”Are you gonna eat that cookie?” Alicia Parker asked, looking longingly at the one, large, very inviting cookie lying on a plate in front of Nick. Not bothering to wait for an answer, she reached out for it and took a bite.

“Actually, yea… but sure, by any means, please help yourself.” Nick sighed and watched the remaining of the cookie disappear into her mouth.

“Ooops… ‘orry” Ali managed to say, her mouth full of cookie, as she made her way over to the fridge pulling out two remaining pizza slices from yesterday’s dinner.

“You sure got your apatite back.” Nick said, watching her take a big bite as she walked over to the kitchen table again, sitting down opposite to him.

“Being constantly hungry for over a year kinda does that to you…” 

Nick let out a small, nervous laugh, suddenly wishing he hadn’t brought up the subject concerning his best friend’s absence. But then again, in a way, it was hard not to.

Ali had been home for a little over three weeks, and Nick found that every action made throughout the day reminded him, or her, of what had happened. It was hard not to bring it up, but he also knew that she needed to talk about it. It was her way of healing, and his way of trying to move on, although he knew they both had a long way to go.

“You know, you had a nightmare last night…” Nick continued after a few moments of silence, knowing that he had to bring it up sooner or later.

Ali nodded. “Yea, I kinda figured that out since I woke up next to you this morning.”

“Yea, sorry about that.” Nick excused himself. “I kinda meant to go back to my own room once you’d calmed down, but I must’ve fallen asleep.”

“You don’t have to excuse yourself Nick. You know I don’t mind sleeping next to you.”

“Yea, I know. I just thought that maybe you wanted to get used to sleeping by yourself again.”

“I do, kinda. It’s just that I feel so safe when I know you’re there.” She suddenly looked very sad, her gaze focused on something outside and beyond the kitchen window. Nick stood up and walked around the table, pulling her up from the chair and into a hug.

“I’ll always be there Ali, you know that, right?” He pulled away form her, forcing her to look at him. Tears had welled up in her eyes and a sad smile formed on her lips.

“I know.” She nodded as he wrapped his arms around her again.

“So, are you excited about tonight?” Nick asked, trying to change the subject.

That was all it took, that one question, and suddenly a big smile spread across her face.

“Are you kidding? I can’t wait to see everyone again.”

Nick laughed a little at her sudden change of behaviour.

For the first time since Ali’s return, they were having a real party, a BBQ, where all of their friends and Nick’s family were invited. Some of them, including Nick’s band mates, she hadn’t seen in over a year and a half, with the exception of AJ, who had come to Russia with Nick to look for her. She was excited, yet a bit scared to see everyone again. She had changed, she knew that, and a part of her was still worried that they might not like her anymore.

It hadn’t been more than three weeks since she had gotten back home, and as much as she tried to put it all behind her, she had a hard time trying to adapt to her new life. The fact that she was now staying with Nick, for the first time in her life, was both a challenge as much as a relieve. She felt safe with him, yet she was becoming more aware of how much they had both changed. He had become more responsible, always making sure that she was alright and that she had everything she needed. She was glad, because she was still feeling very weak and she often found herself feeling light-headed, tired and even nauseous. According to the doctors, it was her body’s way of telling her that she needed to eat more and get more rest, although the only thing she did do was eat and sleep, at least according to Nick.

 ***

Later that day, Ali was exiting her room after a couple of hours rest. The guests would be there any time, and as she walked down the wooden stairs, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She was ready to have a nice time, catch up with everyone and most of all; thank Nick properly for saving her life.

It was a little surprise she had planned with a little help from AJ. It was hard for her to leave the house without Nick insisting on coming with her, and AJ had been very helpful. It wasn’t anything fancy, just her trying to show him how much she appreciated him and everything had done for her.

Just as she entered the kitchen, where Nick was making a potato salad, the doorbell rang.

“Brian.” Nick said, looking out of the kitchen window to see who it was.

“I’ll get it.” Ali said excitedly, turning around and leaving Nick alone in the kitchen.

She quickly walked over to the large oak door that led out to the front of the house, and opened it carefully, a smile spreading across her face at the sight of Brian, his wife Leighann and their 3 ½ year old toddler, Baylee.

“Hi!” she said, taking a step forward, feeling a little shy at first.

“Oh my god… Ali! I can’t believe you’re really home.” Leighann said excitedly as she walked over to Ali and gave her a warm hug. “We’ve missed you so much.”

“Oh, I’ve missed you too.” She could feel her eyes filling up with water, and she quickly blinked them away.

“Do I get a hug?”

Ali looked over Leighann’s shoulder and smiled at Brian who was impatiently waiting for his hug. She took a step to the side as Brian walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’ve missed you Shorty.” He said as Ali once again had to blink away a few tears. “It’s so good to have you back home.”

“It’s so good to be home.” She replied as Brian let go, and bent down to bring Baylee up to their level.

“You remember Ali, right?” Brian asked his son while pointing at Ali. The little boy shook his blond head no. Feeling a little disappointed, Ali leaned forward and gave the little boy a smile.

“You wanna go see what uncle Nicky is doing?”

The little boy suddenly lit up by the sound of Nick’s name and Brian gently put him down again so that he could take Ali’s hand and walk with her over to the kitchen.

A few hours later, everyone was gathered in Nick’s back yard. Music was playing and everyone was chatting away. There was Brian, Leighann, Baylee, AJ, Howie and Leigh, all of Nick’s siblings, and although he was not a part of the group anymore, Kevin and his wife Kristin. Ali was enjoying her time, listening to what the others had to tell her about what had happened in their lives while she was gone.   

“So, how’s living with Nick?” Kristin asked as she, Leighann and Ali sat down at a table a little further away from the others.

“It’s… um, weird. But in a good way.”

“How?”

Ali sighed. “I don’t know. I feel safe here, and Nick is great. It’s just a totally new experience for me, you know. I’m still trying to adapt to everything. I feel like I’ve been gone for a lifetime. I mean, Nick is so nice to me, and he’s trying to help me the best he can, but we’ve both changed, you know.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Leighann asked, glancing over at Nick who was talking to AJ and Kevin.

“I don’t know… I think it’s a good thing. Or… I… I t€hink I’m just looking at him differently now.” She said, looking thoughtful.

“How?” Kristin asked, and then smiled a little. “You like him don’t you?”

“What? Noooo… I didn’t say that. Or, I mean I like him, but not like that. I think…”

“Oh, you so do. This is so exciting.”

Ali shook her head. “Kristin! Ok… so maybe I like him just a little, but he can’t know, alright? Everything is so uncertain right now. I still have to get used to living my life again, and this might just be a misleading feeling, or whatever. Promise me you won’t tell anyone. Not even Kevin, or Brian, Leighann.”

Kristin sighed. “Alright…”

Leighann laughed. “You know, me and Brian were just discussing this the other day, that it would be so perfect if you and Nick hooked up.”

“Leigh… come on. You know that’s not gonna happen.”

“What’s not gonna happen?” AJ asked, walking up to the girls.

“Nothing!” They all replied at once, making AJ laugh.

“Alright, I’m not gonna ask…” He said, standing behind Ali, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“You ready for the surprise?” he asked Ali, who quickly stood up.

“It’s here?”

AJ nodded. “Come on, let’s try and sneak away. Kevin is stalling him.”

Ali quickly followed AJ into the house where the surprise was waiting in the hall.

“Oh, it’s adorable. He’s gonna be so happy.” Ali said, smiling.

“Why don’t you go outside, get everyone’s attention, do what you want to do, and I’ll bring it out on your request.”

She nodded. “Alright. Give me 5 minutes.” She walked outside again, finding her position by the pool where everyone could see her.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” She said as loud as she could, making everyone stop their conversations and look in her direction. “Nick, would you come over here for a second?”

Nick frowned and looked over at her, a big question mark on his face. Slowly, he walked up to her and stood beside her.

“I just wanted to let you know, again, how much I appreciate everything that you have done for me. We both know that without you, I wouldn’t be here today, and I will never forget that you saved my life. And also, I wanted to thank you for letting me stay with you.” She paused and looked at him. She could tell that he was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but she kept going, knowing that she wanted to let him know how grateful she was. “Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. You know I love you and I’m forever grateful for what you have done to me. So… I kinda have this little surprise for you. AJ, if you would…” She gestured towards the entrance to the house and everyone turned around to see AJ carrying out a small pug, barely visible in AJ arms.

“Are you serious?” She could her Nick whisper to himself as AJ handed Nick the black and white puppy. “Ali… I don’t know what to say. You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to. I know how much you miss having a dog. She’s yours now.”

“Thank you so much.” He smiled at her, walking up to her and giving her a hug, the puppy resting in his arms.

Suddenly, everyone was gathering around Nick and the puppy, wanting to take a look at it and pat it. Ali was watching from a distance, smiling and reminding herself that she had to remember this moment. But then, just as fast as the smile had formed on her lips it faded again, and she suddenly felt very dizzy. A few seconds later, she found herself looking around, desperately wanting to sit down. Just as she spotted a chair only a few feet away, her legs disappeared underneath her, and everything went black.