Mirrors |NH|

Chapter Twenty Three

For the next couple of weeks, Edie was in recovery.  She remained at the clinic for only a day but was instructed to keep bandages on for a week.  The surgery she had was basically a slight face lift.  The scars along her forehead and side of her cheek were now a part of her hairline.  The scars along her mouth and chin were slightly pulled down.  She would need more scar reduction surgeries in the future to help minimize the appearance of all of her scars, especially those along her chin and across her eye.  Her eye was the only area that didn't receive any treatment just yet being a delicate area.  She would need to wait several months before her next procedure, in order to allow the healing process to complete.

She was in a lot of pain those first few days but Benny was there to help her out with eating and dressing.  When she had the bandages taken off and a few of the remaining stitches removed, she was handed a mirror to take a look.  Edie hadn't properly looked into a mirror in nearly six months.  She had sent herself into a nearly catatonic state the first time she saw her face after her rape and had refused to look at herself since.  She took a deep breath and held the mirror up to her face and was pleasantly surprised with the result.  She knew her eye and her mouth area would need more work but it still shocked her to see the difference and how much more work would be needed, but she was satisfied with the result of round one.

She hadn't spoken to Niall since that night.  She didn't quite know how to react to what he had said or done.  The more she thought about it, the more she liked the way it had felt to have someone say that to her again and to have someone place their lips on her face. 

He had texted her a few times to ask how she was doing. She responded but she didn't see him for two weeks.  She was nervous and excited though when she arrived for their meeting.  She got there a little early and was already sitting when everyone else began arriving.

Charlie came in and everyone settled into their seats.  But Edie didn't see Niall.  "Welcome back, Edie. It's good to see you," Charlie said, a smile on her face.

"Thank you."

"How did everything go?" The strange, always happy girl asked, huge smile plastered on her face.  She still freaked Edie out with how happy she always seemed to be.

"It went really well," Edie said, pulling her scarf down.  She had hidden her face as a bit of a surprise but she was sad that Niall wasn't there.  "I can have my next one in a few months once this has completely healed."

"Wonderful, Edie," Charlie said.

They continued the meeting but Edie couldn't focus, she was wondering where her partner was.  At the break she dialed his number but he didn't answer.  She sent him a text asking where he was before she went back inside.

By the time the meeting ended, she was worried that something had happened.  "Charlie?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know why Niall wasn't here tonight?"

"I do not."

"Okay, just wondering."

Edie walked out of the building and tried calling him again but still no answer.  She drove home, and pulled out her own file and took a look at it.  It was the first time she had looked at it in two weeks since she couldn't very well do so while Benny had been staying with her.

Around one in the morning, Edie's phone began to ring.  She had actually started to dose off a bit but woke up and saw that it was Niall.  She let out a sigh of relief and answered, "Niall, I've been wondering where you are!"

"Edie!  You're never going to believe this!  They found him!" Niall practically screamed into the phone with excitement.

"Huh?"

"They found him, Edie.  They found the guy who shot me!"

"What?!"

"I've been at the police station all afternoon and evening. Just left. They did a line up and all that jazz.  It's him.  They caught him!...They caught him, Edie." Edie could tell Niall was close to tears.

"Oh my god, Niall, that's amazing.  I'm so happy for you."  Even as she said the words, Edie's heart dropped a little.  She was happy for him, but it only reminded her that she was no closer to finding the person who hurt her.

"I wanna celebrate.  Say you'll celebrate with me?  Please?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Edie.  Can I pick you up or meet somewhere?"

"Meet."

"Okay, great, let's meet at the little pub we went to back when I asked you to help."

"Okay, see you in a few."  Edie hung up and threw some decent clothes on. 

When she got to the pub she saw Niall waiting outside for her.  "Hey!" he exclaimed like a giddy little boy when he saw her, running up to her and bringing her in for a hug, picking her up off her feet in the process and twirling her around.

"Hey, to you too," Edie said, as he put her down.

"Can you believe it?" The smile on Niall's face was spread from ear to ear and Edie couldn't help but giggle a little and truly be happy for him.

"I'm so happy for you, Niall." She went back in and gave him a tight, genuine hug.

They pulled apart and Niall looked down at her. "Thanks."

They turned to walk towards the entrance of the pub, Niall's hand, which had found hers in the process of all the hugging, didn't let go as they walked. She couldn't help but notice how strange and how good it felt. They were almost to the entrance when he stopped.

"Hey, wait a minute, I haven't seen you in two weeks.  Let me take a look at you.  There's something different," Niall jokingly tapped his finger on his mouth, pretending to figure out what was different.  "Oh, yeah, someone had some therapeutic surgery done.  Let me see ya!"

Edie couldn't help but be swept up in his enthusiasm so she proudly said, "Well, if you insist!" And for the first time, she confidently stood under the streetlamp to let him see her face.

He stepped closer to her and lifted her chin in his hand, moving her face from side to side, "Mmhmm, yes, I see, I see."

Edie's voice got stuck in her throat as he touched her.  He had momentarily gotten so serious, his blue eyes darkening under the light as he examined her.

"Mahvelous, mahvelous," he said cheekily, as he pecked her cheek and grabbed her hand again, pulling her into the pub, "We've got some things to celebrate!"