章節 27: The Aftermath

You give the phone to the Admiral. You stand up and you're about to leave.

"Thank you so much, sir"

"No need to thank me. I'm the one that needs to thank you"

You nod your head and turn around walking out of the door. You feel a mountain of emotions building up in you. You start to run towards the ocean. You run as fast as you can. You fall on your knees in the sand and make sure there's no one in sight. You put your hands into your face and start to cry. It doesn't just stay at simply crying but soon turns into sobbing. Your mind is filled with memories of you and John. All the memories and times you had with him fills your entire being.

You suddenly wonder if you made the right decision to break his heart and unknowingly your heart too. You know it's going to be difficult to break up with him but the feeling inside you now exceeds what you thought you would feel.

(Do I regret my decision? Should I have stayed with him? Should I have still given him the hope that there could've been a chance for our relationship?)

You look up at the ocean and you hear the waves crashing against the rocks. You feel the tears getting dry on your cheeks.

(Am I doing the right thing? Am I the one who's in the wrong here?)

"Dammit, I'm so sorry, John. I'll love you forever"

You slowly get up, picking up a rock. You kiss the rock and then throw it into the ocean.

"Goodbye, John"

You turn around and make your way back to the base. You wipe the tears from your eyes and you feel the exhaustion starting to kick in. You feel like every bone in your body aches and you know you're not completely healed yet. You walk towards the hospital tent, walking back to your bed.

You want to get into your bed but you can't stop yourself to just check on Nick's vitals one last time. You walk toward his bed and you see him sleeping peacefully. You stand next to him and you see his handsome face on the pillow. You're immediately enveloped by his musky scent and you suddenly realize that this is starting to feel like home for you, being next to him.

All the feelings you just experienced suddenly calms down and you know that you made the right choice. You needed to break up with John, no matter how hard it is. Because this is where you belong now, next to Nick. You need to be here with Nick and John needs to be with someone back home. You whisper in a very softly.

"I'm here for you Nick for as long as you need me…"

You give his hand a soft kiss and then go back to your bed, getting some much needed rest.

NICK'S POINT OF VIEW

He feels himself drifting in and out of sleep. He keeps dreaming about the attacker that tried to attack you and in every one of the dreams he's always just a few seconds too late to save you. Then he would turn around and he'll dream the same dream again. He wants to turn around when he smells lavender and he knows that it's you standing next to his bed.

He's just about to fall asleep again when he hears your words and feels you kissing his hand. Your kiss sends an electric current through his body and the current resides in the chore of his being. He feels as you depart from him, leaving your lavender scent behind. He can help as serenity overcomes him. He can only bath in the feelings it brings to him. He usually doesn't experience a lot of peace in his life, whether it's in the work he does or the relationships he has had, so this is very new to him. He doesn't quite know what he must do with this new feeling but he knows this one thing.

He must end things with Helena.

KIM'S POINT OF VIEW

You wake up the next morning and feel so much better than yesterday. You're waking up at the break of dawn. You look at Nick next to you and see how peaceful he looks. Then everything hits you all at once again. You broke up with John last night. You broke his heart. You're single now. You don't know how to feel but you know that you can't be here when Nick wakes up because he'll just put you under his spell again. Then you know that there will be very little keeping you from him, knowing that you are a free woman now.

You know that there's Helena but she doesn't even care for him and you also know that should you do something you'll never forgive yourself for being the one that broke Nick and Helena's relationship. You quickly get out of bed and moves as softly as possible. You walk passed Nick's bed and just check his vitals once more to make sure he's okay. Then you turn and walk out of the tent.

You feel the cool wind blowing against your face and you hear the ocean singing in the distance. You take a deep breath.

(It's a new day. It's a new life for me. It's a new beginning and I hope that Nick will be the one I could spend my new life with. I'll just have to wait for him. He needs to see the truth about Helena by himself. I just hope he'll do it very soon because I want to be with him…so damn much)

You make your way back to your tent and then sleep a bit more until it's time for you to go to work. You stand up and get ready for your day.

NICK'S POINT OF VIEW

He wakes up and his first thought is of you. He turns his head to see your beautiful face but all his sees is a neatly made bed. He groans with frustration and then he feels a hand on his. He smiles and then turns to the other side. He's so happy that you're sitting next to him. He opens his eyes and then he sees something he didn't want to see.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?"

"Helena?"

"Yeah, baby, who else would it be?"

He feels extreme disappointment filling his being and all the energy that he just got from sleeping is leaving him in an instant. He feels how his body is getting tired but not as tired as his thoughts. He wanted to see your face and feel your hand on his but then, then it only was Helena.

(Yes, I wanted to see Kim, not Helena. I've never wanted someone so bad as I do Kim. I've never had this kind of desire for Helena. Even when we were just starting to date, the intense feelings I've got for Kim does not even compare to the no-feelings I feel Helena. So what am I feeling for Helena….she's a friend, only a friend. I should end it….and end it now)

"Helena, we need to talk"

"I'm listening, Nick, baby. What do you want to talk about?"

"Helena, we've known each other for how long now?"

"Almost a year now, why? Why do you ask that?"

"We've had some good times, didn't we?"

"Yeah baby, some of the best? What are you getting-"

Tracy comes running up to Helena. "Dr, it's Mark, come, quick"

Helena jumps up and runs further into the tent, leaving Nick with his thoughts