FINALS AND NEW BEGINNINGS

Parts 6 - 7

Copyright: Ash

Part 6

"Danny?" Ashley whispered. "Don't worry, I'm here," came the reply. With this Danny squeezed Ashley's hand tighter, before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'd best call in the doctors, they'll probably want to look you over." And then Danny pushed the Call button. Seconds later he was being pushed out of the room, and back into the waiting area.

"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" asked the nurse behind the desk. "I'm Mrs Evans, Ashley Knight's mother, can I please see her," replied the woman. "Just one moment, I'll see if I can find a doctor. Please take a seat."

Overhearing the conversation, Danny approached the woman at the desk. "Hi, sorry to butt in, but I'm Danny. We spoke on the phone yesterday." "You're the mysterious Danny then? I hope you've been looking after my daughter properly. Do you know how she is?" Sitting down, Danny explained the events of the past few minutes. Danny noticed that Ashley's mother seemed relieved at the news. Soon after a doctor came out of Ashley's room, and let them go back in to see her.

Over the next couple of weeks, Ashley slowly recovered. And finally she was back on her feet walking around and able to go home. She'd noticed that her mother and Danny had started to get on really well, and was waiting for the ultimate question from her. Every time she bet a nice man, the first question on her lips was, 'is this the one?' And deep down Ashley wished that it was, but having her mother around meant that they couldn't much time alone. Moving back into her flat was difficult, but finally she plucked up the courage to talk to her mother. "Mum, you know you don't have to stay. I'm sure I can look after myself know." "Why don't you just tell it to me straight? You want to be alone with Danny. Don't worry, I know when I'm not wanted," quipped her mother. "Mum you know it's not like that." "I know. I can tell you two love birds want some peace." Ashley just blushed. "Has he told you when he's going back to America, or have I just put my foot in it?" "Think you've just put your foot in it. I guess I'll have to speak to him later. And just when I thought things were going well," Ashley answered. "I thought so to." The next morning Ashley waved goodbye to her mother.

Danny sat alone in the hotel room. He hadn't been to see Ashley for a day now, letting her have time with her mother. He'd only come to England for a few week's holiday, not for a fling and definitely not to fall in love. But it had happened, although there hadn't been to much romance yet. "And now I have to go home," he thought to himself, "and I haven't had the courage to tell her anything." Danny sat there for a few more moments staring at the phone. Then without another thought, he picked it up, and rang Ashley's number.

"Hello," came the answer at the other end of the phone. "Ash, its Danny, I have something to say. I love you, and I've loved you from the first moment I saw you. But we have to talk." Finally Ashley replied, "yeah, I guess we do," and with that she hung up.

Part 7

The door bell rang, and Ashley got up and pressed the buzzer to let them in. She opened her front door apprehensively, knowing who was walking up the stairs. Ashley moved out of the way to let Danny pass, noticing the grim look on his face. "I hear that your going back to America soon," Ash said, before Danny had a chance to compose himself. "You were going to tell me about it?" "Ash, believe me, this wasn't supposed to happen this way." "What do you mean, this wasn't supposed to happen. What am I, a small holiday romance, that you can forget about as soon as you leave the country?" Ash glared at him. Danny just stood there shaking his head, not knowing what to do. As he stared at Ashley, an impulse suddenly overtook him, and the next he knew, he had her face in his hands and he was kissing her passionately. For a few moments Ashley kissed him back, with just as much ferocity, before she realised what she was doing. "Get off me," she shouted, "do you think you can win me over that easily?" "I'm sorry. I just wanted to show you how I felt, I didn't know how else to express my feelings for you," was all Danny could reply. "Maybe you should start with the truth." Danny nodded, "mind if I sit down." Ashley motioned to a chair, and Danny took it. "Ok you want the truth." Ashley sat there expectantly. "I came over to England to get away from my life there, to sort my head out. My wife walked out on me a month ago, and took my children with her. I haven't seen or heard from them since. I was hoping that a holiday would help me come to terms with it, before a went to search for my children. I wasn't expecting to find love here. It took me by surprise, and suddenly I was going with the flow. And then, when you had the accident, I felt responsible. For leading on I guess. Seeing you lying there in a coma made me realise how important you were to me. I didn't want to hurt you more than you already were. But I guess that idea backfired, didn't it? So there you go. If you want me to leave, I will. I am so sorry for hurting you. Maybe one day you can forgive me." Ashley looked across at Danny, she had no idea what to say. "Talk about hitting you all at once with the bad news," she thought to herself. Danny just sat there, face in his hands, looking exhausted from the effort of telling his story. Finally Ash stood up, and walked over to him. Pulling him to his feet, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close to her. By this point she could hear the tears start to fall. "I'm sorry, so so sorry," was all Danny could say.

After what seemed like hours, Ashley looked up at Danny's face, and brushed away the remaining tears. "When is your flight back?" Ashley asked quietly. "In a few days," Danny replied, trying to hold back more tears. "Come on, lets sit down on the bed, and see if we can sort something out." With that Ashley dragged Danny over to the bed, and sat down. Still holding him close, Ash felt Danny begin to speak. "Why haven't you told me to go yet? I just told you that I have a wife and children" Danny sounded hysterical. "Shush. You also told me that she left you. Danny, you told me that you loved me on the phone earlier. Well, I love you too. Maybe all this was supposed to happen, maybe we were supposed to meet up, at this time, in this place. But the final decision is yours. Do you want to sort something out with me, or do you want to go back to your wife, and try and patch things up. Now before you say anything, I'm not making an ultimatum over your kids, I wouldn't do that. Its down to you Danny. I can't help you decide."

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