Marcus was breathless. There had only been a few times in his life when he was rendered speechless. The first time had been when he learnt his father had passed away. He was frozen in that moment unable to move or breathe, until the anguish cries of his mother filled the place. The second time he was completely speechless was when he was a young man and he killed his first person. It was like he was in this bubble that he was worried was going to pop and cause an explosion of emotions, he would not be able to contain. The third time was when he found out Jade had been left behind. When her whole team returned he watched and saw that she wasn't amongst them. The fourth time he was rendered speechless was right now in this moment looking at Jade.

When she opened the door, he felt all the air leave his body and he tried to get his brain to work to say something, anything. Instead, he stood there like a fish out of the water as he tried to form some sort of coherent sentence. Jade was always beautiful from the moment he first met her. There was no denying it and any man who said otherwise was either blind or stupid.

She gave off a natural and effortless beauty that many women strived to achieve. However, when she opened the door it was like that beauty had been amplified. Her brown hair pinned back straight and her eyes. He could get lost for hours in her eyes. Eyes that held so much pain and suffering. Eyes that had seen and witnessed too much. They were highlighted by her dark thick lashes making them seem lighter and almost golden.

"Wow!" Was all his brain could think of as he stared at Jade. She was stunning, and he was lost for words.

"You look amazing." He said after clearing his throat hoping he didn't sound like an idiot.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled, and Marcus knew he would live every day to see her smile like that. He knew their relationship had so much more work to do, but moments like this made it all worth it. It was like it was only the two of them and he forgot all about Sophie who was standing behind Jade.

"Well, Jade I shall see you tomorrow. You two enjoy yourself tonight." Marcus watched the woman picked up her bag with a smile and left the two of them alone.

Jade smiled up at Marcus again feeling a strange sense of happiness and peace, something she hadn't felt in a while. She almost felt like she could do this. That she could live in this new life that had been given to her. She looked Marcus over and saw him dressed in a light blue button-down shirt which was neatly tucked into a pair of dark pants. He looked sinful and dangerously sexy with his dark hair pushed back and just a small amount of chest hair peeking out of his shirt to give a taste of what lay beneath.

"So where are we going for dinner?" She asked as she pushed herself out of her apartment as Marcus locked the door behind her.

"It's a surprise." Jade smiled at him as they waited for the lift.

"I won't miss the lift at all." She murmured to herself as they both got on. Marcus hummed to himself as they both went down to the bottom floor.

"I thought we could walk. It's a nice night and the place isn't too far. If your arms are sore, I can push, if you would like." Jade smiled and thought for a second how much Marcus had changed. When she first met him, she couldn't stand him. He was so hot and cold with her and now he was different. A little more open, caring and vulnerable, but still deviously handsome.

"I like the sound of that." Jade pushed herself onto the sidewalk and the cool summer breeze swept through the streets of Sydney. It was a warm night, there was a cool breeze making the air not so hot and humid, which was a nice change from the summer heatwave they seemed to be experiencing.

"So, you got any plans for your upcoming birthday," Marcus asked as he walked the streets of Sydney side by side.

"Please don't remind me. One step closer to 30." She didn't want to do anything for her birthday. She knew her family wanted to take her to dinner and she only felt inclined because she missed Christmas and new year's with them because she was in a coma.

"30 isn't so bad Jade, trust me, I know." He smiled, and Jade shook her head.

"True, but you are a man. You don't have a ticking time bomb on your uterus telling you your time is closing." Marcus laughed and felt so carefree at that moment.

"Do you want kids?" He asked seriously when he stopped laughing. Jade sighed as they waited for the lights to change and looked towards Marcus.

"I don't know anymore. There was a time when I wanted kids, but I feel too ruined for children. Like how would that even work with me in a wheel-chair? I guess it would have been nice, but I can't see it happening anymore. How about you?" The lights turned green and Jade faced forward again and started to push herself.

"I guess. Never really thought about being a father. I don't want to be away from my kid all the time travelling with work. I guess I would like a kid, but it's not a be all, end all thing for me you know. If I have a kid I do, if I don't well it's not the end of the world." Jade nodded in complete understanding as Marcus slowed down as they had reached the restaurant.

"After you." He held the door open for Jade as she pushed herself in. "Reservations for Blackwood." The young man behind the counter looked down at his book and grabbed his highlighter to cross there name off.

"Please follow me." He grabbed them some menus and took them to their seat. Marcus sat down already requesting for the spot to be wheel-chair accessible.

"A waiter will be with you shortly." They both nodded and opened up their menus and had a look. Jade's eyes went straight to the wine selection and she bit her lip wanting a glass, but not sure how Marcus would feel about it.

Marcus looked up from his menu and saw Jade with a confused look on her face.

"You okay?" He reached out to grab her hands which she allowed him too.

"I was just wondering if I should have a glass of wine." She carefully watched his face as he gave her a slow smile.

"One glass won't hurt Jade." She nodded her head and let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Their waiter came around and took their orders. Jade got herself a glass of wine and Marcus a beer.

"So, tell me something I don't know about you," Jade asked as she munched on a breadstick as they waited for their food.

"What would you like to know?"

"Anything." She took a sip of her wine and almost groaned at how good it tasted. It felt like it had been so long since she had a drop of alcohol and she was going to relish and enjoy this glass until every drop was finished.

"Okay. Did I ever tell you that I am a huge history buff?" Jade raised an eyebrow at him waiting for him to continue.

"Yeah, I love history. Ancient, Modern you name it. I actually considered being a high school history teacher before I joined the army." Jade grinned as she tried to imagine Marcus as a school teacher.

"I can see it sort of. The girls would definitely be signing up to your classes." Marcus chuckled and took a sip of his beer.

"What about you Jade. Tell me something I don't know. Make it as shocking and scandalous as possible." Jade laughed at the old Marcus she first met was slipping through. Jade thought about it and felt like Marcus knew so much about her, and she knew so little about him.

"Okay. When I was younger about 16 I snuck out of the house to go to a party. I got so drunk that I couldn't find my own way home. I ended up wandering around for hours trying to find my house. Eventually, I got home around 2 in the morning waking mum up. She came downstairs and I said, 'look the wicked witch of the west.' Then proceeded to sing ding dong the witch is dead." Marcus started laughing with Jade which caused a few other people to glance at them.

"What did your mother do?" Jade still laughed as she took another sip of her drink.

"She went so red I thought her head was going to explode. Anyway, I was grounded for a month and as punishment she made me go to all her luncheons. Which was hell mind you. She made me wear these pink frilly dresses with gloves and these giant hats. It was terrible." Marcus started laughing again at the image of a young Jade dressed up in frilly pink clothing.

"I would pay good money to see that." He laughed with Jade as their food arrived. They both spent the night eating and laughing over childhood memories and for a few hours it was like none of their problems existed and it was just them sharing memories of good times. After dinner, Marcus insisted on paying and taking her somewhere for coffee and dessert.

Jade's arms were sore from a hard day of work so Marcus pushed her around until they found a small quiet café to grab some coffee and some cake. Jade rolled over to the table while Marcus went and placed their orders.

Jade watched Marcus's back and admired the way his pants clung to his thick legs and how his shirt did little to hide the bulging muscles that lay underneath. She could imagine running her hands along his sculpted body and her legs entwined with his. She sighed as she waited to feel the jolt of pleasure she felt before, but there was barely a spark. She tried not to dwell on it too much and focused on now and how she was feeling.

Marcus smiled as he came back over and sat across from Jade, while they waited for their cakes and coffee to arrive.

"I've had a great night Marcus thank you," Jade whispered as a man came over with there cakes.

"Your welcome Jade. We never went out a date before, so I thought I owed it to you and to start apologising for how I have behaved." Jade gave him a small smile and took a bite of her raspberry cheesecake.

"I was thinking. How about we do this once a week. Have a date night, where we go out have some fun and not worry about everything going on around us." Jade's smile grew as she liked the sound of that.

"I would really like that. Also, I know you are struggling to work out how you fit into my life. I'm thinking about going back to the gym to work on my upper body strength. Ill need a gym partner if you would like. I can also do some of my leg exercises there that you can help with. Saves getting Noah out another day." Marcus smiled, and he liked the idea of that.

"Consider me your new gym partner. I'll have to look at my work schedule, but I'm sure we can work something out." He smiled and Jade bit her lip. She pulled it between her teeth and started to fidget with her hands.

"How is work?" She asked in a small voice. They hadn't talked about anything work related since she had woken up. Marcus wasn't sure how to approach the subject and Jade wasn't sure if she should be asking.

"It's good. Busy. Nothing crazy going on at the moment. Just filling in a lot of paperwork reading over reports, boring stuff. They asked if I would consider being an instructor for the new recruits. I told them I would think about it." Their coffee had arrived, and Jade added in 2 sugars before taking a sip of the dark liquid that made her body buzz.

"That's good. I'm hoping to get back to work soon. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer." Jade said bright and full of hope. Marcus wanted to say something, but he didn't want to ruin their night by getting into a fight. He knew they wouldn't take Jade back. He had seen her reports and they weren't good. He knew she was dealing with a lot, but she seemed to be denial about the end of her career in the defence force. So Marcus just smiled and nodded knowing one day they would both have to deal with the fact that her career in the defence was over.

"Anyway. I was wondering if you wanted to help move and be the first official person to have dinner and spend the night at my new place. I know we aren't in the best spot now, but I want to share this with you." She took another sip and Marcus smiled over his cup.

"I would be honoured to be the first person to stay and have a meal at your place." Jade's whole body it up because she had been expecting a no answer and a fight about it.

"Excellent. I'll let Noah and Sophia know. They are currently doing renovations to the kitchen to lower the height of the benches a little, so I will one day hopefully be able to cook my own food. I'm having a bit of trouble with kitchen appliances. A few weeks ago, I sliced my finger and didn't even realise because my pain receptors weren't working. The doc said that's normal because of the brain damage that my pain threshold may change. Though I bang my elbow into a wall and it hurts like a bitch." She shrugged her shoulders with a little chuckle and Marcus laughed with her. They both finished their cake and coffee before he left the small quiet café.

Marcus pushed Jade home as they continued to talk about everything and nothing. When they arrived at Jades door she wheeled herself around to face Marcus.

"I had a great time tonight. Do you mind helping me change and get into bed my arms are a bit sore from today?" Marcus smiled at her and watched as Jade opened her front door and went inside. Jade didn't bother turning on any lights as she made her way to her bedroom where she flicked on the light.

"You can spend the night if you want. I don't mind." Truth was that Jade slept a lot better when she was with Marcus. She would never admit it but when he wrapped his arms around her she felt safe like she was normal.

"If that's what you want." Marcus helped Jade change into her pj's and watched as she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. He looked around her room and saw that she started to pack clothes into boxes for her move. He didn't say anything as he grabbed some clothes he left here and took off his shirt and pants. He waited for Jade to come back before going into the bathroom and brushing his teeth with his spare toothbrush.

When he came back out he saw Jade swallowing her medication and taking a sip of water that she left on her bedside table.

"You ready for bed?" Marcus asked as Jade tried to stifle a yawn. It had been a long day and she was more than ready to snuggle under the blankets and crash. That and her medication would be kicking in soon. She hated taking it. It made her feel tired and drowsy hence why she took it at night rather than the morning.

"Yup." She said yawning again and Marcus smiled as he came over and lifted jade into bed. He jumped in after her and wasn't sure if he should hold her and just turn the other way to sleep. He didn't have to decide as Jade curled herself around Marcus and adjusted her legs. Marcus was amazed that though Jade's legs didn't work she still had a bit of movement in her hips.

"You want to know something," Jade said softly into his chest as Marcus wrapped his arms around her. He didn't say anything but, hummed letting her know he was listening.

"I could see myself falling for you." Marcus waited for her to say anything else and when he looked down he saw she had fallen asleep. He gently kissed the top of her head as he ran his hands up and down her back.

"I've already fallen for you." He said softly into her hair and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep with Jade.

*****