Note - All I will say is — True love never runs smoothly! Oh, and don't hate me lol x
Henry was pacing like a caged animal. He had a knot of anxiety in his gut the size of Virginia and no matter how hard he tried to still his ever whirring mind, nothing was working. He knew what had to be said but knowing and doing were at opposite ends off the spectrum.
He had been over and over it but he knew damn well, once Elizabeth was standing in front of him, the words wouldn't come out the way he planned. She had a habit of making him nervous and just one look could send him crazy. In all his life, he had never met anyone who could bend him to their will the way Elizabeth could. Her voice, her body and her mind all worked in conjunction to render him completely susceptible to her feminine wiles.
His palms were sweaty and he couldn't seem to get the moisture to remain in his mouth. He loved the woman for god sake, so why on earth was he feeling this way. It was utterly ridiculous — He could make her fall apart with a mere touch and have her begging for more. That wasn't someone to be nervous of. Her smile always melted away his fears and her words could soothe him — He needed that so badly right now but he had to do this himself and it was all going to be just fine.
Elizabeth had been a little more open to the idea of them actually having some kind of relationship since their drunken tryst but she was adamant that it remain a complete secret. The flirtatious glances, stolen kisses and that one very steamy make out session in the shower block before dawn had been exciting, but it just wasn't what Henry wanted.
He loved Elizabeth more than he had ever loved anyone and she was his forever. He wanted to build a life with her, not just hook up when the mood took them. Sometimes he believed she wanted that too, and then other times she was as cold as ice and he felt used. As far as he was concerned, there was only one way to find out — And it would either get him everything he'd ever wanted or it would all be gone in a heartbeat.
His boots were leaving a trail of footprints in the dust where he continually walked back and forth. He had practiced exactly what he wanted to say over and over and he had it set out perfectly in his mind. He just had to hope he could get it all out before Elizabeth said anything.
He was just about to go over it one last time when he felt a tug at his elbow and he was dragged into the empty gym and pushed up against the wall. Elizabeth's eyes were the brightest cobalt, enhanced by the darkness of their surroundings and held a mischievous glint that always meant trouble.
He wanted to tell her to hold off but when her lips met his and her tongue pushed its way into his mouth, he had no rational thought left. It clearly wasn't an acceptable option — But if she did that each time she interrogated someone, there wouldn't be a person alive who would be able to resist — male or female — he was certain of it. The way she flicked her tongue and curled it around his was heavenly and whoever taught her to kiss like that deserved every accolade possible.
When he felt her hands catch hold of his belt buckle he had no choice but to push her backwards. "No no no — We can't do that — Not right now." He held her hands still and shook his head at her.
Her smile made her look utterly wicked "Oh yes yes yes — we can." She pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed soft kisses against his jaw, mumbling against his skin "I'm pretty keyed up Henry and I can be real quick — five maybe ten minutes tops if you work your magic."
It took every last ounce of willpower Henry had but he firmly held her at arm's length. 'We need to talk."
Elizabeth's perplexed expression almost made Henry falter, but he had to do this — and it had to be now as time was against him.
"Okay — What's wrong?" Elizabeth had gone from being confident and sexual to shy and confused within a matter of seconds and stepped back, folding her arms across her chest, almost protecting herself from what was coming
"Nothing's wrong — I just — I need — Oh god this is hard." Henry moved away from the wall and began pacing again.
"Henry, you're worrying me now. What's going on?"
He took a deep breath and looked at her "I'm crazy in love with you Elizabeth and I know the thought of that terrifies you but the thing is —" He smoothed his palms down his thighs and huffed out another breath "I don't want to live my life without you in it."
"You're not without me though Henry — I'm right here. You're not making any sense."
"Yeah — That's the thing —" Everything he'd gone through in his head was coming out in the wrong order and the more she looked at him with those damn baby blues, the worse it got "You're here but I won't be — I'm going home."
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open "What?—Why?"
"I was only here to offer ethical advice and help you question Amari and now that we have — My job's done. As you keep reminding me Elizabeth — I'm just a college professor."
Elizabeth began gesticulating while she tried to think "I'll talk to Conrad — You can't go now, we've just started making progress — We'll get this sorted out and you can stay — I need you to stay."
Henry moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I want to go home Elizabeth — And I want you to come with me."
He was ready. He had the words in his head and he was about to descend onto one knee when Elizabeth pulled away.
"You know my job is here Henry — I can't go back now. I thought you understood that." She dragged her fingers through her hair and shook her head "I'm really starting to make a difference and I'm not throwing that away for —"
"For me?" Henry put some distance between them "Wow — I guess I got it all so wrong didn't I."
"Oh Jesus Henry I didn't mean it like that. You know how important this job is to me."
"And I'm not important to you?"
"Of course you are. I don't want to lose you so please stay."
"I can't — I want a proper relationship with you — A proper life. I want to be able to kiss you, hold your hand, make love to you when and where I want —"
"We can do that here, I'll figure it out —"
"No we can't! You are so scared of letting yourself feel anything that you keep everyone at arm's length. I go to touch you and you won't let me unless you can be certain nobody's watching. I can't live like that — That's not real."
"What do you class as real? I don't know what you want from me Henry — "
Henry moved towards her once more and squeezed her hands "I want you to join me on that plane back to Virginia and marry me — That's what I want."
"Huh? Elizabeth swallowed thickly and stared blankly at Henry.
Henry smiled "I want you to marry me, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth let out a throaty chuckle "You're not serious? God you had me there for a minute. I thought you were actually going to propose — So not funny Henry."
Henry dropped to his knee, still holding onto her hands "I'm not kidding! You are my forever. This is it for me! Will you please marry me?"
Elizabeth froze. Her pupils were blown wide and her hands were trembling in his. The air around them suddenly felt icy and the silence was oppressive. The whole conversation had been so far from what she was expecting when she'd dragged him into the gym and now she just couldn't think straight.
She wanted to move or speak or something — But she was just completely numb. What the hell was he thinking? Why would it ever occur to him that proposing was a good idea. They were barely even in a relationship let alone at that stage.
"Elizabeth — Please say something." He was still on his knee, gripping her hands and it was starting to get a little awkward.
She managed to regain some sense of what was happening around her and pulled Henry back up "Get up you idiot! You're crazy, you know that?"
"Maybe! But love has a habit of doing that to you. I love you and I want to build a life with you — But we can't do that here."
"You can't be serious? We're not even remotely in that place right now and even if we were, you think that's the way to propose to someone? What the hell is going on in your head?"
"Oh I don't know Elizabeth! Maybe the fact that you nearly got yourself killed and it absolutely terrified me — I want to take care of you."
"I've been taking care of myself for a long time, I certainly don't need anyone to do it for me. This is what I'm trained for — It's my life."
Henry recoiled "So I'm guessing your answer is a resounding no then?"
Elizabeth looked at him and her eyes were glassy. She didn't show her emotions easily but right now, they were written all over her face
"I can't marry you Henry."
"So that's it — We're done, just like that?"
"I didn't say that! We can keep dating, do the long distance thing for a while at least. I won't be here forever. There has to be a way, and who knows what the future may bring."
"Elizabeth — I can't keep going through this. We're on then off then on again and it's killing me. I can't live with the worry that one day you'll just disappear again and I'll be left heartbroken."
"That's not fair Henry! You know why I had to leave and you said I made the right choice! You can't use that against me every time we have a disagreement."
"And you can't keep using your career as a shield to stop you from being happy. Quit being so fucking scared of what I feel for you and allow yourself to feel it too."
"I do feel it Henry."
"Tell me then —" Henry wrapped one arm around her waist and smoothed his thumb across her cheek "How do you feel about me?"
Her eyes flashed with a million different shades of blue as they traced every inch of his face for the answer. She looked so pained and confused, as if she were trying to solve the most impossible math equation.
"You mean so much to me and I don't want to lose you." She knew what she felt in her heart but she just couldn't bring herself to say it. "I need more time Henry — Please."
Henry choked down everything he was feeling and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with all the passion he could muster. His arm pulled her so close to his body he could feel the warmth radiating from her. It was a kiss that held every possible emotion and one that neither one of them wanted to break.
When they finally moved apart, Henry tangled his fingers through her hair, playing with it as he pulled it down over her shoulder. Letting the golden strands wrap around each digit. "You really are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Elizabeth Adams."
Elizabeth had to fight against the swell of emotion threatening to pour out "Henry —"
"It's okay my love. Wrong time, wrong place — We just weren't meant to be."
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his body and leaned her forehead against his chest "This can't be it — We were meant to find a way."
"We did Elizabeth — We found a way to say goodbye properly this time and I'm very grateful for that." He kissed the top of her head and breathed in her scent "I need to go and pack my stuff up." He ran his hands down her arms and moved away.
"You're not going yet are you? Tell me we have more time?"
Henry shook his head "I'm leaving at sun up which really is for the best I think. This is going to kill me as it is, the sooner I go, the sooner we both start moving on."
As he walked towards the exit, Elizabeth ran after him and kissed him deeply "God I'm gonna miss you Henry McCord."
"Well if you're ever back at UVA, look me up. I've always got time for you — Catch ya later chief. You keep changing the world - You hear me?"
As Henry walked out and left Elizabeth alone again she couldn't help but wonder — What the hell was life going to throw at her next! And more to the point — Would she actually survive it!