BriNanny17

* * * * *

After the awkward end to his day of errands, Glen quickly drove home. The entire drive, he went over how stupid he looked in front of Y/N.

"You lied to me," Glen said as he stormed into the house.

"What do you mean, honey?" His mother asked innocently. Glen didn't believe her.

"I stopped by Y/N's floral shop, like you asked me to," Glen recalled for her. "But, guess what! Apparently, you had already dropped off the fabric swatches."

"Oh, yeah," she smiled with a soft chuckle.

"Mom," Glen sighed, "come on."

"What?"

"You did that on purpose."

"Did what?" His mom continued to play clueless.

"You sent me with the fabric swatches, but you forgot that you had already dropped off the fabric swatches."

"I might've. . ."

"Why, Mom?" Glen asked.

"Why did I give you an excuse to see your old friend Y/N?"

Glen's mom said Y/N's name in a weird way that instantly embarrassed him.

"She's coming to the wedding," Glen shrugged. "It's not like I wouldn't see her."

"True," Cyndy nodded. "But I was hoping that by sending you today, it would give you extra time to talk to her."

"Mom," Glen sighed. "What's going on? Why are you forcing me to see my childhood best friend?"

"Because you haven't been yourself lately, honey," she sighed. "I know my son, and he is not okay."

"I'm fine," Glen tried to dismiss.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You're not. You haven't been happy."

"As I said, I'm fine," he shrugged. "My job has been great lately. I've done some awesome movies. I'm working on a TV show. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Yes, your job makes you happy. But you have to admit. . . Something is missing."

"What could I possibly be missing?" Glen asked even though he knew where she was going with this.

"You and I both know that what you're missing is Y/N."

Glen knew his mom was right. He knew that whenever he was in a funk, all he had to do was call her and she'd cheer him up the second he heard her voice. He also knew that nothing and no one would make him happier than Y/N did.

"There's one problem with that," Glen sighed after a small beat of silence. "She doesn't know that she's the missing piece."

"Then tell her," his mother said like it was the easiest thing to do. "Tell her, and she can tell you that you're her missing piece and she needs you as much as you need her."

"Mom," Glen sighed, "please stop."

"But honey. . ."

"Please stop," he sighed. "All you're doing is getting my hopes up."

* * * * *

The minute Glen was standing up next to his sister's soon-to-be-husband at the altar, he found Y/N in the crowd. She was wearing a gorgeous floor-length dress, her hair was curled, and her makeup was perfectly subtle. Glen was distracted by Y/N during the ceremony. It seemed like his eyes couldn't stop glancing toward her. She had a small smile on her face the entire ceremony.

As his sister and her now-husband walked back down the aisle, Y/N's eyes finally found him. Her smile got a little bigger as their eyes met. He smiled and kept their eye contact as long as he could before he walked past her.

He found her again at the luncheon. She wasn't talking to anyone or enjoying the party. Instead, she was fixing the floral pieces.

"Go talk to her," Glen's mom walked over and practically pushed him toward her. Glen fixed his coat as he walked over to her.

"You know," he teased her, "this is a party, Y/N. You don't have to focus so much on the flowers. You arranged them so, of course, they are gorgeous."

"I didn't realize how much I missed you until you walked into my shop," Y/N chuckled as she walked over to him. His breath got stuck in his throat as she wrapped her arms around him. He instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight.

"I didn't realize how much I missed you until I walked into your shop," he whispered. He pulled out of their embrace and smiled as he said, "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Cowboy." She laughed before asking, "Or should I start calling you Hollywood?"

"No," Glen said a little too quickly. He cleared his throat before saying, "I like it when you call me Cowboy. It reminds me not to let Hollywood change who I am."

Y/N gently put her hand on his chest. Glen immediately reached up and put his hand over hers.

"You would never let Hollywood change you," she said softly. The two stood there, neither one of them stepping away from each other. Glen was the first to step away when he noticed his mother off to the side, watching them.

"I should apologize," Glen laughed as he looked away from his mom.

"About what?"

"My mother," he said in a way that made her giggle. "She shouldn't have made me go to your shop to check in. You've been running your shop for years. You didn't need me checking up on you."

"It's okay," she brushed off. "She meant well. She was stressed about today and wanted you to make sure that I wasn't going to drop the ball."

"That's definitely not why," Glen said quickly. "She knew that you would match the flowers to the color scheme. She wanted us to reconnect. She wanted to make sure that I didn't whimp out again."

"Wait, what?" Y/N asked. "Again? When was the last time you whimped out to come see me?"

"Well," he started slowly. He sighed before admitting, "Two years ago, in between jobs, I came home for a few weeks. I walked past your floral shop and was about to go in."

"Why didn't you?" She asked, her voice slightly dropping.

"You were talking to someone," he said stupidly.

"So you didn't come talk to me?" She chuckled slightly.

"I didn't want to interrupt," Glen hesitated. "You were laughing and smiling at this guy. . ."

"Wait a minute," Y/N cut him off. "You said this was two years ago? Did the guy I was talking to have brown hair, blue eyes, and always wear suits?"

"He was in one when I saw him," Glen shrugged.

"Oh," Y/N giggled.

"What?"

Glen's confusion made her laugh even harder. "Glen," she sighed once she had calmed down, "that was my cousin, John. He and his boyfriend of 7 years were finally engaged. He was talking to me about their wedding plans."

"Oh," Glen said under his breath. The longer the two stared at each other, the worse he felt.

"Next time," she playfully scolded, "walk into my store and say hi."

"I will," Glen smiled, trying to get rid of the relief he felt when she didn't ask more questions about why he didn't go in. He laughed when she raised her pinkie.

"Pinkie promise?"

He smiled as he wrapped his pinkie around hers.

"I pinkie promise that I will never not walk into your shop," he said, unable to look away from her eyes. The two held their eye contact for a beat too long. Y/N broke the silence.

"I also need you to promise me that you won't let so much time pass between now and the next time we see each other," she said. The tone of voice she was using broke Glen's heart. He tightened his pinkie around Y/N's and put his other hand over their intertwined fingers.

"I promise," he whispered. "I will be better at contacting you and keeping in touch. I promise."

"That's all I ask," she said with a small and calm smile. Glen held their eye contact a little longer before finally letting go of her pinkie.

"Glen!"

The two looked over to see his older sister summoning him. He sighed before looking back at Y/N.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. She instantly shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry about it," she chuckled. "You've got wedding things to get to."

Before he could stop himself, he leaned in and quickly kissed her cheek before walking over to his sister.

"What, Lauren?" He asked, trying to ignore the way she was smirking at him.

"Must be nice to see Y/N again," she smirked. "How long has it been?"

"Since before Top Gun," he said, slightly clearing his throat.

"How did it feel to see her again?"

When Glen looked at Lauren, he could see that she was looking at him with soft eyes. Not just soft eyes. Eyes full of pity.

"It felt amazing," he whispered. "I mean. . . I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until I walked into her shop the other day. Until I saw her again."

Lauren sighed as she took a step closer to him and lowered her voice. "If it felt that good just to see her again, why not tell her that?"

"She knows. . ."

"Why not tell her just how much she means to you?" She said slowly so he would understand what she was saying without actually saying it.

"Why does everyone think I should tell her?" Glen angrily grumbled.

"Because we love you and want to make sure you're happy," Lauren smirked. She patted his shoulder before adding, "Come on, loverboy. We've got family pictures to take."

* * * * *

After family pictures, the reception started. Glen spent the entire reception with Y/N. They walked around the venue and spent the night going down memory lane. Eventually, he gained enough courage to ask her to dance.

They danced together to several upbeat songs. The entire time they danced and laughed, Glen's mom watched them. She smiled as she watched them, but a small piece of her heart broke.

She knew Y/N would make Glen happy. She's seen it over the years. She's seen how much her son loves Y/N. She's also seen how much Y/N loves Glen.

Just then, the song ended. As soon as it ended, Glen's nephew, Witt, came running over to them.

"Dance with me, Y/N!" He said. The two laughed when Witt playfully pushed Glen away and grabbed Y/N's hands.

"You okay with me being stolen?" She asked with a giggle that made Glen's heart skip a beat. He loved how good she was with his niece and nephew. It made him fall in love with her more and more.

"Looks like I've got some competition," Glen chuckled. He watched them dance for a little bit before walking off to the side, next to his mom.

"You two seem to have easily fallen back into your old rhythm," his mom smiled.

"We just. . . click," Glen shrugged, his eyes glued to Y/N and his nephew. He sighed when he turned to see his mother's 'motherly pity' look. "Please don't start again."

"I'm sorry, honey," she sighed. "But I'm your mother. I want you to be happy. And Y/N definitely makes you happy."

"I know that," Glen stuttered. "But it doesn't matter."

"Why not?" His mother asked. "You love her. And she loves you."

"She's not in love with me," Glen cut her off.

"Come on, honey," his mom scoffed. "You two have grown up together, constantly around each other."

"I know that, Mom," Glen grumbled. His eyes glanced back at Y/N, and he felt his heart break as he watched Y/N dance with his nephew. "But she'll never love me the way I love her."

"Glen. . ."

"I have spent years in love with her," he continued. "Ever since high school, I've known."

"Known what?" His mother asked gently as she walked over and rubbed his back.

"I've known that she was the love of my life," he admitted for the first time out loud. "I've known that I would never find a girl better than her."

"Then why haven't you said anything to her?"

"Because. . ." Glen sighed. He didn't continue until he looked over at Y/N again. "Because if she doesn't love me back, then I'll lose her."

* * * * *

Glen walked around the reception, his eyes constantly on Y/N. Whenever he started to walk over to her, he'd whimp out and scurry away. The reception was almost over, and Glen hadn't talked to her since they danced.

Luckily, Y/N had more courage than Glen did.

"Hey," Y/N said, making Glen snap out of his daze. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he stuttered.

"Are you?" She asked, wrapping her arms around herself. "Because. . . I feel like you've been avoiding me."

"Wait, what?" Glen gasped. He took a step toward her and lowered his voice. "Y/N, I'm not avoiding you."

"It kinda feels like it," she shrugged, looking away from him. He glanced over to see his mom staring at them. Suddenly, her words repeated in his head.

"Yes, your job makes you happy. But you have to admit. . . Something is missing. You and I both know that what you're missing is Y/N."

"I guess," Glen hesitated, "if I'm being honest, I have been kind of avoiding you."

"Why?" She asked, her voice so weak it broke Glen's heart. "I thought we were having fun earlier."

"We were!" He said instantly. He sighed as he gathered the last little bit of courage he needed. Before he could back out, he took a small step toward her. "Can we go somewhere more private to talk?"

"Sure," Y/N slightly stuttered. Glen grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the wedding venue. He led her outside to the garden and sat down on a bench.

"Glen. . ." She hesitated. "Will you please tell me what's going on?"

"Okay," he sighed. He grabbed her other hand, so he was holding both of hers, and turned toward her. "There's something I have been needing to say to you for a long time, but I never have."

"Why not?"

He looked into her eyes, gathering as much courage as he could.

"Because I was a coward," he said, not looking away from her eyes. "Because I was scared that what I have to say will make me lose you."

"Please," she whispered, "just say it."

The millions of times he'd rehearsed this in his mind, he had a lot more to say. But now, as he stared into her eyes, nothing he planned came out. Instead, he blurted out his confession.

"I'm in love with you," Glen spat out. He held his breath, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't, he started to nervously stutter. "To be honest, I've been in love with you since we were kids. When we started middle school, you were really scared. You were so scared you wouldn't let go of my hand. Luckily, we had homeroom together. I waited for you outside each class and walked you to your next one. We sat together at lunch and in any class we had together. On the bus ride home, you put your head on my shoulder and thanked me for being there for you that day. You called me your hero. That was the moment."

"The moment that what?" Y/N asked when Glen didn't continue.

"The moment that I knew that my only purpose in life was to be your hero," he said, his anxiety slowly fading as he saw the way she was staring at him. "The moment I knew that, no matter what I did with my life, being your hero would be my greatest accomplishment."

"Glen. . ." She whispered.

"That was the first moment that I knew I was in love with you," he continued as he slowly started to lean in toward her. "And every moment we spent together afterwards gave me more and more reasons to love you."

When he paused, he realized that their faces were inches away from each other. Before he could talk himself out of it, he closed the gap between them.

Y/N gasped the second their lips touched, but when they did, she melted into him. She grabbed the flaps of Glen's suit jacket and pulled him closer as she kissed him back. Glen immediately wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Glen," Y/N moaned as she slowly broke the kiss.

"I'm gonna take the fact that you kissed me back as a good sign," Glen lightly joked. Y/N leaned back with a smile on her face and a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Since we're being honest," Y/N said softly as she looked down and fixed Glen's bowtie. She looked up at him and confessed, "Whenever I imagine the rest of my life, I can't help but imagine it with you. I imagine you coming by the shop and bringing me lunch. I imagine closing the shop and visiting you on set. I imagine coming home to you and only you. I imagine spending the rest of my life with you."

"Oh baby," he sighed. He grabbed her face and kissed her. Y/N let out a small moan as she kissed him back.

Soon, their lips were moving roughly in sync as they gave in to the urges both of them had had for a long time. However, before things could go too far, Y/N broke the kiss.

"By the way," Y/N whispered as she rubbed her nose against his, "I'm in love with you, too."

Taglist

@football1921

That was two years ago, and he has kept his promise. He has never once let me down or allowed me to get hurt. He insists that I always ride in the truck with him and am right by his side the minute we start chasing.

Two years of being a couple and running the team have kind of made us step into the roles of Mom and Dad. Tyler focuses on the data and keeping everyone safe during the chases. I focus on the team and making sure they are well fed and medically cared for. 

"Get dinner ready," he said, snapping me out of my memories, "and I'll go help make sure the team doesn't break any equipment or accidentally erase data."

"Boone only did that once," I chuckled.

"Once is more than enough," he smirked. He kissed my cheek before heading out to the barn.

When I finished dinner, I walked out to the barn. I peeked my head in and couldn't stop the smile that spread when I saw the team working.

"Dinner's ready!" I yelled as I stepped fully into the barn.

"Sweet!" Boone cheered as he jumped up. I laughed as Boone and the others ran past me into the house. Soon it was just Tyler and me. He walked over to me, grabbed my hands, and pulled me into his chest.

"You were right," he smirked. "They needed a homey meal."

"Just wait until you try it," I smirked, playfully booping his nose. I started to walk away, but he stopped me.

"Let's go."

"Go where?" I laughed.

"Let's get out of town," he said, pulling me closer. "Just you and me. No team. No chasing."

"No chasing?" I stuttered. "You mean. . . No torandos?"

"Just us," he said with a strange look in his eyes. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the barn.

* * * * *

The next day, Tyler and I woke up and started packing for our little road trip. We left the team behind and headed somewhere only Tyler knew where. Three hours into our road trip, my curiosity got the better of me.

"Tyler," I elongated his name.

"Yes, baby?" He laughed.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

The smile on Tyler's face dropped as he reached over and gently grabbed my hand.

"The entire time we've been dating," Tyler sighed, "we've been surrounded by the team. Now, I love the guys, but I love you more. Is it so wrong that I want to spend at least one weekend alone with my girl?"

"I love you too, Ty," I said, my heart skipping a beat. "And, no, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the secrecy that's making me a little nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about, darling," he soothed. "I am taking you somewhere special."

"For no reason?" I asked. "Just to get away?"

"Well," he playfully shrugged, "there may be a little more to it than just a getaway."

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning toward him in my seat. "Why are we really on this trip, cowboy?"

He opened his mouth to answer me, but stopped when something caught his eye.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I looked out the front window and froze. "Is that. . ."

"It is," he smirked as he looked at me. He waited, and I could tell that he wanted me to give him permission to chase the storm. 

"You clearly feel it," I chuckled, "so go ahead and chase it."

"Let's go!" Tyler excitedly laughed as he took the exit off the freeway.

"But," I said quickly, "at least tell me why you wanted to take me on this weekend getaway."

"I'll tell you later," Tyler smirked before turning straight toward the tornado.

As Tyler drove us into the storm, I opened our laptop and started tracking the storm. We chased the storm for several miles before Tyler broke the silence.

"You know what I've always wanted to do?" Tyler looked over at me with his 'stupid idea' smirk.

"Oh no," I mumbled when he flipped the switch that stabilized the truck into the ground.

"Run close to a  tornado!" He yelled as he jumped out of the truck.

"Tyler!" I yelled as I jumped out and chased after him.

He stopped and waited for me. Once I got to him, he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. We laughed and danced around as we got close but not too close to the tornado.

"This is crazy!" I laughed as I put my hands up and spun around.

I stopped spinning and froze when I turned toward Tyler to see him on bended knee with a ring box in his hand.

"What are you. . ."

"To answer your earlier question," he smirked, "this is why I wanted a weekend getaway with just you and me."

"Tyler," I gasped. I covered my mouth when he opened the ring box.

"I love you more than I thought I could ever love someone," he started. "You are everything to me, Y/N. It doesn't matter if I find a way to stop tornadoes. It doesn't matter if I save every town that gets hit by one. It doesn't matter if the Tornado Wranglers become the best storm chasing group in the country. None of that matters if I don't have you in my life. I know that you were hesitant to join the group, but the second that you did, my life changed. I love you so much, Y/N, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped. "Is this. . . Is this the thing that you were going to tell me later?"

"It is," he smiled up at me. "So? Y/N, will you marry me?"

I leaned down, grabbed his face, and pressed my lips to his. Our lips moved in sync for a little before I broke the kiss. I leaned my forehead against his and rubbed our noses together.

"Yes," I whispered when I found my voice. Tyler pressed his lips back to mine. As our lips moved in sync, Tyler stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist.

We broke the kiss and let out matching laughs as he slipped the ring on my finger. I looked at it for a second before jumping into his arms. Tyler laughed as he spun us around.

"I love you so much, Tyler," I whispered when he stopped spinning us and put me back on my feet.

"I love you, too," he said before quickly leaning down and smashing his lips onto mine. I giggled against his lips as we messily made out in the storm.

"Baby?" I whispered, breaking the kiss. I looked up at him, and the way he was staring at me heated my whole body. "Can we get the hell out of this storm now?"

"Of course," Tyler chuckled. He grabbed my hand and quickly ran us away from the tornado. We laughed as we jumped into the truck.

"So," Tyler smirked as he glanced over at me, "should we continue our little getaway or go back home?"

I looked at him, completely calm, before I punched his arm.

"What was that for?" Tyler laughed.

"That was not a conversation for later."

Taglist

@football1921

* * * * *

I ran into the hospital waiting room, my whole body feeling numb. I felt the sob I'd been holding back burn my throat even more when I saw that the ER waiting room was filled with the other Top Gun pilots.

"Y/N," Maverick said gently as he walked over to me. The second he wrapped me in his arms, I broke.

"Is he okay?!" I violently sobbed into his chest. "Where is he?! What happened?!"

"His engine failed," Maverick tried to gently explain to me.

"What?!" I screamed, pulling out of his arms. "I thought. . . I can't. . . How did he. . . Why didn't he check his engine before the flight? He always checks his engine before the flight."

"It wasn't anything he could've seen," Bradley came over and comforted me. "It was completely random. An accident."

That didn't help.

I whimpered, causing Maverick to quickly pull me into his arms. "He's going to be fine," Maverick whispered. "He's a fighter, Y/N. He won't get up."

I shakily pulled out of his arms and looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"Where is he, Uncle Pete?"

"He's in surgery, sweetheart."

"Surgery. . ." That word tasted like poison. 

It suddenly got very hard to breathe. I couldn't stop the panic attack as memories of my mother receiving several different calls about 'accidents' that happened when my father flew. Every once in a while, my father's face was replaced by Jake's.

"I can't. . . If I lose him. . ." I gasped between my heavy breaths. "This is. . . Just like. . . My father."

Maverick and Penny shared a look.

"Honey," Penny said as she walked up next to me and wrapped her arms around me. "Why don't I take you home?"

"No!" I said, pulling away from her. "I can't. . . I can't leave. I can't leave him. I can't leave him here."

"Sweetheart," Maverick said softly, "let Penny take you home. As soon as we hear anything about his condition, I will come get you myself and bring you to him."

"I can't leave him alone," I whispered.

"I will be here the entire time," he promised. "He won't be alone, Y/N. I promise. But you need to go home and try to get some rest. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but there isn't anything for you to do here but wait. So go wait at home."

"I can't. . ." I stuttered. Maverick nodded at Penny.

"I'll take you home, honey," Penny said.

Even though I didn't want to leave Jake somewhere in this hospital, I allowed Penny to lead me back to her car. She drove me home in silence. When we pulled up to my building, she pulled into a parking spot. She put the car in park, but neither of us took off our seatbelts.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" She asked gently. "I can stay and wait with you. I can make you something to eat. Or we could distract ourselves and watch some cheesy romance movie. Or we could. . ."

"I can't lose him!" I broke. I collapsed and buried my face in my hands. Penny quickly unhooked her seatbelt and wrapped her arms around me. I sobbed into her chest, repeating those four words over and over again.

"I know," Penny whispered after each time I said my four words.

As Penny comforted me, my mind was going a mile a minute. My mind filled with my feelings about what was happening with Jake and the feelings of pain I repeatedly felt when my dad was a pilot.

When I finally calmed down, I went inside. Penny asked several times if I was okay, and I reassured her that I was fine. I closed my front door behind me and leaned my back against it. I slowly lowered myself onto the ground and wrapped my arms around my knees.

Once I had gained some of my strength back, I shakily stood up. I left my shoes, bag, and keys on the floor by the door. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw the package my mom had sent a few days ago.

It's been six months since my dad passed, and Mom was finally going through the house. She found a few things and sent them to me. I opened it with Jake, but I got too overwhelmed. Jake instantly calmed me down and told me that things would be okay. He told me to go through the box whenever I was ready.

Without thinking, I walked over to it. I grabbed it and took it to the couch. I went through the box, smiling at the memories. Pictures from my childhood, an art portfolio I put together back when I thought I could make it as an artist, old books I read for fun, and bracelets I used to make with my friends.

My heart about jumped into my throat when I came across a collection of letters. They were letters written to me from my father. I remember receiving each of these letters back in college. I also remember sending each one of these letters back.

"You kept them," I whispered into the air, as if my dad was in front of me. "Why did you keep them when I sent them back?"

My hands froze when I got to a letter that I didn't remember ever receiving. On the front of the envelope wasn't my name and address. Instead, in my dad's squiggly handwriting were two words:

For after.

With shaking hands, I carefully opened the letter. The minute I saw my dad's usual greeting for me written down, my eyes filled with a different type of tears.

Hey Polar Bear,If you're reading this, then my cancer won. I hope you and I have fixed things before then. If not, I'm sorry, little bear.

I'm sorry for making you think the Navy was more important to me than my little girl. It's not. I worked as hard in the Navy as I did to create a better world for you. . . But I guess that's not really what you want to hear. I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you, Polar Bear. Just know that you were my whole world.

And I hope, one day, you find another man who makes you his world. If I'm not around when you find a man to take care of you, can you do something for me, Polar Bear? Can you make sure he checks everything off this list?

1. He always pays attention to you when you talk.2. He runs to you when you need him.3. He never lets anyone talk down to you.4. He makes you feel like you are the most beautiful woman in the world.5. He makes sure you know that you are the most important person in his life.6. Most importantly, he makes you happy.

As long as he does all that, Polar Bear, I give him my blessing to be with you, marry you, and spend the rest of his life with you. All I want is for my little girl to be happy.

Can you do something else for me, Polar Bear? Live your life without fear. Now, I know that's easier said than done. I just don't want fear to stop you from doing anything. Don't hold back. Don't hold back in your career. Don't hold back in your love life. Don't hold back in anything that you do, Polar Bear.

I love you, Polar Bear. Please don't ever forget that. No matter where you end up, what you end up doing, or who you end up being. All I want is for you to be happy.

Love,Your father who loves you very much.

Tears streamed down my face. I read through Dad's letter so many times that I lost track of time. I was ripped out of my head when my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered without looking at who was calling.

"Kiddo," Maverick said, his voice soft.

"Is he okay?" I instantly started panicking again. "Please tell me he's. . ."

"He's out of surgery, sweetheart," Maverick said, his own relief coming through in his voice.

"I'm on my way," I said as I jumped up.

With my phone still pressed to my ear, I was about to run to collect my stuff at the door but stopped. I leaned down and gently picked up my father's "For After" letter and carefully put it into my bag.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?"

"No," I responded instantly. "I'll be there soon."

This time, when I jogged into the ER waiting room and saw the Top Gun pilots waiting for me, the tension was gone. The ER waiting room was now filled with relief.

"Where is he?" I asked when I ran toward Rooster.

"They just moved him into a room," he said gently as he grabbed my hands.

"Can I see him?" My voice broke when I asked.

"Of course." We looked to see Maverick walking toward us. I instantly ran toward him and threw my arms around him. He laughed as he caught me.

"I'll take you to him," he said gently, still holding me. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "He asked for you the minute he woke up."

* * * * *

Maverick held my hand as he led me through the hospital, toward Jake's room.

"Is he. . . Is he okay?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He's going to be in recovery for a few days," Maverick told me gently.

"He had surgery," I said, mostly to myself.

"He had some internal bleeding," he explained, making me whimper. "But they caught it in time and got it fixed. He's going to be fine."

I let out a shaky breath when Maverick stopped in front of a door. "He's in here," he nodded toward the door. "Go see your pilot."

He kissed my temple before walking back to the waiting room. I looked back at the door, my fear suffocating me. Instantly, a line from my father's "For After" letter popped into my head.

I just don't want fear to stop you from doing anything.

I opened the door and stepped inside. The second I saw him lying in the hospital bed, tears filled my eyes, and it became hard to breathe.

"Please don't cry, baby," Jake said, his voice breaking my heart.

I ran over and grabbed his face, pressing my lips to his. I felt him smile and chuckle against my lips. I broke the kiss and stared into his eyes, not letting him go right away.

When I did finally let him go, I whimpered when I saw the small cuts and bruises all over him. I grabbed his hands and collapsed into the chair next to his bed.

"I'm so sorry, babe," I whispered. "I never should've left. I just. . . I got overwhelmed being here. It brought me back to all the times my mom and I. . . I'm sorry, Jake. I should've stayed. I should've sat in the waiting room and waited for news. I should've been right here when you woke up. I'm so sorry, Jake. "

"It's okay, darling," Jake said softly.

"No," I whimpered, "it's not. I should've been here."

"Look at me, Y/N," he said, squeezing my hand. "It's okay. Right before I ejected, I knew that this would hurt you. As I pulled the cords, I hated myself for causing you pain."

"You just got out of surgery for internal bleeding after almost crashing," I stuttered. "And you're worried about me?"

"Of course," he said softly, smirking. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, my voice breaking again. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

"You're here now, darling. That's all that matters." Suddenly, there was a strange glint in his eyes as he continued, "That's right where I want you, Y/N."

I opened my mouth to say something along the lines of always being next to him, but he kept talking.

"I want you next to me for the rest of my life," he continued, his voice slightly different. Almost hesitant. "This is horrible timing, Y/N, but I need to know that you'll be right next to me the rest of my life."

"I will," I whispered.

"Marry me."

"Wait, what?" I gasped.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "This isn't how I had planned to do that."

"How. . . How did you plan on proposing to me?"

"Well," he said, relaxing into the hospital bed, "it would start with a simple yet romantically beautiful dinner. After dinner, I would sneak you onto base to take you on a flight around the city. We would land on a mountain overlooking your favorite beach. That's where I would finally get down on one knee and ask you to marry me. That's how I should've done this. Not in a hospital after an unseeable mistake that led to a crash. That's not how a girl should be proposed to."

My heart skipped a beat when he looked down at my hand in his. I squeezed his hand, making him look up at me.

"I like this way," I whispered. "You asking me after surviving a scary crash is dramatic and sudden, but just as perfect as your version. You survived, Jake. Asking me after you survived a crash is showing me that you realized you didn't want to spend another day without me. Life is short and full of unseeable mistakes. Truth is, we don't know how much time we really have. So why waste it?"

Jake slowly smiled at me. "I don't want to waste another minute," he said softly.

"Good," I giggled. "So ask me again."

I bit the inside of my cheek when he painfully turned more toward me. He grabbed my hands in his and pulled me to my feet.

"Y/N Kazansky, you are the love of my life," he started a speech that made me fall in love with him all over again. "I am so grateful that you trusted me enough to break your rule for me. I promised you, six months ago, that I would make breaking your rule worth it. And I promise to continue to make it worth it. If you are willing to stand by me during any mission I go on, I promise to stand by you as you finish nursing school. I promise to stand by your long shifts at the hospital and have dinner ready for you when you get off your shift night shift. I promise to give you the exact life that you want. I love you, Y/N. I need you in my life. Y/N Kazansky, will you marry me?"

Tears were streaming down my face as I found the right words.

"When you were in surgery, and I was waiting at my apartment, I finally went through that box my mom sent me," I explained. "In it, I found a letter that my dad had written before he died. He told me that he wanted me to find a man who makes me his whole world. He also wrote a list of things he wanted to make sure that man checked off."

"Oh," Jake smiled. "And what things do I need to check off?"

"He always pays attention to me when I talk," I recited the letter.

"Check," Jake smirked.

"He runs to me the minute I need him."

"Check."

"He never lets anyone talk down to me."

"Check."

"He makes me feel like I am the most beautiful woman in the world."

"I hope that's a check," Jake said softly.

"It is," I nodded.

"Good," he smiled. "Anything else?"

"He makes sure I know that I am the most important person in his life."

"That one I know is a check," he smirked. "Any more?"

"One more," I said, taking a step closer to him. "Most importantly, he makes me happy."

"Do I?" He asked, his voice soft. I pulled my hands out of his and sat on the edge of his bed. I grabbed his face and looked into his eyes as I answered his earlier question.

"Yes, Jake Seresin, I'll marry you."

Jake grabbed my waist and pulled me so I was leaning on him. I was about to tell him to be careful, but he pressed his lips to mine. Our lips moved slowly in sync as we stayed in each other's arms. Jake was the one to break the kiss.

"I love you so much, Y/N Kazansky," he whispered.

"I love you so much, Jake Seresin."

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@football1921

* * * * *

Gary pulled some strings and played the cops' card to get me early release. As soon as I walked out of the hospital room, Gary came to my side.

"The pain medication is still really strong," I loopily mumbled as I leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and escorted me to the elevator. Neither one of us said anything as we waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, Gary escorted me inside.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be leaving?"

"What?" He teased, "You don't trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," I mumbled. "But I also feel reeeaaally loopy."

"I got you," he whispered, pulling me tighter into his chest.

"I know you do," I mumbled.

I didn't notice the elevator had gotten to the bottom floor until Gary started walking us out. We walked out of the hospital and to our car. Gary helped me into the car before getting into the driver's seat. We sat in silence as he drove us to the hotel we've been staying at this case.

"I got scared during that case."

He glanced at me, but my head was spinning too much.

"You got scared?" He asked, his voice soft. "You never get scared during a case."

"Yes, I do," I mumbled, leaning my head back against the headrest. "I just don't show it."

"Why not?"

The pain medication made me admit what I never would have admitted in a million years.

"Because I don't want you to hate having me as a partner."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gary take a slow breath. "Y/N, why would I hate having you as a partner?"

"Because I'm just a girl," I mumbled, "and I can't have your back."

"Of course you can," he said instantly. "Y/N, I trust you with my life."

"I didn't want you to regret being partnered with a wimpy little girl," I whispered as the sleep took back over.

A little while later, I felt Gary gently pick me up and carry me inside our hotel room. Once I was under the covers, I felt someone tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You're not a wimpy little girl, Y/N," I thought I heard him whisper.

* * * * *

I woke up a few hours later, my whole body still aching. I slowly walked out of the bedroom in our suite to see Gary at the kitchen table, reading through a file.

"How are you feeling?" He asked when he saw me.

"I'm fine," I brushed off as I walked over to the counter and poured myself a cup of coffee.

"I'm guessing the loopy pills have worn off," he said.

I rolled my eyes and tried to get rid of the embarrassment. As much as I wish I hadn't, I remembered everything that happened on the way back from the hospital.

"I'm tough," I whispered, with my back to him.

"I know you are," Gary said softly. I gathered my courage and turned around. I tightly held my coffee cup and took a shaky breath.

"I can take care of myself," I reminded him.

"You have," he said. When he looked up at me this time, the tension in the room changed. I watched as he stood up and walked over to me. "You always will. I'm not trying to take that away from you, Y/N. All I want is to join in. Now we take care of each other."

"Because we're partners," I added with a shrug. He reached over and grabbed my coffee out of my hands, gently putting it on the counter without breaking our staring contest.

Gary grabbed my waist and pulled me so my chest was pressed to his. I looked up at him, my breath getting caught in my throat when I saw how close we were.

"No," he whispered. "Not because we're partners."

"Then why. . ." I started to ask him, but he didn't let me finish. Instead, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. The shock wore off as I slowly started kissing him back. I got lost in the kiss until I remembered something.

"Gary," I whispered, breaking the kiss. "We can't do this. . ."

"Why not?" He asked, reaching up and moving a piece of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering.

"Because," I stuttered, "they'll separate us. We can't be partners if we're involved."

I let out a small giggle when Gary leaned in, pressing his nose to mine. He slowly rubbed his nose against mine.

"We don't have to tell our captain that we're involved," he whispered. He leaned back with a playful smirk on his face.

"He'll figure it out, Johnson," I laughed as I playfully pushed him away from me. He caught my hands and pulled me into his chest.

"We'll just have to create new covers."

"What are you talking about?" I laughed as I draped my arms around his neck.

"It means," he elongated teasingly, "that when we're at work, we'll turn on our cover of 'just partners'. And when we're not on a case, we go back to normal. Back to us."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I tightened my arms around his neck and messily started kissing him back. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine.

"Case or no case," he whispered, "cover or no cover, I'm still responsible for you. I will always have your back, Y/N. And I would never regret having a partner like you."

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@football1921

I nodded before turning on my heel and grabbing Maverick's usual drink. I've known Maverick my entire life, and I know his history with my father. That is the only reason why he is allowed to call me something like Junior.

"Here you go, Mav," I said as I put his beer in front of him.

He nodded appreciatively and kept small talk with me for about half an hour. He asked about nursing school and talked about how he was worried I didn't spend more time with friends. After he tried to encourage me to make more friends and have fun, he asked how things were with my dad.

A little while later, we got some new customers that instantly ruined my mood.

"And so it begins," I said under my breath as Maverick's group of trainees walked in. I glanced at Maverick to see him smiling sadly at me.

"You know," he said under his breath, "if they ever bother you, all you have to do is let me know."

"I know," I said with a small chuckle. My smile fell before I added, "I don't want them thinking you're giving me special treatment because of who my dad is."

Maverick reached over and put his hand on mine. "Y/N," he said gently, "the trainees don't know you're Iceman's daughter. Only Rooster and I know."

"Thanks, Uncle Mav." I paused before adding, "Just because I'm relieved that they don't know about him doesn't mean I'm ashamed of him."

"I know that," he said as he pulled his hand away. "I also know why you don't like pilots."

"I like you," I shrugged. "And Rooster and I have been friends our whole lives."

"True," Maverick smirked at me. "But that's different. We know about your past with your father. The other pilots don't."

We couldn't continue our conversation because Maverick's trainees started ordering drinks. Maverick stayed at the bar as the other pilots played pool and darts.

"Can I get another round of beers, Ice Jr?"

"Excuse me?" I stuttered. I glanced over at Maverick before looking back at Coyote.

"I asked for another round of beers," Coyote said with a big smile on his face.

"No, I heard that," I stuttered. "I meant. . . What did you call me?"

I ignored the fact that the other trainees were now paying attention to this conversation.

"Ice Jr," he repeated like it wasn't a big deal.

"Why would you call me that?" I asked, my heart sinking.

"Because," Coyote elongated, "you're Iceman's daughter."

My head snapped toward Maverick, who instantly put his hands up in defense. "I already told you," he worked to soothe, "I haven't told anyone who you are."

I looked and found my next suspect. When I found Rooster, he was scratching the back of his neck.

"I might have mentioned something about it," he forced a chuckle. His smile dropped when he saw the look on my face. "I didn't mean anything by it, Y/N," he said quickly.

I didn't want to hear the rest of his excuse, so I turned on my heel, walked out from behind the bar, and went to Penny's office. It didn't work because I could still hear them.

"Bradley," I heard Maverick sigh.

"What?" He asked. "I didn't. . ."

"Why didn't she want us to know?" Bob asked.

Maverick sighed again before explaining, "Look, Y/N had a difficult relationship with her father."

"What?"

"Difficult how?"

"Iceman wasn't around a lot," Maverick continued. "He missed a lot of important moments in Y/N's life. Eventually, it got too much. But a few years ago, when her dad was diagnosed with throat cancer, they started patching things up."

"Shouldn't that make her love pilots?" Hangman joked.

"It's more complicated than that," Rooster sighed.

"What does that mean?" Bob asked.

"Y/N has a rule," Maverick jumped in.

"What kind of rule?" Phoenix asked.

"After everything she went through with her father," Rooster explained, "and the pain she and her mom went through, Y/N made a rule that she would never date a pilot like her father."

"What?" All of the trainees exclaimed in sync.

"Look," Maverick cut them off, "being the loved one of a Navy pilot isn't easy. Y/N and her mother lived through every mission her father flew. They were constantly worried that he wouldn't come home. Spending your entire life worrying about whether or not someone you love will come home takes its toll on a young girl. Y/N made that rule to protect herself. She swore she'd never put herself through that kind of pain again. As your CO, I'm asking you to respect that."

* * * * *

I didn't see Maverick's Top Gun pilots for a few nights. When they came back, the way they treated me was drastically different than before they knew the truth. None of them said anything, but the pitiful looks and soft smiles gave them away.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Don't call me that," I snapped at Hangman. I sighed before looking up at him. "What do you want to drink, Hangman?"

"You don't have to call me that," he said lightly.

"What do you want to drink, Seresin?"

"Jake," he corrected me with a smirk on his face.

He laughed when I walked away from him and helped another customer. Before walking back to Jake, I grabbed the beer he always ordered.

"Here," I said with no emotion in my voice as I put the beer in front of him.

"You remembered my beer," he said, his tone of voice making me roll my eyes and cross my arms over his chest.

"Not that hard," I mumbled. "You order the same beer every single time."

I unfolded my arms and grabbed the towel. I was about to walk away, but Jake grabbed my hand.

"Y/N," he said, his voice softening. I looked into his eyes, waiting for him to continue. He didn't, so I pulled my hand out of his.

"What, Seresin?" I asked harshly.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm. . ."

"That you're what?" I scoffed, cutting him off. "Are you trying to tell me that you're not like my father?"

"Well, I just. . ."

"I got news for you, Hangman," I said, changing my tone when I used his call sign. "I know all about Iceman and Maverick. I also know all about you, Hangman, and your back-and-forth with Rooster. I have two words for you."

"Oh?" He asked, a little bit of hope coming through.

"No thanks."

Jake Seresin didn't give up. He continued to force small talk whenever they came in for drinks. He even made up excuses to "pop by" in between flying their mission route.

One day, however, he took it to the next level.

I walked out of the bar after my shift, dying to soak in a hot bubble bath. I was halfway to my car before I realized who was waiting for me.

"It's been a long day, Sersin," I warned him. "I'm not in the mood."

"I know what you're doing."

"Oh?" I scoffed. "And what's that?"

"You're purposefully pushing me away because you don't want to put yourself through what you and your mother. . ."

"Stop!" I yelled, cutting him off. I walked over to him and stopped inches from him. When I spoke up, I said each word carefully and slowly so he could understand. "Don't you dare pretend to understand what my mother and I went through. I know you all idolize my father as a pilot, but me? All the Navy has ever done is take my father away from me. So excuse me for not wanting the Navy to take anyone else from me."

I started to walk away, but he spoke up.

"What if the Navy doesn't take them from you?"

I slowly turned back toward him. "You know," I sighed, "you're a lot like Iceman and Maverick back when they flew together. You think you're the best pilot. You've even got a kill under your belt. All impressive in the eyes of the Navy. But to me? All any of that means to me is that you wouldn't hesitate to put the Navy first."

"No, I wouldn't," he said firmly.

"Yeah," I said, not meaning for my voice to break. "You would."

"What if I promised to prove it to you?"

"I can't," I whispered, taking a small step away from him. "I'm sorry, Jake, but I can't set myself up for something that's only going to end in heartbreak."

* * * * *

"Y/N," Penny sighed when I walked into the bar. She jogged over to me and threw her arms around me. "Mav told me about your father. Honey, I'm so sorry."

My father passed away last night, surrounded by his family. When I woke up the next morning, I felt numb.

I slowly pulled out of her arms, but she didn't let me go.

"Honey, you don't have to be here," she whispered, looking softly into my eyes.

"Where else would I be?" I shrugged.

Penny and I opened the bar without saying anything else. A few hours later, Maverick walked in. He instantly came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. Still in his arms, I looked over his shoulder to see Rooster and the other trainees walking in.

"I can't do this with them," I mumbled as I pulled out of Maverick's arms.

"Go home."

Maverick and I turned to see Penny joining us behind the bar.

"Pen. . ."

"It's fine," she cut me off. "Honey, you should be at home with your mother. I can handle things here."

"I can't," I whispered. "There's nothing to do there but sit and. . . feel things."

"Honey," she sighed.

"I don't want to feel things, Pen," I said, hating that my voice broke.

"Okay," she said, studying me. "But," she added quickly, "if you ever need a minute to feel things, then you can use my office."

I didn't need to use her office, although I got close a couple of times when the trainees came up and ordered. They'd look at me with pity in their eyes, but wouldn't say anything. I could tell that each one of them wanted to give me their sympathies, but they held back.

A week later, it seemed like the entire Navy showed up for my father's funeral. Every one of the trainees was dressed in their suits so they could honor my father. I couldn't look at them because whenever I did, it filled my eyes with tears.

At the luncheon after the funeral, I purposefully put space between me and everyone else. I couldn't handle people coming up to me, expressing their own sorrow, and asking if they could do anything for me. They meant well, but I couldn't handle the pity. I was successful for the first hour. Until. . .

"Why are you hiding all the way over here?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Jake walking over to me.

"I can't handle the pitiful looks," I answered honestly. I turned back around and started picking at my nail polish. Jake walked over and sat next to me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," I said under my breath. After a few minutes of silence, I added, "I just keep thinking. . ."

"About?" He gently pushed.

"At least I fixed my relationship with my father before he. . ."

I couldn't say it.

I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. When Jake reached over and pulled me so my head was leaning on his shoulder, I didn't stop him.

"At least you fixed your relationship with your father before he died," he finished for me, his voice soft. "Your father was a great man, Y/N."

"I know that," I snapped, jumping out of his embrace. "Why does everyone think just because I hated the fact that the Navy took my father from me, it means I hated him? I never hated my father, Hangman."

My voice broke when I said that last sentence. When Jake heard it, he scooted closer to me, closing the gap between us that I created. He gently grabbed my hands and lowered his voice.

"I never believed, and will never believe, that you hated your father, Y/N."

"I don't," I defended myself, my voice weak.

"I know," he said instantly.

"I have never hated my dad, Jake," my voice broke. "I love him."

Jake pulled me into his chest when the tears started falling. Without wanting to, I sobbed into Jake's chest. He comforted me by gently rubbing my back and running his fingers through my hair.

"I know that you love him," Jake whispered. "I also know that your father loved you. And I know that you are worried another pilot will break your heart. But what if. . ."

"I can't. . ." I stuttered, cutting him off. I pulled out of his arms.

"Y/N," he whispered. "Please let me in."

"I can't," I repeated. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"I'm not asking you to instantly jump into a relationship with me," he said gently.

"Then what are you asking?"

He reached over and gently grabbed my hands. "I'm asking you to let me in just a little. Just enough for you to start to get to know me. And if, after you get to know me, there's any chance that you would want to jump into a relationship with me, just know that I'll catch you."

I finally looked at him to see him looking at me with something in his eyes that made my whole body heat up.

And it scared me.

"I can't tell you when that will be," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"That's okay," he soothed. "I can wait."

"I'm not worth the wait."

He smiled softly at me before saying simply, "I respectfully disagree."

We sat there for a few more beats before I looked away from him. I cleared my throat and pulled at the skirt of my dress before standing up.

"I should get back to my mom."

"Y/N, wait," he said, gently grabbing my wrist and stopping me. I hesitated before looking up at him. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

* * * * *

The next two weeks dragged on in a haze. I was numb as I went through my classes. I was numb as I served drinks. I was even numb when Jake continued to try and flirt with me. After the funeral, however, he wasn't as pushy, and he started each interaction by asking how I was doing.

I never answered him honestly, though. I just shrugged and said I was fine. It was clear that he didn't believe me, but he didn't push me. Even Penny noticed that he was trying extra hard to be my friend.

To be honest, it was working. To be more honest, I hated that it was working. I hated that I looked forward to seeing him walk into the Hard Deck. I hated how the nights he didn't show up dragged on and felt empty. I hated that when he did show up, my heart skipped a beat as he sat at the bar. I hated the feeling of disappointment that filled me when he had to leave because of his Navy curfew.

Mostly, I hated that I was starting to trust him.

After my shift dragged on, I got in my car and started driving home. I was halfway there when my car broke down. I got out, opened my trunk, but froze. The longer I stared at my car's engine, the harder it was to stop the tears. With shaky hands and tears in my eyes, I grabbed my phone.

"Hey, Y/N," Jake greeted. The second I heard his voice, a small whimper slipped out of my throat. "What's wrong, Y/N?" He instantly asked, his tone changing.

"My car broke down," I said between small sobs.

"Okay," he said gently, but I cut him off.

"My dad always fixed my car. I can't. . . I don't have him around anymore to come help me."

The second I got that out, my small sob became a big one. Jake let me cry for a little while before speaking up.

"It's okay," he said gently. "Y/N, I can come help you. Do you want me to come help you?"

"Won't you. . . You have a curfew," I stuttered. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"I can talk to Maverick," he instantly fixed. "He'll understand."

I thought about it before whispering, "Okay."

"Okay," Jake repeated. "Y/N, where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"I'm halfway home," I whimpered.

"I'm on my way."

It didn't take long for Jake to find me. I was sitting on the curb when he pulled up. He jumped out of his car and jogged over to me. I stood up and gasped when he pulled me into his arms. It was then that I realized I still had tears streaming down my face.

"Do you want me to take you home?" He whispered.

"No," I whimpered, pulling out of his arms. "I can't. . . I can't go there."

"Why not, Y/N?" He asked gently. I hesitated to tell him why it had been hard to go home the last two weeks.

I sighed before finally admitting, "I don't want to be around all of my memories anymore."

I held my breath as I waited for him to respond. My answer made his expression drop. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering for a second before falling back to his side.

"Well," he said slowly, "we could go to my Navy apartment. Is that okay?"

I thought about his offer. A few months ago, I would've slapped him for offering. But now?

"I'm okay with that."

* * * * *

We drove in silence. The only sound between the two of us was the soft radio. Jake continually looked at me, but I didn't return any of them. I kept my eyes on the window, watching the town go by.

"Thank you," Jake said softly, breaking the silence.

"For what?" I asked without looking at him.

"For trusting me enough to call me," he said, glancing at me. This time, I looked back. "You could've called Maverick or even Rooster. Do you mind me asking why you called me?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I could've called Maverick or Rooster. . . I guess I should've called Maverick or Rooster. I'm sorry, Jake."

"I didn't mean. . ." He stuttered. "Y/N, I'm glad you called me. I wanted you to call me."

"I didn't really think about it," I mumbled. "I just. . . I just called you."

Jake reached over and grabbed my hand, gently intertwining our fingers.

"I'm glad you called me, Y/N," he repeated softly. "Tomorrow, we can send a tow truck to your car and. . ."

I took a shaky breath, making Jake stop talking. He glanced at me and saw the tears in my eyes.

"I'll handle it tomorrow," he whispered.

We were quiet the rest of the way to his Navy apartment. We got out of his car, and I followed him up to his apartment. The minute I walked in, I wrapped my arms around myself.

"You hungry?" He offered as he locked the door behind us.

"No," I said softly.

"Okay," Jake said, studying me. "We could watch a movie."

"I don't know what I want to do," I admitted. Jake walked over and gently grabbed my hands. I looked into his eyes and waited for him to say something, but he didn't. He just looked at me.

Finally, he sighed and let go of one of my hands. With the one he was still holding, he gently pulled me over to the couch.

"Tell me about your dad."

"What?" I gasped. "Why would I. . . Why do you want to know about him?"

"Because I think you need to talk about him," he said gently. "It might help you get through all of this."

I studied him, trying to figure out if there was some angle he was trying to hit by talking to me about all of this.

"When I was little," I started to slowly open up, "my dad was my whole world. But after a few too many missed dinners, birthdays, and graduations, I realized he wasn't as stable a world as I needed. I grew up and learned to stop letting people in. . . If that makes sense."

"It does," he nodded.

We ended up spending the next two hours talking about my dad. Jake asked questions about my dad and Maverick back when they were our age. We spent a lot of time talking about that.

Throughout the conversation, I couldn't stop my curiosity rising as to why. When I first met Jake, his 'Hangman' callsign made complete sense to me. But now. . .

"Why are you doing all of this?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"Why am I being nice to you?" He asked gently. I nodded. He thought about his answer before saying, "I'm being nice because I want to make sure that you know that you're not alone."

"I know that," I whispered.

"You know that Maverick will always be there for you," he agreed. "You know that Rooster will always be there for you. I want to make sure that you know that I will always be there for you, Y/N. All you got to do is let me in."

"I can't," I said, my voice breaking. "I can't risk letting you in. . . just to lose you."

"You don't know that you're going to lose me," he whispered, scooting closer to me. "You don't know that letting me in is risky."

"You're a pilot, Jake."

"I know," he sighed. He slowly reached up and gently touched my chin. "You're right, Y/N. Letting me in would be risky. But I like to think I'm worth the risk. Please let me be worth the risk for you."

Tension was heavy as Jake slowly leaned in, pressing his lips gently to mine. He didn't push things, and I soon realized it was because he was letting me set our pace. When I realized this, I grabbed his face and deepened the kiss.

Once I set the pace, neither one of us stopped it.

* * * * *

I woke up the next morning in Jake's bed. I rolled over, expecting to see him asleep next to me, but he wasn't. I sat up and was overcome with this horrible feeling. As I sat on his bed with the blanket clutched to my chest, that horrible feeling caused a horrible thought to pop into my head.

Hangman got what he wanted last night.

With tears filling my eyes, I got out of Jake's bed. I struggled to hold the tears back as I collected my clothes that Jake discarded last night. I put them on and pulled my hair back into a messy bun.

I was about to leave his room but froze when I remembered that my car was abandoned halfway between the Hard Deck and my apartment. A rush of embarrassment hit me as I slowly opened his bedroom door.

When I walked out of his bedroom and down the hall, I found Jake in the kitchen. My heart felt like it melted when I saw that he was cooking pancakes.

"You're still here," I stuttered.

"Of course I am," he chuckled with his back to me.

He glanced over his shoulder at me and froze when he saw the expression on my face. He put down the spatula and jogged over to me. When he got to me, he gently grabbed my arms and started rubbing them.

"Did you think I left you?" He asked, lowering his voice. "Just like that?"

"I didn't. . . I thought. . . I woke up, and you were gone," I finally got out. "What was I supposed to think?"

Still holding my arms, Jake leaned in and gently kissed me. He broke the kiss and kept his forehead pressed to mine.

"I meant it last night," he whispered. He leaned back before continuing, "I know letting me in is a risk, but I will always be there for you. No matter what. All I need you to do is break your rule."

He paused as he waited for my response. If I was honest with myself, a part of me wanted to break my rule. But the other part of me saw how many times my mother's heart broke.

"Jake," I whispered his name.

"Please, Y/N," he begged. "Let me in."

"Jake, I. . ."

"Break your rule for me, Y/N. Please," he whispered. "Break your rule, and I promise that it'll be worth the risk."

The look of desperation in his eyes made the wall around my heart weaken.

"If you ever break my heart. . ." I started to threaten. I giggled when he grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine. Our lips moved in sync as we wrapped our arms around each other.

"I won't," he moaned, breaking the kiss. "I swear, Y/N. I will do everything I can to make sure I don't break your heart. Breaking your rule will be worth it."

Part 2

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@football1921

I silently thanked the Phone Gods when Gibbs' phone started ringing. On our way to the crime scene, I was stuck in memories I wished I could forget.

Six years ago, I was honorably discharged from the Marines after our caravan was attacked. My unit and I were in Afghanistan, driving between two bases when our caravan was attacked.

One member of our team, the driver, was killed when the bomb went off. The two in the back with me were unconscious. I was the only one awake, but my legs were crushed. My left leg was pinned between the seat and the door. I was struggling to get out when I noticed the insurgents running toward us.

With blood in my eyes and unable to move my legs, I grabbed my gun and shot at them. I passed out right after killing the last insurgent. When I woke up, I was in the medical tent back on base with the rest of my team. Once I was strong enough to travel home, I was honorably discharged.

Due to my accident, I had surgery on my left leg and had to go through weeks of physical therapy. A few months later, I had no idea what to do with my life. All I have ever wanted was to be a Marine and serve my country.

It took some time before I decided to join NCIS. I worked my way up to becoming an agent. About a year ago, my team and I were chasing a serial killer and ended up asking Gibbs's team for some help. We chased the guy, and I was the one to take him down.

The next day, I walked into NCIS still sore from the takedown. I ran into Gibbs in the elevator, and he asked me to join his team. When I joined his team, I felt the same way I felt back when I was in the Marines - as a part of the whole.

I forced myself out of my daze when we got to the crime scene.

"Watch and wallet are still here," McGee noted. "No signs of a robbery."

"Got an ID?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah. First Lieutenant Michael Torres, 31."

Torres. . . Why does that name sound familiar?

"Originally from Ohio," McGee continued. "Moved to D.C. after getting engaged last year.

"Family?" Gibbs asked.

"Parents have been notified," McGee nodded. "Fiancée's out of town on a trip."

"Get her back," Gibbs ordered.

"It looks as though he's been beaten, Jethro," Ducky sighed.

"Any weapons, Duck?"

"Wounds are consistent with a good old-fashioned human fist," Ducky explained.

"Yeah, believe it or not," Palmer jumped in, "at one point in my life, I dabbled in boxing. Well, I wasn't really a boxer, per se. More of a, uhh, an assistant. . . Actually, I was a bucket boy."

"Give me a TOD, Duck," Gibbs said, ignoring Palmer's weird trip down memory lane.

"Judging by the lack of rigor," Ducky noted, "and the coagulation, oh, approximately 2:00 to 3:00 am. Oh, that is a nasty gash to the back of his head. Deep laceration."

"Doctor," Palmer slightly interrupted, "there's something under his fingernails here. Looks like dirt."

"I located just one security camera. Belongs to the owner of the building," I said, walking up to them. I froze when I looked down at the body.

Why does this victim look familiar?

"Does the camera face the alley?" Gibbs asked.

"He believes so," I said, looking away from the body, "but I will verify."

"Hey, boss," Tony said as he walked over. He smirked when he saw me. "Hey, Agent Y/L/N."

I scoffed and walked away as I rolled my eyes. I heard Tony clear his throat before turning back to Gibbs. Before he could say anything, Gibbs warned him.

"Leave her alone, DiNozzo," he sighed. He laughed before adding, "The next time she has to shoot you down, she might use her actual gun."

"Right. . ." DiNozzo said slowly. "Anyway, cops just got a call about someone breaking into the victim's apartment. Witnesses described a young white male with blood on his clothes."

We rushed to the victim's apartment, jumping out of the car as soon as we got there. We followed Gibbs into the apartment, instantly on edge when we heard distant clanking.

"NCIS," Gibbs said when we saw someone on their knees looking for something in the TV stand. "Turn around. Now!"

The man stood up with his hands up and slowly turned around. The second he did, my heart dove into my stomach.

"Captain Joe Westcott, sir. Don't shoot. Don't shoot!"

Oh. . . That's why the name 'Torres' sounded familiar.

I held my breath, waiting for him to notice me. I grew up with the Westcott brothers. Evan and I did practically everything together. We even enlisted in the Marines together. Luckily, we were sent to the same training base.

Everything we went through, Evan was right by my side. He had my back during training when one of the other male recruits wouldn't leave me alone. Unfortunately, when we got deployed, we were sent to different bases.

He was at the base where my team was headed, so there was no way he didn't hear about my accident. And yet, I didn't hear from him. I didn't expect him to come running into the med tent and screaming at people to find out where I was. I expected him to, at least, check on me.

"You're coming with us, Captain," Gibbs said calmly.

"No, I can't," he gasped. "Those men. . . they took Lieutenant Torres, and I have to get him back."

The longer I stared at Joe, the more I realized that something was wrong.

"No one has him," Gibbs said. I held my breath, waiting for Gibbs to tell him.

"Gibbs," I whispered when I noticed how badly his hands were shaking. "Look at his hands."

I knew that the team had looked at Joe's hands when they slowly lowered their guns. I put my gun back into the holster and took a slow step toward Joe.

"Y/L/N," Gibbs warned. I lifted my hand and dismissed him. I knew I was going to pay for that later, but I didn't care.

"Joe," I said gently. "Do you remember me?"

"Why would I. . ."

I held my breath.

"Y/N. . . Of course, I remember you," he laughed off the weird trance he was just in. "Evan followed you around like a puppy!"

I gasped when he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. I noticed my team raise their guns when Joe grabbed me. I raised my hand to try to reassure them. I broke the hug and took a step back.

"Joe," I said gently, "we need you to come down to NCIS with us."

"You work for NCIS now, Corporal?"

I ignored the looks DiNozzo and McGee shared when Joe said my old ranking.

"I do," I nodded.

"I can't go to NCIS," he mumbled to himself. I took a step back when his hands started shaking again.

"Joe. . ."

"They took Lieutenant Torres," he started to panic. "I have to get him back. I have to get him back!"

I gasped when Joe roughly grabbed me.

"Let her go!" Gibbs yelled.

"Put your guns down!" I yelled over my shoulder. "Joe," I said gently, "let me go."

"I can't," he stuttered. "I can't, Y/N. They took Lieutenant Torres! They took him! I have to get him back."

"Joe," I whispered, "look at me."

He finally looked at me, and I slowly watched his eyes focus on me.

"Y/N!" He gasped, quickly letting me go. "I'm. . . I'm sorry. I can't. . . I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I soothed. "Joe, I need you to come with me to NCIS, okay?"

"But Torres. . ."

"Honey," I sighed, reaching over and grabbing his hands, "he's dead."

The entire drive back to NCIS, Gibbs was grumpy. When we got back, he made me take a different elevator with just him. We got in, and one floor up, he turned it off. He turned toward me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Were you going to tell me that you know our suspect?"

"We don't know that he. . ." I stopped talking when he glared. "Okay," I sighed. "I'm sorry. I would've told you, but I got distracted when I saw the state he was in. Clearly, he isn't okay."

He looked at me, and his glare softened. I sighed when he turned the elevator back on.

"I know," he mumbled, "but there is something we can do to help him."

We were approached by DiNozzo and McGee when we exited the elevator.

"Captain Westcott is waiting in the interrogation room," McGee said.

"So," DiNozzo smirked, "is Y/L/N off the case?"

"No," Gibbs said simply as we walked past them. "She's going to use her connection to Captain Westcott to help us solve it."

* * * * *

"Guy seemed pretty out of it, boss," DiNozzo sighed.

"Maybe he's still in shock," I tried to defend him.

"Or guilty," he said, glaring at me. "Your little friend. . ."

"Background," Gibbs cut him off.

"By all accounts," McGee said, staring at us, "Captain Joseph Westcott and Lieutenant Michael Torres were close."

"They've been friends since childhood," I jumped in. "In fact, they joined the Corps together."

"Records are spotless," DiNozzo said, with his eyes on me.

"Both highly regarded by their unit," McGee continued. "C.O. called them born leaders. Says they exemplify the highest level of commitment to the Marines."

"Captain never called 911," DiNozzo pointed out. "Doesn't sound like commitment to me."

"He could've been in shock," I said through my clenched jaw.

"What else?" Gibbs cut me off.

"Lieutenant Torres was finishing his second tour in Afghanistan," McGee stated. "And, uh, Captain Westcott, his third before his release for medical discharge eight months ago."

"And yet he still uses the title," DiNozzo mumbled.

"That's habit," Gibbs said before I could snap at him.

"He lives in Ohio," I said, slowly turning my glare away from DiNozzo. "Currently unemployed. Father is alive, mother is deceased." I paused before adding, "One brother. He's a Marine."

"What type of injury?" Gibbs asked, glancing at me.

"Nerve damage to his right leg after an ambush on his unit last year near Arghanda."

"Still gathering details," McGee added, "but we do know that four Marines were killed."

"With Lieutenant Torres," Gibbs sighed, "that makes five."

"You know, "DiNozzo paused as he turned toward me, crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked at me, "What happened to Captain Westcott kinda sounds like what happened to you, Y/L/N. How many Marines died when you. . ."

"Son of a. . ." I charged Tony. Gibbs instantly grabbed me, pulling me away from DiNozzo.

"Y/L/N, go take a walk," Gibbs ordered.

"Gibbs. . ."

"And if you can't control yourself on this case," he cut me off, "I will take you off of it. Understood?"

"Yes, boss," I said through my teeth.

As I walked out of the room, I heard Gibbs mumble to DiNozzo, "Don't make jokes about things you don't understand."

* * * * *

The minute I got to my desk, I couldn't control my anger. McGee jumped when I aggressively threw my chair against the cubicle wall. Breathing heavily, I ran my fingers through my hair roughly.

"Y/N," McGee said softly.

Before he could try to comfort me, I brushed past him. I went into the bathroom and put my hands under cold water. I closed my eyes as memories flashed through my mind.

I stayed in the bathroom until those memories finally stopped. I slowly walked back into the bullpen and leaned against the wall to bring myself back to the present.

"Special Agent McGee," he answered his phone. "Okay. I will let him know." He hung up and said, "Gibbs, there is a visitor downstairs for Captain Westcott."

"Who?"

I looked toward the elevator when the bell rang and instantly tucked around the corner. I hid and held my breath as I heard Gibbs approach him.

"Agent Gibbs."

I recognized his voice the second I heard it. I peeked around the corner and watched Gibbs shake Evan Westcott's hand.

"Sergeant Westcott," Gibbs nodded, shaking his hand.

"Good to meet you," Evan smiled.

Damn, that smile. . .

"Your brother know you're here?"

"I hope so, sir," Evan chuckled, "he called me."

"He said you were on a seven-month tour, not back till Christmas."

"No, sir," Evan said, the look on his face slightly changing. "I'm on leave till Christmas." He cleared his throat before saying, "He must have got them mixed up. Understandable, considering."

"Your father coming, too?" Gibbs asked.

He hesitated before slightly mumbling, "Uh, no. Soon, though, he just had to take care of a few work things back home. Probably for the best."

"Why's that?"

I held my breath, waiting to see what Evan was going to say. Neither Westcott brother would admit it, but things with Mr. Westcott were tense. They've always been tense between the three of them. More so after their mother passed.

"Where can I find my brother, sir?"

"He's at the Adler Hotel downtown," Gibbs said. "I can take you if you'll wait a minute."

"You know, I'd rather not," Evan turned him down. "I'd like to see him as soon as I can."

"Okay, understood," Gibbs said softly. He cleared his throat before loudly saying, "McGee, where's Y/L/N?"

His saying my last name made Evan freeze. I took a shaky breath before walking out of my hiding place.

"Here, boss," I said, forcing myself not to look at Evan.

"McGee and Abby are having a hard time piecing together what happened," Gibbs said, turning toward me. "With your experience in the Marines, I'd like you to take a look and help them."

"Sure," I nodded. I quickly turned on my heel and basically jogged toward Abby's lab.

I watched the security footage and studied Ducky's report. The entire time I did, Abby and McGee stared at me.

"I'm only going to say this once," I said after almost twenty minutes of them studying me. "I'm not answering any questions about my connection to Captain or Sergeant Westcott."

"We will talk about that later," Gibbs said as he walked in. I sighed and put the files down. I turned around and leaned against the table, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What do you got?" Gibbs asked me without breaking our staring contest.

"Based on the evidence from the scene," I sighed, "we were able to recreate all the blows to Lieutenant Torres' body."

"There were ten blows in total to the arms, torso, back, and face," Abby explained. "It looks like he was surrounded, right?"

"If he had been surrounded," I took over, "each wound would have a distinct impression because each attacker would have been standing in a different place and striking from a different angle. Based on our measurements, we only found two types of impressions - striking from the front and the back."

"Two attackers," Gibbs said, walking over to the big screen. "McGee, you find anything from the video?"

"No, I'm working on it, but still no faces," McGee admitted. "This tape is, like, a million years old. It's giving me all kinds of problems. It's like riding a. . ."

"Dinosaur," he finished for him. "Freeway. Got it."

"Faces or no faces, Gibbs," Abby sighed, "our findings do not match up with Captain Westcott's story."

I uncomfortably shifted my weight from one foot to the other and tightened my arms around myself. I looked away, but not before seeing Gibbs' eyes land on me.

"There's no way there were multiple attackers," Abby continued.

"Think he's lying?" McGee asked. I cleared my throat and took a step away from them.

"Y/L/N," Gibbs started, but his phone cut him off. He sighed before answering it, "This is Gibbs. . . Sergeant Westcott, is everything alright?"

I couldn't help but straighten up.

"Okay," Gibbs said softly. "I'm on my way."

The second Gibbs hung up, he turned toward me. I cut to the chase before he had to.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Y/N," Abby said softly.

"I'm sorry, boss," I stuttered. "I can't work this case."

* * * * *

No one stopped me as I left. I tried and failed not to think about Joe and Evan working with NCIS. Once embracing my failure, I looked through old photos of the three of us. Well, the two of us.

Growing up, the Westcotts were more my family than my parents. My dad was a captain on a Navy ship and was constantly gone. My mom trained Navy pilots and spent most nights on base. With the many nights I was alone, I often ate dinner with Joe, Evan, and their mom.

As close as I was with them, I had a closer relationship with Evan. Whenever I was in trouble, I'd always find myself running to Evan. Whenever I had good news, Evan was the first person I wanted to tell. Whenever I was scared, I needed Evan's arms wrapped around me to comfort me. Whenever I needed anything, I went to Evan.

Even though he and Joe have been at NCIS for almost the whole week, I haven't talked to him. When I asked Gibbs to take me off the case, he did. I've been spending the week sorting through the evidence lock-up.

I walked into my apartment and immediately changed out of my work clothes. I threw my hair into a messy bun as I walked into my kitchen. I opened the fridge and stared. When I decided that nothing looked good, I ordered a pizza.

As I waited for it to arrive, I found a TV movie to watch and opened a beer. I had drunk half of it when there was a knock at the door. I put my beer on the coffee table and went to pay the pizza man.

Except, it wasn't the pizza man.

"Evan," I stuttered when I opened the door and saw his face.

"Hey, stranger," he said his cheesy greeting.

"What are you doing here?" I stuttered.

"Agent Gibbs gave me your address," Evan smiled.

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, really," he shrugged with a small laugh. "I asked, and he gave it to me."

I tightened my arms around myself and forced myself to look away from him.

"Y/N. . ."

"How's Joe?"

"Gibbs called Lieutenant Commander Peter Sanger."

"That's good," I said quickly. "He's a really good guy. He's from Portsmouth Naval Hospital. He's helped a lot of Marines who were struggling with PTSD. He'll help Joe."

"I hope so," Evan mumbled. He cleared his throat before continuing, "I gotta admit, Y/N, I wasn't expecting to see you when I first got to NCIS."

"I wasn't expecting to see you either," I mumbled.

"Y/N, I know it's been a while, but I'll always be. . ."

"You never checked on me."

"What?" He stuttered when I cut him off.

I sighed and looked away as I struggled to push down my tears. "After my unit was attacked, I was taken to the base where you and your unit were," I voiced the pain I've been holding down. "You were there, and yet, you never came to see me. Why?"

"Well. . . I thought. . ."

When he didn't continue, I did. "You were the one person I wanted. . . needed to see after that happened," I said, my voice breaking. "I always ran to you when I was in trouble. Why weren't you there for me?"

"I wanted to be," he stuttered. "But I. . ."

"But you what?"

He stared at me, not saying anything. Right when I was about to slam the door on his face, he finally spoke up.

"I was a coward."

"I needed you, Evan." My voice broke again, and I didn't stop the tears. "I was scared. I was. . . I was terrified. And confused! I needed you, and you weren't there. Actually, you were there, but you weren't there for me."

Evan took a step toward me and gently grabbed my hands. He pulled me half a step closer to him before whispering, "I am so sorry, Y/N. I heard about your unit. I heard about you being brought to the base. I swear that I went to see you, but I froze outside the med tent. For some stupid reason, I couldn't walk in. I spent a long time trying to figure out why I didn't go in."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was scared I wouldn't be able to help you," he admitted. He looked down at our hands and took a shaky breath. "I heard that you were being honorably discharged and being sent home. I wished I could go with you. I would've held your hand the entire flight home. But I couldn't. And not being able to be there for you destroyed me."

I looked into his eyes and saw the regret. It was clear that this had been weighing down on him as much as it had been weighing down on me.

"You let me down," I whispered.

"I know," he nodded. "But I will never do that again."

"Promise?" I asked with a shaky breath.

Evan slowly smiled down at me. He pulled me a step closer and let go of my hands, slowly wrapping his arms around my waist. I held my breath when I realized he was slowly leaning in. I didn't move or pull away when his lips finally touched mine.

The second our lips touched, I threw my arms around his neck. When I started kissing him back, Evan pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. Our lips moved messily in sync as we got as close as we physically could. We slowly broke the kiss with matching moans.

"I promise," he whispered through his heavy breathing. "I promise to never let you down again."

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The entire time I was fighting for my life, the only thing that pushed me through everything was the thought of Y/N at home, recovering in the hospital. During the day, I did everything I could to survive so I would see the woman I love again. At night, however, I couldn't sleep.

And not because I was being hunted.

I couldn't sleep because every time I closed my eyes, I only saw Y/N. I saw her slowly dying in the hospital. I saw her fighting for her own life. I saw her watching my death by herself. I saw her break as they showed her my dead body. I saw her crying above my casket as she said her goodbyes.

Once I had 'won' the games, I had to go into hiding. My desire to see Y/N didn't change. In fact, once I was no longer running for my life, my desire to see her got stronger. When I couldn't resist it any longer, I snuck out of the old abandoned shop I'd been hiding in and made my way home.

My desire to see and hold Y/N was getting unbearable the closer I got. With my hood covering my face, I walked down our familiar street.

The second I saw her, my heart jumped into my throat. She was in our kitchen, washing the dishes. I had a perfect view of her through the kitchen window. Even from where I was standing on the sidewalk in front of our house, I could see how worn down she was.

It didn't take long for me to figure out that it wasn't her leukemia that was making her worn down.

It was me.

I took a step toward the house, but I froze when Y/N wasn't alone. A man walked into the kitchen and walked over to my Y/N. He was saying something to her, but I couldn't tell what it was.

She said something back, and I could see her eyes fill with tears. The longer she talked to him, the more her tears threatened to fall. Once they started to, the man quickly wrapped her in his arms.

My whole body heated up with anger when I saw him whisper comforting words in her ear as he rubbed her back. My first instinct was to run in and tear him off of her.

But seeing the look on her face, I couldn't.

Filled with anger and sorrow, I started to leave. I stopped when the front door was roughly thrown open.

"Ben?!"

The way she called out to me sounded like she was holding in a sob. When I turned toward her, I instantly saw the tears start streaming down her face. Tears filled my eyes as she ran down the steps toward me.

I caught her when she jumped into my arms, her arms tightly wrapped around my neck.

"I can't believe. . . I knew that you. . . I missed you so much, baby," she said, her voice breaking as she tightened her arms around me. I closed my eyes and focused on how it felt to hold her.

"I missed you," I whispered, tightening my arms around her. I gasped as I let her go, pulled away, and studied her. "How are you feeling, baby?"

"So much better having you back," she said, her voice breaking. I laughed when she threw her arms around me again.

This time, I picked her up and spun us around, making her giggle the entire time. When I put her down on her feet, I closed my eyes and focused on holding her.

Having her back in my arms made everything that's happened the past few weeks disappear. I didn't care about how sore I was. I didn't care about the battle scars I was covered in. All I cared about was having the woman I loved back in my arms.

I opened my eyes to see him walking out onto the porch. And just like that, the happiness I felt when I had Y/N back in my arms went away. Instead, I was filled with regret and heartbreak.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered, hesitating before letting her go. "I shouldn't have come back."

"What?" Y/N stuttered. "Ben, I don't understand."

I hated the look of hurt in her eyes, but I couldn't stop picturing her in his arms.

"You've moved on," I whispered, each word tasting like poison.

"Moved on?" She stuttered, taking a step away from me. "Ben, what are you talking about?"

I looked behind her to see the guy I had seen her hugging earlier. I nodded toward him, looking away before I could see her follow my gaze. I looked back at her when she let out a small chuckle.

"Ben," she said, stepping back toward me, "baby, you've got it all wrong. Henry, come here."

I gripped my hands into fists as he walked out onto the front doorstep. "What's up, Y/N? Is everything okay?" Henry asked, looking at me.

"It's fine," she chuckled. She turned toward me with a smirk on her face. "Henry, you remember Ben, right?"

"Yeah," Henry said with a small smirk on his face.

"Ben," Y/N said, turning toward me, "this is Henry. My brother-in-law."

Just then, Y/N's sister, Lillian, walked out onto the porch, and Henry wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Oh. . ." Was all I could think to say.

"Ben Richards," Y/N teased, stepping up so she was right in front of me. "Were you jealous?"

"A little," I stuttered.

"Enough to walk away."

It started out teasing, but I saw the look in her eyes drop. I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer so she was inches from me.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered. "I saw him hug you and. . . I just. . . I didn't know what to do. . . I didn't want to ruin your life by coming back. I mean. . . The Running Man ended months ago. But after I killed Killian during the riot, I had to go underground. I wasn't able to. . ."

She cut me off by grabbing my face and pressing her lips to mine. The second our lips touched, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me. Y/N broke the kiss and looked up at me.

"Henry was hugging me because I was worried about you," she said with soft eyes. "I was panicking about how long it had been since the Running Man ended, and that I hadn't heard from you."

"I'm sorry, baby," I instantly soothed. "Moli and I decided it would be best if I stayed underground for a little while. At least until things calmed down."

"He didn't think to tell me?"

"We didn't want to risk him reaching out to you," I sighed as I pulled her closer to me. "With me in hiding, the Network could use you to draw me out. Me keeping my distance kept you safe."

My heart felt like someone had grabbed it when she jumped into my arms and wrapped hers around me. I caught her and held her tightly. I took a shaky breath when she buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"No more distance," she whimpered. "Please, Ben. I need you."

I leaned back and cupped her face in my hand. "I will never leave you again, baby. I promise. No more distance."

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* * * * *

As soon as he saw me at the airport, Glen ran toward me. I giggled as he picked me up and crashed his lips to mine. Without breaking the kiss, he spun me around. We didn't go to dinner. Instead, we went back to his place and ordered in.

I woke up the next morning to Glen gently gliding his fingers up and down my bareback. I looked up to see him smiling down at me.

"Good morning, gorgeous," he whispered. I didn't look away from his eyes as he reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Good morning, handsome."

He smiled as he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to mine. Our lips moved slowly in sync as he rolled us so he was hovering over me. When he broke the kiss, he slightly leaned up.

"What should we do today, my dear?" He asked, sending chills through my body.

"I don't care," I hummed. "As long as we're together, we can do whatever you want."

He leaned down, but stopped when his face was inches from mine. "I want to do nothing but spoil my girl."

I smirked up at him as I slowly slid my hands up his chest before wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm okay with that."

Glen and I laid in bed for a few more hours before finally getting up and starting our day. We made breakfast together and did the dishes once we finished eating. After breakfast, Glen insisted on taking me shopping.

I let him take me to a few stores, but I spent the entire time trying to convince him that he didn't need to buy me anything. Finally, after a lot of sweet pestering from him, I allowed him to buy me an outfit for our anniversary dinner tonight.

After shopping, we went home and were about to make lunch when his phone rang.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"It's okay," I shrugged. "Answer it."

He kissed my cheek before taking the phone call in the other room. Ever since we started dating, whenever Glen had to leave or walk away from me, he'd either kiss me or kiss my cheek. It was a small thing, but it meant a lot to me.

Glen was on the phone for a while. I finished our sandwiches and took him one.

"I just got back in town, Mack."

Mack was Glen's manager. By the look on his face, Glen didn't like this conversation.

"I know that. . ."

Mack must have interrupted him.

"What time do I have to be there?" Glen waited for an answer before scoffing, "That's in an hour, Mack. That doesn't give me time. . ."

I subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost one, which means wherever Mack wanted Glen to be, he had to be there by two.

"Then I will get ready here at home, and I will be at the studio before two."

Glen didn't give Mack a chance to answer him because he hung up. He tossed his phone onto the couch and ran his hands over his face. I quietly put the sandwiches down and walked over to him.

His back was still to me, so I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind.

"Everything okay?" I asked gently.

"Mack apparently forgot to tell me about an interview he had set up for me," Glen scoffed as he put his arms on top of mine.

"Why did you say 'forgot' like that?" I asked, leaning my chin on his shoulder.

Glen sighed as he turned toward me, instantly wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked up at him.

"There have been times," he explained slowly, "that Mack doesn't tell me about things until the last minute."

"What?" I slightly giggled. My smile fell as I continued, "That's. . . Kind of messed up."

"He does it so I can't come up with an excuse to not do something or go somewhere."

"Why would you make excuses?"

Glen slowly smirked at me before leaning down and picking me up. I giggled as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Because," he elongated as he carried me over to the couch, "the last few months, I've been a little bit distracted."

"Have you?" I teased as he sat us down.

"Mhmm," he hummed. "The last four months, I haven't been able to focus on my career. Instead, I try to find every excuse to be around you."

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. Our lips instantly started moving in sync as he gently massaged my hips.

"Don't you. . . have somewhere. . . to be?" I asked between kisses. Glen sighed, breaking the kiss and leaning his forehead against mine.

"Mack set up an interview for me at two o'clock," he grumbled. He leaned back and looked into my eyes as he continued, "I don't want to leave you, baby."

"It's just for a few hours," I shrugged. I played with the collar of his shirt as I added, "We can still make our dinner reservation."

The look in Glen's eyes slightly changed. It got more serious.

"The interview starts at three," he whispered. "While I'm gone, get ready. I should be done no later than 5:30."

"I can push our reservation back to 7, instead of 6," I offered. "That way, you have time to come home and change before our dinner."

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. When he broke the kiss, he looked into my eyes as he promised, "I won't be late."

* * * * *

I laughed when Glen rushed into his apartment. He checked his watch and groaned.

"Give me twenty minutes to shower and change," he rushed out.

"Baby," I laughed, "breathe. Our reservation isn't for another 45 minutes. We have time."

He jogged over to me and pressed his lips to mine. I laughed as he turned on his heels and ran to his room. Twenty minutes later, Glen ran out. He stopped when I stood up.

"Wow," he whispered as he grabbed my hands and pulled me closer. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I whispered as he leaned in and gently kissed me. When he broke the kiss, he kissed my cheek. He led me out to his car with my hand in his. We drove to the restaurant with the radio playing and small talk.

Throughout dinner, Glen seemed a little distracted. Whenever I tried to ask him if something was bothering him, he'd smile and say he was fine. He'd then smirk and tell me that he was just focusing on how beautiful I looked.

After dinner, Glen and I decided to walk around the park by his apartment for a little while. When we got to the gazebo, Glen pulled me under it. He pulled me into his arms and slightly swayed us back and forth.

"Why are we dancing?" I giggled. My smile slowly fell when I saw the way he was staring at me. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but he spoke up first.

"I'm in love with you."

"You're. . . We've only been dating for 4 months," I whispered, my voice slightly breaking.

"I know," he shrugged as he pulled me a step closer. His smile fell slightly as he added, "But we've worked together for over a year. I know everything about you, and you know everything about me. Hell, we knew all of that before we even started dating. I know how I feel about you, Y/N. I know that I love you."

I had tears in my eyes as I looked at the man who was looking at me with nothing but love in his eyes.

"I know it's crazy," I whispered, "but I know that I love you, too."

Glen leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I tightened my arms around him, and he slightly picked me up. Our lips continued to move in sync as he spun us around. When we broke the kiss, Glen put me back on my feet. Our foreheads were pressed together as silence surrounded us. We both let out small giggles.

"Unfortunately," he smirked, leaning back, "now you and I have to get married."

"What?" I giggled. "Why?"

"Because I'm not letting anyone else fall in love with the woman I love."

I looked into his eyes to see that he was a hundred percent serious. 

"I don't want anyone else to have you but me," he added.

"Glen. . ." I whispered. I smiled as I pulled him closer to me. "I am all yours."

He smirked as he leaned his forehead against mine. My eyes fluttered closed when he rubbed his nose against mine.

"You are mine," he whispered. "And what's mine is going to stay mine."

"Can't argue with that."

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@football1921

* * * * * *

As each of the trainees arrived at the Hard Deck for the Fourth of July party, Hangman kept his eyes on the door. It got closer and closer to when the fireworks were going to be lit, but there was still no sign of Y/N.

"You alright, Hangman?" Maverick asked when he walked over to the bar and ordered another drink.

"I'm fine," Hangman said not at all convincingly.

"Are you?" Maverick slightly chuckled. He sighed when Hangman looked at him. "You have been staring at the door since you got here. Who are you waiting for?"

"Fine," Hangman sighed. "I'm waiting for Dove."

"She's not coming," Maverick said like it was common knowledge.

"Wait, what?" Hangman gasped.

When Maverick saw the look on Hangman's face, he decided to tell him the truth.

"You don't know about Y/N's first mission, do you?" He asked gently. Hangman shook his head. Maverick took a deep breath before continuing. "Her plane was shot down in the middle of a firefight. She got out and took cover in a cave. It took her shipmates four days to find her."

"Four days?!" Hangman angrily asked. He cleared his throat and forced himself to calm down. "It took them four days. . ."

"The entire time she was hidden in that cave, she could hear the firefight going on above her," Maverick finished explaining. "Ever since then, loud noises trigger her PTSD. It's worse on holidays like the Fourth of July."

"The fireworks," Hangman mumbled. "The fireworks trigger her PTSD."

Maverick watched as Hangman's eyes widened and he quickly put his beer down before running out of the bar.

By the time Hangman got to Y/N's place, the fireworks had started. He was too impatient to wait for the elevator, so he took the stairs. He ran up the four flights of stairs and found her apartment as quickly as possible.

He was about to knock when a group of fireworks went off. As soon as they started, he also heard something that made his heart jump into his throat.

"No!!"

"Y/N?!" He yelled as he pounded on the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He was about to hesitate, but it only took one thing for that hesitation to disappear. The second she screamed, Hangman kicked down the door.

He walked into her room, but it was empty. Another group of fireworks went off, causing Y/N to let out another scream. That scream helped him find her in the bathroom across from her room. He slowly opened the bathroom door, but froze when he heard the shower.

Hangman peeked his head in and let out a small sigh of relief when he found Y/N crouched in the shower with her clothes on. He ran over to her and instantly collapsed to his knees in front of her. He felt like someone punched him in the gut when Y/N cowered away from him when he tried to grab her.

"No!" She yelled. "Please, no!"

"Y/N," he said softly. "It's me, Dove. It's Jake."

She looked up at him with red eyes and tears streaming down her face, running into the water drops from the shower. The look of fear on her face destroyed him.

"Jake?" She whimpered.

"Yes," he smiled softly at her. "It's me, Y/N."

He slowly crawled into the shower next to her and wrapped his arms around her. The second his arms were wrapped around her, he noticed how badly she was shaking.

"It's okay, Dove," he whispered. "You're okay. I'm right here."

Just then, another group of fireworks went off, making Y/N tuck into Hangman's chest. The scream she let out was muffled by his shirt.

"It's alright," he soothed. His heart sank when she let out a small whimper. "I've got you, Y/N. I've got you."

Hangman didn't care that both he and Y/N were still under the running water or that his uniform was soaked. All he could focus on was how badly Y/N was shaking in his arms and her small shrieks whenever the fireworks went off outside.

"I've got you, Dove," he found himself repeating. "You're home. And you're safe. I've got you."

His reassuring speech was interrupted by more fireworks. She shrieked and tucked more into him.

"Make them stop," she whimpered. She looked up at him, and it felt like someone was trying to rip his heart out of his throat. "Please, Jake. Make them stop!"

Hangman reached up and gently cupped her face. "Oh, Y/N," he sighed. "I wish I could, little dove." He pulled her back into his chest as he repeated, "I really wish I could."

Fireworks went off again, making Y/N grab Hangman's uniform and bury her face into his chest. He took a slow breath as he struggled to think of something he could do to help her. When he got the idea, he slowly unwrapped his arms from around her.

"No," she whimpered, quickly grabbing him. Hangman reached up and gently grabbed her face so she was looking directly into his eyes.

"I am not leaving," he said firmly. "I'm just getting out so I can turn on your music."

"My music?" She stuttered.

She gasped and quickly covered her ears with both hands when more fireworks went off. Hangman didn't think before leaning in and gently kissing her hand that was pressed tightly to her ear. His doing that made her loosen her hold on herself.

She looked up at him right as he walked out of the shower. He took off his uniform coat and slid off his wet shoes and socks. He went into Y/N's room and found her speaker. He opened her computer, found her playlist, and turned it on. He turned it up as far as he could and quickly ran back to Y/N.

"What. . . What did you do?" Y/N stuttered, barely heard over the music.

"The music will help drown out the fireworks," he said, reaching forward and moving a piece of wet hair out of her face. "But," he quickly continued, "I'm not going to force you out of the shower if you don't want to. Okay?"

"Okay," she said slowly. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Y/N finally nodded her head.

"Okay," Hangman whispered with a smile on his face. He reached up and turned off the shower. He grabbed her hands and helped Y/N to her feet.

Once she was standing, he grabbed the towel she had hanging on the back of her bathroom door and wrapped it around her.

"Why don't you get dressed?" Hangman asked. "Then we'll watch a movie, really loudly, until the fireworks stop."

"They'll never stop," Y/N's voice broke. 

"Yes, they will," he quickly reassured. "I promise, Dove. They are not going to go all night. They will stop."

Y/N whimpered as she looked away from Hangman's eyes. That's when she noticed it.

"You're wet," she whispered. She looked up at him, and Hangman could see new tears forming. "You're soaking, and you don't have a pair of dry clothes to change into."

"Actually," he started to say with a chuckle, but Y/N cut him off.

"I have my brother's old clothes," she rushed out as she left her bathroom.

"Really, Dove, it's okay," Hangman laughed as he chased after her.

"You'd think I'd be able to throw out his old clothes," Y/N said as she searched through her closet. "But for some reason, I can't."

She turned around with a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She looked at the clothes in her hands for a second before looking up at Hangman.

"You're about his size," she said, her voice softer this time. 

"His mission was four years ago?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, glancing down at the clothes again. "The mission he never came back from. . ."

Hangman reached over and put his hands over hers that were clutching the clothes. 

"Dove," he whispered, "I'm okay. I don't need. . ."

"It's fine," she brushed off as she handed him her brother's clothes. "They're just clothes."

She said that to Hangman, but to him, it sounded more like she was saying that to herself. He watched her walk back to her closet and slowly grab some pajamas. He hesitated for only a minute before walking out of her room and back to the bathroom. 

After changing, Hangman's hand was on the door handle when he heard Y/N scream. He tore the door open and ran to her room. When he got there, she was collapsed in the middle of the room.

"Y/N!" He gasped as he ran over and knelt next to her. "Dove, what happened?"

"The song. . . ended. . . I heard. . ."

"I'm sorry, Dove," he sighed, pulling her into his chest. 

The two sat there for a few minutes before Hangman gently pulled Y/N to her feet. With his arms wrapped tightly around her, he walked her into her small family room. He turned on the TV and instantly turned up the volume.

* * * * * *

After the movie they were watching was over, Hangman quickly found another one. Throughout the night, Y/N and Hangman sat right next to each other, in each other's arms. Every once in a while, the fireworks outside could be heard. Every time she heard them, Y/N would tuck tighter into Hangman's chest, and he would tighten his arms around her. 

Y/N was focused on the movie and the fireworks. Hangman was focused on Y/N in his arms. Finally, he couldn't hold his curiosity back.

"What does your call sign mean?"

"What?" Y/N looked up at him without pulling out of his arms. 

"Dove," he said, suddenly feeling stupid since she knows her own call sign. "We know you got it back in training, but none of us flew with you, so we don't know the story."

"It's not much of a story," she shrugged, finally sitting up out of his hold. She grabbed the pillow and hugged it to her chest as she turned toward him, folding her legs under herself. Hangman turned so he could face her. 

"Still like to hear it," he tried to say softly. Hangman's breath got caught in his throat when Y/N moved her hair aside and turned so he could see the dove tattoo on the back of her left shoulder.

"I got this tattoo when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer," she said. 

Hangman's eyes were glued to her as she let go of her hair and turned back toward her. The look in Y/N's eyes as she talked about her mother softened. Hangman couldn't stop himself from reaching over and grabbing her hands.

"My mother loved doves," Y/N explained. "She loved what they stood for. Did you know that they mate for life?"

"I didn't," Hangman said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.

"It's one of the reasons my mother loved them," she nodded, slightly looking behind him. Hangman followed her eyes to see a picture of Y/N with her mom at her high school graduation. He looked back at her when she continued, "Doves are naturally gentle. They served as emblems of affection and devotion across cultures for centuries. I made 'dove' my call sign because. . ."

"In memory of your mother," Hangman tried to finish for her.

"That," she sighed. "And as a reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"A reminder that no matter how dark the world gets, or how horrible the things are that we have to do," she said, sounding like she was repeating something she's been telling herself for years, "to never lose the gentleness that each child is born with."

"That's. . . beautiful," Hangman finally got out. A lot better than mine, he thought but didn't say.

"I never told anyone because I was scared they'd laugh," Y/N admitted to him.

"I would never laugh at you, Y/N," Hangman whispered. Before he could convince himself not to, he started to lean in. Y/N leaned in too when she heard him whisper, "I would never laugh at you, Dove."

The second he said her call sign, their lips touched. Hangman deepened the kiss by reaching up and gently grabbing her face with one hand and wrapping his free arm around her waist. Y/N reached up and grabbed the front of his shirt. Their lips moved in sync, slowly moving faster, until they were rudely interrupted.

A large group of fireworks was set off, the sound louder than the movie and music playing in the apartment. Y/N gasped, breaking the kiss, and immediately tucked into Hangman's chest.

"Don't leave me," she sobbed into his shirt. "Please, Jake. Please don't leave me."

Hangman wrapped his arms around her and pulled her with him as he laid down. He smiled when Y/N relaxed and cuddled into him. He reached up and ran his fingers through her wet hair.

"I promise, my Dove," he whispered. "I won't leave unless you tell me to."

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@football1921

Boone jogged over to us, and I could tell it wasn't good news.

"Where are the EMTs?" Dexter asked.

"They said to take her to the nearest hospital," he scoffed. "Their ambulance was taken in the storm."

"Our truck isn't in that good of a condition," Lily said with a small laugh.

"Our van is okay," Dexter said. Just like that, we made our way to the van. I tried, but each step got harder and harder. Boone and Dexter noticed.

"Let Dexter take her," Boone said softly, trying to convince me. I started to object, but he cut me off. "I know you're in pain, Tyler. Come on. None of us wants anything to happen to Y/N. We may not care about her as much as you do, but we still care about her. We also care about you."

I looked between Boone and Dexter before finally carefully handing Y/N over to Dexter. My nerves jumped when I realized that Y/N was unconscious.

"We need to get her to a hospital," I said, my voice breaking. "Now."

We piled into the van, and Boone drove us to the nearby hospital. I stayed right by Y/N, my fingers constantly finding her wrist to check her pulse. When we arrived, I didn't let anyone else carry her inside. As soon as we walked in, we were surrounded by nurses.

I hesitated before putting Y/N on the gurney. My heart seemed to go with her as they wheeled her down the hallway, away from me.

Y/N has been in my life as long as I can remember. She's also been the love of my life as long as I can remember. There have been so many times, after a bad chase, that I've wanted to pack my things, grab Y/N, get in my truck, and take her far away.

To be honest, she wouldn't let me. I've talked to her about ending the group, and she never hesitated to remind me about the good that we do. But right now, in this moment, the idea of chasing another storm. . .

"Tyler," Boone said, gently bringing me out of my thoughts. "Let's get your leg looked at."

"What if she. . ."

"Don't go there," he cut me off. "Don't put the thought of Y/N not making it into your mind. Y/N is a strong girl. She's a fighter. She is going to be okay. While the doctors help Y/N, please have a doctor check on your leg."

"Fine," I said, giving in. "But I want you to tell me as soon as you hear anything about Y/N's condition."

"You know I will."

* * * * *

The entire time they stitched up my leg, all I wanted to do was find Y/N and wrap her in my arms. They tried to get me to rest, but I refused. I limped into the waiting room to see my team sitting in a clump.

"How's Y/N?"

"She's with the doctor," Boone tried to reassure me.

"Still?" I asked, glancing around at them.

"He's running a few tests," Lily gently put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"I need. . . I need to see her," I stuttered. Boone grabbed me before I could walk away.

"She's okay," he said, dropping his voice. "Come sit down."

I allowed him to pull me over to where they were sitting. I sat down, but the second I did, I wanted to jump up and find Y/N. All I could do as we waited was think about how I found Y/N. I couldn't get that image of her out of my head: crawling out of our overturned truck, covered in blood, dirt, and pieces of debris.

"Friends and family of Y/N?"

I jumped up, ignoring the pain shooting up my leg. "How is she?"

"She has a small concussion, some cuts, and bruises," the doctor started to explain. "All her blood work came back clean. You guys can take her home."

"We can?" I stuttered. "Are you sure? I mean. . . She was unconscious when we brought her in."

"I know," the doctor nodded. "She woke up a few minutes after you all brought her in."

"What caused her to pass out like that?" Lily asked.

"You were chasing a storm before you brought her in?" He nodded when we agreed. "Most likely, it was the shock mixed with the adrenaline that caused her to pass out. Other than a small concussion, some bumps and bruises, your friend should be alright. I do suggest that she not chase any storms for the next few weeks. She needs lots of rest."

"Won't be a problem," I responded firmly.

"Great," the doctor said with a small chuckle. "I will get her discharge papers started. We will need someone to sign them, but whoever signs them becomes responsible for her welfare for the next 48 hours."

"I'll sign them," I didn't hesitate. I cleared my throat before asking, "Can I see her first?"

"Of course," he nodded.

As I followed him, I didn't think about the fact that the rest of the team stayed back in the waiting room.

"She's in here," the doctor said, slightly softening his voice. Before walking away, he smiled. "Take your time."

Once he was gone, I slowly opened the door to her hospital room. My heart jumped into my throat, and I felt like I couldn't move when Y/N slowly looked toward me.

"Hi," I said, my voice breaking when I saw the condition she was in.

"Hi, back," she teased.

Unable to hold back any longer, I jogged toward her. I sat on the edge of her bed and threw my arms around her. She let out a small chuckle as I pulled her into my chest.

"I'm fine," she whispered. She broke the hug before asking, "What about you? Are you alright?"

"Just a few stitches," I tried to make it sound not-so-bad.

We looked into each other's eyes, the tension thickening between us. I've always noticed this tension, but by the look in her eyes, I could see that Y/N had noticed it this time, too.

I reached up and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, allowing my hand to linger on her face.

"We should get you home," I whispered before finally dropping my hand and pulling her back into my chest.

"Home is over three hundred miles away," Y/N smirked. "Our motel is closer."

I tightened my arms around her and took a shaky breath.

"I wish I could take you home home."

"Me too," she whispered, cuddling into me. "But our motel home works for now."

I closed my eyes, tightened my arms around her, and focused on how it felt to hold her. I only had two more words I could say to her.

"For now."

* * * * *

I couldn't take Y/N back to the motel for another two hours. I never left her side. I sat in the chair next to her bed as the others came in and gave her hugs. The second the hugs stopped, I reached over and grabbed her hand.

When she was finally able to leave, I grabbed her hand the second she walked out of her room. I didn't let go as I led her out to the van. Dex drove instead of me. The entire drive back to the motel, I held her hand tightly.

I wanted to say something to her, something to comfort her, but nothing came to mind. So I just held her hand.

Dexter pulled into a spot close to our group of rooms and threw the van into park. The second that Y/N stood to get out of the van, I jumped up. I wrapped my arm around her waist and carefully helped her out.

With my arm wrapped around her waist, I walked her to our rooms. I stopped in front of my room and turned her so we were facing each other.

"This is gonna sound crazy," I sighed as I grabbed both of her hands.

"Okay," Y/N said, studying me.

"But I want you to stay with me tonight."

"Tyler. . ." She tried to tell me that she was fine, but I didn't let her.

"Please, Y/N," I cut her off. My voice softened as I added, "I could've lost you today. . . I need. . . I need you to stay with me. Please. I need to fall asleep with you safe in my arms."

When my voice broke as I pleaded with her, Y/N took a step toward me and wrapped me tightly in her arms. I instantly wrapped my arms around her waist and held her closely. Neither one of us moved for a few seconds. Finally, Y/N broke the silence.

"I, all of a sudden, got really tired," she whispered, slightly giggling into my chest.

"Do we need to grab some pajamas from your room?" I asked with my arms still wrapped around her.

"I'm already in a pair of leggings," she shrugged. I leaned back when I felt her lean back first. "All I need is a comfy shirt. Think I can still one of yours?"

"You can steal whatever you want," I said without a second of hesitation.

Y/N giggled as she tucked back into me. I turned and led her to my motel room. I unwrapped one arm to unlock and open the door. As soon as it was open, I rewrapped my arm around Y/N.

I led her over to the bed and carefully helped her sit on the edge of it. I couldn't help but kiss the top of her head before going over to my suitcase and grabbing one of my clean shirts for her. When I turned around, she was watching me with a smile on her face.

"I'll head into the bathroom and brush my teeth so you can change out here," I said. I started to walk into the bathroom, but Y/N saying my name stopped me.

"Tyler," she said, her voice soft enough to tell me that she was still in her head from the storm, "thank you for staying with me today at the hospital."

"Of course," I said, unable to look away from her eyes. "I know how much you hate hospitals."

She responded to me with a smile. I sent one back before tucking into the restroom. I took my time getting ready before slowly walking out.

"You're in the clear," Y/N chuckled as soon as I slowly opened the bathroom door. To make her laugh, I peeked my head around the door. I smiled when I was successful.

I walked over and crawled into bed next to her. We lay down, instantly wrapping each other in our arms. I closed my eyes and focused on how it felt to hold her. Soon, I started subconsciously dragging my fingers up and down her arm.

"When I couldn't find you. . . I thought the worst," I said, my voice breaking. "I thought that I had finally failed you."

"Failed me?" Y/N whispered. "Tyler, what are you talking about?"

"I have spent our entire lives protecting you," I said, tightening my arms around her with my eyes still closed. "Every time we chase, more than half my focus is on keeping you out of harm's way. When you went running back into the storm. . . When I realized that the theater doors had closed without you. . . When I finally found you, I thought that I had lost you."

"You didn't," Y/N said. She made me open my eyes when she sat up. I copied her as she leaned against the headboard. "Tyler, I wasn't hurt that badly. It was mainly adrenaline that made me pass out. The doctor said that. . ."

I cut her off by reaching over, grabbing her face with both hands, and pressing my lips to hers. She gasped as soon as our lips touched, but she didn't pull away. I didn't push things as far as I wanted to. Instead, I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers with my hands still gently holding her face.

"I can't believe I almost lost you today," I repeated. "If I did. . ."

"You didn't," Y/N cut me off so she could reassure me. She reached up and grabbed my hands, pulling them away from her face. "Tyler, I am right here. I'm fine."

"I can't lose you, Y/N," I said, my voice breaking. I looked down and intertwined our fingers. "You have no idea how much you mean to me."

"Then tell me."

I looked up to see her looking at me with this glint in her eyes.

"You are my everything," I whispered. "Nothing in my life matters to me as much as you do. There have been so many times that I've wanted to put you in my truck and drive you somewhere safe from all storms. If I lost you. . ."

"You won't," she said when I didn't continue. "We have each other's backs, Tyler. We always have. Nothing is going to change if we. . ."

"If?" I cut her off. I didn't hide my insecurities as I stared into her eyes.

"Nothing is going to change when we officially start dating," she changed her earlier statement with a smirk on her face. "Actually," she continued with a laugh, "things will change. You are going to be even more protective than you already were."

She giggled when I grabbed her and rolled us so we were lying down with me hovering over her. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. Y/N wrapped her arms around my neck as our lips started slowly moving in sync. I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers.

"I will most definitely be even more protective than I was before."

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* * * * *

"Okay, guys, there's nothing we can do to stop it," Y/N said into the radio, "but when you get there, we've got to make sure people get to a safe place."

"All right, Y/N," Boone said calmly, "where am I headed?"

She quickly grabbed the iPad and started searching through the town of El Reno.

"There's a. . .There's a kids' park on Main," she started to list off. "Make sure to get people to basements, big buildings, no windows. Stay away from windows. No cars, alright?"

"All right, careful, y'all," Lily jumped in.

"Stay safe out there," Dani added.

When Y/N finally looked over at me, I was already looking at her. I reached over and grabbed her hand.

"You should have both hands on the wheel," she whispered.

"I know," I shrugged, glancing between her and the highway. "Just. . . Promise me you'll be safe."

Her eyes softened as she squeezed my hand.

"You too."

The second we got to town, we went to the nearest area with people. I parked the truck, and we instantly jumped out. I ran around to Y/N's side. As soon as I approached her, I instantly reached out for her. We were looking around, slightly distracted, so we didn't see the large umbrella headed our way.

"Y/N!" I yelled as I grabbed her and pulled her to the ground, slightly covering her. Once it was gone, we slowly stood up. I still had my arms wrapped tightly around her as she looked up at me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said shakily. We looked around before jogging down the street a little. "We have to find somewhere safe to send people."

"Guys!" We turned around to see Dexter handing Boone an injured man. "Tyler! Y/N! Shelters are all full! We've got to get everyone to the movie theater!"

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before turning and starting to direct people. "Move!" I yelled. "Everybody inside!"

"Sir!" I heard Y/N yell. "Sir, you've got to leave it. You've got to leave it."

I watched Y/N finally get the guy to leave his stand and show him where to go. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw the tornado heading straight toward us.

"Guys, it's here!" I yelled. "You've got to get inside!"

Once the family I was helping got into the theater, I didn't go in. Instead, I stood on the sidewalk and looked around. My eyes landed on Y/N helping some kids inside. Distracted by her, I didn't see the trolley going straight toward me. But Y/N did.

"Tyler, watch out!" She screamed.

I dove out of the way of the trolley, but I wasn't fast enough to avoid the piece of cement. The second it hit me, the pain rushed through my body. I was snapped out of the pain when I heard a certain voice call out to me.

"Tyler!"

Before I could get up, something fell on top of me. I tried to get it off, but I couldn't move.

"Tyler!"

"No!" I yelled when Y/N ran over to me.

"It's going to be okay," she tried to reassure me. I watched, helpless, as she tried to get the piece of metal off my leg.

"Y/N," I said, my voice strained, "you need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you," she said as she continued to struggle to lift it. I let go with one of my hands and grabbed her arm.

"Go," I whispered. She looked at me, and her eyes softened.

"No," she whispered back. "I'm not leaving you, Tyler."

"If you don't, you'll get hurt," I said, my voice changing as I stared up at her. "And I will not let that happen, Y/N. So, please, go."

My heart sank into my stomach when I looked past her to see the water tower beginning to break.

"Y/N," I said, my voice breaking, "you need to go."

"I told you," she said as she continued to struggle to lift the metal. "I'm not leaving. . ."

Y/N was cut off by the sound of one of the water tower's legs breaking.

"Y/N, go!"

She didn't. Instead, she tried harder to get the piece of metal off me. I closed my eyes when the pain in my leg started to get too much. When it started to lift, I opened my eyes to see Javi helping her.

Maybe I was wrong about this guy.

The second they got the piece of debris off me, both of them leaned down and helped me up. I wrapped my arms around Y/N, trying not to put too much weight on her.

"You're okay," she whispered, her voice breaking as she tucked into my chest.

"I'm okay," I ignored the pain in my leg long enough to comfort her.

"We gotta get somewhere safe," Javi said.

Y/N helped me the best she could, but stopped when we heard a little kid crying. We turned around to see a little boy, no older than 6, standing in the middle of the street and clutching a little toy dog.

"Javi, take him," Y/N ordered.

"No!" I gasped when she let me go. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Y/N, please. . ."

"I have to help him," she cut me off. She looked at me for a second before turning toward Javi. "Take him."

"No," I resisted. Y/N reached up and gently cupped my face in her hand.

"I'll be right back," she whispered.

I stood frozen as Y/N ran into the street to the little boy.

"She'll be fine, Tyler," Javi tried and failed to comfort me. "Come on."

He grabbed me and forced me inside. I helped some people take cover, but constantly glanced toward the door.

"We gotta close this!" Boone yelled as he tried to close the door. Javi ran over and tried to help. As they struggled to close it, my eyes glanced around the room.

"No," I whispered when I realized it. I limped over to them, my fear replacing the pain. "Javi, wait!" I yelled over the wind.

"What?!" He yelled back.

"We can't close the door yet!"

"Why not?!" Boone yelled.

"I can't find Y/N!"

Javi looked around before something behind me caught his eye. "Oh no," he said under his breath.

I looked outside, and that's when I saw my red truck driving straight toward one of the twisters. I took a few painful steps forward, my heart jumping into my throat when I saw Y/N behind the wheel.

"No!" I yelled, running toward the door. Javi and Boone instantly grabbed me, holding me back. It didn't matter how much I fought or yelled; they didn't let me go.

"Y/N!"

Part 2

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At the end of dinner, Glen stood up and quickly walked around to pull my chair out for me.

"Thank you," I said under my breath.

"You know," he said when I turned around, "it's still early."

"You don't have to film tomorrow?" I asked.

"Not until ten," he smirked. My heart jumped into my throat when he grabbed my hand and led me out of the restaurant. "There is this amazing food truck at the park that sells the best ice cream sundaes I have ever had. Ice cream and a walk around the park sound okay to you?"

"That sounds great," I said, hiding my blush from him.

Without letting go of my hand, Glen walked us across the street to the park. We found the ice cream food truck and ordered two sundaes. As we walked around the park, eating our ice cream, we also continued talking about our families. Once we finished our ice cream, we shifted to talking about Emily.

"I have to ask," he chuckled nervously. "Did Emily really tell you that I was looking for a new girl?"

"Not in those exact words," I shrugged, slightly teasing him. "She told me that you had broken up with your girlfriend about 6 months ago and were missing having a girl in your life. She stressed the fact that you, apparently, missed caring for a girl."

"She's right," he said. When I looked at him, he was staring at me strangely. He grabbed my hand and turned me toward him.

"Glen. . ." I tried to say, but his name got caught in my throat. I looked down at our hands when he grabbed my other one. I looked back up at him and only saw seriousness in his eyes.

"My mom likes to say that my love language is taking care of those in my life," he said, his voice suddenly softer than earlier. "After my ex and I broke up, and I had worked through the breakup, I realized she was right. I need a woman in my life with whom I can spend all my free time. I need a woman in my life whom I constantly think about before, during, and after filming. I need a woman like you."

My breath got caught in my throat when he said that last sentence. I opened and closed my mouth, struggling to find an appropriate response. I felt the time ticking by, but by the look on his face, I don't think Glen was counting the minutes like I was.

Panic rose when I realized he was leaning in. At the last minute, I turned my head.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered when my moving my head made him kiss my cheek instead.

"It's okay," he said, oddly calm. When I looked at him, he was smiling softly at me.

"You're not. . . You're not angry with me?" I couldn't help but ask. His smile fell as I studied his eyes.

"Of course not," he said, his voice soft. I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest when he gently rubbed my arms to comfort me. "Y/N, why would I be angry with you?"

"Because I turned away," I stuttered. "I didn't let you kiss me."

"You didn't let me because you didn't want me to kiss you," he said, not an ounce of anger in his voice. My heart jumped into my throat when he gently grabbed my hands.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Y/N," he said gently. "We will take this at your pace, okay?"

"You're okay with that?" I had to ask. A look of surprise briefly flashed across his face.

"Of course, I'm okay with that, Y/N," he said as he studied me. "The last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable."

* * * * *

The next day, Glen called me. I was with a patient, so I couldn't take it. Once that patient left, I decided to call him back. He answered halfway through the second ring.

"Hey, Y/N," he answered, his voice light.

"Hey, Glen," I greeted back.

"How's your day going?" He asked sweetly.

"Long and intense," I brushed back. I cleared my throat before adding, "I'm sorry about not answering your call earlier. I was with a patient."

"That's alright," he said quickly. "That's what I figured."

"How's your day?" I asked. "Did you film today?"

"I did," he said, his voice not as light as earlier.

I held my breath as silence fell between us. For some reason, I was waiting for him to break it.

"Can I see you?" Glen asked, finally breaking the silence. When I didn't answer him right away, he added, "Please, Y/N. I really want to see you."

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I want to talk about our date."

"Glen. . ." I stuttered.

"I meant it," he quickly continued, "last night, when I said that I wasn't angry. In fact, I really enjoyed our date, and I'd like to talk about it. Would that be alright?"

I hated the hesitation that filled me.

"Please, Y/N," he whispered. "Can we meet for lunch or at least coffee?"

"I have a patient coming in about 10 minutes," I started to explain. "Their session is an hour. Can we meet then?"

"Absolutely," Glen answered quickly. "I know this great mom-and-pop coffee shop not too far from your office. I will meet you there in an hour."

* * * * *

My next patient helped distract me from my coffee date with Glen. The minute she left, the anxiety and nerves hit me. Hard.

The entire drive to the coffee shop, I anxiously drummed my nails on my steering wheel. When I got to the parking lot, I didn't get out right away. It took me a minute before I had enough courage to go inside.

The second I walked in, Glen stood up.

"Hey," he smiled as he walked up to me. My breath got caught in my throat when he leaned in and kissed my cheek. "I was going to order you something, but I wasn't sure what you wanted."

"That's okay," I tried to say sweetly. "I should be careful with the amount of caffeine I have this late in the day."

"Me too," he smiled as he gestured toward the register. "But coffee is my guilty pleasure."

We didn't talk as we ordered our drinks. I did notice him continually looking at me, but I couldn't return the looks. I reached for my wallet, but Glen paid before I could grab it. When we walked to a table away from the door, I felt Glen gently put his hand on my back. My heart jumped into my throat when he pulled my chair out for me.

"Thank you," I smiled at him.

When I sat down, I hated myself. Here was this amazing guy, and I had the audacity to turn my head the other night. I honestly don't understand why he'd want to have coffee with me after I embarrassed him like that.

"Why are you so sweet to me?" I blurted out. I looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry," I stuttered.

"It's okay," he said with a small chuckle. "And to answer your question, it's actually quite simple. The obvious answer is that I treat all women kindly. The more sincere and honest answer is that I'm sweet to you because I like you."

His confession slightly caught me off guard.

"You do?" I had to ask. "We've only had one date."

"I know that," he shrugged. He smiled and looked deeply into my eyes as he added, "But I also know that when you know, you know."

"You really mean that," I said slowly, not really asking him. He nodded in response. He opened his mouth to say something, but they called our name.

"I'll be right back," he said, oddly serious. He paused before standing up and walking over to the counter. Once he had our drinks, he quickly walked back to our table.

"Do you mind me asking why you turned away last night when I tried to kiss you?" Glen asked. I looked down at my hands wrapped around my coffee and took a deep breath. "I'm not angry that you did," he softly added. "I just want to better understand why. If it was because it was our first date, I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry, Y/N. I didn't mean to push you. . ."

"You didn't," I said quickly. I looked up and instantly got lost in Glen's green eyes.

"Okay," he said gently with a soft smile on his face. His smile fell when he studied the look in my eyes. "What happened to you, Y/N?"

"It's just. . ." I started to say, but the words got caught in my mouth. I sighed before admitting, "I had a pretty bad experience in college."

Glen reached across the table and gently grabbed my hands. "What happened?" He asked, his voice soft.

"I was dating this guy," I said, my voice breaking. "We were together for three weeks. I was falling head over heels for him. Until. . ."

When my voice got caught in my throat, Glen squeezed my hands. I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. Once I had regained some of my strength, I opened my eyes.

"Until he got impatient," I continued, my voice breaking. His eyes fell like he knew where I was going with this. "He forced himself on me. I pushed him away, but. . ."

"He didn't like that," Glen said, his voice soft.

"No," I said, my voice breaking. "He didn't."

"Did he. . ." He stopped himself from asking me.

"He backhanded me," I whispered. "He said I wasn't worth the trouble and left."

"He's wrong," Glen said firmly. "He was dead wrong, Y/N."

"When you leaned in to kiss me," I said, forcing myself to focus on our intertwined hands, "everything that happened with that guy came flashing back."

"It did?" He asked, his voice dropping. "I would never force myself on you, Y/N. I would never go faster than you want to. In fact, you set our pace. You set our timeline. You tell me whenever you are ready for us to take the next step. I would never force you to do something you weren't ready for."

"I know," I gasped. I quickly continued when I saw the worry in his eyes, "I know you wouldn't. That's not why I turned away. I turned away because I got scared. I've never been in a serious, long-term relationship. But you're the kind of guy I could see entering one with. Stupidly, that scared me. I know you're the type of guy I could be in a long-term relationship with, but am I the type of girl you could be in a long-term relationship with?"

He gently pulled our intertwined hands closer to himself.

"What makes you think that you're not the type of girl I could be in a long-term relationship with?" He asked without a single ounce of anger or offense in his voice.

"Well. . ." I hesitated. "I'm not. . . I haven't been in. . . I don't trust easily."

"Take your time," he whispered, matching my tone. "I'm a patient guy."

"Are you sure?" I stuttered. "I don't want to make you wait."

"Don't worry, Y/N," he smiled at me. "I'm not going anywhere."

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* * * * *

I watched all the interviews and preshow crap with my heart in my throat. It wasn't until the day before the Running Man started that I found a way to see him one more time.

Turns out, they needed girls in slutty clothes to offer themselves one last time to the contestants. I got hired, found an outfit I knew my Ben would like, and joined the party.

The second the elevator doors opened, my whole body turned cold as ice. I took a shaky breath as I exited the elevator. I grabbed a glass of champagne and downed half of it. If they figured out who I was and why I was there, they'd kill me.

I walked through the room of girls dressed like me and the partying contestants. Well, the other two contestants were partying. Ben was off to the side, not drinking the scotch in his hands, with his eyes on the window.

I struggled to control my excitement as I walked over to him. I wanted to run to him, jump on him, and press my lips to his, but I didn't. I couldn't blow my cover. I walked up behind him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm married," he said in a tone of voice that briefly scared me.

"I know."

The little fear I had disappeared the second his head snapped up at me.

"Y/N?" He choked on my name. He started to stand up, but I used my hand that was still on his shoulder to keep him in his chair.

"You can't get too excited, baby," I whispered. "They'll find it suspicious."

I smirked when his eyes slowly scanned my body. "Fuck," he moaned. "You look so fucking good, baby. But I kind of hate that everyone else in the room can see how gorgeous you are."

I took a shaky breath, my whole body heating up, when I heard how he said the word 'gorgeous'.

"It was the only way for me to see you again," I whispered. I looked into his eyes before saying, "And I really wanted you to make love to me one last time."

My breath got caught in my throat when he stood up and roughly grabbed my waist, bringing me close enough for our bodies to be touching.

"It won't be the last time," he said through a clenched jaw. Suddenly, his eyes fell onto my exposed chest. "I want nothing more than to run my hands all over your body and give you memories that will hold you over until I come back home."

"That can be arranged, Mr. Richards," I said, lowering my voice. "I believe you have a room a few floors down?"

* * * * *

The second we got to the elevator and the doors closed, we jumped at each other. I threw my arms around his neck as he roughly grabbed my waist and pushed me up against the wall. He leaned down, and our lips instantly started moving roughly in sync.

"Quick question," he breathed heavily. When he broke the kiss, I immediately started kissing and sucking on his neck. I hummed but didn't disconnect my lips from his skin. He moaned when I bit the vein on his neck that constantly pokes out.

"Baby," he groaned as he rolled his body against mine. "Where's Cathy?"

I finally pulled my lips away from his neck and wrapped one of my legs around his waist. He grabbed it and pushed me firmer against the wall.

"She's with our neighbor," I whispered, rubbing my hands up and down his chest.

"Mrs. Hendricks?" Ben smirked. "Baby, she's like 90 years old."

"She's 75," I corrected, "and she's amazing with kids. Plus, Cathy adores her."

Suddenly, the look in his eyes changed. He squeezed my hips when I heard him take a shaky breath.

"Talk to me, baby," I whispered.

"I'm sorry I have to do this," he whispered back. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine. "But I would do anything to protect and care for my girls."

I grabbed his face, making him lean back. "I know that," I whispered. "And I love how much you're willing to care for us, but. . ."

"But I'm taking care of you two by risking my own life," he nodded. Ben reached up and grabbed, but didn't pull my hands away from his face.

"I love you so much, Ben," I said, my voice breaking. "Nothing will ever change that. If you don't come home to me, I will make sure Cathy never forgets the kind of man her Daddy was."

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but the elevator doors opened. The second they did, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway. Neither one of us said anything as he led me down the hallway, toward his room.

When he finally got it open, he turned around and pulled me into his chest. He leaned down and kissed me. Our lips moved messily in sync as he pulled me into his room.

The door slammed shut behind us, and he instantly pushed me up against it. When neither one of us could breathe, Ben broke the kiss. He quickly attached his lips to my neck. I leaned my head back against the door, closed my eyes, and focused on how he moved his lips against my skin.

"It was so hot," I moaned as his lips attacked my neck.

"What do you mean, baby?" He moaned without pulling his lips away. I could feel his smirk against my neck.

"You turned away the free entertainment because you're married," I said, breathing heavily. "You made it seem like you had a wife."

I gasped when Ben tore his lips away from my skin. "I do have a wife," he said, his tone dark and sending a chill down my spine. "You are my wife. I don't need a fucking piece of paper and an expensive ass wedding to say that you are mine."

"That's so fucking hot," I moaned. I grabbed his face and brought his lips down to mine.

I gasped against his lips when he reached down and swiftly picked me up. I broke the kiss and stared deep into his eyes as he carried me over to his bed. I giggled when he roughly dropped me. Without breaking our eye contact, I slid back so I was leaning against the headboard.

I tried to ignore my heart in my throat as he tore off his jumper. As he took off the shirt he had on underneath and the boxers, I started chewing on my bottom lip.

When he was completely naked, he crawled onto the bed, crawling on top of me. He got to my knees and stopped. I gasped when he grabbed my hips and roughly pulled me down so I was now lying underneath him.

I started to gasp, but it turned into a moan when Ben roughly tore my dress off. Hearing the fabric rip crazily turned me on. I grabbed his face and brought his lips to mine. He finished undressing me, but was able to do it without breaking our kiss.

Our lips continued to move messily in sync as his room filled with our moans. Ben slipped his tongue into my mouth and started battling for dominance. I was so distracted by his tongue that I didn't even acknowledge the fact that Ben had grabbed my leg and wrapped it around his waist. I arched my back, choking on my moan as he pushed into me.

"Fuck, baby," I moaned as he slowly pushed in and out of me. Both of us loved to take things slow. Something about dragging things on seemed to build the tension and our eagerness.

"I love this," he said, pushing himself deeper into me. My breath got caught in my throat at the sharp pressure. I tried to breathe, but Ben didn't pull out right away. When he finally did, I arched my back and let out the moan I'd been holding.

I grabbed his waist and roughly rolled us over so I was now on top. The smirk on Ben's face caused goosebumps to spread over my body.

"You know what I love?" I teased as I sat up, making him do the same.

"Tell me," he moaned. I pushed his chest, making him lean against the headboard.

"I love taking charge," I said, sitting up on my knee. "I love watching you react to me."

"Do it, baby," he begged. I smirked as I slid my hands up and down his chest.

"There's one more thing I love," I said slowly as I positioned my hips above his. I smirked when he hummed and anxiously squeezed my hips. I leaned in, pressing my chest to his as I brought my lips to his ear. "I love hearing you beg."

"Fuck," he groaned.

"Beg me, baby," I whispered, my lips brushing against his ear. "Beg me to do exactly what you want me to do right now."

"Ride me," he said roughly.

"Nah-uh," I said, leaning back and pushing his chest, holding him back against the headboard. "I said, beg me, baby. Not order me."

"Please, baby," he changed his tone. "Ride me. All fucking night. Please, Y/N, ride me."

I reached up and gently dragged my finger down his cheek. "If that's what you want," I said, lowering my voice.

"It is," he whimpered. "Please, baby."

"Such a beggar," I smirked. He opened his mouth to beg me again, but I cut him off. I grabbed his shoulders and roughly brought my hips down to his.

"Fuck!" He gasped when I forced him into me. "Oh, baby."

He continued to moan and beg for me to continue as I rocked my hips against his. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head back against the headboard as I rode him.

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his as I continued to ride him. We went back and forth between moving our lips messily in sync and letting our tongues battle. Soon, our moans and heavy breathing fell in sync. I could tell that Ben was itching to roll us over, but he waited for me. I slowed my movements, making his groans turn sharper.

"Fucking hell, baby," he groaned. "I know what you're doing."

"Oh, do you?" I teased. I kissed him one more time before putting my lips right next to his ear and whispering, "Go ahead, baby. Take control."

I gasped when Ben quickly rolled us over so he was now on top. "Holy shit, baby," I said through my heavy breathing.

Ben growled before smashing his lips onto mine. I threw my arms around his neck and arched my back as our lips moved in sync. I moaned as Ben dragged one of his hands down my body, stopping on my chest. I broke the kiss and moaned when he squeezed.

Our foreheads were pressed together, practically breathing in each other's air, as he continued to push in and out of me. Neither one of us restarted kissing as we got closer and closer to pushing each other over the edge. Finally, Ben broke the tense silence.

"Can I?" He begged.

"Do it, baby," I nodded. I tightly squeezed my eyes shut as Ben pushed deeper into me. It took a few more times before I felt him release into me. I moaned, my whole body relaxing as I gave in to my orgasm.

Ben didn't get off me right away. He sat up long enough to look me in the eye before he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to mine. When he broke the kiss, he kept his forehead against mine.

"I love you so much, Y/N," he whispered. "I don't want you thinking that I'm being reckless and only doing the Running Man for the excitement. The real reason I'm doing this is to save our daughter. To help take the burden of our sick little girl off your shoulders."

"I don't need you to do all this to take the burden off me," I said, my voice breaking. Ben leaned back, but I continued, "I need you home, taking the burden with me."

"You can't work, baby," he said gently. "Your health. . . It isn't much better than Cathy's. I have to do this."

I saw the determination in his eyes and knew that nothing I could say could convince him not to do this. Besides, he couldn't back out even if he wanted to.

"I know you do," I whispered. I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked deeply into his eyes. "I also know that you will fight like hell to make it home to Cathy and me."

* * * * *

We jumped awake when the door was kicked open. I instinctively grabbed the blanket and covered my exposed chest.

"Let's go, Richards!" The guards yelled. I gasped when they ran over and pulled him out of bed.

"No!" I yelled before I could stop myself.

"Don't move, you slutty bitch!" One of the guards yelled as he pointed his gun at me.

"Don't fucking threaten her!" Ben yelled as he charged the man. I covered my mouth when two other men grabbed him and hauled him away.

A sob escaped as they dragged him out of the room. Right before they took him to, I don't know where, he said one last thing to me.

"I love you, Y/N."

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* * * * *

The week after making the connection, I sat back and watched him. The more I watched, the more I realized how stupid I was. It was so obvious.

Even though I knew the truth, I kept it to myself. I was well aware of what Russ Holliday did to destroy his career. After rewatching the videos, I could see why Holliday became Powers. To be honest, it made me feel bad for him.

I walked out of my hotel room and instantly saw Powers duck back into the hallway. I pretended like I didn't see him as I walked to the ice machine.

"There's no point in hiding, Russ."

I heard him swear under his breath.

"Come on out," I sighed.

I turned and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to stop hiding. When he did, I could've laughed at the look on his face.

"You look like a little kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar," I smirked.

"You knew?" He asked.

"Come on, Holliday," I scoffed. "I'm the team's physical therapist. When I watch a player play, I see how their muscles and their bodies move. Which means you can change your name and your jersey, but you can't change how your muscles move."

He cleared his throat and nervously fixed his hat. "Calm down," I sighed. "I'm not going to say anything."

"You're not?" He stuttered. I sent him a look that made him clear his throat again. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I laughed. I studied him and noticed him anxiously checking the hallway. "You wouldn't be trying to sneak out, would you, Powers?"

"I umm. . . I need to. . . I'm out of glue."

"Glue?" I smirked.

"For my. . ."

"Makeup?"

"Yeah," he said, looking away.

"You know, I expected you to be a little more confident as Russ Holliday," I teased.

"Look," he scoffed, instantly snapping into his facade, "this is all a little tense, alright?"

"Calm down," I said firmly. He cleared his throat and apologized under his breath. "You can't leave the hotel. If you get caught, you'll be kicked off the team."

"Well, I can't play without my disguise," he sighed.

"Unlike you, Powers," I said, teasing him with his fake name, "I can leave the hotel."

"Are you offering to go get the glue for me or rubbing it in my face?"

"I'm offering," I sighed. "Damn, Holliday. You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"Kinda hard when I'm keeping this huge secret," he mumbled as he leaned against the wall.

"Might be easier if you had someone other than Danny to talk to," I offered, slightly looking away from him.

"Of course, you know that Danny is in on all of this," he laughed. "You know everything, don't you?"

I just shrugged. "Text me a picture of the glue you use, so I know which kind to get."

I started to walk away, but Russ spoke up. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's just an errand," I shrugged.

"Still," he hesitated. "Why are you helping me?"

I looked at him, slightly struggling to find my words. I took a shaky breath before simply answering him.

"Why not?"

* * * * *

It didn't take long for me to get the glue he needed. I weirdly felt nervous as I rode the elevator up to our floor. I tried to shake off those feelings as I walked down the hallway toward his room.

"Just knock, you coward," I scolded myself when I hesitated at his door. I forced myself to finally knock. He slowly opened the door, fully opening it when he saw it was me.

"You're back," he sighed, probably letting out the breath he's been holding since I left.

"There you go, Holliday," I said, handing him the grocery bag. I rolled my eyes, my earlier nerves disappearing when he checked the hallway. "Relax," I sighed. "It's an hour past lights out. All you good little football players - well, all the other ones - are asleep. Your coaches are definitely asleep. You're fine."

"Thanks," he said, slightly clearing his throat. I sent him a nod before beginning to turn toward my room. "Y/N, wait."

"Yeah?" I asked, turning around. I hated the weird feeling I got in my stomach when I saw the way he was looking at me.

"You're really not going to say anything?"

Of course, I internally scoffed. The only reason Russ Holliday is speaking to me is because of his little secret.

"Don't worry," I scoffed, not hiding my annoyance. "I won't tell a soul."

I turned on my heel and started to walk to my room. I only got a few steps before Russ stepped out into the hallway and grabbed my wrist.

"I didn't mean. . ." He stuttered as he turned me toward him.

"I don't know why I didn't see it before," I slightly laughed as I pulled my wrist out of his hand. "Then again, Russ Holliday is a womanizing ass whose ego is the size of Canada, while Chad Powers is a sweet, bungling idiot."

"I don't know which of those statements offends me the most," he awkwardly chuckled.

"Was either of them wrong?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I smirked when he cleared his throat.

"No," he mumbled under his breath, "they weren't. But. . ."

"But?" I asked, slightly softening my tone.

He looked at me, and I noticed him take a deep breath. "But I'm trying to be better."

"By lying?"

He didn't have an answer to that one. Instead, he just stared at me.

"It's. . . It's complicated," he finally stuttered.

"No," I sighed, "it's not. You do realize that even if Chad Powers takes his team all the way to the Rose Bowl and wins the whole thing, it's not going to reverse what Russ Holliday did."

"What do you. . . What do you mean?"

"Come on," I sighed. "You can't be this naive. Winning the Rose Bowl as Chad Powers is not going to fix how losing the game made you feel, Russ. So my questions for you are simple. What are you really after? Why did you create Chad Powers? Was it just to go back and win the Rose Bowl? Or are you looking for a more personal redemption?"

I stared at him and waited for him to answer. When enough time had passed, I scoffed and shook my head.

"That's what I thought," I said, finally walking away. "You can change your name, but you can't change who you are."

* * * * *

Confusion flooded me when someone knocked on my hotel room door. I glanced over and saw it was a little after 2 AM. Not thinking about my attire, I got out of bed and went to answer the door.

"Seriously?" I scoffed when I opened the door to Russ Holliday. Suddenly, his eyes scanned my body. That is when I realized I was wearing a loose tank top and short shorts to bed. I glared at him as I crossed my arms over my chest, slightly covering myself. "What do you want, Holliday? Chad Powers has a game tomorrow."

"I've been thinking about what you said," he answered, finally looking away from my cleavage. "And you're right. I created Chad Powers to give myself another chance at the Rose Bowl, but it's not about that anymore. It's about proving that I can be a better man without letting my ego get in the way. I mean. . . That's what happened last time. My ego got in the way and made us lose. And the thing is, I'm not any better than I was last time. I'm still the same quarterback on the field, but I can be a better guy."

"Congratulations," I sighed, leaning against the doorway with my arms still crossed over my chest. "Why did you have to come to my hotel room and tell me this at 2 in the morning?"

"I wanted you to know," he said, no longer sounding confident.

"Why?"

My question seemed to stump him. Or so I thought.

My breath got caught in my throat when he took a few steps closer to me and grabbed my hands, unwrapping them from around myself, and pulling me a step toward him.

"I wanted you to know because I wanted you to know that I'm not the same Russ Holliday that everyone remembers," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"You still didn't answer my question," I said, my voice matching his. "Why do you care whether or not I know that you're not the same. . ."

He cut me off by leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. It took me a second before I started kissing him back. Our lips moved messily in sync as I tried to forget who I was kissing.

"I care that you know," Russ said, breaking the kiss, "because I care about you."

"Russ Holliday actually cares about a girl?" I teased. I gasped when he picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. The look in his eyes changed as he stared into my eyes.

"Yeah, I do," he said, his voice so low it gave me chills.

My heart jumped into my throat when Russ slowly smirked. His smirk fell when I unwrapped my legs from around him.

"Y/N. . ." He stuttered as I gently put my hands on his chest and pushed him a few steps back.

"If you really want me to know that you're not the same Russ Holliday that everyone remembers," I started to say.

"I do," he insisted, slightly cutting me off.

"The old Russ Holliday would take me into my hotel room and have his way with me to try and show me how much he cared," I continued. "But if you really want me to know that you're not that version of yourself, prove it by not doing what he would've done."

I held my breath, waiting for him to respond. The longer it took him to voice his thoughts, the more I started to worry.

"You're right," he said with a small smile on his face.

He leaned in and delicately pressed his lips to mine. I waited for him to deepen the kiss, but he didn't. When he broke it, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I'm gonna do it," he whispered. "I'm gonna prove to you that I am not the same Russ Holliday that everyone remembers."

I leaned back and saw in his eyes that he really meant what he was saying.

"I look forward to that."

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@football1921

* * * * *

When I walked into the rental, I instantly looked for Y/N. It didn't take long to find her, and I didn't need to search much. She was right where I knew she would be: the kitchen.

My heart jumped into my throat when I saw Y/N focused on the cake she was working on. I stayed in the doorway and watched her finish icing the cake for the party tonight.

"It's beautiful."

I felt bad when she jumped. "Sorry," I said through my teeth.

"It's okay," she chuckled. My heart fluttered when she smiled at me. "Ben."

I quickly wiped my clammy hands on my shorts as Y/N put down her piping bag, wiped her hands on a towel, and walked over to me. My breath got caught in my throat when she wrapped her arms around my neck. I quickly wrapped mine around her waist.

"It's so good to see you," she said, her voice sounding like beautiful music to me.

"It's good to see you, too, Y/N," I whispered. My voice dropped even more as I added, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," she smiled as she let me go. The second her arms unwrapped from around me, I felt all my warmth go with her. I kept my arms around her waist for an extra beat. I had to force myself to let her go.

"The cake looks amazing," I said, glancing at the counter in hopes of continuing our conversation. "It's almost too beautiful to eat."

"It's just looks," she chuckled as she grabbed the piping bag. "One bite and you'll no longer care how beautiful it looks."

"You're not just looks," I said before I could stop myself. She looked up at me with the piping bag frozen in her hands.

"I wasn't talking about me, Ben," she chuckled, trying to get the awkwardness to go away. "I meant my bakes."

"I know," I whispered. We stared at each other for a few beats. Y/N was the first to look away.

"Who'd a thunk it would take a wedding in Australia to get you to come home," she paused before adding, "to me."

"I was. . ." I started to lie, but there was no point. Y/N always knew I was lying. "I was embarrassed to reach out to you."

"What?" Her whole demeanor sank. "Why would you be embarrassed to reach out to me? I'm. . . Me."

"I know," I said quickly, taking a small step closer to her. "But. . . I had such big plans in high school, and none of them worked out. But you? You went to culinary school, graduated at the top of your class, and opened your bakery just like you planned in high school. Compared to you. . ."

"It's not a comparison, Ben," she quickly cut me off. "I've always known I wanted to open my own bakery."

"And I still have no clue what I want to do," I slightly mumbled. I cleared my throat when I realized she had heard me.

"You could always come help me manage my bakery," she offered with a soft smile that I could never look away from. "All the business and finance stuff still confuses me."

"You want me to work for you?" I asked, not able to ignore the scenarios filling my head.

"I want you to work with me," she clarified. She sent me a wink before going back to decorating the cake. I followed her and stood slightly behind her.

"Ben," she said, her voice dripping with warning.

"What?" I asked, pretending to be innocent. "I'm just observing you. If I'm going to work with you, I had better understand how you do things."

"You already know how I do things," she giggled. I smiled when I noticed that even though she was talking to me, her focus was a hundred percent on the cake.

"I do," I nodded. I looked away as I poked her in the side.

"Hey!" She gasped, jumping away from me. I smirked when she sent me a glare. "Ben, I'm working. Keep your fingers to yourself."

"Alright," I said, lifting my hands up in defense. "I will keep them to myself. I promise."

She darkened her glare before turning her focus back to her cake. I watched as she carefully put her piping bag in the right place. Right as she was about to start piping, I poked her again.

"Ben!" She yelled. She glared at me before quickly checking the cake. "You made me smudge," she pouted when she realized I had made her mess up.

"I'm sorry," I said, matching her pout. I walked up and examined the mess up. "Let's see."

I heard her gasp when I used my finger to grab some of the frosting and put it on her nose.

"Hey," she gasped. I laughed when she squirted frosting onto her finger and wiped it on my face. I grabbed some sprinkles from the bowl on the counter and threw them at her.

"Ben," she giggled, "we're going to have to clean the kitchen now."

"You were gonna have to clean it anyway," I teased as I tossed another handful of sprinklers at her.

"Actually," she smirked, taking a step toward me, "if you work for me, then I should have you do it."

I gasped when she tossed a handful of sprinkles at me. This started a small food fight between the two of us. Eventually, we both had frosting smeared across our faces, sprinkles in our hair, and what wasn't on us was on the floor. 

"Whoa! What's the matter with the two of you?"

We looked toward the hallway to see Pete leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. His look made me lose my happy smile.

"You two better clean this up," he said, sending me a look I hope Y/N missed.

"My new employee will," Y/N teased me. She ran her fingers through her hair and cringed. "I'd better go wash this frosting out of my hair before the party tonight."

I couldn't help but watch her as she walked away. Once she was gone, my eyes landed on Pete.

"Shut up," I scoffed, before walking away.

* * * * *

Throughout the party that night, I constantly found Y/N. She spent the entire party refilling the dessert table and floating around the room, smiling at old friends. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"You're pathetic."

I jumped at the sudden voice. I turned to see Pete walking toward me. He glanced behind me at Y/N before looking back at me.

"Pete. . ."

"Save it," he cut me off. "How can you sit back, obsessing over her, and yet do nothing?"

"She's my best friend," I sighed. "What if I tell her how I feel and she doesn't feel the same?"

"What if she does?" He shrugged like it was simple. "I'd hate to see you pass on a good thing because you were too scared to take the leap."

"I'm not scared," I said quickly and defensively. Pete shook his head and walked away. I let out a frustrated sigh, but he turned back toward me.

"Tell her," he said, his tone completely different, "before you really miss your chance."

I was frozen, staring at Y/N, long after Pete had walked away. I drank the rest of my beer and had to drink another before I had enough courage to go talk to her. When I did, she was restocking the cupcakes.

"Wanna dance?"

I cringed when my sudden appearance made her jump again. She was always a little on edge. No matter how many times I've asked, she's never given me a straight answer as to why she is so easily surprised.

"You gotta stop sneaking up on me," she giggled as she turned around. I didn't say anything as I grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

The second I pulled her into my chest, the feeling I've had since I realized I loved her hit me. As soon as I knew that I was in love with Y/N, I'd get this feeling whenever I was around her. It was this feeling of protection and care. Whenever I had my arms around her or simply sat next to her, I felt more aware of her. Everything I do, I do to make sure she's happy and safe.

It seems like my whole life revolves around her. When she went off to school, I constantly thought about her. I constantly wondered if she was thinking of me. I constantly wondered if she was safe.

"All I ever do is think about you," I whispered.

"You do?" She slightly stuttered.

"Of course, I think about you," I said like it was simple. "You're my best friend, Y/N. In fact. . ."

I couldn't get it out.

"In fact. . ." She said softly. "In fact, what?"

I didn't say anything as I grabbed her hand and led her out of the venue. She didn't object as I pulled her outside. She didn't speak up until we got to the small garden.

"Ben? What's going on? You're kind of scaring me."

"I'm sorry," I sighed, turning her toward me and grabbing her other hand. "But there's something I need to tell you. Something that I can't keep to myself any longer."

"Okay," she whispered, studying me. "What is it?"

And just like that, what little nerve I had disappeared. The way she was looking at me with a soft, concerned smile made the zoo in my stomach go crazy. I opened and closed my mouth, struggling to find the right words. My hesitation worried Y/N. I could see it on her face.

"Ben," she mumbled, "please just tell me. If something is wrong. . ."

"I love you," I blurted out.

"You. . ." She stuttered. I took a shaky breath, trying to gather my courage back.

"I've been in love with you since we were kids," I confessed. "And seeing you again. . ."

"Love or in love?" She asked when I paused.

"Is there a difference?"I chuckled as I pulled her a step closer to me.

"Well, yeah," she stuttered. "You can love your friends, but when you're in love with someone. . ."

"Your whole life revolves around them," I finished for her. I reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, allowing my hand to linger. "All you ever do is think about them. All you ever want is to take care of them. All you care about is them."

"So you're. . ."

"In love with you," I clarified. I sighed as I continued, "I know I can't really take care of you."

"Wait, what?" She stuttered. "Why can't you take care of me?"

"I don't know what I want to do with my life," I scoffed. "How can I take care of the love of my life if I don't even know what I'm doing with my own life?"

Y/N quickly grabbed my face and whispered, "I don't need someone to take care of me financially. I need someone to take care of me mentally, physically, and lovingly. Think you can do that?"

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into my chest. I looked down at her and instantly saw the rest of our lives flash before my eyes. I leaned in and delicately pressed my lips to hers. The minute they touched, we both tightened our arms around each other.

After a few minutes, we finally broke the kiss. I leaned my forehead against hers and focused on the feeling of Y/N in my arms.

"I can definitely do that."

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@football1921

* * * * *

A few days later, I was putting together a few orders when I noticed a certain red truck parked outside.

"Here we go," I mumbled under my breath.

"What?" My boss, Maria, asked.

"Nothing," I quickly stuttered. Maria looked at me before glancing toward the front door.

"Oh," she elongated, "Tyler Owens. You went to school with him, right?"

"I did," I said, slightly clearing my throat. I tried to ignore the look she sent me.

"He's coming in," she said, her voice sounding oddly suspicious. "I'm going to go check the stock."

"Wait," I gasped as she turned to leave, "please don't. . . And she's gone."

I groaned when the little bell above the door rang. I cleared my throat and looked up at the customer I knew I had.

"Hi, Tyler," I sighed.

"Icy," he teased as he walked in. "Is that how you greet all your customers?"

"Only the special few," I mumbled.

"Special?" He smirked. "You think I'm special."

"Not in the way you're thinking," I scoffed. "You're the kind of customers that I have to use a special amount of patience to deal with." I cleared my throat before asking, "Are you here to buy flowers or just annoy me?"

"Can't I do both?" He smirked. His smirk fell when I didn't react to his answer. "Look," he sighed, slightly lowering his voice, "I hope you know that I don't mean anything by all my teasing."

"Then why do it?" I asked, my voice lowering to match his.

"I don't really know," he said with a soft chuckle. "It seems like whenever I'm around you, that side comes out."

"I'm honored," I scoffed, my voice going back to normal. I turned on my heel and busied myself with rearranging a floral arrangement I finished this morning.

"Y/N. . ." He started, but I cut him off.

"Are you going to buy something or not?" I asked, turning around and crossing my arms over my chest.

"You really don't like me, do you?"

"You really don't remember, do you?" I mocked him.

"Remember. . ." He hesitated. He smirked as he continued, "What? Did we get drunk and. . ."

"No," I cut him off again. "My brother."

As soon as I said that, his smirk fell. "Your brother. . ."

"He was just like you," I said, looking away and getting lost in thought. "He and his stupid group of friends would run off during storm season, chasing every little storm. They didn't care how risky it was. They'd get as close as they possibly could; all for the rush. And it was all fun and games until. . ."

"His senior year," Tyler finished for me.

"They got too close," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Their version of a chasing truck was thrown. Half of his team was killed. And my brother. . ."

"He's in a wheelchair," he whispered.

"Paralyzed from the waist down," I said through a clenched jaw.

"Y/N. . ."

"You know all of that," I scoffed, coming out of my memories, "and you still won't leave me the hell alone."

I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm. He kept it in his hand as he whispered, "I never meant to bring anything up. And I am so sorry that I've done that. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not like your brother. My team and I are always safe. We never get too close. We are always. . ."

"Stop," I said, ripping my arm out of his hold.

I walked away, not caring that I was leaving him alone in the shop. I went to the back room and leaned against the door. I closed my eyes and struggled to catch my breath. It's been a while since I've talked about my brother.

When I finally walked back out, Tyler was gone. I hated that a small part of me was disappointed. As soon as that part revealed itself, I pushed it down.

I wasn't myself the rest of the day. I must've shown it on my face because Maria didn't ask how it went or bring Tyler Owens up.

Before going home for the day, I decided to walk down the street to a café. After ordering and receiving a latte, I slowly started walking back to the floral shop. I purposefully took the long way back.

I instantly regretted that decision when the red truck pulled up next to me.

"You really like walking, don't you?" Tyler teased.

"You really like annoying the hell out of me, don't you?" I said without looking toward him.

Tyler's friend - I think his name was Boone - said something to him, briefly distracting him. I couldn't quite hear him, but it sounded like, "Tyler, a storm is. . ."

I picked up my pace when I realized they were probably late for a storm because Tyler was talking to me. When Tyler turned back toward me, I saw something in his eyes that looked like fear.

"Y/N, you need to get back to work."

"On my way there now, Owens," I sighed. I stopped walking when Tyler threw his truck in park and jogged over to me.

"Get in the truck, Y/N," he said a little more forcefully.

"Hell no," I scoffed. I walked around him, but he didn't let me get away.

"Tyler," Boone called, "we should really go."

"The storm is getting close, Tyler," his other team member, Dani, added.

"Y/N, please," he said, his tone of voice completely changing. He slid his hand down my arm until he got to my hand. I sucked in a breath when he grabbed my other hand and intertwined our fingers. "There is a bad storm heading right our way. We need to get off the street and to a storm cellar."

"Then, go," I stuttered, taken aback by his worry.

"I am not leaving you on the street, alone," he said firmly. "Please get in my truck, Y/N. I need to get you off the street. I need to get you somewhere safe."

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was genuinely worried about me.

"Please, Y/N," he tried to beg me again. "Come with me."

"Okay," I whispered.

As soon as I said that one word, Tyler let out the breath he was holding. He let go of only one of my hands and used the other to pull me toward his truck. Boone climbed into the back as Tyler opened the front passenger door for me.

Once I was safely inside the truck, Tyler shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side. I gasped when Tyler quickly turned the truck around.

"Where are we. . ." I stuttered. "Tyler, the flower shop is the other way."

"I'm not taking you back to work, Y/N," he said, quickly glancing at me.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, dropping my voice.

"I don't know," he stuttered. My heart dropped into my stomach when I heard how scared he almost sounded. He looked at me, and his expression told me exactly how scared he truly was. "What I do know is that we have to get out of the storm's path."

"Out of its path? You guys chase these storms all the time. Why would you be running away from it?"

"Usually, we're prepared," Boone explained.

"Plus, you're here," Tyler said under his breath. He glanced back at me, something different in his eyes. This thing I couldn't name. "And I can't risk anything happening to you, Y/N."

* * * * *

My eyes scanned the small farmhouse as Tyler pulled in front of the barn, which he said they used as a base. As soon as he put the truck in park, his team jumped out. While they gathered their equipment and went inside the barn, I slowly got out of the truck.

"I can take you back into town once we're sure the tornado has passed," Tyler said as he walked over to me. I didn't look at him as he walked up and stood next to me. "If you trust me enough. . . Do you?"

"Trust you enough to take me home?" I asked, still not glancing at him.

"I want you to," he mumbled under his breath.

"What?" I stuttered, looking over at him.

"I want you to trust me, Y/N," he said, louder and more confident this time.

The way he was looking at me made my heart jump into my throat. This feeling hit me hard, and I didn't like it. I quickly looked away from him and cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the frog that had suddenly formed.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why didn't you chase the storm today?" I asked.

"I already told you," he stuttered. "We weren't prepared and. . ."

"Boone said that you weren't prepared," I clarified as I turned toward him. "You said that I was there and you couldn't risk anything happening to me. What did you mean by that?"

"Pretty straightforward," he awkwardly chuckled.

"Tyler," I said firmly. "Did you only say that because of what happened to my brother?"

"No," he said quickly. "Why would I. . ."

"Did you only say that because you didn't want the same thing that happened to my brother happen to me? And you couldn't handle being responsible?" I asked, cutting him off.

"Your brother is not the reason that I can't risk anything happening to you."

"Then why do you care?"

A tension instantly fell between us as we stared at one another. It thickened when Tyler slowly took a step toward me.

"I care," he slowly whispered, "because I care about you, Y/N. I've always cared about you."

"We barely know each other," I stuttered.

"We grew up together," Tyler chuckled, the tension slightly lightening. "We went to school together until we graduated. We went to all the same neighborhood parties, farmer's markets, and rodeos. I rode bulls, and you took pictures for the local paper. We constantly ran into each other, Y/N."

"That doesn't mean. . ." I stuttered, but couldn't find the end of my sentence. My breath got stuck in my throat when he took a step closer to me.

"Why won't you let me in?" He asked, his voice soft.

"I don't need you to protect me, Owens," I tried to brush off. "I've been on my own since before I graduated college. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," he said, taking another step closer to me. "Doesn't mean I have to let you."

He leaned down and delicately pressed his lips to mine. When I started to kiss him back, he reached forward and grabbed my waist. I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck. We got lost in the kiss until a loud noise came from the barn.

I looked away, my face on fire. Tyler grabbed my chin and made me look back at him.

"I can take you home," he whispered, "if you don't want to be here."

"I didn't say that," I stuttered, getting lost in his eyes. "I just. . . I'm not used to accepting help."

Tyler chuckled as he reached up and gently grabbed my face with both hands. He looked into my eyes for a moment before saying, "Don't I know it?"

I caught his smirk right before he leaned in and pressed his lips back to mine. Our lips moved in sync before Tyler broke it. When he did, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I want you to trust me enough to allow me to help you, Y/N," he whispered.

"It's not gonna be easy," I whispered, slightly leaning back and looking into his eyes.

"That's okay," he nodded. "I know it's going to take time before you fully allow me to help you. And I'm okay with that. Take all the time you need."

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@football1921

* * * * *

A month later, things started to change. I started getting more tired, and my dizzy spells became more regular. I found myself needing to take more breaks. It got a lot worse the day I just happened to be filming without Glen.

One minute, I was fighting Brett, one of our stunt guys. Next, I collapsed. Pain was shooting up my arm, making my whole body tingle. The only part that wasn't tingling was my chest. There was a sharp pain that I couldn't describe.

"Call 911!" I heard someone yell.

"Glen," I mumbled.

"Hold on, Y/N," my manager, Louisa, said.

"Glen," I tried again.

"I know. I know," she soothed. "I'll call him as soon as we get you to the hospital."

"No," I stuttered as I tried to sit up.

"Don't move," our set medic said as he quickly made me lie back down.

People hustled about until the ambulance got there. I passed out as the ambulance pulled away from set. I woke up almost 18 hours later to a sharp pain in my chest.

"Y/N?"

I slowly turned my head to see Glen in the chair next to the hospital bed. He sat up straighter and grabbed my hand when he saw my eyes.

"Hey, baby," he whispered.

"Glen," I tried to say, but my voice was nonexistent.

"I'm right here, darling," he said, scooting closer to my bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I can't. . ." I struggle to speak. Glen noticed and gently shushed me.

"It's okay," he soothed. "Take your time, gorgeous."

"What. . . What happened?" I asked, my voice soft.

"You had a heart attack, my darling."

"What?" I gasped. I started to sit up, but Glen instantly lay me back down. "No. . . I wasn't. . . I thought. . ."

"Try and relax, baby," he tried to soothe. "You need to stay lying down. You had surgery."

"Surgery?" I asked, my voice breaking. My eyes filled with tears as I shakily reached up and touched the gauze over my chest. "How. . . How bad. . . What kind?"

"Open heart surgery," he said gently.

"No. . ." I closed my eyes, the tears slowly starting to stream down my face.

Glen quickly stood up, laid next to me, and wrapped me in his arms. I turned to him and sobbed. He reached up and ran his fingers through my hair.

"It's alright, darling," he whispered. "The doctor says that you are going to be fine. We just need to be careful the next couple of months."

"But. . ." I stuttered, slightly pulling out of his arms. "But our movie. . ."

"Don't think about that now," he shook his head, gently reaching up and cupping my face in his hand. "Let's focus on you resting."

"Looks like you need it, too," I whispered, reaching up and gently stroking his face. I dropped my hand and tucked into his chest. I felt him softly chuckle as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I do need it," he nodded. "Now that I know you're alright, I can finally get some."

* * * * *

"Knock. Knock."

We looked over and smiled as Glen's parents walked in.

"Mom," he chuckled, "you don't have to say it if you do it."

"I don't care," she said with a smile on her face. "How's my girl doing?"

"Your girl?" Glen asked as he stood up and walked over to them.

"If she's yours, she can be mine too," his mother said as she gently patted his shoulder and walked past him.

She instantly sat on the edge of my bed and wrapped me in her arms. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" She asked softly with her arms tightly wrapped around me.

"I'm okay," I said, my voice mirroring how weak I felt. I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. Cyndy must have heard it because she tightened her arms around me.

"You're okay," she whispered as she slightly rocked me side to side. "You're okay, sweetheart."

As Cyndy held me, I heard Glen walk over and greet his dad.

"And how are you doing?" Glen Sr. softly asked his son, lowering his voice.

"I keep replaying when Louisa called me and told me to get to the hospital," Glen whispered.

"She's okay," Glen Sr. whispered back. "She's right there, in your mother's arms. Focus on that."

When I opened my eyes, I saw Glen and Glen Sr. staring at Cyndy and me. We continued staring at each other as Glen walked over to my hospital bed. Cyndy got out of bed, allowing her son to take her place. Which he did. The minute he sat on the bed, I tucked into his side.

"So," Cyndy said, slightly clearing her throat, "anything we can get you two? Have you eaten? We can run out, get some dinner, and bring it back."

"Cyndy," Glen Sr. said softly, "we should let them rest."

"They need to eat," she said, looking at her son and me.

"I know," Glen Sr. nodded, "but we shouldn't pressure them. She needs some rest."

I didn't miss how he slightly changed his earlier statement.

"We can at least get them something to eat," Cyndy shrugged.

"Mom, there are specific things she shouldn't be eating right now," Glen quickly jumped in.

"I could actually go for a smoothie," I said softly.

"We can do that," Cyndy said, instantly happy at the idea of helping me. "Send us a list of ingredients you like and don't like. We will find you a smoothie that you like and has good ingredients for your heart."

One of the reasons I loved Glen's mom: she wanted to feel useful and helpful whenever she came around. Whether it was helping with dinner, hanging pictures, or even watering plants, she never hesitated to lend a hand.

I chuckled softly as she jogged over to me and kissed my forehead before leading her husband out of my hospital room.

"I'm sorry," Glen sighed as he relaxed into the bed.

"It's okay," I chuckled, turning more toward him. I gasped when I turned too much, and pain shot up my chest. Glen instantly sat up and helped me roll back onto my back. As I lay there, struggling to catch my breath, Glen rubbed my arms and whispered to me.

"Just breathe, baby," he whispered. It took me a while before I could finally relax. Once I did, Glen turned all the way toward me. I only turned my head toward him.

"I love that your parents flew all the way here to check on me," I whispered. "It's been a while since I've had a Mother's Worry in my life."

Glen tightened his arms around me as he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"I love that they flew all the way here to check on you, too," he whispered. "To be fair, my mom's worry often comes across a bit. . . Forced."

"That's okay," I giggled weakly. I closed my eyes before adding, "She means well."

"Yes, she does," he whispered.

I woke up an hour later. I looked over to see Glen talking to his parents in hushed voices. When he noticed I was awake, he grabbed a smoothie off the table and jogged toward me.

"Hey, gorgeous," he whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Same as before," I shrugged. I started to sit up, but Glen jumped to help me. I smiled at him as he pushed the button on the bed remote and slowly raised my bed.

Once I was more in a sitting position, Glen gently handed me the smoothie. I wrapped my hand around his and pulled him closer. He laughed as I brought my lips to his. He instantly started kissing me back, putting his hand I wasn't holding on the back of my neck.

Glen broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. I giggled when he slightly rubbed his nose against mine. "You should drink your smoothie, baby," he whispered. He slowly leaned back and handed me the smoothie again.

As I drank the smoothie Glen's parents got me, we talked about little things: Glen's niece and nephew, the new farmhand Glen's father hired, and Glen's recent training for his upcoming movie. What we didn't talk about was Glen and my movie, or when I would return to work.

"Leslie's friends finally scheduled her bachelorette party," Cyndy giggled. "Apparently, the weekend before the wedding, the girls are gonna rent a cabin in the mountains."

That's when it dawned on me.

"The wedding," I said under my breath. I looked over at Glen, tears already in my eyes. The look on his face told me that it had dawned on him, too.

"What's wrong?" Glen's mom asked, looking between the two of us. Glen sighed as he reached over and grabbed my hand.

"Y/N isn't going to be strong enough to fly in two weeks," Glen explained for me.

"Which means you can't fly in for Leslie's wedding," his mom nodded, catching on.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, looking down at our intertwined hands.

"Oh, honey," his mom sighed. She walked over to the other side of my hospital bed and sat on the edge of it. She used her finger to lift my chin. "It's okay, sweetie," she said sweetly. "We're more worried about you and your heart. We'd hate to put you on a plane when you're at risk."

I glanced over at Glen to see him smiling at me in a similar way his mother was.

"It was supposed to be my big introduction to your family," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"There will be plenty of other chances to introduce you to my family, my darling," he chuckled lightly. Suddenly, the look on his face dropped. He sighed before turning toward his parents. "I can't leave her here."

"What?" I gasped. "Glen. . . What are you saying?"

He turned toward me with a soft look in his eyes. "Y/N," he tried, but I shook my head and cut him off.

"No," I said firmly.

"Baby, I'd be gone for a week," he sighed. "I can't possibly leave you here alone."

"I wouldn't be alone," I said quickly. "Louisa would stay with me. Plus, it's not like you're going somewhere crazy. You're just going home. We can reach out to each other. You can text me throughout the day and call me at night."

"Y/N," he whispered, grabbing my hand, "I can't leave you."

"And I can't be the reason you're not at your little sister's wedding, Glen."

* * * * *

By the time the wedding came around, I was strong enough to stand up. Every day, a hospital physical therapist would take me down to their PT room. I'd walk along the path with Glen right by my side and a nurse with a wheelchair behind us. Every once in a while, we'd go outside to walk in the hospital gardens.

I may have been strong enough to walk around the gardens, but it would still be dangerous for me to fly. It took a lot more convincing before Glen agreed to go to his sister's wedding. Even though he agreed to go, he didn't leave as soon as we had originally planned.

Before my heart attack, Glen and I were going to go to Texas the Sunday before the wedding. After my heart attack, Glen changed his flight to three days later.

As Glen packed and repacked his suitcase for the wedding, he kept debating about changing his flight again.

"I hate this," he mumbled with his back to me. I held my breath and slowly stood up. "I hate the idea of leaving you."

"I know," I said, still out of breath from standing up. My voice made him quickly turn around. He dropped his tie, not caring if it landed in his suitcase or on the floor, and ran to me. He gently put his hands on my hips.

"I hate leaving you," he whispered as he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I can't be the reason you miss Leslie's wedding," I whispered back.

He leaned back and looked me in the eye. He reached up and gently cupped my face in his hand. He leaned in and delicately pressed his lips to mine. I let out a small whimper as I kissed him back.

The second we broke the kiss, I threw my arms around him. I whimpered again when he wrapped his arms tightly around mine. I didn't want to let go of him. I closed my eyes and focused on how tightly he was hugging me.

"I will call you every night," he whispered. "You will always be able to reach me. If I can't answer your call, I will immediately text you. I promise."

"I know," I whispered, tightening my arms around him.

"I don't want to let you go," he lightly chuckled as he tightened his arms.

"I don't want you to," I whispered. I finally broke our embrace."But you need to. You have to be there for Leslie."

Glen sighed as he reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. His hands lingered as he sighed, "I know. But I wish you were strong enough to go with me. Or the wedding was later."

I nodded as I looked down. He used his finger to lift my chin.

"I will miss you," he whispered.

"I'll miss you, too."

* * * * *

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't handle being back in LA while Glen was with his family. So, I came up with a plan.

I was released from the hospital two days after Glen left and one day before the wedding. Without telling him, I got a plane ticket. The only way Louisa would let me do this was if I got a Coach ticket.

I landed at the airport and texted Glen's other sister, Lauren. When I decided to surprise Glen, I decided to tell his mom and sisters. I knew I'd need their help setting things up, and they were eager to do it. After changing at the Powells' house, I took an Uber to the wedding venue.

I texted Lauren to let her know I was here. She immediately texted me where they were. I walked around the venue and found the family taking pictures. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw Glen talking to his sister.

"Leslie," Glen sighed, "we already took about three hundred pictures. Why do we need to take more?"

"Just one," Leslie said, struggling to hold back her smile. She stopped trying to hide it when she looked over Glen's shoulder. Without saying anything, Leslie pointed behind her brother.

"Leslie, why are you. . ." He instantly stopped talking when she grabbed his shoulders and turned him toward me. "Y/N!"

I laughed as he started sprinting toward me. The second he got to me, he threw his arms around me. He pulled me into his chest, leaned down, and smashed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and messily kissed him back. We heard his family chuckle before walking away.

Once they were gone, we finally broke the kiss. Both of us were breathing heavily as we stayed in each other's arms.

"I can't believe you're here," he whispered. "What are you. . . When did you. . ."

"The doctors released me two days after you left," I explained. I reached up and held his face as I continued to explain. "I couldn't handle being away from you, so I flew out here."

"Was it safe?" He asked, studying my eyes. "I mean. . . Flying is dangerous for someone who. . ."

"I'm okay," I whispered, holding his face. "I'm just happy to see you."

I giggled when Glen pressed his lips to mine. He broke the kiss and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward his family. Glen and I spent the night walking around and talking to his family members. Whenever he introduced me to one, he had the biggest smile on his face and introduced me as his "girlfriend". It made my heart feel a bit stronger each time he said that.

By the end of the night, I was fighting exhaustion. I fought it because I didn't want Glen to end the night early. But he caught on. In the middle of the song we were dancing to, Glen led me off the dancefloor. We walked into the hallway outside the ballroom, and he led me over to a bench. We sat down, and Glen instantly wrapped his arms around me.

"I know you're exhausted," he whispered, "but I can't tell you how happy I am that you came."

"I don't regret it," I cuddled more into him. There was a pause, but it was tense. I leaned out of our hold and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Of course," he tried to brush off.

"Glen," I elongated his name.

"The past few days," he sighed, "I've been in my head a lot. I kept thinking about your heart attack. I kept thinking about the 'what if'. I kept going over what things would've been like if you hadn't. . ."

"Glen," I gently cut off his nervous rambling. He responded by sighing and turning toward me.

"All I can think about is what I would do if you hadn't survived," he whispered. "And my answer to that is nothing. I could literally do nothing if you didn't survive. My world would end if I lost you. You mean everything to me, Y/N."

"You didn't lose me, baby," I tried to reassure him. "I'm right here."

"You mean everything to me, Y/N," he repeated, slightly changing his enunciation. "You mean everything to me because. . . I love you."

I quickly grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. Without caring about his family around the corner, Glen grabbed my waist and pulled me so I was straddling his lap.

We kissed for a little while before I broke it. I leaned my forehead against his as we caught our breath.

"I love you, too, Glen."

I leaned back and instantly saw the smile spread across his face. Without looking away from my eyes, he gently rubbed my hips that he was still holding.

"Surgery scar and all?" I teased. He tilted his head and pressed his lips to mine. I gently held his face as our lips moved in sync.

"I love you," he said, breaking the kiss, "surgery scar and all."

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