As promised to you guys, part 2 is finally out!

...And I have some grave news to tell you. The author of this chapter, SiaCatGirl, is now dead. She was killed by her feels. First, they deprived her of her imagination, then they altered most of the text to make characters sound OOC and, lastly, mercilessly stabbed her in the heart.

May the poor author rest in peace.

Once Alfendi realized the faintly tightened grip around his hand was not his imagination playing tricks on him, his eyes instantly opened wide and he felt a sudden jolt spread all across his chest as the realization dawned on him.

He looked at Lucy's face. It was still dark in the room, the lights were still out after a blackout, but Prof was sure he could see her face move ever so slightly, could hear her quiet moans as she struggled to open her eyes.

"L-Lucy?.." Al whispered in hope of finally seeing her awake. That hope was welling up inside him at a sound-breaking speed. It was shining right through his golden eyes. Could it... be? All those months of anticipating and anxiety... Are they... Are they finally over?

And just at that moment, the lights on the ceiling, one by one, started flickering and eventually turned back on, as if nothing had happened. Caught off guard, Alfendi squinted his eyes and covered them with a hand as the sudden light hit him. It took him a few moments to adjust a little to the now well-lit room. The heartbeat machine, forgotten by everybody, slowly turned on, and the rhythmic beeping once again replaced the silence hanging in the air.

His eyes hurt a little from the light. Blinking a few times eased it a bit, however. Still covering his eyes with a hand, Al looked up at the ceiling to see the lights working again. After a while, he could look at them as normally as before.

"...P-Prof?"

The voice was quiet and very weak, but to him it sounded like the sweetest music on Earth. Inspector immediately turned his head around and saw the pale but nonetheless lovely face of his assistant, her half-closed ruby eyes blinking groggily and trying to focus on the person in front of her.

"Is... Is that you, Prof?" she asked in a voice as faint as before.

The hope inside Alfendi's heart in a blink of an eye turned into a tidal wave of overwhelming joy. Joy at seeing her awake, hearing her beautiful voice with the Yorkshire accent he longed for during all those months. A smile couldn't help but spread across his face.

"Lucy! C-Can you hear me? I'm here!" Al spoke to her immediately, leaning closer, with his own voice shaking a bit. "I'm right here! I-It's me, Alfendi!"

Still blinking wearily, the girl lifted her eyes and finally managed to make out the young man's wavy maroon hair, then his big nose and the rest of his facial features. Seeing the familiar face in front of her, Detective Constable's scarlet eyes delicately fluttered open and her own face beamed with a smile.

"Prof!"

"Lucy!" Without a second thought, Al pulled her into a tight hug, the happiness inside him fluttering like a flock of colourful butterflies. Lucy's arms wrapped around his back, hugging him in return. Never in their lives did either of them feel happier than at that moment. Alfendi buried his nose into her slightly messy caramel hair, feeling its softness on his skin. Lucy rubbed her cheek on his red and blue sweater, feeling his heart beating against the side of her head.

"I was afraid you'd never wake up..." he whispered, clutching her closer to his chest. It took Prof all his will to fight the strong desire to scoop the girl into his hands and twirl her across the room in delight. The joy was too overwhelming to hold back easily.

After finally pulling back, he lowered his head so that their eyes were on the same level. As he did so, his hair changed its colour to crimson again. No matter how tough Potty Prof wanted to seem to everyone, he was no less glad than Placid Prof to see Lucy's smiling face.

"You have no... No idea how... How happy I am to finally see you awake..." his voice was still shaking from joy bubbling inside him. Just looking into his assistant's shining blood red eyes made his heart melt. Be it at any other time, he would've shaken it off as becoming too much like his other side, but this time, he didn't care in a bit. Lucy herself was touched by his caring gaze. If even Potty Prof was that worried for her, she must be really important to her mentor.

"But... Why?"

The sudden question caught DC Baker off guard. She shook her head slightly and gave him a puzzled look. What did he mean by that?

"Why did you do it? Why did you... save me?"

Even though Alfendi had a very good idea why she did what she did, it still puzzled him. Why would she just give away her life like that, without a second thought?

Lucy looked down and thought back to that day when she heroically saved the life of Inspector Layton, almost at a price of her own. She didn't give it much thought, actually. When she caught the sight of a hand pointing a gun in their direction, she was acting on instincts. There was only one objective in Lucy Baker's mind - to save her mentor, her friend, who gave his all to end the criminal's "game" once and for all. She had to do something. And fast.

There was only one available option.

...

"Because...

Because that were the right thing t' do...

I mean, isn't it right..."

Lucy looked into Alfendi's eyes.

"...to keep your loved ones safe from harm?"

They stared at each other for a while. The meaning behind the girl's words was slowly making the Inspector's heart sink like a stone in the water. Even in the time of imminent danger she put the safety of others above hers. Lucy Baker was a truly beautiful woman.

"And besides..."

Her voice rung out like a small bell.

"...Some people are worth givin' life for."

She said that with a small warm smile on her lips. Those seven words struck Al right into the heart. It wasn't just his assistant Lucy Baker he was looking at. It was a strong and brave woman, who would go to the highest sacrifice for those who, in her eyes, deserve it.

But he didn't believe he deserved it. She didn't have to pay her life for his mistakes! And Potty Prof, being the one in control during the incident, felt greatly responsible for it. He... He couldn't look at her anymore, couldn't look into her forgiving eyes. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve her forgiveness.

His heart kept wringing inside him as he turned away to prevent her from seeing his shattered soul. He was a selfish man, thinking only about himself and his personal achievements. Only after Lucy had fallen into a coma for long seven months that he realized his mistakes. But it was too late. There was nothing he could do. Only cross his fingers and hope for the best.

"Are you okay, Prof?" Lucy asked him, concerned.

"I'm... I'm fine. It's nothing."

Of course it was a lie.

And the Detective Constable didn't fall for it. Gently cupping Alfendi's face with a hand, she turned it so she could look in his eyes again. Her gaze softened as soon as she saw small tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Al tried to look away again so she wouldn't see it, but, despite being rather weak after seven months of coma, Lucy had just enough strength to not let it happen.

"I never thought I'd actually see it..." she said as she wiped the tears away from Potty Prof's eyes, "...Inspector Alfendi Layton cryin'."

His attempts to avoid her gaze failed miserably.

"It's all right, Prof. It's not your fault, nor anyone else's. You don't need to concern yourself with this."

Her ruby eyes, it seemed, held some kind of magic power within them, for Al felt trapped inside them, like an insect in an amber. All of his inner turmoils seemed to float away. He couldn't help but bring her face closer and sweetly kiss Lucy on the forehead, with his hair cooling down to a soft maroon. He whispered her a quiet "Thank you".

"And ta you too, Prof," the girl replied back, smiling. "For not giving up hope on me."

The feeling of clouds floating in his stomach returned to Alfendi. He wanted to show his happiness to his assistant, his gratitude, his love to her. However, he found saying it to her a rather difficult challenge. Looking her in the face, no matter how he tried, it felt like something stuck in his throat, preventing him from speaking.

"Lucy, I..." Placid Prof tried to tell her those three simple words he wanted to tell her for a long time, but found himself unable to. "I... I lo-"

Just as he mustered up enough strength to confess his love towards her, she silenced him with a tender kiss on the lips. Al's eyes widened in shock at first, but soon they closed as he melted into the kiss, cupping Lucy's face with his hand. He felt her hand tangle in his wavy hair.

Lucy, in fact, was well aware of Alfendi's love for her. She knew it for quite a while. Two months after she fell into a coma, she managed to regain consciousness. However, she was too weak to show any signs of it. She couldn't see what was going on around her. Hey eye lids felt heavier than a ton of bricks. She couldn't open them.

But she could hear.

Even though Lucy couldn't make out words from the voices she heard, she listened into every sound, for it was her only connection to the world. She could hear voices of Florence, Dustin and Hague whenever they visited, voices of nurses and doctors, voice of her mentor, Alfendi Layton.

And feel the tender pressure of his lips on hers.

Parting their lips, the young girl hugged the Inspector, resting her face on his shoulder. He hugged her back, bringing her closer to him. Both of them could hear their hearts beating loudly inside their chests.

"I love you too, Prof."

It was like millions of knots inside them untangled by themselves.

"And I won't ever leave you again. I promise."

Feeling closer to Lucy than ever before, Alfendi silently promised the exact same thing to her.

Another small tear quietly formed in his eyes. It was not a tear of sorrow or concern. It was a tear of happiness and joy.

And this time he made no effort to hide it.