| Chapter 8 Tara sat on her bed waiting for Tracy. She had gotten up before the sun had risen, taking her shower and getting ready for the day. She knew that Nick had been up late the night before, but she needed to talk to him. She couldn't wait any longer. Tracy walked into the room, "You needed to see me?" "Yeah, I need to talk to Nick," Tara said. "He's sleeping right now," Tracy said, "Maybe when he wakes up." Tara shook her head, "No, I need to talk to him now. I can't wait anymore." Tracy sighed, "Honey, why don't you have some breakfast, and maybe by then he will be up." "I already ate," Tara said, "Please Tracy. I have to work this out with him before you let the others see us." Tracy stared at her for a moment, debating on wether or not to grant her wish. "Please," Tara begged. Tracy sighed, "Alright, but just for a little while. He's made a lot of progress, but he still has a long way to go." Tara nodded, following Tracy out of her room and down the hall to Nicks. They quietly walked into his room. Tracy nodded to the guards, motioning for them to leave the room. Tara walked around the bed, reaching up and unplugging the camera as she went. Tracy stood next to the door, watching, as Tara sat on the side of the bed and looked at Nick. He was sleeping soundly, the sun peaking through the window and reflecting in his hair. Tara took a deep breath and placed her hand over his eyes. Nick blinked his eyes a few times, staring up at her. "Tara?" he asked, still not sure if he was dreaming or really awake. She smiled, "Yeah, it's me." Nick sat up in bed as tears came to his eyes, "I'm so sorry," he said, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "I did such awful things to you, I'm so sorry," he cried. Tara held him, trying to comfort him, "Nick, it's alright." He shook his head, "No it's not. What I did was unforgivable. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again." Tara pulled out of the hug and stared at him. "Nick, nothing could be farther from the truth. I don't blame you for what happened. I know that you were another person for a while, I don't blame you for what he did," she said, reaching up and brushing the tears from his cheeks with her thumb. "But I...." Nick started. Tara shook her head, "Not you." "But..." Nick said again. Tara placed her finger over his lips, "I forgive you." Nick stared at her for the longest time, trying to process what she said. He couldn't understand how she could forgive him so easily. Tara could feel his mixed emotions. "Nick, I can forgive you because I know in my heart that you, the person you are right now, would never willingly hurt me. I know you love me and would never do anything like that. I don't blame you for what the other Nick did, I can't," she said. She watched as Nick's expression changed from one of regret and sorrow, to one of relief and thankfulness. "Thank you," he whispered, wiping at his tears. Tara smiled at him, getting up and going into the bathroom for a moment. She came back with some tissue and a glass of water, handing them to him. "Now we really need to talk," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn walked into the living room and headed straight for the kitchen. She needed coffee in the worst way. She quickly made a pot and while it was brewing she glanced into the living room at the monitors. She smiled, seeing that A.J. had once again slept on the couch, not wanting to miss anything important. She noticed that Tara wasn't in her room, and Nick's camera was out. "Hmm," she said, wondering what was going on that they didn't want them to see or hear. She shrugged, grabbing a mug from the cabinet. Whatever it was, she was sure they knew what they were doing with them. For the past few days she had watched in awe, seeing how the angels treated and ministered to Tara and Nick. Especially to Nick. Even when he was sleeping, he wasn't alone. There would be at least two guards with him, and sometimes others would come in, whispering to him. She never knew what they said, but she knew it was helping. Nick seemed to be coming back into his own with them, even smiling a few times. Lyn sighed as she took a sip of coffee. She walked into the living room and pulled the afghan over A.J., before walking over to Brian's room. She quietly opened the door, peaking in. He was asleep. She hadn't expected to find him any other way. He was so tired the night before that he skipped supper and went to bed. She and the guys had checked on him periodically through the evening. She knew something was wrong with him, and she could see in his eyes that he knew it to. He lied to her every time she asked how he felt, telling her that he was getting better. But she could see in his eyes that he wasn't. He looked worried about something, and a little frightened. That look scared her to death. She walked into the room, going over to the bed. He looked so peaceful, like nothing in the world mattered. She reached down, softly touching his cheek, silently wishing that he would tell her what it was that was worrying him. She watched him for a few more minutes before turning and leaving the room, heading to take a shower and get ready for what the day had to offer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick wiped his eyes and took a drink of water. "Talk about what?" he asked, a little worried. Tara glanced over at Tracy, then back to Nick, "Us." Nick felt his heart in his throat, "Us?" "Yeah," she nodded, "We need to figure out what's going on with us." Nick sighed and looked down at his hands, "What I told you before, about loving you....I meant every word, even if I was somewhat of a different person at the time." Tara took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart, "You really mean it? You've felt this way the entire time?" Nick nodded, looking up at her, "I never stopped loving you, ever. I think I love you more now than I did when we were together." Tara stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. She had hoped that he would still feel this way, but it still shocked her to hear it, and see it in his eyes when he looked at her. "What about Lyn? Don't you still love her?" Tara finally asked. Nick looked out the window, "I do, but it doesn't feel the same anymore. We used to be so connected, but I haven't felt it in a while now. I don't know if it's just me or what, but I know now why I never really committed to her, never asked her to marry me, although I wanted to, I just never could. I think because of you," he said looking back over at her, "I still loved you, and no matter how much I love Lyn, you're still there." Tara looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes any longer. Nick reached out and took her hand in his, "Tara, what you said when we were still at the house, did you mean it, or was it just part of the plan to get me back?" She closed her eyes for a second, then looked up at him, "I meant it. I never wanted to admit it to myself, but I've had a long time to think about this. I do still love you, I always have. And you're right about the connections being broken. I haven't felt anything from Brian since we got back. I'm not sure what that means, but I know that what I feel for you goes beyond anything we ever had when we were together." Nick smiled for a second, then it faded, "So what do we do? It's forbidden for us to be together." "I've been thinking about that to," Tara said, looking over at Tracy. "You said that nothing like this has ever happened before, right?" she asked. Tracy nodded, "As far as I know, no." "So there has never been two of us that have loved each other. It was always forbidden because the only reason they did it was for the sex, for the feelings that it gave them, right?" she asked. Tracy looked at her questioningly, "What are you getting at?" "Yeah, Tara, I don' t follow," Nick said, looking as confused as Tracy. Tara smiled at them both, "I think we should go to the counsel." Tracy stared at her, then a huge smile crossed her face, "You think it will work?" Tara shrugged, "Doesn't hurt to try." "Wait, what counsel?" Nick asked, "What are you talking about?" Tara squeezed his hand, "You'll see." Chapter 9 |