“Where are you?” he asked with panic in his voice.

“M.G.H!” she cried out. “Oh, Alex! It’s Kiera!”

“Shit!” he shouted. “I’m on my way. Hang tight, love.”

She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, burying her head in her knees as she cried for her best friend who was fighting for her life at that very moment. All because of Olivia.

~~~~~~~~~~

“ALEX!” MELANIE EXCLAIMED WHEN he ran into the emergency room, searching for a familiar face…the face he missed so much since she had run out on him. “Oh, it’s so horrible!” she cried out. “I don’t know what do to!”

“What happened?” Alexander asked as he surveyed the group of people huddled in the waiting room. Olivia was not among them.

“I have no idea, and no one is telling us anything! Mo is in shock over there. We’re all falling apart. Please, Alex. Figure this out because none of us are strong enough to deal with it.” Melanie cried into her tissue as Tyler rubbed her back.

“Okay, Melanie. I’ll get some answers.” He looked around the corridor. “Where's Olivia?”

Melanie burst into tears, unable to hold back at the thought of one of her best friends fighting for her life at that very moment.

“I’m not sure,” Bridget said, comforting Melanie. “She went to go talk to a detective and never came back.”

“A detective?”

“Yeah. Carol’s here, bro,” Tyler explained.

“Of course,” he said under his breath. “I’ll be back.”

He strolled down the halls, not having to search for long before finding the girl he was looking for. She was sitting with her back against the wall, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees. She was visibly shaking, her quiet sobs echoing through the vacant hallway.

He approached her slowly and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Olivia, love…”

She snapped her head up quickly upon hearing those words. It was exactly what she needed at that moment. She jumped into Alexander’s embrace, savoring the warmth of his arms. She inhaled deeply, basking in the smell and feel of him. This was home. “I’ve missed this,” she said softly.

“Oh, Olivia. So have I.” He placed a gentle kiss on her head.

She looked up, their eyes meeting. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve behaved, Alexander.” She began to cry again.

He pulled her head back against his chest. “Hey. It’s okay, Olivia. I’m sorry, too. Sorrier than you know. I knew you’d come around eventually. This isn’t the type of love that happens all the time. This is the real thing. I never gave up hope that you’d return to me all those years ago. I certainly wasn’t about to give up after we had a little hiccup.”

She laughed through her tears. “You call that a little hiccup?”

“In the grand scheme of things…yes, I do.”

She ran her fingers up and down his back, suddenly feeling calm considering everything she had been through that morning. “I’ve never stopped loving you, you know?” She pulled her head out of his chest and looked deep into his eyes. The affection he had for her was evident.

“I know, Olivia, and I will never stop loving you. I’ve loved you since the day you were born, and I’ll love you until the day you die. And I plan on making it up to you every day in between.”

Reaching up, she grabbed his face with both her hands, bringing his mouth to hers. As their lips touched for the first time in weeks, tremors ran through her body. She had grown accustomed to his kisses over the course of their relationship, but that kiss felt so much more meaningful now that she knew who he really was…the boy that saved her when she was little. And he was the boy that saved her again less than a year ago. And he would always be there to save her. Finally, Olivia was happy with that.

Their tongues met briefly before Alexander realized where he was and what he was there for. While he was happy to finally be reunited with his Olivia, he wasn’t sure making out in the corridor of the emergency room at Mass General was appropriate, given the circumstances.

Slowly, Alexander pulled back. “To be continued later, love.” He winked and grabbed her hand before stopping abruptly. He lifted her left hand, examining her delicate finger. “You’re still wearing it…?”

“I never stopped wanting to be your wife, Alexander, aside from what I may have wanted you to think. Like you said, we had a little hiccup.” She shrugged.

He embraced her again, groaning. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I just fell a little bit more in love with you.”

She smiled briefly before focusing her attention toward the waiting room. “I need to go check on Mo. He’s in a bad way.”

“Come,” Alexander said, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her down the hallway.

Melanie smiled when she saw them return together.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on.” He kissed Olivia on the cheek.

“Well, finally some good news today!” Melanie said once he was out of earshot.

Olivia blushed, avoiding her eyes.

“We’ll talk later.” Melanie winked.

Olivia glanced to the corner of the waiting room, her eyes welling up with tears as she made her way over to speak with Kiera’s mom and dad. “Mr. and Mrs. Murphy,” she said softly.

They raised their heads simultaneously. “Oh, Olivia, dear.” Catherine Murphy stood up and embraced her. “Our poor Kiera.”

Olivia willed herself to not break down. Everyone seemed so sad and dejected. She needed to stay strong for them.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Murphy. I…” She trailed off, not able to form the words that said that everything was all her fault.

“Hush, dear. You have nothing to apologize for. The only one who should be here apologizing is that monster who did this to my girl.”

“Excuse me…” an authoritative voice rang out, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Olivia turned and saw Alexander standing next to a doctor. Damn. He can be persuasive, can’t he? she thought to herself.

“I’m Dr. Rosenblatt. I’d like to speak to Miss Murphy’s parents privately for a moment please.” He looked toward where Olivia stood next to Kiera’s mom and dad.

“All these people are Kiera’s family,” Catherine Murphy told him very matter-of-factly. “Anything you need to tell us, you can say to them.”