Title: Here With Me 36/43
Author: Anorien and Sairalinde
Type: RPS
Pairing: Craig/David
Rating: NC-17
Warning: None this chapter.
Beta: Ourselves
Disclaimer: This never happened. This was written in fun that's all.
Feedback: Yes please send to sairalinde @ hornofgondor.com
or thechroniclesofosgiliath @ yahoo.com
Archiving: OEAM, Mirrormere, The Chronicles of Osgiliath, Saira's Library, CxD Archive, other's ask.
Summary: A.U. Two University Professors try to overcome their pasts and find love and healing.
A/N: This is A.U. and it is the world we wish really did exist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Craig sat on the edge of the bed in the unfamiliar room. He *hated* hotels, but not as much as he hated being away from David, and he was damn frustrated. He and his new husband had been getting dressed to attend a party that David's publisher had insisted David attend. It had taken them over an hour to get dressed, as they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other, and had to keep putting on the same articles of clothing again and again. NOT that either man was complaining. It had promised to be a long evening, so they were more than happy to take advantage of their time alone before having to mingle for the next several hours.

David was just adjusting Craig's tie for the fourth time when the phone rang. They both seriously considered ignoring it in favor of another sweet kiss, until; finally, David broke away and answered. Without a word, he handed the phone to Craig and sat on the bed next to him when he suddenly sank down to rest on the edge of the mattress.

Craig's father was asking for him. It happened about once, maybe twice a year, and nothing ever came from it, but it always made Craig's heart skip a beat or two……just in case. Just in case Lucas would finally be able to hear and accept Craig's apology for not being there when Lucas needed him. Craig needed him to hear that, needed to know that his father didn't hate him. But he was beginning to wonder if that was ever going to come to pass.

And now, here he was……ten hours away from his husband, in a lonely hotel room, and all for nothing. David had wanted to go with him, but Craig felt too guilty to pull him away from the party, so he'd begged David to stay and enjoy himself, promising to be home as soon as possible. Craig's father had had several days of lucidity over the past few years when he'd ask for Craig, but by the time Craig arrived, he'd been catatonic again, and today had been no exception. As soon as he'd walked into the room, Lucas had looked at him with vacant eyes and turned back toward the window. At that moment, Craig would have given anything to have David by his side, to just be reminded that *someone* loved him. All he got was a pitying look from his father's physician who asked him to stay and meet with him the next afternoon so they could discuss Craig's father's condition, which seemed to be deteriorating steadily.

It was going to be a long night. Knowing he would be unable to sleep without David by his side, Craig sat in the chair by the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue boxers and drinking a canned soda from the machine down the hall, surfing through the channels on TV. He'd tried hard not to let his depression and loneliness come through when he'd talked to David on the phone earlier, but knew he was a damn poor actor around the man he loved. But what was the point? It wasn't like David could drop everything and rush to his side. As much as Craig would have loved that, he'd never ask him to. So, he decided, he'd just sit here all night and be miserable and hope he could go home the next day and be back in his husband's arms. He finally settled on some mindless sitcom, and stared dully at the screen.

~~~

David walked in the door feeling drained. Seeing Craig off to Virginia early that day had seemed to drain all of his energy and then he had to go to the party…alone. He'd done those parties before alone, but now that he was married *everyone * constantly asked about his new husband. Marty had apologized profusely, though he hadn't let David out of the commitment of being at the party. Said that he *had * to be there since he was one of the writers being honored by the National Poetry Society. Though last year he *had* to be there even though he wasn't one of the honorees.

David threw his keys on the table in the foyer and scratched D'Artagnan between his ears. The dog even seemed depressed that Craig wasn't home. He had been thrilled that Craig's father had seemed to have some sort of breakthrough, was absolutely thrilled but he wanted to go with him, though he wasn't sure if Craig had wanted him there. At least, not meeting his father in the hospital like that.

Sighing, he headed up stairs loosening his tie along the way. Once inside their bedroom David looked around and everywhere he looked Craig's presence seemed to linger. He stood in the center of the room, twisting the wedding band on his finger for a moment; before he walked into the bathroom and showered. The warm water seemed to help relax him a little bit but he still wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep that night. After his shower, he dressed and went downstairs to read in the library. He tried for a while, really tried to get used to not having Craig curled up beside him. He glanced at the clock - it wasn't that late.

David got up and went outside on the patio in the snow for a little while hoping to clear his head a little bit. Every thought returned to Craig. He'd been alone for years at a time…but now he found he simply couldn't *think * without his husband near.

Going back in the house, David walked back to the library and lay down on the couch…maybe if he slept there instead of their bed it would be easier? After little more than an hour, he decided that didn't seem to work either. He wasn't sleepy, he was tired, but not sleepy and he missed Craig so much it hurt.

"Damn," David murmured sitting up and grabbing the phone. He tried to book a flight from Concord to Richmond but every airline said that there wasn't anything available until morning that many flights had been pushed back or cancelled due to the snow that had started late that evening. It was a ten-hour drive from Leigh to Richmond in good weather. Going over to his computer, David checked the roadways and they were all clear. He ran back upstairs, grabbing a suitcase and just tossed clothes into it. Throwing on a pair of jeans and looking in the dresser for a sweater he spotted one of Craig's. The sweater was one of Craig's favorites, and he wore it often. David stared at it for a moment and as he picked it up he buried his nose against the soft material. He was grateful that even though it was laundered it still held his husband's scent. David put the sweater on and raced downstairs, pulling on his coat. If he left now he could get to Richmond by nine in the morning at the latest.

~~~

With Craig's room number memorized, David went past the front desk and straight to the elevators. He'd made better time than he thought despite the snow; he just hoped Craig hadn't tried to call during the night. He'd tried to call on his cell phone but the snow apparently had caused problems with the wireless circuits. He actually considered writing to several state highway departments thanking them for keeping the roads clear. Arriving on Craig's floor, he practically ran from the elevator to his husband's door praying he hadn't gone down for breakfast or already left for the hospital. He knocked quickly and nervously waited to see if he answered.

Craig looked blearily up at the knock on the door, trying to remember whether or not he'd called for room service to deliver his breakfast. His mind was numb from the lack of sleep and his eyes bloodshot from staring at the TV all night. Feeling like a petulant child, he glared at the door, thinking that the *only* person he wanted to see was still back home, sure to be at work by now. When the knock was repeated, he stood up and crossed the room with long, heavy strides, running a hand through his hair. "Who is it?" he called through the door, his usual light mood nowhere to be seen, apparently having been left back at home with his husband. "I didn't order breakfast and check out isn't until noon!"

David stared at the door and almost laughed, "I didn't drive ten hours to bring you breakfast but if you want I can go back downstairs and get you something!" David called through the door.

Craig's mouth fell open as he heard the voice on the other side of the door. <I> God, I'm hearing things. It can't…….</I> Never thinking to even look through the peephole, he threw open the door and saw the man he loved more than life itself standing outside in the hall, a wide smile on his face. <I> Now I'm *seeing* things. This can't be good. </I> Good or not, Craig's body was on automatic pilot and before he knew it, his arms were around David, holding him close. "Is it really you?" he asked softly, feeling as if he hadn't seen his lover in months, and praying that he wasn't molesting a perfect stranger in the middle of a hotel in Richmond.

As Craig threw his arms around him, David wrapped his free arm around his husband and pushed him back into his room, shoving the door closed with his foot and dropping his suitcase so he could wrap his other arm around Craig. "Yes, love. It's really me. I missed you so much, I couldn't get a flight...so I drove," David whispered quickly, kissing Craig's temple and pulling back slightly to kiss him again deeply. "God I missed you...I couldn't sleep, and everywhere I looked in the house it just seemed to make me miss you more...even the dog missed you," he whispered softly against Craig's lips, before kissing him again.

Craig's arms wrapped around David and held him close, afraid that he was dreaming, and the beautiful man in his arms would disappear in the blink of an eye. "I missed you so much," he whispered as they broke the kiss when the need for air became too great. "I couldn't sleep either. I didn't even make it to bed - I've been sitting in that chair all night thinking about you."

"I know the feeling, it's the same thing that kept me awake all night driving here," David whispered, kissing Craig again, seemingly unable to stop kissing his perfect husband. He was so happy just to be in his lover's arms again. "I love you so much, Craig," David whispered softly as he stared into his lover's eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Craig rested his forehead against David's. "You drove all this way to be with me?" he asked, one hand trailing down the side of his lover's face as the other rested firmly around his waist, still afraid to let him go. It was amazing to him that David had felt the same desperate need to be with him as Craig had felt from the first minute they'd parted. He'd almost pictured David carrying on with his life as normal, not feeling Craig's absence, or, if he did, being able to better accept their being apart.

"I thought I was going to go crazy without you near," David said softly. "I had to drive because of the snow, the roads were clear but apparently they had to push some flights back and I couldn't wait till now to board a plane to get here in a few hours...so I drove," David explained. "I um...I called my parents and told them before I left. My mother said she wondered when I'd be calling them, said she didn't think I'd be able to make it though the night without you...I guess I'm that transparent."

Craig sat down on the bed, pulling his husband down in his lap as he stared into beloved blue eyes. "I can't believe you came here," he said. "I can't believe you missed me as much as I missed you."

"I did...God I did, Craig. I was absolutely miserable without you," David said running his fingers through his husband's hair. Leaning forward he kissed Craig again running his hands along his lover's smooth skin. "Plus I have to say, I'm well...I really like being greeted by you in only your boxers but I feel severely over dressed," David grinned since he still had his heavy coat on.

"You really *are* quite overdressed," Craig laughed as he quickly pushed David's coat toward the floor with one hand even as his other hand fumbled with the hem of his sweater, trying to pull it over David's head before his arms were even free. Just as he was about to drop the sweater, he noticed it looked very, very familiar. It was Craig's own - his favorite, well-worn, dark blue sweater. Feeling the warmth from David's skin on the sweater in his fingers, Craig rested his head on his husband's chest. "You even wore my sweater," he whispered, feeling more loved and needed than he'd ever dreamed of feeling. "I've never felt like anyone needed me in my whole life, and I can't even begin to describe how it makes me feel right now."

David closed his fingers around Craig's still holding onto the sweater. "It...reminded me of you, so when I was getting dressed I put it on," David whispered against Craig's hair. "Might seem silly, but it was my way to be close to you I guess," he explained. Tipping Craig's head up David looked into his husband's eyes filled with love, "I do need you, I will always need you," David whispered.

Craig stared into David's eyes and simply let himself be surrounded by the love he felt in his arms. He wanted to laugh and cry and dance around the room all at once, but even more than that, he wanted to just hold David, hoping to make him feel as loved as Craig himself felt at that moment. Breaking the gaze to rest his head against his husband's chest, he smiled.

"We are both hopelessly in love with each other." David rested his head against Craig's loving the feel of his husband in his arms. He'd day dreamed about that feeling on his drive here, and now that Craig was in his arms, he didn't think he could let him go for a single moment.

As his fingers trailed over the smooth skin of David's back, Craig closed his eyes and pressed soft kisses over his neck. "Definitely…in……love…with…you…." He murmured between kisses. One hand slid between their bare chests to let his thumb rub softly over David's nipples, teasing them into hardness as he leaned forward for a deep kiss against beloved lips. He sucked gently on his lover's tongue, and his eyes fell shut, reveling in the feel of David's body against his, as his own hands slowly slid down to the button of his lover's jeans. Unfastening them deftly, he wrapped his fingers around David's arousal and began to stroke the hard length.

Craig's kisses along his neck made David's heart speed up in his chest. He felt himself stirring as Craig kissed and touched him, then as his fingers unfastened David's jeans and began to stroke him slowly and gently his breath hitched in his chest. "Oh Craig," David murmured softly, "I want you so much," he whispered as his hands trailed over his lover's smooth skin to slip inside Craig's boxers wrapping around his lover's arousal. Whispering against Craig's ear David said softly, "Make love to me...I need to feel you inside me, love."

Craig held David close, then gently turned to lay him back against the bed. Reaching down to remove his lover's shoes and socks, he slid the jeans from long legs and let them fall to the floor, unable to suppress a smile when he felt the small packet of lube tucked into the front pocket. He quickly tore into the foil and slicked his fingers and his throbbing organ as he lay beside his lover and kissed him deeply. Letting one arm slide beneath David's head to deepen the kiss, his other hand trailed down to slide between David's legs. His finger ran along the length of his lover's shaft before sliding further down to press gently inside the tight opening below.

David felt his face color slightly when Craig smiled at him upon finding the packet of lube. As Craig lay down and kissed him, he sucked on his lover's tongue suddenly feeling an urgency he hadn't felt before. He gasped softly as Craig's finger traveled along his already leaking cock and further still. Spreading his legs more David rocked his hips and felt the slick digit slip even further inside. Moving his hips slowly he moaned softly, "Please...I need you so much."

Craig's finger was quickly joined by another as he lovingly stretched the tight guardian muscle at the entrance of his husband's body. Scissoring his fingers, he ran them in ever increasing circles as he pressed his throbbing arousal against David's hip. After a final, breathless kiss, Craig moved to kneel between his lover's legs as he felt his aching arousal begin to drip warm drops of fluid over David's skin. His fingers continued to work until he felt his husband was ready for him, and he quickly removed his hand and leaned over to stare down into beloved blue eyes. Pressing the head of his arousal against his lover's entrance, he slowly pressed forward and sunk deep into David's body. "I love you so much," he whispered as he stilled himself to give them both time to adjust.

The fingers moving inside of him felt incredible but David wanted more...wanted to feel his lover's hard length buried deep inside him. Gasping as Craig's fingers withdrew, David stared up into Craig's eyes as his lover began to sink inside him and moaned softly from the sensation of being filled so completely. "I love you too...love you so very much," David whispered in return and rocked his hips back as he wrapped his legs around Craig.

Craig made several short, shallow thrusts, then sank forward and buried himself to the hilt inside his lover's body. He lost himself in the slow rhythm as they moved together as one, each instinctively knowing what the other needed. When his thrusts became even deeper and he felt his control slipping, he arched his back enough to allow his hand to slip between their bodies to wrap around David's arousal, lying hard and leaking between them.

David moaned and arched his hips back to meet his lover's thrusts, soft moans and gasps escaping his lips each time Craig's thick cock brushed against his sweet spot, setting off sparks that seemed to ignite his blood. His hands moved along the taut muscles of Craig's chest and abdomen and rested on his hips as they moved together. Feeling Craig's hand wrap around his aching cock, he moaned, thrusting into the warm hand wrapped around him and back onto the hard length, impaling him with each and every thrust. "I'm so close, love," David gasped, feeling the tension gathering low in his center.

Craig's hand worked faster as he moaned and thrust in as deeply as possible, the tip of his own organ squarely hitting David's sweet spot and pressing harder. "Coming, love," he moaned as he buried his face in his lover's neck and ground their hips together. He felt himself spill deeply inside the tight passage, crying out David's name as each burst of fluid flowed out of him and filled his husband.

Feeling his lover spill deep inside him set off David's own release, his muscles clenching and milking his husband's cock as he spilled warm and slick over his Craig's hand and his own stomach. His entire body wrapped around his love as he lay down against him. David pressed soft kisses against Craig's lips and closed his eyes smiling. "I love you," he whispered, enjoying the feeling of Craig's warm body pressed against his own. The very feeling he knew he would have missed should he have even tried to sleep in their bed the night before. Taking a deep breath as his body still trembled from his release, David's hands traced a path up and down Craig's back. "When do you have to go to the hospital again?" David asked his lover realizing it was probably almost mid morning.

Craig relaxed into his lover's touch, pressing his lips against David's throat. He gently slipped from the tight passage surrounding him, and reached for the edge of the blanket, pulling it over them both. "I don't have to be back until three," he yawned. "You get some rest. I'll set the alarm for two, then go back. It would have been a wasted trip if you hadn't showed up. My father didn't even recognize me." Sighing, Craig fought the tears that were just behind his eyelids, and shook his head. "I shouldn't have even dared to hope."

David looked into Craig's eyes, "I'm so sorry, love," he whispered softly and kissed him tenderly. "I'm so sorry." He had hoped that it would have been different this time. "You need some rest too. Join me?" David asked wanting to make sure Craig slept too.

Craig snuggled close and closed his eyes. "I should have known better," he whispered, his words muffled by another yawn. "It always ends up this way," he paused and shook his head,. "Sleep, love. You must be exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open myself."

David lay back against the pillow and frowned, "We are both tired right now and this discussion can wait till later...but...you know there is a Living Hope Institute in Concord? Thirty minutes away from home...well...your father could be transferred there, and that way, maybe next time...maybe it will make a difference, if you are closer and can get there quicker. You could visit more often...and maybe, I dunno, maybe it might help. I don't know very much about things like that but it just...well it seems it might. We could...I mean you could ask his doctor today?" David suggested cautiously, unsure how Craig might accept him butting into things with his father like that.

Craig's eyes opened and he leaned up on one arm. He'd thought of transferring his father so many times in the past few years, but never felt sure enough that he'd stay in one place long enough to make it work. But now….after all these years, he'd finally found his home - the place he was meant to be for the rest of his life. The home, the life, the love, he shared with his husband. He was surprised he'd never thought of it before. His hand lifted up to cup the side of David's face and smiled softly. "Ninety nine percent of the time, my father gets anxiety attacks when my name is even mentioned, but on those rare occasions when he asks for me, I'd love to be closer to him. I…….I've never had a place to call home since mother died, and it never even occurred to me that the transfer would work now." He leaned over to place a soft kiss on his husband's lips. "I'll ask the doctor this afternoon. Or….maybe….would you consider going with me to meet with the doctor…and….and maybe you could at least meet my father? If you want to. I mean….you can wait for me here if you want, and we can take our time and go home when I finish."

David smiled warmly as he realized he hadn't upset Craig, "I'd love to go with you and to meet your father. I just...maybe it's not a completely unselfish reason I suggested this, I just don't think I can do this again...can't stand not having you near me," David said softly, brushing his fingers through Craig's hair gently.

Leaning into David's touch, Craig stared into shining blue eyes. "I know how you feel," he whispered, "I don't want to be without you either, ever. My arms feel empty when you're not in them, and it makes my heart hurt. I know we just got married, but…but that's not it. I'm never going to stop feeling this way, no matter if we've been married six weeks or sixty years." It was true…he'd *never* been needed or needed anyone like he needed David. Just the thought of even one night away from him was depressing.

"Never again will I allow anything to keep me from your side," David said softly, meaning every word with ever fiber of his being. Now that he knew without a shadow of a doubt that they both felt exactly the same way, he felt blessed. Blessed knowing that he wasn't alone, that Craig needed him as much as David needed Craig. Smiling David kissed Craig tenderly and tugged at the bedspread pulling it over them. "And sixty years sounds really good to me," he whispered softly closing his eyes and snuggling close to his perfect husband.

Craig smiled, pulling David closer and letting his hand trail lightly over his body. "We'll never, spend a night apart again, love." Breathing in the sweet smell of David's hair, Craig closed his eyes. "You will never, ever know how much I adore you," he whispered as he drifted toward sleep, determined not to think about his upcoming meeting with the doctor and/or his father. All that mattered in the world was right here in his arms. Everything else would take care of itself.

David smiled as Craig spoke feeling himself drifting to sleep. "I adore you too," he whispered sleepily, snuggling closer and relaxing in his husband's arms. He hoped that Mr. Parker's doctor would agree so that Craig could have his father closer. He was sure they would, he thought as he finally drifted into sleep.

TBC