Part Nine:

He was finishing up his phone call to Asa and Renee when they wheeled her into her room. He promised to call Matthew as soon as he could come and see Nora, but for them not to tell him the circumstances. He walked into her room, standing off to the side until they finished getting her settled.

Larry jotted down a few final notes in her chart and walked around to the side of the bed, “She might sleep straight through until morning, Bo. Maybe you should go home and get some rest.”

“No, Matthew’s sleeping and has no idea about what’s just happened. As far as he knows Nora and I went out to dinner as planned, and he spent the night at his grandparents like he was supposed to. Once she wakes up, I’ll go get him, but for now, I’m staying right here.”

“Fine, just promise me you’re going to get some rest.”

“I’ll rest here.”

Larry just shook his head and left them alone. Bo slid the chair closer to her bed and picked up her hand. He intertwined their hands together and rested them against his cheek. He watched her as she slept. He could see the bruises around her neck; he caressed the cuts around her wrist. He ran his fingers around her right wrist, his fingers brushing across the scar from when the wine glass cut her. He looked back up into her sleeping face. She was so peaceful; so calm. How much is one person supposed to endure before they’ve finally had enough?, he thought to himself.

Bo continued to watch her sleep, the rise and fall of her chest; the sound of her rhythmic breathing slowly lulling him to sleep. He laid his head down onto the bed, his other arm draped across her stomach. Larry came and went throughout the night, neither one of them stirred as he went about his business.

The early morning sun shone through the window casting shadows across the room. The rays of sunlight danced across her face, causing her eyes to slowly flutter open. She looked around the room, trying to remember what happened and why she was there. As she became more aware of her surroundings she felt the weight of his arm across her stomach. She looked down at him and smiled.

She brought her hand across her body, her other hand still being held in his, and laid it on top of his head. She began to run her fingers through his hair. He soon began to stir, finally lifting his head to look up at her. Matching smiles spread across their faces as they continue to take in the sight of one another.

He brings their still intertwined hands up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the top of her hand. He reached out and brushed the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She turned her face, resting her cheek against his palm. He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, “You know, Red, if you didn’t want to keep our dinner date you could’ve just called,” he teased.

She grimaced as she laughed, “You know me, Commish. I always go for the dramatic.”

His expression suddenly turned serious, “I can’t believe we almost lost you.”

She smiled, and placed her hand on his cheek, “But you didn’t. I’m still here.” She looked down at their hands and back up at Bo, “What…what exactly happened, I don’t remember anything after he pushed me to the ground.”

Bo paused for a moment, trying to keep his emotions in check before he recounted everything that happened. He knew she needed him to stay calm, in order to deal with what had happened, “It all happened so fast. He shot at me as he threw you to the ground. I fired back, hitting him in the chest. I started to walk towards him; I wanted to secure his gun. You started walking towards me and I looked away from him for a second, and that’s when he reached for his gun and…and shot you in the back.”

“Is he, you know?”

“Yeah. He um…he died just seconds after shooting you.” She looked over at the window. He felt her body begin to shake as the tears began to fall. He reached out and placed his finger under her chin, turning her face towards him, “What is it, Red?”

“It was all my fault, all of it, all those young girls …Gabrielle. They’re dead because of me. He attacked Flash, just to hurt me.”

He shook his head, reaching out to wipe the tears from her face, “This was not your fault. Shawn Hanson was a deeply disturbed man.”

“But if I had recognized him earlier, if I had been able to figure it out, you wouldn’t have lost Gabrielle.”

“Yes, maybe Gabrielle would still be alive, but I still would’ve lost her.”

She looked at him like he had lost his mind, “I…I don’t understand.”

“I would’ve lost her because I know now that things hadn’t been the same between us for a long time, from as far back as when we first found out about Matthew. I tried to make it work, and who knows maybe for a little while we could’ve made it work, but it wouldn’t have lasted.”

“Why would you think that?”

“One word...you.”

“Me?”

He smiled, “Yeah, you, Nora. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since just after Gabrielle died, and after the initial shock and sadness, I realized that yes I cared about her, yes I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her. I had to sit down and really do some soul searching, and when I did that I realized that I haven’t been in love for a long time.”

She looked away for a moment. Silence passed between them, both having so much to say to each other, neither knowing where to begin. A few more moments passed before she turned and looked at him, “Bo…”

“Yeah.”

“Remember the other night in your office, after you told me about Steph…I mean Shawn, and I broke down?”

“Of course I do.”

“What did you mean when you said that you’re the one that I should hate? That this all started because of you.”

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he looked deep into her eyes, “If I hadn’t walked away…”

Nora shook her head, cutting him off, “You walked away because I betrayed you. I broke your heart.”

“And I turned around and did the exact same thing to you, and hurt our son in the process. I walked out on you and on him without looking back.”

“You didn’t know he was yours, Bo; neither of us did. If I hadn’t given into my fears of losing you we would’ve found out I was already pregnant. You had every right to walk away.”

“I should’ve listened to you, but I couldn’t hear or see you through the pain. If we had been able to find a way past the pain, if we had found a way to be a family, the likes of a Troy McGiver would’ve never been a factor in your life. I broke your heart, Nora First by shutting you out and then secondly with my stubborn pride, as a result allowing Sam and then Troy into your life.”

She shook her head, “No, Bo, I let Sam and Troy into my life. I let them change me. You never tried to change me. Sam wanted me to be the woman I was all those years ago, and I thought I owed him that. I thought I owed Matthew that. I sacrificed my happiness because I felt I no longer deserved to be happy. Troy…Troy thought of me as a possession, something to showcase; something to show off. He wanted to have the wife and still have the lover on the side.” She laid her head back against the pillow, “I think I let myself believe that I loved Sam and Troy because I thought it was all I should be allowed to have. I had so carelessly and thoughtlessly thrown away the greatest love I had ever known.”

“We both threw it away, Nora. I lost faith in what we had, I shut you out. You thought I stopped loving you, that the love we shared, baby or no baby, wasn’t enough for me anymore. But you see I did still love you. I loved you then,” he takes both of her hands in his, “and I love you now. Is the love I feel for you now different that the love I felt for you then? Sure it is,” She opened her mouth to say something, but he placed his finger on her lips; silencing her, “Let me finish, okay?” She nods, “Yes, it’s different now, its deeper, it’s stronger than it was before. We lost it all once, we know what that feels like, and knowing what we know now, makes this all more powerful and intense. I love you, Nora. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

She smiles, a few tears falling onto her cheeks, “But I do know, Bo. I’ve felt what it is to love you and to be loved by you. I’ve seen it in your eyes before and felt it in you touch. And right now, looking at you I can see it again, I can feel it in your touch, and it’s something I’ve long to feel again. This journey may have begun with a broken heart, but it’s led us down this path for a reason. We’ve come full circle, Bo. We’ve experienced love, lost it, and found it again. We know how precious and how fragile love is and we know how it feels to have your heart broken. So you see, Bo, the journey that began with two broken hearts, has finally taught us how to love again.

He stood up and sat down on the bed. She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek; he did the same. They looked deep into each other’s eyes, finally finding what they had been looking for after all these years apart; their hearts.

THE END!!!!!