Here it is: Chapter 15 of "He is Human"... there should be about... three-ish
more chapters, kay? Kay... so REVIEW IT... cause you can!! Thanks y'all!
~Natalie~
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Elizabeth sat down trying to control her thoughts. She just wanted to try and forget these emotions she was feeling, they were making her so confused, and she absolutely hated being confused.
She sighed and began to go to her room, but something stopped her.
There was a knock at the door.
She cautiously walked over to the door and slowly opened it.
"Robert." She said in shock.
Elizabeth stood in shock as she stared at Robert standing in the chilly Chicago air. He was the last person she had expected to see. In fact, she hadn't really expected to see anyone, but it was him she expected least.
"I'm sorry to come by unannounced." He stated lamely as she stared at him.
"Oh, it's really not a problem." She lied. Robert Romano standing at her doorstep in the middle of the night after she'd spent the past two days thinking of him in a questionable light was most definitely what she would call a 'problem'. But, she was damned if she was going to turn him away despite the fact that a tiny, albeit annoying, voice in the back of her head cautioned her that nothing easy could come of the situation at hand. She never listened to that voice anyway.
His voice broke her from her internal monologue "I understand your fervor to watch me freeze to death Elizabeth... but, can I at least come in for a while first?" He asked, a nervous smile forming on his face.
'Crap' he thought 'she doesn't want me here—oh well, too late now.'
She smiled absently "oh, sorry, right, please come in." she offered as she extended the front door with her left arm.
He obliged and went through the door. As he entered the room he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment and then slowly exhaling. He could do this, and that was his mantra as Elizabeth closed the door and fixed him with a questioning look.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Seeing that he wasn't going to speak, Elizabeth cleared her throat "Would you like some tea?" she saw his face and remembered his opinion of her tea. She then considered offering him wine, or other various types of alcohol, but her mind screamed in protest. Alcohol with Romano after the thoughts she'd been having for the past days was definitely not a good idea. "Coffee?" she questioned. "Is it American?" he asked her, jokingly.
She simply smiled as she headed to the kitchen. Robert briefly wondered if that meant that it was or that it wasn't, but he didn't much care, he probably wouldn't drink it anyway. He'd only accepted it so she would leave the room for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts.
He considered leaving. He could just turn around right now and walk out the door; pretend that he didn't love her. But he then remembered that he'd been doing that for years, treating her as though she didn't matter even though she was the only one that actually did. So, he stayed. God help him, he was going to stay.
Quickly Elizabeth came back into the room holding two cups. "Have a seat" she offered, noticing that he hadn't yet.
He, again, obliged and she sat down as well, handing him his cup. 'Déjà vu' they both thought simultaneously, though neither expressed it verbally.
Sensing the tension in the room, neither of them wanted to break the heavy silence. But, Elizabeth spoke first, cutting through the tension with brisk words "So..."
It was a question. It was an array of questions: Why are you here? Is something wrong? What do you want?
"Buttons." He said simply. 'Yeah, good one.' He thought to himself.
She looked confused "I'm sorry?"
He laughed a little, "You said 'so', I said 'buttons'... you know, you sew buttons... s-e-w." she still looked confused "Never mind," he said "it's just a stupid American saying."
She laughed lightly as another heavy silence fell upon the room.
How did he go about this? 'I love you Elizabeth, but beyond that, I'm in love with you.' That just didn't seem right, it didn't seem effective... it seemed a set-up for a 'So what" or something horribly cliché. He considered clichés... 'I see stars in your eyes' or the ever popular "As Good As it Gets" line: 'You make me want to be a better man.' She did, it was true, but that wasn't really how he wanted to approach the situation.
He had always been direct... about everything. That hadn't always made him popular, but that didn't usually matter. But, of course, this was different. When it came to Elizabeth, everything was different.
He took another deep breath... 'Like a band-aid' he thought and then: 'Damn, I really need to get some new analogies.'
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here." He stated the obvious.
"Just a little." She said, smiling cautiously.
Yep, directness was the only way to go... or, at least, semi-directness.
"Okay... well," he began "I was driving home tonight and..." he broke off for a moment.
"And... what?" She prompted.
"I was thinking."
Elizabeth bit back a sarcastic remark; she knew that this certainly wasn't the time. "About..." she prodded.
"...you..." he fell silent, as did she.
'Oh damnit Robert, just pull the damn band-aid off... screw the pain!'
"There's really no easy way to say this..."
"There's never an easy way to say anything." Elizabeth added.
"...But I feel as though if I don't... say what it is I have to say... I'll regret it. Like that saying: You'll regret it if you do it, you'll regret it if you don't do it, so you may as well just do it."
He was big on clichés tonight, but Elizabeth bit her tongue, this was obviously something he had to say.
He inhaled deeply, trying to prepare himself "Elizabeth, sometimes the hardest thing I do all day is breathe in and out, and sometimes the hardest thing I do all day is perform an appendectomy. But..." He paused "...Even on days when I perform the toughest surgeries, so long as I see you, that's not the hardest thing I do all day." He wasn't making sense, but he continued anyway "Because every single day that I see you, the hardest thing I do..." He broke off again, but regained his composure and continued "The hardest thing I do is... pretend that you don't matter. And the hardest thing I do at night is pretend that I don't care, pretend that you don't affect me, because the truth is: you do." He looked at her, she was silent "You matter, you affect me, and I care... what I'm trying to say Elizabeth, what I've been trying to say for years... is that... I care about you." He couldn't meet her gaze.
She hesitated "I care about you too, Robert." She said tentatively. She didn't get the entire picture.
He sighed "I've always been strong Elizabeth, and I've always been brave. But... not when it comes to you. I've been denying it for years... to myself, to my colleagues... to you..."
She couldn't find her voice, and when she did, she didn't recognize it "You've been denying what?"
"Oh come on Elizabeth, don't be so dense. I've been denying the fact that... that... I'm in love with you." He continued "I have been for years; I've just been too much of a coward to admit it. But, I had to tell you. I'm in love with you." He stated in finality, finally chancing a glance at her face.
She stared at him, tears in her eyes at his confession. She was silent, as was he.
Finally, after she remained completely silent, he spoke with sadness in his voice "Elizabeth, I should go." He stood to leave.
Her mind yelled at her to stop him from leaving, but her mouth did not form the words. She didn't know what to say, what to think, or what to do.
He took one final look at her, and then walked out the door. He slowly made his way to his car and got in. When he was safe in the confine of his car, he put his head on the steering wheel and let a single tear roll down his face.
Inside, Elizabeth stared at the wall trying to make sense of what she was feeling, and trying to comprehend what she was thinking. As she sat there alone, she put her head down upon her right hand and let a lone tear fall down her cheek.
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To be Continued.
We're drawing near the end here folks... so, go ahead and give me a little... or big review!! Haha, thanks!
~Natalie~
~Natalie~
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Elizabeth sat down trying to control her thoughts. She just wanted to try and forget these emotions she was feeling, they were making her so confused, and she absolutely hated being confused.
She sighed and began to go to her room, but something stopped her.
There was a knock at the door.
She cautiously walked over to the door and slowly opened it.
"Robert." She said in shock.
Elizabeth stood in shock as she stared at Robert standing in the chilly Chicago air. He was the last person she had expected to see. In fact, she hadn't really expected to see anyone, but it was him she expected least.
"I'm sorry to come by unannounced." He stated lamely as she stared at him.
"Oh, it's really not a problem." She lied. Robert Romano standing at her doorstep in the middle of the night after she'd spent the past two days thinking of him in a questionable light was most definitely what she would call a 'problem'. But, she was damned if she was going to turn him away despite the fact that a tiny, albeit annoying, voice in the back of her head cautioned her that nothing easy could come of the situation at hand. She never listened to that voice anyway.
His voice broke her from her internal monologue "I understand your fervor to watch me freeze to death Elizabeth... but, can I at least come in for a while first?" He asked, a nervous smile forming on his face.
'Crap' he thought 'she doesn't want me here—oh well, too late now.'
She smiled absently "oh, sorry, right, please come in." she offered as she extended the front door with her left arm.
He obliged and went through the door. As he entered the room he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment and then slowly exhaling. He could do this, and that was his mantra as Elizabeth closed the door and fixed him with a questioning look.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Seeing that he wasn't going to speak, Elizabeth cleared her throat "Would you like some tea?" she saw his face and remembered his opinion of her tea. She then considered offering him wine, or other various types of alcohol, but her mind screamed in protest. Alcohol with Romano after the thoughts she'd been having for the past days was definitely not a good idea. "Coffee?" she questioned. "Is it American?" he asked her, jokingly.
She simply smiled as she headed to the kitchen. Robert briefly wondered if that meant that it was or that it wasn't, but he didn't much care, he probably wouldn't drink it anyway. He'd only accepted it so she would leave the room for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts.
He considered leaving. He could just turn around right now and walk out the door; pretend that he didn't love her. But he then remembered that he'd been doing that for years, treating her as though she didn't matter even though she was the only one that actually did. So, he stayed. God help him, he was going to stay.
Quickly Elizabeth came back into the room holding two cups. "Have a seat" she offered, noticing that he hadn't yet.
He, again, obliged and she sat down as well, handing him his cup. 'Déjà vu' they both thought simultaneously, though neither expressed it verbally.
Sensing the tension in the room, neither of them wanted to break the heavy silence. But, Elizabeth spoke first, cutting through the tension with brisk words "So..."
It was a question. It was an array of questions: Why are you here? Is something wrong? What do you want?
"Buttons." He said simply. 'Yeah, good one.' He thought to himself.
She looked confused "I'm sorry?"
He laughed a little, "You said 'so', I said 'buttons'... you know, you sew buttons... s-e-w." she still looked confused "Never mind," he said "it's just a stupid American saying."
She laughed lightly as another heavy silence fell upon the room.
How did he go about this? 'I love you Elizabeth, but beyond that, I'm in love with you.' That just didn't seem right, it didn't seem effective... it seemed a set-up for a 'So what" or something horribly cliché. He considered clichés... 'I see stars in your eyes' or the ever popular "As Good As it Gets" line: 'You make me want to be a better man.' She did, it was true, but that wasn't really how he wanted to approach the situation.
He had always been direct... about everything. That hadn't always made him popular, but that didn't usually matter. But, of course, this was different. When it came to Elizabeth, everything was different.
He took another deep breath... 'Like a band-aid' he thought and then: 'Damn, I really need to get some new analogies.'
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here." He stated the obvious.
"Just a little." She said, smiling cautiously.
Yep, directness was the only way to go... or, at least, semi-directness.
"Okay... well," he began "I was driving home tonight and..." he broke off for a moment.
"And... what?" She prompted.
"I was thinking."
Elizabeth bit back a sarcastic remark; she knew that this certainly wasn't the time. "About..." she prodded.
"...you..." he fell silent, as did she.
'Oh damnit Robert, just pull the damn band-aid off... screw the pain!'
"There's really no easy way to say this..."
"There's never an easy way to say anything." Elizabeth added.
"...But I feel as though if I don't... say what it is I have to say... I'll regret it. Like that saying: You'll regret it if you do it, you'll regret it if you don't do it, so you may as well just do it."
He was big on clichés tonight, but Elizabeth bit her tongue, this was obviously something he had to say.
He inhaled deeply, trying to prepare himself "Elizabeth, sometimes the hardest thing I do all day is breathe in and out, and sometimes the hardest thing I do all day is perform an appendectomy. But..." He paused "...Even on days when I perform the toughest surgeries, so long as I see you, that's not the hardest thing I do all day." He wasn't making sense, but he continued anyway "Because every single day that I see you, the hardest thing I do..." He broke off again, but regained his composure and continued "The hardest thing I do is... pretend that you don't matter. And the hardest thing I do at night is pretend that I don't care, pretend that you don't affect me, because the truth is: you do." He looked at her, she was silent "You matter, you affect me, and I care... what I'm trying to say Elizabeth, what I've been trying to say for years... is that... I care about you." He couldn't meet her gaze.
She hesitated "I care about you too, Robert." She said tentatively. She didn't get the entire picture.
He sighed "I've always been strong Elizabeth, and I've always been brave. But... not when it comes to you. I've been denying it for years... to myself, to my colleagues... to you..."
She couldn't find her voice, and when she did, she didn't recognize it "You've been denying what?"
"Oh come on Elizabeth, don't be so dense. I've been denying the fact that... that... I'm in love with you." He continued "I have been for years; I've just been too much of a coward to admit it. But, I had to tell you. I'm in love with you." He stated in finality, finally chancing a glance at her face.
She stared at him, tears in her eyes at his confession. She was silent, as was he.
Finally, after she remained completely silent, he spoke with sadness in his voice "Elizabeth, I should go." He stood to leave.
Her mind yelled at her to stop him from leaving, but her mouth did not form the words. She didn't know what to say, what to think, or what to do.
He took one final look at her, and then walked out the door. He slowly made his way to his car and got in. When he was safe in the confine of his car, he put his head on the steering wheel and let a single tear roll down his face.
Inside, Elizabeth stared at the wall trying to make sense of what she was feeling, and trying to comprehend what she was thinking. As she sat there alone, she put her head down upon her right hand and let a lone tear fall down her cheek.
*********************************************************
To be Continued.
We're drawing near the end here folks... so, go ahead and give me a little... or big review!! Haha, thanks!
~Natalie~