The months crept slowly by. Lilia returned to find her aunt an invalid, but recovering. She took control of Genuine, relishing the feel of the place all over again. In her four weeks on the tour, she had forgotten how much she loved the place, running it and the delight when she saw people crowded into it.

Her aunt recovered slowly. She was in physiotherapy, and was slowly regaining her ability to walk. Lilia was reluctant to push the elderly woman, but she was counting down the days until she could leave her unattended for a few weeks' span, as she was dying to visit Nick…and Paul of course, she kept telling herself. The truth was, she was reluctant to confess to herself how much she cared for Nick, especially when they hadn't been together for very long.

Love, she thought, doesn't just happen. It takes time, a lot of time. That's something that Nick and I haven't had together, so I can't possibly love Nick already. Not yet. She had convinced herself of this and was being stubborn about the whole thing.

True to his promise, Nick called often. Lilia sighed at the thought of what his phone bill must be, considering that they were in Europe. They spent hours on the phone, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Nick shared anecdotes from the road, Lilia told funny stories about the strange customers that frequented Genuine, Nick told her all about the weirdest fan mail he'd ever received, Lilia told him the funniest things that happened when she was still in Premiere. They told each other their ambitions, their secret dreams and their wildest ideas and the list of things that they wanted to accomplish before they died. They shared their deepest fears and the things that brought them the greatest joy. All in all, it was a period where the two of them got to know each other in a way other than just physically; emotionally and intellectually. Despite the separation and how much Lilia missed him, she realised that it was probably the best thing for them.

Some nights, they'd talk straight into the morning, and Lilia would sit in her window seat, and describe the sunrise that she was seeing to him, and he would describe the night sky that he could see (time differences), and one of them would eventually fall asleep. Although he never knew it, one night in particular, he had faded out quite early, and she could hear his even breathing. She listened to him sleeping for about twenty minutes, until she gave into her unbearable urge, and sang softly to him, until her own eyelids grew heavy, and she had to hang up the phone and head to bed.

Every couple of weeks, a letter would come for her. It was useless for her to write him, he moved around so much he would probably never get it. They were really sweet and a nice change from their regular conversations. That way she could cherish his words, instead of just remembering them. She could sit and imagine him writing them and debating what to say to her. It was very touching, and Lilia kept them all in a box on her nightstand.

And then one day, to her surprise, a delivery of 100 lilies was delivered to her door, with a note attached, saying: 100 lilies. One for everyday I haven't been able to see you. It was then that Lily realised how serious the situation had become, and how desperate she was feeling to see him. She was missing him more than a lot, and as much as she enjoyed their long distance spill-fests, she missed being able to see him talking, to see him smile, to see him laugh, to hold him, to kiss him…the list went on and on.

She decided that she had to see him, even if it were only for a few days. She talked to her aunt, who was feeling more and more like herself, who immediately told her to take off, lest she have to fly her there herself. She made her arrangements with Paul, and decided to go incognito.

The night before she left, she couldn't sleep at all. Excitement was coursing through her veins, and every time she was about to drift off, she would remember that she was leaving in the morning, and had to keep herself from squealing in delight and shaking her leg unconsciously to release her nervous energy. She couldn't wait to see him.

* * * *

"You've been quiet lately, Blondie," Brian said to his friend, concerned.

"What? I haven't really noticed," was his dull response. He was sulking, tired, homesick and visibly upset about more than just his lack of sleep.

"What's the matter? If you keep up this mood, we're going to have to get drastic on your ass, and you know what that means," Brian warned. Nick recalled the last time that they had tried to forcefully cheer him up, that night when they had dragged him to the club…the same night that Lilia had come storming in. He sighed, reminded of her.

"I just called Lily. She wasn't there," he said grumpily.

"So call her later. Don't worry about it, Nick. She's probably just out or something. The girl can have a life, you know," he said, trying to console him.

"Yeah, whatever." Brian sighed, his attempt had failed. He left the room, leaving Nick to brood in his thoughts. He heard someone enter the room, but ignored them, hoping that they would leave him alone to be miserable. He heard the person sigh a few times, trying to get him to turn around. His irritation grew, but he studiously ignored them, trying to keep his temper.

"Well, Carter, I must say that I'm supremely disappointed in you. A beautiful day like this, and you are sulking in here," a pleasingly familiar voice called out. He spun around, and jumped up, surprised to see her actually standing there. He had to blink a few times, to make sure that it was really her.

"Well, I guess they were all wrong. They said that if I came all this way, you'd be happy to see me, but by your reaction, I don't think you are. What a disappointment, considering that I braved, how many hours?, on an air plane just to get here. Looks like I'll have to brave a few more," she said sadly, turning to walk away. He took the bait, ran to her and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up.

"You are not going anywhere, Lily," he said, before he kissed her hello.

"Well, when one is so persuasive…" she said as he set her on the ground, and she wrapped her arms around him, and showed him how glad she was to be with him again.