A/N: I stole a few lines from The Vow during this chapter! Also, I know this may seem like the end, but I promise, it's not! ;)
The next few weeks went by achingly slow for Marcus. He would meet up with Abby when he could, but she had restarted the previous two years of her training. She told him that without knowing if her memory would come back, she needed to focus on what was happening in the moment. Nights were the worst. He had completed his training and was now an official member of the Guard. But, every night when he got back to his empty room, their old room, the memories that she had forgotten only managed to haunt him. He would dream that everything was fine, that they were happily engaged, but when he woke every morning, he had to face the realization that she might never again come back to him. This was sick, ironic torture. He hadn't lost her, but yet, he had. He had spent the first week trying to think of new ways to help her gain her memory back, but when she only seemed to get frustrated at that, he thought of something else. Even if she couldn't remember, it didn't mean that they couldn't make new memories. That was why he found himself standing outside of medical, waiting for her to take her lunch.
"I know you are probably busy, but I had an idea." He told her when she walked out, smiling at something Jackson had said to her.
She sighed, "Marcus-"
He didn't let her get the rest out, knowing that she probably assumed he had another idea on how to help her get her memory back. "I was just thinking that you are right. You might not ever regain your memory. But, why should that stop us from creating new ones? I came to ask you if later this evening you would like to go on a date. A first date. I know the idea might seem silly, but I thought it was worth a shot. Falling in love with you was the happiest time of my life and I would be honored if I had even the slightest chance at getting to do it again."
Abby seemed to be contemplating things over in her head. After a few minutes of standing there, she nodded. "Okay, it's a date." She smiled at him, the first actual smile he had seen her give him in the last month and it made his heart swell.
The rest of the day, Marcus was too preoccupied with his evening plans to focus on much else. He tried to engage in a conversation with Thelonious, but after several nods and no talking form his part, the other man had simply rolled his eyes and walked away. Finally, when he shift was over, he nearly sprinted to his room to change out of his guard uniform. When he arrived at her parent's door, knocking lightly, the sight of her almost took his breath away. She had seemed to have gotten new clothes, something that didn't happen often on the Ark and she was wearing her long hair in a loose braid to the side. When she smiled at him, he realized how long he had been standing there staring, and he couldn't help but to blush. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I am. Are you?" Abby had a teasing tone in her voice and that was something that he missed dearly. He nodded and held out his arm for her to take. "So, where are we going?"
"I thought we could have dinner, a private dinner. So, Callie is lending us her room to use as a picnic of sorts." He gave a small laugh, hoping that she liked the idea.
"Wouldn't it have been easier just to go to your room?"
"Already inviting yourself to my place on the first date?" Marcus raised his eyebrow, staring down at her, but the gleam in his eyes told her he was only joking.
Marcus had bribed one of the cooks to pack Abby's favorites in a box for him as soon as she had said yes. Getting Callie's help was no trouble at all. Abby was her closest friend and she knew how happy Marcus had made her and wanted to see things work between them, with or without her memory.
The date was going well, they had talked about things that were happening, now. They talked of him graduating training and Barnes taking special time to teach her the things she had forgotten. They talked about Callie and her endless list of boyfriends. They talked about Thelonious and how they both believed he was destined to become Chancellor one day. When the date was nearing its end, he felt elated. It really was like falling in love with her all again. When they arrived at her door, he was surprised when she reached up to kiss his cheek and whispered into his ear, "How about we break the rules one more time?" He knew exactly what she was talking about, she wanted to go look at the stars. Marcus knew it was wrong, especially now, but they had never been caught before and there was no way he was going to tell Abby no. So, he had grabbed her hand and led her toward one of the empty observation rooms. You could see the stars out of ever window on the Ark, but the observation rooms had a special view. It was almost as if you could reach out a touch one. The entire room had a window as a roof.
He watched as she laid down on the concrete floor of the room, the same way she had over a year ago, and he followed. She eventually moved to lay her head on his chest, and though he wasn't sure if it was out of muscle memory, or just something the new her wanted to do, he certainly didn't mind. They stayed there for what felt like an hour. Him running his hands up and down her arm, and her softly breathing against his neck. It all felt so natural and when she leaned her head up to kiss him, he couldn't help but to meet her lips with his own. Marcus let out a sigh of relief when she parted her mouth, moving so that she was nearly on top of him. He placed both of his hands on the side of her face, relishing in how smooth her skin felt. When she broke the kiss, staring into his eyes with her own beautiful, brown ones, he couldn't help the words that slipped from his mouth, "I love you so much, Abby." Marcus immediately realized his mistake when she pulled away from him, panic flashing in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He kept repeating over and over. He had ruined their perfect date, her first date with him, at least the only one she could remember.
"I think I should get back." Abby's was having a hard time breathing and talking at the same time. As good of a time as she had had, looking at him now, while he still had that same look of pain, the one he had given her since she had woken up in the hospital, made her feel sick. "I don't think this is a good idea, Marcus. I think tonight proved that. I am so tired of disappointing you." She could feel tears threatening to fall from her face.
"I'm trying here, Abby. I've been trying so hard. But, this is hard on me, too. I had the love of my life in my arms one morning and then by that afternoon she didn't remember any of our history together. Do you know how hard that is?" Marcus had never gotten angry with her before. Maybe, a little annoyed at one time or other because of her stubbornness, but never truly angry, until now. He wasn't even sure if it was her, he was mad at. Was it himself? Was it the situation that they had both been forced into? It didn't matter, one look at the tears running down her cheeks was enough to wipe all angriness away. Instead, it was replaced by a stunning sadness that he realized had been coming from the time she had woken up asking for another man. "How do you look at the girl you love and tell yourself that it's time to walk away?" He asked her sadly and she took a deep breath, realizing what he was truly saying. He wasn't asking a question, more so, giving them both a way out and as much as she wished things could be different, they weren't.
Abby reached up a placed a hand on his shoulder, "Marcus, I hope that one day I can love the way that you love me." And with that, she was gone. She was gone, taking all of Marcus' hopes and dreams along with her. She was gone and he knew he was never getting her back.