Well what can I say, it's been a while. My sincere apologies. I have struggled with motivation but I know how frustrating it is when you're invested in a story that is never finished. So I will see what I can do. The last series of Our Girl left me feeling very flat. I was not happy at all with how it concluded and as nice a guy as Prof was, I do not think he was a match for Georgie on any level. Although obviously Elvis was an impossible act to follow. So short of bringing him back, I was never going to be happy! I am so grateful to those amazing fanfic writers who keep the E&G love story alive and I have enjoyed reading their fabulous stories. But sadly there are just never enough of them. Ok. Here goes... xx

Georgie was running, desperately trying to find somewhere to hide, they were coming after her. There were three of them. Two had circled around in front of her somewhere, the other one behind. She knew she had to move but her legs weren't responding. Where was Elvis? Why wasn't he with her? She tried to focus on her legs, willing them to move but the terror that was building inside her had rendered them useless. A shadowy figure appeared in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound was forthcoming. He gripped her roughly by her upper arms and shook her violently.

"I've got you now," he sneered, his sour breath filling her nostrils, causing her to gag. She tried to pull away from him with all her might but he was too strong and laughed in her face at her pitiful efforts. Still she kicked and screamed and resisted his superior strength.

"I've got you," he said again. "I've got you now Georgie." She managed to pull an arm free and as she reached out to punch him or to scratch his face, something suddenly struck her. He'd called her Georgie. She stopped her fist in mid air.

"Georgie, it's me Cam, you're having another nightmare. Wake up!"

As she slowly returned to full consciousness, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she really was with Cam in her own room at home. She was soaked with sweat and Cam was staring at her with pity in his eyes. He released her arms, then reached out to hug her. Georgie shrank away from his embrace, trying to ignore the hurt expression that flashed in his eyes.

"Where's Elvis?" Georgie whispered, hoping the lack of volume would somehow make the words less painful for him to hear.

"He had to leave, his mother was taken into hospital with a suspected heart attack in the early hours." Cam answered stiffly.

Georgie sat bolt upright. "Oh my god, poor Louisa! And Elvis! Which hospital? I need to go to him."

Cam stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.

"What are you talking about? You can't go running down there to be with him. And how do you even know his mother anyway?" He demanded.

"Elvis took me to meet his family a few weeks ago." She answered him truthfully.

Cam ran his hand through his hair with frustration and jumped up from the edge of her bed. He started pacing her room.

"Georgie, this can't go on. You can't be running around town with him and socialising with his family. He's your protection officer for gods sake. What will people think? What about your parents?" He asked, completely aghast. "It's one thing you carrying on some kind of 'friendship' with him within these four walls but out and about in society, that just can't happen. I know you've needed him these last months and he has managed to get through to you in ways that your family and I could not but it's got to stop now Georgie. I'm headed for the top in government and my career could not take a scandal of this kind. Once upon a time it was your dream too for me to get the top job. We made so many plans." He implored.

Georgie's heart ached for him but all those things no longer mattered to her. She had suffered a life changing experience that had left scars deep down on her soul. Cam and her parents would never understand what she'd been through and how it had changed her. They would just have to get used to the fact that she was a completely different person to the fresh faced debutante that left the UK all those years ago, excited for her new life in Syria. That girl never came home. She died out there. Elvis had arrived just in time to extinguish the flames of her funeral pyre and in so doing had managed to restore some life to the embers. Out of her ashes a new life had been formed, a life whose priorities were very different.

"It doesn't matter what they think. I don't care what anyone thinks. I need him Cam, I really need him. If you care for me, even one little bit, you won't try to stop me. Please get someone to bring the car around. I need to see him, to be with him."

With that Georgie, threw back her covers and sprang out of bed, she ran to her bathroom, texting Elvis on the way to ask for an update on Louisa and to find out what hospital she was in.

~~~~~~~E&G~~~~~~~~

Cam watched her get in the car, his whole world crumbling around him. When she had been taken in Syria he thought his life had ended but he had focussed all his efforts on finding her and when, after two long years, those efforts had finally paid off, he couldn't believe that he'd been given a second chance with her, his beautiful, incredible Georgie! He knew she had suffered a great deal and it tore him up inside to think about that. What he hadn't countered was the fact that it would not be him she turned to and needed to help her in her recovery. The irony was that he'd also needed Elvis, he'd need him to find her and bring her home and now he was having to pay the price for Elvis being the one who was able to provide him with what his heart had desired. He should be eternally grateful to him and he was but he also hated him in equal measure for taking the one person in this world who really mattered to him.

~~~~~~~E&G~~~~~~~~

Elvis met her in the hospital reception. She ran into his open arms.

"Thanks for coming George," he murmured into her hair. He rested his chin on the top of her head and they both just clung to each other. Soaking the feeling in. Georgie was glad that for once she was able to offer him some comfort. He had always given her so much.

"How is she?" Georgie asked.

"She's still in surgery, it was a massive heart attack but thank god dad woke and found her when he did. She'd collapsed on the bathroom floor." Elvis choked out.

Georgie tightened her grip on him. She had never before seen him in a situation that scared him. Even in the most dire circumstances in Syria, he was always in control, thinking ahead, planning his next move, always completely focussed. But this was different, he couldn't control this situation and it was clear how uncomfortable he was and how worried.

"You should have woken me," she said, pulling back slightly to look at him.

"I just couldn't George, you rarely sleep more than a couple of hours a night and when I left, I looked in and you were so peaceful. I just couldn't disturb you."

She gave him a squeeze. "Well that didn't last". She admitted with a grimace.

He cupped her face and caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I wish I could grant you that emotional peace as easily as I was able to physically liberate you. Not that, that was particularly easy to do." He joked "But I'd go through that all again to give you peace from your nightmares."

A tear rolled down Georgie's cheek, which Elvis quickly caught and removed with his thumb. "You're always thinking of others, of me, even when you really needed a friend, you were worrying about me. I want to be here for you Elvis to comfort you and offer any help and support that I can."

"Is that what we are then George, eh? Just friends?" He asked her sadly.

What was she was doing to him? He was in pain. She was causing him actual, physical pain. It made her want to cry. It was so unfair of her, expecting him to just hang around for her. Putting his whole life and career on hold. She had to be strong. It was time to make some hard choices and tough as they might be, she knew she owed this beautiful man in her arms everything. She certainly owed him her life, many times over, both physically and mentally. But more than that, she owed him her soul. The thought of not being with him, of letting him go, was more than she could bear, she loved him with every shred of her being.

He continued, "I'm not sure I can go on like this George, it's too hard. Seeing you everyday but not being able to be with you properly, knowing that you're not mine. That you can never be mine. What's the point of it all? I think I need…"

"I'm going to ask Cam for a divorce!" She blurted out.

Elvis stepped back, a look of shock on his handsome face. He started to speak but at that moment a commotion from behind them caught their attention, they whirled round to see Elvis' younger sister, Antonia bursting out of the lift.

"Elvis, finally! I've been looking for you everywhere! Mum is out of surgery. The doctor wants to speak to us. Come on!" She said urgently, tugging at his sleeve.

Not bothering to wait for the lift to return, Elvis grabbed Georgie's hand and together they ran towards the stairs with Antonia, following breathlessly behind.

~~~~~~~E&G~~~~~~~~

Whilst Elvis and his family were talking to the doctor in the family waiting room , Georgie stood just outside. Elvis had tried to usher her in with him but she did not feel it was her place to be in there when the doctor spoke to them about Louisa's clearly very serious condition. Anyway there were already a lot of them in there, Elvis and his father, his three sisters and his Aunt Maria. The room was pretty full. Whilst the doctor was talking, Georgie glanced in and caught Elvis' father shooting her a strange, not altogether friendly, look through the glass panel in the door. She wondered what that could be about but decided it was most likely just him worrying about his wife. It probably wasn't aimed at her at all, it was just her imagination working overtime. She saw Elvis and Salvatore shake the doctor's hand as he left the room. When the family came out she hung back so that Elvis could talk to them. Salvatore said something to him quietly then turned away. He did not acknowledge her presence. When Elvis approached her, she could see the worry etched on his features.

"What did the doctor say?" She asked him gently.

"Mums surgery went well but it will be 24 hrs or so till we know if she will recover fully." He replied. "There was some serious damage to one of her heart valves. She will probably need further surgery to replace it. Dad's beside himself with worry. I'm going to have to stay with him for a while George, help him through this."

"Of course you must." Georgie agreed. "Don't worry about anything else, just focus on your family. They need you now."

Elvis nodded and squeezed her hand to thank her for understanding.

"I'll arrange for the patrols around your house to be increased whilst I'm not around. " He told her.

"Thank you. But don't worry, I'll be fine." She reassured him.

~~~~~~~E&G~~~~~~~~

"What did dad mean by that?" She heard Elvis' voice slightly raised with an irritated edge to it.

She had been on a coffee run and was just about to round the corner to the area where the Hartes were all waiting. She stopped in her tracks. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop but she had an unpleasant feeling that this was something involving her.

"He just feels that she is stringing you along and that she has you at her beck and call, putting your career at risk for her. Mum was concerned about you and he thinks the worry may have had something to do with her condition. It's nonsense obviously, the doctor clearly said it was caused by the valve damage, but dad's lost without mum. He's just lashing out. You know how he gets Elvis." Antonia said, clearly trying to placate her brother.

Georgie was horrified. She truly hoped that her relationship with Louisa's son had not caused her so much stress that she'd had a heart attack! What must Elvis think of her? Her selfishness had caused him so much hurt already and now this! As she rounded the corner Elvis had his back to her but Antonia smiled awkwardly in her direction. Elvis turned to see Georgie looking tense. He said to her "Come on George, I'll take you home, you don't want to be hanging around here all day."

Georgie felt deflated. He didn't want her here with his family it was clear. In that case it would be better for her to leave.

"Ok, she agreed," putting the hot drinks down on an empty chair.

~~~~~~~E&G~~~~~~~~

The drive home was quiet. Elvis was obviously worried about his mother. Plus the fact that his father was now coming out in opposition to their relationship. Whatever their relationship was.

Georgie's thoughts were in turmoil. She'd just declared to Elvis that she would divorce Cam. Was that even what Elvis wanted? Now they knew what his parents thought of her, would his feelings change towards her? She was suddenly full of self doubt. This amazing man deserved so much more than she could give him. He deserved a lovely uncomplicated girl who would love him with her whole heart, someone who came without all the baggage that she was loaded down with. He deserved to be able to get on with his career without the interference of her and her family. He had liberated her from her living hell and he deserved nothing but the best of what life had to offer. She owed him everything, she owed him a life. She owed him a good life.

As they pulled up in the underground garage, Elvis spoke for the first time since they got in the car.

"George," he started "I'm sorry if...

She turned to him.

"Elvis you've got absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You've saved me in every sense that it is possible to do so. But I think it will be best if we end this now, whatever this is. You need to get back to the army, to the job that you love. I've been selfish, so selfish, trying to have the best of all worlds."

"George!" he tried to interject, looking wounded.

"No Elvis, let me finish. I've used my husband's influence, my bloody husband's, to control your life. And that is so unfair. I've used your pity for me to cloud your judgement and make you stay with me. But enough is enough! I've got to let you go..."

With that she pushed the door open and leapt out. Before she got two feet from the car he was in front of her.

"What are you talking about?" He sounded exasperated. "Don't be ridiculous, I don't pity you, I love you! You know I do! I wouldn't have been here with you if I hadn't wanted to be. I'm not that easily manipulated, no matter what your fucking husband thinks." He scoffed. "Earlier at the hospital you were talking about divorcing him. What's changed? Elvis wanted to know, clearly upset and confused.

"Things just suddenly seem so much clearer to me. And I'm not prepared to continue hurting you and messing with your life the way I have. You don't deserve that."

"George!"

"No, don't argue," she cried, raising her hand to halt his interruption. "I've made up my mind. You should return to your unit as soon as your mother is well. I hope she recovers really soon. I truly do."

With that, she stretched up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Through her tears she saw the devastated expression on his face, she knew it would forever be etched on her brain.

But she still turned and ran into the house, she knew this was what she had to do.

"George please don't do this..." his broken cry echoed in her ears as the tears now overflowed and started pouring down her cheeks.

She ran up to her room, her heart breaking in two. She closed the door and slid to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.