Chapter Ten: Normandie (Part I)

Emily's up, even if the sun hasn't risen yet…she's used to waking up early, but today is special…today is the end of their nightmare.

"Always up before the sun…good morning Ems" Aiden hugs her from behind and kisses her.

"Mmm…good morning to you too" She kisses him back and softly says "So…how was it? Did you…you know, with Colleen?"

He smiles, he loves that she is so worried about him getting along with his sister, "Yeah, we talked…a lot, but it was good; I mean, I know we still have to talk about all this but for now we're good"

"That's great, want to go for a run with me? I need to relax a little bit, I can't be nervous today" She turns around facing him and smiles, her fingers running across his chest.

"What about breakfast first?" He kisses her again, "and then we can go for a run…and after that we can take a really long shower" He says in a low and husky voice.

"I like the sound of that…we will be ready to face Normandy" She laughs, this is like their own 'D Day'.

"Normandy huh? We aren't in 1944 Ems, but I like it…and I love you, let's go" He kisses her again, and when the kiss is about to become something more…Colleen walks into the room right on time to watch her brother with his girlfriend, and it makes her totally happy to see them together like that… they've been through enough pain, misery and loneliness for one life; they deserve to be happy, they belong together. She's so scared about today, just the thought of losing him again terrifies her…but what really scares her is what could happen if something happens to Emily, she likes her a lot and she can see Aiden loves her… she stayed up praying, everything will be fine, it has to be. She coughs and says "Am I interrupting?"

Emily and Aiden finish their scene immediately, "Colleen! You're up early; I thought I was the only one who likes to wake up at the crack of dawn. How did you sleep?" Emily jumps in right away, she's used to deal with all kind of awkward situations.

"Oh I usually sleep until later, guess this has something to do with yesterday's emotional roller coaster…anyway, is Padma up? I wanted to go out with her, you know it's been a while since the last time I went out on my own" She knows this is a delicate subject, but she tries to approach it normally.

"I'm sorry Colleen, Padma has to go in like 2 hours…she has work to do" Aiden says, still holding Emily. "Look, Emily and I are going for a run, want to join us?"

"Thanks for the offer but no, I don't feel like running…I'm kind of taking baby steps with everything since I was high and…" She suddenly remembers who is she talking to and stops; he doesn't need to know she was tied to a bed the whole time. She shakes her head and continues, "Anyway, do you want breakfast? Because I'm starving!"

Emily feels Aiden's pain when she says that, she can only imagine the hell Colleen went through and she knows every single word is like a stab on Aiden's heart. "Yes, me too! I'll prepare everything"

"Nop, I'll help you…I know my way around the kitchen" If there's one thing Colleen is proud of is how she cooks, and she can take the opportunity to know Emily a little bit better.

"I'll be outside, let me know when it's ready" Aiden needs fresh air, he knows his sister went through a lot because of that fucked up people but that was a lot to take in. He takes a deep breath and takes a look at the kitchen, his girlfriend and his sister are getting along, they laugh while they cook some pancakes and he's so happy for that, he's so happy to be able to watch his two favorite girls in the world laughing together.

Breakfast goes by, and Emily and Aiden go for their run. Colleen leaves a cup of coffee and a couple of pancakes for Padma before taking a shower; when she's done, she finds her friend eating. "Good morning Padma"

"Good morning Colleen, are you joining me? Emily left this delicious pancakes before leaving" She smiles, there's so much to do today but she will enjoy this moment of peace.

Colleen sits beside her, "Oh I know, we made them together… I already ate a few but I guess one more won't do any harm right?" She giggles and starts telling Padma the great morning she had. Sadly she couldn't stay for long, "Colleen I'm so sorry, but a guy just called me…I have to go back to my hotel, I think they already noticed Helen isn't there. I don't know what to do…" She says worried, she can't screw this…otherwise their whole plan is over. She puts her heads in her head and Colleen hugs her, "Don't worry Padma, everything is going to be just fine". They talk a little bit, but soon Padma has to go, leaving Colleen alone in the hotel room.

~·~

Padma arrives, her whole body is shaking…she has no idea what will happen now. She looks around the dining room but everybody seems to be enjoying their breakfast.

"Mrs. Lahari, please have a seat" the voice surprises her, and she feels her heart jumping, a tall and apparently young man is looking at her …"Of course". He sits right in front of her.

"I'm Mr. Trask, I'm your boss now" He says, all business.

"Oh, I…I'm sorry but can I ask why? What about Helen?" She asks, hoping that he will buy her act.

"Right" He coughs, "Mrs. Crowley is missing, and you know that in delicate times like these we can't just sit around waiting for her" He drinks some of his tea, and looks at her waiting for an answer.

"Oh, of course…I understand Mr. Trask. If you know something about her will you let me know?" She says pretending to be worried.

"I thought you would rather know about your father" He says quietly. Mr. Trask is very serious, probably because he has to deal with the mess left in Americon Initiative after they realized Helen was 'missing'.

Padma chokes, "Yo..you know? How is he? Please tell me he's alive" She does her best to fight the tears.

Mr. Trask takes her hand, but Padma rejects it immediately. "He's fine, and he will stay that way until your job is done tonight" His eyes don't give nothing away, he's like a robot. Padma can help but wonder how little he was when The Initiative caught him. He stands up without giving her the chance to ask more; apparently he already gave her too much information.

Padma gets on the elevator and starts crying, she thinks that maybe her father is also here…but she can't ask Nolan for help, he already cleaned up the security system and if he gets in again it will probably alarm everybody. She knows she shouldn't call him, but she needs him now.

He picks up after two rings, "Hey baby" his voice is soft, "How's everything going?"

"Oh Nolan, you have no idea…" She says, crying.

~E&A~

Hello! Here's the other, finally the "D day" arrived… I just want to explain something, Normandie will have three parts: The morning, the afternoon and finally the night with the meeting. I know I'm writing a lot of details now, but I told you these were the most important chapters…and well, the fact that Colleen really died and Helen too caught me off guard, I really, really wanted Colleen to be alive… I would've loved to see her with her brother and Emily like a happy little family. That said, you can now understand why I'm taking more time to update.

Kisses, Camy.

PS: Good bye Amanda :( I loved her with Jack!