Spur of the moment

Laila was in awe. She would love to take a trip in a chopper some day and to think that it had been a possibility all along with Noah, she was thinking about the chances she had missed. But her thoughts quickly returned to the current situation. She nodded and didn't want to bother Noah too long as it was hard to talk with the noise of the chopper and she wasn't sure if he was almost there. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I just wanted to see what you were doing and how you were. Let me know once you have safely landed and when you manage to catch that coward." Noah said that he would and they were about to end the call when Laila added, "Oh, and there is something I want to discuss without you about this whole matter when you get back. Nothing bad, or at least I don't think it is, but I want to run it by you before anything is set in stone."

Noah was a bit confused as to what it could be but agreed to wait until he had returned. They said their goodbyes and Laila blew him a kiss to sign off their call, which Noah accepted with a chuckle and a quick heart symbol, made with his index finger and thumb.

Now that she knew he was okay and she had laid the groundwork for her talk about her proposed friendship with Jake, she was feeling more relieved and she was ready to head back into the room to finish what had remained of her meal.

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Maria, Steve and Jake were still in the hospital room, talking about what a friendship between Laila and Jake would look like and if that was really something he had thought all the way through. They were waiting for his answer to some of Maria's questions but at the moment the room was silent. Jake's expression changed and revealed how hurt he was from the realization of what Maria was saying and how true this all was. Though in the back of his mind he knew this would be the case, to hear it being said out loud like this, he could no longer hide from what it would mean to be just friends with Laila. But he didn't get a chance to answer as Laila returned to the room before he could, which gave him a bit more time to think about what to say in response to Maria's questions as right now he didn't know the answer himself.

Jake was feeling conflicted. This visit from reality was one he was not ready for yet and he was feeling like a mess. Everything was jumbled up in his mind and he wasn't sure if this short interruption by Laila would be enough to resolve what was going on with him on the inside. He sat quietly as Laila told them about what Noah had to say and got lost in his own thoughts, while Steve and Maria were alternating between paying attention to what Laila was saying and looking over at Jake with a slightly worried look on their faces. It was clear that Maria's words had poked a hole in the bubble that Jake was living in and that he was now having some mixed feelings.

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Once dinner was finished, Laila was craving some dessert and she offered to hunt for some ice cream at the hospital cafeteria while she got rid of the now empty containers. Maria and Steve happily agreed, while Jake gave a half-hearted "Sure. Some ice cream would be nice". That was all the confirmation Laila needed to start her chase of the dairy delight. As soon as she left the room, Maria and Steve's attention turned right back to Jake, whose answer they had been anxiously waiting for.

Jake noticed their eyes and appeared a bit startled when he saw the intensity of their stare. Their lips didn't need to tell him that they wanted to know if he had found an answer, as their eyes were screaming it to his face as if they were holding up a large, neon sign.

Jake let out a deep sigh before he said, "I thought about it but no matter how much I think about it, I arrive at the same answer, namely that I don't know. There are so many possible outcomes to all of this and the reality could be any of those outcomes. We could end up making this work, I could end up messing it all up. But if I do, I won't be worse off than I am now and have been for the pas 10 plus years. Right now I have been given the chance to be a positive part of Laila's live again and I want to try to make that work and stay in her life. Even if it is just as a friend. If that means having to accept Noah as someone that will be a part of my life as well, then so be it. In the end she chose him over me and I have to learn to accept that, Lord knows I have been given enough time to do so."

Both Maria and Steve were impressed with his answer and the maturity he was showing. Maria didn't know what had caused this shift in Jake's personality but if this was the new him, he was a welcome change. She didn't think he had this in him but he was showing her over and over again, that what she saw back at the house, wasn't just a spur of the moment thing. If time could prove that had truly become this version of himself and he could stay this way, she would be rooting for Jake every step of the way during this process and friendship. In fact, she might even be able to become friends with him herself. Though that would require a bit more time and a bit more change on both sides.