"We're not hearing any talking!" someone called out in a singsong voice.

"Have I ever told you guys how much I hate you?" Lilia hollered. They had been sitting in absolute silence, in the dark, for over twenty minutes, which was only a rough estimate.

"Be nice," Paul admonished.

"Kiss my ass," Lilia answered bitterly.

"Hey, we're gonna head out for dinner, we'll talk to you guys whenever we get back," AJ called.

"Could you at least turn on a light in here?" Nick asked. In a few seconds, the closet light was flicked on. They heard footsteps walk away, and a door open and close. They were alone and stuck in the hotel closet.

"I can't believe they did this. Your friends are insane," Lilia said.

"My friends? What about Sandy and Paul? I think that they are the ones that are insane, and they're corrupting my friends," Nick argued.

"Whatever, think what you want. You will anyway."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick asked, becoming frustrated.

"Nothing, forget it. I'm sorry, okay?" Lilia said quickly, equally irritated.

"A little apology can make anything disappear, right Lilia? You just say 'I'm sorry' and everything is forgotten, isn't it?" he said suddenly.

"Not everything, Nick," she answered. Feeling the need to do something with her hands, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tube of lip balm, and began fiddling with it.

"You're right. Not everything can simply be forgiven and forgotten. They say time heals all wounds-"

"They're wrong. Take my word on this one," Lilia whispered.

"This hasn't been easy for you, has it?" he asked.

"Do you think it's been a walk in the park? My god, it has been pure hell. What kind of person do you think I am?" Lilia demanded, as she let her anger fuel her, and she shot up.

"Probably the same kind of person you thought that I was when you hid the truth from me," he fired back.

"That's not fair!" Lilia yelled.

"Fair? You want to talk about fair? Do you even know what that means? The first problem in our relationship, the first bump that comes along, and what do you do? You run away and hide, leaving me to wallow in hell for three months! You wouldn't trust me enough to come to me and now…now the baby, our baby, is dead before I even knew it existed!" he yelled back. She gazed up at him with shinning eyes, her lips trembling.

"Please don't blame me anymore than I blame myself," she pleaded softly. Nick looked at her for a moment, and he noticed how her head was slumped down, her shoulders hunched over. She looked defeated, beaten down to the point of submission. It scared him.

"Don't you dare do that. Do not do that. You have no right to make me feel guilty at all, because I did nothing wrong! You're the one that left…that left me in hell! Constantly beating myself up, constantly punishing myself for letting the best thing in my life walk out the door. So don't even try!" he yelled. She looked up at him, frowning, with a questioning look on her face.

"Why do you think I was so scared? It wasn't because of what I thought you'd do, but because of your career. You're fabulous, wonderful, prestigious career, where your image has to be impeccably clean or you are fed to the wolves. Do you think that I could risk taking the most important thing in your life away from you?" she asked. Nick looked away from her eyes, feeling ignorant for never being able to see what she had been through.

"There you go again, trying to make me feel guilty. It's not going to work, Lilia, okay? You know, I was happy before you came back!" he yelled. Lilia flinched, and turned her head away. But he was relentless.

"I was with someone and I was happy with her. But you came back and you ruined everything!"

"How did I ruin everything? I showed up for five minutes and I talked to your precious girlfriend once. If your relationship was so goddamned strong, then why the hell did it fall apart after those stupid five minutes?" she said. Nick was relieved to see her start to fight back. It was about time. It was also time to throw in a low blow.

"If our relationship was so wrong, why didn't we last?" he asked quietly. She sighed. Covering her eyes with her arms, she knelt on the ground. Kneeling beside and grabbing her hands, Nick searched her eyes.

"I was wrong. The reason things ended with Sasha wasn't because of you. It was because of me. I was looking for a way out, anyway at all. You just helped to give me one. I didn't love her," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you love her? I mean, god Nick, I met the woman for exactly five minutes, and she was perfect for you. She was beautiful, she had a great personality, she could give you everything you need. She wouldn't question everything you do, she would be stable, she would have mood swings, she isn't full of temper and she's honest…"

"She is also incredibly boring. I don't do well in non-abnormal relationships," he said frankly.

"Are you insane?" Lilia demanded, smacking Nick's shoulder. "She was totally perfect for you, and you let her go because she wasn't complicated?" A change was happening. Nick couldn't place it, but there was something happening.

"She wasn't you. And she lied to me. And I didn't love her. She tried to keep me from the woman I really love," he said seriously. Hardly daring to hope, Lilia avoided his intense gaze, so desperate to make her see what he was trying to say, but just couldn't choke out.

"Well, then you are a retard," Lilia said simply. Irritated that his attempt to reach her had failed miserably, Nick sighed, pulled away from her hands, and stood again, and began pacing.

"You are driving me crazy. Will you stop that?" Lilia asked.

* * * *

"How long do you think we've been in here?" Lilia asked. Nick looked up from where he was leaning against the wall. She was huddled in a corner, hugging herself and looking around furtively.

"Don't tell me that you're claustrophobic. Do not tell me that."

"I thought you knew that. Why do you think I hate flying so much? Planes are so small and…too many people. Ugh," she shuddered.

"You are crazy."

"You're the crazy one. She just wasn't complicated enough for you?" she asked again. She had been repeating that for the last few hours.

"Yes, for the love of god, yes, she just wasn't complicated enough. Must you constantly rehash the open, gaping wound that relationship has left?" Nick yelled, his tolerance breaking. Standing up to him and his irritable temper (well, no one's temper would be that great after being locked in a closet for a few hours), Lilia looked him straight in the eye.

"You know what, I must. I just don't understand how you could leave a perfect relationship!"

"You did!" Nick yelled. Lilia froze. And she looked. She really looked and really saw exactly how much she had hurt him by leaving. She had been so focused on herself, on what she had lost, that she had never really thought about him.

"It wasn't perfect," Lilia argued, unable to keep a small smile from her lips. The argument had lost its bitter and pained edge.

"Well, I thought it was."

"You think everything is perfect. You really need to develop some criticism." So matter-of-fact.

"What?"

"You heard me!" Smiling broadly now, the two were in front of each other. An overwhelming desire to hold her engulfed Nick, and he reached out and she was there. So many months of longing, of wishing the dreams were reality. He was touching her, and it was so real, so tangible. Delicately pulling her close, giving her plenty of time to pull away, he kissed her. A feeling so familiar, so comforting, yet so utterly new and thrilling over came everything else and nothing else in the world was more important that touching and feeling each other for the first time in months. Together. No longer able to hide the longing, the magic and energy that electrified them completely while they were in each other's company. They clung to each other with sheer desperation, so certain that if they let go, the dream would be over. But it wasn't a dream. They were together.