Chapter 11
Lucky caught up with Emily and Nikolas as they were exiting the examination area. "Are they releasing you?" he asked Nikolas.
His brother nodded. "Yes. Pollyanna over here wanted them to keep me overnight for observation, but Monica said otherwise," Nikolas replied, wrapping his arm around Emily and pressing a kiss to her temple.
Emily rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "This is what I get for trying to make sure my fiancé is healthy," she complained with a smile.
"Yeah, big brother, thanks for letting me know you proposed," Lucky groused in mock aggravation. "I had to find out from Emily when she was yelling at the fire marshal to send people to look for you on the docks." He grinned. "Seriously though, I think it's great. I knew you two would end up together, and I'm happy for both of you."
Nikolas returned his brother's grin as they embraced lightly. "Thanks, Lucky." He looked at Emily lovingly, seeing her smile back at him softly.
"Okay, I gotta get home to Liz and Eric, but you two should definitely come over tomorrow morning for brunch. Liz is dying to help you start planning the wedding," Lucky informed Emily, eliciting a smile. He began walking down the hallway but called over his shoulder, "Watch out for the media feeding frenzy in the lobby. They all want to interview the hero of Port Charles who rescued the trapped woman.'
"Great," Nikolas mumbled as he and Emily began walking towards the exit, their hands naturally joining together, fingers intertwining as they walked. "Just what I didn't want."
Emily looked at him curiously. "Why? You are a hero," she insisted. "What you did tonight was very heroic and brave."
"I was just doing my job," Nikolas maintained with a shake of his head. "Any other officer in the PCPD would have done the same thing. I don't want or deserve the spotlight."
Emily stopped walking and, taking Nikolas' face in her hands, kissed him passionately, taking Nikolas by surprise and drawing a groan of desire from his chest.
When she drew away, Nikolas looked at her. "What was that for?" he asked somewhat breathlessly, a tiny grin hinting at his lips.
"I just love you," Emily said with a shrug. "You may not see yourself as a hero, but you are. You're my hero. You survived and came back to me when I needed you to. That alone makes you a hero in my eyes, but the fact that you're so humble and selfless makes me love you all the more."
Nikolas bent his head and caught her lips with his. "You're pretty special yourself," he murmured as he drew away. "I can't believe you agreed to spend the rest of your life with me."
Emily smiled and grabbed his hand as she pulled him in another direction. "Come on," she said. "I may not have a pair of glasses and a fake moustache for you to put on, but I can still help you avoid the press. We'll take the back exit."
Nikolas just grinned at the memory and allowed Emily to spirit him away from the hospital.
When they arrived in front of their apartments, Emily looked over at Nikolas. "I'll stay with you at your place," Emily offered. "That way you'll be more comfortable."
Nikolas shook his head and began leading her toward her own apartment. "You need your own bed tonight, I can tell." Upon entering her apartment, Nikolas immediately took Emily's hand in his, gently pulling her along behind him. "You know what else we both need?" he asked over his shoulder.
"What?" Emily asked, somewhat suspicious as she allowed Nikolas to guide her.
"A shower," Nikolas announced, stopping in front of her bathroom and turning to face her.
"Okay," Emily replied. "You can go first, I'll wait. Your stuff is in the cabinet …"
Nikolas cut her off, gently putting a finger to her lips. "Emily," he said quietly, drawing her eyes to his. "I meant a shower together."
"Oh," she replied, a light blush tingeing her cheeks. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Nikolas," she continued hesitantly. "I mean, your body was put through a lot tonight. You shouldn't over-exert yourself." She smiled slightly. "Doctor's orders."
Nikolas chuckled and shook his head. "Did I mention that my fiancée-doctor, in addition to being brilliant and beautiful and amazing, is also occasionally over-protective and that I love her for it even when it's not needed?" He gave her another tug toward the bathroom. "Come on. We're both covered in soot and we both reek of smoke. We'll be saving water and time if we just shower together."
Emily bit her lip and looked coyly at Nikolas as she followed him. "I don't know about that," she admitted with a sly smile. "Once I get in there I might not want to get out. I might fall asleep."
He smiled and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll have to make sure that doesn't happen." He meant it too. He knew both he and Emily had been running on adrenaline for most of the night, and he knew the crash was inevitable. And although he had been in enough tense situations to know how to cope with the fallout, he was concerned that Emily had not, and when she fell, she would fall hard. He had to be there to catch her.
Emily leaned into him as her hands began unbuttoning his now filthy and ragged dress shirt. "I'm sure you will," she murmured seductively, looking into his eyes. For some reason, even though she knew she should be tired, Emily felt wide awake and full of energy. It felt good, this rush of energy, and she decided to go with it. Eyes still locked with his, she undid the last button and pulled the two sides back over his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground at their feet.
Nikolas took a step toward her, his lips descending to brush her forehead as his arms slid around her body. Moving lower, he whispered soft kisses across her eyelids and the bridge of her nose as he unzipped the back of her dress, allowing his fingers to trail up and down her bare back, smiling slightly as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra.
He backed away and watched as Emily stepped gracefully out of her dress. Nikolas removed his pants and boxers as Emily kicked off her high heels and shed the rest of her clothes. They stared at one another for a moment before Emily grabbed his hand and led him to the spacious shower. As they stepped under the hot spray, Nikolas reached up and pulled the few remaining bobby pins from Emily's hair, allowing the wavy brown tresses to tumble down around her shoulders. He lathered up some shampoo and began to gently run his hands through her hair, washing away the dirt and grime of the evening.
Emily closed her eyes as she felt Nikolas' fingers gently massaging her scalp. There was something so tender, so innocent yet sensual about his movements, that she could hardly believe that only a few hours before she had questioned if she would ever experience something like this again. The thought of Nikolas dying jarred her, and all of the sudden the rush of energy began to wane. Opening her eyes quickly, she noticed the simple cross hanging on a silver chain around Nikolas' neck. Reaching out, she touched it gently, almost hesitantly. She glanced up at Nikolas to find him gazing at her with questioning eyes, his hands stilled in her hair.
"Is this…" she trailed off, question evident in her eyes.
"The cross you gave me before I left for the Marines?" Nikolas supplied. "Yes. I wear it every day."
Emily glanced back down at his chest, wondering why she had never noticed the cross before now. She remembered the day she gave it to him clearly. She had been packing up her things to return to Stanford when Nikolas had arrived and told her of his plan to join the Marines. She had been shocked and wanted to protest, but she knew better than to try and talk him out of it. Instead, she had dug through her jewelry box until she found the simple necklace her birth mother had given Emily for her First Communion.
"I gave it to you to keep you safe," Emily whispered in recollection, her eyes glazed with remembrance as she held it in her hand. "I made you promise to never take it off."
"And I didn't," Nikolas told her. "I never took it off, and it did keep me safe. It brought me back to you, didn't it?" He smiled gently. "I guess it really did give me divine protection."
His words reminded Emily of just how close she'd come to losing him, images of his bloody face and his quaking as he coughed flashing through her mind. She looked up at his face, seeing the stitched gash on his forehead, prompting more terrifying memories. Her hand came up as if to touch his face but faltered as Emily brought her hand to her mouth, her body beginning to tremble violently and tears springing to her eyes as the night's events hit her full force. "Nikolas…" she choked out, trying to hold the tears and sobs inside.
Nikolas simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her head to his shoulder, knowing she needed to release everything she was feeling. "Don't try to hold it in, baby," he whispered gently. "Just let it all out." And she did. Nikolas held her as she cried into his chest, her tears mingling with the droplets of water raining down on both of them, washing away the fear and the anxiety of the night. Emily's hands slid under his arms as she pulled him closer to her, feeling his lips brushing against her hair. It felt good to release all that she had been holding back, knowing that Nikolas wouldn't let her drown in her emotions. He would be there for her, just as she would be there for him, for the rest of their lives. Words couldn't describe the comfort and peace that knowledge gave her.
After a few minutes, Nikolas could feel the trembling of Emily's body begin to subside. He continued to stroke her hair soothingly, running his hands through her hair and onto her back, until he felt Emily easing her head away from his chest. He relaxed his embrace to accommodate her movements, keeping one hand at the small of her back, the other tangled in her hair. Looking down into her eyes, he smiled softly. "You okay?"
Emily smiled gratefully, nodding as she cupped his cheek gently in her hand. "I am now … thanks to you," she whispered. "Being in your arms makes everything better." She sighed tremulously, looking away. "Earlier … when I didn't know where you were, if you were hurt … if you were even alive … I wondered if I'd ever get to have you hold me again. I couldn't imagine …" he voice trailed off as tears once again threatened to spill over her lashes.
"Baby," Nikolas said soothingly, reaching out and gently turning Emily's face back toward his, making eye contact. "Don't go there, okay? We're safe, unhurt, and together. We survived, and that's all that matters." He kissed her forehead. "That's all that matters."
Emily looked at him, feeling so blessed to have him in her life. "I love you so much," she confessed, her voice barely more than a whisper. "God, I don't ever want to lose you." Leaning up on tiptoe, she placed her hands on either side of Nikolas' face and kissed him deeply.
I can't imagine, any greater fear
Then waking up, without you here,
And though the sun, will still shine on,
My whole world, would all be gone,
But not for long
Nikolas responded to her kiss, his arms wrapping tightly around her as he pulled her body close to his. Water continued to cascade down on them as they stayed locked in a passionate embrace, lips and tongues dancing together. After coming so close to losing each other, both Nikolas and Emily felt the need to reaffirm the intense love they shared, to physically feel the connection that had seen them through so much. Emily slid her arms around Nikolas' neck, her fingers raking through his hair as she tried to get closer to him.
If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I will find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far
His hand tangled in her hair, Nikolas gently pushed Emily back against the tiled wall of the shower, lips still glued to hers as his other hand stroked her cheek. He leaned into her, the hard muscles of his chest pressing against the soft curves of her body. As his tongue wrapped around hers, Emily whimpered into his mouth, and Nikolas immediately drug his lips to her ear. "Are you okay?" he whispered, his breathing heavy.
It wouldn't matter why were apart,
Lonely minds or two stubborn hearts
Nothing short of God above
Could turn me away from your love
I need you that much
Emily nodded, her hands fisting in his hair to move his head back so she could see his face. "Just kiss me," she requested, pulling him back in for another passionate kiss. The cool tile pressed against her back contrasted the heat between Nikolas and Emily, and she shifted against him and sighed as his lips moved to her neck and collarbone and continued downward, his hands all over her body. Her skin tingled everywhere his lips and hand touched, her breath coming in short pants as she tried to draw his head up so she could kiss him again. "Nikolas …" she gasped, arching her body away from the wall and into his, wanting him to end his wonderfully torturous assault on her body while simultaneously hoping he never would.
If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I will find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far
Pulling back slightly, Nikolas slid his hands to her waist, hoisting her up easily while keeping her back against the tile. Emily's legs hooked around the back of his thighs, tugging him closer with an impatient moan. Their mouths met hungrily as their bodies became one, both of them groaning in satisfaction as the sensation. Nikolas pinned Emily there against the wall, their eyes open and locked on the other as they fought to remain in control. Nikolas suckled her chin and shifted slightly, and Emily's eyes drifted closed as she moaned in ecstasy, tilting her head to expose her neck, inviting Nikolas' lips to wander there as their bodies moved naturally against each other.
If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I will find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far
After a few minutes, Emily felt Nikolas tensing against her as she too began to lose control. Titling her head back down, she caught his lips with hers, wanting to feel every inch of his body. Nikolas thrust into her one more time as, together, they found release. Emily cried out in pleasure as Nikolas groaned into her shoulder, his hands once again at her hips, supporting her body as he rocked into her. He held her there for a few minutes, peppering her face and neck with kisses. He then eased her away from the wall and off of him, setting her on her feet as his lips once again sought hers.
Emily's legs felt like rubber, and were it not for Nikolas holding her up, she felt as if she might very well collapse. As if sensing this, Nikolas reached behind up with one hand and shut off the water before scooping Emily up in his arms. Dripping water, he carried her from the shower to the bedroom, depositing her under the covers before crawling in beside her with a sigh of exhaustion.
"Nikolas, we didn't finish showering, and we're soaking wet," Emily protested half-heartedly as he gathered her close and pulled the covers tighter around them.
"We'll finish tomorrow," Nikolas murmured into her hair. "Right now I'm just too tired." He kissed her hair tenderly. "We've got time for that later. All I want now is to sleep with you in my arms."
Emily sighed and snuggled against him, knowing he was right. They had nothing but time. She and Nikolas would be together forever, and if they had anything to say about it, forever would last for a long, long time.
Baby there's no place that far
TBC...
Song credit: No Place That Far - Sara Evans featuring Vince Gill
