Helo Pilot

"Okay," she said very quietly after a very long period of silence. After she spoke that single word, she slowly slid her hands down his chest before bringing them back in front of her.

She did her best to smile as she looked up at him and asked, "So...did you maybe want to talk with Andrea first? She was very upset."

"Me? I could, but it might be better if...we..did that," Nathan told her as he looked at her in a way that helped to reassure her that this huge gamble she was taking might not be as a big a risk as she feared.

Marissa let him take her hand until they got to Andrea's room where she let go.

"You go in first, okay? she said quietly as she let go.

Nathan knocked then said, "Andi? Can I come in?"

"It isn't locked," she said just loudly enough for him to hear. He pushed the door open then saw her on the bed.

"Hey," he said as he stepped into the room.

"Hey."

"Did you maybe wanna talk?" he asked.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said without looking at him.

"So you're not upset?" her brother asked as he stopped about two feet from the bed.

"It doesn't matter," Andrea told him.

"It matters to me," he said as he pointed to an empty space at the foot of her bed.

His sister shrugged so he sat down just as Marissa walked in.

"May I come in, too?" she asked with a gentle voice and a smile.

"Sure, but if you're just gonna tell me again nothing I ever pray for comes true, then you don't need to bother," she said without looking at either of them.

"I didn't know you still prayed," Nathan said.

"Sometimes," Andrea told him. "I mean, nothing else works, and some people say it changes things, but now I know it doesn't."

Nathan hadn't been to church in at least eight years, but he told his sister, who still occasionally went with their parents, she couldn't possibly know that.

"When you pray for something really hard and it doesn't happen...you know," she told him as she continued fiddling with her iPod.

"Maybe prayer does change things," Nathan told her as he reached out for Marissa's hand.

"Yeah, right," Andrea replied snidely just as she looked up.

Nathan took Marissa's hand, and she smiled at Andrea.

"When you and I were talking, I honestly never even dreamed Nathan and I might..."

She looked at Nathan with a 'can you help me out here' kind of look.

"I just let Marissa know I have feelings for her. I also told her I thought she had feelings for me, and as it turns out..."

Nathan now turned to Marissa for help.

"I did. I mean...I do. I was just too afraid to let myself feel them," Marissa added. "But after we talked, I realized I didn't believe the things I told you. And then your brother comes along just moments later and tells me..."

She turned back to Nathan who finished the thought for them.

"That I want us to find out how far these feelings of ours can go."

He looked up at Marissa who was now standing right next to him and said, "And I honestly believe they can..."

Their father loved sports, and Andrea loved watching him imitate the announcer who said, "He...could...go...all.. the...way!!" so that's what Nathan said only substituting 'they' for 'he' referring to their feelings.

Marissa laughed, and as hard as Andrea tried to stay mad, she couldn't. She smiled at first, then when Nathan laughed, she did, too.

When it was over, Nathan patted the empty space next to him and told his sister, "Come here."

Andrea sat up and moved next to her brother who put his arm around her. She then held out her other arm, and Marissa bent down and joined in as the three of them hugged and laughed.

"You hungry?" Nathan asked Andrea when Marissa let go, his arm still around his little sister.

"I'm like...starving," his sister said.

"Then let's blow this popsicle stand and go get something to eat!" her brother said as he jumped off the bed and stood by his...girlfriend?

Andrea stood up then said, "I guess praying does change things," as she watched Nathan take Marissa's hand again.

"Or coincidences happen," Nathan thought to himself while saying to his sister, "who knows, right?"

The difference in both Marissa and Andrea after that was unmistakeable as the three of them talked while they drove back into town and while they ate. Nathan had never seen his sister or this beautiful, older woman open up like that before. And the laughter! He found himself laughing several times just because the 'girls' were laughing so hard.

When Andrea shared the name of a boy she liked, Nathan's eyes intentionally bugged out. She and Marissa looked at his reaction, then looked at each other, and just started laughing again.

"Your brother seems surprised that his sister could possibly like a boy," Marissa said.

"Oh, he is SO hot, and super nice, and..."

"Hey! I'm sitting right here!" Nathan said as though this newfound sharing was 'too much information.

"TMI?" Marissa asked, picking up on the implication.

"Kind of. I mean, she is my baby sister."

Marissa smiled, put her hand on Nathan's then said, "Sorry, but she's not a baby anymore, Nathan, and this is only going to get worse from here on out."

She looked at Andrea then faux whispered, "I really mean 'better'!"

Andrea laughed again, and Nathan couldn't remember the last time he felt this good. Even the realization that it had been just before his parents were killed in such a horrific way didn't dampen his mood. He just sat there and listened to them talk and laugh, as he quietly ate lunch and took it all in.

Nathan was surprised again when they got ready to leave and Marissa said, "Andi and I want to go look through some shops. Is that okay?"

He smiled when he heard her use the shortened version of his sister's name for the first time and told her that sounded great.

"You're welcome to join us," Marissa told him, not sure what he might say just before they stepped outside.

"Nah. There's a sporting goods store just up the street. I'll go see what's new and meet you back here."

He'd have gone with them just to be around Marissa, but he wanted them to have time to bond even further so he came up with the typical guy excuse knowing it would have the desired effect.

"Maybe in an hour?" she suggested, her expression happy and bright.

"Take as long as you need," he told her as he moved closer.

Nathan wasn't sure how she'd react to being kissed in public, and stopped just before it happened.

"It's okay," she told him with another beautiful smile. "I was kind of hoping you'd kiss me."

"Yeah?" Nathan asked hopefully and with a smile of his own.

"Uh-huh," she replied with an equally warm smile.

He 'sealed the deal' and Andi rolled her eyes.

"OMG! Now that is TMI!" she said, secretly loving what she was seeing, even though it wasn't 'TMI' but rather 'PDA', or a 'public display of affection'.

"I think your sister might be imaging someone named Jeremy kissing her," Marissa said to Nathan as she smiled at Andi.

Andi's cheeks lit up as she held up a hand and said, "What-ever!" causing Marissa and Nathan to laugh.

Outside, Marissa kissed her new boyfriend after agreeing to meet him right there in an hour. Nathan not only smiled because of the kiss, but even more so when he saw Marissa take Andi's arm as they headed across the street, still laughing and having a great time together.

"Thank you," Nathan said as he looked up.

Whether it was God or his parents watching out for them or nothing but a series of coincidences, he was more grateful than he'd ever been in his life.

Nathan didn't mind waiting a few extra minutes when his girls came back still laughing and having fun together. He'd picked up a new tee shirt and a pair of shorts to run in at the sporting goods store, and asked what was in the bags they were carrying.

"Just a few things for Andi," Marissa told him. "For the warmer weather. In Kansas."

"Right," Nathan said. "The summers do get very hot there. Or so I hear."

He opened the car door for Andi who set her shopping bags inside then got in.

Before Nathan opened Marissa's he said, "You'll uh...you'll need some summer things, too, won't you?"

"Oh, right. It will be getting warm here in a few more weeks, huh?" she replied.

Nathan wasn't sure if she was kidding or trying to tell him something so he put his hands on her shoulders and said with a smile, "You know that's not what I meant."

Marissa put her arms around his neck, smiled back, then said, "I know. I just don't want to take anything for granted while we're exploring these feelings, okay?"

She kissed him softly which cause Andi to call out, "Seriously?"

"Uh-huh," Nathan said to her as he opened the door. He leaned in and said back, "Seriously!"

Again, he barely said a word on the drive home as Marissa and Andi chatted the whole way. But when he reached out for her hand and Marissa gave it to him, Nathan didn't see where words were all that important.

When the three of them got back in the house, Andi thanked Marissa and hugged her in the foyer before going up to her room, the shopping bags in tow.

Once she was gone, Nathan turned to face Marissa and put his arms around her waist.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to see the way you make my sister smile."

She put her arms around his neck again and said, "You have no idea how happy I am now that I stopped trying to tell myself there was nothing between us."

Nathan smiled at her, kissed her softly then said, "Did you know I had the worst kind of crush on you when you were my teacher?"

She sort of smiled back then got more serious as she asked, "Is that what this is now? A crush?"

It was asked in the kindest way possible, but it was a question she had to ask.

Nathan pulled her close, brushed back her hair then said, "No. This is no crush, Marissa. It's very real."

He smiled again then said, "Trust me on that."

"That might just make me even happier than the wonderful time I had with Andi," she told him as their eyes darted back and forth.

"You are so beautiful," he told her.

"Do you really mean that, Nathan?" she asked, needing to know that, too.

"I do. In fact, I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he told her truthfully.

"Even though I'm...ancient?" she asked, trying to make it seem like she was only kidding and not at all concerned with her age. But deep down, she wondered how he really saw her, and this was something else she had to know, so she watched his eyes very carefully as he replied.

"Marissa?" he began, saying her name very quietly.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"The first time I ever saw you I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I was just a kid with a crush on his teacher, but you were so incredibly beautiful."

He smiled at her then said in a way that put her fears to rest, "And you are even more beautiful to me now than you were then."

She wanted to say something, but no words came out. She didn't want to cry, but she felt herself tearing up anyway.

"May I tell you something else?" Nathan asked so quietly she barely heard him.

She nodded her head as she blinked several times then listened.

"I'm...I'm falling hard for you," he said as he reached up and cupped her face in his hands. "Really hard."

She found her voice but still couldn't speak only for a very different reason.

"What is it?" Nathan asked, her pretty face still in his hands.

"Is it okay...would you mind if I told you something about Eric?" she finally asked.

"Of course. I'll never mind you talking about him. Ever. He loved you and you loved him, and you'll always love him, and I wouldn't want it to be any other way," Nathan told her in the kindest, gentlest voice she'd ever heard.

The tears she'd managed to stop now fell freely as she laid her head in the crook of his neck as he held her close.

"With...Eric...it took me...a long time...to tell him...I loved him," she said, barely able to speak. "I knew I did early on...but it wasn't...something...I could say."

Nathan stroked her soft hair but didn't speak as she moved away just enough to look up at him through tear-stained eyes.

"But it's so different with you," she said, no longer crying, her cheeks stained with mascara. "It doesn't matter how fast this is all happening, all that matters is the way you make me feel and the way I feel about you."

Knowing she wasn't finished, Nathan waited for her to say whatever else she needed to say.

"Nathan? I don't want to wait months or weeks to tell you that I love you? Okay?" she asked as though she needed his permission. "I don't think I'm ready to say it right now at this very moment, but I've only felt this way once before in my life, and it was when I fell in love with my husband."

"There's no hurry...sweetheart," he told her with a gentle smile.

Marissa smiled back and said ever-so sweetly, "Would you call me that again? Please?"

"Yes, I will...sweetheart," Nathan said with a smile that melted her heart.

Marissa pulled him close and held him so hard Nathan wondered if everything was okay even though he was fairly confident it was.

She moved back just enough to look up at her boyfriend then said, "I guess I'm one of those teachers, huh?"

"One of...those...teachers?" Nathan asked.

"Uh-huh. You know, the ones who fall for one of their students?"

Her voice was playful and yet somehow serious.

"But I'm not your student, and we're not doing anything wrong," Nathan reminded her.

"No. No, we're not. I know we're not because everything feels so...right," she said before kissing him again.

A few seconds later she pulled away again and asked, "Is there anything else you want to do today?" referring to the estate.

"Uh-huh," Nathan told her very seriously.

"Well, we can head back out if you want," she said supportively.

"That's not what I had in mind," he told her.

"I don't understand," she replied, her eyes searching for some kind of clue.

Nathan smiled at her in a way he hadn't before then explained.

"You see, what I want to do today would require us to be alone somewhere my sister isn't."

"Ohhh," she said with a happy smile. "I see. Well, I'm sure we can find a way to...accomplish that in the near future."

"The very near future?" Nathan asked, that same smile still there.

"The nearer the better," she told him before she pulled him down for a long, passionate kiss.

"I agree. Completely," Nathan said when the kiss ended.

"I can tell," Marissa replied playfully.

She'd been pushing against him, and when she felt him growing hard, she moaned softly and pushed back.

"That happens whenever you're around, you know," he informed her as though she was at fault.

"Really? It sounds like you have some sort of medical issue," Marissa told him seriously.

"I agree, Doctor Stevens," he said just as seriously. "I'm hoping you can give it the kind of...full, undivided attention it deserves."

"Yes. Definitely. And...the sooner the better, right?" she said trying hard not to laugh.

Nathan finally laughed and that made Marissa laugh as she put her arms around her boyfriend and told him how much she loved being with him, and he immediately said the same thing back to her.

Nathan took her hand and led her back into the family room where she asked again, only this time it really was about the estate, if they needed to do anything else today.

"Well, we really do need to get this place ready to sell," he said.

"Do you have a realtor yet?"

"No. Do you know one?" Nathan asked.

"I just happen to know one quite well," she told him. "How would you feel about working with my mom?"

Nathan thought for a moment or two then said, "Maybe the better question is how she's going to react to me?"

"Well...my mom and I are super close," Marissa told him.

She gave him a playful look before adding, "Fair warning, okay?"

"Okay," he replied, wondering where this was going.

"She knew who you were when I told her I was driving out here to offer my condolences, so she knows how old you are. But I...I also told her how you made me feel and why I didn't want to come back here," Marissa confessed.

"And?"

"And she told me I was the only one who could decide what to do. We talked for quite some time about love and infatuation and a 'rebound romance', if that even applies here, and..."

Now it was Nathan who needed to know something.

"Wait. Is it? Is this a 'rebound?' And by 'rebound', do you mean falling for the first guy who comes along?"

"No. Definitely not," she told him as she snuggled up against him. "Well, let me try that again. The answer is 'yes' to the way you defined a rebound romance, but it's 'no' to this being one. I know how I felt when I was in love, and I've known what I wanted for some time now were I ever able to start looking again. I just had no idea what I wanted...would be you."

She looked up at him then said, "Well, not until I spent some time around you, and you made me feel that way again."

"Okay, continue, Counselor," he teased, satisfied with her explanation.

"That's it. That's all I needed to say," she told him.

They sat quietly for a couple of minutes before Marissa said, "Nathan? May I tell you something else about Eric?"

"Of course. Anything," he told her.

"I...I've never told anyone what happened to Eric. In the fire. Not even my mom."

"You don't have to talk about it...honey," he said, calling her that for the first time.

She knew she didn't, and yet she felt compelled to share what details she knew about the way the only man she'd ever loved—before Nathan Simmons—had died.

She curled up with her former student and began talking. It took less then five minutes to explain that final day from the last time she saw him to repeating what the fire chief told her early the next morning.

"That's true heroism," Nathan told her after learning how he ran from room to room looking for a child or someone too frail to walk when the entire floor collapsed on him.

"I agree," Marissa said wistfully.

Several more moments passed in silence before she said, "I'm only going to mention this once, okay?"

"Okay," Nathan replied to the ominous-sounding warning.

"I don't know anything about the Army other than it fights wars. I also know...people die in war," she began before starting to choke up.

"It's okay. Go ahead."

"I...I'm already worrying about you..."

Nathan pulled her close then said, "I won't sit her and tell you that can't happen. All I can tell you is I've wanted to be a helo pilot since, well, since you were my teacher. It's been my biggest dream, and I absolutely love flying."

"I know, and I'd never ask you to give up something you love. Just know, that I will always be afraid and worry, no matter how this turns out, but I promise I'll never bring this up again."

To lighten the mood, and to reassure herself, she did her best to smile and say, "Assuming of course, you'd want me to tag along with you some day."

"Hmmm. Lemme think," he said, hamming it up by putting his chin in his hand.

"What? What is it you're thinking about?" she asked, now very serious.

"I'm thinking about how happy it would make you if you...tagged along with me."

"Don't you think it's a little too early to tell?" she asked, now not so sure it was.

"Maybe. But I have to tell you, I've never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do, Marissa."

She sat quietly for a few more seconds then said, "Just a week ago, I honestly felt like I'd never feel this way again, and I had no desire to even try."

"And then you knocked on my door," Nathan said with a smile.

"Yes. Yes, I did, and my whole world changed," she said quietly.

"Same here," Nathan told her. "And in the best way possible."

"Nathan?" Marissa asked as she looked at him. "Do you think three weeks is enough time to know?"