Pierce

Chapter Forty Three

Natalie~

Natalie had only been awake for a few hours, but Pierce never left her side and couldn't seem to stop kissing her, which she wasn't hating in the least.

His lips made soft slow trails up and down her arms and hands, as if she'd disappear if he didn't maintain physical contact with her skin. But the part she loved most was the amount of times he had said the words "I love you" since she'd opened her eyes. Those three little words spilled from his lips between his soft kisses, slowly healing her piece by piece with each sweet declaration.

As memories came flooding back, he helped her slowly piece together what had happened, filling in the blanks from when she had lost consciousness. He could barely get the story out without his eyes clouding with tears, but she squeezed his hand as he retold the horrific tale to remind him that she was okay, that he hadn't lost her.

"So your blood is in my veins right now?" she asked in amazement looking down at her arms as if she could see it.

"Yeah." he said softly.

She lifted one of her arms and flexed her small bicep at him. "I already feel tougher." she said with a smile, hoping to coax one out of him in return.

His deep laugh settled into her soul and made the whole world seem less scary.

"Tough as nails, Nat," he chuckled.

A small knock echoed from the other side of the room before Caleb appeared, peeking around the curtain to make sure it was okay that he entered.

Pierce gave him an approving chin lift and grabbed a chair, pulling it until it was beside the bed next to his.

"Hey there Darlin'. Glad to see those bright eyes open." Caleb said as he lowered himself into the chair next to Pierce.

"Pierce was just telling me what happened and I just...Thank you for what you did for me Caleb, I don't think I can ever repay you for..." Caleb cut her off before she could finish.

"Woah woah woah, repay me? I'm not lookin' for compensation. That's not how this works...We're family, sweetheart and I take care of my family." Caleb gave her a warm smile and a gentle squeeze on the arm to reassure her that she didn't owe him a single thing.

"Anyway, I found a couple people in the waiting room that wanted to come see you. You up for a visit from mom and dad?" Caleb asked.

The mention of her parents made her eyes go wide, but it was an instant comfort and she nodded vigorously with a smile.

Seeing Pierce shift nervously in his chair only made her smile grow wider. She knew exactly what was going on inside that head of his. If she was the first girlfriend he'd ever had, then this would be the first time he'd ever met a girlfriend's parents and her big tough Marine was practically shaking in his boots.

Caleb picked up on Pierce's nervous energy and gave him a playful slap on the shoulder before he left the room to retrieve Natalie's mom and dad.

"Don't be nervous, they are going to love you." She said with a smile, watching Pierce wring his hands.

"Nervous? I'm not nervous. I'm just...worried." he admitted.

"What's the difference?" she chuckled.

"I'm not nervous they won't like me, I'm worried that they'll blame me for you being here in the first place."

He dropped his head as his knee nervously bounced with anticipation.

"Look at me Pierce." she said softly, gaining instant compliance from his deep blue eyes.

"They won't blame you for this and they already like you. Want to know how I know that?"