A/N: Thank you to Broadwayfreak5357 for the help! I couldn't stop myself. I know, I already have my own version of this up, but the inspiration hit, and I wrote… Enjoy!

It had been three days and Elizabeth Adams still had no idea how to wrap her head around what had happened.

She honestly believed she and Henry were solid, just about as solid as they could get, and then, on the evening before she was going to move into his apartment, he'd gotten cold feet and blown the whole thing off. No explanation, just an "Elizabeth, I need some time to think." He'd left her standing in a dorm room full of boxes with those words, shutting the door as he headed out to clear his head.

Flabbergasted, Elizabeth had sat down on the bed. She'd been too shocked to react, and stared blankly at the wall across from her for what seemed like hours. Eventually, the dam had burst, and she'd curled up in a ball, tears flowing, filled with so much sadness and rage. How could he? Henry had been the one to suggest living together, he'd helped her pack up all her things in the small single she lived in, he'd reassured her this was a good idea. Above all, Henry had sworn their relationship was only going to get stronger through this. And now, he'd walked away.

He'd walked away just like everyone else in Elizabeth's life, except for Will, but he'd practically put an ocean between them, so she saw it about the same. Her parents (through no fault of their own), her awful aunt and uncle, everyone. It was why she'd been so reluctant to open up to anyone. Henry had been the first person she trusted completely, and she'd laid her soul bare to him, just as he entrusted her with his stories, his secrets. They'd seemingly been perfect, and she'd felt so safe, so comfortable, so at home with him.

Now, she felt like a ship without its anchor, lost and drifting, unable to hold on anywhere for support. Normally, Henry was her rock, her port, but with him gone, she floated aimlessly out in a sea of her feelings. It was miserable.

…

It took Henry McCord a solid fifteen minutes after he closed that door to figure out he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. It took him another three days to figure out how to even begin to fix it.

That's what landed him at the offices of the Airplane Banner Advertising Company of Charlottesville, Virginia, frazzled and overwhelmed by all the options open to him.

He'd come to the realization two days into his complete freakout. Elizabeth Adams was it. She was the last woman he'd ever love, because she was the one he'd spend forever with. Now, he had to figure out how to hoist himself out of the biggest hole he'd ever dug - and somehow convince her his mental lapse had only been temporary.

Truthfully, he'd regretted leaving her dorm almost immediately. He knew how much this relationship mattered, and meant to the both of them. Deep down, he was ready to take the next step, to commit fully, to spend the rest of his life with her. But Henry's brain wouldn't have any of it — too rational and sensible to make the leap and start a new chapter. Instead, it urged him to go slow, to leave before things got too complicated, to salvage what little independence he had left.

The little nagging voice in the back of his head was screaming to get out, and get out quick.

What it didn't take into account, what Henry only realized after those fateful fifteen minutes, was that he had most likely broken her heart. He'd broken Elizabeth's heart — the one person he'd sworn he'd never, ever hurt, under any circumstances. She'd trusted him completely, and he knew how hard that was for her - after her parents, after everything.

...

Standing in the hangar now, he looked over the packages the skywriters offered, all way too expensive for his meagre budget. He flipped through the catalogue, sighing as he scanned the prices. This wouldn't work either. He was out of ideas, out of ways to convince her he'd been a complete and utter idiot.

The manager came up to him then, a stout fellow in his late forties, with a smile on his face. "My name's Steve, what can I help you with today?" he asked cheerfully.

Henry just sighed again and looked up. "I'm afraid I can't afford any of your packages — but thank you for your time," he said, turning to exit the hangar.

"Wait, son!" the manager called. "Let me see what I can do for you." Henry walked back to the counter, doubtful. "What seems to be the problem?"

He proceeded to explain everything then, from the fact that he and Elizabeth had wanted to move in together, to why he'd been mentally kicking himself for the past few days. Steve just nodded and shook his head — the poor boy was clearly in love with this girl and had no idea how to make it right.

"Listen kid," he said, leaning over and lowering his voice to a whisper. "We have a new trainee here, Zack, who still has to practice before he goes out for hire. Natural though, that one, don't worry. Listen, this is what we'll do. You let me have Zack do the writing, and I'll charge you half price. Deal?"

That's how Henry McCord hired a discount skywriter, and solved the first part of his problem.

…

The second part he'd solved weeks ago. He'd bought a ring when they'd decided to move in together, when he'd still been sure they were forever. It sat in his sock drawer, waiting to be slipped on her finger, before he'd ruined it all.

Now, Henry raced back to his apartment to retrieve the box, doubling back to Elizabeth's dorm as quickly as he could, needing to make sure they were at the park when Zack flew overhead with the message.

He was panting by the time he reached her door, completely out of breath from all the running. He knocked and held in what little breath he had left, closing his eyes as he waited for her to open the door. As he stood there, a thought passed through his mind for the briefest of seconds: what if she wasn't there and it was all for nothing?

Thankfully the door opened, and there stood Elizabeth, red-nosed and puffy-eyed, like she'd been crying. His heart broke, and he felt like such a fool. What had he ever done to deserve her? What could ever justify him treating her like this?

She looked up at him with wide eyes, incredulous he'd come back, or that he'd even dared. She was still so full of rage, but a part of her wanted to run into his arms and pretend it'd never, ever happened. She shut that part out and stood up straighter, giving him an icy glare as she looked him up and down. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I came to apologize," he said meekly, his eyes staring down at a spot on the hallway floor. "I was a total idiot, and I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

She opened the door further then, and silently ushered him inside. Baby steps, she decided.

Eyeing him again, she beckoned for Henry to continue. "I don't know what came over me, baby. I was so sure of everything, and then it was actually happening, and I froze." He walked over to the other side of the room and leant on the desk. "Now, it seems so stupid. Because I've never been surer of anything in my life. I want us to be forever. Elizabeth, I love you more than anything. Will you forgive me?"

Would she? Would she believe it'd just been cold feet? Would she trust him again?

"You really want to live with me?" she asked by way of an answer. "Me and my total lack of cooking skills, my snoring — which I still categorically deny, mister — my obsession with popcorn and ice cream, and the fact that I'll always beat you at Scrabble?" She looked over with a shy expression, wringing her hands nervously.

Henry couldn't stop the grin that was slowly spreading over his face as she spoke. "Elizabeth Adams, those are precisely the reasons why I want to live with you, and why I'm hopelessly in love with you." He walked over to her as he spoke, and she smiled up at him, her anger momentarily gone. When he'd finished, she nodded, happy tears threatening to fall. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both breathed a collective sigh of relief. It had just been a hiccup, a bump in the road. They were still solid.

"Shoot!" Henry glanced over at the clock and realized what time it was — they had to get going if they wanted to make it in time for the skywriting. He broke their hug and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. "Babe, I have to show you something. Follow me!" He grasped her hand and started out the door, but a flabbergasted Elizabeth held him back.

"What are we doing?"

"You'll know soon enough!"

…

Henry led her to the park, barely speaking on the way. He was too nervous, and she was too confused to ask any questions. When they reached it, Henry made out the faint outline of a plane appearing in the distance. This was it, he thought, taking a deep breath. "Close your eyes," Henry said and Elizabeth complied, shutting them. It was past the point of trying to figure out what was happening, she realized, and simply went along with it.

He moved behind her and covered her eyes with his hands, positioning them in perfect view of the plane. He held his breath as Zack looped up and down, tracing letters in the sky. Too preoccupied to read them properly, Henry was busy going over what he was going to say, trying to prevent a jumbled mess of words from flowing out all at once.

As he glanced up and saw Zack put the dot on a question mark, he took a deep breath. Now or never. He removed his hands from Elizabeth's eyes, and whispered: "Open them and look up."

She did as told, and there in the sky — in big, white, puffy letters — stood: "MAR ME, ELIBET?" in all its glory.

Confused, Elizabeth turned back to her boyfriend and repeated the message. "Mar me, Elibet?" she asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Now Henry also read the skywriting properly, more than once, to make sure he wasn't in some bad dream. No, Steve's discount skywriter really had ruined the single most important question he was ever going to ask. Shit.

Henry turned beet red as he finally dared to look Elizabeth in the eyes. "I had this whole thing planned, you know—" he began, stopping himself. There was no use trying to salvage the mess. He dropped down on one knee and glanced up expectantly.

"See, that was supposed to say: 'Marry me, Elizabeth?' But the guy screwed up, so I guess all that's left to ask is this: mar me, Elibet?"

Elizabeth was laughing and crying all at once at this point, and so she just nodded, slowly at first, then with more confidence. "Yes," she managed, "yes."

"Yes?" Henry asked incredulously, having to clarify after the mess he'd gotten them both in.

"Yes," she said again, smiling down at him. He stood up then, and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her with all he had. She responded in equal measure, wrapping her arms around his neck. They pulled apart for air, staring into each other's eyes, feeling their new reality wash over them.

"I love you," they said in unison, and laughed. Henry pulled the ring from its box, slipping it on her finger as he kissed the knuckles on her hand.

"How long have you had this?" she breathed.

"Since we decided to move in together."

"It's beautiful."

"So are you." Henry wrapped an arm around her then, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her hair.

"You know, Elibet McCord makes for a pretty great name," Elizabeth teased.

Henry laughed out loud. "You're incredible."

"I know."

Fin.

A/N: This was rough, and all over the place, I know!