~CHAPTER 14~

Mistakes and regrets.

The next morning..

Leon woke up to a loud snoring coming from across the room. Oh, you cannot be serious. He opened his eyes and unsurprisingly, the vexing sounds originated from Percival. A heavy sleeper he was. The sun rays peeking through the curtains were blinding him and so he turned his gaze away, his eyes scanning the room for Delilah. He felt like he had been asleep forever. His head was heavy and he struggled to ignore the urge to get up and stretch. And so, he slowly tried to raise his aching from the many injuries body to a better position. When he finally made it, he carefully tried to move his legs across the bed to get up, but was interrupted by Delilah entering hastily.

"Oh, be careful, Leon." she warned him and moved quickly towards him, putting the tray of goods she was carrying on the table right next to his bed. She then proceeded to carefully place her hands around him and help him get to his feet, his one hand around her neck, seeking support.

"I think I can handle myself. Thank you." he said and moved away from her, taking a seat on the table.

"Hardly" she giggled sweetly. "After all, it is my pleasure looking after you." she smiled to him.

He smiled back softly. "You have already done too much. It should be me who was taking care of you, not the opposite."

"Oh don't be silly. We are supposed to have each other's back. If I don't take care of you, who will?" she laughed and kissed him gently on the lips. "Do you need help with your food?" she asked after watching him struggle with his only good arm and giggled at the sight.

He sighed. "Never mind. I am not that hungry. I want to go outside."

"Absolutely not." she replied strictly. "You need rest. How will your state improve otherwise?" she caressed his hand.

"Just a walk outside. Even in the isles. I do not mind. We will hurry and I will have you with me. No need to worry." he said and smiled softly. Emotional blackmail at its finest. How could she possibly say no?

"Fine. But who will look after Percival if I come as well? It's my responsibility."

"Oh, it will be a long time before he wakes up. But even if he does, your sister is here. I am sure she can take on for a while."

She hesitated at first but unable to resist Leon's plead, she nodded in agreement and they headed out immediately.


Percival's POV

Shortly after, Percival also woke up and unaware of Taylor's presence, he got up to seek his two friends. He walked out of the room slowly, his one leg hurting very badly at each step, so he would grab anything around him to support himself. "Leon? Lilah?" he called out while going down the few stairs.

"They're out." Taylor replied strictly, not even turning around to face him.

"Out? I see." he moved closer and attempted to sit but failed miserably while she took notice of him and laughed rather loudly when in his attempt, he actually fell off the chair. He also let out a small laugh of self mockery when he thought how ridiculous he must have looked. "I thought a nurse's job was to help the sick and injured." he complained.

"Oh, you need help?" she replied with an ironic tone to her voice and turned around to face him. His breath stopped for a minute, shocked by her reaction. What did I expect? That she is going to stay by my side and take care of me like Delilah does with Leon? God, how can I be so foolish? Look at her. She barely even cares about my existence. She might even be annoyed by it. But why? What could I have possibly done to deserve this kind of behavior? his thoughts kept bothering him. He regained contact with the outside world after hearing a voice speaking in the background.

"Hey!" she raised her voice and snapped at him. "I did not know you were deaf."

"What? I'm sorry. I was not listening." he answered confused.

"I could tell." she mocked him again. "I said there is pudding if you want any. That's all the food you will find in here until my sister comes back, you can be sure."

"Why is that?"

"Well unless you are planning on preparing something, you should not expect anything of me. I hardly even know how to boil an egg. Not that it is any of your affair for asking."

"Really? Not an egg?" he took a seat on the table, far away from her. The last thing he wanted now was to become more vexing. "If only my brother was here. He always used to say a woman has two responsibilities in her life. To look after the home and the children. I'm surprised he ever actually found a woman eager to spend the rest of her life with him." he laughed and smiled when he saw a grin appear on her face as well.

"Codswallop. Do you share the same ideas as your brother?" she asked, turning her gaze to him and it appeared to him that her eyes even softened a little.

"Hardly. I mean, it definitely is quite the privilege for a woman to be a perfect housewife but it is not a requirement and certainly not the only important part about her. It is simply an addition to the many blessings she possesses." he earned her smile for once more and continued "I cannot imagine a woman being nothing but a housewife. She should have an intrigue personality, she should be interesting, with knowledge of the world. Not a sheep ready to be slaughtered, like most women are. Like you and Lilah and Gwen. You work and you are all sharp in the mind, even sharper that us most times. You are not afraid to live, to experience. These are my ideas." he finally finished and when he did he realized Taylor had been gazing at him with eyes softened, full of admiration. He had never seen her like that before. It was almost like...No. That was not possible. Could she be...feeling something too?

"So...you do not mind? if a woman is not...ordinary?" she asked and her voice sounded a little like a whimper.

"Noone is ordinary. Noone should be ordinary." he answered again and somehow they got even closer. But he hadn't moved a bit. Was she moving closer to him? It couldn't be...

Suddenly, she got up and walked right next to him. Her wonderful, deep blue eyes were now glistening. She leaned down and softly placed her lips onto his. An unexpectedly sweet and innocent kiss it was. Her inexperienced lips met his many-kissed ones. Once he moved over the shock, he responded eagerly and kissed her back, more passionately this time. She quickly lowered herself onto him, sitting on his lap while they continued kissing, not once stopping to even breathe.

She pulled him even closer, melting his mouth into hers, like she could not get enough. Like she wanted more. So he would give her more. They finally parted, not because they wanted to but because they were now both numb and completely out of breath. But still, their heads did not move from that position, they were still facing each other. Then he captured her mouth again and started running his hands down her back while was taking off his shirt. Her moves were ungrateful but he could not care less. This was the woman he desired and not a single thing could take this away from him. She ran her fingers all the way around his neck and down his chest, feeling his bare muscles, getting lost in the heat and passion between their bodies.

At first, he had some doubts. He did not mean to pressure her and any sudden moves could possibly drive her away. And there was no coming back after that. After all, he could not be sure whether she had been with anyone with before. Being her first would be a great responsibility. But against all his doubts, she kept encouraging him and so he had no other choice but to give in. He slowly started undoing the back of her nursing uniform and she showed no resistance whatsoever so he continued. After what seemed like forever, he was about to undo the top part she shivered out of the sudden and her knee which was resting on his one leg ended up pushing his stomach, right where his injury was. He let out a small scream of pain and she quickly moved away, concern all over her face.

"Oh God...I am so sorry! Did the stitches break?" she apologized while she dressed herself.

His look of pain turned into pure concern. Was that the end of everything? "No, it was really nothing. You did not mean it after all." he reassured her in an effort to see what stopped her.

"I...I have to go. I am sure Delilah will be back very soon and after all Gaius is coming in a while." she said and quickly made her way through the door, leaving her utterly speechless.

He motioned to go after her, but the pain from the fresh injuries kept him from running. Could this be the end of everything?


Hello! I know! I am really bad at keeping my word, aren't I? I said I would upload every week but...things got in the way again! I still am going to upload every week! Maybe even twice a week! Lately, I've been on a writing spree so you can expect MANY chapters coming from now on. Finally some Taylor & Percival progress today, right? Plz favorite & review! It means SO MUCH TO ME! Stay tuned for more! 3