A/N – This story is taking its toll on me. When I wrote Naomi's reunion with Cook, I couldn't stop crying. It took me a couple of days to gather my wits…

I am truly thankful for all of the reviews, follows and fav's of this story! You guys rock and make me keep going, tears and all!

Skins is not my invention..

Chapter 5.

Gina's POV

Seeing Cook again had brought back so much hurt and heartbreak. I was trying to be strong, trying to be the adult and the pillar of support they both so desperately needed. But it was impossible. Cook was practically my adopted son and seeing his heart break into pieces when he laid eyes on Naomi was enough to break my own heart all over again. I was relieved to see him and even though I was curious as to why he had been under the radar for so long, I didn't push the issue. I knew him and knew that had he known of Naomi's situation, he would have deserted rather than let anyone keep him away. So I had cried new tears, for him and his heartbreak and for my daughter's. I had none left for my own anymore.

I decided to give them some time to reconnect and luckily, that gave me time to repeat my mantra and gather my wits. I went to grab some tea and returned to Naomi's room after an hour or so. Emily, the researcher, was visiting again, which was odd given it was a Saturday. She seemed to be holding court and was explaining something to both Cook and Naomi and I stood in the doorway for a while, listening to her talk. Surprisingly, her explanation about the trial made a lot of sense, even to me, and I had given up all hope of understanding it days ago. I was worried about the whole thing, naturally. I wanted as much time with my daughter as I could possibly get. Whether or not this trial was going to give me more time, was unknown but I needed to at least be certain that it wasn't going to give me less time. Seeing her now, lying on her side watching Emily speak, I couldn't believe that I only had a few months left with her. She looked so happy, like she had this morning, less exhausted and her eyes were almost glowing.

I knew my daughter. Had this been a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have put two and two together, but I could now. Emily was beautiful and it didn't take more than half a brain to figure out that she had a good heart and quite a head on her shoulders. Seeing the way Naomi was watching her attentively, I knew where this was headed. And it wasn't headed to a good place. Unreciprocated infatuation and the heartbreak it would undoubtedly lead to were additional evils that would only add to Naomi's burdens. I needed to protect her from this but looking at Naomi beaming at Emily, I knew that it was already too late to talk some sense into her. But then again, perhaps Emily wasn't going to cause my daughter more heartbreak. After all, she hadn't been to visit until yesterday and now she was here again and on the weekend no less. She had left in a flustered hurry last night and I had seen the look Naomi was throwing her as she left. I needed to ask her about it and soon, so that I would know whether to put a stop to Emily's new found habit of private visits or not. For now, gaining a new friend, one who could ease the transition into the trial no less, was perhaps not such a bad idea, especially if she could explain things in layman's terms like she had just illustrated.

The room fell quiet as Emily finished up her lecture and stared into the eyes of my beautiful daughter. Their staring contest only confirmed my suspicion that Emily in fact had taken a personal interest in my daughter. I didn't want to impose but Cook noticed me standing in the doorway. He smiled, got up from the lounger and beckoned that I come in and take his seat. Always the gentleman these days. His army adventures had really, really done him good. I walked in, smiling and accepted his chair. He took a seat in Naomi's bed by her feet and swung his legs up.

She shifted to a sitting position, seemingly appalled. "Cook! You know I'm ecstatic to see you but I don't want your dirty boots in my bed, thanks", Naomi complained and tried to push his feet down. Her being weak and his boots being gigantic, she wasn't succeeding very well. Cook tipped his head back and laughed and I realized how much I had missed hearing his goofy, endearing laugh. Naomi gave up trying to push his feet away and giggled, "well could you at least take them off?"

"Trust me, Blondie, you don't want me to do that…" Cook winked at Naomi and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Have you heard of a shower?", Naomi asked in her teasing, sarcastic tone.

He paused and appeared to be in deep thought before answering, "heard of, yes, seen one lately, nope!" He beamed at my daughter and she grinned back, sticking her tongue out at him like a child. Come to think of it, Cook did look quite dirty and above all, exhausted. My motherly instincts took charge as I determinedly got to my feet.

"Right then", I exclaimed as I rose, "Cook, you are coming with me to Naomi's flat for a shower and a nap." I retrieved my jacket from the hanger and motioned for him to get up.

His goofy expression immediately turned serious as he shook his head, "no, I don't need sleep", he said and shot a desperate look Naomi's way, "I'll have time for that later." The mood changed in the room and I noticed Emily, who had been keeping quiet throughout their little banter-session, bite her lip and look away. Cook turned to me, his face lighting up suddenly, "I could kill for a cheeseburger though!"

"A shower and a cheeseburger it is", I nodded and smiled warmly, "Emily?" The young woman turned her head towards me, a surprised, questioning look on her face. "Would you like something too? Or are you leaving soon?" There was more than one reason why I wanted to know if she intended on staying. Firstly, I didn't want to leave Naomi here by herself, even for a few short hours and secondly, I needed to protect my daughter from the unnecessary harm caused by heartache. If Emily stayed, it hopefully meant that she wasn't only trying to be nice to her patient but that she had taken a liking to my daughter. Seeing the hopeful expression on Naomi's face at my asking Emily, I knew which of the two Naomi was gunning for.

Emily didn't hesitate before enthusiastically replying, "no onions!"

Naomi's POV

Cook followed Mum towards the door but stopped as he was about to pick up his duffle-bag. He turned abruptly and walked back to me, an odd look on his face. He hesitated before leaning over me and planting a hard, lingering kiss on my lips, taking me by surprise. "Fuck you", he whispered hoarsely and tried to smile. It came off as more of a grimace though, and the pain he was trying so badly to hide from me, shone through.

I reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, looking straight into his pain struck blue eyes, "fuck you right back", I whispered for the second time today. He rested his forehead against mine for a few seconds before pulling away, as if satisfied that I wouldn't leave him right this minute. He gave Emily a small smile before picking up his bag and following Mum out of the room. I stared at the door for a while, lost in thought and emotion. Seeing Cook had been emotionally exhausting but despite the tears and heartbreak, I was still happier than I had been in weeks. I'm not sure how much time had passed while I was staring into the empty space before the door and I didn't snap out of my haze until Emily suddenly rose from her chair. I shook my head once and pinched the bridge of my nose with two fingers, essentially collecting my thoughts. Letting go of the emotional turmoil unfortunately also made me aware of my increasing physical discomfort. The morphine pump was regulated after my pain pattern, resulting in a low dose during midday which was essentially why I was in pain at the moment.

I looked up and saw Emily remove her jacket and hanging it on the coatrack by the door. She stood for a while with her back to me, staring down at the floor with her shoulders slightly slumped. She was wearing a tight, purple and black top which accentuated her slim waistline, tight stomach and perfect shoulders. I was busy smiling to myself and admiring her perfect little backside when she turned around to face me. My smile however, disappeared at the look on Emily's face.

She bore a pained expression, full of shame and grief and perhaps a hint of anger. I regarded her curiously, not really understanding where this was coming from. I had been enjoying her company or rather; I had had a good, albeit exhausting day so far and she had been part of it. I watched her curiously as she started to pace back and forth in front of my bed.

"I am such a complete and utter idiot!" I was unsure of whether she was talking to me or simply herself. Regardless, I shook my head at her statement because in my eyes, Emily was most definitely not an idiot. She lifted her hands to her head, digging them into her dark hair, still pacing.

"How are you an idiot?", I asked cautiously.

She stopped pacing and walked to stand next to me. Up close, I was surprise to notice that she wasn't wearing any makeup. I tried to remember whether or not she was actually wearing makeup yesterday but all that sprung to mind was the memory of her soft touch and tender kiss and not whether or not her face sported mascara at the time. I let it go and turned my attention back to her.

"Because I broke the rules! Not only my own but the rules of fucking medicine!" She sighed deeply, closing her eyes to calm herself and gather strength. "I came to apologize to you for behaving unprofessionally last night. I have honestly never done anything like that before, least of all with a patient for fucks sake." Emily paused and locked eyes with me, needing me to see her honesty. "I don't know what came over me and I truly am sorry. It was completely inappropriate of me."

I was aware of the fact that she was talking about abruptly kissing me but the last thing I wanted to hear, was an apology for that. A kiss from a beautiful woman wasn't an everyday event for me at the moment and the beautiful woman definitely didn't need to apologize for making my heart race at the welcomed touch of her lips. Emily, however, was obviously feeling the need for some sort of confirmation that she hadn't made a fool of herself. I nodded and looked overly pensive. "Well, you did make a lasting first impression", I agreed but frowned as I continued, "but I'm not sure 79-year old Kenneth would survive it, so maybe you should tone it down a notch?" I smiled teasingly at her. "Might I suggest turning the kiss into a handshake? Or perhaps a friendly wave?" I waved my hand in front of her face to emulate said gesture.

Emily gawked at me for a moment before quickly picking up on my teasing tone, shooting me a sly smile and punching me lightly on the leg. The pained, shameful expression had disappeared from her gorgeous face as she relaxed and giggled lightly. The giggle transformed to a beautiful smile and my stomach once again fluttered but a sudden rush of pain put an end to that quickly. Attentive as ever, Emily noticed me grimace and took a step closer, eager to help.

"Is the pain bad today?" Her dazzling smile had been replaced by a concerned look and I cursed my disease a little extra.

I shook my head, "it's fine." But it really wasn't as another blast ripped through my abdomen. I gritted my teeth and my palms curled up into fists. The room started to spin and I felt soft, yet strong hands grab hold of my shoulders, easing me down onto my back. Emily waited patiently for me to regain focus before rearranging my pillows, making sure I was comfortable. I smiled in earnest thanks and was rewarded with another amazing smile before Emily gestured to the side of the bed, "do you mind?"

"Funny, I don't recall you bothering to ask me that last night…", I managed to say, teasingly, despite still being in pain. Emily looked horrified for a second before grinning back. "Too soon?"

She simply beamed at me before settling in at the foot of my bed, much like Cook had some time ago. She kicked off her shoes and bent a leg up under the other, resting her back against the railing of the bed. She let out a short, cynical laugh, shaking her head. "I'm usually quite shy around strangers, would you believe that? I was always the quiet twin, you know - had my head in the books while my sister had hers in the clouds."

"And now?" Emily wasn't following, so I elaborated, "does she still have her head in the clouds, your sister?", I asked, horrified at how slurred my speech suddenly was. The early afternoon morphine was starting to seep in and it was making me drowsy, but thankfully also painless.

"Oh no, Katie is all business these days. She runs a design company with her friend, Effy." Emily was absolutely adorable right now, sitting in my bed, by my feet, relaxed and talkative. "They do costume and set design for theaters, they are brilliant and we are all very proud..."

I was exhausted and didn't really have the energy to keep up any decent conversational skills but Emily did her best to entertain me. She talked about her family, which consisted of, aside from her twin, a younger brother who studied engineering here in London and her parents who still resided in Bristol where she grew up. She mentioned how James had turned up at her sister's at 8 a.m. this morning, drunk as a horse, simply to eat leftovers. While she was describing James, I noticed an overbearing smile on her face as she reminisced about his childhood obsession with the female anatomy. She told me about her sister's business and how much she admired this Effy-person for her ability to create beautiful things. Me, I silently thanked Emily's parents back in Bristol for creating the beautiful thing that was currently sitting in my bed, her arm carelessly draped across my legs as she continued to tell me her life's story.

I cut this chapter a little short because I realized I wouldn't have space in the 3000 words I try and keep each chapter to, to tell the full story of what happened Saturday… I desperately want to tell Naomily's epic story but I want to do it right, so please don't lose patience with me for slowing things down a bit in this chapter!

As always, keep sending those motivational reviews my way! They bring a smile to my face :)