Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Counting the Minutes

Summary: Before Ethan leaves for a WHO mission in the Amazon, Cassie isdetermined to spend every last minute together.

The departures hall in Boston's Logan Airport was relatively quiet at five o'clock in the morning. It was a testament of her love for Ethan Ramsey that Cassie Valentine had not only woken up in the middle of the night but also insisted on dropping him off at the airport at this hour.

Ever since they had learned that he had been seconded for a World Health Organization mission, things started to change between. Their relationship, still so new and secret, hadn't had a chance to grow roots and each worried the other would want to reset after a prolonged absence.

They had both wished that this trip had come at a different time or not at all. But they knew that as doctors this was what they were trained to do and wishing anything else was not an option.

Knowing they only had two days, they had spent every minute not working lost in each other, imprinting themselves on their bodies. Every moment had been precious, every memory to be cherished in the days ahead.

And still, standing now outside the security clearance area, none of it seemed enough.

"I'm all set," said Ethan, tucking his boarding pass into his passport in preparation for the TSA pre-check.

His gruff voice cut into Cassie's thoughts, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze, unable to keep the misery from her face. The internal argument she'd been having with herself to keep it light, not let him see her as a simpering fool went out the window as soon as he turned those blue eyes on her.

"Can I get a hug?" she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He opened his arms in response and she threw herself into them. His scent surrounded her as she breathed in, savoring the embrace as she tried to hold back tears. She wanted one more memory for the weeks ahead.

Her head rested against his heart; eyes closed as she listened to the thud-thud of his heartbeat beneath her. It was beating fast, just like that night on a moonlit balcony in Miami months ago when things had changed between them.

His chin rested atop her head as his arms drew her closer. She felt his chest move as he took a deep breath and knew their time was almost up.

"One more minute," she murmured, locking her hands behind his back as her arms tightened around his waist.

It was more than a minute before they managed to pull back, arms still wrapped around each other, reluctant to break all contact.

She tilted her head, wanting to memorize his face and those piercing eyes that had been the first thing she'd noticed about him on her first day at Edenbrook.

His hands cupped the sides of her face, bending down for a last kiss. His lips nibbled hers before drifting to gently trace the soft skin on the edges of her mouth. She parted her lips for him, but he waited, placing light kisses on the corners of her mouth instead.

Her hands slid up his chest to clutch at his shoulders as she moved in. Her tongue darted out to caress his lips, inviting him to take what already belonged to him. He teased her tongue with his before diving in, swallowing her moan as he deepened the kiss. Their lips met with renewed passion, clinging to each other in desperation.

She angled her head, giving him access to all of her, legs straining as she stood on her toes. In the back of their mind, they knew this wasn't the time or place. But knowing the loneliness that waited made them desperate to savor each touch.

They started to become aware of the sounds of the airport getting busy and slowly drifted apart, their lips lingering together. Cassie took a step back and then another until they were no longer touching. If she didn't she could never let him go.

He recognized the effort she was making and gave her grateful smile. He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead before turning around to cross the security barrier and take his place in line.

Cassie waited behind the metal divider, eyes glued to his back as he crossed over to the TSA officer and handed him his documents. He glanced back once after he cleared the check and then he walked out of sight.

She took a deep breath, wiping the tears tracking down her cheeks with her hands. She didn't know when he would return and all she could now was hope that he came back to her.

Several hours later, Ethan turned away from the view outside his seat window. He switched on his phone and clicked on the photo app, scrolling up to the picture he'd taken of Cassie after her ethics hearing.

Back then, he had thought that the night they were spending together was the end of something, not the beginning. Wanting something to hold on to for the lonely years ahead, he'd snapped a photo of her sleeping in his arms.

Now, he stared at the photos next to it, the ones she had taken of them together these last two days. He'd protested when she had insisted on taking some with his phone, saying that the ones on her phone were enough. But now he understood. She was giving him a part of her, of them, to hold on to during this time apart.

He had a made a promise to come back to her. As his fingers traced the lines of her sleeping face on the screen, he knew that nothing was going to stop him from keeping his word.