Ch 974 - A Kiss

"Hi, Yvonne. I have my memories back."

Yvonne was thrilled that Christopher had finally come to his senses and kissed her. She couldn't lie to herself. She had hoped her first kiss with Christopher would be somewhere romantic, like the woods, or her bedroom. Although they had come close before, they had never actually kissed. Until now. 

Yvonne forced herself to pull away. She took a step back and bumped into the fridge. It made a loud groaning sound at the disturbance, and she looked away, embarrassed. A faint blush crept up her cheeks. 

We finally kissed! She thought. She was so excited she could squeal, but she didn't. What if Christopher thought she was weird?

"That was nice!" she said awkwardly. She slid around him and walked further into the kitchen, one hand on her nervous stomach and the other covering her mouth. The kiss had been amazing, but it had left her feeling weak in the knees. What was wrong with her? She would have to get a grip soon, or he might leave her. 

"Yvonne?" Christopher asked. "Are you okay?"

She turned to face him, her face red. Taking her hand from her mouth she put on her best calm expression. 

"I'm perfectly fine," she said, wringing her hands, and trying not to look at him. "That was a very nice kiss. Thank you."

Neither of them said anything for several seconds. Yvonne found herself wishing that he would thank her and be on his way. Instead, he just stood there, staring at her with such an intensity that she began to shudder. 

"Do you remember the night when the super soldiers attacked?" Christopher asked. 

"Of course I remember!" She snapped, not wanting to remember that horrible night. 

He paused, then took a step closer to her. "I think I get why you were so upset."

"It's in the past," she said. "No need to apologize." 

Christopher raised an eyebrow at her and smiled.

"What?" she asked, bringing her shoulders up to her ears. "You and Louis were so dismissive, and Alex didn't want to hear me out!"

Christopher sighed. "Yvonne," he said, "I am asking if you remember!" 

His eyes lit up, but Yvonne couldn't make the connection. 

"Wait," she said, the conclusion dawning on her. "Christopher, are you saying our kiss brought your memories back?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" he shouted excitedly. 

"This is incredible!" she screamed, running at him. They met in a tight embrace. Christopher was so happy that he picked up Yvonne and spun her around the room. 

When he set her down, Yvonne was about to ask what had suddenly caused his memories to return. Then, another realization came to her. Although Christopher was happy to share the news with Yvonne, there was a good chance that he had lost how he had been feeling about her. She remembered something Christopher had said in the hospital. 

"I have a lot of emotions when I'm around you."

Yvonne's heart fluttered for a moment, and she began to feel a sadness deep in her soul. 

"Oh," she said weakly. "Then, I guess you don't need me anymore."

Christopher scratched the back of his head. "Not for my memories, no," he said. "I've enjoyed the time we've spent together all the same."

"So I have," Yvonne said, crossing her arms. "It's been fun. Well, as fun as it could have been, given the circumstances."

Christopher nodded. "It was fun."

Yvonne bit her lip. "I guess this means you can go home now."

As she said the words, her heart broke a little. 

"For what it's worth," Christopher said, coming closer to her. "I think kissing you is what brought my memories back."

Yvonne perked up a little, and wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill over. 

"You're welcome?" she said, looking away from him. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's the matter with me."

Christopher took her into his arms and gently stroked her hair. 

"Yvonne," he said softly. "I'm trying to tell you that I love you."

Yvonne's tears disappeared. She looked up at Christopher, drying off her cheeks with a sleeve. She told herself that she was imagining it, that Christopher hadn't really said he loved her. But…

"What did you just say?" she asked. 

"I love you," Christopher said. There was a hint of a giggle to his voice. 

Yvonne couldn't believe that this was really happening. Christopher had regained his memories and retained his feelings for her. She found it hard to believe that he had regained his memories with the power of love, but a win was a win. She hugged him even tighter than she had before, and he kissed her on the top of her head. 

She looked up at him, feeling the rough wool of his red sweater against her cheek. 

"You know," she said coyly. "I think I love you, too."

Christopher smiled and leaned in for a kiss. 

[SFX: quick knocking]

Christopher and Yvonne jumped apart and spun in the direction of the sound. Tom Sawyer, who they had completely forgotten about, was standing in the doorway, looking right at them. Yvonne blushed and pulled away from Christopher, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. A cheeky grin broke out across his face.

"Sorry to disturb you," he said slowly. "There's someone at the front door for you."

Christopher and Yvonne exchanged a glance. 

"Better come and see," said Tom. 

Tom led them through the living room to the front door, where a short skinny man with dark hair was standing. Mark the spy, wearing blue jeans and a white polo shirt, smiled at them in greeting. 

"Howdy!" He said. "Christopher, Yvonne. Pleasure to be seeing you again."

"Hello?" Yvonne said, slightly taken aback. "Mark, what are you doing here?"

"Alex sent me," he said. "Said he wants you guys back at the house."

"But why?" asked Christopher. 

Mark shrugged. "If you want to find out, I guess you could come with me."

Yvonne looked at Christopher, confused. Then, she turned back to Mark.

"Do we have to answer right away?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I can give you guys a few minutes if you need," he offered. "I don't think he's expecting you right away."

"Please," Christopher said, exchanging a concerned glance with Yvonne. "I think we need a minute or two to talk this over."

Mark drew his lips into a thin line and shrugged his shoulders again, then headed upstairs to use the bathroom.

"Oh my god…" Yvonne said, breathing heavily. She buried her face in her hands and turned around, making for the living room. "This can't be real."

Pursuing her, Christopher followed her into the living room and rested his hands on her shoulders. She was tense, her shoulders hunched together and up to her ears. Christopher set to work massaging her, trying to ease some of the tension, but he could feel that it wasn't working.

"It's going to be okay," he said reassuringly.

"Why couldn't he just text us?" Yvonne asked, shrugging Christopher off and turning to face him. There was pain in her expression. "Or even call? Why did he have to send Mark the spy to collect us?" She rammed her fingers into her hair, her eyes wide with panic. "This is a nightmare. Christopher, why is this such a nightmare?"

Christopher backed away a few steps, trying to think of what to say. Yvonne was displaying the frustration and panic that he felt. He and Yvonne had been having a nice moment, having had their first kiss and processing the fact that they had, at some point during his amnesia, fallen in love. Then, all of a sudden, they were expected to run to Alex just because he summoned them with his faithful little spy, Mark. Christopher was boiling with rage, but he kept it under control and allowed Yvonne her space to vent.

She turned to look at him, and Christopher reached out to hold her. She fell into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist, drawing the two of them closer together.

"Why is this such a nightmare?" she asked again, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Christopher exhaled. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I think it might have something to do with the fact that we finally have a moment to ourselves, and suddenly we're pulled back into Alex's, well, pull. Kind of like he's a center of gravity and everyone who knows him has no choice by to be a part of whatever solar system he thinks he's building."

Yvonne chuckled, and Christopher was glad to hear it.

"So what do we do?" Yvonne asked, pulling away from Christopher and looking up at him with her beautiful eyes. Christopher could get lost in the way she looked at him.

Christopher shook his head and scratched at the back of his neck, looking away from her. That was a question he had started to wonder about, too. On the one hand, he and Alex had been very good friends for a very long time. He couldn't just abandon Alex for no reason. On the other hand, Christopher was just about starting to have his fill with the drama. First, the super soldiers, then the drama with him and Debbie and Kylie, and then the various kidnappings, one of which resulted in Christopher losing his memory.

Christopher wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. His shoulders sagged and he folded his arms, looking at Yvonne.

There's only one possible solution, Christopher thought, if we want some peace.

"I think we both know what we need to do," Christopher said in a quiet voice.

Much to his relief, Yvonne closed her eyes and nodded her understanding.

"How do we tell him?" she asked in a soft voice.

Just as Christopher was getting ready to answer, Mark came down the stairs, his footsteps loud. Both Yvonne and Christopher went back to the hallway to fin him standing in front of the door. He looked at them and held his hands out expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. "Have you decided either way?"

Yvonne and Christopher exchanged a glance. They looked at each other for a long moment as decided how best to answer the question. Yvonne closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to break the silence.

"Actually," Yvonne said, turning to Mark. "We have." She looked at Mark with sad eyes, but Christopher saw the relief in her posture. "Can you pass along a message to Alex?"

"Sure," Mark said, shrugging his shoulders. "What do you need?"