Title: If I Never Knew You (3/?)

  Authors: Sarah ([email protected]) and Alex ([email protected])

  Disclaimer: See part 1

 

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  She and Rick had been getting to know one another all over again. It was odd to both of them, and it brought many little fights, but also some fun moments. She was flipping through a book, reading about ancient egyptian mummification and she smiled. "Did you know that they took the brain out through the nose?" she said, following him around the house.

 

  Rick chuckled, remembering the first time she had told him the exact same thing so many years ago. "Yeah, I heard something about that," he replied, making his way down to the kitchen, her close behind. Ever since he had brought her home, she had stayed close to him as if afraid to leave his side. Not that he minded of course, but he did worry sometimes. "What do you feel like having for breakfast?" he asked her.

 

  "Oh I'm not really hungry," Evie told him and pulled her hair back into a braid. "Listen, they took the objects out and put them into canopic jars. Can you believe that, that has to be the most disgusting thing I have ever heard." She made a face and then laughed. "I like this stuff?" she queried, climbing up onto the counter.

 

  "Like it? You're obsessed with it," he told her, turning round to gently place a kiss to the tip of her nose before going back to getting breakfast ready. "You're sure you don't want anything to eat? How about some tea?"

 

  She still couldn't believe it. "But it's so horrible and grotesque." She sighed. It always surprised her when he kissed her nose or her forehead or her cheeks. She never let his lips grace her own though. "No, I'm really fine, thank you."

 

  He shrugged, going back to his place at the stove. "Suit yourself," he said. She had never eaten much before the accident, so he wasn't too worried by this. It wasn't long before he was finished and he sat down at the table, ready to eat. "Wanna join me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows when she stayed put on the counter top.

 

  She shook her head, but in the end did climb down off the counter and over to the table to sit beside him. She was captivated by him for some reason and shook her head. She needed to get away from this man, he was driving her senses berserk. She fumbled with the locket she always seemed to wear.  

 

  He looked up at her, smiling when she fidgeted nervously. She seemed afraid to be around him at times, yet she was reluctant to leave him alone. He speared a forkful of the scrambled eggs that he'd made and lifted it up. "Open up," he said. "You always enjoyed my cooking before. Have a little taste."

 

  She shifted nervously, but leaned her head forward and took the eggs off the fork. Her eyes closed as she tasted it. The very flavour of it felt familiar, yet she couldn't place it. She gave a soft moan as if the mere taste gave her some sort of pleasure.

 

  He bit his lip upon hearing her moan, used to hearing it in rather different circumstances. He shifted a little in his seat, so tempted to lean forward and capture her mouth with his, but he held back, guiding another forkful to her. "We used to feed each other like this all the time," he sighed, watching her eat.

 

  Evie pulled back and blushed, batting her eyelashes softly. "Did we? I can see why, it's sort of fun," she said and then stood up. She took his glass to the sink to wash it. she tried to get her mind off the place it wanted to travel which was that she was exceedingly attracted to this man.

 

  Rick sighed when she pulled away, finishing off the rest of his breakfast and then picking up his plate, carrying it over to where she was busying herself with the sink. He placed it into the sink and then snaked his arms around her, nuzzling the back of her neck and stroking his hands over her stomach. "I love you, Evie," he said softly.

 

  She stiffened at his touch. It excited her and terrified her all at once and she backed away, untangling herself. "I suppose I should go to work right? I mean I have to make sure this family gets taken care of." She set the things aside and walked out of the room.

 

  He followed her into the parlour, sitting down on the sofa. "You took time off work, remember?" he reminded her gently. "And right now, Alex is at school, Johnathan is asleep. Maybe we should catch up on some more reading?" he suggested, knowing that she still didn't want him too close right now, however much he longed to touch her.

 

  "Reading what?" she asked suspiciously and sat down on the opposite couch. She watched him curiously and her eyes once in a while glazed over into desire. She tried to not show how much her mind longed for his lips against hers.

 

  He reached for the few books she'd left on the table a short while ago. She tended to do that lately, pick something up, take it someplace and then completely forgetting where she'd left it. "Well, let's see what we have today," he said, leafing through the first book. "Gods and Goddesses of Egypt or..." he smiled when he picked up the other book. "Curse of the Pharaohs, a little something that I believe you wrote."

 

  She picked them up and sighed. "Am I really this boring?" she asked and set them down again. "I want to go out on adventures and explore the vast regions of the world, not sit around and read." She lay back on the couch, stretching her legs up into the air as if she was a bored child and tried to touch her toes.

 

  He smiled, placing the books down on the sofa and he sat back and watched her. "We'll go out on adventures soon," he told her. "Just not right now. It won't be long until we go out on another dig in Egypt. You've always loved those."

 

  Evie let her legs drop and stared up at ceiling. How could she ask all the questions on her mind? She sighed and pulled back sitting up to look at him. Her hands fell to her lap and she brushed an invisible speck of dust off her lap, sitting in silence for long moments.

 

  He waited until he couldn't stand the sound of silence any more. "Okay, so no more reading," he said, finally speaking. "We could go for a walk out in the gardens?" he suggested, getting to his feet. "Come on, it'll be fun," he told her, pulling her up.

 

  She took his arm and nodded. "Yes, all right, Rick. I suppose we could go for a walk outside, some fresh air should do both of us some good." She got her coat and then headed out the door with him close behind her. "I'll say one thing, we have a lovely house and location."

 

  "Yeah, we do," he agreed, taking her hand and holding it with his. They walked out into the garden and he smiled when he caught sight of Alex's swing. He remembered his son begging him to make one for him about a year ago and he smiled, leading her over to it. "Sit down," he told her. "Let me push you for a while. It'll cheer you up."

 

  She sat down, making sure her dress was tucked under her. She smiled something felt familiar about this and she got a quick image of pushing Alex in it and him nearly falling off, she paused but then it was gone and she shook it off. "Will you push me high?" she asked.

 

  Rick grinned, pulling back on the swing and then letting go, pushing her for a while before she gained momentum and could do it herself and he stood beside the swing, watching her with a smile on her face. She looked so happy and carefree right now, almost like the old Evelyn. "Having fun?" he teased.

 

  She leaned back in the swing, her hair practically dusting the ground. She smiled and laughed lightly, just loving the feel of the wind in her hair and the swing going higher and higher. "Rick I can touch the sky!" she exclaimed and looked down at him.

 

  He laughed along with her, leaning against the old oak tree and just watching her swing, enjoying seeing her so happy. Since the accident, she had often been frustrated and nervous so it was a change to see her in high spirits. "Careful, Evie, I can see up your skirt," he said, laughing.

 

  She giggled. "You don't have permission to see up my skirt," she said and took off her jacket and threw it down at him, covering his face while she continued to swing. She felt so relaxed and happy. It was times like this she could forget that she had...well, forgotten.

 

  He grinned, pulling the coat off his head and folding it up, draping it over his arm. It had been a good ten minutes or so until she began to slow down, out of tiredness he guessed. "Want to go back inside or shall we keep walking?" he questioned.

 

  She shook her head. "Let's keep walking," she replied and let him continue to carry her coat. The warmth of the spring day was comforting and she loved to look at the flowers growing and the trees getting green. She smiled and ran ahead of him. She hadn't spent much time in the gardens but she wanted to explore and she gripped his hand pulling him along, like a child at a fair.

 

  Rick stopped for a moment, letting go of her hand and picking one of the small flowers. He had no clue what sort it was other than it was pink and it was pretty. He caught up with her again as she sniffed at some of the roses and he placed the flower in her hair, suddenly feeling about four years old again. "You look really beautiful," he told her, smiling. "I haven't seen you this happy for a while, Evie."

 

  She smiled and she too felt like a child again, pinning flowers in her hair and swinging and running through the grass. She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her smile widened, feeling such a new feeling rush through her. Suddenly, she was moving her lips closer to his, wanting to be kissed. She pulled back at the last minute and turned around. "You can't catch me."

 

  He blinked in surprise, a little confused. One minute she had been about to kiss him, the next she was challenging him to catch her. He grinned. "Okay, I'll give you a head start," he called. "You start running, then I'll chase after you. If I win, I get to kiss you."

 

  She nodded, not knowing what to say to that. "One little kiss, nothing more," she told him and took off down the hill and out into the back fields. She jumped over the fence into the paddock and her horse came right over to her. It was as if she had never forgotten and she climbed up onto the horse, holding tightly to her mane as they ran through the field.

 

  Rick ran over to the paddock, frowning when she charged off on her horse like that. "Hey, no fair!" he yelled. "You never mentioned anything about horses!" He threw up his hands and jogged over to his horse Thunderbolt, feeling a little unsure about riding without being properly saddled up, but he figured what the hell and jumped up. "Come on, guy, we have a race to win!" he yelled, taking off after Evie.

 

  She smiled and ran circles around him, always a better horse rider than he was. She eased her horse into a gallop and right over the fence. Amunet was a special horse to her and they shared a bond that not even memory loss seemed to break. She took off into the forest ahead of him. "Give up, Rick! I've always been better then you!" she shouted, though she didn't know how she knew she was a better rider.

 

  "Maybe, but I'm not a quitter!" he yelled. "And I want that kiss!" He kicked his horse into a gallop and chased off after her into the woods. When he got there, however, he saw no sign of her. He slowed down a little, wondering where she could be hiding. "Evie?" he called out.

 

  She held her horse in hiding, waiting for him to come close enough. When he did, she shot out of the evergreen and cut him off, galloping a fast circle around him and over the side. She laughed out at his confusion and hurried off down the trail.

 

  He sighed, shaking his head before taking off after her. "Gonna make me work for it, huh?" he muttered, starting to chase her down the trail, but then stopped. He turned Thunderbolt around and rode off back into the woods, hoping to come out the other end and cut her off.

 

  Evie thought she had everything under control and she stopped, thinking she was way ahead of him as she couldn't hear a thing. Her heart was racing and she looked ahead of her, trying to figure out where he was. "Rick? Oh, Richard!" she called out.

 

  It was during her pause to stop and call out for him that gave him the time to find his way out of the woods and up the trail heading towards her. He grinned, getting Thunderbolt to run faster and he stopped right in front her before she had a chance to run off again, grabbing onto her sleeve. "I believe I caught you," he said, grinning and breathing hard.

 

  He had completely scared her, jumping out in front of her like that and she was catching her breath from being spooked. "Yes, I do believe you are right and that I am caught. It took you long enough though." She smiled and eased her horse closer to his, letting his hand hold to her.  

 

  Rick's grin faded when she got closer and his hand trailed up from her arm to her cheek, gently stroking his thumb over her warm skin. His gaze fell upon her mouth, and he licked his lips, looking up into her eyes. "And I think you owe me a kiss too," he murmured.

 

  She nodded. "That was the agreement." Her heart was racing as she came closer to him and the gentle nature of his hand against her cheek was inviting. She couldn't believe how her heart ached to kiss this man. She leaned in a little, allowing him to carry out what she knew he wanted, what they both wanted.

 

  He leaned forward, his lips seeking out her own and finally meeting them, pressing against them softly. God, he had missed this. They hadn't kissed like this since before the accident. His hand moved to tangle in her hair, keeping her mouth to him, but not deepening the kiss, not wanting to scare her off despite the fact that he wanted more. 

 

  The horse shifted a bit, but she didn't notice, her hand coming up to rest on his shoulder. Had he always had this ability to make her blood rush, to completely take control of her body with his lips simply against hers? She sighed against his mouth, letting him linger.

 

  He was unable to stop himself from pushing his tongue into her mouth. He knew he shouldn't be so demanding of her like this, but he couldn't stop himself. He was hungry for the taste of her mouth and he moaned a little, stroking his tongue over hers.

 

  Evie gasped, but wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, holding to him and nearly slipping off her horse at one point. She let his mouth move against hers, let him kiss her passionately, longing for closeness and security.

 

  He broke the kiss, sliding down off his horse and pulling her off hers, taking her into his arms and lowering his head to capture her lips once again. He tried to bring himself to slow down, to stop, but he couldn't. It had been too long since they had done this and he moaned softly, squeezing her tighter.

 

  She wrapped her arms up around his neck, not taking a moment to think about what she was doing. If she stopped to think, then she might get scared, might pull back and she didn't want to do that.  

 

  Rick felt encouraged when she didn't pull away and he deepened the kiss, his tongue re-familiarising himself with her mouth. He pulled her closer, letting his hips rock against her stomach, making his arousal know to her, unable to stop himself from pulling back at this point.

 

  She gasped at that, knowing that this man wanted her. It wasn't that that scared her so much, it was the fact that she wanted him in return. She pulled back a slightly to stare at him, blinking her eyes to readjust to the light. "I..."

 

  He frowned when he realised that her mouth was no longer on his, but he sought to remedy that by focusing his attentions on her neck. He kissed the sweet spot under her jaw, sucking there lightly. "What is it?" he murmured, letting his tongue dart out to lap at the hollow of her throat.

 

  She shook her head. "We can't do this...It's not right." She was trembling in his arms, ready to completely melt against him and she frowned and held to him, not sure of what to do.  

 

  "Yes, it is," he insisted, completely lost in his desire for her. He was aware that the doctor had told him not to push her for sex, but he was tired of how she was always afraid to get too close to him and now that he had her, he wasn't about to let her go. His mouth found hers again and his hands trailed down her back, cupping her bottom and pulling her against him.

 

  She was so confused by him. She wanted him against her, wanted to feel him warm and naked, but it also scared her. "No...please, not right now," she told him. She pulled back when normally she would have already been on the forest ground making love to her husband.

 

  Rick groaned in frustration, letting his hands fall from her and his shoulders heaved on a sigh. "I'm sorry," he said softly, cursing himself for pushing her too hard. "I got carried away...I'm sorry." He wiped a hand over his mouth and looked away from her. "We should go back," he said finally, walking over to his horse and starting to lead him back, waiting for her to follow him.

 

  She watched him go and his horse made its way over to its beloved owner. She buried her face into her horse's mane and sobbed out, feeling completely distraught. Why couldn't she just remember? Obviously she had a child by this man, why couldn't she let him make love to her like they both wanted?

 

  He turned upon hearing the sound of her sobs and his heart ached to run up and take her in his arms again, wanting to make it all better, but he knew she wouldn't want him near her after that little episode. He was angry with himself for losing control like that, but he waited for her to catch up and gently touched her sleeve. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

 

  She nodded and ran her fingers through the mane of her horse. She wanted to disappear, but how could she run away from her family?   She sighed and let her horse move closer to his. "I'm scared Rick," she admitted and leaned her head against his shoulder, still not wanting to be far from him.

 

  He let his arm wind move round her shoulders as they walked. "You don't have to be," he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you, Evie. The last thing I'd do is hurt you." He squeezed her gently and smiled tentatively. He wanted to promise her that she'd be safe with him, but he couldn't guarantee her that any more. He wanted her, they both knew that, but it was just a matter of having to wait and be patient. "Come on, let's put these guys back and go home."

 

  She nodded and finally, they got the horses back into the paddock. She brushed off her dress and sighed. Why couldn't life ever be easy? As she watched him walk ahead of her, something sparked in her mind and she just had to say it. "Why did you kiss me, Mr. O'Connell?" she asked suddenly.

 

  Rick turned around, not sure he had heard her properly. "What did you say?" he asked, frowning. The expression on her face was odd to say the least and he walked up to her, waving his hand in front of her. "Hey, are you all right?"

 

  She felt as if she was staring into nothing and everything all at once. She heard in her mind the familiar noise of water against the boat. She had been reading a book of some sort. "Why did you kiss me, Mr. O'Connell?" she repeated.

 

  "Because I wanted to," he replied, still not exactly sure where she was going with this. He smiled softly at her. "And because that's what a husband and wife tend to do." He placed a hand to her cheek, worried when she still looked a little distant. "Earth calling Evie," he teased. "Honey, wake up."

 

  She shook her head. "That's not what you said before. You said, 'I was about to be hanged, it seemed like a good idea at the time.'" She tried to remember more of it, of storming off, of being angry at the kiss.

 

  His eyebrows raised when he finally realised what she had been talking about. His heart leapt when he realised that she was recalling what had happened back on the barge, before they had gone out to Hamunaptra. "That's right," he said encouragingly. "You saved me from getting hanged. Do you remember anything else?"

 

  She took a step toward him, slowly picking up on a couple of little things. "It was stuffy...you were in a prison. You called me a 'broad' and said I wasn't a total loss. You were the most...untamed looking thing I had ever seen."

 

  He laughed out loud at that. "Well, I'd definitely say you saw me at my worst that day," he said, shaking his head. He stepped up a little closer, placing a hand on her cheek. "Do you remember the first time we ever kissed?" he asked, pushing her in the hope that she'd uncover more memories.

 

  She moved closer to him. "Yes, you grabbed my cheeks and yelled 'do it lady.' I was so shocked I could hardly think. I didn't know what to do and then you were being dragged off to be hung and I couldn't focus. I remember I was willing to do anything to save you."

 

  He smiled, rubbing her cheek gently. "And you did save me," he said softly. "You walked into that hell hole and saved my life and that's when I fell ass over teapot in love with you." He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Is anything else coming back to you yet?"

 

  She paused for a long moment, desperately thinking, but nothing else came. "No." She sighed and hung her head. She didn't know what to do, but she collapsed against his arms. At least one little memory had come back.

 

  Rick held her close, swaying her in his arms. "Sssh, it's okay," he said soothingly. "You've started remembering and that's great sweetheart, you're doing better than the doctor said you would." He kissed her forehead again. "How are you feeling now?"

 

  "I feel kind of weak," she admitted and dropped her head back against his shoulder. She held onto him as they walked out of the paddock and into the house. She wanted to be close to him. "When did you know you wanted to marry me?"

 

  He guided her to the couch, taking a seat and pulling her into his lap, holding her close. "I knew I wanted to marry you when we got back from Hamunaptra," he told her, not expecting her to remember what Hamunaptra was right now. "On the way back to Cairo, you finally let me in, you let me get close to you, just like now. I knew that I loved you and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." He chuckled softly. "But I was so nervous about asking you though."

 

  She had tears in her eyes as she listened to him talk. She lay her head against his broad chest. "How close did I let you get to me? Did we make love?" she asked, not sure what he meant by close.

 

  "Yes, we made love," he replied. "We made love for the first time on our wedding night." He smiled as his mind cast back. "We were on our honeymoon and I carried you over the threshold of our rented room. You were nervous as hell, but all I could think about was how beautiful you looked in that dress of yours. And how I was so happy that you'd decided to be my wife."

 

  She leaned against him. "It must have been nice that night. Making love to you for hours all night long." She sighed, running her hand through his hair. "Do you think someday I will want to again...that you will want to with me?"

 

  He smoothed her hair back from her face. "Of course I still want to make love to you," he said softly. "That's what happened this afternoon. I kinda got so caught up in wanting you, in wanting to make love to you, that I forgot that I'm not supposed to push you too hard." He rested his forehead against hers. 

 

  She nodded. "It's okay, I kind of wanted it too. I've never wanted anything so much." She smiled. "Maybe I haven't I guess I wouldn't really remember it if I did." She said trying to make light of the situation.

 

  He smiled, nuzzling her nose with his. When he opened his eyes, he realised how close he was to her. Close enough to kiss, he thought, his gaze straying to her lips. He closed his eyes again, leaning over that last little distance. He could feel her warm breath against his lips and he almost made contact when the sound of the door flying open distracted him

 

  Alex's eyes widened when he saw his mum and dad like that. It had been a long time since he had seen his parents participate in 'mushy stuff' and he didn't think he'd ever been so grateful to see it. Maybe now things would start getting back to normal. "Hi, mum. Hi, dad," he said, leaping up onto the sofa next to them.

 

  She blushed and was a bit upset that Alex had interrupted a private moment, but she pushed it aside. "Hey there, kiddo." She ran her hand over his hair, then pulled it back. She offered a smile to the boy she still couldn't remember giving birth to.  

 

  He grinned, a grin that was very much like his father's and he went to get something out of his schoolbag. "I made something for you in class today, mum," he said, rummaging around, pulling out various books, pens and even a pair of gym shorts, but he finally found what he was looking for. He carefully lifted out the necklace he'd made out of pasta pieces for her and held it out to her. "It took me all morning to make it," he informed her. "Do you like it?"

 

  She took it into her hands and ran her thumbs over the pieces. "Oh Alex, it's beautiful, I love it," she replied sincerely, tears in her eyes. These people...they loved her, Alex, Jonathan and Rick. She smiled and let him put it on over her head. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever gotten."

 

  His grin widened at that. It finally felt like he had his old mum back. "And you know what?" he asked, starting to bounce on the sofa. "Mrs. Foster gave us our Math test today and I got a gold star!" He pulled out his exercise book, proudly showing it to his parents. "She says that I'm really clever, but that I talk too much."

 

  She was really getting attached to this little boy. "Oh goodness, you are doing so well. But you had better be quiet so you don't get in trouble." She winked at him and looked to Rick. "Does he get that from you or me?" She asked, pulling Alex into her arms.

 

  Rick laughed, reaching out to ruffle his son's hair, getting the usual protest. "The intelligence he gets from you, sweetheart, but I think I'd have to say that he inherited the smart mouth from me."

 

  Alex grinned, snuggling up to his mother and peering over her shoulder at his father. "Dad, look, I can open my mouth reeeeally wide," he announced, showing him.

 

  "Yes, he definitely gets that from you." She smiled and leaned forward kissing her son's cheek and pulling him close to her breast. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, when you're not happy, my skies are grey you'll never know dear how much I love you so don't take my sunshine away." She smiled finishing the song and then tickled Alex.

 

  He giggled, squirming in her lap and trying to get away. "Stop it, mum!" he laughed, trying to get her away. when she didn't stop though, he began to laugh even harder. "Dad, make her stop!" he shrieked, giggling hysterically. "I'm going to pee myself!"

 

  She smacked his bottom quickly. "Go to the potty then and get cleaned up for dinner, I'm going to cook." She climbed off the sofa and her husband's lap. She didn't remember in the slightest that she wasn't a very good cook though. "I was thinking of going Italian, so go get cleaned up, Alex."

 

  He looked up at her, frowning. "But, mum, dad always cooks," he said in confusion. "The last time you cooked, you set the kitchen curtains on fire."

 

  Rick shushed him. "It's okay, Alex, I'll be there to help her out," he said. "You go and bother your uncle some more."

 

  She groaned. "I can cook fine, thank you very much," she retorted and made her way into the kitchen, stopping to poke at Rick. "And I don't need help." She started getting ready to cook, heating water and adding spices to the tomato sauce. "Make sure he does his homework," she called out.

 

  Rick just looked at Alex and shrugged. "If she messes things up, I'll take us out to a restaurant," he suggested and Alex grinned.

 

  "Yay!" he said. He giggled. "Come on, dad, you can help me with my homework."

 

  "I heard that!" Evie shouted in frustration as she added more of fresh herbs into her sauce and tasted it. Finally after another half hour, she had the table set nicely. "Dinner time," she announced and served pasta and meatballs, pouring on the sauce. "Well, aren't you going to taste it?"

 

  Alex poked at one of the meatballs, pushing it around his plate. "Mum, they look a little weird," he commented, picking out some of the herbs.

 

  Rick actually tried some of her creation and tried not to make a face as he swallowed it without chewing. "This is great," he lied. "Really, really great."

 

  She frowned and knew they were lying, it was easy to see it in their eyes. She threw down her napkin. "Fine, great, just great. Go ahead and eat whatever you want," she said huffily, feeling hurt and she quickly left the room.

 

  Rick cleaned up in the kitchen, sending Alex off back into the parlour to finish up with his homework before going back upstairs to look for Evie. He found her in the spare room she had been sleeping in ever since the accident. "Hey, honey, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

 

  She finished writing something down and took off her glasses, turning to him. "Yes, I am fine," she snapped and set down the glasses and closed the book. She put it away in a drawer. She grabbed her coat. "I think I'm going to go for a while."

 

  He caught her before she could go rushing out of the door. "Woah woah, hold on there," he said. He was still reluctant to let her out on her own. "I was only kidding about the dinner thing." He pulled her into his arms. "How about the three of us go out together, hmm?" he asked. "How's that sound?"

 

  Evie shook her head. "No, I think I need some time alone. You take care of Alex." She pulled free and marched over to the dresser, grabbing out some clothes and throwing them into a bag. "I'm sorry, but I don't belong here. I'm just not who you think I am."

 

  He stopped her, gently taking the bag from her and making her look at him. "Evie, listen to me," he said softly. "You're exactly who you are. You're my wife, Alex's mother. And I know that sometimes you feel angry and frustrated when things don't work out, but together we can see them through." He took her into his arms again. "Please stay. I need you here with me."

 

  She sighed and leaned against him. "I'm sick of this, I'm not anyone without my mind. You don't need some person around who can't even cook right so just...just..." She stopped and wrapped her arms around his waist sobbing into his chest, wanting him to comfort her.

 

  He held her tightly to him, swaying her a little. "Sssh, honey, it's okay," he murmured. "You couldn't cook even before the accident, so don't worry about that." He kissed the top of her head. "I need you so much, Evie, despite what you think. I love you so much."

 

  She sighed, holding tightly to him. "I don't know why you need me so much, but I'll stay." She moved away from him and sat down on the guest bed. She awkwardly smoothed her hand over the duvet. "Fine, we'll go out to dinner." 

 

  Rick smiled, getting her stuff unpacked and handing her coat, helping her into it. "It'll work out, you'll see. Tonight we'll all go out and it'll be just like old times." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then went out to get Alex ready.

 

  She smiled and nodded. "All right just like old times." She finished putting her things away and then headed downstairs. She smiled as Alex took her hand and led him out the door.