"This was when he was only seven years old, and he was playing with a toy that we got him for Christmas." Emmanuelle says, handing me the photo.

"Awww! He looks so cute!" I say, smiling at the picture.

After the enjoyable and slightly nerve wrecking brunch, we drove back home to their mansion. Rian never took his eyes off of me, and I couldn't wipe my smirk off of my face.

I deliberately wanted to tempt him, but I didn't think that he'd do it to me.

I really was nervous for no reason because the brunch went very well, and I'm more than just satisfied with what happened.

I've been viewing pictures of Rian for the last twenty minutes with his mother, while Rian and his father are casually talking in the kitchen.

"He was a beautiful little boy. With those big blue eyes and those dimples, it seemed difficult to even discipline him because he looked so sweet and innocent." Emmanuelle says, and I smile.

"You're a wonderful mother, Mrs. Peterson." I say while looking at her.

"Thank you, dear." She says, and continues to flip through her photo album.

She gasps before laughing and taking out another picture of him, and hysterical giggles erupt from me.

"This was when he was potty training, he hated it." Emmanuelle says, and we both laugh.

Rian's lips are pouted, and he looks like he's about to cry in the picture.

"Aww," I say through a laugh. "How adorable."

"What's going on in here?" Rian suddenly asks from behind me, and I jump out of my skin.

"Jesus! Don't scare me like that." I say, placing a hand over my faulty heartbeat.

"We're just looking at the pictures I took of you over the years, sweetheart." Emmanuelle says, and Rian's cheeks instantly turn cherry red.

"Mom, no! Don't show her those, they're awful." Rian protests, and I laugh.

"You must be delusional if you think that those pictures are awful, baby." I say, playfully pinching his cheek.

"Rian, how could you think that? These pictures are beautiful." Emmanuelle says, and Rian shakes his head.

"No, no, no! Mom, just put them away."

"You don't want to reminisce with us, honey?" She asks, and Rian groans before sitting next to me.

"Fine." Rian grumbles, and I giggle.

"Alexandrianna?" Daniel says, and my head snaps back at him.

Daniel beckons me to the kitchen, and I rise to my feet while slowly approaching him. Once I'm in the kitchen, he takes out two mugs and fills them up with water from the refrigerator.

"Thanks." I say, and I sip the refreshing water.

"We appreciate you and Rian making it down for brunch with us. I know you must be very busy with school, and Rian is always packed with work." Daniel says.

"It's no problem. I was nervous, but really looking forward to seeing you guys again. It's been a while since the party, and Rian was itching to see you guys, especially you."

"Was he particularly itching to see me because of my condition?" Daniel asks, and my heart drops to my stomach.

"I don't know," I reply flatly, taking a sip of water to swallow the lump in my throat. "Maybe. He's constantly worried about you."

"Tell him that there's nothing to worry about." Daniel says nonchalantly, and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Nothing to worry about? You have cancer, and it's so serious that it's basically terminal! Of course there's something to worry about." I whisper, not wanting them to hear our conversation.

"It's just something in me, okay? I worry about others, yet I don't want them to worry about me. It's something that Emmanuelle passed on to me shortly after we got married." Daniel admits.

"Well, I can definitely understand why Rian is worried. He loves his father, and he just hates to see you slowly deteriorating. I'm not saying this to depress you or anything, I'm just stating facts."

I can tell how close Rian and his father are, and they seem inseparable. It's bound to happen someday, but his death is going to occur sooner than it should.

"Just don't say anything to him about our conversation." Daniel says.

"I can't lie to your son." I say, and he smiles.

"That's good, but still. Don't say anything. Not yet, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"We'll all find out." Daniel replies, taking a swig of water.

We'll all find out?

What the hell is he trying to insinuate?

"Alex?" Rian calls out.

"Yes?"

I see him walk into the kitchen, and he braces the doorway while smiling at me.

"It's time to go, it's getting kind of late." He says.

Rian walks over to his father, and gives him a large hug while smacking his back. They smile at each other before exchanging a glance.

"I love you." Rian says, and my heart warms up by how lit up his eyes look.

"I love you, too. Be careful on the drive back home." Daniel says, and Rian nods.

Daniel walks over to me, and pulls me into his arms for an embrace. I'm surprised by this, but I still hug him back because I don't want to come off as being rude to him.

We share a look that sends a chill down my spine, and I give him a small grin before Rian grabs my hand and takes me out of the kitchen so that we can say goodbye to his mother.

"Come here you two." Emmanuelle says, and we hug her simultaneously.

She's so small that I'm afraid that we'll squish her little body as we hug her, and as her tiny arms squeeze us closer I smile harder and harder.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Peterson." I say, and she smiles up at me.

"Of course! Stay safe on the way back home, please." She says.

"I will, Momma." Rian says, kissing her cheek and giving her a final squeeze.

Rian and I hold hands as we exit the house, and we walk around while looking at the scenery that surrounds us.

Soon, the fuchsia and orange color combination is wiped off of the sky, and replaced with the deepest blue possible. The sky became freckled with dazzling stars, illuminating the pitch darkness. The fountain water glistened, mirroring the assemblage of glittering stars. The wind carefully brushes against the leaves of the trees and planted flowers, not causing any damage to them whatsoever.

"Woah! Is that a shooting star?" I exclaim, and Rian's head snaps up at the sky.

"Where?" He asks excitedly, and his face is lit up by the moon.

"I swear I just saw it!" I say, aimlessly searching for it in the sky.

"Were you trying to make a wish? Because if the shooting star is gone, there's the fountain right here. Throw some change in there, and make any wish that you want." Rian says, but I shake my head.

"I don't need to make any wishes. No wish I could make could be any better than the man who's right in front of me." I say, smiling up at him.

"I love you so much." Rian says, grinning at me.

"I love you, too." I say.

He turns me around, hugging me from behind while we both look up at sky.

"If there was a wish you had, what would it be?" Rian asks, and his breath tickles my ear.

"I'd wish for you if I didn't have you. But since I do, I just wish for us to be happy. That sounds so cheesy, but it's true. Arguments and disagreements aside, I want us to be so happy that it's almost ridiculous." I say, and his thick lips plant a kiss on my neck.

"I wish for the same thing, Alexandrianna." Rian says, and he kisses my temple.

I turn around, and he grabs both of my hands. We don't even have to say anything to each other, we just look at each other.

Our lips touch, and I clutch desperately onto him as he pulls me as close as physically possible. He seizes my lips again and again with much more power and passion than the last, taking the air out of my lungs and making the blood rush to my head. For a moment, my brain shuts down as the pure ecstasy of our mouths tangling together takes over my body.

We could probably suffocate if our lips never separated, but with Rian, I wouldn't even care.

~~~

For the past few days, I've been slightly limping around. My knee has been numb, and I'm on my way to the hospital to see if Rian can diagnose the problem.

The benefits of having a doctor for a boyfriend.

I pull into the hospital parking lot, and I limp my way to the automatic doors and through the hallways past doctors and nurses.

"Alex?" A female voice calls out, and I already taste bile.

"What Kassandra?" I demand, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not here to insult you or anything. I'm apologizing." Kassandra says, and I give her a fake laugh.

"Apologize my ass, bitch. You're not going to do that when you told me that Rian deserves someone better than me, and when you said that you're not surprised that Austin left me." I spit.

"I'm serious! I just wanted to say that I was out of line, and I went overboard." Kassandra says, and I cross my arms.

"You're damn right you went overboard. You know you and Austin almost caused Rian and I to breakup?" I shout, and she nods.

"Yeah, I did." She admits, and I run my fingers through my hair to resist the urge to punch her.

"Was that your intention? You tried to end my relationship with Rian? For what?" I ask furiously.

"Rian confronted me about it!" Kassandra says.

"Bullshit." I retort.

"I'm not joking! Rian loves you, and he would do anything for you. He would even go as far as putting my career in jeopardy for you!" Kassandra exclaims, and my eyes widen.

"Seriously?"

"I wouldn't joke about something like that. Rian definitely wasn't playing around when he confronted me. Since you're here, just go find Rian and ask him. I know he wouldn't lie to you." Kassandra says, and I sigh.

I look her up and down, and I give her a wry smile while looking into her devilish green eyes. I don't bother saying another word, and I turn on my heel before slowly making my way through any other set of double doors.

From far away, I see Jordan and Elijah talking with another man. As I get closer and closer, I can tell that it's Rian because of his posture and I can faintly hear his deep voice.

"Hey. Hi!" I say, hobbling over to the three of them.

"It's quintessential that—" Rian says, but he turns around and stops talking when he sees me.

"Alex, hey!" He says, leaning down to kiss me.

"Hi Rian." I say.

"Nice to see you too, Alex." Elijah says sarcastically, and I give him a small laugh.

"Hi Elijah, hi Jordan." I say, waving at them.

"What are you doing here?" Jordan asks.

"To see Rian." I say.

He looks down, and notices that I'm holding myself upright by holding onto his strong arms. Rian's eyes are full of worry, and he holds onto my lower back to give me extra support.

"Are you okay?" He asks, looking down at my knee.

"My knee has been in pain for a couple of days."

"Why didn't you say anything about it the second the pain started? I could've fixed it by now, Alex."

"I didn't think it was serious." I admit, and he frowns.

"This is the knee you dislocated that we're talking about. You're probably experiencing complications." Rian says, and my eyes widen.

"I thought it was fine, though."

"Complications from an injury can occur at any time, Alex. Yes, it's healed, but it's not the way it was before and it won't ever be as strong as it was. Come on, I'll take you and check you out." Rian says, wrapping his arm around my side.

"Okay," I say through a shaky breath. "Ow, ow!"

"It's okay, Alex. Just use me as a crutch. Put your good leg back and put the weight on there and step with me." Rian instructs, and I hold tightly into his hand.

Rian walks my pace to an examination room, and I wince in pain when my knee accidentally makes contact with the door.

"You alright?"

"No, my face is only contorted like this because that felt good." I say sarcastically, and Rian chuckles.

"Step with me Alex." Rian says, clutching onto my waist.

The table seems like it's miles away from where we stand, and the fact that I have to take baby steps makes it even worse.

"Step, step. Step, step." He repeats, and I groan.

"God, how many more steps do I have to take?"

"Not that many, baby. Step, step one more time. Okay, now you can sit up here." Rian says, and he carefully turns me around so that I face him.

Rian places both of his hands on my waist, lifting me off of the ground and carefully placing me on the table. Rian takes a look at my knee, and he runs his fingertips over it.

"I know that this may hurt, Alex. But it's part of procedure." Rian warns me.

Rian grabs my knee, and presses down on it, and I grimace as it gets worse and worse.

"That's not good. Your knee has heightened sensitivity, and it's swelling slightly. I think I know what the problem is."

"What is it?" I ask.

"Your knee circulation isn't good. The blood flow is slowing down, and that's why your knee is swelling like that. I'm going to get a wrap for your knee." Rian says, and I nod.

He kneels down after bringing the wrap, and I wiggle my toes as he gently wraps it over and over until it's secure.

"Is that too tight? Do you want me to loosen it?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"It's fine." I reply a little too quickly, and he frowns.

"What's wrong?" He asks, rising to his feet.

Rian places his index finger under my chin, and I look up at him while his soft fingers send electric currents throughout my face.

"I ran into Kassandra." I admit, and his facial expression changes almost instantly.

Just hearing her name made his face contort with anger, and his other hand is balled into a fist. Rian clenches his jaw before turning away from me, and walking towards the door.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I guess the talk that I had with her didn't get through her head." Rian growls.

"No! Rian, she didn't do anything to upset me. Come over here." I say, softening my voice.

Rian turns from the door, and slowly walks over to where I'm sitting. I give him a brief peck on the cheek.

"I love that you're always looking out for me and my feelings, but Kassandra actually apologized to me."

"Kassandra apologized? Am I hearing this correctly?" Rian asks, and I smile.

"Yes, she said she was sorry. I was still a bit hesitant about it until she said something that's still ringing in my head."

"What did she say?" Rian asks.

"That you wouldn't lie to me, and that you even put her career in danger over me? Is that true?" I ask, and he unhesitatingly nods.

"Yes, it is. I'm serious about us, Alex."

"I am, too. I really do appreciate how much you look out for me and all, I just wasn't expecting you to go after her in the workplace." I say, and his eyes slowly lose their shine.

"You're not upset about me doing this, are you?" Rian asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No, I'm not upset." I say, and he does a sigh of relief.

"I was serious when I said that nothing and no one will come between us, and I just wanted to make sure that Kassandra understood that. No matter how much she or Austin desperately attempted at the party, I still love you. Nobody will ever change my feelings or views about you." He says, and his eyes are piercing with admiration.

I slowly stand up, and I wrap my arms around him while kissing his cheek. Rian smiles, and his dimples form underneath my lips. Rian places his hands on my lower back, and he pulls me so that I'm pressed against him.

"I wish I didn't have to go." I say before planting a kiss on his Adam's apple.

Rian smiles as I do this, and his lips glue themselves onto my forehead temporarily.

"Me too. The hospital has been overflowing with patients lately, and as arrogant as this sounds, they're relying on me." Rian says, and I smile.

"I wouldn't call it arrogant. They're relying on you because they know you're the best doctor on the staff. You'll heal them quickly and efficiently because you're the best at what you do." I say, and he bites his lip.

"I really wish we didn't have to go." Rian says, and I smirk.

"We don't have to." I say, kissing his jawline.

"What about your knee?" Rian asks, and I kiss his neck.

"I could care less about my knee." I whisper, and Rian carefully backs me onto the table again.

Our mouths come together as one, and his hands slip underneath my shirt. Rian begins to fondle my chest. I moan into his mouth as his fingers slip underneath my bra and he begins to massage my nipples gently.

"Rian," I moan while holding onto his upper arms.

Rian leaves a trail of kisses that starts at my neck and goes all the way down to my shoulder, and he nibbles on my earlobe. Just as he grabs the bottom of my shirt and begins to lift it off of my body, the sound of the door opening causes the both of us to move away from each other and control ourselves.

"Woah, woah, woah! What is going on here?" Jordan asks, and Rian and I awkwardly look off into space.

"Nothing, I was just helping her out because her knee has been bothering her." Rian says, and I look over and see his cherry red cheeks.

"Are you sure? 'Cause what I saw was a whole lot different." Jordan asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

As the silence grows more and more awkward, my body becomes uncomfortably hot, especially my face. Jordan begins laughing, and Rian walks over and helps me get off of the table without hurting my knee.

"Go on, you horny bastards. There's a patient with me who needs to be examined." Jordan says, trying to suppress more laughter, but ends up bursting into hysterics.

My cheeks flame with embarrassment as he continues to laugh, and I make my way to the door.

"I'm sorry for ruining your moment. There's definitely some empty rooms and or janitor closets nearby." Jordan says, giving Rian a playful wink.

Rian smacks Jordan in the ribs in a joking manner before grabbing my hand and walking out of the room.

"Sorry about him." Rian says, and I begin giggling.

"It's fine." I reply, holding onto my stomach.

"What's so funny?" Rian asks with a wide smile.

I can't even answer Rian as my cackling gets louder and louder, and he begins to laugh with me.

"You're so cute." Rian says, and I smile up at him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm laughing so much." I say, and I take deep breaths to stop myself.

"It's okay, you have a cute laugh." Rian says.

Rian's name is being called over the intercom, and he frowns before groaning.

"I've gotta go." Rian says.

He gives me a final kiss before saying goodbye to me, and I make my way through the double doors with a smile that is sure to stay on my face for the remainder of the day.