December 24, 2014

11:00 pm

Timberlake Residence

43 Berry Hill Rd, Oyster Bay, NY

The best thing about tonight was the food.  Well…no.  It’s probably a tie between the food and discovering Justin for the first time.  I thought I knew him before, but tonight has been a mind blowing look into the person he actually is.  I guess I’ve started to realize what I’ve been missing out on.  He really is the best kind of friend and romance prospect wrapped into one.  I can see how genuine his feelings are for me, and deep down I know he only has my best interest at heart.  He really cares about me, I think, more than Hunter ever could.

It’s a little scary, and a lot to take in tonight, but for some reason I’ve been fine dealing with it.  The more intense my feelings get, the more I want to stay right by his side, smiling and laughing with him.  Oh yeah, and kissing him too.

That’s been my favorite thing so far, although, we haven’t been able to touch on any of that since before dinner.

I could tell something serious went down between Justin and his father after their private discussion.  Justin looked so painstakingly heartbroken that it took all of my strength not to run right over and throw my arms around him, damning his father to the high heavens.  I knew my input wouldn’t have been well received by anyone, so I figured the best thing I could do was remain the silent partner while he focused on getting the rest of dinner together.  

“What’s in that one?”

Justin holds the wrapped gift out in his arms and shakes it slightly before the smirk appears on his face.  “Star Wars Lego play set.”

Fay grins as Justin bends down to place it under the tree amongst the dozens of other gifts.  “He’s going to flip out in the morning.  We totally spoiled him rotten.”

“Yeah,” Justin nods and sighs a little.  “He deserves it though.”

Fay can barely look at him.  

Their parents left right after dinner, with the reassurance from Justin that he would bring Tyler to Christmas at their house the next evening.  Despite how delicious the meal was (and I mean delicious as in, I just ate at the best restaurant in Manhattan), neither his mother or father complimented Justin on his efforts.  The conversation mainly revolved around Tyler.  Mrs. Timberlake kept asking him what he thought he was going to get for Christmas and what he did to celebrate the holiday at school.  Mr. Timberlake was mostly silent, aside from the few mutterings of ‘that’s my boy’ every time Tyler would say something that pleased him.  Justin and Fay seemed to force their laughter and play along with their mothers mood, and I guess it was a good thing. Nobody seemed to want to ruin Christmas Eve for Tyler, and getting along for the duration of the meal was the most mature thing the family could have done.  

I seemed to become invisible to his parents as soon as dinner began, but I liked it better that way.  If anything, it helped Justin get his sister fed in peace.  I could tell it wasn’t the easiest task for him, cutting her food, feeding her, wiping her mouth, making sure her bib caught any excess, and helping her to take sips of her drink. It was all so sad, and I have to say, I don't think I’ve ever met someone with as much stamina as Justin.  If it were me, with one of my family members, I’d surely break down.  The emotional strain would just be too much.  But Justin kept that smile on for her the whole time, laughing with her when she made fun of herself for drooling between bites.  I realized he would have sat there with her all night, even if that meant he wouldn’t be able to eat his own dinner.

Come to think of it, his plate is still on the table.

“So what did Dad say?” Fay says it wearily, barely looking at her brother as he continues to put the rest of the gifts under the tree.

Justin shrugs slightly.  “I’d rather not talk about it right now. Let’s just enjoy the holiday.”

“Are you going to let him do this?”

It takes him a minute to rise up from the floor and turn to face his sister again.  I just look at the floor, debating if I should step out of the room or not.  I feel his eyes on me for a few seconds, but I don’t meet his gaze.  I just don’t feel it’s my place to have any type of an opinion, and that includes showing physical remorse for what he’s going through.

“What choice do I have?”

“You’re a good lawyer.”

“Fay…”

“Damn it,” she groans harshly.  “Justin he can’t rule the both of us.  I don’t want you to just…hand Tyler over to Dad like he has every right to him.  We both know what’s best.”

I suddenly realize what Justin and his father were talking about.  A custody battle on Christmas.  That has to be one of the harshest things I’ve ever heard of.  

“It doesn’t matter what’s best,” Justin whispers.  “He’ll ruin me.”

“He said that?”

“Of course he said that.  He’s right, too.”

“You’re a fucking wimp, you know?”

I look up, and see Justin staring back at his sister, his eyes filled with sadness.  I don’t think he knows what to do.  He has a backbone when it comes to a lot of things, like his career, and more recently me, but his father…his father seems to have a type of control over him that he can’t shake.  

“If I take this to court, you know he’ll just win anyway, and he’ll drag Tyler through it to spite me, Fay.  Is that what you want?”

“I don’t want Tyler to go to shool… berwdeng shool…bershin…”  She stops herself and lets out a painful sigh, gazing down at her lap as the tears begin to crawl down her face.  

“Fay.”  Justin goes to her side and holds her face in his hands.  “Come on, look at me. Focus.  The doctor says if you focus it passes faster.”

“I dun cur! Lef ma ‘lone.”  She turns her head away from him, still sobbing.  “Qerter!”

“I’m not a quitter!” He yells back at her as she begins to back her chair away from him.  “You know how it is!”

“Fuck you.” She gets it out clearly this time, boldly, and stares him down with a cold gaze. “You…prewmised may.”

Justin says nothing.  I don’t think he can.  The most he can seem to do is give me a pitiful look before storming out of the room, leaving me there with his sister, who seems more distraught than she did just a second ago.  I have no idea what to do.  I’m usually the one that needs comfort, not a stranger.  

“Mmm shooray.”  She sobs.

“No…you don’t have to be sorry,” I whisper.  “I mean, I’ve never been through a situation like this, but I’m sure it must be difficult.”

She sniffles slightly, and turns her chair back around so she can face me.  “Ken yew wap ma fesh?”

It takes me a moment, but I finally get it.  “Wipe your face?”

She nods.

“Sure.”  I grab a few tissues from an end table and go to her side, gently wiping the trails off her cheeks and the fresh tears from around her eyes.  

She draws in a long breath, and after a moment, she seems to have gotten a little bit of her stamina back because her speech starts to clear up.  “Mmmm…Maggie.”

“Yes.”

She looks at me with this crazy desperation in her eyes, seeming to pull the last of her energy together for the night so she can hold her head high and act somewhat normal.  It’s almost as if I’m her last line of defense, and that’s just nuts because she barely knows me, and I’m definitely not the greatest person to rely on for anything right now considering the emotional wreck I’ve been.  

“Heesh all alone,” she whispers, her voice trembling as she tries to keep the slurring at bay.  “It may not sheem like it, but he ish.  He’s terrified and…and ‘m ’bout to go into assishted livshing.  Once that happens h-h-he’ll do whatever my father tells him to.  That’s how he’s always been, and…I c-c-can’t hold it against him.  I’ve acshept….ac-c-cepted that.” She pauses and takes a few seconds to catch her breath.  “But he needs….shoom…s-someone to be here for him when shit starts to get hard.  And I know it will g-get v-very hard, very quickly.”

I know what she’s trying to ask me.  She wants me to stick by her brother, no matter what.  The thing about that is, I already do.  Romance aside, he’s my very best friend, and he’s been there for me at my lowest points, regardless of the issues he was dealing with at home.  I’ll do anything to make it up to him.  “I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her softly.  “I care about your brother very much.”

She nods slightly.  “I know you do, but he’s an expert at pushing people away.  I hope you won’t let him.”

“I won’t.” I say it seriously, but something is telling me that she doesn’t completely believe it.

“I’m going to turn in,” she sighs, her voice full of exhaustion.  “Merry Christmas Maggie.  I’ll see you at some point tomorrow.”

“Merry Christmas.”

She gives me a sad little smile, before gliding out of the room.  I can hear Justin talking to her from inside the kitchen moments later.  He keeps apologizing, and she continues to tell him it’s not a problem, that she just wants to go to bed, her speech moving in and out of that slurring phase.  Then it’s silent for, God, what seems like hours.

And then…then he’s just there again, in the entranceway to the living room, but this time I can tell how exhausted he is.

“Are you okay?”

He licks his lips and plasters on his perfect smile for me.  “I’m great, Mags.”

“Please don’t tell me that.” I narrow my eyes at him.  “Justin, if this whole thing with us is going to work, I need you to be honest with me.  I need you to tell me when you feel like you’re losing your mind, because I don’t see how you couldn’t be at this point.”

That smile fades away to nothing.  He’s serious now, almost angry, but I won’t back down.  That’s not what he needs.  He needs someone to be real with him for the first time ever.  Someone besides his sister.  

“It’s not right for me to burden you with my problems,” he whispers.

“Oh but it’s perfectly fine for me to burden you with mine?”

He shrugs and crosses the room so he can plop down onto the couch.  His shoulders sag, he sighs, and then he rubs his face with his hands.  “Helping you through your problems always took me away from mine,” he confesses.  “I never had a problem with it.”

“You can’t hide in my problems anymore.”

He meets my gaze.  “I know, and…I guess that scares me most of all.”

I sit down beside him, and look down at my lap for a few moments, before finding my voice again.  “Your sister is afraid.  She thinks you’re going to push everyone away, and be all alone after she’s out of the picture.”

“She said that to you?”

“Yeah.”

He laughs bitterly.  “She just expects me to move on right away.  That’s the problem.  How am I supposed to? She’s been my whole family for as long as I can remember.  She’s…she’s dying, you know? I feel like I’m losing everything I’ve ever cherished in the world, and then my father wants to raise Tyler instead of me.  I know he’ll get his way regardless if I fight back.  Why put the kid through all of that? It’s easier just to let go.  At least that way, I’ll be able to see him whenever I want to.”

“Giving in means he still has control of your life, Justin.  This is for Fay.  This is about what she wants for her son, and for you.  It has nothing to do with your father.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” He snaps.  “I know this is what she wants, but he…he’s just too fucking powerful.  I can’t win.”

“You can try.”

“I can’t.” He gives me a look that’s telling me to drop it.

“Then you really are a quitter.”

He gives me the harshest glare of our entire friendship.  “I can’t believe you would say that to me right now.”

“How many times have you told me to toughen up and put Hunter behind me, Justin? How many times have you told me I’m a wreck and I need to snap out of it? The tables have turned now, but for some reason you feel like none of that should apply to you!  You can’t just…quit.  Fay is counting on you and so is Tyler.”

“I just don’t think I’m strong enough.” He shakes his head roughly, buries his face in his hands, and then…

Then he just loses it.

Justin sobs long and hard into his hands, and I can’t deny that it frightens me slightly.  That perfect, put together guy is completely gone, and that’s telling me Justin feels just like this, deep down inside, every single day.  He’s never been able to let go before, and I think he needs this, and what’s more, he needs me to stick by him while he does it.

He needs me to tell him that I’m here for him.

I don’t think, I just wrap my arms around him and pull him towards me.  He automatically turns his face into my chest and just…cries so hard into me.  He cries like a baby, and I let him, because I know he hasn’t been able to do this with anybody.  He’s been alone in his suffering, and it’s nearly killed him.

I can’t let him just…dwindle away as Fay gets weaker and eventually passes away.  It would be a crime, because Justin is a good person who deserves to be happy.  

“I don’t want her to die,” he sobs.  “Maggie I don’t want her to die.  I don’t want to lose her.”

I can’t say anything to him, because I don’t have the response that he’ll want to hear.  I can’t say that his sister isn’t going to die, because that would be a lie.  The only thing I can do, is rub his back and kiss the top of his head as I whisper reassurances in his ear.

“I’m right here, Justin, and I’ll continue to be here.  I’m going to help get you through this, but you can’t quit.  I won’t let you.”

“I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“Look at me.”  I gently pull away from him, and take his face in my hands, just like he did to me in his kitchen hours ago.  “You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

His eyes search mine frantically.  For what I’m not sure, but when he leans in and kisses me with as much passion as he did earlier, I know he believes what I’ve told him.

“I care about you,” He presses his forehead against mine as our lips part and sniffles.  “I care about you more than anyone I’ve ever known, besides my sister and Tyler.  I want you to know that.  I’m…I’m so sorry, Mags.  I’m sorry I kept it from you…I’m sorry I kept all of this from you.”

The tears escape from my eyes and glide down my face.  “I care about you too.”

He smirks through his tears, before reaching out and brushing my tears away with the tips of his fingers.   Then he kisses me, and I fall away from the glistening Christmas lights and the sound of the crackling fire.  My world is a blur, and the only thing that makes any sort of sense is Justin.  We kiss until we can’t seem to anymore, and then he’s cupping my face in his hand, his gaze asking me if he should move forward with tonight. I can feel him pressing up against me, rock hard inside his pants, and I know what’s coming next.

“Do you want to go up to bed,” I whisper.

He licks his lips nervously.  “Do you?”

Debating is bad.  A million different scenarios pop into my head about what will happen if he takes me up to bed with him.  I could wimp out, or…maybe he won’t like what he sees once we’re naked.  But oh, he’s already seen me naked, right?  I could have a thousand regrets when we wake up, or maybe he won’t even be there when I wake up.  He could tell me it’s too much too soon, and that we should just be friends.  Or maybe I would…

“You’re overthinking this aren’t you?”  He strokes my hair and plants a few gentle kisses on my neck and behind my ear.  

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll wait.”  He continues to kiss my neck.

“There’s no way I can, if you keep doing that.”

He laughs now.  No more tears.

I guess that’s good.

“Do you want to?”  He says it gently, craning his head around to meet my gaze again.  

“Its going to change everything,” I tell him.  “Kissing is one thing…but if we do this, we can’t just be friends anymore.”

“I know.”  He kisses me on the lips.  “But I can’t worry about that.  I want every part of you Mags.  I need to take in every part.”

I feel myself melt into a puddle of goo.  I can barely breathe, hearing him say that to me.  He has no idea how bad that makes me want him, and I feel like I have no more control.  Damn him.  

“Then lets go.”

He smiles.
**********************
December 25, 2014

6:25 am

Timberlake Residence

43 Berry Hill Rd, Oyster Bay, NY

I can’t sleep.  I haven’t been able to all night.

Maggie is a light snorer.  While most people would find it annoying, I find it adorable, and I want this part of her all for myself until the end of time.  I prop myself up on my side and trace a pattern with my fingers all the way down her beautiful naked back until just above where her ass starts.  So smooth.  Like silk.  I’m obsessed.  Despite the fact that she fell asleep hours ago, I haven’t been able to sleep, let alone stop touching her.  She hasn’t seemed to mind, but then again, I think I wore her out.  

I’ve never made love to a woman so passionately before, and I’ve never had a woman give me that same amount of passion right back.  At times I felt we were made to be doing that…all of it.  Our bodies seemed to fit together in all the right places, every touch was electric, every climax was out of this world.  

I never came like that before.  While my dates barely interest me, I can’t deny that I’ve shared my bed with more than just a few women.  None of those experiences can hold a candle to tonight, and it might make me a freak, but I don’t want to spend another night without Maggie at my side.

I just want to love her.  But that’s a lot to throw at her, especially at Christmas, and I can’t afford to scare her away.  My breakdown in the living room was bad enough.  I’ve never cried in front of anyone before, besides Fay.  It was a lot for me to grasp, that Maggie wanted to be there for me, and support me…get me through the moment.  

I hope like hell that she’ll stick around after this.  She warned me, said things will change, and I was ready to accept that. I’m ready for the changes even now, but I have no idea if she is.

I guess I’ll find out.

I kiss the nape of her neck, and she moans sleepily, turning over in my arms and resting her head against my bare chest.  Her eyes drift open after a while, and then she’s gazing right back at me.  I find I can’t hold back my smile from her anymore.  “Hi.”

“Hey.”  She rasps, allowing the smile to creep across her lips.  “Did you sleep?”

“No,” I chuckle, and let my fingers travel through her messy hair.  “I was busy watching you do it for the both of us.”

“You’re obsessed with me, aren’t you?”

“You already knew that,” I laugh.

She reaches up and pulls my face close to hers, and I don’t hesitate to kiss her again, and again.  I can’t get enough of her, naked in my bed, ready for sex.  It’s like a dream come true, and I’m totally ready to pick up where we left off hours ago.  

“UNCLE JUSTIN!”

Bang bang bang

“Shit.”  I groan and lean back against the pillows.

“UNCLE JUSTIN! WHY’S THIS DOOR LOCKED?”

The handle on my door begins to jiggle.  

“It’s Christmas,” I laugh softly, gazing back into her eyes.  “I forgot.  I really did.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” Maggie smiles up at me.  “I sort of forgot too.”

“Merry Christmas.” I whisper.

“Merry Christmas, Justin.”

We fall back into a deep kiss, both of us completely forgetting about the nine year old outside my door that wants to open his gifts.  

Bang Bang Bang

“Maybe we can watch him open gifts, and then get back to what we’re doing,” Maggie laughs.

“I don’t make Matilda come in on Christmas.  I gotta get Fay going,” I groan.  “She’ll never forgive me if she doesn’t get to see Tyler open his gifts. Getting her ready takes about an hour, if she’s feeling okay.”

“Well after that.”

“Gotta take Tyler to my parents,” I say, in-between kisses.  

“After that?”

I chuckle.  “Definitely.  I’ll make a drama free dinner, how about that?”

She narrows her eyes at my seductively.  “Will you feed it to me in bed?”

She’s bad.  I never would have thought she could be this way, flirty, sexy, and kinky, but damn, it’s like she wants to eat steak and drink wine naked in my bed and fuck…fuck I don’t have the time to kill another boner right now.  “You can’t say that shit to me right now.”

She laughs.  

“What are you laughin’ at?”

Her response is a devilish grin and nothing more.

“UNCLE JUSTIN! I WANT TO SEE MY PRESENTS NOW!”

I let out a large breath.  “Oh fuck it.”  

“Justin!”  Maggie cackles.

I dive right into her, ignoring the banging, ignoring everything, so I can focus on Mags.  I take her quickly, but tenderly, biting down on my lip to keep from crying out, and I know she’s doing the same.  

“Oh God,” she pants.  “You can’t just sneak up on me like that.  Jesus.”

I lean back and pull her close, panting harshly.  “Your fault.  Talking about eating naked in bed and shit.”

“I never said that directly, you conjured up that vision on your own.”

“I hate you.”  I can’t hide my smile.

“I know.”

I give her one last kiss.  “I’m going to get Fay dressed.  You can use the shower right through there.” I point toward my bathroom.  “You gonna be okay?”

She props her head up with her hand and gives me a dazzling smile.  “I’ll survive,” she chuckles.  “See you downstairs in a bit.”

My heart sinks as she pulls herself out of my arms and rolls out of bed.  I can’t help but stare at her as she makes her way toward the bathroom, stunningly naked and beautiful from head to do.  When she slips behind the door and it closes, that’s when I know I have to face reality and come down from my Maggie cloud, at least for now.

Bang Bang Bang

I yank my boxers and my undershirt on and stagger out of bed and over to the door, throwing it open to greet my nephew.  He looks impatient and pouty, like I suspected he would.  “Buddy it’s still early,” I tell him.

“I heard you talkin’,” he crosses his arms.  “I wanna open presents!”

“Well let me get mommy ready, okay?”

He shrugs.  “She’s still sleeping.”

“Well I’ll see if I can get her up.  She wants to see you open your gifts, all right bud? You can go get some cereal but I don’t want you opening anything until everybody is ready.”

He groans.  “Okay.”

I smile and ruffles his hair.  “See you in a few minutes.”

He rushes away.  “Hurry up!”

I laugh slightly and shake my head as I make my way down the hall and to Fay’s bedroom.  For the first time in months, I feel a little more free.  It’s like, I have someone to turn to now, regardless of our relationship status.  On Fay’s hardest days, I know I can turn to Mags, talk about it, and work my way through my feelings.

I feel so damn lucky.

“Fay.”

I knock on her door gently before pushing the door open and entering the room.  Fay is asleep, just like I left her last night, her hospital bed more upright than it has been in the past because the doctor said it would help the fluid to flow out of her mouth if she started to drool in her sleep.   Sure enough, her chin and night bib are practically soaked in the stuff, and I rush to her side to clean her up.

“Hey, Fay.”  I smile slightly and run my hand across her cheek.  “You wanna get up? I don’t know how much longer I can keep our little monster out of the presents.”

Her eyes open slowly and she looks up at me, her expression tired, and weak.  She’s just about had it with this battle, and I can’t deny it anymore.

“Merry Christmas.”  I kiss her cheek.

“Mmmmm…Mmmmm….”  She tries to form the words, but she just can’t seem to do it.  She shakes her head roughly.

“Take your time,” I whisper, desperately trying to hold every emotion back for her.  

“Mmmm….”  She shakes her head again.

This could be it.

The doctors told us.  They told us but I didn’t want to believe it.  They said one day she could wake up and not be able to speak anymore.  That the muscles in her throat would start to shut down and speech would be the first thing to go.

It’s gotta just be another bad day.

But even on her worst days, I’ve never seen her this way.

“Just take a deep breath.”

She just shakes her head.

“Fay?”

“Mmmmm.”  Her eyes fill with tears.

She just can’t do it.  

It’s Christmas Day.  She can’t talk anymore, and the last real conversation we ever had was a fight about me quitting on her.

Jesus.

I’ll never forgive myself.

She throws her head back and begins to make grunting sounds in her throat, as loud as she possibly can.  It’s horrible and makes my skin crawl.  She’s doing it because she knows how bad this is going to be from here on out.  She’s lost all hope.

“Fay…shhh…”  It’s all I can do.  I try to hold her and she just shakes her head violently.  It’s the only part of her that she has any control over now.  “I got you…I promise. I’m right here.”

She turns her head roughly to jerk me off.  I do it.  I back off, and stare at her.  She gazes back at me desperately, gritting and struggling, trying to make her mouth open.  Then, miraculously, it does, but it just hangs there.  She can’t close it.  “Aauuuuuuu.”

I know she wants me to call Benjamin, but God damn it, that’s the last call I want to make.  “Not today, Fay.  Please.”

“Aaaaaaaaaauuuu.” She groans it angrily at me and she shakes her head so hard that her upper body slumps forward onto the bed and of course can’t pull her self back up again.  Her jaw still hangs open, and the drool dribbles out of her mouth and onto the bedding.

With shaking hands I gently pull her upright and back against the pillows.  I push her jaw closed gently, but it simply falls open again and she can’t close it. Her head falls down at her chest and she lets out a defeated groan.

The paralysis is taking over now, completely.  

“Uncle Justin! I…”

I turn.  Oh fuck.  No.  Tyler is standing there, a half opened Christmas gift in one hand, and even though he wasn’t supposed to touch them, I can’t even say anything about it right now.  “Ty…go back down.”

“Mommy?” He looks around me, and his eyes widen when he sees the condition she’s in.

“Tyler go back down, I said.”

“Uuuuuuuuurrrrrr.” I can hear Fay groaning from behind me, trying to make him leave.

“What’s wrong with her?” He whimpers.  “What’s wrong with my mommy?”

“Tyler I said go back downstairs.”  I say it to him gruffly, and then push him out into the hall as gently as I can, closing and locking the door behind him.  I can hear him crying now, but it’s better he’s removed from the situation for the time being.

“Urrrrrrr.  Aauuuu.” Fay is groaning it at me, over and over.

I know I don’t have a choice but to call my father.  He’s set everything up.  She can be moved today if that’s what the situation calls for.

I know she’ll be gone by morning.

“I don’t want to make this call,” I whimper.

“Ooooo.”  She nods rapidly.  “Oooooaaa.”

She’s teling me I have to.

I scratch the back of my head, and then I go to the nightstand, pick up the phone and stare down at the key pad.

This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, or accept.  The only thing keeping me sane right now is the thought that Maggie is one room away, she cares about me as much as I care about her, and she’ll be here to support me while I watch the paramedics arrive to deliver my sister to her new home.

I dial.

“Hello?”

It’s him.  “Dad.”

“Son,” he says gruffly.  “Have you given more thought to our conversation?”

“Fay’s speech is completely compromised,” I whimper.  “She wants to go.  Today.”

“Are you sure it’s not just another spell?”

“It’s not.”

“Well…” He trails off and clears his throat.  “I’ll make the call and head over to you right after.”

I hang up on him,  Fay continues to groan and sob because she’s terrified of what’s happening to her.  They say ALS patients eventually feel trapped inside their bodies, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Fay right now.

I can’t even do anything.  I can’t comfort her, because she’ll just want me to get away from her.

I walk out into the hall in a daze, pulling the door closed behind me.  It muffles Fay’s groans, but not by much.  I don’t even realize that my back has hit the wall until I find myself sliding down it, crying hysterically into my hands once I hit the floor.

“Justin, my God… Is that Fay?”

I look up and she’s there, standing in front of me.  Tyler is at her side, clinging to her leg, whimpering.

“She can’t talk,” I shake my head and meet Maggies gaze.  “Fay can’t talk.  They’re coming to bring her to Verdan now.”

She’s right by my side in an instant, Tyler huddled close to the opposite side of her, and she puts her arms around me as I throw myself into her, burying myself as far into her as I possibly can for comfort.

“I’m right here.” She whispers.  “I love you.”

And I know I love her too.