Well, you may have noticed that this chapter has been a long while in the making! I got a bit of writer's block. I guess that's what happens when you start a story and don't have a clue how it's going to end. Anyway, I finally got round to finishing it. It might not be the best ending, but it is, at least, an ending. No doubt, original followers of this story will have long since got bored and stopped looking out for new chapters. So, if you are reading this, I suspect you may be new to the series. If so, I recommend that you start from the beginning as it will all make a lot more sense. Hope you enjoy.
*****
Nikki had been awake for a while. Being in an unfamiliar bed had made her sleep more lightly than usual and the sun coming in though the curtains had roused her. But she didn't mind. She enjoyed watching Tom while he slept.
Tom's mobile started to buzz on the bedside table and she moved to try to grab it before it woke him up. But he was already stirring.
He groaned and mumbled something unintelligible that Nikki was able to translate roughly as: "Who the bloody hell's phoning me at this time in the morning?"
He tried to grab the device with his right hand, cursed as he was reacquainted with his injuries, and grabbed it with his left.
He glanced at the screen before putting it to his ear.
"This had bloody better be good Paul." He mumbled.
Nikki listened to one side of the conversation which went something along the lines of:
"What today? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"Why can't Sam fix it?"
"Bloody useless. Can't I just log in from here?"
"Oh, I should have guessed."
"What time's my flight?"
"What! You're not giving me much time here Paul."
"Fine, I'll call you when I get there. I'd better be getting a bonus this year."
"Yeah, right."
With that, Tom hung up and slumped back onto the bed.
"Bollocks!"
"That didn't sound good." Nikki offered.
"No, it wasn't. That was my boss. One of our biggest clients has been having major IT problems. Their tech guys have been in all weekend trying to fix the problem. They've traced it back to a bug in our software. As you can imagine, they're not happy. They guy who wrote that code was rubbish. I'm always having to go back and fix his bugs."
"Where is it?" Nikki asked.
"Geneva."
"GENEVA. Like, Geneva in Switzerland?"
"Yup, the same. And because they're a bank, their servers are all locked down so I can't even log in from here to fix it."
"Shit, when do you leave?"
"He's arranged a car to pick me up in an hour."
"Wow, that's cutting it a bit fine. How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know. Paul's told me to upgrade them to a newer version of the software because we've fixed loads of bugs. They never want to take their servers down to upgrade so they're a bit behind with the releases. This seems like a good time to get it done."
"That doesn't sound too bad." Nikki was trying to be optimistic but she suspected that there was more to it than that or Tom wouldn't be so pissed off.
"Unfortunately, the last time they did an upgrade, it took over a week before everything was running smoothly again. I should be able to get most stuff working for them pretty quickly but the subtle details can take a bit of sorting out. Then I've got train them up to make sure they know how all the new bits work."
"Oh." Nikki couldn't think of anything helpful to say.
"My thoughts exactly." Tom replied. "At least my arm and leg are feeling a bit better today."
He experimentally flexed his injured limbs. Nikki could see that the bruising was turning yellow which made it look worse but usually means things are on the mend.
"I'd better get packing then." Tom sighed and lumbered towards the bathroom.
Nikki tried to help as much as she could. Tom was more capable today but he still needed a hand with getting a bag down from the attic and a few other small things.
She decided that she'd outlived her usefulness and decided to head home.
"I'm really sorry about this." Tom said.
"Nothing to be sorry about." Nikki reassured him. "It's not like I'd cancelled anything in my diary to look after you."
"I guess I'm not great company at the moment anyway. I promise that, when I get back, we'll go on a proper date or something."
Nikki laughed. "I guess we kinda missed out that stage! That sounds like a great idea, I'll hold you to that promise. I hope it all goes OK in Geneva." She leaned forwards to kiss him goodbye. She'd intended just a quick kiss, not wanting to seem too clingy but he drew her into a long embrace with his good arm and she didn't resist.
"Is it wrong that I'm going to miss you?" Tom asked.
"Probably, but I think I'm going to miss you too." Nikki agreed. "Better sort them out quickly so you can get back sooner!"
Tom laughed. "Why didn't I think of that?"
-
Nikki watched from her window as Tom struggled his bag into the car and was driven off. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't but she couldn't help getting one last glimpse of him before he left.
She'd not been altogether truthful with Tom about cancelling her plans. She had planned to meet up with a friend for drinks the night before but had called her to cancel once it became clear that Tom was going to need looking after.
That wasn't strictly true either: he didn't really need looking after. She knew that he would have told her to go and enjoy herself if he'd known and he would have managed for the evening by himself but Nikki had wanted to spend time with him.
Nikki's mind was still trying to catch up with the speed at which the physical and emotional sides of their relationship had developed. In many ways, when they were together, it felt so relaxed and easy that they could have been a couple for years. Except, that is, for the fact that she was struggling to keep her hands off him at every available moment.
But, when she was back on her own like now, the familiar symptoms of early-relationship nerves started to creep in. She kept thinking that he would come to his senses soon and realise that it had all been a big mistake or she would do something stupid and blow it. The thing she was most afraid of was frightening him away by seeming too intense too soon. But, if anything, he was the one that seemed to be getting soppy. A fact that she found endearing and frightening at the same time.
She decided to give Rachel a call and invite her over to make up for last night and have a good girly chat.
-
The doorbell rang and Nikki could tell it was Rachel even before she opened the door. Her striking blond hair was clearly visible through the frosted glass panel.
Nikki had a bit of a girl-crush on Rachel. Nothing sexual, more like envy really. Her long blonde hair, perfect body and natural out-going charm meant that she was always the one getting the attention from men whenever they went out anywhere. But she had been a great friend to Nikki and was the perfect person to spend an afternoon with (if she couldn't have Tom that is).
Nikki opened the door and, as usual, Rachel was full of energy. You always got the impression that she was having to restrain herself from jumping up and down.
They hugged and Nikki lead the way through to the lounge.
"You wanna drink?" She asked merrily.
"Sure, are we going for alcohol or keeping things sober?" Rachel replied.
"I was thinking about cracking open a bottle of white. You in?"
"Sounds good to me. A bit of wine in you might get your jaw loosened up and you might finally spill the beans on this bloke you've been seeing."
"What makes you think I've been seeing anyone?" Nikki was on the defensive.
"Oh, come on. It's obvious. You thought you were being all mysterious on the phone when you cancelled on me last night but I know you too well. It must be serious if you're keeping it quiet." Rachel was teasing her now.
"Well, now you mention it, I have kinda met someone."
"I knew it." Rachel clapped her hands together excitedly. "What's he like? How did you meet?"
Nikki talked her though the main details of how Tom had looked after her when she had her seizure and subsequently offered her the use of his shed to work in. She left out the intimate details but hinted that the physical side of their relationship was well advanced.
"Wow, sounds like quite the fairy-tale." Rachel pouted. "Why can't that happen to me?"
Nikki had to laugh. "Because men are too busy falling over themselves to get to you that they wouldn't be able to rescue you from a twisted-ankle let alone anything serious."
Rachel's bottom lip extended even further in mock outrage. "Huh, they only speak to me because they're too scared to come and speak to you."
"Well, perhaps you should try keeling over in the street and see if you hook yourself a Prince Charming."
Rachel pretended to give this serious consideration. Nikki rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle to give them both a re-fill.
-
