Their lips touched for a moment, a very brief moment; Almost instantly upon that touch, horrible images flashed in her mind from the night of the attack.

She pulled back quickly; Gil's expression was obvious shock. He had no idea what to say. She had just done what he had wanted to for years.

"I'm sorry," Heather mumbled. She ran up around him and up the stairs, her hand clamped over her mouth. Once inside her room, she shut and locked the door; She was shocked she had kissed him.

She let herself fall to her floor; A feeling unlike any other she had ever experience took over her body. For once a man who really cared had entered her life; She felt she had jeopardized everything by kissing him.

Heather pulled her knees to her chest and rest her head upon them. She wanted to climb into her bed and cry herself to sleep, but didn't have the energy to do so.

A knock came from the door behind her, causing her to jump.

"Heather, open the door please," Gil asked from the other side of the oak door.

"Leave me alone."

Gil tried the doorknob; Locked. He knocked on the door again.

"Heather. Please let me in?"

Heather didn't answer. She gathered herself and her energy for a moment, then stood up from the floor, walking slowly to the bed; She collapsed onto it with a sigh. Did she dare let him in? She had already kissed him; What could he possibly say to make her feel any worse?

"Turn the knob to the left really hard," Heather instructed, not moving from the bed.

She watched the doorknob as Gil followed her instructions; A moment later, the door slowly swung open. Gil's face was a little pale, and his hands were clasped together in front of him; Not something he usually did.

"About that… I-I'm sorry," Heather apologized; She glanced briefly at Gil but then refocused her attention to the ceiling. She couldn't look at him; For some reason, she assumed he was thinking ill of her.

"I don't know what to say."

Silence fell between the two; The house was completely quiet, furthering the awkwardness between them.

"Why… why did you kiss me?" Gil asked. He dropped his arms to his sides, then lowered his eyes. He was incredibly confused by what had happened downstairs.

"I don't know," Heather lied. "I just… I don't know."

Gil walked to her bed and after thinking for a moment, he sat down on the bed. Heather didn't even glance over at him; Her eyes stayed fixated on the ceiling, with no intentions of looking anywhere else.

Now that she had begun to think it over, kissing Gil was stupid and irrational; He didn't love her. He was simply helping her get through everything she was going through. It was one of the dumbest she had ever done, in her mind; Little did she know it had been just the thing to make Gil admit his feelings for her.

"Heather, look at me," A slight begging tone shone through in his voice; Heather sighed as she tore her eyes away from the ceiling to look at him. He could see she was already near crying which was going to make it difficult to say what he needed to, but it had to be done.

"This is going to sound completely cliché and unoriginal but without more time this is the best I can do. Heather, I love you; It became very clear to me a few years ago, after I stayed with you after Zoe's death, but I didn't have the guts to tell you. So I'm doing it now."

"You don't have to say anything," Gil continued. He was nervously pulling a the skin on his hands. "Or even acknowledge this; You don't have to agree with anything I say, but I need you to know that I love you."

He sighed; He had waited nearly seven years to tell her that. Once again, silence fell between them. Heather contemplated whether or not to tell Gil that she shared these feelings; Of course, things would most likely be less awkward between them if he knew she did. Or would they? She was as confused as him.

"I… Alright, since you told me that; I love you too. Guess we're both a bit cliché today, huh?"

Gil looked over at Heather; Their eyes met for the first time in a while. Neither looked away. And then, again for the first time in a long time, Heather smiled.

"Guess so. But if we're happy, that's all that matters," Gil answered. Their gaze broke as Heather looked out the window at the bright day. She felt incredible; She hadn't felt so amazing in over four months.

"Let's go have some tea," She smiled, getting off of the bed.

"I'll see you downstairs."

Gil stood up and left the room, a smile present on his face; They both loved each other. No matter how he tried, the shock and happiness from hearing she felt the same way would not leave his mind.

Heather walked into her bathroom, brushed her hair and teeth, then set off to go downstairs. Upon reaching the bottom stair, a smile appeared on her face; She had told Gil about her feelings, and he hadn't left. He was still here, waiting for her to point out the next step; Whether that next step was in their… relationship, or in her recovery, she wasn't sure. It didn't matter.

"Gil?" She called, looking around to see where he had gone.

"Out here!"

Heather walked through the living room out to the large patio; He was sitting at the table with a teapot, two cups, and everything else needed to enjoy a good cup of tea.

"I hope this is okay," Gil stated as she got closer. The smile was still on his face, as Heather's was on hers.

"It's fine," She replied, sitting down across from him. A moment later, something occurred to her.

'At this very moment, everything is.'