On The Run

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are mine.

Summary: Naomi Lewis, a young, expectant mother, witnesses a terrible crime. The murderer is hot on her trail. In a chance encounter, she meets Grey Holmes, a graphic novelist who she has to depend on to save her life. Everything is at stake.

Warnings: m/f, preg, angst, death, lemon

** Asterisks indicate thoughts

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Chapter Four


Naomi woke to the soft pitter-patter of rain on the window. It was dark outside, but looking at the clock beside the bed, it was almost 11 in the morning. She decided to get up and have a shower before heading downstairs. Grey was sure to be up by now, and she knew that if she tried to sleep any longer, she would have trouble going to bed later.

Starting the shower, she undressed and slipped in. The water was hot, but she enjoyed it. It loosened up all the muscles that had gotten too tight with the drama happening around her. Washing up, she was glad that the baby was still within her. She was starting to get a little sore with all the internal boxing that was going on.

Stepping out of the shower, she tried to fit a towel around her. She just managed to, though it was a little tight around the midsection. She couldn’t wait until the baby was born, and she got her figure back. She felt like a whale.

Dressing in some of the clothes she had packed, she went downstairs to greet Grey. He was sitting at the kitchen table, morning paper and coffee in hand. He always seemed to look so studious. She stood at the entrance of the kitchen and watched him for a minute. She didn’t want to make him aware of her presence just yet.

They had only known each other for a few short days, but it felt like so much longer. They had a lot in common, and he was so nice to her. He had definitely been there when she needed him the most, thinking back to the incident by her shed yesterday.

It had been a long time since she’d been around a man. She wished she could have met Grey earlier, before she got pregnant. Maybe she could have done something right, instead of getting knocked up by an asshole.

Grey had a quiet, tall, dark and handsome look about him. He was definitely talented, as she had witnessed, but he had so much more going for him aside from his art. He was attractive and caring. The yellow kitchen light cast soft shadows around his mouth, nose, and deeply set eyes, accentuating his features. He didn’t seem to care much about the state of his hair, for it was wonderfully tousled, curling slightly by his ears. He hadn’t shaved for a couple days, dark stubble decorating his face. It hardly marred his features, instead giving him a slightly rugged and sexy appearance. He had a small, shy smile, one that Naomi found completely endearing.

He was tall too, something that she looked for in a man. Her ex-boyfriend had maybe been 5’6, 5’7, whereas Grey stood head and shoulders above her. She guessed that he had to be a foot taller than she was. He was very well built, with broad shoulders and muscular arms, and a trim waist.

*Can’t say the same about me, haha*

After a short while of just admiring him, she decided to make her presence known.

“Good morning.” She said, walking into the kitchen. He looked up from the paper, and smiled at her.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” Naomi shrugged her shoulders.

“Not the best, but I’m fine. Sleep is overrated.” She grinned. Grey folded the paper and set in on the table.

“Do you want something to eat?” He asked. Naomi took the seat across from him.

“Yes, that would be great.”

Grey stood and sifted through the refrigerator, pulling out a cartoon of eggs, some cheese, green pepper, and ham. Standing over the stovetop, he set out to making her an omelet.

“Detective Winslow called here this morning.” Grey said, breaking two eggs into a frying pan. Naomi looked up from skimming the paper.

“What did he have to say?”

Grey turned to look at her, before getting back to breakfast.

“Well, from DNA testing they were able to find out that the killer’s name is Randy Hudson. Turns out, he’s been wanted by the police for years. They think that he’s been in hiding, they could never find him. He’s killed quite a few people, mostly women, his motives aren’t clear. They suspect that he’s a mental case.”

“I could have told them that.”

When Grey was done, he put the omelet on the plate and handed it to Naomi. Passing her a fork and a glass of orange juice, she grinned as she accepted them. Digging in, she asked between mouthfuls,

“So, I guess they haven’t found him yet?”

“No.”

“Bastard.”

When she had finished eating, Grey cleared her plate and glass off the table and put it in the sink. Coming back to sit at the table, he folded his hands in front of him.

“I’d like to believe that they’d find him soon, but they have been after this guy for years.” Grey said. Naomi could tell that he was beginning to get doubtful. He was just as involved now as she was. The murderer was after the both of them, now that Grey had seen his face. Naomi felt a twinge of sadness in getting Grey caught up in her problems. Ideally, it just would have been her that this Randy Hudson would have been after. Grey shouldn’t have any part in it.

*If he wasn’t involved, you’d be dead already* She reminded herself.

“We just have to believe that they will catch him. After all, he’s on our case, and the cops know that. They’re keeping an eye out for us.” Grey knew that Naomi was trying to be hopeful, and he didn’t want to frighten her at all. He was usually the optimist, but Randy Hudson had managed to evade the police several times. They even knew who he was, and they still couldn’t catch him.

“Ok, let’s not worry about it. The police will do their job.”


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To get Naomi’s mind off of Randy, Grey decided to take her out to some of his favourite art galleries. So long as they were in public and together, Randy would not be able to sneak up on them and hurt them without causing a big scene. Naomi listened attentively to Grey’s description of the paintings hanging up, and she picked out a few favourites of her own. He was pleased with her choices, as he liked them more much of the same reasons she did.

Walking through the gallery, they were approached by a couple times by older couples. They had seen Naomi and wanted to come talk to her about the baby.

“Is it your first child?” An elderly lady asked. Naomi beamed.

“Yes it is.” The elderly woman smiled and clasped her hands together.

“Aw, you two must be so happy. Proud parents to be.” The woman walked away, leaving Grey and Naomi slightly uncomfortable.

“Well, I can see why they’d assume that.” Naomi tried to laugh it off, and Grey blushed slightly.

They spent quite a few hours walking through the gallery, until it was time to eat. Both Grey and Naomi were starving. He took her to a small restaurant, where they talked all throughout dinner. Grey was fascinated by everything Naomi had to say. Her favourite books, movies, what she thought of the president – it all mattered to him. He wanted to hear everything he wanted to tell him.

Naomi felt likewise. Grey was quiet by nature, so she felt privileged that he was so comfortable in opening up to her. While he had an avid interest in art, and had amazing talent in that industry, he was also a big fan of sports. He loved to run, bike, swim, play soccer – many things she liked to do as well. She couldn’t quite do much at the moment because of her pregnancy, but she shared his enthusiasm for sports, music, movies, and reading.

After dinner, they went back to Grey’s house. They sat in the living room, surfing through the movie channels on TV. They came across a good one, The Shining, settling into the sofa to enjoy the flick. Watching it through, they talked in the appropriate spots, jumped at the images on the screen, and sighed when the movie was over, happy that it had worked out for the protagonists in the film.

“How’s the baby?” Grey asked, noticing halfway through the movie that Naomi would occasionally rub at her belly. She rolled her eyes.

“I think I’ve got a gymnast or a boxer in here. Baby’s really active.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She moved her hand to the place where the baby had just kicked. Smiling, she took Grey’s hand and settled it on her belly. After a moment, his eyes widened.

“I can feel it in there.” He sounded very fascinated. Naomi laughed.

“Yeah, so can I. Feels like Sunshine is playing Tarzan with my ribs.”

The baby kicked at his hand. He moved it around her belly, following the baby’s hits.

“Feel’s like it wants to come out right now.” He said with a smile. Naomi laughed.

“I’m sure not ready for baby to come out just yet. I haven’t gotten anything for a nursery. I’m so far behind.”

When it was time for bed, Naomi sat in her room, a smile on her face. Grey’s look of amazement had been precious to her. She wondered what his previous girlfriends had been like, and why he wasn’t in a relationship right now. He was a great guy. She wondered if he had ever thought about having children. She didn’t think about it much before she became pregnant. She figured, because he was a couple years older than her, that he would have given it some thought. He would make a great father.

Naomi turned off the light and climbed into bed, falling into sleep easily enough.


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Naomi woke from fitful sleep, blinking as she registered it was still dark outside. Turning to the clock beside her bed, it was only 2:30am. She sighed and turned her head to the side, and noticed a man standing by the door. It wasn’t Grey. She let out a startled cry as the man rushed towards her.


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Grey awoke when he heard Naomi cry out. Not wasting a moment, he jumped out of bed and grabbed the first thing he could – a paperweight. Rushing into her room, he nearly jumped back at the presence of the man. Filled with anger, Grey shoved him to the ground. Naomi had managed to get herself to the opposite side of the room, and she watched Grey struggle with Hudson.

She noticed that Grey was holding something, and she hoped that he would get his arm free long enough to use whatever he had. Randy was larger than Grey, in height and brawn, and Naomi desperately hoped that Grey would get the leverage he needed to pound Hudson.

Randy seemed to have the advantage over Grey, slamming him into the desk in her room. Grey grunted, trying to move out of the way to avoid a second blow. He couldn’t see whether or not Randy had a weapon on his person.

Getting his feet under him, Grey turned and charged the larger man, raising his arm at the last moment. He slammed the paperweight into Hudson’s face. The killer cried out as it struck his head, splitting the skin. Grey hit him again, knocking him out cold. Turning to Naomi, he tried to catch his breath.

“Grab whatever you brought here. We’re leaving.” Naomi went to the dresser and took the bag that was sitting on top of it.

“This is all I have.” She said. Grey took her hand and led her out of the spare bedroom into his. He pulled a jacket out of his closet and passed it to her.

“Put this on, it’s still raining out.” She did as she was told, slipping into the oversized jacket. He pulled another one out for him, grabbed his wallet, keys, and cell phone off his nightstand, and shoved them into the pocket of his jacket.

Taking her hand again, he led her quickly down the staircase and outside. The air was cool and it was raining lightly. Outside was very still, the neighbourhood quiet. Grey fished his car keys out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the car. They both got in hurriedly, Grey starting up the engine and peeling out of the driveway. He turned off the street onto the main road, not wasting a moment.

“How did he know where you lived?” Naomi asked, heart pounding. Grey gripped the steering wheel.

“That bastard must have followed us somehow. He must have been waiting for the right moment to strike.” Grey hissed, very angry that Randy had broken into his home and nearly killed Naomi. He wouldn’t have known too, if she hadn’t cried out.

“You’re hurt.” Naomi said, giving him a concerned look. Grey had hit his head against the desk, and he was now bleeding from a cut along his hairline.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. Are you hurt?” He turned to look at her this time, a worried expression on his face. She shook her head.

“I’m not hurt. I moved just in time. But you’re bleeding. Jesus, it just keeps coming.” She sifted through the glove compartment, taking out a handful of fast-food napkins. Wetting one with her saliva, she tended to Grey’s head wound as he drove. He didn’t complain this time, as he was devoid of any humour. Naomi could have died, and Randy could have walked right out of his house without waking him.

It was a little after 3am when Naomi stopped fussing with him. She told him that she wanted to get a better look at his wound when it was lighter outside, and she wanted to properly bandage it. He told her that he wasn’t going to stop yet, until he put more distance between them and Randy. Although he was unconscious when they had left the house, Grey wasn’t taking any chances this time.

“Where are we going?” Naomi asked, the adrenaline keeping the both of them fully awake. Grey turned onto the highway. There were a few cars on the road, though most of them were transport trucks. Not many people were out driving at 3 in the morning.

“I have a cottage about 2 ½ hours from here. It’s the safest place for now. It has everything we need, and there shouldn’t be a way for Hudson to trace us there. The cottage is my private getaway. Only my folks know where it is.” As much as it was impossible for Hudson to be following them, Grey didn’t ease up on the gas or stop until they were an hour and a half into their journey.

The sun was beginning to rise, just peaking over the horizon. It hardly made a noticeable difference in the world yet, except for turning the dark blue of the sky into a strange mixture of blue-green. In another hour, it would be fairly bright outside. Grey pulled into a Tim Horton’s and got them both a coffee and a doughnut. They still had another hour to go before arriving at his cottage.

To keep him from dozing, Naomi started up a conversation. She asked him questions about his cottage. The way that he described it made it sound like a beautiful place. It was an ocean-front property, with a large sand beach, completely private. His cottage was a log cabin, built only a few years ago, so it had some modern touches to it. Trees on the property concealed it from the gravel road, so people that passed it would hardly know that it was cottage property.

As much as the horrible circumstances were making them flee to their last resort, Naomi was excited for the change. She hoped that she would be able to relax and actually enjoy her pregnancy, and keep the baby calm. There had been enough action in the past few days to last her a lifetime.

Leaning back into the car seat, Naomi tried to find some enjoyment in the drive. She was mostly anxious to arrive at their destination and get some sleep. Her body was so tense, she felt like a tightly wound spring. She suspected that Grey felt much the same way she did.




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A/N: Sorry for the wait. More to come soon. Please review, thanks!


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