The Alchemists

Chapter 180 - Years of longing

Jean and Finland's presence at the hospital again attracted the attention of visitors and hospital employees, but now the gossip that Jean and Finland were lovers slowly faded away because people saw that the girl, whom they initially thought was Jean's girlfriend, was walking while holding hands with another man, who was even better looking than Jean.

When the three passed, people subconsciously stopped whatever they were doing and stared at them until they disappeared from view.

"Dr. Schneider...!" exclaimed a middle-aged doctor when he saw Caspar. "Gosh... why are you here? Visiting duty or checking on a patient?"

Caspar recognized the man from a conference he attended several years ago and for the sake of politeness he stopped and greeted him.

"Good evening, Doctor. I'm just visiting a friend's child. How are you?"

"Good, good, I am very happy to meet you. Gosh... You haven't changed at all! You are still as young and as handsome as when we met several years ago." The doctor was amazed to see Caspar, "You're almost 40 years old right now, right?"

Caspar just smiled thinly at that. He had indeed used the identity of Heinrich Schneider for too long. Heinrich Schneider was the owner of the Schneider Group and the well-known genius surgeon, both of whom walked their paths together unnoticed by people in both worlds because his face never appeared on any media.

Since he parted ways with Finland two years ago, he had not bothered to take on a new identity. That could be taken care of once Aleksis recovers and they live together again, he thought.

Finland remembered that her second meeting with Caspar also took place at the hospital. That time Finland needed to do a medical check-up as a requirement to start working in LTX and Caspar, who was a visiting doctor at the Stamford Hospital for 6 months, kindly offered to examine her and even paid for her check-up fee because he knew that Finland did not have any money.

The thought of the event made her smile subconsciously and she looked at Caspar lovingly.

To avoid more people from recognizing and stopping him, Caspar walked hurriedly to Terry's room followed by Finland and Jean. They were welcomed by the boy's parents who seemed very grateful for their help. Terry now had hope of recovery.

"Hi Terry, how are you feeling?" Jean asked when they arrived at the room where Terry was treated.

He regretted that he didn't have the chance to stop by to bring gifts, but they were in a hurry.

"All right," Terry answered. He smiled at Caspar, "The doctor said that the procedure went well and now we have to wait and see, but so far everything is going on well."

Caspar nodded. Astonished, Finland turned to look at Caspar.

"Do you know each other?" she asked.

"I came here this morning..." Caspar shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure that you didn't give your bone marrow in vain. I happen to know the director of this hospital personally."

"Oh..." Finland smiled at this and squeezed Caspar's hand tenderly. She remembered that Caspar was very jealous because Finland donated her egg cells to get money and as a result she had a child from an embryo produced by her egg and Jean's sperm. But now, Caspar didn't seem to mind that anymore. Finland felt relieved.

They talked for a while and then excused themselves because they were leaving Singapore and promised to exchange news after Terry recovered.

Jean was driven to the airport because he had to fly immediately to France and Finland heavy-heartedly sent him off when they arrived at the departure terminal. She felt very happy because Jean had regained all his valuable memory of their friendship. Both promised to call each other and talk every day like they used to. Then they exchanged one last hug and said goodbye.

"Good luck with the movie..." Finland said. "See you in Scotland!"

"See you, Finland." Jean waved several times before going through the security check. He quickly disappeared from their sight.

"I have not thanked you for thinking fast and saving Jean's life by giving him the immortality potion..." Finland said to Caspar with welled up emotions. "Thank you..."

Caspar looked at Finland and a sly smile carved on his face,

"Uhmm... you can show your gratitude by kissing me..." he said.

Instantly, Finland flushed red and subconsciously she looked down. She had not kissed this man for a long time and she really missed him.

Caspar, who saw Finland's timid expression, immediately touched her chin and brought her face closer to his. Then, he kissed her lips softly with his eager lips. As he was kissing her, he got more and more excited. He then forcefully entered her mouth with his tongue and explored it to his heart's content. He really missed these cute red lips, every day, every night.

Ouch... aren't you embarrassed...? This is a public place.. a VERY public place.

Finland wanted to say those words in protest, but no sound came out of her lips as they were being attacked by Caspar like there was no tomorrow. Finally, Finland could only close her eyes and enjoy the man's kisses which made her mind immediately go blank.

When Caspar finally let go, he whispered tenderly in her ear, "I miss you so much, I miss you every day, I miss you every night..."

Finland blushed and 'changed the topic' by pulling Caspar's hand to where their car was waiting. She was embarrassed by the envious looks the people around them show when they saw them kissing so passionately.

On the way back to the Continental Hotel, the two sat in the backseat in each other embrace, as if worried that they would be separated again. Ben, who glanced at the two of them through the rearview mirror, seemed to smile. He was very pleased to see his employer reunited with the woman he loved.

After arriving at the Continental Hotel, Finland immediately took Aleksis from Lauriel and prepared to leave for Germany with Caspar. Marion, Esso, and Petra would join them, while Lauriel would leave for America alone.

"See you later, Lauriel. Good luck..." Caspar said as they parted ways.

"See you later, Uncle Rory." Aleksis kissed Lauriel's cheek which etched a smile on her godfather's face.

"See you later. We will succeed," Lauriel said as he ruffled Aleksis' hair until it became as messy as his hair.

Lauriel's confident voice gave Finland hope. Even if they could not get the antidote for Aleksis, Lauriel still had a backup plan to cure Aleksis with the Medusa poison which he called 'the mother of poisons'. Finland and Caspar firmly believed in Lauriel's ability and they were somewhat relieved to know that there was another alternative if they failed to capture Alexei to exchange antidotes.

After flying for about 12 hours, their plane landed in Stuttgart, and via the VIP route, the group then continued their journey with the several cars that were waiting for them in the lobby. This trip brought Finland down the memory lane when she first landed in Europe and went to Caspar's family castle. There she met his younger siblings, got married, and saw her first snow...

Now it was late autumn and the temperature dropped to twelve degrees. But Finland, who had settled for several years in San Francisco, was now accustomed to cold temperatures and did not need to take shelter under Caspar's coat like she did before. In her heart, she wished that she was feeling cold. Then Caspar would have a reason to shelter her under his coat.. that would be very romantic.

Caspar was thinking the same thing, because he looked at Finland and his face seemed a little disappointed because the girl was not cold and needed no protection from his coat. When the two stared at each other, Finland and Caspar, who knew they were thinking about the same thing, could not help but laugh together.

"Hmm..." Caspar shook his head and pulled Finland's hand gently into the car.

Along the way they talked about what had happened during their separation. Finland told him about her life in San Francisco and how Lauriel helped her a lot, especially after Sophia tricked her in Singapore and made her think that Caspar was living together with Sophia and had forgotten about her.

"I'm sorry... I was really stupid at that time..." Caspar said apologetically. "It's a good thing that Lauriel helped you... I owe him a huge favor. I will teach Sophia a lesson, as soon as I save her from Alexei."

"Why did Sophia switch her loyalty from her brother to you?" Finland tone was slightly jealous.

"Famke was Alexei's girlfriend whom he sent to frame me. Sophia felt that Alexei had changed because of Katia's influence and she was afraid that if Famke was this dispensable for him, surely he could also sacrifice his own sister... That's why Sophia left him..."

"Lauriel said Sophia has had a crush on you for a long time... Surely she helped you because she wanted to be with you..." Finland said again.

"Maybe." Caspar shrugged. "What is clear is that I am yours and I have never loved her nor any other woman."

He then looked at Finland closely, "My dear... I want us to promise each other not to be blind and jealous without using common sense. Even though Sophia is in love with me, please don't be jealous of her if I have to save and protect her. I am bound by my promise to her when she cleared up my name before the council. I also won't be jealous of Lauriel who loved you and did so many things for you... because I now know that you only love me... "

Finland frowned at Caspar's words, "Jealous of Lauriel? Oh... please Caspar, don't be like that anymore. Remember what happened last time when you were jealous of Jean?"

"I know... that's why I said that I have learned from my experience and I won't be jealous of Lauriel, even though I know for sure he has a heart for you. I have known him for hundreds of years and I know how he is when he is in love..." Caspar said quietly. "I know that you are an extraordinary woman, and I am not surprised that he fell in love with you... but I met you first, and he had to give in because you are mine."

Finland knew that Lauriel had fallen in love with her, but she did not expect Caspar to notice it that easily. She was afraid that the man would be jealous again like he used to be jealous of Jean, but this time Caspar had acted wiser and understanding that someone's feelings were the prerogative of that person and he could not force them to eliminate those feelings simply because he loved the same person. He had seen that Lauriel always kept a good distance from Finland and for him that was enough.

They arrived at Caspar's family castle late at night. Kara welcomed them at the door and immediately became familiar with Aleksis.

"Ahh... Princess Aleksis, you are very very very beautiful. You will like the princess room which your father prepared in this castle..." she said eagerly.

Finland turned to Caspar, "When did you prepare a room for Aleksis?"

"I ordered a few items yesterday and asked Kara to prepare her room..." Caspar replied, smiling broadly, "A beautiful room fit for a little princess."

When she saw the room prepared for Aleksis, Finland thought about Aleksis' room at Lauriel's house which looked a lot like a Disney fairy tale room and she could not help but smile. Both Aleksis' biological and foster fathers have the same taste in the furniture for little girls.

"After dinner, we must rest," Caspar said after they placed their belongings in the bedroom. Finland nodded in agreement. Traveling from Singapore was quite tiring even though they flew in a comfortable private plane.

Food had been prepared in the dining room and they had a quick dinner before reading a bedtime story for Aleksis. Finland and Caspar made sure that she was sleeping soundly before the two went into their own bedroom.

In their bedroom, Caspar and Finland stared at each other for a long second. For some reason, their urge to immediately sleep vaporized and the fatigue they felt after flying for a dozen hours disappeared.

Caspar could no longer contain himself and immediately kissed Finland's lips greedily. He held her head and back very carefully as if afraid that she would disappear like a shadow.

Finland, who had really missed her husband's body, involuntarily unbuttoned Caspar's shirt and slid her tiny hands on the man's chest and back. The simple gesture made Caspar stop his kisses as he was stunned for two seconds. When he came back to his senses, Caspar carried Finland and laid her on the bed and continued to caress her there.

They did not rest after dinner as originally planned. Their years of longing was satisfied as they made love all night long.