*two weeks later*
"He will be fine. Sure, being in recovery phase might take him a lot longer than expected but I have high hopes for Richard. I don't know how will I ever repay you for saving my grandson" General Arthur Faulkerson told Maine while they're having a talk right outside her house.
"Lo, I did not save him ... he did that himself. I witnessed it ... I witnessed how he fought for his life. Richard not wanting to go to the military did not compromise his fighting spirit. He is still courageous and I will be forever in awe of that" she replied, still recounting the events of that fateful day in her mind.
After pulling Richard out of the wreckage, he was immediately rushed to the hospital to undergo a sensitive operation. Thankfully, he pulled through but the wounds he got are enough to keep him in the hospital for at least a month. That's better though than having him be buried six feet under the ground.
"Richard ... and I ... had a rift when he said he doesn't want to go to the military. I thought that made him less of a man and I even asked him if he's scared or gay ... I was wrong ... I never thought that he has it in him. But you Maine, you saw that ... you never gave up on him even if the entire world already did. I will forever be indebted to you"
"Lo naman , we're family ... remember? And that's what we do for our family members. We'll always be there and if they ever get kidnapped while having a vacation at a remotely woody area, we'll go save them."
Maine smiled and received a tight hug from him.
"Thank you Maine, thank you very much" he told her before leaving her house. Maine was left behind just thinking of all the "what if's" that could have changed her life forever. While doing so, she realized that she will not take or change anything. If she has to once again come after Richard and do something to save him, she knows she will do it.
She believes that when you love someone, you must be willing to do everything for them.
Maine heard the sound of a door opening so she turned around and saw her Mom walk out. "Ready to pay him a visit?" she asked, pertaining to Richard.
"Yeah, of course. Let's go"
--
"If anyone told me that I will live to see another day after that fateful morning I wouldn't have believed them. I thought that was it, I thought that's how am I gonna die. I don't know what exactly happened afterwards but they all said I looked dead. No one expected that I'll pull through because of the amount of wounds I got. But I did, I made it. A few days after I regained my consciousness I found out that everybody knows Nick is dead. I wanted to go to his funeral and burial ceremony but I wasn't able to due to the doctor's recommendations. I guess I'll just pay him a visit once I get out. We're still at the top of the headlines despite the fact that two weeks had already passed. The last thing I heard is that they decimated every terrorist in that area, I remember grandpa saying that it was a massacre scene back there.
My friends though, I'm happy they made it as well. Emmett and Tommy almost died, I almost lost them but they ended up getting stable. Now that the ordeal is over, we must now work on our recovery. It may take us a very long time to get there but I know we will. We will continue with our lives and cherish it like we're about to lose it again. It's the least we can do to provide some depth into Nick's death. We'll live for him, always."
Richard only stopped writing when the door opened and he saw Maine walk in "How are you?" she asked right away. He smiled and told her he's fine.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah" he answered before giving her a kiss. Half of his body still hurts that's why his movements are still limited.
"Asan sina Tito at Tita?"
"Downstairs, they're having a meeting with my Doctor. Maine, if I died that day ... what would you have done?"
"I don't know. And honestly, I don't want to know" she answered before placing the fruit basket she brought right on the top of his nightstand.
"Good, because I'll be here for a very long time"
"That's great... you do know I won't be able to live without you, right?"
"Of course, that's why I love you so much" Richard replied before giving her another kiss.
"I love you too, Richard"
"I love you three, my princess"
"I love you most ... wag ka nang magbabakasyon sa malayo okay?" she asked him. He giggled before telling her he will never leave her sight ever again.
