardly. It sort of came out as "I think people are getting the wrong impressions about our relationship." of course meaning that people were starting to notice that he liked her bus since she was engaged and all... yeah it wasn't a good thing. She laughed and said pretty much that that was ridiculous, and he responded with "yeah... if it weren't true." And that's when she found out. He wasn't sure if she even remembered it, since she'd still been rather drunk at the time. If he was lucky she didn't remember any of it, and now that she was married and he had Lexi, it didn't matter quite so much.

Little did Austin know, he had Lexi and then some. He really didn't know where he stood on the whole being a dad deal, he hadn't ever really thought about it. Go figure right? What 20 year old guy thought about being a dad when he was only dating and living with a girl. Marriage too... that thought hadn't ever really crossed his mind with Lexi. He was just so caught up in loving her and going through daily life that it hadn't ever occurred to him. It was only natural though. He'd only known Lexi for a months or two, and committing like that for Austin was going to take longer than 60 days time. Probably more like a year at least at this point. Sure he had the house and the money to afford having a wife and a baby, but still, he hadn't really thought about it.

Well good. He said, still grinning. because you're going to hear it a lot. When she twisted around so that she was facing him, the playful grin turned into an adoring smile, and he ducked his head to kiss her. Lexi was absolutely amazing in his mind, there was no one like her at all. She was perfect for him, and he liked to think he was perfect for her too. You have any plans for today? He really had no schedule, and no deadlines to meet, so he could "take a day off" whenever he jolly well felt like taking a day off... which had been a lot more lately with Lexi around. He loved his work, but he loved Lexi more, and when she was home, work got put on the back burner so he could spend time with her. That was just the way things worked for him, and he had no mind to change it.

[Sam Lettington]

Lexi couldn't tell you how she felt about Pinewood. It was her home. Sure she was raised in London and Paris but Pinewood... It had so many memories. She'd never forget them. From when she first moved there... to her first time with Sebastian to running away to coming back. It was impossible to let any of that go mainly because it had a hge impact on her life. Without those memories she wouldn't be who she was today. Without having Sebastian rip her heart out she wouldn't be with Austin and so in a way she sort of had to thank Sebastian. Call her crazy but thats what that meant. She may have hated him at the time but Lexi had a relationship with Seb that was different then with any other girl he was with. At least she thought so. She couldn't be mad at him for long he was just... Well now he was like a brother... ew well maybe not a brother but they were close friends now. He was with Cheyenne and she was Happily with Austin and that was that.

Lexi despite how she felt was definitly a cougar. Sebastian wasn't too bad even though he was still in high school when she graduated but it still wasn't that bad. Austin on the other hand was just now only 20 and that was a bit... well a lot young then lexi whom was creeping up on 27. Yeah that was pushing it but you know age shouldn't really matter so long as you were in love. But the world speculated things differently then it should. And therefore having... been way more experienced then Austin it made things slightly awkward but she was able to look past that. Austin was different then most guys... now Lexi didn't sleep around like a lot of her high school friends did she wasn't religious or anything thing like that. She just wasn't big on doing what everyone else did and usually she didn't have time do date anyways due to moving so often and having a strict ridding schedule it was hard to fit dating into the scenario.

Being a mom wasn't high on her things to do list either. Infact it wasn't even under the radar at all. SHe never thought about being a mom ever. Children really weren't her forte. Sure she was good with Chuck and now Melody but in all reality she liked being an aunt better then the thought of being a mom. She never actually pictured herself raising a child. She was always so focused, well until Seb came into the picture. He was a bad influence at the time but it turned into good later on in her life. So being pregnant was kind of a scary thought. But she handled it like she handled everything else. With extreme grace. Or at least she tried. In reality it scared her shitless but there really wasn't anything she could do now. She didn't believe in abortion and there was no way in hell she was going to go through the pain of Labor and put her child up for adoption. So that left becoming a mommy.

In all honesty though she'd make a great mom. And she knew Austin would make a great dad. They were perfect for and with each other. Now just so you know Lexi knew all about Austin and Alex. She knew when she first met him he still had feelings for Alex. But she also knew that Alex was dedicated to Anthony and that Austin was moving on. Sure you may say she was just a rebound and at first she thought so but that quickly changed once he stopped her from getting on the plane. She truly believed that she was more then just a rebound and now the thought didn't even cross her mind. She was in love with Austin Gaines and pregnant with his Child, there was no second thoughts now.... that was basically impossible. I mean why would she?

Austin was the perfect gentleman, handsome, sweet, caring, hot, and lets not forget filthy rich. He had a huge mansion on the lake what was there not to fall in love with? But it wasn't just the money and his appearance that attracted her to him, although that helped a lot. But he... he was just one of those guys who when he looked in your eyes you could tell he really saw who you were and wasn't just trying to get into your pants, thought there wasn't a doubt in Lexi's mind that he was trying to get in her pants. But what guy wasn't trying to do that to nearly every pretty girl the ran across. But he was more then that. He was sinscere and that was what attracted her to him the most. Was that no matter how upset you were he could put a smile on your face and make you feel warm inside. He was her hot chocolate on a rainy day.

When Lexi first met Austin though she was trying to move on from Seb, so in a way they were eachothers rebounds. But when she first met him she was physically attracted to him but deep down she was still trying to protect her heart she didn't want another hear break and trusting any guy let alone an apparent friend of Sebastian, who was rarely friends with anyone that wasn't like himself, other then Anthony, wasn't likely. If anything she was looking forward to burying herself in ridding and helping Charlie with the kids. So when he first asked her out it was more of just a yeah what the heck a free meal with a guy who can make me laugh sounds like a could time. It wasn't until later on that she completely fell in love with him. Not to say she thought anything bad about him she just wasn't willing to let go of the hurt yet.

But now here she was well beyond letting go of the hurt. She was madly in love. She was still friends with Sebastian but she came to terms with what had happened between them, not to say she wouldn't be extremely uncomfortable if details to the bad things that had happened between them were brought up. She could handle the good times and the sex or whatever but if he or anyone else ever brought up the whole swingset back lawn thing no she'd freeze up. She could even handle him talking about how he cheated on her with her own sister and cousin at the same time. It didn't mean she couldn't let it go but i mean that was recent and even though she was in love with Austin it was embarassing, wouldn't you feel awkward if you were in her position?

Right then and there in his arms had to be one of her favorite places to be in the entire world and she had literally been all over the world so that said a lot. She let a slight giggle escape her mouth when he told her she'd be hearing it a lot. She didn't mind that at all. Didn't every girl like the fact that she could turn her man on just by him looking at her? That just showed how much they loved you.... either that or how horny they were, which ever you were more comfortable with. But would he feel the same way when she had a stomach the size of a basketball and was walking around in sweats all day having bipolar moodswings 24/7. You damn well hope so or she'd be one pissed girlfriend. Not really but she'd tease him that was for sure. But then again she teased him all the time for no good reason so that wouldn't really be a change of pace.

Austin was all Lexi could ever ask for, He was all she ever wanted simple as that. Sure being pregnant was scary but knowing it was with his baby that was more than all the comfort she needed. With her arms wrapped around his neck and his wrapped around her waist their lips met in a soft sweet loving kiss the kind that melted your heart. Her lips curled back into a smile and she let out a blissful sigh before responding to him. "Hmmm.... i don't know....my schedule is pretty packed" Clearly joking, she had ever intention of spending all day with him obviously. Lexi loved doing other things and could easily do stuff with her friends and without Austin but they got along so well, he was her best friend. She couldn't help wanting to spend as much time with him as possible. Thats right ladies, be jealous, this is one girl who has found her happily ever after.

[austin]

He was pretty much the go-to-guy in Pinewood when there was some sort of technology issue, and probably just about every business in the whole town probably had him on speed dial. Of course there was always the chance that he wouldn't answer and you'd have to leave a message and wait a bit. It wasn't that he was away from the phone, he just didn't feel like answering it at the time. Austin was definitely a character, that was for sure, but people had learned to deal with that and be patient. If you left him a message he would usually listen to it right after it was left and then decide if it was a dire need or not. If it wasn't, then he'd wait a while before calling back, if it was, then he would call back right away. It was his own system of working things into a schedule, and people weren't going to try to get him to change it.

That day had been one of those ones that was a dire need. The airport called and had a down server terminal which essentially brought down their entire system. Austin figured some dumb receptionist counter person had been bored and was doing something on the internet and accidentally downloaded a virus... that was what usually happened on these sorts of calls, and they were generally easy to fix... well for him anyway. Someone who didn't know squat about computers would never be able to figure out how to fix the problem... which was exactly what kept him in business. People needed guys like him to fix their problems, and in a small town like Pinewood where there were a lot of filthy rich people and he was the only one with the required computer skills... well lets just say he was making a killing off of everything he did here.

It was just as he'd expected when he got to the airport, a virus.. unfortunately for the airport there was also a worm with the virus, and so it had been spreading and duplicating every time they tried to get rid of it with their spyware, so they essentially had their main computer completely infected with some virus. It was going to take about a half hour to fix it, but he wasn't too worried about that... after all, it was their fault, not his that the thing had gotten so big by the time he got there. He'd been there for about a half hour and was trying to explain everything he'd been doing to the obnoxious manager who wouldn't stop asking questions about this or that... as if he could actually understand what any of what Austin was doing even if he did explain it. This wasn't the sort of thing you could learn to do in 20 seconds. Austin had been doing computers since he was 13, even at 20 he was still perfecting doing certain things. It was no easy task.

That was when he looked up and saw none other than Lexi standing in the line waiting for the computers to be fixed so that she could get on a plane and leave. He debated in his mind for a bit whether or not to approach her and finally decided that he wasn't going to let her get on a plane and leave without at least trying to convince her to stay. He'd done that with Alex and the next time he saw her she was engaged... he wasn't going to let this one go too without a fight. So he headed over to her and asked her what she was doing there. She then informed him that she was going back to England because she couldn't stay here anymore. Of course that wasn't a good enough reason for Austin to just let her go without trying, and after some convincing and him saying "I can't just stand aside and let someone I love fly away... not again." That and him promising to let her stay with him and not tell anyone that she was there convinced her. He finished fixing the virus, and all the computer screens popped back on problem free, and he and Lexi left for home.

Believe me, it had all started out as innocent fun. That wasn't the sort of thing you planned on happening... usually. Lexi said she wanted to watch the Little Mermaid... and who was he to deny her that? I mean really... when a girl says she wants to watch a Disney movie, you'd damn well better let her watch it, or she's not going to be too happy about it. So Austin obliged her, and the two of them headed over to the home theater system downstairs. Of course there was a 100% chance that Austin wasn't going to be watching the movie... but in his opinion, watching Lexi was so much better than any mermaid. He loved her, and he could spend forever just staring at her and never get bored. The way she moved, the way she laughed, the way she talked, the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy... just every last detail about her enamored him.

Anyway, by the time the little Disney castle had showed on the screen, neither of them were watching the movie. Age obviously didn't matter to the two of them as they held each other in their arms and kissed. One thing lead to another, and I will spare you the gruesome details, but lets just say that was the most exhausting movie Austin had ever seen. It wasn't like one of those awkward first times for a couple, it was just meant to be. It wasn't the first time ever for either of them... but it definitely was unlike any of those other times... at least it was for Austin anyway. Yeah, Austin had loved Alex, and it wasn't just meaningless sex with her either... but there was something about Lexi that just made this mean more. And that, my friend, is how baby came to be... of course Austin didn't know that yet... but that was how it went down.

Well that's too bad... He said, knowing full well that she was kidding... Lexi almost never had a full schedule these days, she just did things as she pleased, I guess I'll just have to save that idea for another time... Of course he was kidding too... since he knew she wasn't serious, he was just going to tease her too. It just made it that much more fun when both people had a good hand in the game. I'll let you get back to that busy schedule. He added, and let go of her, turning towards the door as if to leave. He had a feeling that he had her curious as to what he had in mind and she probably wasn't going to just let him walk away without telling her. Yes indeed, these two were the perfect couple. Age made no difference... they were just made for each other. They had so much fun together, and they never once had any sort of argument that was actually serious. Whenever they disagreed, it was almost always over something silly that neither of them really cared about. They were just living life to it's fullest and enjoying every minute of it.

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[Sam Lettington]

Confidence is what Lexi Knightely built her life on. Without it she'd never had made it this far. She held that air about her, so when you looked at her you could just tell she was in control. She never let herself get out of control...never... except in her younger days when she met Sebastian... but other then that she was definitely a superior being. On a horse she was all business... she had to be that was her main source of income and she took that very seriously. Some might be deceived, and think she disliked riding, because she never wore a smile. But it was quite the opposite. She lived ate and slept riding. It was her life she had been riding ever since she could remember and she loved it more than anything... or anyone.

When you looked at her you just new she had her life together. Which in most cases is true... but Lexi was really good at pretending everything was fine. She knew how to put her personal problems behind her when she got on her horse... or someone elses. But Lexi had a bad habit of hiding her feelings burying them and then eventually she crashed. Which was what happened with Sebastian the last time. He was the one who caught her heart first. And he held it for a long time... but he was also the first one to shatter it. And it took a hell of a long time to piece it back together... And it probably wouldn't be back together had it not been for Austin.

For Lexi the first cut is the deepest. She had given Sebastian her heart and he just gave it away. She honestly and whole heartedly loved him, no matter how many times he screwed up she was willing to take him back and in most cases just blamed herself. When he cheated on her he said it was because he didn't think they were exclusive, and worst of all she found herself, even though she was mad or hurt, believing him. She gave him her all, but in the end she ended up falling harder then imaginable.

Heart break was a painful blow, but after a very rude awakening, Lexi came to the realization that Sebastian was never going to love her as much as she loved him. Sadly she had put herself through hell for him but it was all in vain. The only thin she could think to do was leave. In her mind the only way she was going to to get over him and move on. Lexi had to leave... she was going to go back to London, that's where she grew up, She'd feel safe there, and could continue training... Sure she had already been to the olympics but... like i said before riding was her life.

To really know Lexi you had to know what she had been through. Though she was really easy to get along with, I mean she could be friends with just about anyone. She had a really easy going personality, not much set her off, it took a ot to make her mad... but if by some chance you pushed her over the edge you would most likely geta harsher punishment than you deserved. This was because she bottled up her emotions feeling like they were unworthy. She was like a volcano waiting to errupt. Who knew what or who would be the cause of her explosion.

But her life made a drastic change after Austin stopped her at the airport. Had he not, she would be long gone to London....most likely alone... and over working herself. But instead she was in love, pregnant, and over-worked. Lexi was a professional equestrian... and she took that very seriously, therefore over-working just came with the territory. She was constantly trying to improve every move that she made on horse back... and had been recently thinking about getting a younger horse. She had, had Gemini for quite some time now... almost ten years and the horse was ready to retire. But that meant either buying a young horse that was going to need a hell of a lot of training. Or and already trained really really reeeally expensive horse that...she obviously could affored but she wanted to keep in mind that she is pregnant, not that it was easily forgotten.

Most women would be terrified to find out they were pregnant with their boyfriends child... but Lexi was excited... besides this had happened to her once before, unknown to anyone else including the father, she was prepared and knew what she had instore, pregnancy wise. As for raising the child she wouldn't know because she gave the other up for adoption but keep this to yourself. Now here she was pregnant again but this time she was excited, she didn't see Austin as the type to run away from the situation. And she loved him and wasn't going to leave him. Despite her want not to address the subject, she was getting old and as they say "her biological clock was ticking" she was ready to settle down and have a family, and with Austin she knew she could have that. Not that she'd force him to do anything if it wasn't what he wanted.

But no Lexi was not scared of having a child with Austin even thought they weren't married. She was ready to embrass motherhood, it was the next step in her life... and in her eyes she felt like she was ready. She felt stabble for the first time in a long time. Life was finally ok, she wasn't running from her fears, she wasn't chasing after something that didn't want to be caught, she was finally getting what she wanted. Right now in her robe and in his arms was what she wanted. A long healthy happy life and family with him was what she wanted. Sure she would aways want other things but in this moment she could ask for nothing more than for him to just be with her now and forever... Forever and Always

No she didn't love austin for his money, she loved him because he was him and he fit with her perfectly she was the mac and he was her cheese... she loved him and seemed to fall head over heals with him every day. That was true blue love right there. A smile played on her lips as she teased him and he teased back but then he walked away and that was no fun at al. She opened her eyes and turned around . "I think i can find time... what'd you have in mind." She smiled unable to wipe her goofy grin off. God what it was like to be in love.

[austin]

There really was no one anything like Austin out there. I mean really... the guy went from total nerd to total hottie in his high school years and made his fortune before he was 20 years old. He was one of those geniuses who was bound to go insane some day because of the vast amounts of knowledge stored in his mind. Photographic memory was also contributing to that. He could glance over a page briefly, then rewrite the whole thing a week later without looking at it again. He didn't even have to read the whole thing the first time. His mind really did work just like a camera. focus on one little detail, and get everything surrounding it as well. For this reason he could retain impressive amounts of information without having to carry around a phone that would tell him those things... although he still did carry around a phone that he could... which he built himself.

It was a miracle Lexi put up with him like she did. I mean really, Austin was well known for being insane... or at least doing insane things. For instance, most people go to the bride and groom's registry and get gifts from stores... not Austin. No, for Alex and Anthony's wedding gift, he gave them a cabin on a lake in California sitting pretty on 40 acres of land and surrounded by government land, meaning it was isolated to be about the only private access on 100 acres of land. Of course, in comparison to the amount of money he had already made it really wasn't a very expensive gift, but to people who weren't quite as fortunate in their investing, he practically gave her the equivalent of someone's life savings. He had absolutely no problem with being ostentatious, and since he could afford to, why the hell not?

Also unlike most people... he didn't try to blend in. He wasn't exactly trying to draw all the attention to himself, but he did a good job of it anyway. His car was an almost blinding lime green, and stuck out like a sore thumb amid Pinewood's vehicles. The way he dressed was casual like everyone else, but somehow he made it seem... not like everyone else. Whether it was because of his height of body or... something... he just didn't blend in. He was almost incapable of blending in. Even if he tried, which he probably never would, odds were he would still stand out in a crowd. Why? Well he wasn't sure... it just happened. Of course it was possible that he would stand out in a crowd because probably everyone in that crowd knew who he was. I mean honestly, when a young guy like Austin who has a lot of money moves into town, is it even possible that people aren't going to notice him and get to know him?

Then again, not everyone liked him from the first time they met him. Just about everyone, but there was one person who ruined the everyone aspect. Anthony. I know, I know... you're all thinking "wait... what?" but you heard me right. Anthony Lovasz was the one person who didn't like Austin the first time he met him... but he did have a very good reason not to. Part of it was simply jealousy... since Anthony knew that Austin and Alex had been together back before Anthony knew Alex, and Austin and Alex weren't too shy about talking about some of the things they had done. Since Anthony was determined to stick with the waiting until marriage deal, it made it slightly... well... he was just jealous. Just because he was waiting didn't mean he didn't want it, and knowing Austin had gotten it just made him seem more like a threat to Anthony. Then when you add in that Anthony was only 5'4" and Austin was one of those "perfect California beach boys" yeah... Anthony had good reason to not like Austin all that much.

Other than that though, there was hardly a human alive who couldn't like Austin. There was nothing not to like. He was tall, dark, handsome, rich, had a great personality, was really good at laughing at himself, got along with everyone, could be talked into just about everything, was legitimately a nice guy, and wasn't anything like a lot of guys these days who are only in the relationship for sex. For the most part, there was only thing not to like about him... and that was his one track mind. If he got himself going on something that would take all day, you wouldn't see him at all until it was done unless you went down there and forced him to take a break. Pretty much the only time he was ever completely serious was when he was working... he loved what he did, and since it was a high level government security thing, it required intense concentration. Problem was, he sometimes concentrated too hard, more than what was good for him.

Austin still had no idea that Lexi was pregnant... the thought of even being a parent hadn't entered into his head even once. When she decided to tell him though, after the initial shock wore off, he would undoubtedly be excited. He hadn't ever met his real family, though he loved his adopted family more than anything, but he wouldn't ever give a kid up for adoption. He had always hated not knowing who his biological parents were, and he wouldn't wish that on a child of his own. He would make a good dad... no doubt about that. He certainly wouldn't be one of those over protective obsessive parents, because... well, Austin just wasn't like that. But he wouldn't be totally detached from his kids either. Sure his job would keep him busy, but he would still find time to be with them. Besides, he used to teach kids surfing lessons... that meant he had to like kids right?

He grinned when Lexi said she could find time, and turned back towards her, leaning against the door frame casually. Well I doubt you'd be interested, He said, knowing that she was already interested and she didn't even know what it was, but a jet ski was delivered this morning while you were gone, and I thought we could maybe take it out to your island. Of course now he knew she would possibly be a bit confused... considering he hadn't told her about the island yet... but that just made this all the better. He liked spontaneous... just about everything he did was spontaneous, and he was sure Lexi was used to that by now, and if she wasn't... well she would be soon enough. He had a knack for doing things that were totally off the wall and regularly surprised people. After a while people just stopped questioning him... there was no rhyme or reason to more than half the things he did, so there was no point in asking.

[Sam Lettington]

Its been said that, “Every woman has the exact love life they want.” Though I’m pretty sure that Lexi Knightley didn’t desire to have her heart toyed with then broken, then toyed with again and broken yet again before she finally healed it and filled it. That’s where she was now… she was healed and filled with the love of Austin Gaines. After being destroyed by Sebastian Kings it was a long excruciating process to get where she was now. She was generally happy. She could smile genuinely with honesty instead of that fake cheesy grin she had to force when she was falling apart. She was no longer barely breathing, her heart was beating free and easy now it wasn’t struggling to hold on to what little hope she had left.

Things were different with Austin than they were with Sebastian… severely different. In fact one could say they were opposites. Sebastian was selfish… Austin was selfless. Not to be harsh towards Sebastian, He held a special place in Lexi’s life… you could say he held her heart. But she replaced that heart and gave it to Austin. She knew she could trust him, that he wouldn’t hurt her. With Austin she could be herself and she didn’t have to worry about him up and changing his mind. If you only knew how tense she was before… of course she was younger then and life was different then it was now. Now she wanted to settle down… maybe start a family and work become a stay at home mom… your typical housewife kind of life. After a life of traveling, high speeds, high jumps, being free and chasing her dreams at full speed she was now ready to slow down. What she wanted out of life had changed. She no longer wanted thrills and fast pace, she wanted something meaningful…. And with Austin she found that something meaningful.

Just because she wanted to settle down didn’t mean in anyway that she was ready to retire. Oh no, not Lexi… she was in her prime. Or at least in her mind she was. Giving up eventing would destroy her, eventing was her life, or a huge part of it anyways. But she already knew she was going to have to take a break from riding… Having done this before she knew the drill, she was allowed to ride practically up until birth since she had been doing it for so long and was obviously in perfect shape. But after birth she had to take a few weeks off to heal… last time she just hired someone to ride Gemini for her… This time though she figured that would be when she looked into the market for her new addition. It worked out perfectly in her mind… despite the fact that she hadn’t even told Austin that she was pregnant. She wasn’t worried though… the chances of her leaving her were slim to none and even if he did she was confident that she could do this on her own… She was always confident though.

Getting along with Austin was simple… mostly because she could get along with just about anyone… Some of the things he did might annoy other people, like how smart he was… which pretty much meant there was no arguing with him. Sometimes she would but she knew the odds of winning were slim to none it was okay though sometimes just fighting for the sake of fighting was okay. And she was pretty sure they never had a legit serious fight… usually they were joking or it didn’t matter what the outcome was anyways. They were pretty basic nothing was complex they never had any drama and that was one of the reasons why Lexi loved him… he was drama free… she had had her fair share of drama. Everything between them just flowed so easily she didn’t have to try they just fit together effortlessly.
His goofiness was just what the all to serious Lexi needed… she really wasn’t all that serious but usually when she was silly people didn’t understand how this professional eventer who had won several gold medals could talk baby talk to her horse or whatever goofy thing she was doing at the time. But with Austin she could run up tap him on the shoulder and take off running screaming “you’re it!” as she fled the scene… and he would just play along… with him she didn’t have to be a grown up she didn’t have to be mature. Not like she was always goofing off but if you were always so serious you were bound to develop wrinkles faster than everyone else. Austin helped her loosen up and that was exactly what she needed. Life was now just free and easy and she could relax with out the aspects of life stressing her out.

A sly grin gradually slid over her face as he mentioned a Jet Ski being dropped off. Then that devilish look faded into confusion when he mentioned “your island.” She tipped her head to the side in curiousity and shifted her weight to one leg. Lexi was about as curious as a 5 year old… or a kitten as the saying goes. “My Island?” she repeated in question form hoping to get a response that would untangle the confusion. Though she highly doubted he’d give her one… he was the surprise type of guy. Whether or not he’d explain she didn’t know… she was already further down the line of thought process… women and their spiderwebbing it was a miracle that guys even tried to keep up. A bathing suit was in store… and she just showered… Oh well she didn’t really care. She was just excited to be going on another adventure with the man of her dreams.

OOC; sorry its so short...