Seeing Blind |NH|

Chapter Fifty One

Six weeks later, I waited for her plane to arrive in Hanoi.  I had gotten there the night before and my friends were off playing tourist while I picked her up.  Wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, I hoped no one would recognize me. 

I saw her come through the gates with one small bag in her hand and a backpack on her back.  Smiling, I lifted my arm and waved at her.  I didn't want to shout in case somehow someone recognized my voice.  I continued to wave until she saw me.  She stopped, a huge smile coming across her face.  She looked around before she started to weave her way through the crowd of people who had arrived with her.

She dropped her one bag and jumped into my waiting arms.  Squeezing her tightly, I turned her around in a circle before placing her safely back onto the ground. When I put her down, the smile on her face was probably as big as the smile on mine.

We didn't say a word to each other, again, not wanting anyone to figure out it was me.  I grabbed her hand and we made our way through the airport out to waiting lines of cabs.  Getting into one, we finally spoke.

"Hey," she said, giddily.

"Hey!" I said, just as giddily.  "Good flight?"

"Long flight.  But, otherwise good.  Didn't sleep a wink, though.  So you gotta keep me awake until it's safe to pass out."

"Got it."

"How've you been?  You've got quite the Irish tan going on."

"Haha, yeah.  The sun takes a while to warm up to me.  I'm doing great. How are you? Been behaving yourself?" I asked, half-jokingly so she wouldn't see how serious I was. In the six weeks since I'd seen her, my feelings for her had only gotten more intense with how much I missed her.

She laughed a little, "Yes, I've behaved myself. Been working with Patrick which has been really, really good for me. He makes me have dinner with him three to four times a week. He keeps me busy at work and busy at home so that I'm not sitting staticly and getting any crazy ideas in my head--" She paused.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just...um...Jace came to see me..." she trailed off.

The air in my lungs moved into my throat and got stuck there. Jace.

I swallowed. "What did he want?"

"What do you think?" She wouldn't look at me. She turned her head and looked out the window.

"And what did you do?"

She turned to me. "I told him to fuck off." A smile slowly appeared on her face as I finally allowed myself to breathe again.

I pulled her in for a hug, "That's my girl. Good. You don't need him."

She wrapped her arms around me as we rode silently back to the hotel. When we got out, she stared up at the structure.

"I thought we were backpacking? Backpacking involves staying at hostels, Niall."

"Yeah, yeah.  Wanted something different for a night or two.  Geez.  Only problem is, we gotta share."

"Share?"

"Rooms.  They were a bit on the low side."

"Oh, that's fine.  Who am I rooming with?"  I looked at her as she plopped her stuff onto the bed.  She looked as if she was trying to suppress a laugh.

"Umm, me."

"Well, no shit.  Was just messing with you, Niall.  I mean, who else would I share with?  One of your friends whom I've never met?"  I shook my head at her.  "Speaking of, where are all these lads of yours?"