"It was really great," John said. He had been smiling ever since he had left Anna's hospital room, not able to stop thinking of her for a single minute. "We talked a lot and laughed together. We talked about divorce and I promised her to take her Scotland and Ireland once she's not with Oliver anymore. I told her more about my past and we held hands."

"That is so cute, I'm dying right now," Mary said but did actually sound and look like she was about to stand up and leave because of boredom. Resting bitch face, John told himself. "Will you visit her again today?" Mary asked.

"For sure," John replied, "later in the evening. Anna said that Oliver and Lauren would visit her in the afternoon, so I'll go there shortly before visiting time ends. Speaking of Oliver, he'll see the flowers. Could you tell him they're from you, if he asks you?"

"I'll confirm that by oath," Mary replied dryly.

"Thank you," John said. "How are you?"

"Exhausted, to be honest. I stayed awake all night, thinking of how to save Anna from Oliver. And I've come to the end that I need you for it, John. I can't do it alone."

She was such a good friend. John was stunned by the fact that Mary had disregarded her own sleeping habit in order to save her best friend. John internally applauded to her. "What do you have in mind?"

"I want you to talk at the Halloween party," Mary revealed her plan. "I want you to talk somewhere privately. Alone. And maybe I want you to kiss her."

"I won't," John said. "She'll push me away."

"That's why I said maybe." Now Mary grinned. "I'll find out if she even wants to kiss you. Then I'll tell you. And, depending if she wants you to kiss her or not -"

"No," John interrupted her. "No more matchmaking, Mary. I will talk to her, alright. I will talk to her alone, even, but only because I like to. I enjoy talking to her. And if I am going to kiss her, then because the time is right. Please, don't try to set us up."

"John, he has probably pushed her down the stairs!" Mary whispered. "We need to act fast. We can't just sit there and wait for her to come around. I would kiss her myself if it helped but I know for sure that she wouldn't be happy about that." Mary let out a short laugh. "John, please. Help me."

"I am helping you," John said weakly. He was in a difficult situation, as he wanted to save Anna madly but also didn't want to push himself on her. Or Mary pushing him on her.

He needed to figure out something.

"So Mary told you about the Halloween party?"

"Oh yes, that's going to be so cool," Anna said with a smile. "I'll be Snow-White. Mary said my hair is perfect for it."

John looked at her. "Doesn't she have black hair, usually?"

"Not the only with the seven dwarves," Anna chuckled. "Snow-White from Snow-White and Rose-Red. The sisters."

"I don't know that story," John said.

"It's a fairy tale about two sisters, their mother, a bear and an ungrateful dwarf." Anna laughed carefully. "You could be our bear at the party, actually!"

"A bear? Really?"

"Yes. But the bear is actually a prince and - and -" Anna blushed and lowered her look, whispering, "Snow-White marries him in the end."

"I like that better than being a bear," John said softly.

"Being a prince?"

"Yes. And marrying beautiful Snow-White." It was daring but he had said it nonetheless. Also it made Anna blush really hard.

"That sounds like a beautiful love story," she said carefully. She still didn't look at him and suddenly John knew.

She liked him.

He could feel it. He could see it. Gently he placed his finger on Anna's chin and lifted it up, making her look at him. "I have to go now," he said gently, "but I will be back. I'll visit you everyday until you feel better."

Anna only managed to nod.

For a while they were lost in each other's eyes, until John's phone rang. He pulled away from her, whispered "sorry" and then picked up.

Anna watched him while her heart was racing.

What was happening here? Why did she want to talk to him again so madly? Why did her heart jump as he smiled at her while being on the phone? Why did she long to feel his hand on her again?

Anna's cheeks were burning. It was amazing what he caused in her with only a smile.

She watched him, admired his hands. What they could do with her ... wow.

She gulped. Had she just really thought of what his hands could do with her?

It seemed crazy but his experience made her nervous. In a good way. He was making a calm and gentle impression when he was with other people but alone with her, in a hospital room, he was funny and ... flirty. Anna wondered what he'd be if both of them came undone.

If both of them were sprawled on a bed, naked, entwined with each other ...

Goodness, Anna! You're married. Pull yourself together.

As he turned back to her, she was sure her face was as red as a tomato.

"Sorry. My mother invited me for dinner tonight."

"That's nice, will you be going?"

"Of course. Mother and I are like best friends these times. And that is why I should go now."

Anna laughed. "A man who's best friend is mother ..."

"Hey, my mum is cool," John defended her.

"Well of course, she's Scottish," Anna countered and John had to laugh too.

"She never had it easy here. Everyone would only carefully accept her because of her 'weird accent' and then her husband beat her up. I have always been the only one to fully support her."

"People are mean," Anna muttered. "I was always bullied because of my height."

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong about your height?"

"I'm small, John."

"Yes. It's cute. I would not bully you of it but admire."

Anna gulped again. Cute. Admire. "Why exactly admire me?"

"Because," John started softly, "there's so much character in that tiny human that you are." He sat down again and took her hand. "So much good character that is. You're friendly, you're funny, you're accepting, open, loving and caring ... you are so special and so beautiful, and all of that even though you are tiny. Let that sink in."

Anna was speechless. Maybe it was because of John's words, maybe it was because of his soft and gentle eyes on her.

Maybe it was because he smiled at her obviously shocked expression. Or maybe because he was holding her hand again ...

"Do you want to -" she swallowed.

"What?" John asked lowly.

"I was about to ask you if you'd like to head out someday," Anna whispered. "Go out, I mean. To a restaurant or cinema - after Halloween. I don't care."

She was nervous and thus blabbing. She had just asked him out. Was she crazy?

And John smiled at her, as usual.

"I would like that a lot, Anna."

"She has asked you out." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. A doubting statement. Mary looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "She asked you to go out with her."

"Aren't you happy about that?" John asked.

"I am, I am," Mary said quickly. "It's just - she's still with Oliver. And I had hoped you'd have your first date after she left Oliver."

"It's not a date anyway, Mary," John insisted. "Just two friends at the cinema."

"The cinema!" Mary gasped. "Could you really watch a movie with her in a dark room, while being so close to her, without wanting to kiss her?"

"I always want to kiss her, so -"

"Gosh, she's my best friend!" Mary called. "Don't tell me stuff like this. You love her, that's great, but I don't want a picture of you two naked in my head."

"I did not say I love her and kissing is hardly an event for which you have to be naked."

"I know you two already well enough to say that only seconds into the kiss you will be naked." Mary shuddered. "And no, John, you did not say you love her. You did not have to say it. It's obvious."

John's shoulders fell. "She's the woman of my dreams. I never thought I'd meet her but there she is, in a hospital bed, recovering from her husband's mistreatment. I sound so dumb."

"You sound like you're in love," Mary said gently. "And about the mistreatment - so it was Oliver?"

John nodded. "Of course he was. He did not push her down the stairs, though. I think she did it on her own."

"Wait ... what?"

"My mother did that once," John sighed. He remembered that day too well. "Well, something similar. Dad had beaten her up so hard and she wanted to cover it up, so she threw herself from the balcony afterwards."

"Oh my God." Mary covered her mouth. "To hide that her husband was hitting her?"

"Yes. Can you imagine that Anna would do the same?"

"I actually can," Mary said with a deep voice. "She would never want Oliver locked away ..."

"But he has to. He has to be locked away. I won't rest before that happens." He clenched his fists and Mary smiled at him.

"Me neither. So, do you have a plan?"

"My plan is your plan," John said and inhaled lightly. "I'll talk to her at the Halloween party."

Mary's eyes started to shine.

But until then there were still two weeks in between. On Friday he visited her right after work, as Anna had told him that Lauren would be with a friend this day and thus they wouldn't visit her. He couldn't wait to see her.

Everytime he thought of her, his heart jumped in anticipation.

He had bought new flowers, as the other ones had already faded. Only two days and they weren't as beautiful as they had been. The dry hospital air and lack of sun didn't make it better. This time he had decided for yellow roses.

He liked the idea of the language of flowers, as the old lady in the shop had told him. Yellow roses symbolised friendship, happiness and new beginnings and John believed that Anna needed and deserved all these things. He had wanted to buy red roses originally, whereon the old shop owner had asked him, "Do you already want to tell her that you love her?"

John had been stunned at first. "No," he had said, "how did you know I love her, though? How did you know I want to buy these flowers for someone else than, let's say, my mother?"

"I've been in the business for a while, dear," the lady had said and smiled cheekily. "So, if you don't want to tell her about your feelings just yet, you should settle for yellow roses rather than red ones. Yellow roses mean friendship, happiness and new beginnings."

"That ... wow, that even fits." John had looked at the lady carefully. "Are you a witch?" he had joked then and the lady had giggled.

"Maybe? You will never know."

And then she had prepared a beautiful bouquet for Anna.

John wanted to step into the room, but before he could do so, he heard voices inside her room. An angry, male voice and ... Anna. She was crying.

John opened the door, just a bit, and listened carefully.

"No, you're not listening!" Anna sobbed. "I can't go on like this. I have contusions on my ribs, Oliver!"

John held his breath. Oliver was here.

"Well, that is your own fault. I did not throw you down the stairs, you did that yourself."

John clenched his fists. So he had been right ...

"I wouldn't have done that without your groundwork," Anna said, sounding both devastated and sarcastic. John admired her strength, how she tried to stay sassy while she was simply crestfallen.

"Yeah, sure, blame me," Oliver spat. "Could you please finally tell me what you said to the women at the party? I met Valerie at kindergarten today, she didn't even look at me. What have I done, Anna?"

"Are you serious?" Anna called. "Just one word - Samantha!"

"I've been telling you, I did not have sex with her!"

"Sure you haven't. And the panty in the back of the car was also yours."

"It was yours, Anna."

"I know my own panties. God, you know I'm not wearing strings! Besides that - who would be so dumb and forget their underwear? It can only be your stupid secretary. Honestly? Go to hell, Oliver."

It was silent for a moment and John already thought of stepping in, as he heard Oliver speak up again.

"This is not over. You'll return to me, as you've always done so far."

John sensed that their talk was over, thus he quickly went back, away from the door, into the direction Oliver surely wouldn't walk, as the exit was on the other side. He waited for a while, then he carefully turned around. Oliver was nowhere to be seen. Probably he had already vanished into the elevator.

He went back to the door, then waited and listened again. There was nothing coming out of there - besides quiet sobs.

John walked in and caught Anna completely lost in tears. She forced herself to stop as she saw him and the bouquet of flowers. Her eyes were wide, red and she looked shocked to see him.

John's heart clenched. He walked over to the vase, took the old flowers out of it and replaced them with the new ones without a word. Then he turned to Anna.

"You look beautiful today," he said gently and Anna burst into tears again.

She was unable to speak but it didn't matter. John sat down next to her, on the bed, and pulled her close. He wrapped his arms around her, let her bury her face in his shirt. He let her cry until her tears were dried.

Her sobs faded after a whole and then she was quiet. She was quiet for a long time and after minutes of silence, John carefuy spoke up.

"I heard you," he whispered, "and I want to help you. Let me help you getting away from him."

No answer.

"You said you didn't love him anymore ... not as much as you did, you said. Would it be enough to leave him? I know you wouldn't leave him for his abuse towards you, so would you leave him for the reason of not loving him anymore? Or ..." He collected all his courage. This could go so wrong. "Or would you leave him for someone else? For someone you've fallen in love with ... recently?"

Again no answer.

"I know this might not be true and I respect that. But he doesn't have to know, Anna. I'll gladly help you out of your marriage by ... by pretending to be interested in you." He grimaced. Pretending. "I just want to help you. I'm sorry if I'm overstepping your boundaries but I'm your friend and I worry about you. I want you happy. Let me help you, please."

Still no answer.

"Anna?"

He looked down at her and noticed that she had fallen asleep.

She had fallen asleep in his arms.