It was early in the morning when Gerard and Dominika sat side-by-side on the backseat of John’s Bentley, the sleek black car gliding along the quiet streets of Washington D.C in the wintery daybreak air. The sun was barely visible over the tops of the bare trees, bathing the roads in dim orange-yellow light that filtered through the windows.

They were in for a busy morning, currently en route to a local café favored by Gerard’s parents, for according to Donna, “some well-deserved alone time”. Dominika had chortled internally at that statement, slightly giddy at the thought that she’d spent almost every night in Gerard’s room since he’d returned to America, and more often than not in his bed. His healing wounds meant their touches were gentle and chaste, but Dominika adored the new level of closeness and intimacy between them. Every time she woke beside him, his good arm wrapped around her torso, her heart surged with adoration and she could have lay there forever, watching his chest rise and fall with long, even breaths as he slept. Months ago, never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined this scene, but now her life wouldn’t have been complete without it.

Dominika turned to look at Gerard then, his gaze trained out the window, taking in the streets beyond. His eyes and skin almost glowed in the light cast by in the sunrise, magnified by the old thick glass windows of the vintage car. Their meal was to precede Gerard’s first physical therapy session as an outpatient, and Dominika wanted to be there for moral support. Initially when she’d volunteered to be Gerard’s nurse, she’d had reservations, afraid that perhaps it would make their relationship awkward, but it had in fact the opposite effect, and the intensity between them had increased in ways that made Dominika’s skin tingle in his presence.

“We’re here” John announced as the Bentley rolled up to the curbside in front of a long shopping strip. He was out of the car in seconds, hauling Gerard’s wheelchair from the truck and onto the freezing cold pavement. Dominika shivered and pulled her thick woolen ivory coat closed over her knitted sweater dress, her legs clad in opaque black stockings as protection against the harsh D.C weather. She dashed over to the other side of the car and opened the door, watching as John tried to help a disgruntled Gerard into his wheelchair parked on the sidewalk.

“I’m okay” he said impatiently, gripping the handles of the chair with white knuckles and lowering his body slowly into the seat. John raised his hands in defeat and stepped back into the road behind the car, pulling his cellphone from the breast pocket of his tan jacket.

“I’ll leave you to it then, kids. Domi, you have your cellphone don’t you? Call me when the appointment finishes, I’ll pick you up from the parking lot”

Dominika nodded and smiled at John as she curled her hands around the handles of Gerard’s wheelchair, the cold metal stinging her hands in the chilly morning air. He nodded back at them both briefly before he ducked into the warm cabin of the Bentley, the engine still idling on the curb beside them.

“I hope you’re hungry” she said as she steered him into the glass-fronted café a few doors down “your mom took me here once and I looked pregnant in my ballet uniform for a week”
Gerard chuckled as Dominika pushed him into the building, the warm stuffy air hinted with cinnamon instantly infiltrating their nostrils as they entered.

A pretty, tall woman with long black hair greeted them at the door and directed them over to a small, private table at the edge of the room, away from the mass of seating in the middle. Although it was abandoned for now, Dominika knew from previous visits the space would be alive and bustling with patrons in an hour and she was keen to have as much quiet alone time with him as possible. The waitress pulled one of the chairs away from the table and gestured to the empty space. Dominika pushed Gerard up to the edge of the tabletop and the woman placed two menus down in front of them, nodding briefly before she shuffled away back into the kitchen.

“Meals on wheels facilities” Gerard said in a low voice, leaning in closer so Dominika could hear him “now that’s fancy”

She couldn’t contain the giggle that escaped from her throat, a smile spreading across Gerard’s face at the sound of her laughter. He pushed one of menus in front of her and flicked the other open, scanning the page. Silence lingered in the air between them, the soft notes of gentle piano music from the stereo system overhead the only sound.

“Does being out and about like this feel as weird to you as it does to me?” Gerard asked, interrupting the quiet that had fallen over their table. Dominika looked up from the menu and realized he was watching her intently.

“Yes” she admitted “I could get used to it, though”

“Maybe you shouldn’t” he replied, smirking “since when is normal our thing? I’m used to gallivanting around the woods and hiding in warehouses, cafes are a whole new territory”

She laughed then too, realizing he was right. Sure, they’d known each other since childhood, but their upbringings had been anything but normal. Dominika had been metaphorically wrapped in cotton wool by her parents as their youngest child, her life in Russia consisting mainly of intense studies and official obligations that mostly involved being shown off like a trophy. Gerard’s life had been very different, his childhood days carefree and without responsibilities for the most part. Also unlike her, he’d chosen to pursue political interests through his military career, and Dominika had never had such intentions. She had never wanted to be a part of the decision-makings of her country, yet somehow she’d ended up as the very person who would need to do just that in the future. How near or far that future was however, she hadn’t the faintest idea.

Dominika played with her food, pushing it around the plate long after it had been placed in front of her. Gerard noticed and frowned at her disapprovingly, setting his own utensils back on the table beside his plate.

“Is there something wrong with your food, Domi?” he asked, his dark eyebrow raised.

“No” she sighed “I have a lot on my mind, it puts me off my appetite”

“What’s up, kid?” he asked, his warm green-brown eyes boring into hers. She diverted her gaze to the corner of the restaurant and then dropped it to her lap, focusing on the white linen napkin she twisted in her fingers.

“As always. Home mainly, but ballet as well, and maybe even a little bit of you”

Gerard’s eyes softened then, and his long white hand stretched across the table to squeeze the middle fingers of the hand she’d moved to rest in front of her.

“I thought of you every day we were apart” Gerard said suddenly, and Dominika was surprised at the sudden change of direction their conversation had taken.

Her cheeks flushed pink and she glanced back to the crumpled napkin in her lap again, resisting the urge to continue weaving it around her fingers.

“I don’t want you to go again” she whispered, the noise barely audible over the background music.

“If it were up to me, kid, I’d never leave you again. But this is how is has to be for now. It doesn’t change anything between us though as far as I’m concerned, whether I’m here or over there, I’m yours, Domi. I only want you”

Every time he broke from his usual sarcastic prose to serious declarations of his feelings for her, tingles crawled up and down Dominika’s spine. It was the perfect juxtaposition, so unlike the usual words that left his mouth but somehow so quintessentially him at the same time.

“How do you always know just the right thing to say?” she asked honestly, meeting his eyes again.

He chuckled quietly then, rubbing the back of her clammy hand with his thumb.

“I guess I know how to talk you down when I can tell that busy brain of yours is in overdrive”

---

The physiotherapist’s office smelt exactly like a hospital, Dominika wrinkling her nose involuntarily as she sat in the stiff, poorly-padded chair opposite the therapy bars. Gerard was upright, his muscles straining visibly outwards against his skin as he gripped the polished wooden bars with his hands, knuckles white with the effort of holding his body weight up with his arms.

“Come on, Gerard” the physiotherapist encouraged “you can do it, just to the halfway point here”

He rapped on the mid-point of the bar, replacing his hands so they were poised to assist Gerard if he needed it. Dominika realized she was holding her breath as he took a step, and she exhaled quickly, her breath rushing out of her lungs in a loud huff much more audible than she intended.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Princess” Gerard teased “I’m trying my hardest over here”

“At least we know your sense of humor wasn’t affected, Gerard” the physio said, looking over the thick stack of notes in his hand. As Gerard reached the mid-section of the bars Dominika clapped happily. The brightest smile she’d seen in weeks illuminated his face and an overwhelming sense of jubilation and rejoice filtered through her at seeing the pride that accented his features.

Dominika rushed to his side as the therapist helped him back into his wheelchair, holding his arm firmly as he guided himself back into the seat.

“Excellent progress today, Gerard. Let me just fill this prescription for you and then we can talk about your exercises between now and our next session”

The second the therapist had left his office, closing the door behind him, Dominika’s crashed her lips against Gerard’s, and he jolted in his seat, surprised by her abrupt shift in demeanor before settling into their kiss. His fingers weaved into her loose hair, urging her closer against his body as he kissed her with every ounce of strength he had left. When they broke apart, she pushed her forehead against his, her eyes closed.

“Where did that come from?” Gerard panted, breathless. He kissed her once, twice on the edge of her lower lip and she opened her eyes, holding his gaze for a brief moment before her eyes shuttered again. Intense emotions simmered around in her head, brewing and threatening to burst out of her mouth uncontrolled. She suppressed the urge and sifted through her raging thoughts carefully one at a time, deciding her words. Adrenaline spiked in her blood as her thoughts came tumbling out, as filtered as she was capable of in that state.

“Make love to me” she breathed, unable to believe she’d heard it from her own mouth even as she said it “not now. But when you’re better, I want you to make love to me”

Gerard stiffened in surprise before his eyes were fixed upon her again, this time burning with lust.

“The second I can, baby” he said, the words filled with decided conviction “I’ll make you all mine”

Notes