Perry ran all the way to the medical bay. He was way ahead of Apollo, despite the doctor's promise to "explain on the way". Perry wasn't daring to hope. Could Naomi really be alive…? But something had gone wrong…? What could it be?

Bursting into the medical bay, Perry immediately spotted a pink platypus sitting propped up in one of the beds, reading a bikk. "Naomi!" he called joyfully, his heart swelling like a balloon.

He ran down the length of the hospital wing, ready to hug her tightly—regardless of the egg in his hands—but he stopped when he saw the confused look Naomi was giving him. "Should I know you?"

Those four words felt like a knife in Perry's chest. He stared at her in horror. "I-I'm Perry. Don't you remember me?"

"Hi, Perry!" Naomi beamed. "I'm Naomi. Nice to meet you!"

M-MEET you?!

Perry slowly backed away until he bumped into Apollo, who was standing in the middle of the room, gazing sadly at Naomi. "That's what went wrong," he said quietly. "To save her life, I had to almost completely destroy her programming. That means she can no longer be controlled and she is no longer affected by the killing trance…" Apollo hesitated. "But the part of her brain that housed those two trigger words was also the part of the brain associated with memory. So…"

"You saved her life but wiped her memory," Perry finished numbly. "So she's alive but she has no idea who I am. Or that we were in love…or that we were mates…"

"I'm so sorry, Perry," whispered Apollo, his eyes filling with tears. "Th-there was no other way."

"No, don't apologise," Perry said. "You not only saved her life, but you also gave her the opportunity to live as a normal platypus. From here, she can go wherever she wants or stay at OWCA. You-you gave her freedom, Apollo. And that's exactly what I wished for her. Thank you."

"I only wish I could have done more," Apollo said quietly. "So what will you do?"

"I…" Perry hesitated. "I don't know. I don't want to force her to remember me, but…perhaps the memory of me is still there, somehow. I think I'll talk to her a bit, see if she remembers anything."

Apollo nodded. "Good luck, Perry."

Perry anxiously made his way back over to Naomi, who had resumed reading her book. She looked up and smiled as he approached. "Hi! Perry, was it?"

Perry nodded. "Yeah, hi. So where do you come from?"

Naomi frowned. "You know…I don't really know. I just woke up here a couple of hours ago. I don't remember anything about my early life." She hesitated. "That nice doctor Apollo told me some basic stuff about me, including…" She hesitated. "Including the fact that I can't physically have children. That hurt quite a bit, since I've always wanted to have a child, but I think I'm coming to terms with it now."

Perry nodded slowly. "And you don't recognise me at all?"

"No," Naomi said apologetically. "Sorry. Did we know each other?"

Perry hesitated, wondering how much to tell her. "Briefly," he replied eventually. "Not-not very well, though."

"Oh, okay." Naomi glanced down at his hands. "Hey, what have you got there?"

"It's…" Perry looked down at his own hands, remembering for the first time that he was still carrying his sister's egg. "It's an egg. It's my sisters, but she can't raise it."

"Oh, that's a shame." Naomi frowned. "So you're raising it?"

"No, I…I'm helping her find someone who can."

At that moment, a wild idea came into Perry's head. He simultaneously loved AND hated it, but the former trumped the latter, and he decided to go for it. He gently placed the egg in Naomi's hands. "Y-you can raise it."

Naomi blinked in shock. "What?!"

"You said you've always wanted kids, right? Well, this egg might contain twins or even triplets. It or they will need someone to look after it or them. A mother. Will you be this egg's mother?"

Naomi's eyes glistened with tears. "Th-thank you, Perry! Of course I will! Thank you so much!" She gently stroked the top of the egg, looking tenderly down at it. Clearly, Rodney had not been able to prevent Naomi from getting natural motherly instincts.

Perry smiled weakly and quietly left her alone. Going out into the hallway, Perry spotted Paris standing a little way down. He approached her slowly.

"What happened with Naomi?" Paris asked eagerly.

Perry numbly explained everything Apollo had told him.

"Oh…I'm so sorry, Perry." Paris hesitated. "Where's the egg?" she asked. "Did you find a parent?"

Perry nodded numbly. "Naomi."

Paris gasped sharply and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Perry…! You-you gave Naomi the egg?"

Perry nodded again. "I figured…she's always wanted to be a mother, and being resurrected hasn't changed the fact that she can't have kids. I thought it would be kind to give her the family she's always wanted."

"That IS kind," Paris whispered. "But you're…not sticking around to help with the kid?"

"No." Perry shook his head. "There's no point. Naomi doesn't even remember me, let alone the fact that we were mates, and it's not fair of me to be the only reminder of her previous life."

Paris hesitated. "So what are you going to do now?"

Perry gave a weak shrug. "I think I'll go to Australia. Maybe become an agent for the Australian branch of OWCA."

"So far away?" Paris asked quietly.

"There are too many bad memories here," Perry said, matching her volume. "Pinky, Tess, Naomi. It just…it all hurts so much, and I can't stay here when every day I come here just reminds me of them."

Paris nodded tearfully. "I-I understand. But…I'm gonna miss you."

Perry took his twin sister into a hug. "I'll miss you too, Paris."

They held onto each other for several minutes, finding comfort with each other.

Both of their love stories were over, and neither of them had the ending they were hoping for.

…

Love Story is finally finished! :D: XD Thanks for reading!