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You’re awake?” Nick asked the still body in complete shock.

Instinctively, he got up and walked over to the right side of her bed, the Teddy bear he bought her weeks earlier still by her side. He squatted down next to her, leveling himself to her resting position. He was scared. He wasn’t sure how to act. He didn’t know if she even remembered him, and he wasn’t sure what to say. He reached over and put his hand on hers, gripping it tightly, but not too tight.

“Nick?” The broken voice barely croaked out sounding slightly puzzled.

He smiled, happy she remembered him, “Yea,” his smiled widened, “yea, it’s me.”

Neither knew what to say. Emily was still clueless to what had happened, and Nick was so overjoyed that his mind was racing out of control again. He had so much he wanted to say to her and so many questions he wanted to ask that he didn’t know where to begin.

The worried side of Nick eventually took over, and Emily’s wellbeing became all that he truly cared about.

“Are you ok? Do you need me to get you anything?”

She smiled again, surprised by his generosity, “I’m fine, Nick,” she quietly said, her voice still crackly from going unused for so long. “What happened?”

He looked at her, saddened by the memories, “You were in an accident. You were hit by a drunk driver and you’ve been in a coma.”

“How long?”

“Six weeks.”

Emily’s eyes widened as the time frame registered in her mind. She couldn’t believe she had been unconscious for so long. She wanted to go berserk at the realization of losing so much of her life, but when she thought about it, she knew there was nothing she could do to change what happened.

“Why are you here?”

The question threw Nick off guard. He knew Emily would be surprised to see him, but he didn’t think her way of expressing it would be so heartless. He didn’t want to retaliate in a hostile way, but her comment had hurt him.

Instead of allowing an otherwise happy moment to turn ugly, Nick simply stated a fact and hoped it would make a positive impression on Emily.

“I’ve been here every day since the second day you were here, from 11:00am to 9:00pm.”

Nick’s answer surprised Emily. It made her happy that he seemed to care that much, but it also made her suspicious.

“Really?” She asked sounding amazed.

“Yea, really. Em, I was here for you like you needed me to be.” Nick looked here in the eyes so she knew he was serious. “I don’t ever want to let you down again.”

He stopped, contemplating his next move. Nick wanted nothing more than to confess his love for her right then and there, but he had a feeling the moment was far from right. Instead, he just stared at her and wondered what she was thinking.

Emily stared back, not knowing what to say. She was thankful, but she didn’t feel that that would have an impact. She was also in disbelief and she didn’t want to insult him. Neither knew what to say. Nick sensed the awkward feelings starting to mount and quickly attempted to continue the conversation.

“I’m so glad you’re awake, Emily. I was starting to go crazy. I felt so helpless.”

Her disbelief got the best of her and out of no where, Emily asked, “You were really here that much?”

“Every day, Em. You can ask Sam if you don’t believe me.”

“Sam hates you,” she informed him.

Nick couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Sam didn’t care for him in the passed, but he didn’t know her unfriendly feelings towards him were that strong.

Proudly, Nick informed Emily, “Nah, we’re ok. We might actually be friends.”

The look on Emily’s face was priceless to Nick. It was complete shock and disbelief. Those words were in that order was something Emily never thought she would encounter.

“I’m not sure I believe that.”

“Well, you’ll just have to ask her when she gets here.”

“I think I will.” She paused. Emily remembered all the times she cried because of Nick, but for some reason, waking up and seeing his face seemed to make reality a bit more comforting. “I’m really glad you’re here, Nick. I feel bad because I never would have expected it, but,” she paused again, “I guess it just makes me happy.”

Nick smiled, feeling like he had done something right for the first time in his life. “That’s all I care about, Em. You’re happiness.”

They smiled at each other, and the moment was right.


As soon as the doctors were informed that Emily was awake, they came rushing in, checking everything they could and running more tests than Nick knew existed. He felt so bad for Emily because he knew she hated hospitals and anything related to medical procedures. He stayed by her side through it all, holding her hand and supporting her in every way. The night was long, but this time, Nick refused to leave.

“Nick, visiting hours are over. I’m sorry, but you really can’t stay here,” Janet explained.

“Janet, she just woke up. Can’t you make an exception this one time. I don’t want to leave her all by herself.”

Emily listened to Nick’s plea, smiling as he impressed her with his sincerity.

“You know something? I wouldn’t normally make this exception, but I know how you feel about her, so I’ll keep my mouth shut, but just this once.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Nick reached out and hugged Janet excitedly.

He ran into Emily’s room. She was curious about what the nurse had meant by her reasoning. Feeling too tired to question it she just ignored the fact that she heard anything unusual and watched Nick as he happily entered the room.

“I’m spending the night!” He exclaimed.

His excitement reminded her of a little kid, and she missed seeing him like that more often.

“Where are you gonna sleep?” She asked curiously.

“I don’t know. I don’t care. Where ever I happen to fall asleep. Just as long as I’m with you,” he smiled at her.

Emily’s suspicion towards Nick’s actions began to increase, but at the same time, she liked it. She wanted to be angry at him for hurting her before, and she wanted to banish him from her life, but for some reason, she couldn’t. While she was unsure of how she now felt about him, she was still sure that she wanted him in her life, one way or another.

“Nick?”

“Yea?”

“When did you start caring so much?”

The question left Nick puzzled. He wasn’t sure how to answer it sincerely without telling her too much. He hesitated and thought about his answer carefully before speaking.

“I always cared about you, Emily. You have to know that much. But …When Sam left that message for me, telling me what happened, I thought I was gonna fall apart. The thought of losing you, it killed me inside. I know I haven’t been perfect; hell, I’ve been the biggest ass on the planet to you, and I made so many mistakes, but Emily, I care about you so much. I always have.”

Nick realized what was happening and he questioned if he should let things go that far. For some reason though, he couldn’t stop himself from opening up to her. He waited so long to tell her how he felt, and he didn’t want to risk missing the opportunity.

“You never showed it before. All those years, Nick, I was there for you when no one else was, and it never seemed like I meant anything to you. I know what happened to me was probably hard on you, but I guess I just don’t think that should be the only reason you suddenly care about me.”

Nick sighed, knowing she was right, but completely wrong.

“I’ve always cared about you, Em. I know I never acted like it, but I always felt it. Your accident, it didn’t make me care about you any more or any less. It just made me realize how much I already did care.” He stared in her eyes, something he rarely did in the passed. “Em, I would do anything for you. I would go anywhere for you. I would completely change myself just to see you smile. I tried every day to take your pain away, and every day I failed. I never gave up, though. Your happiness and your safety and wellbeing are all that’s really important to me. I know it might seem hard for you to believe, because for you it’s like you went to sleep and woke up to a completely different Nick, but, when it comes down to the bottom line, to me, all that matters is how strongly I feel about you. Emily, I love you.”

Nick refused to break his eye contact with her. He didn’t want to make her think he was bluffing or unsure of his feelings. He stared at her deeply, waiting to see how she reacted or what she would say. Her eyes seemed to vanish in his, and the shock of Nick’s confession came crashing down like a ton of bricks. Emily didn’t know how to react to Nick, but she knew she didn’t like what she heard. Even though he had just said the only three words she ever wanted to hear from him, the circumstances left her nothing but doubt.

“Nick…”

He cut her off, “Em, I know what you’re thinking. You don’t even have to say it. Trust me, I know. Even though in my head I’ve said this to you a thousand times, and every time you’re response was the same, I still don’t know what I could say to make you believe me. All I can do is prove it.” He kept staring at her, his confessions gradually detailing themselves. “I don’t even know how to do that, but I’ll figure it out. Em, everyone around me has been accusing me of loving you-“

This time she cut him off, “and you’ve been denying it?”

He sighed again, feeling frustrated that she didn’t understand. “Yes and no. I haven’t bee admitting it, but I never denied it.”

“Why, though? If you really mean it, why wouldn’t you admit it? Why is it so hard for you to admit if it’s true, Nick?”

“Emily, it isn’t hard for me to admit. I didn’t even want to tell you right now but it was so hard for me to not tell you… I just couldn’t wait.”

“Then why didn’t you admit it before?”

“To who?”

“Whoever brought it up?”

“Because they weren’t you, Em. I wanted you to be the first to hear it. Not everyone else,” he’s arms waved sporadically as he gestured to emphasize his point.

“Nick,” Emily softly continued, “I really don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what happened to you or what is and isn’t real to you. It’s just that, right now, I don’t think I can believe you. The last time I talked to you was months ago, and I don’t even remember the last time I saw you. Now you’re in love with me? I’m sorry, Nick. I just can’t take that risk right now. I just can’t.”

“I’m not mad at you for feeling that way, Em. Please don’t think I am. I expected you to react this way. It’s fine. We’ll deal with this another time. Right now, all I really want to do is be your friend.”

She smiled at him, grateful for his sincerity, as he reached over and wrapped his arms around her body. His hug was so tight around her frame she was afraid she’d break. Nick’s arms always felt so right, and despite everything that had happened, this did not change. She didn’t want him to let go, but she knew he would. He always did.