Now my heart is in your hands, your hands
Every day I will wait - till you're mine again
I will die every day - till you're mine again
There's no words to explain, no beginning
and no end. I will dream, I will pray - you'll
be mine again. It's just time that runs
between us. It's the ocean underneath
us. It's the picture that won't fade away.
- Black Lab

A young woman stepped into the hospital lobby; the nurse behind the desk looked at her curiously. The girl looked frazzled and worried and almost frozen over, which was odd since it was May after all. Such expressions were quite commonly found in the people who visited the hospital -- well, at least, the first two were. The last, not so much. Her blonde hair was messy and spread all over her shoulders, her arms were wrapped around her body like tightly wound bandages, and her purse was held closely to her side.

"May I help you?" The nurse asked, taking note of the lost expression on the girl's face. The girl's blue eyes flickered around and finally met her own.

"Y-yes. I'm here to see Nate--"

"--Archibald." The nurse finished, already looking away. "He's had a lot of visitors today... Well I'm sorry ma'am, but you're just going to have to come tomorrow. Visiting hours are closed."

"So he's okay?" The girl responded eagerly, and the nurse looked back at her to see the most heartbreaking of relieved expressions.

"It's hard to say. It was a very bad accident. We've got him on a lot of painkillers and sedatives right now," The nurse responded frankly, and the girl wilted like a flower. "I'm sure you'll receive more information if you visit tomorrow; only family can come and visit patients after hours."

The girl's eyes were sad, her mouth set in a bitter line as she held up her hand and revealed a breathtaking ring on her finger.

"Please," The girl pleaded softly. "Take me to him."

The hospital had always been one of Jenny's least favorite places in the world. The fact that it was eerily dark and quiet after hours did not help. However, the distaste she had for this place did not make her walk any faster, because there was a stronger fear in her stomach. What if he wasn't okay? What if the room was just like Vanessa's horrific room? Jenny would never forget the slow uneven beating of the girl's heart, eventually followed by a long steady beep as it failed. When Jenny finally reached Nate's room she touched the doorknob, breathed in, and rested her forehead against the door for a moment. The boy that she adored, that she loved, was on the other side of that door. He controlled her every emotion, every thought, and she had realized it too late.

Jenny finally opened the door and stepped into the room; it was darkly lit, and her pulse throbbed as her eyes scanned the room. There was a bed in the middle. She stepped closer and closer to Nate's form on the bed, afraid of what she'd see.

He was hooked up to IVs and all sorts of objects that Jenny didn't understand. There were cuts on his face, beneath his beautiful hair, and all over what she could see of his arms. She could make out some sort of padding around his ribcage beneath the hospital clothing that he was wearing. His chest was rising and falling at a steady pace as he slept. He looked so fragile, so broken and weak that she could feel her own body ache. She sat down on a bedside chair and stared at him for the longest time, simply watching him.

Would he be okay? Would he make it through? Jenny's throat closed up at the thought of a world without him. A world without Nate was no world at all -- it was hell.

After a time she called his name softly. "Nate," she murmured, letting her hand take his hand gently. Of course he didn't awaken. Her mouth began to tremble and she leaned down quickly, kissing the soft underside of his palm; she refused to look at the IV needle that was stuck into the other side. The fact that Nate, her Nate, the one who was always so strong and sturdy and stable, had to be hooked up to an IV to survive frightened her. Leaning down, she pressed her forehead against the side of the bed, holding onto his hand for the longest time.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered; who knew how many minutes had passed. She raised her head up again, looking at his pale face. "I'm sorry," she said again, the tears slipping down her cheeks although she tried desperately to hold them back.

"You know, I never got to tell you that I care about you. Always have, this entire time, ever since the day I met you," Jenny said, smiling bitterly through her tears. "You told me you'd wait for me." Jenny paused again, and she fought against the silence that took over her body."I need you I'm sorry it took so long for me to tell you that," she choked out, the tears escaping more freely and rapidly now. Her hand left his for the briefest of moments to wipe her cheeks. When she put her hand back on his again, his grip was lifeless.

"Because," she whispered shakily, the word shooting through her mind and breaking a thousand bottles full of memories. "B-because you swore you'd never leave. Remember that night on the boat? You swore it. I made you break it at the funeral. I-is it too late to take that back?" Of course Nate didn't respond, and a little sob came out of her mouth. "Don't leave. Don't leave me like this, n-not when I need you. Nate, d-don't leave. You promised you'd never hurt me, but this hurts so much. Don't leave or you'll hurt me even more, okay?" She bargained desperately, wiping fiercely at the tears that wouldn't stop, and for a few moments, she couldn't speak because of the intensity of her tears.

"D-do you know how hard it is to live without you?" She murmured hoarsely, stroking her thumb along the lines on the underside of his hand. "The only reason I made it through those months after Vanessa's death was because I knew you were out there somewhere. Remember New Year's Eve? I told you not to move, I stole your blunt. You asked what was up with me that day. Truth is I missed you. I needed you. How long had it been since I'd seen you? I can't do it anymore without you, Nate. So please... p-please come back." She sniffed and paused, staring at his face silently as her tears continued to fall. He was as motionless as ever.

Her mouth trembled as she continued to speak. "Remember when I told you that you meant nothing? I'm so sorry about that, too. I lied to you--" her voice cut off as another sob escaped her lips. "And when I t-told you that I wanted you to stay away from me that night in your apartment, that was a lie too. Don't stay away. Don't leave me. Please d-don't leave me alone like this. Y-you mean everything. You mean everything to me. You are my everything because..." Jenny couldn't stop crying here, and she closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head and letting go of his hand. "B-because I love you."

She rose to her feet, unable to take it anymore. Jenny wiped at her eyes blindly and left the hospital room, shutting it softly behind her. Jenny pressed her back against the door and slid down, letting the last few tears fall freely.

If she had stayed a few moments more, she would have seen him open his blue eyes very slowly. At one point during her speech, when she had let go of his hand to reach up to wipe her eyes, his fingers had twitched. When she was looking away from his face once, his eyelashes had fluttered. She would have known that he had heard everything.

When Jenny was done, she wiped her face and looked up and almost had a heart attack at what she saw. Anne Archibald was by the elevators, looking like she'd been standing there for a while. Jenny got to her feet quickly, and Nate's mother smiled and came over.

"Hi, Mrs. Archibald," Jenny greeted in a weak voice, and she couldn't stop her hands from grabbing each other; her hands always had to do something when she was nervous, and she refrained from cracking her knuckles. She had never really met Nate's mother before. "I'm--"

"--Jenny." Mrs. Archibald finished, giving her another tired smile. "I remember you from the gala a few months ago." Jenny blinked at her in surprise. "And of course, he and Lily have mentioned you several times. Were you visiting him just now? How is he?"

Jenny chewed on her bottom lip. She was baffled that Anne Archibald remembered her, and even more so that she'd been mentioned to Anne on several occasions. "I don't know," Jenny replied honestly, and Anne's face saddened.

"I just couldn't stay home, so I decided to come here. I hate the thought of Nate being alone. I'm glad you were with him," Anne stated, and Jenny managed to smile at her. Anne looked at Jenny thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, my son loves you. It's quite clear to everyone."

Jenny couldn't help but smile, completely thrown off guard. She sniffled a little, so sure that her eyeliner was just a smudged mess beneath her eyes. "Really?"

Anne smiled and offered Jenny a tissue, which she accepted gratefully. "Yes. Very much so. Actually," Anne paused and began to search through her purse. "I found this on his desk when I went to his apartment today. I wanted to bring him some items that he might need and I stumbled upon this. I felt the need to bring it, but I couldn't bring myself to read it..." Anne finally pulled out an envelope and held it out to Jenny. "It's addressed to you."

The letter.

"Thank you," Jenny murmured. She felt as if she'd been struck with a hammer. As soon as she touched it, she felt as if sparks were emitting from it; her hands were tingling with anticipation. This letter had been the catalyst, the cause and destruction of everything. She loved it, hated it, wanted to know what was in it and wanted to stay far away from it at the same time. So she simply tucked it into her coat pocket and thanked Anne once more. Anne's eyes were already distant, trained on the door of Nate's room, and Jenny took it as her signal to go.

She left town at sunrise.

Next chapter is the last chapter. Hope you will enjoy it! Thank you guys so much for each and every review. They all encourage me to keep going with this story. Even if you don't review, I appreciate your taking the time to read this.