One week later…

“You’re pacing,” Ryan pointed out unnecessarily. He was sitting on her couch, feet on the coffee table, watching her wander around the small room.

She sighed as she turned to face him. “I can’t believe we’re going to call my parents. It’s surreal.”

“It’s time. If we wait any longer, it will get weird. There is no trace of AP12 in your system. You’ve been cleared to leave the bunker. You’re getting stronger every day.”

“Yeah. Temple has been encouraging me to go visit my parents, move on, find myself. I know she’s right, but it’s hard.”

He cringed inwardly. Temple was encouraging her to leave?

“My parents are going to have a heart attack. How do we keep from sending them into shock?”

He knew she was worried about the initial contact with them. They thought she was dead. “Come here.”

She took a deep breath and blew it out as she approached and plopped down next to him.

He took her hand and stared for a moment at their connection—dark against light, small against large. “That’s why I’m going to place the call. I’ll get them on the phone, give them the news, and make sure they’re sitting.” He smiled.

She nodded. “I think I’m going to faint.”

“Please don’t. I can’t take it again,” he teased, though he wasn’t kidding, and he realized his words gave away a few of his cards. Surely she realized how he felt about her by now. He had definitely left the friend zone, and he intended to talk to her about it soon.

She had too much on her plate right now to burden her with his feelings for her, though. It wasn’t fair. She had a thousand decisions to make, a family to reunite with, and a world to discover. She didn’t need the added pressure of a man who wanted to pursue her.

He released her hand and reached into his back pocket to pull out a cell phone. As he handed it to her, he spoke. “Got you something.”

Her eyebrows rose as she took it. “You got me a phone?”

“Yep. You need your own number. Now’s the perfect time to put it to use. We’ll call your parents on it.”

She palmed it, flipping it around in her hands as if he’d gotten her a diamond necklace. “You didn’t have to do that. I could have figured something out one of these days.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to do it. It’s no big deal. Now you don’t have to ‘figure something out.’ It’s done. Turn it on. You need to add your thumb print and then you’ll be in business.”

Five minutes later, she had two numbers programed in it—his and her parents’ home phone. She handed it to him. “Do it.” Her hands were shaking, and she wiped them on her pink scrubs as he placed the call.

It rang three times before a female voice spoke. “Hello?”

“Hello. I’m looking for Roger and Joy Zorich. Have I reached the right number?”

“Yes. May I help you?”

Ryan put the phone on speaker and lowered it between them so Emily could listen. “My name is Ryan Anand. I work for the government at the same facility your daughter worked at ten years ago in Falling Rock, Colorado.”

“Oh. Okay. I haven’t heard from anyone about Emily in years.” She sucked in a breath. “Do you have more information about what killed my daughter?”

“Is your husband there, ma’am?”

“Yes.”

“Can you have him pick up another line? I’ll tell you both at the same time.”

“Uh, okay. Hang on.” There was a muffled sound as she probably covered the phone with her hand.

Ryan met Emily’s gaze, her face pale, her teeth biting into her bottom lip. Her hands were fisted together in her lap. He wrapped both of his around hers and held her.

A moment later, another voice came on the phone. “Hello? This is Roger Zorich. What’s this about?”

“Ma’am. Sir. I have some news that will shock you.”

“Go ahead,” Joy stated.

“Your daughter, Emily, is alive and well. She’s sitting next to me right now.”

There was a gasp from both people.

“Is this some kind of prank?” Roger asked.

Emily cleared her throat. Her voice was weak when she spoke. “No, Dad. It’s me. Emily. I’m right here.”

Silence.

Emily’s gaze shot to Ryan’s, her eyes wide.

Finally, her mother spoke again. “Emily?”

“Yes, Mom. It’s me. I know it’s a shock, but I’m right here.”

“I don’t get it,” Roger stated. “You’ve been alive this entire time? The government lied to us?”

“No.” She shook her head even though Ryan was the only person to see her. “You remember I was preserved, right?”

“Yes, of course.” Joy sounded skeptical. Not surprising.

“They brought you back?” Roger asked.

“Yes.”

Her mother started crying. “Oh God. I never believed that was really possible. I thought they were preserving you to study your body for science. Emily, is it really you?”

“It’s really me, Mom. I swear.”

“Holy shit,” Roger proclaimed. “I can’t believe it. Are you…okay?”

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine. The new team working on this project developed a cure for the virus I contracted and revived me. I’m totally healthy. The only thing weird is that I didn’t age. I won’t look a bit different to you.”

“God. Wow. Oh my God,” her mother said again. “When can we see you?”

“I was hoping you could come here. Is that possible?”

“Already packing my bag, sweetie. We’ll get in the car in less than an hour and be there by morning,” her dad said.

Ryan smiled as he wiped a tear from Emily’s cheek.

“I don’t want you to get in an accident, Dad. Slow down. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Sweetie, we wouldn’t even be able to sleep a minute knowing you’re alive. We’ll be there as fast as we can.”

Emily flipped her hands over and grabbed Ryan’s fingers, holding him tight. “Drive careful. I’m serious. If you get tired, stop for the night.”

“We’ll take turns driving,” Joy said, her voice excited. “I can’t believe it. Can we call you at this number? I’m going to go pack a few things, but as soon as we get in the car, I’m going to want to make sure it’s really true. Is it really you?”

Emily giggled. “It’s me. I promise. And yes. This is my number. I just got it today. Call me as many times as you want.”

Ryan cleared his throat and spoke again. “Mr. and Mrs. Zorich, if you wouldn’t mind, please keep this to yourselves for the time being. Your lives and the lives of everyone else in this facility will get chaotic when the media catches wind of Emily’s revival.”

“Of course. We won’t tell a soul. We’ll see you in the morning, sweetie,” her father said.

“Okay. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. I can’t wait.” She ended the call and slumped into Ryan.

He wrapped an arm around her and held her against his chest.

“I can’t believe it. It’s like it wasn’t real until now. My parents are coming.” She tipped her head back and met his gaze. “Ryan, my parents are coming.”

He smiled down at her. “I heard.” He wanted to close the distance between them and kiss her. The urge was strong. Her lips were so close. She smelled so damn good.

Instead, he stroked her face and brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. Now wasn’t a good time to take that step. She was vulnerable. Raw. Excited. He hauled her against his chest again and took a deep breath. For now this would have to be enough. Today was not the day to proclaim his feelings for her. Tomorrow wouldn’t be either.

But then, when? She needed to go home with her parents for a while. It was only reasonable. Get reacquainted. Find herself.

He had to give her the space to grow and live. It would be unfair to add his attraction to the pile of shit she was going through. Besides, there was every chance she might never return. If that was the case, he needed to bury his feelings and move on with life.

* * *

The following morning, Emily stood outside the bunker, trying to breathe normally. Ryan’s hand on her back was exactly what she needed. He did it often. His touch soothed every time. It grounded her. It kept her from floating away. He was her gravity. Some day she would tell him how much she appreciated it. “You okay?”

“I don’t know.” She stood next to him, squinting in the bright sun, waiting for her parents to arrive. They would pull up any moment, and as much as she missed them and as badly as she wanted to hug them again, she was nervous. It was going to be the weirdest reunion of all time.

“It’s going to be okay, you know,” he promised. “Just like everything else. Look how far you’ve come. You’re healthy. Cured. Your memory is amazing. Your strength is almost a hundred percent. There are people all over the world in worse shape than you after suffering the forty-eight-hour flu,” he teased.

“Ha ha.” She tipped her face up toward him. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft. Wobbly. She owed him her sanity. He’d been a godsend for the past month. After seeing him several times a day at least in passing and then spending most evenings with him, she was going to miss him. But she needed to put her feelings for him aside and go home with her parents, at least for a while.

She had mixed emotions. Half of her wished he would make a move to claim more of her. It seemed obvious to her at least they were more than friends. However, they had never verbalized it or taken the next step. The other half of her was scared out of her mind about what might happen next in her life and whether or not their lives would continue down the same path.

They hadn’t spoken of the future, but she assumed he had the same doubts and concerns she had. It was good he hadn’t made any move to take their relationship to the next level. Too many variables. Too many unknowns. At least that’s what she told herself.

Everything was about to change. She had no idea what might happen when her parents arrived, but she had options. One of them was to leave with her parents and return to her childhood home, try to pick up the pieces and get to know her family again.

For her, she’d spoken to them at length just weeks ago. Time had frozen with her body. For them it had been a decade. She had so many questions about their lives and what they had done in the last ten years. She would have nothing to contribute.

The reality was she hadn’t been in constant contact with them for several years before she contracted AP12. She’d been serving her country. After attending West Point, she’d gone to medical school. And then she’d been sent to Colorado to do the most important work she would ever have the privilege of participating in.

She wouldn’t trade a minute. She’d made discoveries and helped progress science in a way few people could claim. Even if she had died or never returned to her chosen field again, she had made a difference she could be proud of. After all, it was largely her research that had helped Ryan eventually find a cure for AP12.

“What are you thanking me for?” Ryan asked, his hand sliding down to land on the small of her back.

“For your time. For helping me return to life. For calling my parents. For believing in me and giving me hope.” She lifted her gaze again, squinting in the sun. “Ryan, I’m not sure how I would have reassimilated for the last month without you.”

He shrugged. “You would have been fine. I’m not the only person on the team who could have stepped up to the plate. Anyone would have done it.”

“Yes. But you did it. You were the one, Ryan. And I hope like hell you didn’t do it out of some sense of obligation because it meant more than that to me. And I think it meant something to you too.”

“Of course it did. It meant the world.”

“Now what? I don’t know where to go or what to do with my life. I’m suspended.”

He shrugged again. “You need time. You can do anything. You don’t have to stay here. No one expects you to. You’re free to change the course of your life. Be anything you want to be. The military won’t hold it against you. You’ve served your time. Your service to your country surpasses what anyone else could ever contribute.”

She swallowed back emotion. “What if I choose to stay right here?”

He smiled and reached with his free hand to tuck a length of her hair behind her ear. “Then you stay. I’m sure we can find a spot for you on the team.”

She chewed on her lower lip. She wasn’t sure what she should do. It was too soon. Too fast. Too stressful. This bunker had been her home for a long time, even without the decade in suspension. She’d had an apartment in town, but she’d rarely gone home. And she hadn’t been to it in months after she’d gotten sick. Her parents had come and cleaned out her belongings once she’d been cryonically preserved.

No one had given her family hope. Intentionally. There had never been any guarantee she could or would be reanimated. If her parents had heard about the failed reanimations in Arizona, they would have undoubtedly given up any expectation that Emily could return.

She shifted her gaze to the floor. “I just don’t know yet, Ryan.”

“I get that,” he responded. “No one expects you to.”

The truth was, she felt pulled in several directions. On the one hand, she desperately wanted to reconnect fully with her family. It was as if she’d been given a second chance at life, and she didn’t intend to squander it or take it for granted. She hadn’t spent enough time with her parents or her brother in the last few years before her presumed death. She didn’t intend to waste a moment now.

On the other hand, she had started helping Michelle and some of the others with a few of the newer projects, and working in the lab made her heart beat faster. It had been her life, and a part of her still loved solving the mystery of diseases just as she had before she succumbed to AP12.

Sure, she was behind. She’d seen the doubt on Temple’s face more than once. But Emily believed she could get back up to speed and become an asset if she put her mind to it.

Michelle had become a trusted friend. As had Shelby and Mina. All three of them had been supportive and helpful with Emily’s reassimilation, each taking the time to catch her up on not just medicine but world events and the latest gadgets.

Technology was mind-boggling. In the last month, Emily had learned about e-readers, the advancement of Wi-Fi, the explosion of social media, and the incredible ability to search any topic with amazing speed and accuracy on the internet.

Ryan had introduced her to several new types of junk foods, and she’d had the pleasure of cooking for the entire team a few times. Cooking had been a side hobby she enjoyed in her previous life any time she had the opportunity, which hadn’t been often.

She knew one thing for sure—she would never permit herself to get so sucked into one aspect of life at the expense of every other one of life’s experiences. She would ensure she got closer to her family and maintained a new relationship with them. She would cook and eat and experiment with foods.

And she would fall in love and make sure she didn’t spend her entire life sleeping alone. Science and medicine fueled her blood on an academic level, but neither of them kept her warm at night, nor did they provide companionship.

Could Ryan?

It seemed like they had started walking on eggshells with each other. There were too many variables to allow herself to get closer to him. And he knew it too. That was undoubtedly why he didn’t bring it up or pressure her. Often, when she looked into his eyes, she was certain she saw her feelings reflected back, but saying something out loud wasn’t in the cards yet.

There were no guarantees they would end up in the same state when the pieces fell into place. And Emily knew for certain the last thing she could endure right now would be a broken heart because she let herself fall for a man whom she could not have long-term.

The man currently stroking her back.

The man who slid his hand up to her neck and tipped her head to meet his gaze.

The man who smiled down at her.

She worried the feelings she had for him wouldn’t hold up in the real world. They were living in an intense environment. Close quarters. Seeing each other frequently. If she stepped out into the real world without him, would their bond weaken? Would she find other men attractive too? Maybe it was just a season of life she was ready for.

Ryan’s brow was furrowed as he stared at her. “I hear a car. I’m going to let you meet them on your own. It would be awkward for me to be standing here. I’ll be right inside the bunker.”

She nodded, choked up. She didn’t want him to leave her there alone. She wanted to lean on him, but she knew it wasn’t reasonable. It wasn’t even rational. Besides, she didn’t have a voice currently with which to protest. So she let him grip her neck and then let her go. She watched his back as he stepped inside and out of sight.

Everything was about to change. Now that her parents had been contacted, there would be a press release, letting the world know someone had been reanimated in a government bunker. Her name would not be revealed, but eventually word would spread and people would find out.

In addition to the press, a group of government officials would be contacting the families of the rest of the cryonically preserved members of the team soon, letting them know their loved ones would be revived in the coming months.

There was risk involved, but it was unavoidable. If the government didn’t reach out to the rest of the families, eventually people would start calling in and demanding answers. After several long discussions with high-ranking military commanders, it was decided that releasing information preemptively was the best plan. Waiting for the media to catch wind on their own would be a disaster.

The sound of an engine yanked her attention back to the driveway in front of her. And then she turned around to face the two people who loved her more than anyone in the world.