Thanking the nurses and doctor while they were leaving, all the tension and stress left her once the door closed. She hadn't expected the onslaught of medical professionals the moment she had woken up. Since she had been expecting a quiet moment, the entrance of that woman had not been welcomed. Although it was kind of worth it to see Harry sputtering awake.

But, now, finally, she had some time to herself.

"Finally, they're gone."

Or maybe not, she grimaced to herself, watching her friend enter. As much as she was happy at her appearance, a bit of time to absorb what had happened would be appreciated. Not realising her grimace having turned to a scowl, she waited for her always talkative friend to start. She always talked, even when the situation didn't call for it.

"So, what happened?"Gail asked, her hand covering hers, Tears suddenly welling up in her eyes, Elena was too choked up to say anything. The silence that came after reminded her that Gail was her friend for a reason. Sure she talked a lot but when it mattered, she had the best listening ear. And, when she was at her most uncertain, most unsure, she was there for her.

Spilling everything to her, what had happened since they had last met, since their lunch a couple of weeks ago. When she was next aware of herself, Elena found herself crying into Gail's shoulder, letting out the fear, the indecision, the pain. Embarrassed,she drew back and tried to stop sniffling. But everything felt lighter, felt brighter when she finally let her go.

"Are you done? Is this over now?"Gail asked when Elena laid back on her bed.

"Screw you,"Elena responded, not liking her indifferent tone. She had opened her heart to her and this was her response? Sometimes, she wondered why they were friends.

"No, I think the one who wants to do the screwing is you."

"What are you talking about?" Taken aback, Elena wasn't able to do more than gape at her.

"Maybe it's because I haven't been in the loop in a while but isn't this all just your sexual frustration messing with your mind? You were pretty horny when you first got back to him. Maybe his lack of interest warped your mind and everything he does is an attack to you."

"That doesn't even make sense,"Elena protested. She couldn't believe what had been said. How had she even get to that conclusion? "This is a legit concern. I mean, if this was all it took to make him go so far as to push me against a wall, who's to say he won't go even further?"

"Like hit you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you really think he's going to hit you? The man who looked up your information after a one night stand?"

"That just shows how creepy he is."

"The man who became putty in your hands when you cried?"

"Not used to being around crying women."

"The man who brought an entire ultrasound machine just because you can't bear to be in a clinic?"

"Rich men can get whatever they want, no matter how ridiculous their requests."

"Then why are you chasing after him?"

"I'm not chasing after him. What have I ever done to show that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was when you left his house and then going back? Your constant talking and worrying about him during lunch? Or the fact that you were practically glowing when he came back into your life? I think these all mean something."

"No they don't."

"I think thy lady dost protests too much."

This was going nowhere, Elena decided. When Gail decided on something, it was very difficult to change her mind. And she had decided that Elena had the hots for Harry. Which she was hiding behind her distrust of Harry to not deal with this. Which was preposterous. But she decided to entertain her delusional friend.

"So, assuming that what you're saying is true, then how do I get over this?"

"Sleep with him."

"Sleep with him? That's your advice? You think it's so easy with this blimp on me. I look like a whale walking on land. No man is going to get hard, much less Harry, who I have to say, has quite the sex drive. So I don't think so."

"You're using your sons as an excuse. He's a guy. He sees a hole, he wants to put it inside. That's how you got to this predicament." Elena just glared at her, her vulgarness was not needed. Gail sighed and took hold of both her hands. "Look, I'm not saying that sex is going to be the solution to everything. It's just that the lack of it is adding to your stress. It's like a voice in your head, undermining everything he says and does. You're so new to it that you're taking the lack of sex as a devaluation of yourself as a person, a woman. And it's not. Sex is a physiological need that everyone has. It's not a measure of how worthy or attractive you are as a woman. Honestly, I'm impressed that you held out this long."

Still glaring at her, Elena couldn't help but feel that her words hit home. Maybe not in its entirety but a small part of her. Like carbon monoxide, it had insidiously sneaked in and wrapped around her entire psyche, strangling her ability to reason and believe in him. Maybe sex wasn't the answer but finding this, identifying this would be a great help in resolving the confusion within her.

"I'll think about it,"she finally said before letting out a startled shriek. Gail had pulled her into a sudden hug but she relaxed in her arms after a while. "So with that out of the way, what are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

"Harry brought me here. He thought a familiar voice would help you wake up. Which you did not since I have only just arrived. Seriously, why did I even get on that luxurious private jet for?"

The two of them had an amiable chat, bickering when possible, and basically treasuring their time together as much as they could.

------@@@@@---------

Running his hand over his face for the umpteenth time, Harry couldn't help but face the direction Elena's room was. Then, as if forcing himself, he turned the other way.Gail was still there, he didn't want to cut into their interlude. From what he had heard when he passed by, they sounded like they were having a good time. Nothing a man could interrupt. So he had waited in the waiting room from the moment Elena had woken up.

That had been close to two hours ago. And he was nearing the end of his tethers. He was champing at the bit to see Elena, which was not helped by this self-imposed restrain. The need to see her was so great that he found himself right outside her door without knowing how he got there. Hearing her laughter through the door was a great balm to his unrest. Giving in, he knocked on the door and entered when given permission.

The feeling of having ants crawling under his skin settled further when he set eyes on the smiling Elena, the women having just shared a joke or humorous story. Not that he cared. He only had eyes on her eyes, her big, open, green eyes. How he had missed them.

"Harry, thank you for bringing Gail over,"Elena said with a small smile.

"It's fine. Anything for you,"he answered absently before realising that he was looking down on her. When did he move to her side? Did he miss her so much that he was blanking out? All trouble left him when her hand rested on his that was on the bed rail. "How are you feeling?"

"Everything's fine. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. I can even leave the day after tomorrow after a couple days of observation. Didn't they relate that to you?"

"I spoke to her earlier but I- it's just- about what we were talking about before-" He hadn't realised that bringing up this subject was going to be so difficult. It was because of this that she was in the hospital in the first place. He had acted like such a brute before. DId he want to remind her? And now that he had met Noah, how was he going to broach this?

"About the stalker?" She visibly dimmed, her cheer after having woken up gone in an instant. Clearly, she was remembering how he had acted. What was he going to do? He looked to Gail for help.

"So, I have to get to the hotel and settle my stuff. You guys have a good chat." Gail was leaving? He almost grabbed onto her arm, to make her stay. Why did he bring her here if she was going to abandon him? But he couldn't move, notwithstanding Elena's hand on him. He was riddled with indecision that he could only silently watch her move to the door. Before she left, she dropped a bomb. "You guys really need to get rid of this sexual tension. If you need help, I can run interference while you do it and also teach you how to silent the alarm. But let me freshen up first."

There was only one word running through his mind at that.

WHAT?!

-----@@@-----

Elena could feel her cheeks flushing. She couldn't believe Gail had done that. When she next see her, her death was confirmed- No, death was too easy for her. Give her some time and she could get a torture chamber set up. That was the most fitting punishment for that witch.

"Ah, what was that about?"Harry asked as he took the seat Gail had just vacated. Faced with such a question, she was hardpressed to give an answer. She couldn't just regurgitate whatever Gail had said as an explanation. For some reason, that hit a bit too close to the truth. She could only look at him in silence. Fortunately, he continued without probing further. "I'm sorry."

Elena was stunned. Those were the last words she had ever expected from him. What was happening? Did hell freeze over? That was the only explanation she could think of. And what was he sorry about? Maybe it was the effect of her shock but nothing came to mind. It was a good thing he wasn't looking at her.

"I'm sorry for suspecting you of working together with Xavier. For a moment there, my paranoia took over and I was going to do anything to get you to admit. I'm ashamed that it took me too long to realise that you were having a panic attack. Can you forgive me?"

Blank, that was Elena's state of mind. No words, just pure emotion. Now that he spoke about it, everything returned. The anger, the fear, the hallucination-inducing paranoia. The insecurity she felt upon gaining consciousness. They were all reasons to stay away from him. The reason she left him when he had lashed out on her previously. But another desire was fighting against this urge for self-preservation. The need to stay with him, be close to him. She was vascillating between the two so much that she felt tire.

"Oh, Harry,"she said on a sigh. "I know we've talked about it but what are we going to do about us? This is something we are always grappling about. We fight, we talk and things are resolved. Then, not even a minute later, we are at each other's throats again. Just what is the underlying issue? Is Gail right? Are we just too sexually frustrated? Or is it something even more fundamental? Is it a lack of trust?"

"Sexually frustrated? I'm not frustrated. This is not the longest I've been without sex. And-"

"That's great for you then,"she bit out, sulking for some reason. When she realised this, she was surprised. Was this the sexual frustration that Gail had talked about? But the frustration wasn't purely sexual in nature. Delving deeper, Elena realised that this had more to do with Harry's utter rejection of her as a partner and equal.

Or was she overthinking this?

Then the best way to resolve this was to probe further.

"Have you ever relied on anyone?"

AN: Hey guys. Here's another update. Sorry for the delay. I received quite a few reminders about this hehe. So what do you think about the chapter? I know, I know, it's another fight. I am also conscious of that when I write. But it's the last stretch for them... Oops, a bit of a spoiler for the next chapter but rest assured this is the last of this never-ending loop.

Little mini-rant here. Just went on a date last night and it was the worst experience to date. Which, I know, is not the worst out there. This guy was just too liberal with his touches. This has really put me off dating. I'm going to be alone forever. FOREVERRRR. *sobs into ice cream*

Anyways, please VOTE and COMMENT. Let me know what you think. Be it here or Twitter. I should be more active there but lets pretend I'm on there. Do check out my ko-fi too.

THANKS!!

Next update: 24 DEC (Christmas Eve!!!)