3 weeks earlier.

“Home, sweet home.” Nick smiled as the taxi parked outside the gates to his Californian home. He looked down at Ali who was peacefully sleeping next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. She still looked so fragile to him. It had only been a week since he had found her, but she was still very weak, her skin was pale and she rarely spoke if she didn’t have to. Yet, he was so excited about bringing her home. He was looking forward to taking care of her, bringing her back to normal again and making her adjust to a world that didn’t exist of constant cold, snow and darkness.

“Ali, wake up. We’re here.” He stroke her hair gently and waited for her to respond. “Ali, honey, wake up.”

She shifted and stirred, making a yawning sound as she looked up at Nick, confused at first, but as she realised where she was and who she was with, a small smile spread across her face.

“Hey…” She whispered and slowly sat up, looking out of the window.

“Welcome home.”

She looked up at the white house that had been Nick’s home for the past three years. It was familiar to her, yet she felt like everything about it had chanced. It looked bigger, whiter and almost scary to her. She knew it was because of the surroundings that she was used to, where everything was dark and the rooms were small.

“You alright?” Nick placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. “Sorry…” He excused himself, forgetting that every sudden move, every unexpected touch almost scared her.

“It’s alright.” She whispered, feeling sorry too, for forgetting that he was the one person she knew she could trust.

“Come on, I’ll help you out of the car.”

She nodded as he opened the door and stepped out, walking over to her side. She still needed help standing up and walking long distances. She got easily tired and often had to sit down and rest to get her strength back.

Nick opened the door and offered her to grab his arm for support. A few seconds later, she was out of the car, supporting her weight on Nick as the taxi driver carried their luggage up to the front doors of Nick’s home.

As the Californian sun hit her face, Ali suddenly realised how much her life had changed since the last time she was there. The cold she was used to seemed so far away, and the once so familiar sun was inviting her back in where she once belonged. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat afraid to look at it. For a second, she almost longed for the cold air in Russia.

Thoughts like that scared her. All the time while she was there, in Siberia, she was waiting for Nick to come and find her. And now that he had, she almost longed to go back. She knew it was just her mind playing tricks on her, the doctors had told her, but still, she just wanted more that anything to get things back to the way they used to be, before the kidnapping.

“Alright. Let’s go inside. You need help?” Nick asked, as the taxi driver returned.

Ali nodded, tightening the grip around Nick’s arm. Nick paid the driver and they slowly began to move towards the house.

“I told Elena to get a room ready for you, so you can lie down right away of you want to.” Nick said, referring to his house keeper.

“No.” Ali shook her head. “Take me to the beach.”

Nick stopped walking. “Are you sure? You don’t think you need to res---“

“Nick, no.” Her voice was low, but firm. “I want to see the ocean.”

“Ok.” He smiled a little. He had missed the ocean too while he was gone, the sound of the waves, the smell of salt water, to feel the sand beneath his feet. He could only begin to imagine how Ali felt. They both loved the ocean and she had been kept away from it for over a year and a half. He felt he owed it to her to take her there, even though it only meant walking into his back yard.

Minutes later, they walked through the French doors leading from his living room and out onto the lawn that separated the house from the beach. Ali stopped for a second, taking a deep breath, instantly smelling the fresh ocean air. Suddenly, all her worries were gone. She continued to walk again, still holding on to Nick. She wanted to run, throw herself into the waves, bury her feet in the sand, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough.

“You ok?” Nick asked as they reached the shore a minute later.

“I never realized how much I missed this…” She whispered, looking out over the horizon. “I never thought I would see it again.”

Nick sighed, pulling her close to him. “I spent so many hours here after you disappeared. Somehow, it made me feel closer to you. It kept me going. I used to talk to the waves, telling them to keep you safe, where ever you might be. And I used to laugh at myself for talking out loud, and then I would imagine you laughing at me for being such a baby.”

Ali smiled and closed her eyes. “If I was there, I would’ve laughed, but right now, I just feel so grateful for everything you did. I wish I felt strong enough to stay here all day. I’m just so tired…”

“I’ll take you back in.”

“One more minute.”

Nick laughed a little. “Alright, one minute, then you need to rest.”

“Ok.”

They spent the last minute in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Nick, extremely happy to have his best friend back and to be able to go on with his life with her as a part of it, Ali, relieved to be back, but yet scared of what might come.

***

Present

She could feel her head pounding as she opened her eyes. Everything was so bright, that she had to close them again.

“Ali…”

Someone was saying her name.

Far away.

“Ali, open your eyes.” 

Nick.

She slowly opened her eyes again, making them adjust to the bright room that she soon recognized as her own. She looked around. Nick was sitting on the bedside next to her, a glass of water in his hand.

She reached over for it and he helped her take a sip, holding her head up so that she wouldn’t spill.

“What happened?” She cleared her throat.

“You passed out again.”

Ali sighed. “Where is everybody?” She asked, suddenly remembering the party.

“They went home a few hours ago.”

“I’ve been gone for a few hours?”

“No, you woke up about a minute after you passed out, I carried you to bed, and you fell asleep.”

“Oh…” She whispered, feeling a little disappointed that she hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye to her guests.

“Don’t worry. The guys are coming over for dinner tomorrow.”

Ali smiled. “Thank you.” She was about to sit up, when suddenly, she felt something moving by her feet. She quickly pulled them towards her, when she saw the puppy crawling towards her.

“Awww, look who’s here.” She smiled and reached out for it.

“She’s been here the whole time. I think she likes you better than she likes me.”

“You got a name for her yet?” Ali asked, the puppy playing with her fingers.

“Leyla.”

“I like that name.”

“I came up with it all by myself.” Nick said proudly, taking the puppy from Ali and putting it down on the bedroom floor.

“Heeey.”

“She needs to go outside for a few minutes, I think. Don’t want her peeing in your bed.”

Ali laughed. “You’re probably right.”

Nick stood up, ready to leave the room. “Ali…?” He said, sounding a little more serious.”

She looked up at him. “What?”

“I think you need to go see a doctor again. I’m worried about you.”

Ali sighed. “Nick, I’m fine. I just need some time to get my strength back.”

“You have an appointment tomorrow.”

“What?”

“Please Ali… You need to go. At least do it for me. I need to know that you’re alright.”

She leaned her head back against her pillow. “Fine.”

“Good. I’ll see you downstairs in a bit.”

Ali closed her eyes. She was tired of going to the doctors. Every time she went, they measured her blood pressure, ran some tests and concluded that she needed to eat more, rest more, but that other than that, she was fine.

She knew she was fine.