William paced the office for nearly half an hour before coming to a stop in front of the picture of Liza he kept on his desk. Her eyes were wide and he remembered the day she had given it to him. She had presented it, wrapped in paper already in a beautiful wooden frame. He had given her a kiss and brought it with him the next day to put on his desk. Now, the picture was his only source of comfort at his time of confusion. He turned the picture to face the couch and stretched out on it, wanting only to rest his eyes for a moment. Instead, he dozed off.

"William," whispered a disembodied voice, but he did not even need to open his eyes to know who it was. "William, darling, it's me," she continued and he let his eyes creak open to see Liza floating above him in a flowing white gown. He tried to reach out to her, but she backed away a few inches. "William, I need you to listen to me." He sat up straighter and she settled down to the ground in front of him and got to her knees before him. "William, you need to let me go."

"I know, Liza, and I'm sorry. I got your message, but I couldn't… I can't…"

"No, William. I said I needed you to let me go, but, now, you need to for you, William. I'm fine. You're the one who's hurting. William, you need to move on, especially while you have such a wonderful chance."

"Liza…" he whispered and shook his head, but she took his chin in her hand and tilted his face back up to hers. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips. He accepted it and responded tenderly, but it remained simple and pure. When they parted, she smiled at him and he frowned back in response. "I don't understand."

"You never used to kiss me like that," she said softly. "You've already moved on, William, and I'm so proud of you!" she gushed, tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. "I'm proud of you, William. You need to do this for you… and for that beautiful doctor. Don't deny it, William," she smiled when he opened his mouth almost instantly to protest. "I know you, William. And, even though we both know you loved me, you admire her a great deal and… you've fallen in love again, William, as hard as you tried to fight it."

William sat on the white leather couch, looking around him as if he was suddenly in some parallel world, but nothing scary popped out at him and nothing disturbed the calm that surrounded them. She placed her hand on his folded ones that were sitting in his lap and he looked back up at her with a smile. She returned it, but said nothing, waiting for him to say something.

"You always could read me, couldn't you?" he asked softly and she chuckled. "You can see right through any kind of pretense I ever used… I shouldn't be surprised you can tell I'm in love when even I can't," he mumbled as he tasted the words. "I'm in love… I, William Murdoch, am in love with Dr. Julia Ogden." Slowly, Liza began to dissolve in front of him and, instead of reaching madly, he smiled. "Thank you, Liza. Thank you…"

Sitting up as he came awake, he felt a weight off his shoulders. He no longer had to mourn the woman he had loved; he now had to move on. He smiled up and took Liza's picture from his desk to hang it on an empty nail in the wall of his office. From her new position, she would be able to watch over him and he knew that was what she wanted.

He sighed and went to open his window and remove his jacket, the warm air of the room a little too much for him. As he gazed out the window, he saw the good doctor coming into the building. She had her white blouse sleeves rolled up to her elbows and was only wearing a thin-looking beige vest with her pale green skirt. It was perfect with her hair, he noted to himself. She disappeared into the doors and he continued to gaze outside until she popped her head in the door.

"William?" she called softly as she entered his office. He stood up and smiled as she approached, her brow furrowed a little. "Is everything alright?" she asked gently, surprise registering in her eyes when she noticed the picture of Liza missing from the desk.

"Everything's fine. Why do ask?"

"Well, your picture of your fiancee has been moved and the curtains are all drawn. Were you unwell?"

"No, I was just restless, so I decided I needed a few minutes to myself. As if happens, it turned into a short nap; I dozed off. I had a wonderful dream, actually," he said softly and watched her brows climb her forehead. "When I awoke, I realized it was time to move on and that Liza wouldn't have wanted me to become the hermit I was." She smiled. "Now, Liza can rest and so can I."

"I'm so happy for you, William," she said softly as he turned and returned to the window for a moment. She smiled and followed him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's time."

"I realize now that it 'was time' a long time ago, Julia," he admitted softly, smiling when her eyes widened in surprise. Pretending not to have notice, he turned his gaze back outside. "I also think it's time to consider a current infatuation of mine. For some time now, I've unknowingly been falling in love."

Suddenly, her hand removed itself from his shoulder and he turned to look at her. Her face looked drawn and she had every appearance of having been slapped. Although the look on her face pulled at his heartstrings, he knew the reason behind it and had to fight to suppress the smile that wanted to spread across his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly and she started back to alertness. "You looked as if something was troubling you. It appeared quite suddenly. Did I say something?" he pressed and watched her force a smile to her lips.

"I'm fine," she said as calmly as possible, but the corner of her eye ticked subtly. He grinned and took a step towards her, moving her back a few inches at a time until she thudded against the wall of his office.

"I don't believe you, Julia," he said, fixing her with an intent stare. She stammered for a moment, but could not find words to express what was going on in her mind. He took another step forward and was barely inches away from her, his eyes locked with her as he let his head cock to the side. "I think something I said really shook you. What did I say?" he asked and she cleared her throat.

"I wish you would back away a little, Detective. I'm feeling rather crowded," she said shakily, but he just smiled.

"What will you do if I refuse?" he asked softly and watched her face morph, softening in a mixture of fear and nervousness. She opened and closed her mouth several times, her eyes swimming with emotion and, seconds before she moved, he saw the resolving one burn in her eyes: desire.

With a small shocked gasp, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His response was immediate as he lifted his hands to her neck, cradling the back of her head as he held her to him, his mouth warm against hers and responsive. He moaned softly as his hand threaded into the strands of hair at the base of her braid while hers slid up his arms to tangle in the short tendrils at the base of his neck.

What seemed like only seconds after they started, she gasped as she pulled away from him, her eyes wide with shame as her hand came up to her mouth, stopping midway as she swiped at her lips. Her entire body shook with insuppressible humiliation as she leaned against the wall, her other hand looking for something to cling to as she felt her knees buckle beneath her. He watched her sway and reached forward to put his arms around her waist and hold her up.

"I'm so sorry, William…" she breathed, panting hard, all the while keeping her hand in front of her mouth. She trembled like a leaf. "You said you had fallen in love and… I had no right to do anything so forward. I'm so sorry, William," she said, choking on a sob. "If you rather forget about all this…"

"And if I wouldn't?" he asked as he pulled her back towards him, waving her arm out of the way and pressing his lips back to hers, making her gasp again and press her hands against his chest as tears trickled down her cheeks. He let his eyes crack open to see hers open as well, staring right back at him with bewildered passion. She seemed almost fearful, but his gentle caress to wipe away the tears comforted her and she whimpered against his lips as she surrendered to him. Seconds stretched on and they were lost in each other until he slowed their frenzied kisses and gently peeled his lips from hers.

"I thought…I thought you were in love with someone," she breathed out, her eyes shimmering with pain, but his were alight with fire and passion and love that she could not see through her teary eyes. He smiled and she felt her legs weaken again, but he tightened his grasp on her torso.

"Yes, I am, Julia, and it's you…" he rushed out in a breath. If she had not been leaning against the wall already, she was positive she would have stumbled, but she also knew William would have been there to catch her. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked into his warm eyes until the tears that shone in hers changed from those of sorrow and pain to overwhelming joy.

"William…" she said ever so softly and felt him retreating until she tightened her hold on his shoulders. "Please!" she burst gently, a smile stretching across her face. A corner of William's mouth twitched up for a moment as she nodded her head. "Please, don't apologize," she said softly, licking her lower lip and lifting her eyes to his. "I'm not sad," she reassured him and stepped into his arms. "I love you, too, William. I've loved you for a long time, even when I wasn't supposed to," she sighed, her voice cracking towards the end of her confession. She lowered her eyes as tears sprung to them, but he lifted his chin once more to stare her in the face.

"Julia, what are you saying?" he murmured. She bit her lip.

"I've… I've loved you even before you got engaged," she said before breaking down into heart-breaking sobs. He felt her crumble to the ground and followed her down, holding her in his arms.

"You mean you loved me while I was with Liza?" he asked gently and felt her nod against his shoulder. "Beautiful Julia," he gasped, making her look up sharply. "I have a sneaking suspicion, but I would very much like to hear why you didn't tell me before I proposed to her," he asked softly, making her cheeks flush a gorgeous red.

"I only figured it out after I saw you two together and I refused to be responsible for causing you any trouble. I was too slow and missed my opportunity. It wasn't your fault," she finished with a shrug. He smiled.

"So you were willing to let me go and be happy, even if it was without you?" he clarified, watching her smile with an off-hand shrug. "I love you, Julia," he sighed. She let out a short laugh and smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and welcoming his kiss. "I'm sorry that Liza died, but I'm not sorry we didn't get married. I'm not sure I would have realized before it was too late; that's the only thing that terrifies me…" he trailed before grinning. "That and clowns."

Julia laughed heartily then and hugged him tight. "So, what does that pretty little speech mean?" she asked, slipping back to seriousness and watching his smile grow even wider.

"It means that this time, I know I'm not making a mistake when I ask you to be my wife."

Although tears wanted desperately to come to her eyes, she held them back and nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, I will. I will marry you and I will love you forever."

"I couldn't ask for more than that," he murmured into her hair. Smiling, he tugged it loose and spread it over her shoulders. "I really do like your hair better this way," he said with a smile, running his fingers through the wavy lengths. She looked up at him and grinned. "You look embarrassed," he observed and watched her bite her lower lip as blood rose in her cheeks yet again, earning a deep laugh from William. She looked up. "I hope you get used to hearing compliments. Do you… do you have to be anywhere in particular?" he asked softly, watching her shake her head. "Would you like to just… sit here and relax for the night?" he offered and watched silently as she reached up and finished undoing her hair ties.

"For the record," she said softly as she leaned against him, "that was a yes."