I do not own Humans. Please, read and review:)

Chapter 3: Realisation.

The next morning, Mattie awoke early and turned on her laptop. She rummaged in her draw and inserted the memory stick into it, wondering what it could be and why Mia had given it to her. Why had she given it to her then and not before? Just as she was about to open up the file, the door opened, hr parents walked in and Mattie closed her laptop and put it to her side, so that they would have no idea what she was looking at.

"So, how was last night?" Her mum asked, as she sat down on the bed and rubbed her daughter's hair.

Mattie considered whether to tell her parents or not, before answering, "Well, Jack proposed to me."

Her parents' faces lit up with pride and happiness, they offered their congratulations and her mum asked to see the ring. In response, Mattie held up her hand, showing them that there was no ring, hoping that they would understand and not ask her any questions-wishful thinking that was!

Joe was the first one to recover the art of speech and he asked, "Why did you refuse him? I mean, I thought you were happy with him?"

Mattie sighed. "Yeah, I was, but I don't love him and I only want to marry somebody I love. You can understand that, can't you? I gave him my answer last night and that's the final answer I will give him."

"So, if he were to propose say next year, would you have a different answer?" Laura asked, in a hopeful tone. Rolling her eyes, Mattie snapped, "You're not listening, Mum! I used the past tense when I said that was I was happy with him-I refused his proposal and I ended our relationship. He won't propose again and I don't want him to."

"Mattie, why do you have to be so extreme?" Joe asked, before glancing at his wife and adding, "Mattie, is this to do with Leo? Honey, you can't spend your life waiting for him to come back and, even if he did, it wouldn't work out between the two of you. He's half-Synth, half-human and he's had a very troubled life… it wouldn't work. You can't keep holding onto a fantasy." Mattie stared at him, her eyes not giving away any of the emotions she was feeling. What right did he and her mum have to cast judgement on Leo, they didn't really know him, not in the way she did? She pulled her laptop back on her knee and her mum and dad understood and left, closing the door behind themselves.

As soon as she was sure that they had gone, she opened the file and saw that it was somebody's memories: Leo's memories over the past year. The file showed the memories which he had thought about the most over the past year: the death of his mum and the kiss he and Mattie had shared in the warehouse. With her fingers shaking, Mattie clicked on one of her most precious memories and watched it, through Leo's eyes. As the memory reached the time when they kissed, she felt tears threatening to fall from her eyes as watching it in this way made her realise how strong her feelings for Leo had been, how strong his feelings had been for her and it made her think of how terrible he must have felt when he had seen Jack's engagement ring, which had been intended for her.

Mattie spent most of the day in her bedroom, but in the evening, she went downstairs and was amazed to see Mia, Max and Fred there. Her eyes scanned the room for Leo, but he was not there. "Where's Leo?" she asked.

Mia walked over to her, looking very worried. "He's on a mission and we need your help, Mattie. Can you hack into the tunnel map underneath the science block?" Mattie nodded. "Good, you'll need this to communicate with Leo. He's down there now." She handed Mattie a radio and she could feel her hands shaking.

Opening up her laptop, Mattie placed it down on the table and began to hack in. She was very aware that her family were watching her as well as Mia, Max and Fred. Once the hack was complete, she looked to Mia, who nodded and she picked up the radio and spoke into it, "Leo? Are you there? I've hacked into the system."

"I knew you could do it." Leo's voice came from the other side. "So, which way do I go?" Mattie began to guide him to the exit point and her family stood around the laptop along with Mia and Fred, but Mattie remained focused on and ignored them. Leo's position was on the screen and they all smiled as they saw that he was near the exit. Mattie picked up the radio and told him, "Take the next left and you'll be out."

She could hear that Leo was smiling by the way he spoke. "Thanks." However, their relief was short-lived as Mattie saw that he was being followed. "Leo, you're being followed-you have to get out of their now!" She could see the panic and she could hear Leo moving very quickly. Panting, he spoke into the radio, "If they trace this, it could put you all in danger. I have to break radio contact."

Mattie shook her head in distress, "No. Don't you dare! I've already lost you once, I'm not doing it again!" There was a dead silence and she became worried that he had broken their contact. "Leo!" she shouted, with tears in her eyes; the thought of loosing him again was unbearable. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she knew that it was Mia, who was just as scared as she was.

The radio made a sudden noise, indicating that it was indeed on and that Leo was still there. "Mattie, are you there?"

Nodding, Mattie replied, "Yes, I'm here. Are you ok?"

There was a loud bang and Mattie closed her eyes, not wanting to look at her screen. Just then, Leo's voice came through very clearly, as he cried, "Mattie, I love you."

Without thinking, Mattie whispered into the radio, "I love you too. I always have and will." The radio went dead and there was complete silence. Mattie let out some sort of cry and buried her face in her hands, allowing herself to cry. Her mum wrapped her arms around her and Mia whispered, "He'll be ok and he will come back, Mattie. I know he will." Mattie buried her head in her mum's arms, not quite able to comprehend that she had spoken those words to someone whom she may never see again, but she knew that it was right. She did love Leo and there was no point in denying it and, if she were never to see him again, she knew that he knew that now.

They all decided to go bed, as there was little more they could do and they would do more in the morning, after a good night's sleep. Mattie picked up the radio and laid it on her nightstand, as she tried to sleep. She next awoke at sunrise and she heard sound coming from the radio. Holding it close to her, she heard that it was Leo and he was whispering the name she had gone by on line, the first time they had met. Mattie stated his user name in, wondering where he was now. Her question was answered when there was a knock on the door. She jumped up and ran downstairs, opening the door. It was him and they ran into each other's arms before their eyes met and they kissed passionately. Smiling and whispering that they loved each other, they made their way to Mattie's bedroom. Later, they lay together, with their faces next to each other, sleeping, finally peaceful for the first time.