After the Sun Sets (18+)

CHAPTER 10 - Awakening

"It will be fine," Owen whispered into Lora's sleek, brown hair as she sobbed into his chest. His arms were tight around her, the fear of her crashing to the ground exceeding that of her breaking under his force.

Eventually, her breathing relaxed, her shaking soothed. She pulled away and lifted her face to his. He saw the pain, the heartbreak in her eyes and that was probably the only reason that he resisted the urge to swoop in and kiss her.

If only Lora knew how close he was to losing his resolve the day before, how in that moment, as he held her in his arms, his self-restraint was stretched beyond imagination. It wasn't just that he wanted her. It was that she was the most magnificent creature he had ever met and he needed to show her. She needed to know how special she was.

But she had just seen her husband, who had been in a coma for more than ten days now, have a full-blown epileptic fit. And sure, she was strong, she was smart and she knew there was a risk of this happening. But seeing it happen to patients was one thing. Seeing it happen to someone you know was something else entirely.

Owen knew this. But Lora didn't know any of it. And when he raised his fingers to her face and wiped her tear-stained cheeks, she didn't know the fear, the guilt in her eyes almost made him snap. She didn't know how acutely aware he was that she blamed herself for this. She didn't know how sad it made him, how he thought of his mother. She was the same.

"Lora," he started, but she shook her head and rested her forehead against his chest. He caressed her hair again, holding her until she could hold herself.

Lora heaved in a deep breath. She exhaled and when she looked up, her eyes were guarded, her face set in determination. "I have to go back," she announced barely meeting his eyes. "Jonathan will want me there."

Dr Owen Shaw felt the Earth quake but he swallowed the many things he wanted to tell her. The speech he had prepared overnight didn't matter. She wanted distance. She wasn't ready and if that was how she felt, then he wouldn't push.  He wouldn't cause her any more pain. They would just ignore their connection if that was what she wanted. Or maybe wait it out. It will fizzle into nothing, or at least into something more bearable. Her husband will be waking up from his coma soon anyway. They didn't have any more time.

Her husband.

Dr Owen Shaw felt a stab of anger as he remembered how Jonathan Scicluna treated her, like she was his dog, but he quickly pushed it away. He had to. Jonathan was his patient for God's sake. It didn't matter that he thought he saw doubt, even lust, in Lora's doe, brown eyes whenever she looked at him. It didn't matter that he thought she hadn't smiled the way she smiled around him in years. He had to ignore all his instincts, all his beliefs because he had to respect the fact that she chose to ignore it too.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

He did not mean to push himself on her. If anything, he wanted to get away. And she knew that. He could see, from the sweet smile she gave him, from the soft closing of her eyes, her soft eyelashes sticking to the remnants of the tears on her pale cheeks, that she knew he just wanted to support her.

But Lora shook her head and answered, "Thank you, Owen."

#

When Lora walked back into the room, the heads of her four children turned towards her. Their eyes were questioning, full of concern. She had run off and Dr Shaw had chased after her without explanation. He shouldn't have done that, but Heavens! How she needed his words, his comfort.

Feeling uncomfortable, Lora shuffled her feet and pushed her loose locks behind her ears. She wiped under her eyes, knowing she must look a mess.

"James had a tutorial. He couldn't miss it. But he said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it. I told him what happened," Jess said as she bounced a sleepy Siena on her knee. Aiden had a book open in his lap but he was looking wistfully at his father, as though taking the opportunity to observe him while he couldn't yell at him.