The silence between them was never as impalpable as it was then.
She knew one of them had to start;
"What's wrong?"
He looked up from his task of making sure her bandage was in place and she saw uncertainty in his eyes;
"Nothing, why?"
She tilted her head at his feeble attempt at a lie;
"Really, you're going to...", she paused for a moment, "...okay, if nothing's wrong then why do I get the feeling you're not happy to see me."
He dropped his head on his hand that was on her foot, "I can assure you that the amount of happiness I'm feeling cannot be described in words."
That wasn't a lie, she believed that;
"Then, what it is?", she asked softly while gently running her hand on his head;
"It's just...", he felt her hand on his face and couldn't stop himself from taking a breath in, "...you should have completed your therapy."
She gave him a transparent look, "Really? That's what got you so worried, that I'm bunking therapy?"
He gently put her foot down and got up, "Yeah, I mean, you clearly need more of it."
She shook her head, "Ethan, will you please stop trying to lie to me, it's more exhausting then the flight of stairs I had to climb and why did you rent on third floor?"
"It gives us clear view of the flat in the opposite building."
"Good to know. Now, will you tell me what's wrong?"
He lowered his head, finding it difficult to express himself and she stayed quiet, giving him time to gather his thoughts.
A whole minute passed before he looked up and saw her eyes and it struck him;
"You look beautiful."
She laughed at that, "Really? Well, you look handsome as well, more than I remember."
He again went quiet and she was getting tired, the stairs took a ton of her energy;
"Ethan, I'm going to go to sleep in a few minutes, so you might wanna tell me now."
He could see the tiredness in her eyes and it was his fault;
"I shouldn't have left you."
Because of the fatigue it took her a few seconds to understand and then her brain caught up;
"You can't be serious. Ethan, there was nothing you could have done."
"Actually I have not thought about anything else for months and there was a lot I could've done."
The way he said it, she knew he meant it;
"Come here.", she held her hand out which he took.
She took his arm and got up and sat him in the chair.
He closed his eyes as he sat down and opened them as he felt her sit on his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck;
"You need to listen to me carefully...", she said in a commanding voice, "...it was my decision and mine only, you would've done the same thing, so would've anyone from the team."
"Doesn't make it right."
"No, it doesn't, neither is it fair, but...", she ran her hand on the side of his face, "...this is what we do, Ethan. We make the difficult choices when no one can."
He thought he couldn't love anymore than he did ten seconds ago, but now he knew better.
"You know what kept me going?"
He shook his head and she pressed a small kiss on his forehead, "You."
All he did was look at her and the defeated expression still hadn't left his face;
"I knew for a fact that you would come back, no matter how long it took, you would come back."
"How would you know that?", his voice little, covered in doubt;
Her hands found rest on his neck and she touched her forehead to his;
"Because that's who you are, Ethan. That's what makes you the best man that I have ever known."
He did the only thing that would tell her how he felt, he gently pressed his lips to hers and wrapped his arms around to pull her closer to his chest till their heartbeats were in rhythm.
Something felt different to them both, maybe it was almost losing each other, maybe it was the distance from each other for months, but they found it difficult to let go.
After a few minutes, she pulled apart slowly and rested her forehead on his,
"That's the welcome I was waiting for."
His laugh vibrated between them and was joined by hers as well.
"Well then, welcome back."
He pulled back to see her smile mirroring his own;
"It's good to be back. And just for your knowledge I am not bunking therapy, they gave me early release on the condition that I stay of the field for at least another month."
He nodded in agreement, "I will make sure you do that."
"I know you will.", she replied with a smile.
The exhaustion was catching up fast so she rested her head on his shoulder, which warmed him up as he gently ran his hand on her back;
"If you keep doing that I'm going to fall asleep right here.", came her muffled voice from his shoulder,
He smiled as he continued his actions, "Go ahead, I won't judge."
"No...", she leaned back to look at him, "...but you won't let me live it down either."
He nodded his head vigorously causing a laugh to erupt out of her and a head popped in from the door;
"Is it safe to see?", Brandt said with a hand on his eyes,
The couple chuckled at their friend's behaviour;
"Yes, Brandt it is safe to see.", she replied without moving from his arms,
Brandt removed his hand and smiled, "Cool. Guys it's safe.", he told the men standing behind him.
Benji entered first while keeping his hands behind him which Ethan picked up in an instant;
"What's in your hand, Benji?"
Instead of answering him, he looked at Ilsa with a smile, "You were right, he's so clueless at times."
Her laugh echoed around him as he looked at her with a blank expression which made her laugh even more.
"Yep, the look on his face proves it.", Brandt added as well.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?"
Luther walked up to the couple and raised his hand in front of Ethan's face;
When he was met with another blank expression, she thought it was best to help her man out,
"The time, Ethan."
He looked at her and then the watch on Luther's hand;
"It's fifteen past twelve, what about it?"
"Okay...", Luther gave up, "...Ilsa, you already had my respect, now you have my sympathy too, this guy is impossible."
She chuckled at his impatience, "It's alright Luther, I got it, Benji?"
Benji brought his hand to the front to reveal a small cake;
She ran her hand on his face and whispered softly, "Happy Birthday, love."
This brings it to a full circle, thank you very very very much for reading.
I'm going to write a sequel to this cause I still have a few ideas in my head, maybe in a few days time.
Again, thank you very much for reading and for the sweetest, sweetest reviews for my first story ever.
The amount of acceptance and love you guys have shown for this story is amazing.
Thank you and I'll be back with a new story for you guys in a few days.
Still don't own a damn thing:)