~2 weeks later~

I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof of the room I was in and the low sound of murmuring at the window. It was as if someone was whispering sweetly in the air. The drops were a musical chime. The sound was peaceful. I could smell wet wood in the air and the smell was heartwarming.

It was late in the morning. Having accustomed to waking up early in the morning to jog, I could tell when I had slept longer. Clearly there was not going to be any jogging done that day. I wasn't worried. It had taken me a while to get back into my jogging routine after the incident and though I tried to be fit for soccer, I wasn't uptight about my solo jogging. I would eventually get into the rhythm of things.

I raised my hand out of the duvet slowly and it protested as the coldness around engulfed it. Winter was knocking on our doors. It didn't help that I was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but trees.

I wasn't complaining. I loved being there. It was serene and just beautiful. Sometimes it got so quiet that the only sounds were the chirping of birds. If you listened carefully you could hear the sound of rushing water from a nearby stream. That stream was no doubt being pelted with cold raindrops at that time.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand; finally deciding to open my eyes when I realized what I touched wasn't my phone. It was another phone, which looked eerily similar to mine. Two phones were lying next to each other on the nightstand. I pressed mine and the time was displayed in bold as the screen came to life.

10.03 am.

I yawned and stretched my arms before turning my body away from the nightstand. I snuck and arm around the waist of the person lying next to me on the large bed. I heard soft grunting. I lay like that for a while, deciding to get out of bed eventually. Obviously my bedmate wasn't waking up anytime soon.

I sat up and kissed the man on the cheek, removing a few black hairs for better access. The eyelashes fluttered, but the eyes did not open. It was a good thing, I had something in mind. I finally got out of bed, put on my dog-shaped fluffy sleepers and walked to the drawer. I pulled out a large grey sweater and put it on. It was too big for me, but I loved the instant comfort it brought me. It smelled like sandalwood too, which I found alluring.

I made my way to the kitchen and set on the task of making breakfast. I had brought a lot of flour and eggs with me. My boyfriend had a taste for pancakes and apparently I made the best pancakes in town. I didn't think I was a chef by any means, but I intended to make him happy, in every possible way.

It had been two weeks since Felix was stabbed in the heart. He'd taken a knife to the heart for me and nearly died doing so. I had always thought the idea of near-death experiences changing people was ridiculous, but I wasn't so sure anymore. I knew the incident changed me. It was a subtle change, but it was significant. It scared me enough for me to admit my feelings to Felix and not think about Ricky.

Some would say it wasn't a big deal, but if I hadn't I would have lived most of my life wondering what would have happened if Felix had felt the same way. I didn't have to wonder anymore. I knew.

Felix spent a week and a half in hospital. I visited every day. I became sort of a celebrity at the hospital, which was funny to say the least. The nurses thought I was brave to stick my finger in Felix's chest not knowing much about human anatomy. They thought it was sweet, and even more when they found out Felix had taken the stabbing in my place. I felt like I had just been thrown onto the set of a medical/crime drama. I was glad it was all over now.

I spent the other half of the second week at home with mom. I explained some of the details. I didn't tell her the true nature of my relationship with Felix. I hoped to tell her some other day when things had settled down. She was so shaken by everything that happened; she was reluctant to let me leave. She even suggested me moving back and transferring to a nearby college the next year and I told her I would think about it. I didn't want to leave California. Sure some bad things happened there, but bad things happened everywhere.

Since it was Thanksgiving weekend, my aunts and cousins were there. Stella and Clark were also back home so I hung with them to avoid the incessant questions from my family about being kidnapped for the second time in 3 months.

I had told Stella and Clark about Felix in the week I'd spent visiting him at the hospital, so they didn't harass me with questions. I diluted the story at many parts I wondered if I would remember it months later. From what I said, they both knew I met Felix during summer back home. We reconnected that night I disappeared for the weekend after I found out he was in California. The rest of the story was the truth, leaving out why the Vasiliev brothers had picked Felix to do the job. They had many questions about us since I'd never really mentioned him. I answered some of them. I even took them to formally meet him after I told them we were together. I loved the idiot but I was nervous when the time came because he really could be creepy at times.

~~

"How old did you say he was?" Stella asked as we made our way through the hospital corridor.

I could see Felix's room from where we were. The blinds were open because he liked looking at people hurry up and down. He was as expected bored being bedridden. He said he would rather shoot at beer cans. I was actually glad he couldn't. I had been reading up on puncture wounds to the heart. Anything that raised his blood pressure could rip his heart open again.

"28", I said.

"What do you say to a 28 year old?" she said thoughtfully.

"Did the blabber just ask that?" Clark chirped in.

He didn't see it coming. He should have expected it by then, but like I was to Felix, Stella was his kryptonite. She dulled his senses, but he sure felt something the moment she stepped on his toes.

"Ow", he yelped in pain.

Stella twisted her foot, removed it, flipped her hair and walked away. Even though Clark was wearing closed shoes, I didn't doubt Stella's sneakers had inflicted some pain. He stayed behind to massage his foot.

I caught up to Stella. "Seriously, you need to stop your 2nd grade behavior".

"He deserved it", she said.

"I say you blab all the time, you are...less aggressive", I said.

"Yeah well you don't give your phone to some slut to call me and ask what time we are supposed to be here", she growled.

"Ah, I see. So...Clark got someone to call you?"

"Oh look, he's smiling!" Stella screeched. "That's him, right?"

We were right in front of Felix's room, something I hadn't noticed while trying to fix whatever it was that my friends were literally stepping on each other's toes about. Felix was looking out of the room. He had spotted us and was smiling.

"Yeah, that's him", I said smiling. Butterflies, moths, bees...something took flight in my stomach.

We walked to the door, and I made sure Clark saw us enter. Felix was lying on the bed in his light green hospital gown. He didn't need additional oxygen anymore, which was great. His hair was messy and seemed longer than before – and by that I meant the day before. Messy hair, rough facial hair, he looked gorgeous.

We went over to the bed and Stella stayed by his feet while I went to the head of the bed.

He grinned. "Hey pancakes".

Stella chuckled quietly and looked away when I looked at her.

"Hey", I said and bent to give him a peck on the lips.

"You must be Stella", Felix said beaming at Stella.

She walked over to my side. "Hi"

"Hi. It's nice to meet you", Felix said.

"It's nice to meet you too. Pancakes hasn't told me much about you", she said and chuckled at my cute nickname.

Felix looked at me in mock disapproval. "I am disappointed in you".

I rolled my eyes.

"I must say, I like your nickname-giving prowess", Stella said trying hard not to burst out laughing. "Pancakes suits Archer well".

I glared at her.

"So is it his fluffiness that inspired it?" she asked Felix.

"His deliciousness", he replied curtly.

Somewhere inside of me something died immediately. My whole face turned red in embarrassment. I placed my head in my hands, unable to look at Stella's reaction. I knew Felix was weird and a tease but how could he say that with a straight face?! Did he have any idea what he'd just said? How was I going to face Stella again?

I heard chuckling. "I'm just kidding", Felix said prying my hand from my face, lacing it with his and bringing me closer to him, as if we could really be any closer without me jumping into the bed with him. "I like teasing him. I gave him the nickname because he makes great pancakes", he said.

"That's really cute. And he does make great pancakes", Stella said.

Phew. Okay, maybe bringing the guys to meet Felix wasn't a train-smash.

I spotted Clark outside talking to a young nurse. Stella did too because she rolled her eyes in annoyance motivated by jealousy. Clark walked in. I had begun wondering if he was okay, but he seemed to be in a good mood.

"You must be Clark!" Felix said.

Clark nodded walking closer.

"I'm Felix", Felix said.

"I know, Archer told us about you", Clark said.

Felix looked between Stella and Clark. "Do you guys ever agree on anything?"

Stella and Clark both raised a brow. I had told Felix a bit about my friends, particularly their bickering, but he'd asked as if he knew first-hand about them.

"I'm just...never mind. It's great to meet you guys", Felix said.

"It's great to meet you too", Clark said.

"Archer told me a bit about you. What he didn't tell me is that you are a couple", Felix said and gave me a look of disapproval.

I gave him a look of horror in return. What medication was he on? Talk about my friends being together always drew knives and that day was no different.

"You think I'm with him?" Stella said and looked at Clark. "Oh hell no!"

"I second that! She's Cinderella's evil stepsister", Clark said.

Stella looked at him like she was pulverizing him with her eyes. "You make Voldermort look like a saint, and he's better looking".

Okay, I had celebrated way too soon.

"At least I'm not petty", Clark said.

"Go fucking screw your Cinderella slut and leave me alone", Stella said.

"What the fuck? I haven't done anything to you! You are the one who stepped on my foot!"

"You deserved it!"

"For saying what a blabbermouth you are?"

"For being a dick!"

"It's funny you know what a dick is considering that you haven't seen it in decades".

I looked at Felix in a look that said, "Say something". He shrugged. He seemed to be enjoying the scene. On some days I would have enjoyed it too, but I'd hoped to avoid it in Felix's presence. Even though Felix was stable, we could get thrown out. The last thing I wanted was to be banned from the hospital because of two idiots who couldn't see that they were madly in love with each other.

Screw them! Couldn't they get to a slap-slap-kiss already? You know... the kiss that happens mid-argument after a couple of slaps (non-physical I hoped). I was getting tired of their stagnant romance arc and their belligerent sexual tension. If they could fast-forward their Han Solo – Princess Leia terrible mimicry, that would be great. It was like admitting that they liked each other would set in motion a death curse.

I had been there, it didn't! Now that I think about it, death had some role in my confession.

"Shut the fuck up you two! I have had it with you. For today can you just get along and not mess up my visit? If you guys don't want to be here, that's fine. I do. I am not getting kicked out because you're bloody stubborn to admit you love each other and would rather spew hurtful words in a ridiculous argument!" I reprimanded.

Silence. You could hear a pin drop.

"...And for the record Clark, you just fucked up real bad", I concluded.

"Um..." Felix said and my eyes shot at him. He cowered a bit and raised his arms. "Don't shoot me. I merely made an observation. It was wrong, I'm only human". Behind that fake fear, there was chuckling.

The devil had made that "observation" on purpose! He knew the trigger.

"Are you guys going home for Thanksgiving?" Felix asked. I thanked him for that question silently. It rescued the situation which had boiled over but was refusing to die down.

"Yeah. I wish I wasn't, but yeah", Stella replied.

"Your sister?"

I was certain I had not told Felix about Georgina, but Stella thought I had, which was a relief for me. I liked it when Felix creeped me out, but I didn't want him scaring my friends.

"Yeah. She is the daughter of the devil", Stella replied.

"That makes your dad the devil", I said.

"Does he make annoying statements like this with you?" Stella asked Felix, nodding towards me.

Felix chuckled and looked at me. There was a soft glint in his eyes. "I think I annoy him more". He was looking at me the whole time he said those words.

"In that case you sound like a match made in heaven", Stella said.

Felix just smiled, and I was glad he didn't point out that he didn't believe heaven existed.

"What about you Clark? Are you going home?" he asked.

"Yeah. My mom would disown me if I didn't, and hours later fly here to drag me home", he said.

"Kind of like your mom Pancakes?" Felix said giving me a knowing look.

I smiled shyly. Felix knew my mom was overprotective. We'd talked about her when I'd let him know she called me three to four times a day after the incident. We'd decided not to let her know about us yet and it wasn't just because of the incident and his age. Mom and Felix's paths had crossed in the past. It was still hard for him to come to terms with everything and having my mom in the picture wasn't going to help.

"Moms and their boys", Stella said. "So what about you? Archer says you'll be discharged. Are you going somewhere?"

"No. I'll be here", Felix replied.

"At least your family isn't dragging you places you don't want to be", Stella said.

"Actually, I don't really have family. I have uncles, but we are not in touch", Felix said casually. He didn't seem bothered and I was glad. I did want him to have family, but at the same time there was no point if your so-called family didn't care about you.

Stella and Clark didn't stay for long after that. They both talked, which gave me some relief. They seemed at ease with Felix. I was glad when they left though. It gave me a little time alone with Felix before I had to go back and study for a test. Juggling hospital visitation hours and college wasn't easy, but I managed.

I dragged one of the chairs in the room so I could sit close to Felix. He would have rather had me on the bed with him but I wasn't taking that chance. He'd had heart surgery. It wasn't a minor thing.

"I know we've talked about this, but I really would feel better if you went home with me for Thanksgiving", I said massaging his hand. By 'home', I meant his house in my town. At least he'd be a couple of minutes away and not hours.

"I'll be fine. And my doctors are closer here", he said.

"You'll be alone", I said.

"I'll be alone there too", he said.

"You'll be minutes away from me and I'll check up on you every day", I said.

"Pancakes, I'll be fine", he said.

"Fine. But can you stay in town before I come back? I'll feel much better if you are around here than the cabin. If you do I'll make you pancakes first thing the morning after I get back", I said and added a bribe for good measure.

He grinned. "That's quite a temptation. Okay, I'll stay around here if it makes you feel better".

"It was the pancakes that clinched the deal, wasn't it?" I said.

He closed his eyes. "It wasn't".

"It so was".

He opened his eyes. "Well, they are delicious, and the person who makes them even more", he said.

I blushed scarlet. "You are so crude".

"What? I can't say you are delicious?" he challenged.

"No! That's...that's..." I stuttered. I was furiously blushing I was probably incomparable to a tomato.

"Okay. Pancakes is delicious", he said.

I glared at him. Pretending to not like what he said wasn't helping diffuse the blood that was rushing through the dilated vessels in my face.

"The food, not you", he clarified.

I scoffed. "Pancakes is delicious is not grammatically correct".

He shrugged. "I've never been good in English".

I pursed my lips. "I'm going to leave you with your bad English. I have a test to study for".

I stood up and leaned in for a kiss. It was longer this time because we didn't have company. It didn't matter that the blinds were open. It was subtle public display of affection and hell I'd kiss him in front of the whole world if that was possible.

Our lips moved to the rhythm of our making, which the cells we were made of danced to. I kissed Felix every day that I visited and every day the kiss felt familiar and yet a little different. The way his lips moved on mine held me captive and yet made me feel so free. It was magical, and dangerous.

I pulled back and looked at one of the machines in the room. His blood pressure was stable.

He raised a brow.

"Nothing. I have to go. I really have to study", I said.

He looked where I'd looked and looked at me. "Good luck Pancakes", he said. Something told me he knew the real reason I'd pulled back but didn't want to address it.

~~