Till we aren't strangers anymore

Chapter 2:

Rena's POV.

"You know Andrew still loves you don't you?"

Those words kept ringing in her ears; it was all she could think about. She knew Andy loved her, but she wasn't sure if they could meet in the middle and work out a way to resolve their marital issues and workaholic tendencies. She wasn't sure if love was enough anymore.

"He wants a family with you, Lorena; he yearns for one; why can't you, of all people, understand that?"

Michael knew how to get to her and make her question everything she thought she knew. Even hours after her interview with Michael, the man she used to call Uncle Mikey, she still found those words burning their way into her brain. Then Philip started, "You know, I might have been half out of it and focused on Rebecca, but that day just before Andy took me in for surgery, I saw how you reached out for his hand."

Looking at her, he smiled softly, "You know it took me forever to find my Rebecca, and now that I have her and the boys, I'm going to do anything I can to make sure I live a long life with them. Andy gave me a second chance at life; if you trusted him enough with my life that day to tell them to take me to Three Rivers, then why can't you trust him enough with your heart, Rena?"

It hurt to admit that she was just scared, and while she saw what he did that day, saving her partner's life, she knew he was a part of something that truly made a difference in people's lives. She wasn't lying when she said he was a rockstar; he deserved that status; how could she compete with someone of that caliber? "We both love our jobs too much, Phil, and our jobs are both demanding and need our complete focus; how can we make things work and remain focused on work?"

Raising his eyes as he shook his head in amusement, "When you love each other the way you two do, then you will find a way, even if you both need to meet in the middle and compromise, then that is what you do. Don't give up on love, and never settle for anything less than the feeling of being married to your best friend and the love of your life. Life is short, Rena, and none of us knows how much time we have on this earth; we must enjoy it".

Phil smiled at her softly as he continued, seeing he was finally starting to get through to her, "Just go talk to him, Rena." She couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat when she thought back to how good it had been to hold his hand again, and she knew she was letting go too quickly. "Okay, You have made your point; I'll go see him, "she replied as she conceded, grabbed her keys and jacket, and walked out of the police station.

Once she got to the hospital, she parked in the car park and headed inside, going to his office to see if he was there. Sighing when she walked up to it to see that the lights were off and he wasn't there. "Long time no see, Rena; you looking for Andy?" Pam's voice was soft as she walked past his office to do her rounds. Rena nodded softly, "Yeah, do you know where he is?"

Last she saw Andy, he had been up on the rooftop having a few beers, but she had left before him to do some paperwork, "I haven't seen him in a while; he could still be up on the roof having a few beers with David and Miranda." She nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Pam, we'll have to catch up sometime," she replied as she walked towards the lift that would take her to the top floor.

When she rounded the corner and opened the door to go out onto the roof, instead of seeing Andy or even David and Miranda up there, she saw Lisa Reed, the woman she knew was interested in her husband. She could sense it from the moment that she had brought Philip into the Three Rivers emergency room, and it broke her heart to see the two of them together when she caught Andy in the parking lot that evening with Lisa, about to go on a date.

As much as she hadn't seemed interested in reconciling with Andy before, she was still jealous of this woman whenever Rena saw her at the hospital; It was apparent Andy was a little curious as well but tried not to engage or say anything about her to him because she was the one to suggest the separation. Hence, it wasn't any of her business at all.

Rena was about to leave when she realized Andy wasn't there, but then Lisa must have spotted her out of the corner of her eye, "He's not here, and no, I don't know where he is." She didn't want to have this conversation right now with the woman dating her estranged husband, but it seemed that was where it was heading.

She turned to face Lisa and could tell the other woman had been crying; she had tear streaks down her cheeks, and her eyes were all red, puffy, and swollen. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," was all Rena could say to the woman. Lisa sighed softly and shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"Look, I don't know what your issues with Andy are, but I suggest you figure it out and work things out with each other; he is in love with you, and from the look on your face right now, you are still in love with him. I don't know what the hell I was thinking", she shook her head, "but I thought hell, maybe I could be the one to mend that broken heart of his, but tonight he told me that he couldn't continue anything with me because he is still in love with you and wants to work things out with you."

As much as Lisa's heart was breaking, she wouldn't make things any harder on herself by thinking she could still have a chance with him. Lisa loved him too much to see him hurting, so she wasn't about to say or do anything that would risk that happiness. She was angry with Andy but was also mad at herself for falling for a married man who was still very much in love with his wife while separated from her.

Continuing, she sniffled softly, "I wish that I was you, in that position of having a man like Andy love me so completely and unconditionally, and if you don't do something about it, someday someone, maybe not me, but someone will find a way to break down those walls he has built up since you locked him out."

Taking a sip from her coffee, she looked out onto the horizon and sighed softly. "Not everyone is lucky enough to find that kind of love, so whatever it is stopping you from staying with him, fix it and realize that some people would kill to be in your position. Please don't take it for granted, Rena, because he can't keep showing up and waiting for you to smell the roses while you keep him hanging on. One day when you finally realize, it will be too late, and he will have moved on".

Listening to Lisa made her tear up a little; it confirmed her suspicion that they were or had been dating; she never thought of it as cheating, though; she was the one who had wanted the separation if Andy had any say on it, they would never have separated, and so she couldn't blame him for trying it out and seeing how dating another woman who did give him the attention he deserved felt like.

There wasn't much that Rena could say; most women in that position would fight for the man they loved, not give up and try to be supportive of the fact that the man they loved wanted to be with someone else. "I know this wasn't easy for you, and I'm so sorry you got caught up in the middle and have gotten hurt; I know Andy wouldn't want to hurt anyone, and I can imagine he feels terrible he has hurt you."

Lisa closed her eyes and wiped away some fresh tears before opening them again and looking directly back at Rena, nodding, "Just don't let him go unless you are sure. Look into your future; in another ten, even twenty, thirty years from now, who do you see standing beside you? If it's Andy, tell him what he has wanted to hear for months".

As Lisa reached for her coffee and began to walk past Rena, she gave her a small smile and an encouraging pat on the arm, and she headed back inside having finished her break and needing to be back on duty in the ER, leaving Rena there on the rooftop to contemplate what she had just said.

Rena knew how difficult that must have been for Lisa, and she sighed softly, turning around and sitting on the little stoop, her back against the concrete wall. She thought about what Michael had said, what Philip had said, and what Lisa had said to her. It took that to show Rena that all this was because she was scared. The Detective had miscarried their first baby, and it gave her fears over losing another baby. The other reason was that she didn't want to raise a baby alone while Andy continued to spend all his time at the hospital.

It wasn't fair on him, though; she couldn't base her decisions on what if and who knows, maybe he would surprise her, he had always wanted to be a father, and Michael was right. Andy had wanted to be a Daddy for a long time because of his complicated childhood, and Rena knew it would mean the world to him if he became a father, but she didn't want to be the only one to have to compromise on her career to create a family.

She had seen it happen with her parents, her father was a firefighter, and her mother a nurse, and her mother had to give up her career to care for Rena while her father continued being a firefighter and fighting fires. She rarely got to see her father, and then, when she was ten years old, her father lost his life fighting a fire, and her mother went on to resent her husband for the rest of her life as well.

Life could be scary, but waking up every day in an empty bed, in the house they brought together was beginning to wear thin on her; she missed him, and whenever she thought about him or saw him, he still managed to take her breath away, and that was why she came to her senses, knowing she had to put more into her marriage and try her best to salvage it and find a way to earn his forgiveness for all she had put them both through.