A/N: I tried to capture the awkwardness of the situation in my writing. Please let me know if you think I did.

Meeting

At eight o'clock sharp that evening Hathaway arrived at the fancy looking restaurant where he'd meet the Norton's for dinner. It wasn't the kind of restaurant Hathaway would normally go to: too fancy and too expensive. Elenora would also not have chosen this one, at least not when he knew her. Sure, she could afford it but she had never felt the need to show it. Maybe she had changed. His sudden awareness of this very real possibility made him shake his head. After he'd seen her, he was just stuck in the past, without even considering that she could have changed during the decade they'd been apart. He was being an idiot again. Of course she would have changed, whether or not because of the amnesia. It was the extent of change he didn't know about.

For some reason though, he was convinced her husband Aaron had picked this place: he would fit right in here. There was just something about that man. Hathaway looked at his reflexion in the glass doors, put his tie straight, closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he walked in. This was it.

Someone took his coat; someone else led him to the table where Elenora and Aaron were already seated.

"There he is" Aaron said as he rose to his feet. He waited for Hathaway to reach the table before putting his hand out.

"Hello, James."

"Hello, Aaron" Hathaway replied while they shook hands. He then turned towards Elenora who had also got up.

"James."

"Elenora."

All afternoon he'd thought about the best way to greet her but all of those contemplations became useless now that she was actually in front of him. So he greeted her like he'd always done: two kisses, one on each cheek. They still were warm and silky smooth upon touch, as he remembered. She even smelled the same. It was a light, airy scent that resembled spring; it seemed like she had mixed some cherry blossom and flowers in bloom with a fresh breeze and rain showers. It was the height of winter but she carried a ray of sunshine with her. She always had. It was only when they sat down that he noticed she was just as ill at ease as he was.

She didn't know what to say, where to start. On top of that, his greeting had stirred her unwilling memory back to life. Fragments of previous greetings came back to her but they lacked context. They were gone before she could get a hold of them.

"So, how was your day?" Aaron asked cheerfully. It was meant to break the ice or more precisely the tension, building in the staring gaze between Hathaway and Elenora.

It worked. Hathaway gave him a quizzical look.

"My wife just asked me and now I'm asking you."

Although Hathaway failed to understand the logic of that reasoning, he answered the question:

"It was fine, slow."

"Anything new concerning Donna?"

Hathaway was about to say he couldn't discuss an ongoing case when Elenora awoke from her daydream.

"He can't talk to us about that, Aaron. Besides, I don't want to. It's hard enough to deal with as it is."

Both men looked at Elenora with care but only one of them was allowed to actually comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Nora." Aaron put his hand over hers. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I just hoped the case was solved."

She smiled. "It's okay."

Hathaway felt the need to say something, just to make her feel somewhat better. Because it was clearly not okay.

"I'll let you know when we do."

"Thank you" Elenora nodded.

A waiter came to take their order. Hathaway's thoughts went back to the subject of change. Her appearance hadn't changed: Elenora was as beautiful as ever, no question about it. But when Aaron ordered for both himself and his wife, Hathaway wondered if her personality had changed. Elenora used to order herself: she'd never let him or anyone else order for her when he knew her. Had she lost that independence? How? Was it because of the amnesia? Because she was married? Because she was married to him?

"Sir?"

Hathaway snapped out of his thoughts and ordered. He noticed Aaron's questioning glance but wasn't going to express his concerns just yet.

"I'm curious, James" Aaron started after the waiter had left. "Do you have a girlfriend, wife, kids?"

Hathaway snorted and smiled. It was a silly question. He was pretty sure Aaron knew the answer or could at least make an educated guess. Then what did he want with it?

"None of the above, I'm afraid. I haven't found the right woman yet."

He had. But he needed to let her go, then and now.

"I have, right Nora?" Aaron asked his wife sweetly. She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

So that was Aaron's endgame: boosting his ego at the expense of Hathaway's. He should have known; he even got protective when Hathaway just looked at her too long. It was time Elenora said something.

"Where did you meet?" Hathaway asked, turning towards Elenora.

"At the hospital, when I was recovering from the accident."

Hathaway wanted to ask what had happened but Aaron jumped in before he could open his mouth.

"That's not completely true: we met in the same place you did" Aaron said, indicating Elenora and Hathaway. "University."

Elenora watched Hathaway's reaction closely. He blinked. Was that surprise showing on his face? Aaron continued.

"I read Architecture at Cambridge. One day I just bumped into her, literally, in a pub somewhere in the city. I was too stunned to make my excuses properly at that time and too nervous later on. That's why I never actually talked to her, let alone asked her out. My friends tried to help by feeding me with information about her and taking me to where she would be but I just froze every time I saw her. It was like I knew I had to do it right" he met Elenora's eyes, "because I wouldn't get a second chance. Then, just a few months after graduation, I heard she'd been in an accident here in Oxford. I thought she could do with a friendly face and visited her in the hospital. The rest is history." He put his hand over hers again, stroking its back with his thumb.

Elenora glanced at Hathaway: his surprise had grown during Aaron's story of their origin. He seemed to be skeptical about it and that worried her.

Elenora was right: Hathaway was surprised, unpleasantly surprised that was. He had some serious doubts concerning Aaron's story, because it was nothing more than that, his story. Elenora could only account for the time they had spent together after the accident. But that wasn't his only concern. First, he'd never known or seen Aaron before, although he had spent enough time with Elenora outside university grounds. Second, she didn't go out that much and the pub was not a place she liked to be. However, his biggest concern was that he couldn't image a man like Aaron being lost for words, nervous or chicken in front of a woman, any woman, including Elenora. That's why he was seriously considering asking Aaron where he had bumped into her but he realized he couldn't do that to Elenora. Although he was quite sure Aaron was lying to him and possibly to her, she might not know. He would need proof to convince her, he always had.

"That's not your average love story" Hathaway said with a smile. "Funny we haven't met before, then" he added, looking at Aaron.

Aaron smiled back at him. "I think I saw you around. Even thought you were her boyfriend for a while."

Aaron got what he wanted: Elenora turned her gaze to Hathaway, whose ego he'd purposefully flattered with his remark. They shared a look, questioning what could have been.

First course arrived. They ate, filling the silence in between the sounds of dinner with small talk, the mood somewhat lightened by the food.

"Am I right in thinking you have a major in Theology, James, like Nora?" Aaron asked when the waiter cleared the table.

Hathaway noticed Aaron's repetitive use of the nickname Nora to indicate his wife. He also noticed it began to annoy her: where she'd been pleasantly surprised the first time, she was now slightly scowling whenever he used it. Hathaway thus reached the conclusion he normally didn't do that. Trying to hard?

"Yeah, I do."

"What happened?" Elenora asked sincerely.

Hathaway looked at her. "After graduation I went into a seminary to become a priest. As it turned out, it wasn't what I wanted."

What did you want? But the words on her lips didn't get said. Instead she opted for:

"So you became a policeman?"

She didn't mock him; it wasn't even a proper question. It was a statement like only she could make one, with the sole purpose of getting you to talk. She hadn't changed.

"After much deliberation, yes. I thought about doing research instead of practicing theology but I'd lost my faith along the way. I..."

He was ready to tell her about Will, about the mistake he'd made and its consequences for his friend. Until he remembered the words of her mother.

What she needs to know.

She didn't need to know, did she? For a moment, he considered ignoring those words, but seeing Aaron's smug expression he decided to keep the information to himself. As much as he wanted to tell her, because she would understand, he certainly didn't want to tell him. So he finished his sentence in another way.

"... I'm happy being a policeman."

Hathaway read like a book. Elenora wondered why he was holding something back but one quick glance at Aaron resolved that. There couldn't have been a bigger difference between the two men with whom she was currently having dinner. Aaron was inscrutable for her: she could see he was a bit annoyed right now but the reason for it got stuck in the mist in her head. There was something about him tonight but she couldn't discern exactly what it was. So she redirected her attention to Hathaway.

"If you think about it, you're actually doing research. It's just the object that has changed."

He praised her impeccable sensibility in silence and met her smile with his own. Aaron scowled.

After second course Elenora excused herself and went to the ladies' room. She felt sick but it wasn't the food that bothered her. Aaron had been talking during most of the course, with only the odd question from Hathaway to stop him. She knew he liked to talk about his successes but he patronized her in the process. He'd told Hathaway she didn't have a job because he was afraid it would damage her emotional health. Due to the amnesia, of course. All of a sudden she had realized that her amnesia was his excuse to patronize her and it scared her. She'd been led to believe it was for the best she didn't work, just as she had been led to believe that she couldn't and shouldn't try to remember her past. But ever since she'd seen Hathaway, she questioned those believes. Had she been deceived?

"Are you alright?" Aaron asked worried when she returned to the table. "You look a little pale."

Hathaway sought her eyes but she kept them trained on the wall behind Aaron.

"I'm fine; the scent in the ladies' room was a bit too heavy for me, that's all." She smiled and sat down.

Aaron seemed to accept this obvious lie because he continued the conversation without hesitation. Or maybe not...

"Nora, James just asked me about the accident. I think you should tell him about it."

"Only if you're up to it" Hathaway added quickly. He'd deliberately asked Aaron about the accident to save Elenora from revisiting that moment but evidently Aaron had other plans.

Elenora met his eyes and he recognized her confusion. Apparently she had also expected Aaron to do the talking concerning the accident. Why would he want to make his wife revisit the one moment of her life she would have liked to forget? As if she'd read the question in his eyes, she stated:

"It's part of the healing process to talk about it."

It was an explanation but it didn't satisfy either of them.

She sighed. "It was mid-October, ten years ago. I'd been to a lecture here in Oxford, for my research. I don't remember what it was about, but then again, I don't remember any of this. This is all hearsay, if you prefer that term. Anyway, it was dark when I left the college. I crossed the road and the car came out of nowhere, speeding towards me. I tried to jump back onto the pavement but I failed, the car hit me and that caused me to fall and hit my head on that same pavement. I was in a coma for two weeks and when I woke up I didn't remember any of it. I didn't even recognize my own parents. That changed soon but everything else didn't come back to me. I was angry: I wanted to get my memory back at all costs. The struggle was destroying me and it was fruitless. I had to let go."

She looked at Aaron, loving. He smiled back at her. Hathaway linked that look with her last sentence and concluded Aaron probably had much to do with her letting go. He didn't know what to make of that yet.

"She doesn't remember university at all so you'll have to fill her in on that" Aaron said, turning his head towards Hathaway.

He nodded. "What do you want to know?" he said, addressing Elenora again.

"Tell me what I was like, please."

"I think you were probably the brightest student they'd ever had. You didn't need to be taught to think or reason: you were eloquent enough to take on the establishment. Got straight A's. But you never dismissed anyone: everyone who made a good argument about anything got your attention. You were independent but not superior. You were quite frankly just a loveable, friendly, calm person with a good head on her shoulders, metaphorically speaking as well as literally. You left an impression wherever you went. Some of our fellow students called you The Beautiful, Brilliant Babe."

She laughed out loud for the first time that evening. It sent shivers down Hathaway's spine.

"No way. That's not me." It was so different from who she was now. Still, it didn't seem completely unlikely.

He smiled at her denial. Even if she had remembered, she would still have denied it because that was who she was. There was more left of her than she seemed to think.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you" Aaron said smiling. "So, you've changed. That is to be expected, people change."

For some reason Aaron's casual remark made her feel weird. She looked at Hathaway who also seemed to have his own opinion of it. She decided to ignore Aaron and redirected her attention once again to Hathaway.

Dessert was served. While they enjoyed it, Elenora kept asking Hathaway questions about their time at university. Although he answered them truthfully, his answers were less extravert than the first one, due to the words of her mother that kept ringing in his head. Aaron tried to take part in the conversation but ended up mostly listening and nodding in agreement, which was not what he had in mind. But it was a necessary evil. When the waiter came to clear their table though, he silently asked for the bill, leaving no room for drinks. He was done.

When they stepped out of the restaurant, it rained. Aaron put up the umbrella he'd brought with him. He felt confident enough that he'd won Hathaway over, or actually his wife had, to leave her alone with him for a moment. So he handed her the umbrella and said:

"I'll go get the car, Nora. You just wait here."

He turned towards Hathaway. "It's been a pleasure meeting you."

"You too" Hathaway replied as they shook on it. Aaron then ran off to get the car, leaving Hathaway and Elenora standing side by side on the pavement.

"Here, let me" Hathaway offered and took the umbrella from Elenora. He put it over both their heads properly and shivered. There was so little time and so many things to be said. Their silence was charged with them.

"Your mother came to see me today."

He didn't know why he'd said that. Maybe because he couldn't make sense of it himself. She would, if she could get past the superficial change she had suffered. For he was convinced that was not her doing.

She froze, he could feel it. But she didn't turn to look at him.

"What did she have to say?"

"She said to tell you what you needed to know." He put an emphasis on needed, just like her mother had, hoping she could make sense of it.

She clenched her jaw; he could see it out of the corner of his eye. He didn't look at her directly, though.

Aware of how little time she had left before Aaron returned with the car, she processed Hathaway's words as quick as she could. Her analysis led to one question only, concerning both men.

"Have you been lying to me tonight?"

The question shocked Hathaway but it was also characteristic of the Elenora he'd known. She was still there.

"No, I haven't" he answered, sounding definite.

"Has he?" Elenora asked with a small inclination of her head in the direction Aaron had gone in.

"I think so, yes."

It sounded just as definite.

Realizing this must hurt her, he turned to apologize, to undo the damage. But Aaron arrived with the car and she had a smile plastered on her face and put her hand out. The ray of sunshine had returned.

"Thank you."

Amazed as he was by this sudden change, he didn't return her thanks. He kissed her goodbye like he'd greeted her and opened the car door. She got in and he put the now folded umbrella next to her.

"Bye" Aaron said, waving his hand at Hathaway. Elenora looked up one last time before she shut the car door and Aaron put it in gear.

Hathaway stared after it until he could no longer see the lights. He raised the collar of his coat and walked home in the pouring rain.

"I had a good time tonight" Aaron stated when he joined his wife in the matrimonial bed.

"Me too" she said. It was a lie.

Aaron killed the lights and snuggled up to his wife.

"Did you get an answer to all you questions?"

Elenora felt sick. Not only did she just lie to her husband, she also had the strong feeling he'd been lying to her for more than just this one night. Letting him touch her felt like she betrayed herself.

"Yeah, I did. I'm okay with it now."

Another lie, because it was not okay. She was not okay, but she knew she had to wait until tomorrow for relief, something Aaron would get much sooner than that.