Elora's point of view:

Whoever this man was, he was taking us to the surprise Flynn had in store for me. I kept holding his hand tightly. I was beginning to feel a little afraid of where we were going. It couldn't be anywhere too dangerous, but I didn't know with Flynn. He seemed to be the type of man to be unpredictable. He'd never danger me though, would he? I mean, he was the only reason I was still comfortable with this. Holding his hand was the only way I could be at ease.

Flynn helped me step onto a platform as we followed the mysterious man. I didn't know who he was, and not once did Flynn say his first or last name. He sounded young, maybe a few years older than Flynn. That was all I could get from him. I asked Flynn who he was, and he said he was a friend from high school years and years ago. He graduated nearly eleven years ago, so they just go way back. Even if Flynn knew the man, he still made me nervous because I couldn't see him or where he was leading us to.

"Alright. We're here," the man said as we stopped on the cement platform. I felt as Flynn let go of my hand and took the blindfold off my eyes. I was able to see what was ahead of me, and it was the man that had led us around. He was taller, with shaggy brown hair and soft brown eyes. His skin was tan and his smile was kindhearted and quite approachable. He had to be the same age as Flynn.

"Hello, Elora. My name is Kevin. Here, would you follow me please?" He asked. I nodded and Flynn and I kept following him. I took a breathe as he stopped in the middle of a grassy area. "If you please, turn around," he said to us.

I turned around and I was greeted by the most amazing thing in the world. There I was, standing about twenty feet away from the Lincoln Memorial. My eyes widened as I eyed the massive and gargantuan statue that stood before me of president Lincoln. I had never been here before. This was simply fantastic! Flynn really knew how to make me feel special, and to take away how tired I was from him waking me up at one in the morning. My body turned and I smiled brightly at Flynn.

"This is amazing! Did you plan this?" I asked happily. He nodded as him and Kevin walked up to me. I was standing around like a perplexed child seeing an amazing monument for the first time. In a way, I kind of was.

"You want to see it?" Flynn asked. My eyes widened as I looked up at him. I didn't even know if we were allowed to do that at this time of night. The museum didn't open for at least another few hours.

"Can we do that?" I asked. He chuckled and turned to Kevin, who showed me a little badge he carried behind his suit jacket.

"I'm the new curator. I have the power to pull strings every once in a while. I'll let you two go along as long as you don't make trouble," he replied. This truly was an adventure! This man was letting us parade around the Lincoln Memorial as we pleased, no crowds of tourists taking pictures or children running around where they shouldn't. It was just us, just Flynn and I, and it was perfect.

"Come on!" Flynn said as he grasped my hand and pulled me to the statue. When we came close to it, I realized just how massive the memorial was. It was huge! How could something be so big and make me feel so small? There was no understanding the ways of size and how something so much bigger than you could make you feel like a simple speck of dust in the winds of the universe.

"It's so beautiful," I whispered. To see a monument like this, to have it straight at you for the whole of your vision to drink it, well it was absolutely astonishing. There was no others words for it. All it was was complete and total hopefulness as you gazed up at this splendorous sight.

"Do you want to climb it?" He asked. I quickly turned my head to him. Was he insane?! Even with Kevin allowing us to go here, he was gone and we certainly did not have permission to climb this. However, it was part of the adventure, wasn't it? That was what Flynn was doing. He was taking me on a dangerous journey that was fun at the same time! So, maybe I shouldn't react worrisome for this night? Should I just let the spontaneity take me over? I think so.

"Let's climb it!" I replied. He smiled at me and we ran up to the memorial. We stared directly up at it, looking for a place to climb. We made our way up the steps, past the sign that said we couldn't climb the statue. We found out there was no other place to climb, and we stood giggling next to Lincoln's ankles and shoes.

"That backfired a little," he replied with a hearty laugh. I giggled back and shook my head, stopping as I took in where we were.

"No it didn't," I replied. He stopped and walked over to me slowly. He walked and I backed away a little as he began to gently place his hand on my arm until I was up again the leg of the statue. When I reached it, I felt his lips carry to mine, passionately and sweetly kissing me. Explosions went off in my head, I could just picture the fireworks imaginarily going off behind us as we kissed like it was the first and last time. To feel him touching me, to feel his lips taking me to heaven, it was unlike any feeling I had ever had before. I had kissed in the last--quite a few times--but this was different. All of this was the first time for me.

"How's that for an adventure?" Flynn asked. I gazed up at him joyfully, my smile uncontrollable as he held me in his big and tattooed arms.

"It's beyond anything I could even think to imagine. How did you get this idea?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders and kissed my forehead.

"I sort of just thought about it. Kevin and I go way back, and so I called him asking to go here. I just can't believe you haven't been here. Aren't your parents into history and monuments?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders as we went to sit down against the stone. I cuddled close to him as he took my hand in his, letting it sit in his lap as we watched the sky begin to brighten from the early hours of dawn.

"They do, but with their busy schedules, we never really had time. We traveled everywhere, so much so that we never found time to take in the sights of our own country. I haven't been to a lot of places in America," I replied. They took us to places like Egypt and all around Europe and Asia, the places people would want to see. It was easy to forget about the sights of where you're from.

"I'm glad I'm the first to show you," he replied. I smiled up at him as he held me tightly, snuggling in as we watched the skies.

We stayed there for hours watching the sunset. The glow appeared over the water of the pool ahead of us, the sun basking in the horizon as it elevated to the sky. It was like watching magic in the biggest form possible, and to be in the arms of Flynn made it all the more better. I didn't even have to look at him to know that I felt the world for him. It was like falling in love again every five seconds. I didn't know if I was in love with Flynn, but it seemed to me that I was getting close. There was this sort of fire between us, one that I had never in my life experienced before. I wanted to embrace that flame as much as I could, I didn't know if that meant I loved him or not. I think it had something to do with it, thought.

Flynn and I stayed there until six in the morning when the sun had finally come up. We spent four and a half hours just talking about whatever we wanted or sitting together in each other's hold. We laughed about things we had heard and stories we had told, or we talked of our favourite songs and movies. Flynn told me about legends his father used to tell him, and then he would pass it on when he went to war with his men. I loved hearing stories about Nash as a father, about what he did and how he was. He seemed like such an amazing father and yet no one knew he even had a child.

"You talk about your father all the time, but I never hear about your mother," I said to him. This was when his face went down as if he didn't want to talk about it. I sensed that maybe he had had some troubles with her, since he never spoke about her.

"She's not part of my life. I haven't spoken to her in almost twelve years," he replied. My eyes went wide when he gave me the number of years in which he hadn't seen her. I couldn't imagine going twelve years without seeing my mother, without waking up and getting to talk to her while we drank coffee and laughed.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking," I replied. He shrugged and looked away from me.

"She was cold, she resented me. I put a burden on her, even though it was her damn fault I was born. My father was the only one to care for me. I didn't meet him until later. I was eleven when he came and found me. Apparently, he never knew I existed until then, and when he found out he came to look for me. I spent all my time with my father. My mother was gone socializing with whomever, and I was left to be on my own. Eventually, it became clear that she didn't want me around. So I packed up and left when I was sixteen, and I moved in with my father," he explained. He had definitely taken out some of the crueler details when it came to the relationship between him and his mother.

"I'm sorry. A mother should never be like that to her child. Mothers are meant to love, to care for their children at any time of day or night. I'm sorry you never had the chance to experience that," I replied. He shrugged his shoulders and squeezed my hand a little tighter.

"Don't worry. Maybe when I have kids I will be able to see their mother love them," he replied. I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder. I silently imagined what it would be like to have children with Flynn. To watch them grow with us with all the love we could offer. I didn't know what would happen with us, if Flynn and I would ever have a future like that. If we did, I like to think it would be amazing.

"That'll be amazing. You'd make a good father," I replied. He smiled at me as he tilted his head to lean on mine as I rested on his shoulder.

"You'd make a good mother," he replied. The night had turned out so beautifully, so euphoric. I knew I'd never have a night like this again, that is, unless it was Flynn.

•••

Jack's point of view:

I was paranoid, completely. It was now six in the morning and I was awake to find Elora wasn't home. Hilda was still asleep, as would everyone else for at least a couple more hours. I didn't usually wake up this early either, but I knew something was wrong, and when I went to see if everyone was alright, I found Elora was out of bed. Flynn was out of bed as well. This could only mean one thing, and I didn't have to say it out loud to know what it was and the fact that it was right in front of my face. They were seeing each other, and for some reason they decided to hide it from me.

"Jack?" I heard the soft whisper of my beautiful wife in bed. I turned to look at her, half asleep and laying on her side. Hilda was so damn gorgeous, I never understood how I got so lucky. Now that I had no leg, she was more than welcome to walk away. I wondered why she didn't, and then I realized that we loved each other too much.

"Go back to sleep, baby, it's early," I said to her. She breathed in a relaxed fashion and sat herself up. She wasn't wearing any clothes, naked in the light of early morning. She was like this bare angel that slept in my bed with me, protecting me from the demons that walked around at night.

"What are you doing up? Come to sleep with me," she replied. I turned to her slowly and grinned at her, appreciating her want for me to come to bed. I was just too worried about Elora and Flynn to go back to sleep.

"I'll do that when Flynn gets back with our daughter," I replied. She chuckled and laid back down, her beautiful and curvaceous figure accentuated from the white sheets of the bed. Her blonde waterfall of hair fell around her neck and shoulders messily as he fingers trailed around the silk.

"They won't be back for a while. It's best to just come to bed," she replied. Did she know about this? Did Elora tell her where she was going? Why didn't she tell me? Hilda and I told each other absolutely everything, why had she decided to hide that from me?

"How do you know that? Did she tell you where she was going?" I asked in a calm but concerned tone. She sighed and lifted the sheets from her body, letting her bare skin expose itself to me as she walked over to my seat beside the window. Everything physical about Hilda---let's not forget mentally---had not even tried to change. Her body was still youthful and bountiful in beauty, as if she was still that young girl in her bedroom as I watched her from her foreign bed. Her skin sultry and delicately porcelain, silky to the touch and delectable to the eyes. It was as if she was incapable of aging.

Hilda made her way in front of me and bent her body down, her hands going on my thighs to hold herself. She stood flirtatiously on her tip-toes as she eyed me from her close range. Her backside stuck out, pronounced and elegant as she and I stared at each other affectionately. My fingers went to her cheek and brushed against her hair, I didn't want to run my hands through it because I knew it would pull since it was so messy. She was so daringly and forwardly seductive towards me, so much that I would probably do whatever she asked if she played her cards right. Most times, she did and I would answer to her beck and call.

"Flynn took her out. They're safe, Jack, I promise. I wouldn't let him take her anywhere that could potentially danger her," she replied. That was when it came to me. When Elora was telling me that she may have to risk her life for someone at some point, that she would have to sacrifice an aspect of it for a person. I was foolish not ask who it was, I was just tired that moment. Now I knew who she was talking about, and I knew there was no stopping it now.

"He loves her," I stated. She nodded and took my face in her hand, gently and loosely, as she kissed my lips with passion. Every time we kissed it was like falling into a pile of smooth rose petals that led you into this pool of warm, soft water.

"They love each other," she replied. I didn't answer this, because I was too busy with kissing Hilda. It was like this reminder of when we were younger, when our story was just beginning. Now our children were getting their own stories while we sat and watched. I wished I could relive everything Hilda and I did together, just one more time. I wouldn't change a damn thing, not even the torturous, heartbreaking parts. Everything I did let us to our chance at forever.

"My leg sure stops us from the adventure we used to have, doesn't it?" I asked. The leg that I didn't have, that is. I would've done anything to get that limb back so I could be the same again. I could be with Hilda when she went back to Vietnam, we could help each other instead of me sitting here and waiting for a letter from her. I despised not being able to do the things I used to do previously.

"Our adventures only stop when we die, and even then they continue in heaven. God didn't bring you me so I could squander it just because you lost your leg. I intent for everything to be just as risky as it always has been," she replied. I chuckled and kissed her just one more time. When she said things like this, I didn't worry so much about what would happen in the future. Nor did I worry about Elora. If she knew my baby girl was alright, then I was fine with it. Yes, I wished she'd of told me, but it wasn't something to keep going on about. Especially in a moment that was this romantic and special. This was just the moment to bask in, to keep on with the affection and allure just for a little while before the day started up once again.