She could still barely believe that she was in this place with him. It still felt unusual to sign 'Kate Wyler' at the bottom of release forms at the hospital. She'd just been 'Kate Forrester' for so long. Regardless of her feelings, she was in this place with him, and she was now 'Kate Wyler.' She loved it.

How had she allowed herself to close off to him? To the world? To almost miss her chance at – as clichéd as it sounded – true love? True love, as it turned out, wasn't something predictable where the white knight comes to sweep the damsel off her feet and ride into the sunset. That's the way that Kate had treated her other relationships. However, they were never true love. She always held back, kept things to herself and worried about what tomorrow would bring. These were not true love. True love had found Kate Wyler in the form of an old mailbox, a gorgeous lake house and a precocious dog named, Jack.

Then it all happened. The letters, the sadness, the uncertainness. He made it to that mailbox, when she feared he would not or could not. He never left her, even though he had two years to do so. Alex Wyler was a loving soul and he felt for her what she felt for him. He opened her up to more things than she ever knew existed and unlocked something inside of her that no man could ever have. She set his mind racing, enchanting her with every moment of intimate interaction.
Now, it was more than letters. While their connection was amazing when their only contact was writing, being able to touch had intensified it one hundred fold. The simple act of holding hands meant so much. After two years, Alex Wyler could finally hold the woman he loved more than anything, ever.

Here, four years later, they contemplated all these things. The vastness of their lives and the role that destiny played in them. He gently stroked her hair as she lay her head across his lap. They both stared transfixed at the gentle fire in the hearth that Alex had built them. Jack was dozing by the fire, and Kate began to feel the drowsiness overtake her body. It was late.
"Alex," she whispered.

"Kate?" He asked. She slowly sat up next to him. She knew they had both been thinking. It happened occasionally, now and then, in the moments of silence and calm in their lives. It was a good, quiet reflection that left them both appreciating the other just a little more.

"Let's go to bed."
"Let's," he replied. His fingers slid into place between hers as they walked the stairs and tread the soft carpeting down the hall. He stopped a minute at the sight of an open door. Letting go of her hand, he quietly pushed the door in and entered the room.

Kate watched as he sat down on the edge of the small bed and tucked the covers tightly around the little sleeping girl. Alex thought Emma Wyler was as beautiful as her mother, her brown hair tousled from turning in her slumber. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead. She didn't even stir. He shut the door softly and returned to Kate. Taking her hand again, they continued on.

"I know we were thinking about it again tonight. It still amazes me. I love you, Kate."
"I love you too, Alex. Always."
"Always," he repeated.