So This Is Love?

Part 16: Come Back

***March 20th, 2019***

"Will you just come here already?" Freema growls slightly as she chases Ryan down the cement path in the National Park.

They had been out since early morning- taking in the beautiful nature and relaxing space. They had been stressed since season 1 ended. Neither knowing if their characters were killed off or not. Wondering who will be coming back and who won't.

Currently Ryan finds himself humored by Freema's agitation at him because he stole her phone right out of her hand mid-text.

"Ry! I need my phone."

"Why? Messaging your boyfriend?" He laughs and starts to look at the phone. In the text field, he finds Freema preparing to respond to a man named Luke that Ryan has never heard of. "Who's Luke?"

"No one of importance. Now give me my phone."

"If it's no one of importance, why does your text you wanna send say you haven't stopped thinking about him and that you wish things could've been different and you still love him." Freema stops walking and sighs heavily. She never spoke to Ryan about Luke. Never mentioned their life long romance or the fact that he broke her heart horribly.

"He...he's my ex. We broke up two years ago..."

"And you think you still love him?"

"Well...I mean..."

"Why did the relationship dissolve?" He asks and she sighs and takes her phones back from him finally.

"I wanted a family and commitment and I just assumed after nearly 15 years together that he would want the same thing knowing that I did. He decided he didn't apparently. He broke up with me and now- ironically- he's married and having a baby with some woman from Leeds." Her face shifts downward and she erases the message and tucks her phone in her jeans pocket. "I've just been...huh...I just wish I didn't wait as long as I had. I wasted my youth on television and for what? Loneliness?"

"Ah, you're not lonely, Free. I'm here. I'll always be here for you."

"As sweet and caring as that is...I don't think we're thinking the same way." She takes off walking towards the pond and he quietly follows. The space between them becomes dreadfully silent and when she reaches the pond, she stops and stares out at it- seeing her life flash in the reflections of the small ripples that push with the wind that has picked up. Two arms wrap around her from behind and he rests his chin on her shoulder.

"I think we are...thinking the same way." He quietly says. He knows she heard him and he knows she won't respond to it. She won't acknowledge his bold statement or try to convince him otherwise. She simply just stands there with him wrapped around her staring at the setting sun come down near the tree line as the cranes and herons fly off for their nests to slumber.

***Present Day***

His body shakes horribly as he stands against the NICU wall- all garbed in sterilized dressing and face mask, hair cap and gloves. The blue UV's illuminate down onto the tiny baby in his warming incubator. Eyes covered by a small little sleep mask and oxygen tubes running into his nose , small IV's and singular patch heart monitors all hooked to him nearly hide the 8 inch long baby.

When he arrived at the hospital, he came into the room as the doctor called the time of death of Liz.

He couldn't believe what happened. Seven hours of a flight- he thought he could make it. Her friend said she was just going in for chest pains. He thought chest pains were just a small symptom to just being tired or maybe working too hard. But when he got there and found her dead- despite the best efforts of the ER team, he felt like a bomb went off in his face. She laid there on the table, still, paling, blue eyes slightly open with a tear coming from them.