A Fire That Burns

by Kirsty-Anne Still

  Sitting in the quiet that the cove offered, the pair just lapped up their presence with each other, the sound of the slow crashing waves calmed and alleviated from the rage that the fight had issued them both with.

  Tyler allowed Austin to have the space she needed. He enabled her the time to soothe herself for the moment, but he was too aware of the actual time to ignore it. he knew that if she didn’t get rest she needed, it would result in Austin being in pain the following day and he did not want to see that.

  “Sunny?” Tyler asked into the silence.

  “Hmm,” Austin answered enough to show that he had her attention.

  “Can I please just take you home?” Tyler asked as he put his hand out. His biggest prize of the evening wasn’t that he had won the fight, or that he had beaten Michael literally, but more because Austin put her hand in his, ready to go back home.

  Austin finally let Tyler take her home and when she got there, she encompassed the feel of her sheets wrapping around her body as she crawled into bed. She was even happier that it was so late no one was waiting for explanations or confrontations. It was just her and Tyler for the rest of the evening.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  ONLY two days had passed and Michael didn’t say a word. He joined them all each day and played nice, even began to develop a relationship with Tyler as buddies, but he couldn’t even go near Austin. He needed time to fit into the new place he was given in Austin’s life. He just couldn’t, not for the life of him, make this an easy transition.

  He was still bitter over the one fact he had been made fully aware of – Austin would always love Tyler.

  However, he was still sticking around and today he felt like he might almost welcome her back, but when the moment rose, he ignored it and ignored her too. He watched her come in and wiped away all attention everyone poured at her. Defusing their worry with a simple comment that she was fine and Michael knew her and he knew she was lying.

  Austin sat curled up in the arm chair, her gaze completely stolen as thought silenced her and drew her far from reality. She’d been quiet ever since she, Tyler, and her parents had gotten home from her latest check up. She was distant, withdrawn, scared almost. Everyone was waiting on them as they came back from the hospital appointment, no one had spoken a word about it and no one dared to ask quite yet.

  By Austin’s silent behavior they knew it couldn’t have been good news. It seemed to show that the final straw had been delivered to break her optimism. It didn’t take long for Austin to say she needed a lie down before she fled the room and headed upstairs, leaving everyone downstairs to question her sudden mood change. She had left the house happy and now she was back like this. They all just wanted to know what happened.

  “She’s got an infection again so she’s on new antibiotics,” Nicolas told them all. He was still riled with concerns and worries about his daughter’s health. “It’s to be expected while she heals because she has no real protection against any bacteria from getting on the skin graft.”

  “What else?” Dean asked as they all looked from their parents to Tyler. He knew there was more than just an infection to get them all looking as worried as they were.

  “Her arm rejected the skin graft,” Tyler announced to them all and he couldn’t keep the worry and fear from sticking to his tone. “She’s gotta go in for surgery to undo the work and attach another one in its place.”

  “What about her side? Is that okay?” Tom asked as he felt the need to bolt and find his little sister.

  Tyler nodded, “That burn wasn’t as bad as the one she has on her top of her arm. That’s only first to second degree burns. The doctor’s actually really pleased with how that’s healing, but for now her arm is a bit of a concern.”

  Dean ran a hand over his face as he sighed, “When is this happening?”

  “Possibly tomorrow night, or Wednesday morning at the latest. They’re going to call us when they’ve scheduled a spot for her,” Tyler told them truthfully and looked to Michael. “Hey, Mike, can I borrow you for a moment or two?” He saw Michael look at him with a serious look, “Two minutes, man, aren’t gonna kill ya.”

  “Fine,” he relented and kept his hard exterior intact.

  As the two men left, questions began to gather and everyone needed to know what was going on exactly before they left. They wanted to know the ins and outs, especially seeing as the team were called back by Strauss. They all knew that the ice queen in Quantico would call them back before they were ready.

  Liam looked to Jane and Nicolas, “This operation,” he trailed off hoping they would catch on and elaborate.

  “She’s got to have more tissue removed because it died due to the infection,” Jane told them. “It’s either that or leave it and she could lose her arm.”

  “They may well do an escharotomy as well,” Everyone turned to look at Archie as he spilt his knowledge. Archie babbled on for a moment and as everyone looked at him and he shrugged, “It is a fairly quick procedure and Austin will feel the benefits almost immediately and it’ll help the grafts if the blood flow is circulating better,” he shrugged again, really just running on the knowledge he had acquired from reading one too many text books.

  Jane shook her head at how such a young man could know all that. “She’s just a little scared,” Jane fretted openly. “She’s been quiet since we left the hospital and she’s just worrying about the operation.”

  “We have to leave tomorrow,” Liam told them adding to the dampened mood. “We received the call while you were out and we can’t go against orders.” He saw the Pearson’s accepting yet downtrodden expressions, “We will try our hardest to get back as soon as we can, but it’s unlikely we’ll all get time off together again. I want you to know that we support Austin regardless.”

  “I think having you here when she needed you did her a world of good. Today’s just knocked her for a loop,” Nicolas told them appreciatively thinking of his daughter. “She knows she has you all regardless of the distance.”

  “We just wish we could stick around longer,” Jessica told them gently. “Especially now.”

  There were no other words that could be said. Everyone wanted to be a support to Austin and everyone wished they could be, but reality called, and they had to listen. Their little bit of hope rested in knowing that Austin was left in the best hands possible.

  ***

  “What’s up?” Michael asked as he walked onto the decking and turned to lean against the wooden railing. He crossed his arms over his chest, completely shutting off his body language to any of Tyler’s friendly advances at making amends.

  “We need to talk about Austin,” Tyler prompted the other man seriously.

  “I guess,” he muttered back at Tyler causally.

  “She’s scared,” Tyler told him truthfully. “She is good at plastering on a smile and getting on with it, but right now she is dealing with more than this new op.” Tyler continued to survey Michael’s reactions and was sorely disappointed when the other man didn’t even so much as bat an eye. “So that’s it? You’ll forgive me and talk to me, but you’ll leave her alone forever more? I know her choosing me was difficult on you, but think how she felt when she was faced with it. She knew she was going to have to hurt you and she knew it wasn’t going to end well. She just didn’t think she’d have to live like this after it.”

  Michael’s lips moved a little with the speculation of change of heart.

  “She always knew she was going to lose one of us,” Tyler admitted to him genuinely. “Right now, she doesn’t have the energy to beg you back, Michael, and today finished her a little bit more.”

  “I know,” Michael tried to sympathize, but he didn’t really know. His ignorance had been bliss until right about now and he realized his ignorance was just a distraction.

  “She thinks that because of the burns, the scars they’ll leave, that we’ll not want to know her because she’ll be ugly. She’s dealing with that insecurity and the idea that you n
ever want to talk to her again. No matter what I tell her, however many times I tell her that you’re going to come around and be okay, she needs you to tell her.”

  “I was lashing out,” Michael confessed and then looked shocked as Tyler laughed. “What?”

  Still laughing, Tyler spoke, “Lashing out gets you absolutely nowhere. I lashed out and she ended up in a burning building nearly dead,” Tyler told Michael honestly. “You need to just realize that she does love you and she needs you, just as much as she needs me.”

  “But it will never be enough,” Michael fought back fiercely.

  “I know that feeling,” Tyler responded to Michael’s statement. “The thing is though, you do find yourself moving on, but you aren’t losing her. She’ll be with you through everything and she will encourage you to find the perfect woman. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to fully give herself to you and that panicked her and she hated herself for it. Just accept her decision, Mike.”

  “I just need some more time,” Michael told Tyler painfully. He was still more than a little confused over what to do. He wanted Austin, but he was scared to hate her for ever choosing Tyler over him. He didn’t want to feel the jealousy that rode through him, and he certainly didn’t want to acknowledge or accept the fact that the last case had bent her, then he had broken her with his reaction.

  Tyler knew that Michael was biding time and that he was left unsettled, but Tyler had done what he needed to do; he had planted the seed to help Austin and Michael find a relationship again. It was up to Michael now and Tyler had to focus on picking Austin up so that her morale was sky high and positive.

  The unsettled feeling was still with Michael when he woke up the next day. He knew they had to leave, they had jobs to do. However much he wanted to stick around, he knew the distance would help, but he also knew he had to make amends before he left or regret it forever. All he had done was given her a hug as the team prepared to leave; their journey taking them to the airport, Austin’s taking her back to the hospital. Michael finally accepted his new role - Austin’s best friend.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  TYLER had never been a martyr – except when it came to Austin. He would become her greatest hero and pray that he did it right. He stuck his neck on the line to make Michael see sense, but even that had been futile seeing as Michael got in the car with Austin’s other colleagues and disappeared back to New York.

  Austin had taken that hard. Even though she put a smile on and carried on with life, Tyler read her best and stepped in to protect her from that hurt. Even with his disappointment in Michael gaining momentum, Tyler still remained devil’s advocate and sang the man’s praises.

  Then Michael had arrived just after Austin had gone down for her new surgery. He hadn’t left, not even when Tyler had been granted to go and see Austin post-op. He stuck by like a good best friend and still stayed here.

  Now, with Austin waking up, the two men formed a happy alliance to stick well by Austin’s side.

  “Hey,” she croaked as she saw Michael sitting in the chair by her bedside. “You’re supposed to be on the other side of the country,” she commented as she became adjusted to the post-op buzz of the anesthetics and drugs. The rush from the mixture of narcotics wasn’t helping her much as she saw Michael sitting next to Tyler.

  “I thought my best friend needed me,” Michael admitted softly and leaned in.

  Austin’s eyes began to water at that, “You don’t mean that.”

  “Course I do,” Michael defied her claim. “I lied to you once and it cost me a lot. I don’t want to lose what I can have with you. I love you too much to let you think I hate you. I was letting my ego and pride work overtime, and in doing exactly that, I hurt you. I know you love me, and I now know you love me enough to give me someone that will love me completely. The way I know you love Tyler.”

  He watched as Austin was overcome with emotions and he knew he had to change the subject or she ran the chance of becoming a little unstable - both medically and emotionally.

  “Right now, it’s not about me, Aust,” he told her with a smile and exchanged a look with Tyler. “It’s about your recovery and getting you back on track.” He looked to Tyler and smiled. “We want our Austin back.”

  “One that doesn’t cry daily or one that doesn’t think she’s not worthy of love now,” Tyler pointed out and he saw that Austin was disbelieving of that. Leaning forward, Tyler reached up and took her hand in his, “Before the fire you cried too much, and since then you’ve kept a piece of you locked down, Sunny. You give me your all, but as soon as you’ve done that you withdraw like it was a mistake.”

  Austin was quiet for a moment, “I don’t mean to.”

  “I know you don’t, Baby, but you seem to forget that I love you and only you and I don’t care if you come scar free or with battle wounds,” Tyler told her with a warm smile as he slipped his hand into hers. “I don’t care about the scars that you’re worried about, Aus, they don’t change you in the slightest. I think I can have Michael vouch for me here that not seeing your brightest smile is what changes you most.”

  “Oh yeah,” Michael nodded vigorously as he agreed fiercely with it. “But I think we’ve now done enough to tire you out.”

  “I’m really not sleepy,” Austin reported back, denying them the right to dominant her into resting.

  Tyler rose a brow, “And the pain?” he asked her simply. Tyler had sat and watched Austin intently. He had already seen her expression when she had first woken up, and he knew she was putting on a good poker face to hide the pain that she was in with the new incision to help her healing process.

  “She’s in pain,” Michael answered in her silence.

  “I’m really not in pain,” she retorted in the same manner.

  Michael laughed as he watched her get caught in a simple lie, “Of course not.”

  “You know the deal, Baby,” Tyler told her with a calm smile. “You get to sleep a lot, take a heap load of drugs, and then you get to go home once the doctor’s fully satisfied.”

  “If you loved me you’d help me escape,” Austin grumbled at him unhappily. “You know I hate being held up in this place.”

  “Just a couple of days, Aus,” Tyler responded with a grin. “Now behave.”

  “Or what?” She bit back and looked up with tease filling her sleepy eyes.

  Tyler leaned in, “Or I’ll just have to tie you to the bed.”

  Austin smirked and exhaled a laugh, “Seems like a prior experience to me.”

  “Behave,” Tyler chided her as he kissed her gently. “We’ve gotta head home, but we’ll be back first thing.” he told her hesitantly. He watched her nod as she was finally slipping into slumber and he was happy just to see her resting and relaxed. “I love you, Austin Pearson.”

  “I love you more,” Austin managed in an almost inaudible voice.

  Tyler took a moment to lavish looking at Austin as she slept comfortably. He knew he wanted a life with her, he knew he wanted it immediately, but he was well aware that Austin might not be ready to jump the gun and give herself to him wholly.

  “C’mon, Tyler,” Michael called from behind him. “Let her get some sleep.”

  Turning back hesitantly, Tyler looked at Michael, “You’re right. I just hate leaving her here of all places.”

  “Makes the two of us,” Michael confided strongly in Tyler and gave a supportive grin. “You need rest too. It’s been a long day for us all.”

  Tyler couldn’t argue, and he knew that Austin would kill him if he didn’t keep in top form. “We’re coming back first thing though,” Tyler countered his side of this deal.

  “Thought as much,” Michael kidded, and then allowed Tyler one last look at Austin before pulling him home for the night.

  ***

  Austin was laying awake that next day, her mind was a live wire with how life would roll out now that she would have both Tyler and Michael in her life. It had been the first thought beckoned forward the m
oment her eyes had opened.

  She thought about Tyler’s words the day before. She might have barely seen the day, but when she had him there loving her, supporting her like always, and when her mind was filled with self-doubts and hating on her scars, he was the one that stopped them and made her see sense.

  Even though she knew that Michael was there for that too, Tyler’s attempts were much more comforting. Her feelings towards Michael hadn’t entirely iced over, and she realized what she felt were platonic ebbs compared to what she felt when she looked and thought about Tyler.

  This was a poignant milestone in her life; one that she knew would be the sealant to everything. She had them both here with her, looking after her, and she knew that as long as Michael wasn’t here under any form of a lie, or guise, they would be fine.

  After everything that’s happened, what if Michael was here under false pretenses to worm his way back in and win her over? What if he was here to break her and Ty-

  “Well I didn’t think my sunny girl would be quite this awake,” Tyler interrupted her doubts, his body relaxed as he leaned against the doorframe of the room and watched her. He smiled brightly at her as she looked at him and gave him a sleepy smirk. “Morning, Gorgeous,” he said as he entered, giving her one of his warm welcomes.

  “I’ll show you a good morning, Handsome,” she chirped back against her dry throat. Her thoughts instantly dissolved into mush on the floor as she looked at Tyler and knew that nothing would tear them apart now. She found it astonishing that she was laid up in a hospital bed, wires and tubes wrapping around her to make her look weaker than ever, and yet, her spirit was shining bright.

  “That beautiful smile just gave me that already,” Tyler told her and approached her bed to give her a kiss on the lips. “How you feeling?”