Never Judge

On the drive home Nicole sang to the songs played over Ian's car speakers, when they started dating Ian took note of her favorite songs and built a playlist he would use whenever she was in his car. In between songs Nicole would smile up at him and tell him about her day, today was quite hectic for her, they had one scheduled operation and another emergency operation. On top of this Nicole had her duties as the VP of Saints Hospital so today she met with the finance and operations departments to see what they could improve.

Ian listened patiently as he drove them home. When they arrived they were greeted by the maids the Chan siblings hired. He handed her the food and she quickly transferred it to a bowl and a plate.

"Do you have your appetite back?" Ian asked as he nudged the food towards Nicole.

"Yup!" Nicole happily said as she ate the food Ian brought.

"Nicole, I was wondering if we could talk about us now?" Ian asked.

"Sure." Nicole said with a nod. "Let me finish eating first."

"Okay, I'll have a maid put the flowers in a vase. Where do you want it?" Ian asked.

"Hmmm, in my home office." Nicole said. Ian nodded and brought the bouquet over to the maid who prepared it as he asked and brought it up to Nicole's office.

By the time Ian got back Nicole was done with her lunch and smiling.

"Where do you want to talk?" Ian asked.

"Let's talk in my room." Nicole said as she let him up the stairs into her room.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Nicole asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I want to talk about our fight." Ian said as he reached for her hand and held it tightly. "Nicole, I'm really sorry about what I said. This isn't your fault, you're right, this is a dream I've been chasing since my family lost everything and it was wrong of me to say I needed to do this for you."

"Ian I'm at fault too." Nicole said with a sigh. "I should have understood that you don't have control over your time the way I do. I should have been more understanding. I don't know if it's the stress or the pressure that got into me, I just snapped." Nicole said with a sad look in her eyes.

Ian cupped Nicole's face in his hands and looked into her eyes. He looked at his beautiful girlfriend's face. He gently kissed her forehead, nose, then lips.

"Nicole, I promise to put you first always." Ian said as he kissed her deeply. He felt Nicole kiss him back, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ian placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Nicole was like a drug he would never get enough of, he was addicted to her for life.

Nicole eventually broke off the kiss and looked nervous.

"Nic, what's wrong?" Ian asked as he pushed a stray hair behind her ear.

"I'm not ready to do anything too intimate again yet." Nicole said. Ian could hear the hesitation in her voice. Was she worried that if she didn't give him this he would be mad? Surely by now she knew that to Ian she was the priority, what she wanted and what she felt would always come first to him.

"Nicole, I'm willing to do whatever you want and whatever it takes to make you happy and comfortable." Ian said.

"Let's sit." Nicole held his hand and pulled him to the couch in her room.

"Something is still bothering you?" Ian asked as he continued to hold her hand.

Nicole nodded. "I'm sorry." Nicole said.

"Sorry about what?" Ian was genuinely confused about what his girlfriend was apologizing about now.

"I'm sorry I didn't thank you right after you saved me, I'm sorry the girls got mad at you, I heard Ayanna even slapped you in the face." Nicole said as she reached up to touch Ian on the cheek. Ian wanted to laugh, the spot she had touched was approximately the same spot Ayanna had slapped.

"Nicole, you don't need to apologize about that." Ian said with a laugh. "I wronged you too."

"I'm also sorry I threw you out. You were hurting too. I said things I regret." Nicole said with a sad look on her face. "It's just after what happened to me at the bar I couldn't think straight. I didn't want any man near me, I didn't want any man to touch me. I felt so dirty Ian, I felt so ashamed that another man kissed me and touched me and yet there you were, bringing me breakfast." Nicole burst into tears as she recalled what happened to her.

Ian quickly pulled her into his arms. "Shhh. Don't cry. You'll never be dirty or tainted to me. You will always be perfect in my eyes Nicole. You will always be the woman I love and adore. I love you Nicole." Ian said as he hugged her tightly.

"Ian, thank you. Thank you for saving me. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't arrive when you did. I was so afraid Ian. I wanted to call for you to shout for you to save me, and you did. You came." Nicole said as she cried into Ian's chest. "I love you Ian."

"I will always be there for you Nicole. I will always run after you when you storm out. I will always pick you up when you fall. I promise I'll protect you and care for you always." Ian reassured her as she continued to cry in his arms. "You're a strong and brave woman, you're my woman, and I will always be yours."

As Ian said this he placed a light peck on her lips and let her cry herself to sleep in his arms. When she was finally exhausted Ian carried her to bed and climbed in with her, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered reassuring words as he watched her facial expression relax.