Chapter 11- These days

What a gorgeous day thought Elvis as he started his long drive to Hereford. He was due at the training centre later that morning, to help train some new recruits. He loved training and for the first time in a while was actually feeling pretty upbeat about the day ahead. He started banging his hands on the steering wheel, in time to the beat of the music, whilst singing along, 'I know you moved onto someone new. Hope life is beautiful. You were the life of me to find my truth. I just wanna say thank you. And I know it ain't pretty when our hearts get broke...'. The lyrics of the song hit Elvis hard. He knew all about having a broken heart. The song instantly made him think of Georgie. Not that she was ever far from his mind. He'd found out by mistake a couple of months ago that she was with someone else. He wasn't surprised. He knew someone would snap her up quickly, and that he had no right to feel gutted about it. He'd been out for a drink with Charles and Molly, and Molly without thinking, had let it slip that her and Charles had to leave after the next drink, as they were meeting a friend and her new boyfriend. Elvis knew instantly from the look on Charles face, that the friend was Georgie. He'd begged the couple for more information but they said they'd already said too much, and left shortly after. At first, Elvis couldn't believe it. He knew Georgie would move on and find someone else, and he was happy for her. He only ever wanted the best for her, and that was why he had done what he'd done on their wedding day. He just didn't realise it would hurt so much.

The ringing of Elvis's phone through the Bluetooth in his car, distracted him from

his thoughts. It was his boss. 'Morning boss' answered Elvis. 'Morning Mr Harte. Unfortunately I'm going to have to ask you to turn around. We've had some news from Kenya. A soldier from The British Army has been taken hostage and we need your support out there'. Elvis's heart sank at his boss's words as he knew just how serious this was, but at the same time the adrenaline kicked in and reminded Elvis why he loved his job so much. 'I'm turning around now boss. See you shortly', and with that Elvis turned his car around and drove straight back to London. He was due to have Laura that night, so phoned Debbie on the way back to say he wouldn't be able to, and wasn't sure how long he'd be gone for.

Once Elvis had arrived in Kenya with his team, they were all handed a classified information envelope each. As Elvis opened up his copy he froze. At first he couldn't believe what he was seeing, but then Spanner uttered the words Elvis was dreading. 'It's Georgie'. Elvis read the paperwork. Miss Georgie Lane, Manchester, United Kingdom. Elvis felt sick to his stomach as he read his ex fiancée's name and looked over her photo. Just when Elvis had digested the information, Charles walked on over 'What the hell are you doing here? It can't be you Elvis' muttered Charles angrily. 'Yeah, well it has to be me' came Elvis's reply. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence between the pair, Charles spoke again, 'Yeah, well you better not let her down this time' and walked away shaking his head. Elvis knew he had to do everything to keep his Georgie alive.

The first glimpse Elvis got of Georgie was when he poked his head over the wall of the compound they had managed to find. He could see she was being kept in a makeshift jail, but luckily he could see she was still alive, he just needed to get in there. As Elvis made his way into the compound, putting all his special forces skills to the test, he had some thinking time and began to wonder how Georgie would feel seeing him again. He knew she would have been through hell in here, so seeing him again wasn't going to be the happy reunion Elvis had always dreamed of, but he secretly hoped she would be a little happy about it.

That didn't happen. As Elvis got into the compound and got Georgie out of the jail, he saw that she was covered in blood and clinging to the lifeless body of an aid worker, who had also been reported as missing. The first proper glimpse they got of each other was when they were in the safety of the helicopter. Elvis had taken off his headgear and in return received an almighty slap around the face from his ex fiancé. He knew he deserved it but had to admit it bloody hurt. He knew from that moment on that Georgie wasn't going to forgive him easily. He needed to be patient and be there for her though this ordeal, and then hopefully one day she would hear him out and he could tell her about Laura.

Elvis attempted to speak to Georgie numerous times whilst they were on R&R, but every time he did, she would just walk away or ignore him. Elvis had to keep reminding himself that he deserved it, but knew he had to keep trying as she needed to know the truth about why he hadn't turned up on their wedding day. He knew now that he hadn't made the right decision on that day, but on the morning of their wedding, when Debbie had turned up at his house with a baby Laura, he'd had a mini breakdown and wasn't himself for a while after.

Whilst they were staying at the R&R hotel in Africa, Elvis once again, risked his life to save Georgie from getting shot on the beach by a rogue gunman. She was stuck in the middle of the beach, hiding behind a sun bed, whilst gun shots were being fired between the rogue gunman and the hotels security. Elvis's hero act had resulted in him getting injured and needing hospital care. Much to Elvis's delight, Georgie had come to the hospital to visit him. 'Only you could fall from that height, and come out of it with just bruises and a hairline fracture' Georgie had joked. Elvis knew just how lucky he had been, but was more happy about the fact that Georgie had made the effort to come to visit him at the hospital, and was actually speaking to him.

Once Elvis had been discharged from the hospital, he was told to go back to the hotel and rest. The remaining members of his team had been sent on another mission, so he had managed to bag the hotel room next to Georgie's. Georgie was due to return home the following day, so Elvis decided tonight was the night he would tell her about Laura. Much to Elvis's annoyance, that evening 2 section and Charles had decided to throw Elvis a 'welcome back' BBQ, where they ate and drank lots, and sang songs around a campfire. Neither Elvis or Georgie were particularly feeling it, but made an effort to join in. Georgie made her excuses to leave first, saying she had a headache, followed shortly by Elvis.

Once Georgie was back in her hotel room, and had freshened up, she went out onto her balcony to get some air. She jumped out of her skin when she heard Elvis's voice say 'Don't turn around. Just listen'. At first Georgie said it was 'creepy but totally him' that he'd bagged the room next to her, but in the end had actually listened to Elvis speak about why he hadn't shown up to their wedding and about baby Laura. Georgie was shocked to hear Elvis was now a father, and they both had tears in their eyes as Elvis was telling her all about Laura. Georgie really wanted to climb over the balcony and give Elvis the biggest hug, as she could see he was struggling, but then she thought back to how she'd been left feeling on their wedding day, and the weeks that followed and knew she couldn't give in that easily. Elvis had said that over the months and years, he'd punched out various messages to Georgie on his phone, but always deleted them before pressing send, deciding she deserved more then what Elvis could give her. 'Leaving you was the worst decision I've ever made and the hardest. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but I do know your wrong when you say we're done. I don't think we're even close to being done. I'm still madly in love with you. If you change your mind you know where I am. Always', and with Elvis's words left hanging in the humid African air, he left his balcony and went into his hotel room, leaving Georgie outside, not knowing what to say or do.

After Elvis's confession to her earlier that night on the balcony, Georgie couldn't stop thinking about him. She now understood why he did what he did on their wedding day. She had always thought that maybe he'd just got scared and decided it was too much, but this made a lot more sense. Part of her was angry and hurt with him all over again, as he should have just told her. Surely he knew she would have understood...Georgie was left feeling guttered that everything could have been so different, if they both weren't so stubborn and had actually talked.

As she laid above the covers on the hotels queen-size bed, tossing and turning, her phone began to vibrate on the bedside unit. At first she thought it was Elvis, but when she got to the phone she could see Jamie's name flashing up. She wasn't really in the mood to speak to him, so let it go to voicemail. She would just tell him that the WiFi was bad when she spoke to him the following day. Now Georgie was fully awake, she tied with the idea of going next door to check on Elvis, but knew it wasn't a good idea. She kept having flashbacks from earlier on in the evening, when Elvis had told her all about his daughter and why he hadn't turned up to their wedding. She could tell he meant every word of what he'd said 'I loved you from the very first moment I saw you, and I'll love you to my very last'. He'd done what he did because he didn't want to tie her down with his child. Georgie could tell how close Elvis was to his daughter by the way he spoke about her, and wished she would have been a part of it. 'Fuck it' thought Georgie, as she climbed off of the bed and walked out onto her balcony. Without a second thought, she jumped over onto Elvis's balcony as was their way of seeing each other. Elvis had left his balcony door unlocked, and was still up when Georgie entered his room. He was slouched on the bed, resting his head against the headboard, with a bottle of beer in his hand. At first Georgie moaned at him about his choice of position not being good for his injury, and that he shouldn't be drinking alcohol on his medication, but once she'd sat down on his bed in front of him, the mood in the room changed.

Georgie knew she shouldn't have gone to Elvis's room, but she couldn't stop herself. She still loved him and needed to be close to him. When she first went out to Kenya, she never would have guessed this is where she would see Elvis again. Whilst she was being kept as a hostage, she thought about Elvis a few times, all the things she wished she'd said and done, but at the same time thought she'd never get the chance to say or do. She was amazed she'd gotten out of there alive. That Elvis had gotten her out of there alive.

As the couple sat on the bed facing each other, taking one another in, neither saying anything, a loan tear rolled down Elvis's face. Georgie caught it straight away and then tears appeared at her eyes. Elvis was there to catch her tears, and not long after, the couple shared a passionate kiss, neither having the willpower or wanting to stop it. What started as a kiss, soon turned into something more passionate, and clothes started flying in all directions. Both Georgie and Elvis knew where this was going, but neither wanted to stop it, both just wanting to be together in every way they could. Georgie was very aware of Elvis's injuries so they took it slowly at first.

In the morning, Georgie awoke to the beaming sun shining through the net curtains. She wasn't sure if everything had been one big dream, but then she felt her legs in twined beneath the sheets and looked up to see Elvis's handsome face. He was still asleep. At first Georgie smiled, recalling the night they'd had together. She also realised that it had been the first night since being taken hostage, that she had actually slept through the night without any night terrors. Her smiles didn't last long though, as her feelings turned to guilt as she thought about Jamie back home. She was due to marry him soon and she'd just slept with her ex fiancé. Georgie knew she had to get out of Elvis's room quickly and without anyone else seeing her, she creeped out onto the balcony and climbed back over to hers. After a long, hot shower, Georgie decided she needed to forget about her night of passion with Elvis. She'd got him out of her system, and now she needed to get home, leave the army and become Mrs Jamie Cole. Who was she kidding...

Song credit: Rudimental- These days