Long Time Running (23 page)

Smiling, she brought his hand to her lips and kissed it in return. "Thank you," she whispered emotionally. "And I like what I know of the man you are now. So let's....let's go on a date. Let's get to
know each other again."

"Does this mean...are you staying?"

"In New York? Yes," she chuckled softly at the excitement in his eyes. "Tonight? No."

"Damn." He pulled into his arms, held her tightly to him and nuzzled her neck. "Okay," he agreed. "I'm working tomorrow but let's make plans for Sunday."

"I'd like that." She carefully extricated herself
from his arms before her heart overruled her head. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. "Thank you for an amazing day."

Having slipped out the door, she leaned against the wall and
closed her hand around her locket, exhaling. "I think I might finally be home," she whispered to herself.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Sarah watched in amusement as Nathalie changed her top for the seventh time. Her sister had always been a supremely confident person, even as a child, but to watch her reject every
piece of clothing she had brought with her and several from Sarah's closet was something she had never quite seen before.

"You know, not to put too fine a point on it, but you two used to live together and he saw you in a hospital gown as recently as a
week ago," she teased.

Standing in her bra and jeans, she turned from the mirror to her sister and sighed. "I'm being neurotic, aren't I?"

"Just a little," she grinned. "It's kind of
fun to watch."

"I..I want to make a good impression, which is stupid I know."

Sarah shook her head as she got to her feet. "It's not
stupid but I think you should stop stressing yourself out over it or you're going to be exhausted before you even meet up with him." Pulling open the closet door, she retrieved a soft knit top and passed it to her. "I think this should do the trick and purple is a great color on you."

Gratefully accepting it, she pulled it over her head and admired the way it draped against her. "As always, you're right." Slipping into a pair of sandals she grabbed her purse and turned to her sister.
"Any final words of wisdom?"

"Just relax and have fun," she told her, hugging her sister warmly.

Nathalie practically skipped out of the apartment and headed
down the street to the deli where she picked up her pre-packed picnic basket. Eric had called from work yesterday suggesting a picnic for their date. The adjustment to the noise and the pace of the city was taking some work so she had been grateful for the plan and offered to take care of the logistics.

Grabbing the basket and two coffees she headed towards his apartment. Standing outside his door, she took a deep breath before knocking. As Eric stood before her in white golf shirt and a pair of battered jeans slung
low on his hips she was sure she had not seen a more beautiful man in her life. Her heart leapt to her throat.

"H-hi" she stammered.

Smiling lazily, he waved her inside the apartment.
"Hey, yourself. You look great," he told her huskily.

"I, uh, I brought you a coffee," she said as she nervously thrust the drink towards him. Miscalculating his reaction time, she
watched in horror as the hot beverage splashed against the front of his shirt. "Oh my god!" she cried.

Laughing, Eric shook his head. "Nice to see history repeats itself," he teased, enjoying the warm flush in her cheeks.

"I am so sorry," she apologized quickly as she placed the other coffee on the table and the basket on the floor and cradled her head in her hands. "I am such an idiot."

"Nat, don't worry about it okay? No harm, no
foul." Peeling the shirt from his body, he headed down the hall. "Just give me a couple of minutes to change and then we can head out."

Muttering to herself at her own stupidity as she rooted around
the kitchen for some paper towel, she wiped up the coffee from the floor and disposed of what was left. Feeling embarrassed she walked to his bedroom.

"Eric I really am sorry," she told him, stopping
in her tracks as he turned around, shirtless. Unconsciously she licked her lips at the sight, eliciting a smirk from him in response.

Slinging his hands on his hips, he grinned. "Seriously Nat, stop fretting. I already knew you were a goofball and this just confirms
it." He laughed as she rolled her eyes. "It's kind of nice to know some things don't change."

Appreciatively eyeing his lean frame, she nodded. "I agree."

"Like what you see?" he asked teasingly.

Let out a shaky breath, she nodded again. "I always have when it comes to you."

Crossing the room in two strides, Eric cupped her face and
kissed her passionately. Her hands swept across his bare chest as he backed them up against the wall, their mouths still fused together.

Breathless, they broke the kiss but their bodies remain pressed together. "We don't have to go out," he panted. "We can
stay in for our date."

Gathering what self control she could muster, she placed her hands against his chest and slowly shook her head. "We can't," she sighed.

"Oh but we can," he told her, nipping at her lips.

"This," she said, gesturing between them, "always works for us. But if we're going to have a shot at anything more than this we can't just fall in to bed."

He smiled ruefully stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Okay but then you're going to need to wait for me in the living room because I can't be this close to you and a bed and think clearly."

Standing on her tip toes she stole a quick kiss. "Okay. And maybe you could try and look a little less hot?"

"No chance," he grinned, stepping away from her. "I kind of like torturing you."

"Meanie." She stuck her tongue out at him before slipping from the room and back down the hall.

#

They had walked hand in hand to Central Park with Eric taking the opportunity to point out some of his favorite buildings and cafés
along the way until they found the perfect patch of grass by a tree to set down their blanket.

Conversation flowed easily between them, as it always had, with Jack being the principal source of discussion. As Nathalie unpacked their
picnic Eric stretched out on the blanket and watched her with open admiration.

"Stop looking at me like that," she admonished him jokingly as she peeled off a container top.

"Like what?" he asked with faux innocence.

"Like you're...you're hungry or something."

Leaning up on an elbow he grinned wickedly. "I'm famished."

She shook her head in disbelief as she tucked her legs underneath her. Pulling a grape from the stem, she popped it in her mouth. "So tell me about the women."

"What women?"

"The women you dated."

"There really weren't that many of them," he told her quietly. "Andrew used to get so angry with me because I would end things just as soon as they began."

She wasn't sure she wanted the answer but could not quite keep herself from asking. "How come?"

Dropping his gaze to the blanket, he pulled at the imaginary threads. "Because they weren't you," he confessed. "You are a
pretty hard act to follow."

Her cheeks flushed slightly at the admission. "So are you. I'm not sure what it means but when I would have my nightmares or my freak outs in Mbamba I could barely stand Keith touching me - any time he would try
to hold me I'd push him away. At most he would just hold my hand and try and soothe me. But it's different with you."

He gave a wry smile. "I don't think I give you a choice."

"It's more than that though. My body, my heart....they recognize you and I guess I just know everything is okay if I'm with you."

Leaning against the tree trunk he held out his hand to her
and beckoned her to him. Picking up the container of grapes she crawled across the blanket and settled in against him, sighing happily as his arms encircled her. She held a grape to his lips and smiled as he accepted it.

He dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "Tell me about
Mbamba."

Snuggling in further against him she closed her hands over his. "It's beautiful" she began. "It's been a good home to me. In our village we have this school that all the kids go to and they have a
choir there. My house is near the school and every morning the wind carries their voices, these beautiful harmonies, through my window and I just...I feel warm from it."

"Do you have friends?"

She nodded. "I do. There's Mylea-"

"She was with you...that night?"

"She was. She had been working in the Congo for a year just to help out but she's originally from Mbamba. She is as tough as nails and
as warm and loving as any one person can be."

Tilting her head to the side she looked up at him. "She loved Jack," she said quietly. "She was the one who fed him and
changed him when I couldn't. And she held me when I fell to pieces after he and Sarah left."

Eric said little for a few moments, simply tightening his arms around her.

"I'm glad you weren't alone."

"I wouldn't say I was living a full life but I had managed to build something small for myself. I was...am...very proud of the work we do at our hospital. And despite what you may think it wasn't all doom and gloom - there are people there that I care for there and with whom I have
some good memories."

"Is it not a full life because of Jack?"

"And you," she added.

Too much time - too many years, too many memories - had
passed for her to be less than honest with him. It would be easier to protect her heart and be cagey with her feelings until she was sure of his but she could not afford to play any more games. She had spent years holding back from
him and felt that she owed him the truth, unvarnished and unspun.

"Oh?" he asked with a slight tremble to his voice.

"You told me....you told me that you had tried to hate
me-"

"And that I couldn't," he added quickly.

"I know" she replied softly. "Well I tried to forget you. To forget everyone. I was sure if I could just pretend that part of
my life had never existed then I would be okay."

"And you weren't?"

"No" she said hoarsely. Turning in his arms, she looked at him and softly stroked his cheek. "It's simply not possible to
forget you."

"Did you mean what you said on the hospital roof?"

"When I said I was still in love with you?"

He nodded.

"Yes," she rasped. "I have loved you since
the day I met you."

He dipped his head and closing his mouth over hers, kissed her softly.

"You're pretty unforgettable too," he whispered,
his mouth still hovering over hers.

Nathalie thumbed through the apartment listings the agent
had given her before tossing them on the coffee table next to the two letters of interest she had received from both Manhattan General and Mercy Hospital. It had been a handful of weeks since she had been released and while there was
little doubt in her mind that she was staying in New York with her son and hopefully, with Eric, there was also a desire to start normalizing her life. That meant finding a home for her and Jack and finding a job, neither of which
was proving very easy.

There had been at least three dates a week with Eric and a few more family nights sometimes with both Andrew and Sarah as well. They were all adjusting to each other and slowly finding their respective places. And
while she was sticking to her guns that she and Eric needed to get reacquainted before giving in to unavoidable pull between them, it was becoming more and more difficult to resist. She found herself dreaming about him more often than
she cared to admit. Kissing him was easily her favorite thing to do.

Chuckling at her own desire, she leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. She spoke to Mylea once a week and was grateful to hear her rich deep voice offer her both support and a kick in the pants. During
their last phone call the older nurse reminded her that whether she knew it or not back then, she fought to survive to get back to where she was now and there was no time to waste.

"Hey Nat, did you want to do something tonight?"
Sarah asked as she came into the living room. She froze in her spot as she spied the real estate listings; a cold sweat trickled down her back. "Wh-what's all this?" she asked evenly as she tried to regain her
composure.

"Just a listing of some available apartments in the neighborhood " she replied, looking curiously at her sister. "There are even a few in this building."

"You just got out of the hospital" she snapped.
"You're in no position to move."

Swinging her legs to the floor she leaned forward. "Sarah it's been almost a month. I'm not looking at moving next week. Most
of the places don't become available for at least another month or two. Besides, Jack and I can't live here forever."

"Why not? This apartment is plenty big enough for the three of us. You don't have to move."

Reaching for her sister's hand she tugged her to her side on the couch. "Sarah," she began softly. "Words cannot express how grateful I am for the sacrifices you made for Jack. That he is a loving and well adjusted boy is very much because of you and I love you for that."

"But?" she queried, her voice trembling slightly.

"But it's time for me to be a Mom to him. And it's time for you to get your life back." Reaching up a hand, she stroked her cheek
and was not surprised to feel her struggling for control. "Sarah, you are young and beautiful and have so much to offer someone. And now you can be free to do that."