As the doors slid shut she glanced back over her shoulder expecting him to say something that would stop her leaving. When he said nothing she knew that she had made a mistake. As she rounded the corner it occurred to her that she should stop and go back and try to explain. He had looked disappointed, hurt even, certainly not happy. She wasn't happy either. She was lonely. On a ship full of a thousand people she was lonely, and he was lonely too. She had felt it on the planet's surface when they had talked by the fire. She knew how he felt about her; and he knew how she felt too. It was no good pretending anymore. She had a decision to make, a path to choose and there was nowhere she could hide. She had to go back.
Inside he heard the door chime as he blew out the candles on the table. He breathed out a long sigh and said "Come." As he turned she stepped through the doors her eyes searching for him in the dimly lit room. As the doors closed she spoke "I need to know, I need to hear you say it." He hesitated and then crossed the room towards her. Taking both her hands in his he looked into her eyes and spoke quietly. "All that I am I will give to you, all that I have I will share with you, with my body I will worship you. In the past, present and future I have, do and will always love you. I am yours until the end of time." He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek with his fingers and then he kissed her. It was a lingering kiss filled with such longing that it took her breath away. When it was over she looked into his eyes and knew that there was no choice to make. Turning, still holding his hand, she led him to the bedroom.
His eyes never left her face as she began to undress him, removing first his shoes and then his shirt. He gently helped her as she undressed, removing the last of his own clothing until they both stood naked before each other. Only then did he kiss her again and she responded with a fierce passion that she had not felt for a long time. They lowered themselves onto the bed and so it began. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours or so it seemed until at last it was done and they lay in each other's arms.
Later as she watched him sleep she thought about the things that frightened her. She had lost lovers before, a husband even. Love was a risky business. She did not think that she could survive losing him. But then as she watched him she knew that he was worth the risk and she had finally made the right choice. So when he opened his eyes and smiled saying, "Come back to bed my love," she took his hand and lay down beside him. "Tell me" he said "I need to hear you say it." And so she repeated his earlier words back to him. "All that I am I will give to you, all that I have I will share with you, with my body I will worship you. In the past, present and future I have, do and will always love you. I am yours and you are mine until the end of time." "I am yours and you are mine" he repeated, and they both knew that whatever happened they would follow each other wherever time chose to take them.
