18 comments/ 27796 views/ 35 favorites Serenity Ch. 01 By: mimi186 The all new edited version of my first ever submission! I hope you guys prefer this. Big thank you to my editor Nnish, you've turned my work from water to wine and I am ever grateful. Enjoy Mimi xox ------------------ Chapter 1 10 years previous... Genevieve and Blake sat waiting in the doctor's office as Dr De Mont went to get the results of Genevieve's tests. Blake sat feeling rather smug; his wife had been feeling much better lately. He felt content that the results would come back negative. He had always liked Dr De Mont. He was a friendly, gentle man, who had always strived to look after his wife and his level of care was unfaltering. He really classed him as a friend since the first time they had met, making a note at the time, to invite him and his family around for dinner. Dr De Mont came back into the room. Immediately, Blake could see that the colour in the doctor's face had gone. Blake's stomach dropped as Dr De Mont said the words; "I'm so sorry to say this Genevieve; the cancer has returned but this time it has spread throughout your body. It's terminal now and I'll be honest with you, any treatment will be just to keep you alive for as long as possible." The room started to feel too hot and close, the last thing Blake heard was; "The cancer has returned." He felt his world crumble in front of his eyes. His dear Genevieve, the one woman he loved, was going to die and there was nothing they could do anymore. A sudden thought flashed through his mind; he was going to be a single parent and before that, how was he going to tell his baby girl that in a few months' time, her mum wasn't going to be around anymore, that she was going to be in a better place. He looked over at Genevieve and Dr De Mont and realized they had been talking while he had spaced out. They were talking about her treatment plan that could keep her alive long enough to say goodbye to everyone and get everything set up for after she had gone. However, there was no certainty that she would not take a turn early. When they left the doctor's office, they were silent. Blake kept looking over at his wife who looked surprisingly content. On the long journey to his parent's house to pick up their daughter they barely spoke. As he manoeuvred his way through the busy streets, he couldn't resist asking her why she was so calm about the situation. He could not get his head around it. She replied simply that it was time. She had prepared herself the first time, and she would not go through it again. The next few months dragged on, there were many hospital appointments, and he watched his wife getting frailer. His daughter, although she appeared mostly happy and always willing to go to the appointments with her mother, there was no doubt in his mind that there was a lot of sadness behind his young daughters eyes and frankly, it was breaking his heart. It was too much for a 12 year old to go through, but what could he do? This was life. _________ Present Day *Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep.* Honey in a disorientated haze glanced at the offending object disrupting her sleep. The numbers 8:30 registered in her. "SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" she exclaimed aloud. "Trust you, Honey Richards to be late for another event in your life. You will be late for your own funeral!" momentarily flashing back to her mother's funeral, she shook her head and jumped out of bed. Threw her freshly ironed outfit, brushed her long dark hair into a tight high ponytail and ran out of the door, yellow stethoscope in hand. When she finally arrived at the A&E department of Mercy General, a short woman named Sister Barrington greeted her. Beaming at the Sister, Honey spoke "Hello, I'm Hon-" "You're 15 minutes late... great impression you made on your first day Perky." she said cutting in. "I am so sor-" "Your scrubs are in the locker 12 in the room to your left. And hurry up, accidents aren't going to wait round for you." she said, interrupting Honey again. She handed Honey a key. "That's the locker key, put your stuff in there, and then meet me out here, Ok?" Honey simply nodded. Though slightly down heartened by the grumpy Nurse Barrington, she was none the less excited to be starting her first day as a real nurse. Once she had changed into her light blue scrubs, noting how strangely comfortable they were, she couldn't help but think how truly happy she was to finally be a qualified nurse. Deep in thought, the grumpy nurse snapped her out of her little bubble. "Hey, Perky... snap out of it, we have work to do!" "Sor-" "Go straight to bed 7, the lady has come in with a laceration on her head." the nurse said then walked off. 'Throw me straight in there why don't you' Honey thought. Though a little voice in her head told her to be thankful that she hadn't given her a patient with atrial arrhythmia or something! She put her yellow stethoscope around her neck noticing how badly it clashed with her scrubs but nonetheless excited to be there. Her dad had put all of his money into her education in order for her to have a career. When her mother died, her father had to give up his work as an accountant when he became severely depressed. He used his savings to put her through education and she worked all the hours she could as a waitress, to keep them going on a day-to-day basis. He gave her the stethoscope as a present for qualifying as a nurse. Yellow had been her favourite colour since she was a child and her dad always noted that it matched her personality. She was knocked out of her dream state by a hard chest and a thud of files hitting the ground. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed whilst trying to pick up the files she had knocked out of the stranger's hands. "I was completely in my own world." "Well instead of daydreaming, why don't you watch where you are going next time!" the stranger said in an irritated tone. Honey continued apologising and picking up files from the floor. "Again I'm very sorry, it's my first day and I'm still trying to get my head around everything." "I don't really see that as an excuse, do you?" he asked in a belittling tone, like a teacher does when talking to a troublesome child. Honey looked up at him. She had been expecting to look at a fat, balding, grumpy old man but he was the complete opposite. He was about 6'3 with short blonde hair, that was slightly ruffled for a professional yet sexy bed hair look. His face was very angular with medium sized lips. He was very Nordic looking, but what struck her were his eyes; one bright blue and one green. A complete heterochromia. It was captivating. She had seen a sectorial heterochromia before but even that was only on television with people like Kate Bosworth! But, although it did very much interest her medically, he might have had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen! Completely mesmerizing! She thought she was a sucker for blue eyes but this...this; she was drowning in their beauty! "Hello?" he said waving a hand in front of her face, "Are you actually going to get some work done now? Make a half decent impression on your first day?" he said, almost in a mocking tone. Honey nodded her head, yes, and apologised for what seemed like the hundredth time, feeling like a scolded child she hastily went to see to the woman in bed 7. She finished her first set of rounds at around 13:00. Nurse Barrington therefore allowed her to get some lunch in the canteen. After picking a cheese sandwich to eat and paying, she sat at a table and started eating alone and sipping on her bottle of water. No one came to sit with her over lunch. She imagined working in a hospital to be more like being in the couple of episodes of Scrubs she had seen, but, having been in hospitals so much when she was younger meant she should have known better. It's a lonely place. She felt very small sat at the table on her own, she was about to get up and leave when she heard a thud on the table in front of her. "You dropped this." said a familiar voice, throwing her bright stethoscope on the table. She looked up only to look into the same pair of beautiful eyes. "Oh my goodness, I hadn't even noticed. I was so rushed off my feet." she replied. "See that it doesn't happen again. You're beginning to make a habit of clumsiness and considering being rushed off your feet is a big part of A&E, you better get used to it." he stated matter-of-factly and before she had time to answer, he was gone. A little bit stunned from her second encounter with the stranger, she failed to notice a man sit down next to her. "Hey, you're new here, right?" she heard before lifting her head. "Ummm... Yeah sorry, I'm Honey, nice to meet you." she said smiling and extending her hand for the guy to speak. "I'm Rory" he said shaking her hand. "So tell me what you were doing talking to Dr Dreamy over there?" Moving his head to the left in the direction of where the stranger was sitting. "Isn't he lovely?" he continued before letting her speak. "I hear that he paid out of his own money to build a small hospital in Uganda or something and volunteers there in the summer...such a big heart." he said in an almost intoxicated state. "Oh wow... That's wow! Unfortunately I don't think he likes me very much though." Honey said, looking down at the table sadly. Rory snapped out of his little world and looked at her a little dumbfounded. "But...why do you say that? Mr De Mont likes everyone?" sounding slightly amazed. "Well, since I accidentally bumped into him, he keeps telling me off or mocking me like I'm a school child." she said, starting to feel a little irked that he seemingly just didn't like her. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, he's probably just having a bad day or something." He replied quickly, though he'd never known Mr De Mont to say a bad word to anyone! Brushing it off, he proceeded to ask Honey about herself, probing into her life until it was time for them to get back to work. ______________ Matt had had a long day so far, he was in the middle of a 14 hour shift, which he, frankly, wasn't very happy about. When she bumped into him, it had really annoyed him, just making his bad mood worse; knowing that he would have to sort through the files again. Completely clouded by his bad mood he didn't really notice what she looked like or who she was. Now, staring at her from across the room, he had been looking at her since he gave her back her stethoscope. He noticed her raw beauty; there was something almost angelic about her. The charcoal hair that though tied up still came to the base of her neck. Her brown skin that had a golden tone, like caramel. Her full, kissable lips and finally her glistening doe eyes, like shards of amber. Simply beautiful. She seemed so happy but behind her eyes he could see a deep sadness, that he wanted to magic away. The idea struck him that, that sadness could be something to do with him, it tugged at his heart that it might be his fault. Realizing that he was getting a little too involved with a girl he didn't even know, he pushed the thoughts of her to the back of his head. She really was the least of his worries right now, nothing more than a pretty face and a clumsy body, he hastily got back to his work. Slightly perturbed by his building feelings for someone he didn't know. ______________ Honey was more than happy to be at home after her long day, nothing had gone particularly well, but at least she was home now, she could get into bed and go straight to sleep. Her dad was asleep in front of the TV again. She lightly kissed him on the head then went up to bed. The light came on as soon as she went in her bedroom; of course Kimmy was sitting there, as they shared a bedroom when Kimmy was back from University. Kimmy was Honey's cousin, though they were more like sister's as she had been living with Honey on and off since she was 4. Kimmy's mum, Genevieve's youngest sister, couldn't always look after herself, let alone Kimmy. At these times, before Kimmy could go into care, Blake and Genevieve agreed to take her in until her sister got back on her feet. Kimmy was 4 years younger than Honey but they were very similar they often got mistaken for sisters; the main difference being the Kimmy's dad was Japanese whereas Blake was White. "So how was your first day?" Kimmy asked intrigued. Though usually a lot more reserved and shy than Honey, when it came to gossip, Kimmy was all ears! Honey told her all about her run in with Mr De Mont and the intoxicated look Rory had in his eyes when he talked about Mr De Mont, until eventually they both drifted off to sleep. _____________ The rest of the week flew by for Honey, she saw little of Rory and even less of Mr De Mont, which she was rather glad about. Concentrating on settling in and working as many our as she could. _____________ Honey woke up determined to have a better second week at work, try to erase the first one from her mind and hopefully not piss a certain someone off. When she arrived at Mercy General, this time 10 minutes early for her shift she was addressed by the ever grumpy, Sister Barrington, who ordered her to Bed 2, where there was a woman with a suspected broken ankle. As she walked through the curtain of bed 2 she realised that there was already someone in the room with the patient. "Matt, I told you I'm fine. I just fel-" Both Matt and the woman starred at Honey. "Oh hi, I'm Cecile" the lady said, outstretching her hand. Matt and Honey continued to stare at each other. It suddenly registered in Honey's head that someone had spoken, and she knew it wasn't Mr De Mont so it must have been the women on the bed. "What did you say? I was in my own world for a moment!" Honey responded. "As usual" Matt said under his breath. Honey looked at the floor in embarrassment. Cecile shot him a daggered look. "Sorry, it's not like my brother to be so insolent, I was just saying my name's Cecile but just call me Cece, now, Matt go and do some consultant work, I'm sure...what's your name?" "Nurse Honey Richards" Matt answered before Honey could. Leaving Honey slightly shocked he even knew who she was. "Honey can patch me up fine without your help." "Okay, but if you need anything don't hesitate message me." with that, Matt left. "So again I must apologise for my brother, you must believe me he's not usually that rude." "It's ok, I don't think he's too fond of me, since I bumped into him on my first day." Honey said smiling sheepishly whilst examining Cece's tender ankle. "Oh don't be silly Matt doesn't dislike anyone, he probably just needs some more time to warm to you. He can be a bit like that sometimes." "Hmm, I hope so. I hate to be disliked. Wait. I guess everybody does, I just like to be liked. Oh gosh, that just sounds stupid as well! Probably why he doesn't like me. I'm so stupid!" "Whoa Honey! I don't know If you meant to say all that out loud, but seriously Hon you need to stop beating yourself up. Now that I think about it he might like you more than you know. I think he mentioned you the other day......whoops I think I let a little bit more slip out than I meant to, but never mind, I said it now!" Cece tried to comfort a slightly distressed Honey. Honey in a typical Honey manner just dropped her head and blushed. 'He spoke about me?! Now I'm really confused' she thought. "So am I gunna need a big ol' cast for my ankle, Hon?" interrupting Honey's dream state. Honey looked up brightly. "Unfortunately, I think so. I'll take you up to X-ray first though." The 2 ladies nattered happily until Cece was allowed home with her new navy blue cast, insisting that navy was the best colour of a bad bunch. "Honey, I know it's a bit soon but we've got on so well, I feel like you're an old friend! So you have to come to my house warming party, I've just moved into this cute apartment in the village with my new hubby!" "I would love to Cece, but I don't think your brother would want me there" "Hon, I couldn't give two shits about what he thinks, you're my new friend so you ARE coming, besides I think Matt would be happier than you think to see you." she said winking. "Well I guess... I'll be there." she said with a radiating smile, though inside Honey was not so sure how this was going to turn out. ___________ 3 week later... Honey felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, whilst resting in the on call room, she ignored it and continued to try to get some sleep. After another 15 minutes it vibrated again, so Honey conceded and decided she should probably get up anyways. Checking her messages she saw 2 messages from Cece: Honey are you still coming to my party tonight? Xxx And don't even think about trying to get out of it, you are coming end of. 7:30 @ Crescent Place. Xxx 'I guess I can't get out of it now, better go find a dress after my shift' she concluded, as nothing at her house would be suitable as she did not own any cute clothes due to never having the time to go anywhere nice, since her mother was alive. 'Good job, I've been working overtime' she thought, as there would have been no way she would have the money for a nice dress. ___________ As Kimmy was back at Uni until the summer and her best friend, Ann-Marie, still wasn't back from the US., Honey text Cece to see if she wanted to come and look for something to wear for the party. It was only 13.30; it would still leave Cece time to finish setting up for her party. Cece picked Honey up from the hospital in a chauffeur driven black Maybach 62s. "Honey, I'm so glad you text, I forgot to tell you, the party is formal wear, I got my dress a few weeks ago and I wasn't sure if you had anything to wear!" Honey got in the back with Cece, extremely careful not to even touch the paintwork, knowing how much Maybach's cost. "No, I literally have nothing to wear Cece!" "Good job I text you then! We should have a proper girly day get our hair, make-up and nails done!" "Don't you have to get set up for the party though?" Honey said looking questioningly. "Hon, seriously? I have a party planner to do all that, you really think I would do that with this big old cast on?!" Cece laughed, as the chauffer pulled off and drove them to the shopping centre. Honey and Cece had been shopping for hours. They had found the perfect dress for Honey, complete with accessories and shoes. They had gotten their make-up and hair done and Honey had a manicure for the first time. Cece had insisted on paying for the hair, make-up and nails brushing it off as her little treat! Cece dropped Honey back at the Hospital so she could drive home and get dressed for the party. ___________ Honey arrived home to find that her father wasn't up, not really surprised; she went to check on him. Still in bed as she had thought. Since her mother had died, her father had fallen into a deep depression. Honey made food for him every night and did all she could in between school and now work. Though he took medication for it, he still got low days and didn't have much motivation. She checked that he had eaten something, and then went to put on her dress and get ready. "Good job I showered at work." she said allowed to herself. Once she was ready, she realised it was 19.15 and that she had better get a move on. Jumping into her little Vauxhall Corsa, she hotfooted it to Cece's party. ________ When Honey arrived outside Cece's apartment block which looked more like a upscale hotel, she was surrounded by expensive cars; Bentley's, Rolls Royce's, Mercedes, Range Rovers, every expensive car imaginable. Now feeling quite embarrassed about her little Corsa, she begrudgingly let the valet take her car. Immediately it hit her that Cece hadn't given her the number to her apartment. Just as she was about to text her, an older man dressed in a burgundy suit with gold trim came up to her. Serenity Ch. 01 "Are you looking for the De Mont party?" "Yes I am actually." She smiled. "Right this way ma'am." The man took her to the lift, pressed the button for the penthouse flat and proceeded back to the lobby. __________ Honey walked into the penthouse and was handed a glass of champagne with a strawberry in it. Honey was completely mesmerised by the chic yet luxuriousness of her surroundings, from the gold leafed wall to the plush white sofa's and sparkling marble floors. The apartment was bigger than her entire house. She was so distracted by her surroundings she didn't notice when a rather cheery and slightly tipsy Cece approached her. "Honey, you made it. I mean I know you said you would, I'm just so pleased you're here I've got to introduce you to everyone!!!" she rambled excitedly. "Hey Cece, thank you so much for inviting me this place is beautiful! I don't think I've ever been in such a wonderful place!" "Oh don't be silly it's just my humble little abode, now come and meet Jack." Jack wasn't quite what Honey had imagined him to be. Cece, being a 26 year old stunner with long blonde with a slim body and tall like a supermodel, she reminded Honey of a young Claudia Schiffer and not only was she beautiful with piercing blue eyes she also had the personality that just completed her. She was funny, caring, loveable with a general zest for life. She could have any man she wanted and Jack just wasn't quite what Honey had expected. Jack was older than Cece, around 43. Tall, dark hair, slightly greying at the sides, shorter than Cece, about 5'9 to Cece's 5'11. But his personality was amazing. Jack was one of the funniest people Honey had ever met. He was a complete comedian and that is where Cece and Jack were suited, always joking and messing around with each other, constantly laughing and so in love. He welcomed Honey as warmly as Cece had and she knew that they were all going to be good friends. Then Matt walked in and Honey's happy bubble was popped. She immediately felt nervous and extremely uncomfortable as he was walking towards her with a tall, thin women. Was that his date? Why was he walking towards her? She suddenly realised she was standing with Cece and Jack, his sister and brother-. Panic started to set in but Matt had seen her standing with them, she couldn't run away now. 'This is going to be awkward' Matt warmly greeted his sister and brother. He got to Honey and he just stared with an expression that Honey really couldn't read so she took it as dislike. After a few seconds, which felt like hours to Honey, the thin lady interjected. Giving Honey the opportunity to have real look at her, she was the complete opposite of Honey; light brown hair with blonde highlights, stick thin with long legs making her around 5'10. In her killer heels giving her the same height as Matt and wearing a low V-neck mid-thigh length silver sequined dress. "Hi, I see you and Matt have met before, I'm Krystal. His wife." she said, giving Honey the fakest smile anyone could muster. Honey's heart sank right into her stomach. She felt sick, like she had been repeatedly punched. But she had to suck it up, her and Matt had never been anything, he didn't even like her. So why was she so bothered? Giving Krystal a genuine smile Honey spoke "Hi Krystal. It's wonderful to meet you. I've heard so much about you, I'm glad we could finally meet. I'm Cece's friend Honey." __________ Matt hated parties mostly because after working a shift, sometimes a double shift, at the hospital he wanted to rest. Not necessarily sleep, but put his feet up. This party was no exception but, of course, Krystal wanted to go. Krystal always wanted to go out, with or without him. He would have chosen without, if it hadn't been his sister's party and as Cece had a great dislike for Krystal, she wouldn't be going without him. Matt and Krystal had been going out since they were about 24; they had met at some party. Matt had just seen her as a warm body for the night and Krystal had seen him as a future investment, a sure source of money. At 32, Matt was the youngest consultant working in A&E and Krystal was a socialite. Matt really didn't know why he was still with her. He figured it was convenience; he worked a lot of shifts and he didn't really have enough time to go out and find someone else. Her only real uses were; she looked alright at parties and she gave him some sort of sexual release, not to mention his mother liked her. Matt on the other hand thought she was a cold bitch; she could pretty much jump under a bus for all he cared. He was in a loveless marriage to say the least. Shoving on his suit and Krystal putting on one of her ever slutty outfits, they took the Range Rover to the party. Krystal wanted to take the new Ferrari but Matt was much more comfortable in his Range Rover. In the end, he usually won seeing as he bought the cars. When they finally got to the party, it was looking as boring as the usual parties were, until he saw her. She was wearing a magenta fishtail dress, which seemed to change colour slightly when she moved. Her hair came down to her waist in large raven curls. Her nails were perfectly French manicured and she had brown eye shadow on her eyes, with a clear gloss on her lips. It was a far cry from the way he usually saw her, fresh faced with her hair in a ponytail. She looked so beautiful. Though he couldn't decide which way he preferred her, he really would prefer seeing her writhing naked underneath him, moaning in sheer pleasure. __________ "So how did you and...your wife meet?" the question slightly startling Matt. Krystal had left, deciding that the conversation she was having with Honey was not really worth her time, when she could be flirting and drinking. So she left, leaving Matt and Honey together. "Umm...Oh a house party when we were like 25 or something, I don't really remember it that well." "Oh wow" Honey said looking shocked. "You must really love each other to be together that long." 'Was that, upset I saw on Honey's sweet face? Why was she upset about me being married?' He shook himself, 'she couldn't like me could she?' Before Matt could think of anything to say to comfort her, she was gone. _________ Honey knew seeing Matt would be uncomfortable, but him being married was just, it threw her off. She had to get away from him. It was upsetting to be around him for some reason. 'Could I be developing feelings for him? No, he doesn't even like me, that's just silly' A drink was what she needed that would clear her head. Honey spent the next hour sitting in a quiet corner, drinking glass after glass of champagne. A few people had come to talk to her, mostly single bachelors looking for a bit of "exotic fun" as they called it. Being the only person of another ethnicity there, having some "fun" with her was probably something on their bucket list. The more time went by, the more uncomfortable Honey felt being there, the more Honey drank. Until finally she decided it was time to stumble her way to her car, she didn't realise quite how much she had drunk until she stood up and nearly fell over. Maybe she should walk home. She was about to stagger out of the door, when she felt a hand grab hold of her arm. "You can't walk home in that state, I'll drive you." About to turn round a protest, she was looking into a pair of green eyes; she vaguely remembered them to belong to one of the bachelors that had propositioned her earlier. Too drunk to argue, Honey just smiled then concentrated on walking. When they got to the lobby, she sat in the passenger side of the green eyed man's car and he sped off. After fighting off a few of his propositions, he said, "Where do you live?" Seemingly, now slightly irritated he had agreed to drive her home. Honey was drunk but not a complete fool. When she was in the car with the green-eyed man, she decided that she was going to get out a block before her house. Not really wanting him to know where she lived. "On Redcrest Road." she managed to get out without sounding too drunk. "It's only down the road from here, so you might as well get out." Almost pushing Honey out, he gave her a nudge and she stumbled out the door, no sooner had she closed it, he sped off down the street. Vaguely recognising where she was, Honey stumbled off down the street. Crossing the road, she didn't notice the car coming at her at a fast pace until it was too late. Serenity Ch. 02 Hey Loves, Here it is, took a little longer than expected but I hope to have chapter 3 up as soon as i can! Thanks so much to my editor Nnish, speedy as always and happy to help with my reoccurring mistakes! A little saint!! Turning my work from soil to grass. I hope you enjoy, though not as explosive I hope none the less interesting. Mimi xoxo ------------- Chapter 2 Matt had completely forgotten he was on call until his pager bleeped. Quickly apologising to Cece for having to leave, he jumped in his Range Rover and got to the hospital as quickly as possible. Throwing his suit jacket in the back of his car before he got out, he rushed into the A&E. "Where's the patient?" Matt said to a nurse standing at the nurse's station. "Dr Andrews stabilised and patched her up; she's gone for an MRI scan and then will be in ICU." "Sounds like you've got this covered; can I see the patient's chart?" Handing Matt the chart, the nurse continued to go about her business. Matt aimlessly looked through the chart, seeing that the girl had been involved in a hit and run. She had a bad blow to the head with a large laceration, a broken arm, a fractured collarbone, broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone and to top it all off a compact pelvic fracture, this little lady was a fighter to be still alive. He would have to commend Dr Andrews for stabilising her. Thinking he should probably go and take the patient from Dr Andrews's hands as he had other patients to see to as well, he got into to the lift to take him to the intensive care unit. Looking at the chart again, he froze. He hadn't looked at the name before, and now an all too familiar name was staring him in the face. Miss Honey Richards. 'It couldn't be my Honey, but how many Honey Richards are there?!' He started to panic, his chest felt tight, his heart was palpitating, it started to get really hot in the elevator. He needed to see her, right now. Pushing the button for the fourth floor again and again, the elevator wasn't going any faster! *Ding* "The doors will now open" Jumping out of the lift and walking as fast as his muscular legs could take him, he hotfooted it to the ICU. There she was, battered and bruised, looking so small in the hospital bed, so helpless. Machines attached to her, not even breathing on her own. "Mr De Mont, she has some bleeding to the brain but considering how bad it looks, she's doing ok." "I'll take it from here, good job." Matt mindlessly stated, unable to pull his eyes away from Honey. When Dr Andrews left, Matt sat down next to Honey, took her hand in his and vowed; he would do every and anything in his power to make sure she would make a full recovery. He wouldn't lose her, he just couldn't. In that moment he realised how much Honey meant to him, he had never felt like this about anyone and had given up hope that he ever would. The day he saw Honey, she was like a little ray of sunshine, brightening the day of everyone she met. She was stunning, curvy, a perfect height. Long satin hair and intense amber eyes. She was beautiful inside and out. Subconsciously from the moment he saw her, he knew that she would be his forever. Whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not. He couldn't go a day without at least glimpsing her. He noticed every little expression from across the cafeteria when she sat talking to the other nurses, when she had her head stuck in paperwork and she furrowed her brow in the cute way she did when she concentrated or the bright, beaming smile that came over her face when she was talking to a patient. He had tried to ignore his feelings for her by brushing them aside but it hadn't worked, he just got frustrated then, he thought about her constantly. Seeing her in such a helpless manner, gave him the push he needed to finally admit to himself; he had feelings for her. Even if he didn't know her well at all, he just knew they were destining to be together ________ Over the next few weeks, Matt was with her every day, tending to everything she needed. He also had her moved to the best private room in the hospital at his own expense. He had met her father, Blake and her sister, Kimmy as they came to see her at least 3 times a week. Matt didn't want to meet Blake, he would have preferred to have Honey introduce Blake to him, but 'sometimes we can't get what we want' he thought to himself. Whilst talking with Blake one day, he discovered what had happened to Honey's mother Genevieve and that in fact his father had treated her. Only making Matt more sure they should be together. Honey was slowly recovering; she was breathing on her own, she no longer had a frame supporting her pelvis and due to the nature of the fracture she hadn't required any surgery which Matt was over the moon about. She had her arm in a cast and her shoulder in a sling preventing movement so her collarbone could heal. Her cheekbone was healing nicely and he had got the best plastic surgeon in the country to come and look at the laceration on her head and find a way to minimise the scarring. The best news was that Honey was slowly coming out of her coma, she was fighting through. She was beginning to respond to pain by moving away, she would move slightly from time to time and her eyes would flicker. Honey was coming back to him. But there was one major problem, Krystal. He didn't love her and she slept around, so he should just leave her. But he knew Krystal wouldn't let the socialite life go that easily and his mother wouldn't let Krystal go so easily. Matt was also conveniently ignoring the other obvious problem; that Honey may not reciprocate his feelings. Matt often spent nights at the hospital so he could be there at any moment if anything happened to Honey, but tonight he thought it best to go home; he needed some proper sleep after four weeks of tending to Honey constantly and if he didn't get some sleep he would not be at his best for her. He just prayed that Krystal wouldn't be there. He checked Honey's vitals one more time, gave her some more morphine to be a hundred percent she was in no pain and some anti-emetics just in case today she decided to come around, he didn't want her feeling any worse. Then he left. Matt felt uncomfortable coming out of the hospital and walking up to his Range Rover; not one to be flashy, he had a more appropriate car he drove to work, an Audi A3. Cars were his love; after work and his trips to Uganda. They were his vice, not to mention distracting him from the ever annoying Krystal. In total, he had about 35 from Super cars like his Bugatti, which he managed to secure straight from the factory to muscle cars like his Chevrolet Camaro and luxury cars like his Mercedes S-class. He loved them all, even having an underground storage for them under his house, this being about the only part of this house he had a say in. When Matt finally arrived back home, he retired to his bedroom in the luxurious house. Matt and Krystal had been sleeping in separate rooms for a while, In the beginning this was due to his odd sleeping patterns and not wanting to wake Krystal with his restlessness but now it was because he couldn't stand to see her. Seeing that Krystal was home, he really didn't feel like talking to her. If he was honest, he didn't even want to see her bony ass after seeing his beautiful Honey today. To his disgust, Krystal had obviously seen he was home because no sooner had he hopped into his bed, Krystal stumbled into his room. "Great, this is just what I need a drunk Krystal, chatting her usual shite I just want to sleep!" Matt muttered angrily. "Mattey baby, why...why are you always so mean to me, I'm your wife!" she slurred. "Krystal, you're drunk go to bed." "No, I want to talk to you! I haven't seen you in nearly 3 weeks!" "You never cared before, why start now? I'm busy, end of conversation. Let me sleep" "But-" "Go" When Krystal was drunk, was when Matt felt most sorry for her, actually had some compassion for her. She seemed to be a lot more expressive and talk about her feelings when she was drunk, but as soon as the sun came up Krystal would go back to her normal, bitch of a self. Frankly it was tiring, to the point he felt numb to her emotions. To start with he would get annoyed when she slept around. He was determined to make it work and for them to be happily married, eventually falling in love with each other. But that had not happened; he went from feeling angry that she slept with other men to accepting it to feeling nothing. He felt nothing for her anymore, the years of her whoring around, dating other men, getting ridiculously drunk and spending his money left, right and centre had taken its toll, he tried to love her but she made it impossible and now he felt devoid of feeling, even when she cried. His father had always told him; there is one thing worse than hating the person you are supposed to love, and that is feeling nothing for them. No matter whether they beat you up emotional, physically or fall apart in front of you, you still feel something. But if they've made it so bad for you, you feel empty and couldn't care what happened to them, then they must have really destroyed the relationship and broke you down. Matt had never thought he could feel that much disdain for someone. But he did. He never really thought about leaving her, simply because he couldn't be bothered, it was more effort than she was worth. But for Honey, it was worth it. Drifting to sleep with the thoughts of Honey. Just as he was about to go into a deep sleep, Matt heard the beep of his pager. She was awake his Honey was awake. _________ Honey woke up feeling, disorientated to say the least and kind of high! Feeling light headed but generally ok, she tried to get up. A scream of pain was heard throughout the ward, even through the walls of her private room. Never had Honey felt pain like that in her life, almost to the point of passing out. Night nurses came running to her bedside, helping her back into bed and administering more morphine to her IV. That's when Honey remembered what had happened, she must be in hospital. That light must have been a car and that car must have hit her. She didn't know how long she had laid there but the Morphine had started to kick in again and she realised in her hazy state how truly alone she was. She wanted someone to care for her, that loved her. Yes there was Kimmy and her dad but it was not the same. They were her family, no, she wanted someone to be in love with her, to look after her in her times of need and share her life with in times of happiness. She didn't know whether it was the morphine, the pain or just raw emotion but she started to cry. Not just sob but cry her heart out, she hadn't cried in with so much feeling since her mother died. This only made her cry harder. That's when Matt walked in, with a look of concern etched across his face. "W-what are you doing here Matt?" she managed to stammer out. _________ Matt didn't know what to do, he dreamed of this day; what he would say, what he would do. In his head he was going to say something mind blowing and sweep her off her feet. Sadly that didn't happen. "I'm the consultant on call." Kicking himself, he decided he would have to rectify the situation later. He'd make it up to her, after all he had the rest of their life to do that. He hoped. "So is there anything I can do for you whilst I'm here Miss Richards? Call anyone? More painkillers? Cup of tea?" "Umm... just a glass of water please" she replied somewhat croakily. "There's some on the stand next to you, would you like me to pour you some?" "No, no it's fine... I can manage. It's fine, you can leave now, I'm sure you have more important things to do round here." "Well, it's pretty quiet, so I can stay as long as you need." "Honestly I'm ok, I just want to know how long I have been out for?" "About four and a half weeks." Her response was simply a nod. As Matt turned to leave, he heard an almost inaudible noise. Then there it was again. Sniffling, weeping. She was crying. He rushed back over to her. "Are you ok?! Honey?! Where's it hurting?!" "I'm not in pain Matt, well at least not physically. I feel bad." "What do you feel bad about?" Relief washing over his face, the thought of Honey in pain distressing him. "I don't want to bother you I'm just being silly." "Go on, I'm all ears." Matt spoke with a friendly smile on his face. An endearing expression from Matt that she'd never really seem before. He seemed genuinely concerned for her, She gathered that this was probably how he treated all his patients. The Matt she had heard all about from Rory, many a lunchtime! "I just feel bad for putting Kimmy and my dad through all this just because I got drunk because I was jealous and upset. It's ridiculous. I feel so ashamed of myself." She lowered her head and began to sob again. ''It's not your fault, accidents happen. They'll just be happy to see you well Honey." Matt couldn't help but think she had got herself in such a state because she was upset at seeing he was married, It made sense why she had excused herself so abruptly and why she looked so hurt by Krystal's presence, but then he could just be overthinking the situation, people get drunk all the time, he rationalised. So instead of pondering it he stepped back and went to call Blake and Kimmy to tell them the good news. ____________ Before too long it was nearly time for Honey to leave her bed at Mercy General. In the following weeks leading to her leaving, she had many sessions with the physiotherapist so she was able to walk again. All her bandages and cast where off and the scars were nearly non-existent. She had worked really hard to get her health back to how it before the accident. She had seen Matt from time to time but he never stayed very long just to check that she was on course to go home. Cece had come to see her practically every day bringing her something nice every time and always with a bag of grapes. Before Honey could go home, there was a problem that needed to be resolved. Where she was going to stay. This was a problem that was thoroughly stressing Matt out, more so than Honey who hadn't even really thought about it. The issue was that Honey still needed a lot of assistance. She could walk but only for short periods of time, she was still very frail. From conversing with Blake, he knew that Kimmy was in college most of the time and Blake was in no state to look after himself let alone anyone else, he now had a helper coming round every day to help him around the house and keep him company. Matt was ready to have Honey come live with him, but as Honey knew nothing of his feelings for her he figured this may be too much. So he contacted the next best thing; Cece. "Hey big brother" her voice chimed down the phone. "Hey Cece, I've got a favour to ask of you." Cece couldn't recall any time in her adult life that Matt had asked her for anything, she was all ears. "Go on." "I need you to have Honey stay with you until she's completely better." "Of course Matt, you didn't even need to ask. We have more than enough room at the flat and if I'm honest it would give me some company, I get so bored when I have no shoots and when I do, I'm sure we can find someone to take my place." 'That would be me.' He thought to himself before speaking. "Great she'll be discharged on Friday, can you pick her up?" "Yes Matt, that's fine." "Alright, thank you Cece, it's much appreciated. By-" Cece interrupted is hasty goodbye's "I know why you're doing this." "What do you mean?!" "I know how you feel about her, I've known since the day I met her. Bye Matt." The phone line went dead. 'How does she know, was is that obvious? No, she just knew him too well.' That's what he hoped anyway. ____________ Honey was happy to see Cece for her visit, she hadn't been to see her since Monday and it was now Thursday. Honey was getting increasingly agitated about not being able to go anywhere or do anything for herself, not to mention being really, really bored. So seeing one of her best friends was a more than welcome sight. "Hey Hon, how you feeling?" Cece said, in a chirpy tone. "Ready to go home." "Well that's really what I came to talk to you about. See Hon, I know you desperately want to go back to your own home, but your dad just can't give you the care and support you need right now. So I was thinking you could come and stay with me? If that's all right with you?'' Honey sat for a moment and thought about what Cece had said. Yes, she really wanted to go home and see her family but Kimmy was rarely there and she didn't want to put any more pressure on her father. Plus it would be nice having someone around to help her out. "If you're sure it's ok with you and Jack, that would be so great! Thank You." "You are more than welcome Hon, you can stay for as long as you like!" "Only until I'm better, then I'll be out of your hair." "I'll come for you about one pm tomorrow." "Thanks again Cece" __________ It was finally time for her to leave, Honey could not believe that she was actually leaving. She felt like she had been in the hospital for years, like she was never going to get better. But she had, and she was leaving. What she really wanted to do was get back to work and just absorb herself in normal life again, but unfortunately she still had a few months before she could go back to work. There was one thing she was still confused about, Matt. She thought being in the hospital, around him all the time would at least give her some peace of mind about her feelings for him and maybe even a bit of insight about how he felt for her. Unfortunately, she had no such luck, in fact she was more confused than before her accident. Her father and Kimmy had told her about how well he looked after and that he was always checking up on her, but he was an amazing doctor and he probably did that for all his patients. But she did know, well she hoped that her and Matt could finally be friends. Putting her feelings aside for him, if only for Cece's sake, friendship would be great. So, deciding on a plan of action that would be best. First she would have to talk to Cece and see what she thought of the whole situation. Then find a way to talk to Matt, which was difficult seeing as something always went wrong! Cece then popped round the door, interrupting her train of thought. "Hey Doll, excited to finally leave? I'm so excited we can go shopping, get our nails done, go on little trips! You can be the sister, I never had. Like a giant sleepover!" Cece, ever the optimist! How she lived to this day without her she didn't know. "I've packed my stuff up, can we leave? Please, please, please!!" "Doll, we shall be leaving shortly just got to get any prescriptions you need and then get you discharged." "Okay, fine! Just hurry" she replied with a smile. Cece got it sorted in a matter of few minutes with a quick bat of her eyelids, before Honey knew it they were back at Cece's and she was helping Honey get settled in her room. "So...Hon, I was thinking we should have like a 'Welcome Home Honey!' party?" "Umm I really appreciate the thought but is it a bit soon? And umm.. I don't know that many people Cece." "Oh don't worry about that, I have it all sorted, everyone's coming. I got help from my dear brother." She winked. "I didn't really have time to meet anyone just Rory I guess." "I have it all sorted for Sunday." Serenity Ch. 02 "That's like 2 days?! I don't have anything to wear! I'm not ready! Can't we do it like next Saturday?!" "No! That's too late; you'll have been home ages by then!" "Cece, as much as I love you, I'm still not in the perfect shape to be partying!" "Don't be silly Doll, It's not going to be that kind of party." She said smiling. "Just a few friends, good food and everyone seeing you back in good health." "As for the nothing to wear part, we are off out shopping tomorrow annddd I even got a wheelchair for you, so don't worry about getting tired. Matt said it's 'the Rolls Royce of wheelchairs,'" she said with a wink. The rest of the evening, the girls started planning the party despite Honey's resistance to have a party. They decided they would have the party early so that Honey wouldn't feel overwhelmed. They also decided, well, Cece decided, just to make it more exciting, in her words, that they would make it fancy dress! The chatted the night away discussing what to wear, before Honey drifted off to sleep. Serenity Ch. 03 The evening of the party had come and Cece had by far surpassed any expectation Honey had for the party. The apartment was even more lavishly decorated than usual; beautiful flower centre pieces spaced along the twenty seater glass table, with luxurious light pink velvet chairs to match the flowers. Four bespoke crystal chandeliers hung above the table. Around the room large modern candelabras were filled with white candles to make for a more intimate setting. It was perfect. Honey was in awe. "Cece, this looks so amazing, indescribably so. But you do realise we are going to be in fancy dress right?" "Of course Hon, but its not like we are going to be dressed up ridiculously! More prince charming than a giant frog." "Oh I do love you Cece! What time is everyone coming?" "About eight I think, so we better go and get ready." - - - - Everyone had arrived and Honey could hear everyone laughing, talking and clinking glasses. Everytime she went to wheel herself out she just froze, she felt so nervous seeing her peers, she looked awfully frail, she hadn't been around big groups of people since the fateful night and mostly, Matt was out there. He had been so helpful and kind, more from what she had heard than what she had seen but was this because that was his nature as a consultant or was their more to it. The more she thought about it, the more confused she was. Knock Knock 'Shit someone has noticed I'm not there' She knew it was only a matter of time before someone realised the person they were welcoming home wasn't there. "One second" She shouted out. "Alright Hon, but you better come out soon. Everyone is waiting. Sure you don't need any help?" Cece replied, clearly getting slightly inpatient with how long Honey was taking. "No thanks, I'll only be a sec." - - - - - - Earlier that day "Really Cece, fancy dress? Why would you think of that for a dinner? A fancy dress party, yes. But a fancy dress dinner? That is odd." Matt stated with a look of pure confusion on his face. "Well I wanted something to make Honey more comfortable, then at least you won't be looking at her like some kind of invalid, you'll be staring at her for her sexy costume!" "Why do you always do that?" "Do what?" Cece said with a twinkle in her eye. "You know what Cece. I looked after her like I would any other patient, you are making it seem like I'm more attached to her than I am." "Matt, I don't care how many times you try and tell me that you don't have feelings for her. It doesn't change the fact that you do and you know it. When she came out of the coma, I finally thought you would admit it to yourself. Obviously I was wrong and you've gone back into denial. That's ok, but remember, at some point she's going to look at the whole situation as a lost cause. At the moment, she likes you maybe as a friend, maybe more. But the way you've acted, keeping your distance and acting clinical with her has planted a seed of doubt in her mind that your kindness and loving towards her when she was ill, was nothing more than a kind heart." And with that, before he could argue. She left. Well now he really was in a pickle, He didn't know why he had backed off so much since she had woken up. At the time, he put it down to seeing her in the coma, causing him to act on any small feeling he had for her. In the back of his mind, he knew that he didn't want to face her, to how he felt and how admitting how he felt would effect his life. But also what if she didn't like him or just saw him as a friend. He decided on a plan of action, he would be her friend and take it from there, then what happens, happens and what doesn't, doesn't and he can really work out his feelings. Without anyone getting hurt. Now to finding what he was going to wear. He didn't want to wear anything stupid like a mankini, but he also didn't want to wear anything that was too discreet, that no one would know. So he thought he would consult with the shop assistant. She was a small, quiet girl, with light brown hair. For some reason she reminded him off a mouse, shy and nervous. Not what you would envision as a shop assistant but he was sure she could help. "Welcome to Costume City, is there anything I can help you with today?" She said not looking at him but preferring to look at her shoes. "Um, Yeah. I'm looking for something to wear to a fancy dress party. I don't think I want anything too comedic or silly." he said trying not to sound intimidating. "W-well you could be umm go as the mad hatter, prince charming, batman, the mask, wolverine? Do you like the sound of any of them?" "Yeah, The mad-hatter, prince charming and the mask are my favourite for sure. Prince charming also seems kind of fitting." "Why?" she whispered finally looking at him. He didn't know what made him do it, but he blurted out everything about himself and Honey. He told her everything, how they met, the accident and his feelings for her and when he finally finished, she simply asked "Then why haven't you told her?" It was then he realised with everything he had told her he hadn't mentioned his wife once. The memory that he was married was sobering. "Anyway, I think I'm going to take the wolverine costume." "Oh, okay that will be £40." He gave her the money and rushed out of the shop and drove home. Even though he didn't leave because he was worried about time, he was glad he did as it was coming up to five o'clock and he didn't want to have to rush to get ready. When he pulled into his driveway he was annoyed to discover Krystal's Mercedes was parked in the drive way. He had hoped that he could swoop in and out with her none the wiser but now he was going to either have to tell her she wasn't invited to the party which was probably true due to his sister's dislike of her or he was going to have to slip out before she noticed. He decided he would opt for the latter. As much as he wasn't fond of her, a cruel man he wasn't. As he walked through the door he heard the natter of two women. As he walked past the lounge he saw it was Krystal's god awful friend Kelly, a suck up of a girl who Krystal had met at a social gathering they went to a few years back. Since then they had been thick as thieves, she was Krystal's shadow so it was unsurprising to him that she was there. He also noticed the large bottle of Don Perignon on the table, which served three purposes; annoying Matt due to the extortionate price of it (which had no doubt came out of his money), showing off to Kelly and lastly, also least importantly getting them drunk. "Hello my sweetie pie, how was work?" he could smell the alcohol on her as she came to try and hug him. "Fine. Hi Kelly." he responded curtly whilst moving out of her grasp. "Aren't you going to greet Kelly properly?" "She's practically a permanent resident, I didn't think the niceties were necessary any more." He stated whilst walking up the staircase towards his bathroom. They had a five bathrooms in the house, when Matt designed it he made it so each bedroom had a bathroom and there was also a main bathroom. They had four bedrooms; the master bedroom, which was the largest of the bedrooms, was his room this had the largest bathroom aside from the main bathroom. Then there was Krystals room which was in its entirety two rooms as she had a walk in wardrobe attached to and a smallish bathroom. Then the two guest rooms had en-suites. The house also had a sitting room, a lounge, a reception area, a dining room come kitchen which was open plan, a games room/mini cinema, an indoor pool and jacuzzi and beautiful gardens with water features and a pond. Matt had definitely designed the house with a family in mind, however soon after moving in he realised with Krystal that was very unlikely. Once he got to his room, he put his outfit ready on the bed and jumped in the shower. He had been in the shower no longer than 10 minutes when he saw the bathroom door open, a familiar face popped round the door. Krystal. "Where are you going?" He immediately knew he shouldn't have put his outfit on the bed, now he had to deal with this. The last thing he wanted to be was agitated when he saw Honey. "A dinner party" "Why are you dressing up?" "Its a fancy dress party" "Who's party is it?" "It's at my sister's" "I didn't ask you that." She said with a venomous tone. "Who's. Party. Is It?" "Actually, Krystal," He said getting out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. "That is none of your business and what I do is nothing to do with you. Now I would appreciate it if you left me in peace." That was the first time he had saw a hint of jealousy from Krystal, It was somewhat amusing for him. However he didn't like the idea of what she could do to Honey if her envy got out of control, so he decided it would be best not to agitate her any further. He knew the extent of her manipulation and venom as both himself and Cece had been on the receiving end of it. In fact what she did to Cece was the straw that broke the camels back for their relationship. - - - - - - When Matt arrived at the party, the majority of the people there he recognised from work, in all manor of crazy costumes; Tarzan, Geisha's, Mary-Antionette and he was pretty sure he even saw a Spiderman. Then he saw Cece she was dressed up as Marilyn Monroe and It suited her well. She had the classic white, halter neck, a-line dress. Complete with red lipstick, a beauty spot and coiffed blonde hair. "Hey Cece, you look lovely." "Matt, well I wasn't expecting that." Instead of wearing a wig he had opted to spray his own hair darker and style it into a wolverine-esque style, he was wearing a brown leather jacket with a white sleeveless top, black trouser and completed the look with the iconic claws. "YOU LOOK FABULOUS!" "Thanks Cece, so where is she?" "She's still in her room, she wont come out. But Matt I don't think its the best idea you going up there." As soon as she had said "She's still in her room" he was gone. He didn't know why he was going to Honey's room all he knew was he wanted to see her. Now. - - - - - - Knock, knock. "I'm coming Cece just doing my hair" Knock, knock. "I'm coming!" This time she walked to the door as she did so it opened, and there he was. The man that had filled her mind since the day she saw him. Stood in the doorway of her room. "How are you?" He asked with a worried look on his face. "I'm doing ok" she said quietly. "Do you want to come in whilst I finish getting ready?" Avoiding eye contact. "Yeah, sure. Are you ok walking to your chair?" Trying to assist her. "I'm alright Matt, Just a bit slow. But thank you." She said smiling at him. As she sat back down, she turned to face him. Then what she wanted to say to him just came out. "I've been meaning to talk to you, people have told me how much you did for me and I have all these questions in my head I want to ask you. But I need to tell you, thank you so much. You not only saved my life, but you saved my quality of life and I just, I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you for what you did but I will find a way." And with that she gave him a big hug. He dreamed of the day he could feel her in an embrace, she was warm and smelt of strawberry. She continued "So I was wondering if we could start by being friends, I know its a lot to ask but-" "Of course we can I would be honoured to be friends with you. Maybe we can see a movie and have some dinner next week? As friends of course" He quickly added. "Yeah, why not. If you take my number then we can discuss details next week?" "Sounds great, I'm really glad we can be friends. I know we got off to a odd start but I'm glad we can put it behind us." He said with a smile. "I'll see you in a minute." And with that he left. Speaking to him eased all the fear she had about facing everyone at the party, she was feeling much more confident after speaking to Matt and was now ready to go out in her costume and see her friends. Not to mention she couldn't believe how easy it had been talking to him. Wonderful as that was though, having such a great connection with him wouldn't help her feelings for him. She put this out of her mind and went back to her elation. - - - - - - When she finally entered the room everyone turned to look at her. Frankly Matt was stunned, her outfit was certainly not what he had expected. She was dressed as Alice from Alice and wonderland, surprisingly enough with the blonde, shoulder length wig on she looked a lot like Alice. She had a just above the knee sky blue, puffy, pinafore dress on with knee high white socks on and a white headband. She looked amazing and he'd never seen an Alice and wonderland costume look so hot! It wasn't a slutty outfit at all in fact it was very innocent looking but with her demure and angelic nature it made that outfit even more appealing to him, like he wanted to corrupt her a little or a lot. But after their talk he was very keen to take things slowly with her, not just jump in there and wreck everything. So instead of eye fucking her like he currently was, he jumped up to see if she needed any help getting to the table. "Honestly Matt, I really don't need any help. I'm just a little slow that's all." "Hon, I'm going to help you. Not because you are some kind of invalid but because I'm a friend escorting the beautiful host to her seat." Honey couldn't help but blush. "Thank you." Matt sat Honey down right next to him, he hadn't got to know her before the accident but now they were going to be friends he thought it was the perfect time to get to know each other properly. "So how have you been feeling since you left the hospital?" Matt felt like kicking himself for slipping back to work mode. "Not bad thanks, Cece has helped me out so much. I haven't even known her for long and she has already done more for me than anyone else. I couldn't be more grateful to you and your family Matt." Matt was more than thankful she had kept her answer light and friendly. "You are such a loving woman, I know if it was one of us you would have done the same. you don't owe us anything we are always more than happy to help. So I want to know more about the Honey outside of Mercy General, tell me a little about you." She went on to tell him about all her likes and dislikes from her love of French cuisine, cheesy romance and animals to her hatred of pineapple, historical dramas and the sea. "So are you telling me you never swim in the sea?" Matt said in shock. "Well I've only ever been on holiday once when I was very little, so I guess apart from being scared of the sea, I've never had much of an opportunity anyway." "Really? Well maybe we should all go on holiday one day." Matt realised the error he made as soon as the words had come out of his mouth but luckily as before she seemed to just brush it off. "Yeah that might be nice." She smiled. They barely noticed when the starter came from being so deep in conversation, they had spoke so much in such a short space of time and yet it seemed like he could speak to her forever. He was glad to have finally found someone he felt like he could really connect with, even if only as a friend. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself he already couldn't bare the thought of her being with anyone else but him. - - - - - During the starter and whilst they waited for the main course, the people across from Honey took the opportunity to talk to her. One of those people was Rory who wanted to know about everything that had been happening since her accident and the other was a guy who she found out was Rory's new boyfriend, Karl. Rory had had at least four 'boyfriends' in the short time Honey had known him and from their chats in the cafeteria, texts and what she heard around the hospital it seemed Rory was a bit of a man-eater. They all chatted away, well more Honey and Rory did, with Matt and Karl interjecting every so often. They were both very much enjoying the atmosphere and the company of each other and their friends until a knock came to the door. Serenity Ch. 04 Hi everyone, Sorry its been so long. This chapter is a bit different and more graphic. So i would be grateful for all the feedback I can get. Any questions or specific comments can always email me. I'm writing another story so when I get writers block from one I can write the other. I hope that helps with my timing and you guys enjoy that one too! Thank you so much Islandqt for helping me out at such short notice with editing, i couldn't have put this chapter out with out you!! You turned my Glitter into gold. ***** From the day Krystal met Honey and saw how nervous Matt was around her, she knew he felt something for Honey. This became more apparent and as time went on he spent every waking moment by her bedside. At first she thought it was typical Matt getting too involved in his job. She even thought he might feel guilty about the crash as it was obvious Honey had gotten drunk to drown her sorrows. But when he started sleeping at the hospital so often, literally at Honey's bedside day and night, she knew he had feelings for her. The more time he spent away from their marital home, the more she knew the feelings Matt had for Honey were already surpassing the ones he ever had for her. - - - - - - - - - - The first time Krystal Grace Kettering saw him, she had a glint in her eye. She'd heard about Matthew Maximillion De Mont in her social circle. He was the most eligible bachelor around, enough inheritance to support any girl more than comfortably for 3 lifetimes, great career prospects and to top it all off, easy on the eyes. All the girls were after him, but she had her sights firmly set on him. She had managed to sleep with him the night they met but unfortunately for her it went no further than that. That's when she had to draft in her mother to talk to Mrs De Mont. No sooner had her mother spoke to Matt's he asked her out again and they became a couple. Through the years Krystal had an amazing life with Matt, from the huge white wedding they had to the glamorous parties. He worked his life away as she socialised and lived lavishly. It was just what she had always imagined and wanted. And now this little bitch was encroaching on her plush life. Threatening it and that was something Krystal could not have. Something changed in him the day Honey started working at the hospital. She knew it before even he did. There was a new light in his eye that she hadn't seen before, a side of him she hadn't seen before. So she knew she needed to find a way of stopping the budding romance before it started. - - - - - - - - - Krystal had always been one of the popular girls in school. She was tall, blonde, thin and most importantly, domineering, meaning she was always queen bee, from when she was in primary school to when she was in university. She did all her qualifications and her Law degree from King's University but she always knew she just wanted to be a trophy wife to a rich man. Hard work only ever suited her when it was to get something she wanted. She did well in school and got her degree because it kept her parents happy, and if her parents were happy, she kept getting what she wanted and living the life style she wanted. She wanted to live in luxury and be the top of the up and coming socialites. That was enough work for her. So that's what she set her sights on and she always got what she wanted. Before Matt she'd never had a proper boyfriend, no guy had met up to the standard. She had always just had guys she had fun with. She met him at a house party of mutual friends of theirs. She knew who he was as soon a she saw him with his light, ashy, blonde hair, the lean yet muscular body and most importantly, the expensive suit he was wearing. Even at the age of 25 he liked to wear a good suit. That was one thing she liked about Matt he never really liked to dress down, the closest he got was a shirt and suit trousers. She took it upon herself to go up to him even though usually she liked the guy to approach her and work for it. But in this case she knew that wasn't going to be the case. Since she walked in he had barely looked at her. All the other guys had, in her tight pale pink corset topped dress that stopped mid thigh which she paired with 6 inch silver stilettos. He'd been more interested in talking to his friends. She sauntered over to him making her long blonde hair, which she had curled, bounce as she walked. All his friends were staring at her. They were all good looking guys. The tallest one in the group had deep, mahogany skin and a shaved head and a much bigger build than Matt, like a rugby player. The second was about the same height as Matt with very pale skin and brownish, auburn hair, he was rugged looking with stubble and piercing aqua eyes. Finally, there was the guy stood closest to Matt. He was the one who most rivalled Matt in the looks department, he had dark hair slicked back, with a bigger frame and green eyes, but what stood out was the cheeky glint in them. The green eyed man who stood next to him nudged him with a cheesy grin when she stood right in front of them. "Can I help you?" Matt stated bluntly. "I thought I'd introduce myself. I don't think we've met before. I'm Krystal." She said confidently. "Right." he stated then carried on what he was saying before she introduced herself. Krystal had never had a guy brush her off like that before and it oddly made her want him more. "So, aren't you going to get me a drink?" She prodded. "No." Krystal knew at this point any of her normal tactics weren't going to work so she had to work hard this time. The first thing on her list was to get him drunk. "I'll get you a drink then, all of you! What are you having lads?" "JD and coke" "Vodka redbull" "I'll have a screaming orgasm!" The one with the dark hair and green eyes answered with a wink, she smiled falsely then looked back at Matt as he was yet to name a drink. "And you?" "I'm fine." "Why don't you want a drink? Scared I'll roofie you?" she laughed. "Well you're trying this hard, clearly you want something from me. James here has been giving you the eye since you arrived and even made that stupid orgasm joke and you've barely given him a glance." He stated, now looking directly into her eyes. "So I"ll reiterate, what do you want from me?" She stood with her mouth agape as she looked around and realised the whole room had gone quiet. Feeling sufficiently embarrassed and sure her plan hadn't worked, she ran off towards the balcony in an effort to get away from the awkward stares. She heard everyone nattering away again, which took away some of the embarrassment. Then she heard some footsteps coming onto the balcony as she looked out onto the city. She turned round only to be faced with Matt. "I got you this" He said handing her a vodka cranberry. "Thanks." "Look, the way I spoke to you earlier, I shouldn't have. I was just in a bad mood and you were laying it on really thick." "It's ok, I'm just not used to chasing guys. Normally they are queuing to talk to me." she laughed. "Anyway, why don't you come back inside, I think James has his eye on you anyways." he smiled. She spent the rest of the evening with Matt and his friends drinking and laughing. Towards the end of the night Matt's three friends had found women at the party to take home and he was left in a sorry state. Krystal looked at him slumped on a chair. It had occurred to her, that her plan had worked too effectively when Matt could barely form a sentence let alone be coerced to sleep with her. So she decided she'd have to come up with another plan. She called a taxi, to take them back to her apartment. When they arrived there, she got him into her room and started to undress him with no assistance as he was slumped on the bed, already beginning to drift in and out of consciousness. Once he was naked, she started to kiss down his neck and chest. With this having no effect, she started to play with his cock, which had a mind of its own and quickly stood to attention. She then proceeded to straddle him, impaling herself on his manhood until he came. Powerless, Matt could only lay there as the assault happened unable to even figure out what was going on in his hazy state. The next morning, she woke up to find Matt gone from the bed. She abruptly sat up to find him hastily putting his clothes on. "Where are you going in such a hurry? I thought we could start round two" she grinned. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't usually do this, I must have drunk way too much." He said worriedly. "This was a big mistake. I've got to go, I'll let myself out." He stammered. Her plan worked perfectly, he clearly didn't remember the night before. Now, all she had to do was wait. - - - - - - Seven weeks later... She had Matt's number from the party but when she tried to get hold of him he wouldn't pick up her calls. So she had to get her mum involved in the plan. Krystal's mother was a well known socialite in the city and had been involved with the city's elite families since she was a child. She had always dreamed of having the same for her daughter. Within her social circle was Mrs De Mont, a woman she had known for years as they had a similar background, both coming from wealth and marrying into even richer families. She had always wanted the same thing for her daughter, so Mrs De Mont and her son were a family she always kept a very close eye on. Just like her daughter, Mrs Kettering was very determined. Nothing would get in the way of what she wanted for her or her family. That was one of the things that attracted Krystal's father to her in the first place. Being the CEO of a company meant determination was something he valued greatly. So when her daughter came to her with a plan, one that could very well work, she agreed to help. Krystal of course had left out some details of the encounter. - - - - - - - - Her mum speaking to Matt's mum must have done the trick because the very next day he was at her front door. "Is it true?" She looked at him as he spoke, his face had taken on a grey tinge and he had dark bags underneath is eyes as if he hadn't had a wink of sleep. "Yeah, I just found out from the doctor but you wouldn't pick up the phone." she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Shit, shit, shit. I really don't need this not now, I don't even know you. It was just a drunken mistake!" "I know but you are going to have to suck it up, because I can't do this on my own!" She said, looking deep into his eyes. "We are having a baby. It's just a fact. So either you step up or leave me be." Matt paused and said, "I guess I better take you out on a proper date then." - - - - - - - - - Within the next few of months she and Matt became a proper couple and because of the upcoming pregnancy, she had managed to get him to make things happen a lot faster. She knew she needed to put everything in place whilst he was still distracted by the pregnancy. She had convinced him that moving in together was for the best as they would have time to get comfortable with each other before the baby came. He had even ended up proposing to her, telling her that it was the right thing to do for the baby. Everything was going better than even she could have hoped. Until the night of the annual charity auction. - - - - - - - - Matt was doing a double shift at the hospital, so an annoyed Krystal decided she would go on her own. She decided on an ivory Grecian ball gown that covered her stomach. She arrived home from the event an hour after Matt had gotten home, she tried to go in quietly but he was lying on the sofa and awoke as soon as she opened the door. "Why did you stay out so late? Aren't you tired?" He asked sleepily. "No I'm not at all mister." "Krystal, have you been drinking?" He stated in a low tone. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." "I can smell you from here! What the fuck are you thinking? You are PREGNANT!" "Are you really that dense Matt? Aren't doctors meant to be clever?" She said in a mocking tone. He stared at her blankly. "You really don't get it do you. Looks like I'm going to have to spell it out for you. I. AM. NOT. PREGNANT." "What?" He looked stunned. "We are not having a baby. I had a miscarriage a couple of months ago. I thought you wouldn't want to stay with me if you knew that I wasn't carrying your child anymore." "Is that why we haven't been sleeping in our room, why you haven't let me anywhere near you?" "Yes, if you touched me or saw me naked you would have been able to tell." "When were you planning to tell me? How far were you going to take this?!" He said, his voice tinged with anger. "I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how obviously. I was going to have to tell you eventually." "I'm going to go to bed before I say something I will regret." He said as he walked up the stairs. She had lied to Matt, but this wouldn't be the first time. - - - - - - - - She could tell he hadn't gotten over the miscarriage, but they had managed to move past it. Over the coming years they got married and began to build a beautiful life, or at least that's what it looked like from the outside. Matt was doing every shift possible at the hospital in a bid to become the youngest consultant. Krystal was not getting the kind of attention she wanted from the relationship and it was tearing them apart. It all finally came to a head when Matt came home to find Krystal in their marital bed with her personal trainer. Matt reacted by punching the man in the face before swiftly removing his wife's scantily clad lover from his house. Krystal started to cry and apologise begging him to forgive her, saying she was lonely from all the hours he did at the office and it didn't mean anything. This became a regular occurrence at the De Mont house and after a while, she would get drunk at a party, sleep with another man then plead with him to forgive her again. In the end Matt seemed to stop caring, they were no longer sleeping in the same room let alone having sex. He became more and more introverted and bitter, putting all his energy into work. He would go on long business trips and do as many shifts at the hospital as he could physically handle, coming back late at night so they would barely ever cross paths. It seemed the more his career progressed the more sour the relationship became. Any love he had for her, she had completely demolished. What shocked her though was he never cheated, as far as she could tell. He didn't seem interested in finding happiness and love and hadn't ever made any moves to divorce her. He seemed void of all emotion. If she were honest with herself she would admit that that was the only thing she really regretted, that she had turned her husband into a shell of his former self. He seemed lifeless. That was until he met Honey. She brought something out of him that Krystal had never really seen before; Happiness. She could see now that he was never really happy with her, just barely content. However, even though she recognised what she had done to him and acknowledged how happy Honey made him, that did not mean she was going to give up something she had worked so hard for. Love had nothing to do with it. - - - - - - - Cece opened the door. There stood Krystal, dressed up as a French maid, feather duster and all. "Oh, well don't you look like the slut you are." Cece said with a fake smile. "You know I didn't invite you on purpose right?" "Why would you ever do that, I am, after all, your sister." She said, giving Cece the exact same smile back." "Who is it?" Matt shouted. Krystal pushed past Cece walking into the open plan dining room. "I've arrived! Sorry I'm late sweetie." - - - - - - - - Not wanting to make a scene in front of work colleagues, Matt got up from the seat next to Honey and kissed Krystal on the cheek. "It's alright, we've only had one course." He looked back to Honey who was to his surprise smiling at them. "Hi Krystal, I'm glad you made it. How have you been?" She said softly. "I've been great thanks. Sorry to hear you've been in the wars a bit sweetie. You can't tell though, you look great! Like you've lost weight." "Oh, well thank you. You look wonderful as always." Matt could see the hurt in her eyes but she continued to smile at them. He admired her for that ability, to put whatever she was feeling for a person aside and be genuinely nice to them. It was one of the things that made her so beautiful. 'Why did she have to come to the party and ruin such a lovely evening' he thought. The rest of the evening went depressingly slow. He didn't get to spend anywhere near the amount of time he wanted to talking to Honey and he could see Krystal had clearly ruined her night. He decided it would be better to leave as soon as the meal had ended. Them being there would just upset her more and seeing her hurting was already killing him enough. When they got home, Matt went straight to his room and locked the door. He couldn't be near Krystal. All the effort he had put in building a friendship with Honey had now gone to shit and if he saw Krystal, he was afraid he'd say or do something he couldn't take back. He comforted himself by deciding he was going to take a week's holiday from work to spend time making it up to Honey. He had to. He needed her in his life more than he knew. Serenity Ch. 05 Hi! I cannot believe how long it's been since I last posted it felt like last week. Finally I have finished the next chapter and the next one definitely won't take a year. (I know i said that last time but this time it's true!) I hope you still want to read this, i completely understand if you don't. As a reader i know how frustrating it is when someone takes ages to post more chapters! I've started a new story as well which hopefully I will post a chapter of soon. I've found it hard to find an editor but finally I've found a fantastic one. So thank you so much to Outofshadows for transforming my work. She's a fantastic editor and I can't thank her enough! Anyways here it finally is. Enjoy! As always i love feedback so keep it coming. ***** Honey had spent the last couple of days lying in bed feeling sorry for herself. Krystal storming in on the party had ruined it for her, before that, she had great fun with Matt, getting to really know more about him. He had been telling her about his enviable dance moves,which she had very much wanted to see, when Krystal walked in. Just as she was thinking about what those dance moves would look like, she heard her name shouted out loud. "Honey! Honey! HONEY!" "Alright, I'm coming Cece," she shouted back. She shuffled down the hall in her white bunny slippers, pink dressing gown and pink dotted satin pajama set. "Whats the matter, Cece?" "You have a visitor, Hon," Cece smiled. And there right in front of her was Matt, looking like he had just walked off of the cover of GQ. He was in a pale blue shirt, its first two buttons undone and grey suit trousers. His hair perfectly coiffed and those beautiful eyes smiling at her. "Hey Honey," he spoke softly, looking her right in the eye. "Hey Matt" she replied, shying away from his gaze. Then she caught sight of her appearance in the mirror. She looked horrendous, no make up, her hair in a giant top knot. She wanted the ground to swallow her up, he was standing there looking like Adonis and she was in her kiddy pajamas. "How are you?" "I'm good, thank you, Matt. I've even started walking faster," she said excitedly, trying to move past how ridiculous she looked. "Well, that's perfect because I want to take you out for the day. I think we should go to the zoo." He smiled. "Yeah I'd love to. I mean... umm, sure, it sounds like fun. Just let me go and get dressed. I'll be as quick as I can." She didn't want to sound too eager. But she couldn't think of anything she wanted to do more than spend the day with him. With that, she walked back down the corridor. - - - - - - - "So Matt, the zoo seems like an odd choice of places to go? I didn't think you even liked the zoo?" Cece teased. "I remembered her saying at the party that she hadn't been there before. So I thought it would be nice if she could walk around at her own pace and rest whenever. I brought a picnic too." he beamed. "Well, look at you, acting all romantic. In all seriousness, Matt, I know you like her and she is very fond of you, but you are married. Your wife is the devil incarnate and I couldn't care less if she got hurt. Hell, I think I'd enjoy it. But not Honey, she's fragile. I may be your sister, but she is my best friend and she means so much to me." "So, if this whole thing is just you trying to get into her pants, you need to stop. She is not a toy. However if you like her, I mean really like her, then you need to do something about the status of your marriage, because I know what Honey is like and she will not be your bit on the side. I don't necessarily mean right now, but you need to think about what you want and how you're going to achieve it ." Cece said barely stopping for breath. Matt just stood there, mouth agape, unable to speak. 'Had his sister really just said all that to him?' he thought. It really gave him some food for thought. He knew he had to make some kind of decision on the matter, he had simply pushed it to the back of his mind. There were more than a few reasons for this including; fear, what if she didn't love him. Routine, he and Krystal had been together for years. But the overriding reason was his concern regarding what Krystal would do to her, Krystal was so manipulative. He didn't want Honey to come into contact with that aspect of his wife's character. She'd been hurt enough already. Honey walking back into the room broke him out of his dazed state. She looked so beautiful that seeing her made his heart beat just that little bit faster. She was wearing a knee length peach sundress with tie up straps, brown wooden heeled wedges and a little flower print jacket. Her hair was tied to the side in a messy fishtail plait with a cute peach bow clipping her fringe to the side. She wore minimal makeup, just a little mascara and clear lipgloss. She looked perfect. "Wow, you look stunning" he said instinctively. She blushed, looking at her shoes with an embarrassed smile "Thank you, are you ready to go?" "Yeah, I'll drop her back safe and sound. Don't worry, Cece." "Don't bring her back too late." She giggled. - - - - - - - - - Matt had decided to pick Honey up with the Range Rover. He thought about showing off with one of the expensive cars, but he knew that kind of stuff wouldn't impress her. So he opted for the most comfortable ride because even though he knew she was near on back to full health, he still worried about her being in any kind of pain or discomfort. He helped her into the passenger seat. And soon they were on their way. The chatted on the way to the zoo as Matt drove through the city. He thought things would be awkward between them, but Honey's happy demeanour made it easy to make small talk with her. When they finally arrived, Matt helped her out of the car like a true gentleman and they walked into the zoo. Honey was in awe of all the animals, she had always been interested in them so at every opportunity she told Matt interesting factoids. "Did you know that the Cassowary is the most dangerous bird in the world?" She said staring at its big enclosure. "No, I didn't actually" he replied with a small smile. She was so cute, looking round the zoo like a kid at Christmas. So vibrant and happy. Beautiful. They looked at the tropical birds and fish before going into the lemur walk where one proceeded to throw bits of apple at Matt, which Honey found hysterical. They had been walking round for a couple of hours, so Matt decided to stop for lunch and have the picnic he had packed. Not only was he hungry, he realised they needed to stop now or they wouldn't finish in time for his surprise. She'd love it when she found out. They sat at a table of picnic benches and Matt put his backpack down on the table. Honey gave him a puzzled look. "It's not really your style to carry a backpack, is it?" He laughed at her sharp observation. "You're right there, but how else was I going to carry all this?" With that, he started pulling all kinds of delicious treats from the backpack. There were salmon and cream cheese sandwiches plus turkey sandwiches with stuffing, brie and cranberry . Both her favourites, all cut into neat little triangles. Then, he brought out a big packet of sea salt and cracked pepper crisps and two bottles of pink lemonade. And for afters, chocolate-covered strawberries and red velvet cupcakes. Honey let out a little squeal as if someone has hugged her a little too hard. "Matt-I-can't-believe-it-you-remembered-all-my-favourites-this-is-amazing-thank-you-so-much!" She rambled all in one excited breath. "You don't have to thank me. I wanted to give you a great first zoo experience." He smiled. "It's just amazing I don't know what else to say." She beamed at him. They spent their lunch chatting and eating all the lovely delights Matt brought. Things were going along so well that he never wanted the day to end. After they had finished lunch and cleared away the mess, they started walking towards the penguin and sea lion enclosure, which was set on what looked like a big boat with a giant tank underneath for the animals to swim around in. As they walked across the wooden slats on the way to the sea lion tank. Honey realised that there was no one else there. Matt led them through heavy metal doors and they were suddenly on the other side of the railings where they were greeted by a keeper. "Hi Matt, hi Honey," she smiled then turned to face Honey. "Honey, I don't know if Matt has told you, but you're going to feed the sea lions today." Honey gasped. She looked at Matt who was grinning at her, then back at the keeper. "Really?!" She exclaimed "Yes really, I've got these buckets of fish and some gloves for you. At the moment, the tank is housing two bulls, three cows and you're very lucky because we have a young calf in the nursing pool. So we are going to feed them and I can tell you a bit about them." The rest of their time at the zoo learning about the sea lions, feeding them, throwing them toys and having a great time. Honey couldn't believe how much fun it was at the zoo and all the stops Matt had pulled out for her. It was more than she could ever have hoped for and she wished the day would never end. When they finally left the zoo, Matt didn't want to drop her home, the day had been the best day he could ever have wished for. She was everything he ever wanted and more. They were chatting away so much in the car that Honey didn't notice when they drove past Cece's apartment building. It wasn't until they stopped at a parking lot that she realised they weren't home. "Do you need to do something before you drop me back?" Honey smiled 'She is so unbelievably sweet' he thought. "No, I just thought we've been having such a nice time. Why end it so abruptly? You don't have anything planned, do you?" He thought quickly. She beamed. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." They walked round to the front of the restaurant. They had arrived at Le Petit Bijou, a little French bistro on the outskirts of the city. "This place is beautiful," she whispered. He just smiled. She was in awe, the quaint bistro was located just off the main road, it had a wide window framed with dark mahogany with the restaurant's name in gold along the middle. Both sides of the window had baskets adorned with stunning, bright flowers. They walked in as a man came running up to Matt "Mathias, comment vas-tu mon fils? Êtes-vous malade? Vous regardez si mince. Nous avons besoin de vous nourrir? "Nice to see you too, I'm fine, Uncle Gabe. No, I'm not ill and yes, I've been eating. Just been laying off all the carbs and rich food!" "So, who's this beautiful young lady you've brought to my humble little restaurant?" Gabe said in a thick French accent, kissing her hand. Matt felt a tinge of jealousy at that gesture, he shouldn't, he knew that. Not only was this man practically his uncle who would never ever cheat on his wife or betray Matt no matter who honey was. Honey also wasn't his. They were friends. He had no right to be possessive. He didn't know how to introduce her to Gabe. 'The most amazing women he'd ever met? The glimmer of hope in my otherwise bleak existence? The woman of my dreams? The person I'd give up everything for? The light of my life? The person I want to grow old with? The single most important thing to me? The love of my life?' "This is Honey." As he spoke, he couldn't help but just stand and take her in, she was so beautiful. Effortlessly. Seeing her healthy warmed his heart. When she was in a coma, looking so frail and unwell, it made his heart ache. And to know the reason she was in that state may have had something to do with him made it so much worse. It broke his heart into a million pieces. If anything had happened to her he didn't think he would survive. "Lovely to meet you." Matt noticed Honey giving him a shy look. "Oh sorry, this is my Uncle Gabriel, we all call him Gabe. So uncle, do you mind if we sit by the big window?" "You don't want to sit in your usual spot, Mathias?! Over in the back corner?" He pointed. "Not today, I know how much Honey loves people watching," he replied with a wide smile. They sat down on the beautiful mahogany chairs which were adorned with soft maroon velvet cushions. They matched the deep wooden table, which in turn matched the warm, comforting decor of the room. Matt had always loved coming here. It was like a second home. "So that's where your surname comes from, your family is French?" Honey enquired softly. "Yes, they are. Well, my father's family was French and my mother is a mix of Norweigan and English. Gabe isn't actually my uncle though, my father met him when Gabe moved to the UK when he was 19. They went to university together and they've been friends ever since. We grew up around his wife and him, and since then, he's always been known as our uncle. He's practically family though." She was staring at him, listening so intently to what he had to say, he loved that about her. When they conversed, she was fully engaged, taking in everything he said. She actually listened to him. He could be talking about the most pointless, boring topic and she would give it her undivided attention, like nothing else in the world mattered. "I think he must have rubbed off on you, you have the same charm." She giggled shyly, her face becoming slightly flushed. "Miss Richards, are you trying to say I'm a flirt?" He asked with a look of fake hurt on his face. "No, of course not, Mr De Mont, I'm simply saying you have a way about you." She laughed again, this time looking into her lap. 'God she took his breath away with the simplest actions.' he thought. When she looked back up, Matt was staring at her, he couldn't help it. She had such an innocent beauty, untainted, unadulterated. Simple, undeniable beauty. She started to nervously play with the fork under the intensity of his gaze. He knew he was making her uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it, he would never stop being mesmerised by her. He stilled her hand, held it in his, before bringing it up to his lips to softly kiss the back. He didn't know why he did it, he just couldn't help it, his mind began to race as she just stared at him. Was she angry? Uncomfortable? He knew he took it too far, he shouldn't have done it but It was involuntary he just had to touch her. He tried to read what she was feeling through her warm amber orbs, he could see she was confused and nervous, but there was something else there that he couldn't make out. It wasn't lust, it was something deeper. Then Gabe came over, he placed her hand back on the table. He'd completely forgotten that they had come to eat, he just wanted to spend time with her. In fact, he wasn't even feeling hungry when he thought about it. Well, not for food anyway. "What would you two like to drink then?" "I'll have a sparkling water, please" Matt answered first. "Can I have a cranberry juice, please?" "Perfect, I'll be back in a moment. " "You could have something a bit stronger if you want? I'm only having water because I'm driving." She hesitated. He could see a hint of discomfort and the sadness in her eyes. Then he remembered. The accident. "I'm so sorry, Honey, I didn't mean to remind you." "No, don't be silly. Thank you for the offer, I'm just not up to drinking yet. Maybe next time." She smiled weakly, but nonetheless tried to reassure him. He decided to change the subject. "So have you seen anything you like on the menu yet?" There were no other awkward moments in the meal after that. Matt tried his best to keep his hands and lips to himself. They had a three course meal even though Matt wasn't particularly hungry, he just wanted to maximise the time they could spend together. The moans that emitted from her mouth when she tried the boeuf bourguignon nearly made him jump over the table and crush his mouth on her soft lips. It felt like they had spent no time together at all when he looked at his Rolex and realised that it was 11pm and he should probably be getting this gorgeous woman home. He paid the bill after great protest from Honey, who wanted to pay after their wonderful picnic and zoo trip. He thought it was very cute that she wanted to pay. Krystal had never offered to buy him a cup of tea, let alone an à la càrte meal in their years of marriage. He wouldn't let her pay though, he wanted this to be his day of treats for her. Not only did he feel guilty about the accident and Krystal. More than anything, he wanted to show her how she should be treated: like a princess. They said their goodbyes to Gabe and walked to the car. They talked for a while before they got into Matt's Range Rover. They sat in a comfortable silence for most of the journey home. They were both happy just quietly having each other's company. When Matt finally arrived outside Cece's apartment, he came round to help Honey out of the car. "Honestly, I'm fine Matt," she said, getting out. "I just don't want you getting hurt." She beamed at him. "You're a medical consultant Mr De Mont, you know I'm not a china doll, I won't break." They stood just looking at each other for what felt like minutes, neither one of them wanting to take the step to end their time together. Matt found himself involuntarily edging toward her. He broke their eye contact, giving her a tight hug. He never wanted to let her go. When he finally let go, he didn't pull away immediately. Instead, he just looked at her and before he had time to think about what he was doing, his lips were lightly pressed against hers in a sweet and tentative kiss.