A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know, I ain't shit, I ain't shit lol. But thanks to shitty weather, a horrible wifi connection, me getting sick from eating salmon, and me just being the lazy fucker I am, I didn't update these last few days lol. As you know the final chapter was supposed to be up Sunday, but obviously plans have changed and that will be pushed back to a later day.
But anyway, I think i've made up for it with this long ass update lol.
"Paul….Paul, sweetie are you okay?" Pat asked as she walked over and wrapped her arms around her son's shoulders.
"She's gone….she's really gone" Paul said as he slowly walked up the stairs. "….she's gone" he repeated as he glanced at his family one last time before disappearing to his room.
Five years later
Five years, five long years have past since Paul and Stephanie have even talked or seen one another, but in that time, both have moved on with their lives. Paul returned to the Marines and is now a Major, Stephanie has also moved up in rank as a nurse and everything seems to be going very well for the two. Though they haven't seen one another, it would be a lie to say that neither still thinks about the other if not everyday then every other day. That day from five years ago still weighs heavy on both of their minds. Paul feels as if he lost the love of his life and Stephanie feels that she gave up on what could have been the love of hers. She still stands firm in believing that it was just not the right time, but she does wish that she could see him again, at least just to talk to him and let him know why she did what she did, she never meant to hurt Paul, she just was not ready for that level of commitment. Paul on the other hand still held a bit of a small grudge, he still felt as if he was played. He spilled his heart out to her in front of his entire family and she still left him in the end. He was more hurt than embarrassed, he truly thought she felt the same way, and he still believes that. He just wishes he would have stopped her and talked some sense into her, but he was too shocked at the moment to do so. So much time has passed since that day, and there is so much that the both of them wishes that they could go back and change, but there is nothing they can do now but to forget the past and continue to move on with their lives.
"Hey man, what's for dinner today?" Ryan asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter. In the time since Stephanie left, Paul reconnected with Ryan. Ironically, the nurse that Stephanie assigned to Paul was Ryan's old nurse and that's how they got back in touch. Also, Ryan now lives with Paul. Ryan, just like Paul was cleared to return to the Marines, but while saving Paul on a mission, he was badly injured and this time he couldn't return. Ryan, like Private Dan, also didn't have a close connection with his family either and had nowhere to go and Paul felt it was his duty as a friend to take care of the man who saved his life once again.
"How does Salmon fillets with pineapple pico de gallo sauce and steamed veggies sound?" Paul said as he started prepping the meal.
Ryan licked his lips. "Damn that sounds good"
"It's delicious, Charlotte taught me how to make it."
"The hot blonde you met a few months ago?"
Paul smirked."Yeah, her"
"So, what's up with you two? is it serious?"
"Nah, we just…do things every now and then"
Ryan's ears perked up and he sat up straight in his chair. "What kind of things?" he teased
"Just, things" Paul repeated as he turned around and him and his friend both started to laugh.
"My boy" Ryan said as he gave Paul a high five. "Are we still on for the bar tonight?"
"Can't tonight" Paul said as he started chopping up the fresh pineapple.
"Why not?"
"i've got some things to do" Paul said as he turned around and smirked and lifted his eyebrows up and down.
"MY BOY!" Ryan said as he and Paul both started to laugh again
"So I need you to up Johnson's medication to a 30 instead of a 20 as his pain has been intensifying in the last few weeks and I need you to check on Rogerson when you're finished doing that. He's going in for surgery tomorrow and I want to make sure he is aware of everything that is going to happen" Stephanie said to the lower ranked nurse and she continued to look at her clipboard.
"Mrs. McMahon?"
"Yes?" Stephanie answered, not looking away from the paperwork
"what about Dawson?"
Stephanie face palmed herself and sighed. "I forgot about him, check on him please and see how his new meds are affecting him, the last two gave him hallucinations."
"No problem"
"thanks, Kelly"
"You're welcome" she said as she walked out of Stephanie's office.
Stephanie sighed as she walked over and sat in her desk chair. She loved her job and she loved being head nurse, but she had to admit it was a lot more work than she thought it'd be and more frustrating. As head nurse she was inundated with paperwork all the time and rarely got the chance to spend time with her patients. That's what she missed most of all back when she was just starting out, getting to know the patients on a one on one basis and making that connection. But after returning back to the corps, she found that harder and harder to do because all she could think about was Paul whenever someone new was wheeled in. So as a distraction she buried herself in her work and got the promotion she thought would help her get away from that sort of thing but now she finds that she misses it most.
"Ugh, so much work, so little time" Stephanie said to herself as she began to type up a report on the latest Marines to enter the hospital.
Knock. Knock
"Come in" she said not looking up from the computer.
"Hey, you"
Stephanie smiled as she recognized whose voice it was. "Hey" she said in a flirty tone as the man walked up to her desk and bent over it to place a soft kiss to her lips. "not at work" she said as she drew back and looked out the window making sure no one in the halls saw them.
"You worry too much" he said as he sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "So, are we still on for tonight?"
"I can't" she said as she looked over at him and saw the frown on his face. "I'm sorry but I'm just piled up to here with paper work" she said holding her arm in the air.
"I understand" he said nodding his head "but you need to give yourself a break"
"I've only been in this position for 6 months, I can't show any weaknesses" she said as she started back on her report.
"You can't even take a five minute break to talk to your boyfriend?"
"Paul I…"
"Who?" he said as he furrowed his brows
Stephanie shook her head and bit on her lower lip. "Nothing"
"whose Paul?" the man asked, getting defensive
"No one important" she said as she began typing again
"Don't lie to me, Stephanie" he said leaning forward "who is Paul?"
"One of my patients, I was with him earlier today and he's constantly been on my nerves so I just got confused, that's all" she lied
"Oh" he said as he sat back. "I was about to get pissed for a minute there" he said with a chuckle
"But I do have a question for you"
"and what's that?"
"Since when did we define our relation…our…whatever this is?"
"Well, given our past history and the fact that we've been seeing one another for a few months and have had sex clearly defines that we're in a relationship, Stephanie" he said shifting in his chair.
She was silent for a moment before she turned in her chair and went back to typing.
"Oh, so you don't want to be in a relationship with me?"
"I never said that, Jared."
"Well shit, you sure as hell are acting like it, as a matter of fact, these past few weeks you've been acting pretty funny with me."
Stephanie rolled her eyes and sighed as she began to type once again.
"Oh, so now you're ignoring me"
"I'm not ignoring you" she said as she continued to type
"so what the fuck do you call that?" he asked as he motioned to her typing on the computer instead of looking at him.
"I'm trying to avoid conflict" she said nonchalantly
"No, you're trying to avoid a serious conversation about our relationship"
"Look" Stephanie said as she turned to face him "I never promised you anything"
"So I was just a good fuck, huh?"
Not even that. Stephanie thought to herself. "You can leave" she said motioning towards the door.
"So it's like that?" he asked throwing his arms up
"You can come back when you're ready to have a civilized conversation" Stephanie said staring him down
"Okay" he said nodding his head angrily and jumping up so hard that the chair flipped back and fell to the floor "fuck this" Jared said as he walked out of Stephanie's officer slamming the door in the process.
Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to the computer, but as time went by she realized that she wasn't typing, she was just sitting there, just sitting there doing nothing…except thinking of Paul. She couldn't believe that she called Jared his name, she doesn't even know why his name of all names would even show up in her thoughts, after all, it has been five years. But she admits that she does think about him more than she should but she never thought it would reach that point. But then again, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as once when she and Jared were having sex, she did fantasize about him being Paul instead. It scared her shitless and she made him stop, ever since that day things have been pretty weird between them, that's what he was referring to when he said she had be acting differently. But if she's honest, the main reason why she stopped the sex that night is because she almost called out Paul's name, her fantasy was so real that she really thought she was with him, and when she caught herself she just knew she had to stop him.
"Get out of my head" she said to herself as she tapped both sets of her middle and ring fingers against her temples "….Just go" she said softly as she sat back in her chair and threw her head back and exhaled as she looked at the ceiling.
"I'll see you next week, right?" Paul said with a grin as he placed his hands on Charlotte's waist.
"definitely" she said with a huge smile on her face as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips to which he smiled. "Bye"
"Bye" he said softly as he watched her walk to her car and get in, once she turned the car on he shut the door and walked back to his room. "what now?" he asked himself as he stared up at the ceiling. His attention was then drawn to the floor as he heard a slight scratching sound, he glanced down and chuckled a bit as he saw the condom wrapper gently float across the floor until it bumped up against the door frame. "What do we do now, buddy?" he said as he shook his head and laughed.
"Paul, hey Paul! you home!?" he heard Ryan call out
"Yeah!" he answered as he got out of bed and quickly threw on some black jogging pants and a white shirt. "what's up?" he asked as he walked into the living room.
"I just saw Charlotte leaving" he said as he lifted his eyebrows up and down.
"You're such an ass" Paul said as he shook his head and smiled at his friend
"Well I have to be since I don't get any" he said as he twirled around in his wheelchair.
"You could if you would take your therapy more seriously." Paul said as he sat on the couch
"What's the point?" Ryan asked as he rolled over towards Paul. "I can't return to the corps due to my busted legs, I have nothing to live for man."
"you've got plenty to live for, Ryan"
"Like what? the fact that some days I can walk and others I can barely get myself out of bed? No woman wants to deal with a half cripple."
"Hey man, there's somebody for everybody"
"Yeah, that's easy for you to say, you can pull em left and right"
"But you're the one who pulls all the chicks at the clubs"
"Yeah, because i'm usually sitting down when they come over, but once they see my chair or the moment my legs go out during a date, I never hear from them again. Just admit it Paul, i'm just a lost cause man" Ryan said as he looked down at his legs. This instantly made Paul feel bad, it always did. It was because of him that Ryan was like this in the first place. Had he just listened to the call that the officer made instead of checking out the scene on his own, Ryan wouldn't have had to have run over and save him from attack. Paul always felt that it should be him in that chair, not Ryan.
"Hey Ryan"
"Yeah?" he said looking up
"Wanna go out tonight?"
Ryan smiled. "Hell yeah! I haven't hung out with my boy in God knows when"
"the night is ours buddy, the night is ours" Paul said as he got up to go and get dressed
"Hey" Stephanie said softly
"Oh, now you see me" Jared said as he went back to scrolling on his phone.
Stephanie pulled out a chair in the break room and turned it to face Jared. "Hey" she said as she softly grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry, okay? it's just this job has put more pressure on me than I can take and i'm taking it out on you and i'm sorry."
"I gave you this job because I believe in you Stephanie, and I thought that you could handle it more than anyone, i'm starting to regret that decision now" he said as he gently removed his hand from hers and placed his phone down.
Stephanie briefly glanced down at the table before returning her attention towards him. "What can I do to make it up to you?" she asked as she scanned his face for answers.
"Go out with me tonight"
"okay" she said nodding
"and" he said lifting his index finger "I want us to have a meaningful conversation about where we stand"
She was silent as she pursed her lips to the side and thought about what he just said. To be honest, Stephanie was not looking for a serious relationship right now, at least not with Jared. To her, he still came off a bit controlling and always wanted things his way, thats one of the main reasons why they broke up years ago. But when she returned to the corps, he was in charge of her program, she tried her best to avoid him but everywhere she turned, he was there. Finally, he backed her into a corner one day and made her talk to him, not in a threatening way but it was clear he was not going to move until she did.
"Steph, steph…hello" Jared said as he snapped his fingers in front of her face
"Oh!, sorry" she said as she came out of her thoughts
"See" he said pointing to her "this stuff right here is what makes me think you're not serious about us"
"Well Jared, to be quite honest, we didn't exactly leave off on the best of the terms the last time we were together"
Jared rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the arm as he sighed. "don't tell me you're still on that Stephanie"
"You hit me, Jared"
"That was over like six years ago" he said smacking his lips
"It still happened"
"I was young and stupid, Stephanie"
"So you think that gave you the right to touch me in that manner?"
He exhaled loudly.
"And you were very controlling, kind of like you are now. Always wanting me to do things for you, but the favor is never returned"
"I think you sitting in the position you're in is favor enough, Stephanie"
"Oh, so you think i'm going to lower my standards for a job?"
"Lower your standards?" he said getting up from the table "excuse me?"
"I didn't mean it like that" she said looking up at him
"Then how the fuck did you mean it?"
"See" she said pointing at him "This temper you have is exactly why I don't want to.."
"don't want to what?" he said as he lowered himself to where his face was in hers.
"Never mind" Stephanie said as she looked away "just forget it" she said standing up "forget I ever came in here" she said as she tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm. "let go of me Jared." she said looking down at the viper like grip he had on her arm and then back at him.
"Apologize" he said through his teeth
"for what?"
"for everything you just said" he said squeezing tighter
"Jared! let me go!" Stephanie said as she tried to snatch away "let me go right now or i'll scream at the top of my lungs"
Jared stared her up and down before he finally let go and backed away. "i'm sorry" he said softly "It's just…i'm afraid to lose you again Stephanie, and the thought of it just pisses me off and I know i'm not helping the situation by overreacting, I just don't know how to control myself" he said looking down at the ground.
Stephanie said nothing as she massaged the spot where he grabbed her.
"Listen" he said walking up to her, to which she backed away. "Babe, come here" he said as he reached out his hand and gently held hers in his. "I'm going to get better, i'll go to therapy or do whatever I have to do to keep you. I already lost you once Stephanie, I don't plan on losing you again" Jared said as he slowly raised his hand up her arm to touch her sore spot. "And I promise you that" he said as he stared into her beautiful blue eyes. Stephanie could say nothing as she just stood there frozen. She always wondered why at times like these why she couldn't just find the strength to walk away, but yet there she was, standing still as he walked around her and pulled her into his arms.
"You're fucking wild, man! you're fucking wild!" Ryan said as he limped into the house
"Always have been" Paul said as he placed Ryan's chair in the corner.
"Hey, I need that" Ryan said pointing to it
"Nope" Paul said shaking his head "Your doctor said you need to start applying more pressure on you legs by walking more. You know what will happen if you don't, Ryan"
"I know, I know" he said waving his hand dismissively as he sat down on the couch. "I'll be confined to that chair permanently."
"and you don't want that, do you?"
"Of course not"
"Then stop being an asshole and do what your doctor says"
"By the sounds of it, if I didn't know you, I'd think you were my doctor" Ryan said rolling his eyes
"I'm only looking out for you" Paul said as he went to the fridge
"I know" Ryan said as he started to massage his legs
"Want a beer?"Paul asked standing at the fridge with the door open while looking back at his friend
"Yeah," Ryan answered as he pulled off his shoes
"You know where those go right?" Paul said as he walked over and handed Ryan a beer while opening a bottle of water for himself.
"Yeah, yeah" Ryan said annoyed "I know not to leave my shit in the living room" he said as he grabbed the beer from Paul. "Hey, i've been meaning to ask you something"
"What's that?" Paul asked as he took a long swig of the icy cold liquid
"The military ball"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"are you going?"
Paul shrugged. "Probably not, every year i've went it's been the same old thing."
"Oh come on, it's fun"
"You only say that because you hit on everything that walks past you"
Ryan smirked and lifted his arms in the air. "you say that like it's a bad thing"
"And besides, I don't have a date anyway"
"Um, Charlotte, hello?" Ryan said taking a sip of his beer
"I mean I could, but me and her aren't exactly a 'thing'"
"so"
"So, usually when someone in my rank goes to those types of events it's with someone the others will expect to keep on seeing at every other event"
"well, all the other guys are old and married, you're still young so they'd probably expect to see you switch it up every now and again"
"Yeah" Paul said nodding as he took another swig of his water
"remember that chick you used to date, do you think she's gonna be there?" Ryan asked
"What chick?"
Snapping his fingers while he talked, Ryan tried to figure out the name "Um, Sarah, Sandra, Ste..Steph, yeah steph, that was it. Do she's going to be there? isn't she a nurse or something, they usually attend"
Paul could feel the blood inside of him boil at the mention of her name, he admits he constantly thinks about her, but as time has went on those thoughts have become more bad than good. "Fuck that bitch" Paul said as he stood up "If she's there, I definitely wouldn't go except for to curse her ass out" Paul said as he tossed the empty water bottle in the trash.
"Damn" Ryan said shocked, usually when Paul spoke of Stephanie it was never like this, usually something good or how she hurt him.
"Damn nothing" Paul said turning around and leaning against the counter.
"Just thought you still had feelings for her or something"
"Well, you thought wrong" Paul lied
"I wonder if Helena is gonna be there"
"Your nurse who later become mine?" Paul chuckled
"Yeah, I would really like to catch up again" Ryan said softly
"You should go then"
"Only if you come with me"
"No" Paul said shaking his head
"Come on man, it's the least you could do for me considering the fact that I….never mind" Ryan said as he shifted his legs on the couch
Paul looked down at the floor and immediately felt bad, he knew what Ryan was going to say but he knew Ryan didn't have the heart to tell him that it was the least he could do for basically ending his life as a normal person and having to start all over again as someone who was half crippled. Paul knew he owed Ryan his life and if going to some silly ball was going to make him happy, then he would do it. "I'll go with you" Paul said as he walked over
"Really?" Ryan asked, the tone in his voice pepping up
"Yeah" Paul said with a smile "just don't start any fights with some chick's boyfriend Ryan"
"That was not my fault!" he called out as Paul walked down the hallway
"Of course you say that" Paul answered as he walked into his room to start packing for the trip.
To say that Stephanie has been avoiding Jared for the last two weeks is a huge understatement, she just didn't want to hear or see him. She ignored his calls and never replied to any of his messages. She even started doing her work in the first floor break room instead of her officer to avoid seeing Jared and she would only let a select few people know where she was. But when that cover was blown, she decided to cash in on her one week vacation just to give her a little more time to think about things.
Stephanie, please just talk to me. I know you've been avoiding me on purpose, but there's just so much I have to say to you.
Stephanie rolled her eyes as she read the text and then tossed her phone to the side. "Not now, Jared" she said as she fell back against the cool crisp sheets of her bed. "Not ever" she said as she stared up at the ceiling fan.
"Stephanie"
"Come in"
"Sweetie, why haven't you got your clothes picked out for the military ball tomorrow?"
"Because i'm not going, it's not mandatory, only the luncheon and board meeting next week are."
"But.."
"Mom, i'm not going" Stephanie said as she rolled over on her side.
"Jared will be upset"
"Who cares?" Stephanie said as she rolled her eyes
"What's going on between you two?"
"Like you would care" Stephanie muttered to herself
"what was that?"
"nothing" Stephanie said as she rolled back over to look at her mom. "I'm going to go apartment hunting tomorrow"
"but why?" her mother asked as she walked closer to the bed "you know your father and I love it when you stay here"
I don't. she thought to herself. "I know, I just need a place of my own, ya know? one that's closer to work"
"Well, if you insist"
"Besides, I can't stay here forever, I am a lot older now and bringing dates back to your parents house isn't exactly ideal"
Linda chuckled. "Very true" she said as she headed towards the door.
"Mom, may I ask you a question?"
"sure" Linda said turning around
"Is dad the love of your life?" It kind of just came out of nowhere, but Stephanie was curious. She watched her parents all the time and every time she saw them, it reminded her of Paul's parents and how they were nothing a like. A kiss here, a compliment there, maybe a dinner if they're lucky, but never that undying love like the Levesques have. She always wondered had she stayed behind with Paul, if their love would be like his parents or hers?
"why do you ask that?" Linda asked curiously.
"I was just wondering, I mean, I never hear either of you say anything romantic about or to one another and well, sometimes it just seems as if you're tolerating the other instead of loving one another and maybe that's your way of doing things, but I am curious to know.
"Well you do realize that being all over one another 24/7 doesn't constitute what is and isn't love, right?" Linda said getting defensive
"Yes" Stephanie said nodding her head, "but one would think that you'd show it every now and again. It seems you two are more like business parents than lovers mom"
"where is this all coming from, Stephanie?"
"I dunno" she said shrugging "just some things have been running through my mind lately, that's all."
"I see" Linda said raising her brow "well, make sure those thoughts run on out of your head because your father and I are fine" she said as she turned to walk out the door before looking at her daughter again. "go to the ball, Stephanie" she said as she closed the door.
"And another thing..."
"Jeez, you're still complaining?" Ryan asked as he turned around to look at his friend "Had I known this, I would have never asked you to come"
"I just don't understand why it has to be out of town, that's all. Why couldn't it be back on base?"
"Maybe because all of the balls are out of town" Ryan said condescendingly as he rolled his eyes
"Not all" Paul said as he grabbed both his luggage and Ryan's from the conveyor belt.
"That's because we were privates then, we couldn't go to the big fancy balls, we had no choice but to stay at base. But now we run this bitch" Ryan said proudly as he strapped his suitcase to his chair.
"I wouldn't say we run it"
"You're a Major, and i'm the Major's best friend, close enough" Ryan said shrugging
"Just shut up and get in the car please" Paul said as he opened the car door for his friend
"Gonna get my suitcase?"
"No, you do it"
"rude"
"Remember what the doctor…"
"alright! alright!" Ryan said getting frustrated as he stood up and grabbed his suitcase, limping over to the trunk with it "You happy now?" he asked as he tossed it in there and slammed it shut
Paul smirked as he gave Ryan a golf clap. "good boy, now, let's head to the hotel yeah?"
"Yeah, yeah" Ryan said waving him off as he slowly walked around to the passenger side of the car and hopped in. "you load up my chair?"
"It's in the backseat, isn't it?"
"I swear I hate you sometimes"
"The don't ask dumb questions" Paul said as he started the car and they headed off towards the hotel.
"None of this shit looks good" Stephanie said as she tossed the dress in frustration
"just take your time, sweetie" Linda said as she watched her daughter go into the closet for another dress
"this is exactly why I didn't want to go" Stephanie called out
"Stephanie, have you spoke to Jared?"
"No, and I don't plan on doing so, how about this one?" she said as she walked out holding up another dress
"I like…"
"You're right, it's too dull" Stephanie said not giving her mother a chance to speak before she tossed it on the bed with the other dresses and headed back in the closet again
Please answer my messages.
Linda turned her head towards Stephanie's phone when she heard it beep, she picked it up and read the message, she also read the other messages and could see that Stephanie had been avoiding him for two weeks. "Jesus, Steph" she said to herself. Linda really liked Jared, she wanted him to be apart of their family and he was definitely best for business with his background. She just couldn't understand why Stephanie didn't see in him what all the other women did. The other women would die just to be able to get the chance to talk to him. He had dashing good looks, a body that was to kill for, and a smile that could make the sun rise, so why was Stephanie avoiding him?
I can see that you've read the message, please reply.
Linda quickly tossed the phone to the side. "shit" she said under her breath, she didn't want to get caught snooping through her daughter's business, but her curiosity got the better of her and she picked the phone up once again as another message came through.
Are you going to the ball? I'd really love for you to be my date so we can talk and just have a good time.
"Stephanie" Linda called out
"Yes, ma'am?" she answered while she continued to dig through the closet
"Still not going to the ball?"
"at this rate, nope, not at all. I give up" Stephanie said as she walked out of the closet with her arms in the arm, she failed to notice her phone in her mother's hand when she walked past her and went straight into the bathroom.
Linda's heart almost jumped out of her chest when Stephanie came from the closet, thank god she didn't see her because she had absolutely no idea what she would have said had Stephanie questioned her about the phone, and more so about the messages from Jared. She was getting ready to put the phone down again when another message popped up.
Just a yes or no and I'll leave you alone.
Linda bit down on her lower lip before typing No. and pressing send.
Well, I hate that you're not coming, but if you want, i'll be at the bar on 21st street, i've been there a few times and it's very nice, right up your alley. I won't force you to talk, but if I see you I will walk over and say hello.
Linda glanced up to make sure that Stephanie was nowhere in sight before replying to Jared. Ok, i'll think about it. Bye
Hope to see you there, bye. :)
After reading his reply, Linda quickly tossed Stephanie's phone to the other side of the bed. "Yep, screw it" Stephanie said as she walked out of the bathroom "I think i'm going to go get a bite to eat or something, want anything?" she said grabbing her purse
"No" Linda said shaking her head "just let me know when you're on your way back."
"Alright" Stephanie said as she grabbed her phone
"Any idea where you might be going?"
"Nope" Stephanie said with a shrug
"well there's a nice little bar down on 21st street, I heard it's amazing, you should check it out after you grab a bite, you know, just to get out of the house"
"I'll think about it, you know i've never been a party person" Stephanie said as she planted a kiss to the top of her mother's head and headed out the door. "bye"
"Bye" Linda said in a soft tone, she was sure Stephanie didn't even hear her. In a way she felt like she had betrayed her daughter, she knew that Stephanie was avoiding him but yet she was setting her up to "run" into him, just for her own personal benefit. Whatever they're going through couldn't possible be that bad seeing as Jared was once the love of Stephanie's life when they dated a few years back. She never understood why they broke up as Stephanie never talked about it, but she always said she'd make it her mission to get them back together again. She just hoped to God that her plan would work and that there would be no severe consequences.
"This has to be the most boring ball i've ever been to in my entire life" Paul said as he looked around
"Yeah, I actually have to agree with you on that one, usually they're full of life"
"I wouldn't go that far, but at least in the past they were somewhat enjoyable"
"Everyone is either married or dating someone now" Ryan said as he played with the food on his plate "the last few times I came the women were running wild" he said as he lifted his fork up and down.
"You wanna get the hell out of here man?"
"Hell yeah" Ryan said as he stood up, right when they were about to reach the door, they bumped into a very familiar face, one they were not to happy to see.
"Gentleman" said the man with his very thick English accent. Paul and Ryan fought to roll their eyes, but instead they saluted the older gentleman "at ease" he said to them as he slowly walked around them until he was in front of them again. "How have you been?"
Paul was the first to speak. "Fine, sir, and yourself?"
"Excellent as always" he said looking off into the background before looking at them. He leaned forward and squinted his eyes to take a closer look at Paul's jacket. "hmm" he said "Major" he said raising his brows while quickly tilting his head from right to left, in a mocking way as if to say 'good for you'.
"Sir, yessir" he said staring at the man.
"when did this happen?"
"Last year, Sir"
"So, Colonel" Ryan said before he was interrupted
"Brigadier General Miller" He spat out as he looked down at Ryan, who was shaking, not because he was intimidated by him, but because his legs were really starting to bother him and he knew if he didn't get out that they would give out soon. They usually got this way if he's been sitting down for a long time and then suddenly tries to walk. He wouldn't have this problem if he would do the exercises that his doctor instructed, this is one of the main reasons why Paul constantly stayed on his case. It was the last thing they needed as it would be just lovely to Miller if he saw one of them go down in front of him. "As you can clearly see" he said pointing to the insignia on his coat.
"My apologies" Ryan said half-assed as he turned his head
"Congratulations sir" Paul said which only made Miller shoot him back a disgusted glare.
"I don't need your congratulatory remarks, I earned this"
"I never said you…"
"Be quiet"
"But…"
"That's an order, Levesque"
Paul fought the urge to punch his superior in the mouth, instead he exhaled and held his head down for a moment before looking back up. "May we?" he said motioning towards the door.
"Get out of my face" Miller said as he stood tall and looked straight ahead, ignoring them to the best of his abilities.
"Thank you sir, it was nice seeing you again" Paul said as he saluted his senior officer and grabbed Ryan, helping him out the door.
"I fucking hate that asshole" Ryan said the moment he was in the car
"You and me both" Paul said closing his door. "who was dumb enough to give him a promotion like that?"
"And what's worse is he's a one star walking around like he's a four star"
"He'll never be a four star, I can guarantee you that my friend." Paul said as he started the car "Let's get out of here, i've had enough of this place"
"I know where we can go" Ryan said putting on his seatbelt "and it's some place nice"
"Here you go, ma'am"
"Thank you" Stephanie said as she took the bill from the waiter and pulled out her wallet. She paid for meal and then left a very generous tip, as she was heading out the door, she heard her name.
"Stephanie…Stephanie is that you?"
I know that voice. Stephanie thought to herself as she turned around and when she saw who it was, she instantly smiled. "Oh my god, Helena, how are you?" Stephanie said as she walked over and hugged the woman.
"I'm fine, just fine" she said smiling "My god, I haven't seen you since the day Paul and Ryan bumped into one another at the hospital"
Not wanting to talk about Paul, Stephanie quickly changed the direction of the conversation towards Ryan. "I know, I mean I know we've talked over the phone a few times since then but wow, it really is good to see you. How is Ryan?"
She shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I haven't seen or talked to him"
"Wow, I thought you two hit it off"
"We did, but he went back to war and you know how that goes."
"I see" Stephanie said nodding, but before Helena could ask about Paul, which is exactly what she knew she was about to do, Stephanie spoke again. "So how has work been?"
"Great, i'm not a nurse for the old base anymore"
"Oh my god, really?"
"Yep, as a matter of fact, the last patient I was assigned to from over there was Paul"
"….really?" Shit. Stephanie thought to herself
"Yep" she said nodding "which surprised me because weren't you his nurse?" she said turning her hand upright and pointing to Stephanie
"I was, things came up" Stephanie said very quickly "so what are you doing here?"
"Military ball, you didn't go?"
"No" Stephanie said shaking her head "I couldn't find anything to wear"
"well it was a bust anyway, that Miller guy was in charge and he wanted everything to be super fancy and old school"
"Sounds like I dodged a bullet"
"you did, so what are you up to?"
"Nothing much, I just finished eating and I guess i'll head back home, not much to do anyways"
"Oh come on, there has to be something"
"Well, my mom mentioned some bar on 21st or something"
"Let's go"
"Really? you're not here with friends or anything, are you?"
"Nah" she said waving her hand "I'm just trying to explore the city"
"Well sorry to disappoint you, but there's not much to explore in Connecticut" Stephanie said chuckling
"Well i'll just have to see for myself now want I?" Helena said as she grabbed Stephanie's hand "come on let's go"
"I don't know why I let you drag me to this club" Paul said as he looked around and shook his head
"First of all, it's not a club, it's a bar"
"Same thing" Paul muttered to himself
"and just shut up and relax will ya? jeez, learn to loosen up a bit" Ryan said as he took a sip of his beer.
"I could if I was having a good time, and besides, you know this isn't really my scene anyway."
"Well" Ryan said mockingly "I told you to bring Charlotte, but did you listen? Noooo, so that's your fault" he said pointing to his friend
"Would you boys like another round?" the waitress asked as she walked over to them with a smile
"Yeah, a round with you" Ryan said as he and the waitress both laughed. "But you can give me another"
"No, he's had enough for the night" Paul said looking over at his friend who was sticking his tongue out at him.
"Guy tries to control me" Ryan said pointing at him with his thumb
"Well, when you guys get it figured out, let me know" she said as she placed a shoulder on Ryan's shoulder and winked before walking off
"Woooo, i'm getting some tonight bay-bay!"
"I doubt that" Paul said as he watched a dude walk past him, he was obviously a little hammered, he had never seen him before and probably never would again but he just seemed like trouble. "more reasons to want to get out of here" Paul said to himself as he watched the man sit at the front of the bar.
"Damn it" he heard Ryan said as he focused his attention on his friend who was trying to balance an empty beer bottle on the top of his head. "almost had it"
"you're fucking stupid" Paul said as he watched the bottle fall off of Ryan's head again and again.
"You're having a good time, aren't you?" Helena asked as she swayed her body back and forth in the booth to the music that was playing in the bar
"Of course" Stephanie lied as she gave her a fake smile. She had to admit that Helena was great company and she really enjoyed catching up, but she'd rather be at home in her bed right now, she didn't want to be out and especially on a busy night like this. Stephanie scanned the room with her blue eyes and saw a few familiar faces from high school and old jobs that she hoped wouldn't walk over and say hi. She picked up her drink and and took a sip and nearly choked on it when her eyes settled on a very familiar face across the room. He was sitting at another booth with what she assumed to be his friend but she couldn't make out who the other guy was. But the man she knew seemed to have been yelling at his friend about something and then the moment she wish she could have avoided came when he looked up and his eyes caught hers. He squinted to make sure it was who he thought it was and then he stood up and smiled as he started walking towards her table. "Shit" she said to herself
"What?" Helena said
"It really is him"
"Who?" she asked looking around
Those hazel eyes, those bulging muscles, his perfect walk and perfect jaw bone, a smile to die for and beautiful blonde hair. "Jared" Stephanie said barely above a whisper.
"Jerry?" Helena said confused as she tried to make out who Stephanie was talking about
"No, she said Jared" he said as he finally reached the table "Hello, Stephanie"
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean what am I do here? last I checked I asked you to meet me here and you said okay"
"No I…"
"i'm sorry, but who are you?" Helena asked
"Her boyfriend" he said bluntly
"You never told me you had a boyfriend" Helene said looking at her
"Because I don't" Stephanie answered quickly
"I thought you came here to settle things, not belittle me" Jared said as he started getting frustrated and balled his hand into a fist
"woah buddy" Helena said holding up her hand "you need to calm down"
"And you need to fuck off, i'm here to talk to Stephanie, not you"
"You can kiss my…"
"Helena" Stephanie said softly "just give us a moment"
"alright" she said giving Jared an up down "but I won't be far away" she said as she walked towards the bar
"Do you always have to make a scene?" Stephanie asked as she looked around
"Make a scene? would do you mean!?" Jared said as his voice faded in the background as Helena walked up to the bar.
"On the rocks please" she said leaning on the counter
"…..Helena?"
She slowly turned her head and gasped at who she saw.
"Yes i've been avoiding you but why does that matter, Jared?"
"Because we're a couple, that's why"
"No, we're not. You came up with that on your own."
"Oh really?" he said tilting his head to the side
"Yes really…listen…..what….what are you doing Jared? Jared….let me go!"
Paul pulled out his wallet and paid for the bill, he smiled at the waitress as she walked away, and was wondering what was taking Ryan so long at the bar, he said he was going to grab one for the road and they would be on their way. He poked his head out of the booth and saw that he was talking to some woman, whoever she was it looked like they were catching up as they were hugging and laughing. He decided to let his friend have his fun, why ruin his night just because he wasn't having fun? he sat back in the booth and turned his attention elsewhere as he scanned the room. His stopped on one particular couple who seemed to be having an argument, he couldn't make out what they were saying but it seemed intense. "fucking drunks" he said to himself as he rolled his eyes. But as he took another look he could see the man grabbing the woman, he yanked on her arm pretty hard and had his fist balled up, before he could blink the man was lashing out at the young woman, his fist coming down like hammers as she screamed out. Being a marine, and just a man in general, he'd be damn if he was going to sit back and watch this happen. He jumped up and ran over to them and grabbed the man from behind and slung him down to the ground and immediately began punching him. "So you like to hit women, huh? do ya? you fucking piece of shit!" Paul said as he began pounding the man ever harder. "I'll fucking kill you" he said as he began slamming his head against the floor. "Have you no fucking respect?" he said as he began punching the man again, but during all of this he didn't notice that the music had stopped and that everyone was standing around looking at him. It wasn't until a security guard came up and grabbed him that he even realized what was happening. "Back away from the man, sir" the guard said as he tried to detain Paul.
Paul could have easily gotten out of the man's grip if he wanted to, but the only thing that stopped him was the pure shock from seeing the women's face when she rolled over. "oh my god" he said as he looked at her. Her eye was blackened, her hair was caked with blood, she had a busted lip, and a scratch that went across her face, through all of that he was still able to make out who she was, how could he not? No man could ever forget the face of the woman that was the love of his life. "Stephanie" he said barely above a whisper as he watched in shock as Helena ran to her side.
I'M TAKING A FUCKING BREAK!….again lol.
Leave reviews. :)