Ella woke up with a gasp, sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face as she looked around the hotel room, looking for Andrew. Connor wakes up with her, sitting up and staring at her with fear in his eyes.
"Ella, honey, what is it? What's wrong?" he asks, noting her tears as she looked around frantically.
"He...he was here. I had him," she mumbled, her thoughts muddled from sleep and her mind racing with heartbreak.
"Who sweetheart? Who was here?"
"A...Andrew. I...I had him...in...my...arms..." she shuddered, holding out her arms and bursting into tears. Connor wrapped his arms around her, feeling his shirt dampen with her violent gasps of breath and torrents of tears. The horrors she'd endured these last few weeks had been awful enough to go through, but now the heartbreak she'd spent so long burying had resurfaced, and it was finally coming to a head.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered into his chest.
"For what, babe?"
"I can't let him go. It's been years, and I'm in love and engaged to this amazing man, and yet my college love is still a pain I can't be rid of. You must resent me, don't you?"
"Babe, look at me."
She looked up, and saw his face, a beaming light of hope and love. He had the kindest, warmest eyes she'd ever come across, and he gave her the respect and dignity that most men wouldn't bother to give her. He was her partner, and she loved him for it.
"I don't resent you. I understand that level of loss. I understand that the pain never goes away, and I know he's always going to have a part of your heart. It's ok babe. I'm happy to have any place in your heart, no matter how small a piece it is. I love you, and I'm here for you."
She looked into his eyes, smiled, and let her tears stream down her face. She rested her head on his chest, then looked out into the hotel room, and realized what she would have to do.
"Babe, I love you too. There's something we need to do, and if you mean what you say, then I'd like to do it together."
"What is it, babe?"
"We need to find Andrew's brother Howie, and we have to find a way to help Andrew himself. I don't know what's going on, but this dream I had, I think Andrew was trying to tell me something. Something about Zeus, and a way to stop the killings. I have to put an end to this madness. I just have to."
"I...I'm with you babe, no matter the cost. I'm always with you."
With that, Ella closed her eyes, and fell asleep, with Connor stroking her hair from her face and a sense of clarity coming over her. She had a mission, and she would fulfill it.