<em>~ Maddi and Elijah out on the reef ~</em><br/><br/>She completely understood the expression<em>a sinking heart </em>as the elevator inside her dropped so suddenly she had to hold her breath.  Rachel....... oh even the name sounded feminine, why would he want Maddi? She couldn't help but look slightly aghast into his eyes, hurt that he had been saying how much he loved her........ oh God, all over again........<br/><br/>It took a moment to register what he was saying, but her heart still hammered in her chest, and then the pain he'd obviously suffered sunk in and all she wanted to do was hold him, and never let anyone hurt him ever again. Ten years, she thought, ten years since he'd been with the woman whom he'd obviously adored.  As she took her fish off the line and put it out of it misery swiftly, something she had been so often mercilessly teased about, she wondered how often since then he'd tried again, from his tone it sounded like it hadn't worked for him since, and her heart ached for him even more.<br/><br/>She re-baited her hook and threw the weight into the water, paying out the line. Elijah had gone silent  and she could sense he wasn't feeling comfortable with what he'd said, "Thank you for telling me," she said softly, "I know what it is like to feel hurt like that, although I've never been married, "she bit her lip, time to anti-up too, she thought, "I was engaged once, for quite a long time actually, but....." she paused, there were very few people she'd ever talked about this too, and it wasn't easy, "But it didn't work out....."<br/><br/>She chickened out, he wouldn't want to hear the catalogue of disasters which was her life, how depressing would that be?  What mattered now was that they had found each other, and even if it was only for their time together here on the island they could give each other love, and friendship and everything that went with it.<br/><br/>"It really is quite something, don't you think?  I mean here we both are, stranded on a tropical island, and find someone we feel so strongly attracted to, and care so instantly about.  I don't think it will catch on though," she joked, "I mean, getting shipwrecked as a way of finding your soul mate."<br/><br/>She realised what she'd just said, and thankfully saw his line twitch as she looked down, so distracted him from her slip of the tongue to point at his line, "You've caught one Elijah, your second catch of the day" she teased, "You'd better haul that one in too......"