Nudge stood on the back porch clutching a cotton shawl around her shoulders and staring out into the sunset. Her dark eyes widened in surprise when a tall pale man appeared from beneath the water. Her lips stretched into a large smile as she ran down the stairs. Sand flew around her as she moved faster than required to reach the object of her affection. Throwing her arms around his neck, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He chuckled in her ear and pressed a warm kiss into the side of her neck. Her fingers dug into his hair until both hands were filled. She held on to him tightly.
"Max told me you were dead! I was so worried. No one has heard from you in three weeks why would you do something so careless? I considered selling this place and moving to Tennessee. I was so worried!" She pressed her face into his neck.
"I…so many people died, Nudge. So many people, but I had a promise to keep. I told you I would never leave you alone. They…" He pulled away and looked into her eyes. He stared at her hair and raked his fingers through the thick curls. "You're more beautiful than I imagined."
Nudge's mouth fell open. Her hand moved slowly to touch the blue eyes gazing at her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stood on her toes and kissed each of his eyelids. "You can see, Iggy!"
He burst into laughter as he wrapped his arms around her waist and began to walk towards the house. "I can see better than you guys now. They gave me artificial eyes that have nanomachines that pick up the slightest movement. I can see every pore on your skin."
She stopped walking. "Why did you come from the water?"
Iggy shrugged. "After I blew up the company in Ohio, I had to jump in the water to avoid being killed. I just kept swimming. A few others escaped, but I feel bad for the people that were too afraid to leave their cages. They were just desperate mice."
Nudge wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into the coolness of his naked back. "You did what was needed, baby."
He lifted her and carried her into the house. After depositing her on the bed, he reached into the pocket of the khaki slacks he wore and tossed her a soaked white box. "I figured I'd make it here by your birthday, but I'm a few days late. Happy twenty-fourth." He laughed nervously.
Her eyes lingered on him as she reached for the box. She smiled at the cardboard falling to pieces as she opened it. There was a smaller dark red box inside. She rolled her eyes at him before opening the box. Inside sat a ring with a shiny diamond in the center of it. She knew from looking at it that it was authentic. Her eyes lifted to his smiling face. "Iggy…"
"I didn't steal it! I took a lot of money from the white coats I knocked out during our escape. I think I lucked up and kept the wallet that had a wad of cash and an ATM card. Anyway, we've been living together for a while, so I thought maybe we could just go ahead and get married?"
The words she wanted to say got jumbled someplace in her thoughts. He wanted to marry her? She smiled and covered her face as she broke into tears. Either this was her lucky year or she had really good friends in high places. She nodded and stood when he walked over to envelope her in a tight hug. He kissed her passionately as they lowered themselves to the bed. His thumb traced the smooth skin along her cheek bone. He moved so that his hand rested on her stomach and moved up the thin strapped shirt she wore. He pressed his face against her cheek when he felt her so familiar body beneath his trembling hands. "I missed you."
Nudge smiled and kissed him. "I love you too."