Hey! This chapter is short too but again I think it's enough. I forgot to tell you guys, I speak Spanish so I'm sorry if I'm not that good at writing (I do my best). If you have any suggestions or comments, REVIEW! I hope you like this episode.
Emily/Amanda's POV
It's been a two weeks since Aiden first spoke. The doctor explained us that he's got a retrograde selective amnesia, which means that he will be unable to recollect events that occurred before the amnesia set in but the memories selected by his brain. In my own words, he remembers when he left his home to find Colleen and back. But he doesn't remember anything after that, he doesn't even remember he worked as a bartender for months to save his sister. He doesn't remember anything about Japan, or his mission, or the Hamptons. He doesn't remember who the Graysons are, who Jack is, who Nolan is, who Takeda is, who I am. He is now the one person who doesn't know Amanda nor Emily. The doctor said this could be a temporary thing as much as it could be a permanent thing, they can't predict anything. And so we've told him what we can without ruining my plan. We didn't mention Japan, we didn't mention his mission, we didn't mention me. We told him that he did find Colleen (or me) and that she/I moved here to get a new life away from home. We told him that he and his mother were visiting me when this happened. We told him that I lost my accent because I was just a little girl surrounded by Americans. Nolan, Harriet and I agreed that filling his gone memories with happy ones was the best idea. Nolan still thinks that my being Colleen is a bad idea but he's going on with it because he's my person and he would do anything for me.
"So Harriet is safe and sound at the beach house along with little Carl." Nolan says bringing me back from my thoughts. "That kid's making her grandmotherly instincts come out." He sits down beside me and waves his hand towards Aiden.
I think about it for a second. How Aiden and I could have had children, little versions of us, running around a bright and humble home. But Victoria's son took that from me, and I'm not supposed to think romantically about us anyways.
"Yeah, she would be good at that job." I smile to myself as I imagine her holding my child in her arms.
Then Dr. Hunt steps in caring a wheelchair with him. "Hey, how's our invincible British patient doing?"
"I'm here, starting to move some more muscles." Aiden replies.
"Yeah, you've been doing great with that and that's the reason why I'm here. Since your hips have been paralysis free for a week now, I'm here to offer you to take the next step. How does that sound?" The doctor asks.
"That sounds great." He answers. "What's the next step?"
"I think it's time for you to change your position so you're going to sit down in this wheelchair, no more beds for transportation, and someone" he turns to me and Nolan. "can take you out of these god damn walls and give you a tour around the hospital."
"Really? He's ready to do that?" I ask more cheery than I expected to.
"He absolutely is." Dr. Hunt smiles and continues. "I'm gonna call the nurses to come prep him up." He leaves.
"We're gonna take you out for a walk or ride, whatever, how cool is that James Bond?" Nolan says cheerfully.
"You keep calling me like that, did you always do that?" Aiden asks. We told him Nolan was a friend he made the first time he visited here and that he always hang out with him when he comes from England.
"Sometimes." Nolan smiles.
"Colleen, you're coming right?" He looks at me with those angel eyes.
"Of course." I answer softly as I stare into those eyes I love.
We're walking around the hospital now, it took about ten minutes to get Aiden ready, but here we are.
"You know I've realized hospitals are better than what people say. So I watch this TV show called Grey's Anatomy and there's tons of drama hidden between the doctors and the nurses, ooh the nurses are like Gossip Girl, which another TV show." Nolan tells Aiden. He's such a fan girl.
"You sound like a teenager in her fangirling state." Aiden laughs.
"Hey there's nothing wrong with fangirling, okay?" Nolan defenses himself. "In fact fan girls are quite awesome."
"Alright kiddos, it's enough." I say as I grab the wheelchair from Nolan. "We're going to do this everyday till you fully recover, alright Aiden?"
"Sure" he answers not so cheery.
"What's wrong?" I ask. I know Aiden all too well to not notice there's something odd about his behavior.
"I'm just hospital sick." He replies. "I wanna be out of here and go to the beach with you and mum, like we used to, remember?"
"Uh yeah." I lie. "Well as soon as the doctor lets us take you home we can spend the entire day at the beach."
"I'm invited too right?" Nolan asks.
"Obviously, you're supposed to be one of my closest friends right?" Aiden answers. "I still find it weird that I can't remember anything, I'm sorry. Like how did I rescue you Colleen?"
"Uhm I don't really like to talk about it ," He's been asking about this for a while. "but let's say you acted like one brave hero and saved me from those evil guys."
"I'm glad you're safe, and happy, and alive." He looks into the distance. "For a while I thought you were dead and it was the worst feeling I've felt in my entire life."
I hesitate before answering. It pains me to lie to him. "But I'm not dead, I'm here." I give him my best fake smile.
"You are." He smiles widely. Oh my god I missed that smile.
"Okay let's go back, this one needs to get some rest because soon he'll be walking out of this place." Nolan says as he takes Aiden from me and starts wheeling him inside the building.
We make our way to the elevator and then to Aiden's room being extra careful not to bump into anything because that will only hurt him more than he is right now. My poor baby is so fragile, so not himself. But he's going to get better, everything's gonna be better from now on.
We enter the room to find a someone's back towards us, a female's. She turns her body around and I can't believe it. It's Niko, Niko as in gone Niko, as in Aiden's ex Niko, as in the one who tried to kill us Niko. What the hell is she doing here? I thought she was gone, gone forever.
"Surprised to see me?" She says and laughs sarcastically.
"What are you doing here Niko?" I reply.
"What do you think I'm doing, huh? I came to check on Aiden." She takes a few steps forward.
"Niko wait, wait please, let's talk first." I say.
"I didn't come here to talk to you, I came here for Aiden." She snaps.
"Who is that? Is she from England or something like that? She's got an accent too." Aiden asks from behind me.
That's when Niko's face changes to pure confusion. "What the heck?" She whispers.
"Come with me, I'll explain everything." I say and start walking out. I hear footsteps following me.
Once we are outside she asks me immediately "What was that about?"
"Niko, Aiden has gone through a lot since you left." I start. "Victoria tried to poison him but he got to the hospital just in time or a little latter. He's was in a coma for a month and he's been slowly recovering from a complete body paralysis for three weeks now. And he also suffers from a loss of memory, he remembers everything till the time he started searching for his sister."
"Oh god, that's horrible! I'm gonna kill that bitch and her children, each one of them." She says angrily but there's something off with her face, her expressions, I can't quite grasp what.
"There's something else you should know." I grab her attention once again. "Uhm we're telling him that I'm his sister. We told him that he found me and went back to England. There's no Japan nor any missions. I know you may not understand but please don't tell him who I truly am, it's better for him."
She stares at me for a few seconds "Why would I do that? Why would I lie to him for you?"
"I know it's a lot to ask but I truly believe it's best for him too. Do it for him." I answer.
She looks back at the room, then at me. "Fine."
"Why'd you come back? Who told you that he was here?" I finally ask what has been eating me inside.
"I care for him despite everything that's happened. So I came back to work things out, to at least be his friend." She takes a deep breath. "But when I went to the beach house you guys weren't there, so I went to ask that friend of yours Jack and he told me you guys should be here. As soon as he told me that Aiden was in the hospital I stormed out and came here."
She still cares about him, and I can't stop that because I'm supposed to be his sister. I look down at my shoes and answer. "He probably doesn't remember you but you can go in now." I open the door for her.
"Oh why thank you" she sarcastically says as she walks in the room.
I follow. Aiden's now back in his hospital bed. Both men look up at us. "Aiden this is-"
"I'm Niko." She cuts me off and walks towards him. "It's fine if you don't remember me, I can answer all the questions you want."
"Did I know you?" He asks.
"Yes, we were lovers once but that ended. I can be your friend now." Wow she's telling the truth I'm gonna have to be careful with this tiger.
"Where did I meet you?" He sits up straighter.
"Sydney, that's also where my mother raised me." She answers.
"That explains the accent." He laughs slightly. "What was I doing in Sydney?" He looks at me and Nolan.
"Work," Nolan replies without hesitation. "You worked there for about a year and a half."
"Yeah" she nods following the game. "Then you left and we reconnect after my father's death."
"Your father is dead? I'm so sorry to hear that." He says politely.
She takes a deep breath before speaking again. "Mhm." She clears her throat.
"You should probably get some rest now" I step in.
"Oh but I wanna now more about the old me." Aiden says. "It's okay I can handle a couple more hours without sleeping I promise."
"If that's what you want-" I answer.
"That what he wants" Niko cuts me off.
Why? Why did she have to come back? Why now when he's most vulnerable? Why her? I wanna grab her and throw her out but I know I can't. I have to let her stay because he wants his memories back and she is part of that. I've always done whatever I want, why should I care now? Because it's for him, and a small, a tiny tiny part of me knows that she deserves to spend time with him, she also loves him. What? Why am I sympathizing with her? What am I thinking? What's wrong with me?But I don't want her to be here, I want her as far away from him as possible, should I throw her out?
Nolan seems to catch my internal battle and says "Colleen and I are going to get something to eat, but when we come back he has to get some rest, those are the doctor's orders."
Nolan sits down after getting his coffee and says. "Okay now that we're alone, tell me what's going on in that mind of yours. How are you gonna get rid of that girl, huh? Is she getting the red sharpie?"
I laugh sarcastically and look away.
"I was just kidding, no need to get mad." He defends himself.
"I know it's just that-" I stop to get a deep breath. "It's funny because as Emily I've always just gotten rid of the people I dislike, and you just assumed that I was gonna do something about Niko, and it's my fault. I was this careless, selfish little girl but I don't think I want to be that anymore. That's one of the reasons I wanna start again and be another person."
"Colleen." He adds. "Emily you're not careless, do you think a careless person would be paying for another person's recovery, or basically giving her ex boyfriend's mother a house to live in while her son recovers?" He takes my hand. "If you want another chance to fix your mistakes you can have it, but don't insult my best friend because I love her and every single one of her flaws."
"But I don't," I pull my hand away. "I don't like the person I've become. What kind of person almost gets her fiancé dead? It's my fault, everything is my fault."
"Ems, when are you gonna get it? He knew what he was getting himself into, it is not your fault. You are an amazing person to him and you've always been. He loved you for how you were." He says. "Don't be so hard on yourself, you don't deserve it. Yes, you can change your name but you cannot forget Emily because she was a great and strong woman. Embrace yourself Ems, you deserve it."
"Thank you, Nolan. I'm gonna try." I take a drink from my coffee. My mind goes back to Niko and what I should do with her. "What if he likes her? What if she starts visiting every day? What if they become friends, or more? Oh my god I'm not gonna be able to stand her."
"I know but let's think positive, maybe she'll get hit by a bus or a car, who knows?" He shrugs his shoulders.
I laugh, take a sip from my coffee and say. "Okay let's go back I'm not letting Niko have anymore time alone with him."
When we get back, they're both laughing. Niko is sitting beside him and Aiden is still in sitting position. Once Niko spots us she stops laughing, raises her hands up and says. "Okay I'm leaving don't worry."
"It was great to meet you, uhm, again I guess." Aiden tells her. "You should stop by again to continue that story, I mean if you have time."
"I would love that." She smiles at him, and then turns to leave. She tops close beside me and whispers. "Don't worry we didn't talk about you. Your secret is safe with me." And she continues her way out with a big smirk plastered on her face.
Nolan rolls his eyes towards the gone Niko and then asks. "What did you guys talk about?"
"About my time in Australia, and how we met, how we became friends, stuff like that." He shrugs his shoulders. "She's nice, was I close to her?"
"You were for a while but things changed." I answer.
"Oh." He nods slowly. "Hey I think I'm going to start walking soon, I can move my toes now."
"Oh really? Well you're recovering faster than I thought you would, big guy." I smile sweetly at him.
"I'm 007, I'm invincible." He smirks at Nolan.
"Told you, you're totally James Bond undercover." Nolan jokes and we all laugh.
This feels good, just the three of us, having fun, just like old times. I hope it continues this way, I hope nothing gets in our way, because we've had enough. We've gone through so much together and here we are, finally safe, finally better, at least for now.
Thank you for reading and please please please review because when you do it makes me wanna write more and more.