Hicks stood outside Gemma's room, knocking the door gently to try and attract her attention. He knew that she wouldn't like to hear that he might be leaving. He had already promised himself that he would only take the job and leave earth if she was alright with it, but he always knew that the mere thought of him leaving would hurt. The rest of what happened had just conspired to make it even worse.
"Gemma, please open the door." He begged her. "I want to talk."
"Go away!" She screamed back through in a slightly muffled voice. She had retreated to the room she shared with Gem immediately following the incident on the roof and locked herself in. While she had changed somewhat from the girl Hicks had once described as "a hyper-active eight-year-old", she was still a little fragile emotionally. She and Gem took things to heart easily, meaning that it was easy to hurt them.
He only knew now, having spoken to Summer that she had been setting up for something entirely different. It would have been bad enough if she just heard him speaking of leaving and presumed that he was thinking of leaving her specifically, but she had gotten herself prepared for him popping the question. Hearing what he had to say had clearly torn her heart apart.
"Gemma, please we need to talk about this." He reiterated. "I didn't mean to hurt you..."
"Just go away!" She shrieked again. Hicks knew he was on to a loser, no matter what happened and simply opted to respect her wishes. Not only had she been hurt by the fact that he might be leaving, he knew that it was all compounded by the fact she had inadvertently been humiliated in front of all her closest friends. She had been so excited about the thought of Hicks proposing, she had told everyone. They had all been listening when Hicks gave her the news. As he came downstairs, the others were all sitting around, waiting on news. Gem in particular seemed eager to know how she was.
"How is she?" Summer asked, breaking the silence. It was a question they all wanted to know, but it seemed like such a stupid question when said out loud given the circumstances.
"She won't let me in to talk to her." Hicks replied sadly, taking a seat as Vasquez offered him a glass of champagne. "I knew she would be upset, that's why I wanted to see what she thought before I made a decision."
"Look, we're really sorry we were listening." Summer said apologetically. "She was just so sure, and so excited...we all wanted to be a part of that moment."
"It's alright, I understand." Hicks assured her, restraining his urge to lash out. A lot of her hurt obviously came from being humiliated in front of her friends, and it was easy to think that they were responsible. In the end, it had all been a string of misunderstandings that led to what happened, and unfortunately Gemma was the one to take the hit. "I hate this; I never wanted to hurt her like this."
"She's just upset right now. Maybe you should just wait until she calms down a bit." Gem suggested. "She is my sister; I know what she can be like."
"I really hate this." He told them. "The last thing I'd ever want is to hurt her."
"It was just a misunderstanding." Scott said reassuringly as he poured more champagne for the group. "She'll calm down and you can talk to her."
"So are you going to go?" Dillon asked him. Summer hit him on the arm. "OW! It's just a question!"
"I only wanted to go if Gemma was alright with it." He told them thinking about it. "It's a pretty big thing. It would mean a few changes. More money, better schedule, it's tempting but I wanted to know what she thought."
"It's a shame the wires got crossed." Marcus responded. "I mean, how she went from a 'serious talk' to marriage is beyond me."
"It isn't entirely her fault." Hicks sighed as he handed his glass to Scott for a re-fill. "I have to admit, things have been going really well lately. We've been getting pretty serious...one of the things I have been thinking about is that if I take this job, once I get back I would be able to get a bigger place."
"You were thinking of asking her to move in with you?" Gem asked him, sitting forward. Cassandra stroked his shoulders to ease him. He and Gemma had been together throughout their entire lives. It was more than just a sibling bond, in a lot of ways they were a part of each other. He wasn't that thrilled with the idea of her dating Hicks to begin with, and had only backed off when he realised Hicks made her happy.
"It is something I've been considering." He replied. "I just didn't want to bring her to my place. It's a bit small, I was hoping for somewhere a little bigger."
"She's upset right now, but maybe when she calms down a little she'll be ready to talk." Summer suggested. "She loves you."
"I know, I just hope this didn't mess everything up." He replied, sinking the contents of his glass. "Um...I don't think I'll be much company tonight. I'll just head back to my place."
"Well I guess I should probably go back to the Asylum." Cassandra sighed. "I have some packing to do tomorrow morning."
"I guess we should be making a move." Marcus agreed. "I'll see you all around."
As they left, Summer settled into her husband's arms, enjoying the prospect of a night off from the twins.
"So can you talk to your sister?" She asked Gem. He shrugged and settled back into the couch.
"I don't know. She was really hurt by this." He told them. "I'm not even sure I'll be able to get to my own bed tonight."
"There are plenty of rooms." Sarah sighed. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Sarah, are you getting tired?" Scott asked, noticing her becoming irritable. "Maybe you should get some rest..."
"I know how I feel Scott, I'll rest when I damn well feel like it!" She snapped at him. She got up and stormed out of the room, leaving them behind.
"I guess the hormones are kicking in." Scott said with a shrug. Summer and Tenaya looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "What?"
"Um...you're a guy." Summer explained. "You have no idea what pregnancy is like."
"Of course I do, I've read all the books." Scott shot back. "She's emotional and hormonal..."
"Scott, do you know what she ate tonight?" Summer asked him.
"She had some salad, a little bacon, some fruit, and she had plenty of water." He rhymed off, almost proudly.
"There were hotdogs, burgers and there was a chocolate fountain." Summer reminded him.
"Yeah, I had to keep her away from those." He replied. "They're not good for the baby."
"Also, she did help set up..."
"I made sure she didn't do any heavy lifting." He interrupted. "It's..."
"Not good for the baby." Tenaya and Summer chorused together. Scott looked a little confused.
"Yeah, that's what I was going to say." He replied. "I'm just taking care..."
"Scott, you need to remember that you aren't just taking care of the baby, Sarah's there too." Summer told him.
"Do you have any idea how patronising you've been since you found out she was pregnant?" Tenaya asked him.
"Patronising?" He asked a little incredulously. "I've just been looking out for..."
"For the baby." Tenaya concluded. "Just remember that Sarah is there too."
"Scott, I know you mean well, but have you ever noticed that she's not been happy since she told you?" Summer added. "You watch everything she eats, you stop her working, you constantly tell her what to do..."
"I just want everything to go well." Scott told her. Summer shook her head.
"Scott, you're treating her like a child." She put down flatly. "I know you want what's best for the baby, but you have to appreciate that Sarah's just as worried. All you've been doing is treating her like a baby and not letting her make her own decisions. You're driving her nuts, it's no wonder she's pissed."
"I never really thought about it like that." Scott remarked. "I guess I have been a little anal."
"Just try to remember it's not just the baby you're trying to take care of." Tenaya told him. "You need to take care of your wife too."
"If you'll all excuse me, I have a long-overdue back rub to give." He replied, rushing from the room. The others just looked at each other.
"Did anyone else go to a bad visual place?" Dillon asked.
"Yes!" They chorused.
"Can we all pretend that didn't just happen?" He asked again.
"Definitely." They all answered.
The next day, Cassandra was busy packing her few clothes and possessions into a back pack when Marcus came into her room, knocking the door gently.
"I guess you're ready to go then." He commented. She just nodded.
"It's really strange. I hated being locked up and I always dreamed of leaving, but now that I am...I feel a little sad."
"I guess it's natural." Marcus assured her. "I mean, until now this has been kind of a home for you."
"I guess so." She answered. "You will stop by every now and then right?"
"Of course I will." He assured her, hugging her deeply. "You're my favourite mental patient."
"And you're my favourite guard." She replied with a smile. "Take care."
"Take care Cassandra." He whispered back. Just then, he heard a small cough from behind him, and turned to see Dr. Blair standing in the doorway. Marcus' expression soured.
"I see you're moving out." He commented.
"I found somewhere to stay." She replied coldly.
"Well I'm sure Dr. Ramsay will appreciate that." He replied. "I can have a car take you..."
"I'll take her." Marcus told him. "My guards can take care of things while I'm gone."
"As you please." Dr. Blair replied. Marcus coughed.
"Aren't you going to shake her hand?" He asked. Dr. Blair extended a hand. Marcus just spit in his own hand and shook it, causing him to recoil in disgust.
"I guess that'll hold you for a while Dr. OCD." He quipped sarcastically, before taking Cassandra from the room.
"You shouldn't have done that." She told him. "He's in with the new administrator."
"What can he do?" Marcus laughed. "How could he possibly make this job suck any worse?"
Gemma finally came out of her room once her hunger got too much to bear. As she made her way in, she found Hicks sitting there, grilling some bacon.
"One of the benefits of being the boss is getting to take a day off once in a while." He told her. "I know you like creamed cheese and bacon bagels."
"Thanks." She muttered quietly, taking a seat. Hicks took some bagels from the toaster.
"Gemma, I had no idea you thought I was going to...you know..." He began. "I just wanted to talk to you about the job."
"It's my own fault. I guess I should have known better than to think anyone..."
"You can stop right there." Hicks interrupted her, taking one of her hands gently. "You are easily the most compassionate, wonderful and beautiful person I know."
"You never said you wanted to marry me." She admitted. "It's my fault."
"Look, I guess we need to talk to this." Hicks replied. "Gemma, I wasn't going to propose."
"I already got that." She muttered. "You just want to leave me..."
"No, that's not it at all." He assured her. "I wanted to talk to you about the job because I didn't want to leave if you weren't alright with it."
"So you want to leave?" She asked him. Hicks paused as he heard this. He hadn't really thought about what he wanted, he had only really considered what it meant for his relationship with Gemma.
"I hadn't really thought about it." He admitted, taking a seat. "I hate the thought of hurting you..."
"Damien, you can't live your life based on what I want." She reminded him. "Obviously I want things to stay the same, but that'll never happen. Things are always going to change."
"The promotion would mean more money and better hours." He told her with a smile. "I was hoping to buy a better place, a bigger place."
"That all sounds nice." Gemma admitted as she took the bagels and started to spread creamed cheese on them. Hicks caught her wrist, stopping her.
"I wanted that because I wanted you to share it with me." He told her. "When I got back, I wanted to ask you to move in with me."
"You mean..."
"I don't know about marriage." He told her honestly. He could see she was a little hurt by this, but he continued to explain. "After what happened with Jessie, I don't know how I feel about marrying anyone. The only thing I know is that I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you."
"Do you really mean that?" Gemma asked him. He smiled.
"I mean every word." He assured her. "If you say the word..."
"You should go." She told him. He looked confused.
"Gemma..."
"Damien, the world will need good leaders in the future. There's no one I could imagine being better to keep the city safe." She told him. "Damien, I know you didn't start out on this path, but the military and law enforcement thing really works for you. It's where you've made your new life. It's where you belong."
"So what are you saying?" He asked her.
"You should go." She told him. "It's what's right for you."
"I don't care about what's right for me..."
"You should." Gemma replied. "It's the man I fell in love with."
They sat silently for a while, neither one knowing what to say. Hicks finally broke the silence.
"What does this mean for us?" He asked her.
"I guess it means I have to wait for you." She sighed. "Presuming of course you're willing to wait for me."
"Gemma, that isn't even a question." He said with a smile, putting an arm around her. "You're my whole universe. You're..."
"My bacon is burning." She informed him. Hicks turned to see smoke billowing from the grill.
"Oh shit!" He barked as he ran over to the cooker, pulling out the grill. Gemma just watched him beating out the flames and smiled. Damien was a clumsy, bumbling, and occasionally thoughtless man, but she found most of that cute and endearing. She loved everything about him, from his constant need to please everyone, to his unending ability to fail to grasp half of what she said. He wasn't dumb by any means, he had knowledge in a lot of areas she didn't, but by comparison she was the brains in their relationship.
"You go Hicks." She whispered to herself. "I can wait, the world can't."