They became comfortable in the strangest of places. In weeks of them staying in the cottage, they found something better than a solution. It was a paradigm shift she didn't know she needed. Her family, her true family wasn't something she could fix. It was what she found in him. The love, comfort, and support they provided each other; it was that that made them family. They became comfortable in a strange man's home but it was here where she found her true happiness. Her true family.

The sky fell dim on the special eve. They rarely had the small cottage to themselves and made the most of the precious time. Cody glanced at the clock before joining her on the couch in the living room. While she laid her head in his lap his vision faded. He gazed into nothing for a moment while the pain caught up with him. The intermittent throbbing in his head had traveled throughout his body and into his brain. An addict to the love he felt for her. When the high went away the pain consumed him again, each time stronger than the last. How much longer would the pain last? He felt confused and bothered. Irritated and alone. He glanced over at the clock once again.

She stared up at him and smiled, "What are we watching?"

"Oh," He looked back over and hesitated as the remote trembled in his hand, "Why don't you pick something." She felt his legs shake beneath her head. The odd behavior frightened Sierra. An ongoing fear of scaring him away. She sat in his lap and wondered if she'd done anything wrong. Was their relationship really back to square one? The pain he felt was blind to her as he never let her see.

"Hey," Sierra lifted her head up and put her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about it…" He glanced back at the clock and put his hand over his jeans pocket. All Cody wanted was to return a great favor. When he first opened up to her in Drumheller, he never expected to feel the way he does now when he's with her. He'd never known love before this, but it almost felt like an understatement. No amount of pain or discomfort could ruin the perfect moment for him. The only moment he'd have to return the favor. He wanted to see her face light up as he would reveal the surprise once the clock struck twelve.

She chuckled, "Of course I'm going to worry about it! You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Please Sierra, the last thing I need is you worried. Let's just forget about it." What was he on about? It was an instinct for her to take care of him. The moments she spent with him on the plane looped through her head. An unwanted affection. Unwanted care. Maybe she was overthinking it. Is this a cry for help? Or is she harping on him again? The thought of scaring him away terrified her, but in her heart, she knew something was wrong about this...

"I'm not gonna let you go on like this…"

Her eyes widened as he raised his voice, "It's not about you, okay?" He got up and sat in the corner of the room and stared up at the clock again. Not like this please please not like this. His body wanted to collapse into the carpet. He wanted it all to end. When the clock strikes twelve, he loses the game. A special day. Was it going to be ruined by his inability to control himself? Would the pain consume the one moment he really needed? The special day he'd waited weeks for. He sat in the corner of the room and waited for the pain to go away. Sierra quietly walked over to him and kneeled down beside him on the ragged carpet.

She wrapped her arms around him as they faced the dark wall, "... Why are you yelling? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine I'm fine."

"You don't look well. Please just come lie down." She helped him back onto the couch and laid his head in her lap. The room fell quiet as he let her stroke the side of his face. His eyes felt weak and his vision blurred. All he wanted was to feel ecstasy in her company. He wanted the life they had in the little room back. A feeling of being comfortable together. It bothered him that the only thing holding them back was him. When he looked up at her he saw a goddess; like he'd been pulled out of the water. All he could think about was how happy he wanted her to be. How happy he wanted them to be.

"I love you."

She leaned down and kissed his forehead as they continued to lay together on the sofa. Nothing in the world mattered to her. All the fond memories of watching and listening to him through a screen faded as all she cared about was him. Her heart ached for him but wanted him to feel loved in this moment of unknown pain.

She shut the TV off and they sat in the dimly lit room. The clock laughed in his face as the minute hand inched towards the top. There was nothing that could be done anymore. He laid defeated in her arms as he felt his brain spinning around in his head. What's the point of fighting alone anymore?

He lifted his shaky hand slowly up to her face and whispered to her between breaths, "I don't think I've been eating well."

She stared back at him worryingly, "You need to eat! Why don't you go grab a chocolate bar from the fridge or something? Maybe you're not eating enough sugar."

She helped him stand up and he stared drearily back at her from the threshold into the kitchen, "You're right… I'm gonna grab something to eat."

He looked back into the living room through the wooden arch. He didn't have to see her face for those feelings to blossom again. His mind was racing. The cupboard door swung open and his vision went blurry. The earth was spinning much too fast. Was he on the plane again? Back in his childhood home? Under a tree in the park or in the coffee shop on a windy day? Was he sitting by a campfire in the park grounds or laying on the bed in the tidy guestroom of his home? When he felt down, she always brought him back up. Her. The thought of her. Her image made circles in his head. His mind was racing. When he looked back through the arch, he saw nothing. Why was he feeling this way? His mind was racing. Everything felt insufferable. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he could barely breathe. His mind was racing. His only thought was her. He looked back for her. Where was she again? His mind was racing as the clock struck twelve. His mind was racing and racing and racing and racing and racing and racing and racing andracingandracingandracing… until it stopped. The sound of a thud caught her attention as she snapped her head around and looked into the empty kitchen.

"...Cody?"

A scream to a horrific sight. She knelt to the floor and put her hand on his chest as he lay unconscious. What have I done? There was so much time. So many tears. So many heartaches. He helped her so much. Why couldn't she help him back? Why did this have to happen? She lifted his head off the tile floor and into her lap as she reached for her phone. A call for help as this was the one thing they couldn't solve alone. Tears ran down her face as they laid on the cold ground. She knew he loved her. It felt backwards to her. As much as she loved him before, she knew that it wasn't real love. An obsession with an icon that he became. It was a fight to suppress that feeling. The friend she found in him versus the icon she adored. Tears ran down her face as she realized she really did love him. She sat with him in the quiet for what felt like years. When the sound of sirens blared through the window and the door bursting open, she fell numb.

They found her muttering to him on the tile floor as if he was able to listen. Her body froze as he was pulled from her arms and lifted up off the tile floor. Everything he's ever said to her scrolled through her mind. Everything she's ever wanted to say to him. The person in her life who made her feel whole. The person she felt like she could spend her entire life with. He was ripped away and taken out of sight. She stared out the front window and watched the ambulance pull out of the driveway as the last thing she said to him still looped in her head.

"I should've told you sooner."