Chapter 7 – The Chance
Author's Note: First off my sincerest apologies as it has taken me so long to update. Just with finals and moving and everything else life's been hectic to say the least. And as for the names I've asked for you guys to volunteer, they won't appear for another few chapters. So if you still have suggestions for names for a male and a female character, please feel free to suggest them. Again, thank you for all the reviews. Once more, here's another chapter. Enjoy.
Meanwhile…
Tony and Jack were just about through with their lunch. Tony had talked to Jack, thanked him profusely for everything he had done for him and told him of his impending resignation. Jack had tried to convince Tony to stay and that running away wouldn't help but Tony had refused simply saying,
"I need to go Jack. There's nothing for me here. Start off in a new place, a new job, a new life. Another chance."
Jack shock his head in disappointment as he knew that wasn't the reason Tony wanted to leave Los Angeles. Jack had seen the look in Tony's eyes. It was a look of disappointment that Jack remembered all too clearly. Not long ago, Kate had told him that they needed to go their separate ways. Jack hadn't understood. He thought everything was going fine and then out of the blue, she just crushed him with this blow.
But Audrey was right. The one talent Jack Bauer had was pushing aside emotion. He, like Tony had drowned himself amongst a ridiculous amount of work. He had taken on numerous missions at a time simply to forget her. And then Audrey had come along.
It wasn't as if Jack didn't care for her. He did. He really did. He cared for her well-being, he cared that she was safe and happy. But he didn't feel that same comfort with Audrey. He had suspected for a while that she still had feelings for Paul Raines, but had made no move whatsoever to confront her about it. After all, who was he to confront her when he so obviously still had feelings for Kate Warner?
But his personal romantic endeavors aside, he was still upset that Tony would leave. Despite everything, Jack had never seen any two people more perfect for each other than Michelle and Tony. They fit perfectly. Anyone who had seen them together would attest to that.
Ever since that day he had met Michelle outside of Firefly, she had become a changed person. She didn't have that sparkle in her eyes, the lightness in her step, that smile on her face. All of those things disappeared after she left Tony. Jack had always been a close friend of Michelle. She was a little sister to him and he always looked out for her. When she had started seeing Brett, Jack played the caveman older brother role, refusing to relinquish Michelle to another man unless he himself deemed him trustworthy.
Michelle had shrugged off Jack's seemingly protective demeanor and insisted that she could take care of herself. However, despite the fact that Jack knew that Tony had hurt Michelle in some way, he refused to believe that there was no hope for the two of them. So of course, he couldn't help but be pained when he saw Michelle dating another man.
And Jack had always been wary of Brett. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was something about Brett that just didn't seem right. He had done a background check on him, and there had been nothing unusual. One arrest for DUI when he was eighteen, and another arrest for assault of some sort. But there were no details on the assault, it seemed as if the charges had been dropped, but for some reason it was still on his record.
Jack had confronted Brett about this and Brett had shrugged it off, saying him and a buddy were just a bit too wasted and some neighbor had called the cops on them. Brett shrugged it off and said that it was no big deal, just a misunderstanding. Jack had eyed this guy up and down and although he knew he couldn't do anything more, he still wasn't comfortable around the guy.
But Jack had seen Michelle. The old Michelle. Or at least parts of her. She seemed happy with Brett. She smiled, she laughed and she seemed to be relaxed around Brett. So Jack had let her be. Because more than anything, he just wanted her to be happy. Of course he would have preferred for her to be happy with Tony, but at the present moment, that wasn't the most realistic thing.
But as he sat across from Tony, Jack didn't know what to say. He knew that it was a fruitless endeavor to try and convince him to stay, but Jack had this hunch that Michelle and Tony would one day work out their problems. And when Jack Bauer had a hunch, he follows through with it.
He looked up at Tony and said,
"You can't keep running from her Tony."
Tony's head snapped up at the mention of Michelle. He scoffed, and said forcefully,
"I'm not running away from anything, Jack. She's moved on. I'm happy for her. I'm over her, Jack. It's time I moved on too."
Even as he spoke the words, Tony knew they were not true. He would never love anyone else. Despite what everyone else thought, he had never loved Nina. He had cared for her deeply, but he had never loved her. But Michelle. His Chelle. He had loved her with everything in him.
Jack persisted, saying,
"Then seeing as how you're totally over Michelle, I would presume you would be personally alerting her of your resignation."
Tony looked up and said,
"Yeah, I was planning to do that when we got back from lunch."
Jack looked up at him, and satisfied for the time being, he just had this feeling that somehow things would work themselves out when Tony told Michelle he was resigning. Jack was sure Michelle would reveal her feelings for him and that everything would turn out okay.
As they made their way back to CTU, Tony couldn't help but feel nervous. He hadn't talked to Michelle since their encounter last night. And frankly, he had no idea where to start. He couldn't just walk in there and be like, "Hey Michelle, just wanted to tell you I'm going to leave. Okay? Great. See ya."
He started bouncing his leg up and down and Jack noticed this. He wanted to say something but he knew that it would only make Tony more nervous. And as they pulled into CTU, they were almost run over by another car. A red Ferrari that was pulling out of CTU, and Jack almost immediately recognized the driver of the car…Brett. He wondered what Brett was doing driving like a maniac but then the question that bothered him even more…What the hell was Brett doing at CTU?
Brett looked down at Michelle's crumpled body. She was unconscious and it was his fault. But his momentary guilt was washed away and soon all he could think of was getting out of there. He tidied himself up, tucked in his shirt, and straightened out his jacket before calmly making his way down the stairs. Nonchalantly, he left CTU and as soon as he was outside of the building, he went straight for his car, and sped out before anyone could find Michelle's helpless body and link him to her injuries.
As Brett drove off, he convinced himself that everything was Michelle's fault. If that stupid bitch hadn't been fucking around behind his back he wouldn't have needed to use force. Hell, if she ever tried to press charges, it would be his word against hers. He shrugged everything off, and without a single look back, he started to make his way towards his new home…Mexico.
Tony and Jack made their way back into CTU and Tony went to Edgar and asked,
"Edgar, is Michelle up in her office?"
Edgar replied,
"Last I heard, Ms. Dessler was still up in her office. Some guy came down a couple of minutes ago, but I didn't see her leave and she hasn't checked out or anything."
Tony nodded his head and said,
"Thanks, Edgar. I'll give her a call up to tell her I'm going up."
Tony picked up the phone and dialed the all too familiar number as he waited eagerly for a response. The phone kept ringing but no one was answering. He looked up and noticed that all of her blinds were closed which was strange. He asked Chloe,
"Chloe, does Michelle normally close her blinds?"
Chloe crinkled up her brow and said,
"No, not that I can remember. They're normally open. Isn't that basic protocol?"
Tony by now was getting a little bit concerned. He tried Michelle's number again and still, no answer. He called out to Jack,
"Hey, Jack! She's not answering her phone, so I'm going to go up and see if she's up there, alright?"
Jack nodded and went off as Curtis called him to update him on a mission.
As Tony made his way up the stairs, he couldn't help but feel this dreaded feeling that something was wrong. He didn't know what was wrong, but as he quickened his pace until he reached her office door. He carefully knocked, calling out,
"Michelle? Michelle are you in there? It's Tony. I kind of wanted to talk to you."
After waiting for a few seconds, and still no answer, Tony made his way into her office. He looked around to see if Michelle was around and from his first inspection she was no where in sight. He made a move to turn around and go back down the stairs but something drew him back.
Instead, he made a second more detailed scan of the room with his eyes and he noticed something. He saw Michelle's hand on the ground. With his heart pounding, he ran over to her and what he saw next, almost brought him to tears.
Michelle was lying in a pool of blood, unconscious. He tried desperately to wake her up, calling her name, Michelle! Michelle! Wake up! Can you hear me! Michelle! Wake up!
When she gave no response, he ran to the door, screaming,
"JACK! CALL 911! MICHELLE'S HURT! JACK GET UP HERE!"
Jack heard Tony's screams and immediately told Curtis to call 911 and get an ambulance on the way to CTU as he raced up the stairs to look at Michelle.
And when he reached Michelle, he saw Tony kneeling over her, almost to the brink of crying, frantically trying to wake her. Jack looked Michelle over, and saw that she was bleeding profusely from a head wound. And while he went back to the door, Curtis called up at him and told him that the ambulance was only a few minutes away. Jack nodded his understanding and immediately remembered. Brett. That son of a bitch. He had done this to Michelle. He had hurt her. That's why that little asshole was driving like a maniac. To escape.
But he couldn't think about that right now. Right now he had to go back inside and take care of Michelle. Jack had no doubt in his mind that Tony still cared deeply for Michelle, and he was bearing witness to it. Tony hadn't left Michelle's side and was trying his very best to make sure that she was okay. And in this situation, although he couldn't be of much help, Tony still was caring for her. Moving objects away from her body, but at all times aware of anything that might cause further harm to her.
While Tony held Michelle's hand, coaxing her to wake up, he noticed a few bruises on her hands. In fact, they looked very much like handprints. As if she had been struggling. He couldn't help but feel so much anger. WHO would have done this to her? Who could have hurt his beautiful Chelle? He swore that he would make the son of a bitch pay.
As the paramedics rushed upstairs to tend to Michelle, Tony was insistent that he stay with Michelle. Every step of the way from when they put her onto a stretcher to when they carried her down the stairs, he was within a few feet of her. The paramedics had insisted that they would take care of her, but Tony had refused to let her out of his sight. He had demanded that he be let onto the ambulance and when they had asked him who he was, he didn't know exactly how to respond. Thankfully for him, Jack answered for him and said,
"He's her husband. He'll ride with her to the hospital. Tony, I'll meet you there in a car."
Tony had whipped his head at Jack at the thought of being called Michelle's husband again, and thanked Jack with his eyes. He climbed onto the ambulance and when out of the prying eyes of people at CTU, he dropped his head into his hands, and said silently to himself,
"I'm sorry I didn't protect you, Chelle."
The ride to the hospital was one of the worst of Tony's life. He couldn't help but feel helpless as paramedics worked to save Michelle. He knew that she had lost a lot of blood, but other than that they wouldn't tell him anything. He had asked if she would be okay, and all they said to him was,
"We don't know right now, Mr. Almeida. We're going to try our best."
Tony wanted to scream at the man that their best wasn't good enough if it didn't ensure that Michelle would be okay, but he knew that screaming at the men trying to save her wouldn't help her. So instead, he nodded. When they arrived at the hospital, they immediately whisked her into the ER and Tony was told that he was to wait outside.
Tony wanted nothing more than to just hold Michelle in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay but for now, he would have to simply sit in a waiting room, waiting to see whether or not they could save the woman he loved more than anything in the world.
When a doctor came out into the waiting area and called for Tony, Tony almost leapt out of his seat in anticipation. He immediately asked the doctor,
"Is she okay! Is Michelle going to be okay?"
The doctor tried his best to calm Tony down and said,
"Mr. Almedia, you might want to sit down for this…"
Tony's eyes widened and he said defiantly,
"No. She's not. She's not dead. You can't tell me she's dead god damnit!"
The doctor tried once more and said,
"No, Mr. Almeida, your wife isn't dead. But she's not doing well. It seems that she has suffered some blunt force trauma to the back of her skull. And she's lost a lot of blood. It's unfortunate that she hadn't been found sooner or else the paramedics could have tried to stop her bleeding, but as things are right now, Ms. Dessler is in a coma."
Tony tried to take in the words as best he could. Blunt force trauma? Loss of blood? Coma? He took a deep breath and asked,
"Coma? When will she wake up?"
Dr. Cox looked at Tony and said gently,
"We're not sure. It could be a few hours, a few days, weeks, months maybe."
And with those words, Tony felt as if his heart had been shattered. But he knew that crying wouldn't help so instead, putting on a front, he asked,
"Can I see her?"
Dr. Cox looked at the crestfallen man, and said,
"Of course, Mr. Almeida. You can visit her as soon as the nurses take her to one of the Intensive Care rooms. I'll have Nurse Miller lead you there."
Tony absentmindedly nodded his thanks to Dr. Cox. He couldn't believe it. Michelle was in a coma. And it was all his fault. He hadn't been there to protect her when she needed him the most. He had promised that he would always protect her and he had failed…again. As Nurse Miller lead him to her room, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the sight of all of the tubes connected to Michelle.
She looked so tiny, so fragile. Another nurse was in the room and looked up as she saw Tony enter. She saw how crestfallen this man was and couldn't help but feel for him. She gently said,
"You must be Mr. Almeida. I'm Nurse Calhoun, I'll be one of the nurses looking after Ms. Dessler. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."
Tony looked up at her and nodded his understanding and when Nurse Calhoun noticed that Tony wasn't going to say anything, she suggested,
"Sometimes, it helps if you talk to her. Most comatose patients can still hear you. And actually, ever since you got in here, her heartbeat has picked up. It's beating a bit stronger already."
Tony looked at Michelle and gently stroked her face. He pulled up a chair and asked,
"Is it okay if I stay with her? I just…I just don't want to leave her. And, you know, in case she wakes up I don't want her to wake up alone."
Nurse Calhoun couldn't help but be so touched by how much this young man cared for Michelle and although family members were normally only allowed during visiting hours and two additional hours, she said,
"Of course, Mr. Almeida. I'll make arrangements for another cot to be brought in."
Tony replied,
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I don't think I'll be doing much sleeping anyways."
And as the nurse left the room, Tony gently stroked Michelle's hand and said,
"Hey Michelle. It's me, Tony. I just want you to know that we're all really worried about you and we want you to make a really quick recovery. We want you to get better Michelle. Please, get better Chelle."
Tony stared at Michelle's lifeless body and was almost brought to tears as he started talking to her once more,
"I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you can, I might as well tell you this. Michelle, I love you. I always have. I never, not even for a moment stopped loving you. Even when you sent me divorce papers, I still loved you more than anything. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for all of the pain I've caused you. But don't worry. Because as soon as you get better I'll get out of your hair for good. I'll leave and I'll let you live your life. I'm sorry I even came back to CTU. And I'm sorry I've made things so…difficult.
I never deserved you. You were so good to me. Too good for me. I thanked God every single night before I went to bed for you. And I still do. I know that we're not together anymore but I still thank him for letting me meet you. You were everything to me. I wasn't lying when I said that when I lost you, I lost everything.
You were my reason for living. You brought so much joy and love into my life. I don't know how to thank you for it. I'm sorry I didn't protect you. I know it's my fault that you're in the position you're in right now. If I had come upstairs into your office earlier, you might not have lost so much blood.If I hadn't been a shit husband we'd still be together and this would have never happened. …. If I…if I had never come into your life, this wouldn't have happened."
Tony laid his head down by her hand and couldn't help as a single tear rolled down his cheek. But as he heard the door behind him open, he quickly wiped away the tear, but he never took his eyes off Michelle. He had a hunch that it was Jack and before long, Jack appeared on the other side of Michelle, looking down at her while sighing.
"I called her parents and Danny. They're on the next flight out of Chicago and should be here soon."
Tony nodded and for a moment thought about how he hadn't seen his ex-in-laws and ex-brother-in-law in ages. He wondered how Danny would take it. Danny had always been suspicious of Tony and would probably be angry at Tony for hurting Michelle. But Danny had a reason to be angry. It was after all his fault.
Jack looked at Tony and saw how he hadn't taken his eyes off Michelle and asked him,
"Is there anything I can get for you Tony? Coffee?"
Tony shook his head and insisted that he was okay, and before long, Jack had to leave. CTU was still in need of his services and they had already lost Michelle and effectively Tony so they needed Jack back at CTU. Jack reluctantly left Michelle's bedside and told Tony to keep him updated of any progress she made.
Tony said goodbye and again focused his complete attention on Michelle. The nurses came in to do a night-time check on Michelle and noticed Tony still vigilantly sitting at Michelle's bedside. He had refused food they had offered him, only taking a cup of coffee. The nurse had told him that he would be best to save his strength, but he had refused food. She then left him, and told him that he would be back in a few hours to check up on her again and that if Tony wanted to sleep, she could bring in a cot for him. Again, Tony said that he was fine, and thanked the nurse.
The next morning, the Desslers had arrived and upon rushing into the hospital, they immediately asked if they could see Michelle. Of course, the nurse granted them access, but told them that only one of them could go inside as Michelle already had another visitor. They asked who it was and one of the nurses replied,
"A very handsome man has been doting on Michelle all night long. He hasn't slept a wink, but he's been by her bedside all day yesterday and so far, all day today. Tony Almeida I think is his name."
Mrs. Dessler gasped as she heard Tony's name mentioned. Tony? Michelle's Tony? The Tony that Michelle had left all those years ago? What was he doing here? Were they back together? Mrs. Dessler couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of hope rush through her body that Tony and Michelle were back together, but pushed those thoughts aside, as she went inside the room.
The Desslers had thought that it would probably be best if Mrs. Dessler went in as to not overwhelm Tony. The males in the family were extremely protective of Michelle and Susan was afraid that if her son or husband were to get into a room with Tony, they would start accusing him of things that were not of his fault.
She tentatively entered the room, and immediately felt tears rush to her eyes at the sight of her baby girl connected to so many machines. Susan was aware that Michelle was in a coma, but still, the shock of seeing her so helpless was crushing. She also noticed Tony. He was leaning over her, carefully curling a stray curl behind her ear and then sitting down beside her. She noticed how he appeared to be exhausted, his shoulders sagged and she was sure she heard a yawn escape him.
She watched him for a while, as he doted over her only daughter. She always knew that Tony was the man for Michelle. Even when Danny had come in exclaiming that Tony wasn't good enough, Susan knew that none of their opinions mattered. Her baby girl had fallen in love with a wonderful man, and all she ever wanted as a mother was for her children to be happy.
And so happy was Michelle during her courtship and marriage to Tony. She had never seen Michelle smile so much. There wasn't a day when Michelle wouldn't just light up at the mere sight of Tony. Susan knew that her daughter had fallen in love when Michelle had brought Tony over for dinner to meet the Desslers.
When Tony had come over, Danny and her husband John had taken Tony into the other room to discuss both baseball and his intentions with Michelle. Susan had managed to get Michelle away from Tony and immediately she noticed how Michelle seemed to glow when with Tony. Her eyes sparkled as Tony wrapped his arms around her thin frame.
And her laugh was infectious. Susan noticed how all throughout dinner, Tony would cater first to Michelle and then to himself. And occasionally, Tony would lean over and whisper something sweet into Michelle's ear to which she giggled and blushed. Susan's heart leapt with joy at the thought that her daughter was so happy and she couldn't help but welcome Tony with open arms into their family.
Even Danny had to admit after that dinner that Tony was a pretty good guy. It was rare to see his sister so happy and of course John approved of Tony. After all, John was an avid Cubs fan himself. Their whole family loved Tony. Danny's kids adored their Uncle Tony. And when they came after dinner to play, Tony had offered to take them outside and before long, both of Danny's kids were climbing on top of Tony, giggling and laughing.
Tony loved kids. And kids loved Tony. They were having so much fun and Michelle couldn't help but think of how wonderful of a father Tony would be. Danny's kids laughed and played with Tony for hours. Normally, most of the adults would have tired of them after half an hour, but for almost three hours, Tony played with them. He taught them how to play baseball, he taught them how to play tag.
Susan had noticed the look on Michelle's face as she looked on at the sight in front of her and whispered into Michelle's ears,
"You hang on tight to this one. He's going to make a great daddy one day. And when he becomes a great daddy, I'll expect to have many more grandkids."
Michelle had blushed at her mother's comment but couldn't deny that the exact same thoughts had been running through her head. Tony would make a great dad. And frankly, she couldn't wait until they had kids of their own. She had always wanted a big family. And Tony seemed like the perfect father. He was caring, he was patient and most of all, he was loving.
Susan sighed as she thought about how all of those dreams had been shattered. Michelle had never told her of what happened so she wasn't about to take sides. Susan knew that Michelle was stubborn as hell at times and from what she could see, Tony wasn't exactly Mr. Easy to Get Along With either. They were both stubborn, but at the same time they were both crazy about each other.
Sure they had their fights, but they also had love. But when Michelle had come home that day telling her parents that she left Tony, Susan wasn't sure what to think. How could she leave him? Especially in her situation? And more importantly, why would she leave the man she loved above all else in the world?
None of it made sense to Susan. But she knew that Michelle could be bull-headed so she left her alone. But now this new boy of hers, Brett. He wasn't exactly someone Susan would brag to her girlfriends during one of their weekly gossip sessions. Sure he was handsome, but there had to be more than just looks to a man. Susan had noticed how he was impatient and quick to anger. He was also terrible around children.
Danny had once again brought his kids along for the dinner and when they asked to play with Brett, Brett had shooed them off. Telling them that he was busy. And when Carly accidentally ran into him while running from her brother Jeffery, Brett had flipped out. Almost screaming at her to be more careful in the future. Danny had of course immediately yelled at Brett to not to scream at his children.
Susan fondly remembered back to the time when Carly was sitting in Tony's lap and had accidentally spilled grape juice onto his new suit. Carly had apologized profusely, afraid that her Uncle Tony would be upset. But instead, he had laughed it off and said playfully, "Here's my chance to use that new detergent I wanted to try!"
Susan had always loved Tony as if he had been her own son. He was a very special man and there was no doubt in her mind that he was the only man for Michelle. Regardless of whether or not she had said yes to Brett's proposal, Susan knew that no matter what Michelle claimed, she would never love another man the way she loved Tony.
Susan finally approached Tony and said cautiously,
"Tony?"
Tony's head whipped around at the all too familiar feminine voice and his eyes widened as he saw Susan standing there.
He immediately started to say,
"I'm sorry."
Susan's heart broke at the thought that Tony was sorry. This wasn't his fault. She had been alerted that the security cameras at CTU had caught Brett's all too-hasty exit and police were now on the hunt with a warrant for his arrest. However, this information had been kept away from Tony based on Jack's call. Jack had said that it was probably best to not alert Tony that they had a suspect or else Tony might do something irrational. Susan agreed completely with Jack and knew how protective Tony was of Michelle. So instead, she lightly said,
"Tony, it's not your fault. If anything, we should be thanking you for finding her when you did. If you haven't had found Michelle, who knows how long she could have been lying there?"
Tony brushed away her gratitude and once again countered,
"I could have found her sooner. And this never should have happened in the first place, if I hadn't been such a terrible husband none of this would have had to happen. I'm sorry, Mrs. Dessler."
Susan looked up at him calling her by that name, and remembered fondly onto the time, when she had insisted he call her Susan instead of the formal 'Mrs. Dessler' but he had insisted that it was a form of respect, and finally she had managed to get him to call her Susan but only after him and Michelle were married.
She had noticed how much care he took when caring for Michelle. She noticed the heavy bags under his eyes and wondered when he last had a good night of sleep. He looked a little older. His eyes were a little harder than how she remembered the last time. But what hadn't changed was his love for Michelle. Susan's suspicions were correct that Tony was still in love with Michelle. Actually, Susan already had her own hunches that Michelle was still in love with Tony. And from the way Tony cared for Michelle, she knew her former son-in-law still had strong feelings for her daughter. Unless that was how he cared for every single girl he met, which Susan hoped was not the case.
Right after they had heard from Michelle that she was leaving Tony, their whole family had gone through possible reasons that would cause Michelle to leave him. And of course, right at the top of the list was infidelity. But now, looking at Tony, she knew that he would never have cheated on Michelle. No matter how bad things might have been going, Tony loved her too much to cheat on her. But that raised more questions. Then why did she leave him? If he didn't cheat on her why did she leave him?
Did she fall in love with another man? But then how could that explain the many empty tubes of Ben and Jerrys and how she almost exhausted Coscto's supply of Kleenex? Something didn't fit and Susan was determined to get to the bottom of things. But for the time being, the most important thing was that Michelle was nursed back to health. Nothing else mattered at the moment.
The exact same thought ran through Tony's head, as he continued to pray and hope that somehow Michelle's eyes would open and she would be okay. He didn't care about anything else in the world, he just wanted her to be okay. And with that in mind, he said to Susan,
"I promise you, I will make whoever is responsible for this pay for this. They won't get away with hurting her this way. And if I had the chance to switch positions with her, I would. I hate this feeling. I hate not being able to help her."
He walked around Michelle's bed, frustrated, and Susan put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said gently,
"None of this is your fault. I promise you Tony. If Michelle were awake, she would be telling you the exact same thing."
Upon hearing her words, Tony couldn't help but scoff and wonder, what if Michelle were awake? What would she be doing? Would she tell him that everything was okay? Or would she tell him to leave her alone and to get out of her life for good? He was leaning towards the second option and couldn't help but be disheartened by that. But he vowed that the would not leave Michelle's bedside until she told him to. He would not leave her the same way he left her.
A/n: Again, read and review! Thank you in advance!