"Hello Alex."
"Shelby what are you doing here?" She says as she walks in.
"I came to see you guys and my beautiful god-daughter. You don't look happy see me."
"No, I am. I'm just surprised and sleep deprived. Get over here." She pulls Shelby into a hug. "Does anyone know you're here?"
"No. My alibi is that I'm on a indulgent trip to Ibezia. Now can I hold her?"
"Have at it. If she's fussy, you can give in and hand her back over." She hands Maya over to Shelby.
"Hi Maya. You are getting so big. You look just like your mommy." She says as she tickles her cheek with her finger, making the baby laugh.
"Told you." Ryan says, making Alex smirk. "So how long are you here for?"
"A few weeks."
"Looks like you packed for a few months." Alex says as she looks at the three traveling bags by the door.
"This is me traveling light."
"I'm gonna put your bags upstairs." He walks up the stairs with one of Shelby's suitcases. Alex turns around and watches him walk up the stairs. Watching him in his boxers makes her think about when they had sex on the stairs after staying up half the night the first months with Maya home.
"Looks like this little girl isn't slowing you both down in the S-E-X department."
"Yeah. So, why are you here exactly? The Shelby I know wouldn't go as far as to make a fake alibi to get out of the country."
"A year of silence and you still remember me. Do mind if we talk in private later?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I don't want to worry Ryan so quickly. But I need a drink first."
Eighteen Months Ago
Montepluciana Area, Tuscany
The black car pulls up to the gated Italian villa. The car stopped on the gravel driveway and the passengers got out. Alex got out of the car slowly and took in the view of the estate. The ancient design and colors of the three story building amazed her eyes.
"This place is beautiful."
"Yeah. It's nice place to runaway to with a lover." Ryan says as he walks around the car and wraps his arm around her waist.
"Or hide a fugitive. Still kind of romantic." He kisses her.
"Senerio Booth." A man walks out of the front door with two women in black dresses. Ryan extended his hand and they both shake hands.
"Tomas, Com'è andato il volo?"
"Va bene. Questo è il mio fidanzato, Alex." He says gesturing his hand to Alex. She was surprised at how he was fluent in another language.
"Ciao." She shakes the man's hand.
"Let me show you both the estate." The man guided them to the front door.
"So English, French, Spanish, Russian, Swahali, and Italian. Are their any more languages you know?" She says as she counts on her fingers.
"I learn a lot when I was stationed out."
"How do you know this guy?"
"I lead a rescue in the kidnapping of Tomas and his father by a rebel regime. They made me a hororary member of their family."
"And what kind of family is it to afford this estate?"
"My father is one of the counts of Florence. All the men in our family serve on the national council of of affairs."
"So you're royalty?"
"People stopped saying royal after the 1950's but we honor men as the knights of our court."
"So he's a knight?" She says pointing to Ryan.
"In the sense yes. The estate is one of our six properties in the country. It was originally built in the late 1800s. Our family's done interior renovations with designer Astrid Schiller Wirth. The property offers outdoor space to enjoy the warm weather, with impeccable landscaping and a large swimming pool. Lounge chairs on the deck make for the perfect spot to soak in the Tuscan sun with a cool drink in hand. There is a barbecue grill and outdoor furniture for a night of al fresco dining." He gestures to the outside backyard where the large crystal blue pool and the view of the Tuscan village down the hill.
"We might need to try out that pool later." He says to her as he wraps his arms around her.
"Ryan, stop."
"It's fine. Love makes you act by your heart. You two should definetely get married here, beautiful setting for a spring wedding." Alex's face changes when he says that. She and Ryan hadn't gotten re-engaged yet. They hadn't spoken on wanting to get married again soon. They've been caught up in the moment of running away together.
"You alright?" Ryan asks as he notices her still expression.
"Yeah I'm good." she says as they walk back inside.
"We have security located in a safe on the perimeter. Guards at the gate and at every corner of the property. The villa's rooms are divided over three stories. A grand entrance hall awaits you on the ground floor, as well as an inviting living area with a fireplace and library. The dining room and kitchen is modern and comes fully equipped. On the two sides of the dining room is a small living room on one side and a comfortable media room with sofas on the other side. Il Parco del Principe's villa manager and staff will keep things running smoothly throughout your stay. This also serves as asylum outside of the U.S. The foreign press are restricted twenty kilometers away from the area."
They walk up the stairs and Tomas shows them the honeymoon suite. The white tapestry surrounded the king sized bed and it's white satin sheets. "You will find the villa's 4 spacious king size bedrooms, including the romantic all-white Honeymoon Suite with its private terrace and freestanding soaking tub. The final two bedrooms are located in the comfortable La Foresteria apartment on the same property, along with the blue and white dining area and smaller cream living room. If you need anything, the phones connects to every room of the house."
"Thank you." They both say as Tomas and his assistants leave the room.
"So you called me your fiance?" She says as she sits at the foot of the bed
"Yeah I did." He responds as he kneels in front of her.
"We haven't really talked about where we're at now."
"I thought we already talked about it."
"Four hours in the mile high club wasn't talking. Do you still want to marry me?"
"I do. And right now, I want to show you how much I want to marry you." He starts unbuttoning her white top.
"C'mere you." she laughs as she kisses him, pulling down on the bed.
Present Day
Alex brings out a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands. Shelby is in the courtyard sitting on a lawn-chair while Maya is in her playpen.
"Alex, she's really beautiful."
"She is. Her cuteness masks her crying and her allergies to sleeping when her parents are tired." She says handing her a glass. "So how are things back home?" She starts pouring wine in the glasses.
"Well running Quantico as the head director is no picnic but it has great benefits. On the romantic front, still hasn't been a Mr. Wyatt since.."
"Hey, you can't keep looking down on yourself." She says placing her hand on top of hers.
"It's been over a year and I still feel like a idiot."
"Shelby, we never blamed you for what happened. You had no idea what was going on. I honestly thought you wouldn't want to see me."
"I didn't even know if you wanted to see me after what happened."
"I wouldn't make you her godmother if I didn't trust you anymore."
"God, how does every conversation end with us crying." She says wiping her tears off her face.
"You can blame PMS and motherhood for that." Alex says as she sniffles her nose.
"A vacation wasn't the only reason why I came. I came to tell you maybe it's time for you, Ryan, and Maya to come back home."
Eighteen Months Ago
Alex is on her back as she grips the pillow under her head. Her legs are bent as Ryan as under the sheets between them. She pants her breathe as she feels the rush hit her body. She mouths a "O" as her orgasm and falls back on the bed. Ryan comes up from the sheets and falls back on the bed next to her.
"Okay, now can we talk?"
"Sure, what about?" He says as he pants his breath.
"You called me your fiance. Do you still want to marry me?" She says as she has he head turned to look at him.
"I do."
"Then how come you haven't asked me?"
"I didn't know if you wanted to. Do you?"
"I do. I know everything is a mess right now and that thing we should be even trying is to get...married." She stops talking when she opens her eyes and sees the same ring from before in his fingers. She didn't even hear him open the drough. She jumped on her elbows and looked at his hand.
"How did you get that?"
"I never followed you in the car. I raced back to the bunker and got it from my room. I raced over to the plane and got it before they could close the door. I flashed the ring at the flight attendant and she let me in. I doesn't matter where we are, all that matters is that we are together. So Alexandra Perish-"
"Wow wow, wait. Not now." She says waving her hand at him.
"I'm so confused."
"I want the moment to be perfect. Not when we're both naked in bed."
"This counts as the second time you stopped me from proposing."
"You know what I meant."
"Okay, I promise you are going to get a real proposal."
"Thank you baby." She leans over and kisses him. She lies down and cuddles with him, laying her head down on his chest. "I love you."
"Yeah, I like you too." He says making her laugh.
Present Day
Ryan is brushing with teeth when Alex walks into the bathroom. He noticed her standing by the door smiling with her arms crossed.
"Hey you."
"Hey." She says as she walks into the bathroom and wraps her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Where's Shelby?" He says as the paste is in his mouth. He then spits it out into the sink and rinses his mouth.
"She's playing with Maya in her room."
"She okay?" He says as he turns around.
"Yeah. I think she's moved on but she still hasn't forgiven herself."
"She's been through a lot of stuff. What'd you guys talk about?"
"We talked and then she dropped a bomb on me."
"What?"
"I've been pardoned. The new president and congress has given me a clean slate."
Ryan is shocked to hear what was coming from his wife. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. Thinking about going back, it just scares me to step back into that world again."
"What are you really afraid of?"
"I don't want to be walking into another disaster zone."
"Alex, it's not going to happen again. Things are different now."
"I'm nit putting our daughter in the middle of my craziness again."
"You won't. You had no idea what you were walking into. They're gone and won't try to hurt us again. The kid has two parents who love her and won't let anything happen to her. Whatever you wanna do, I'm with you."
Alex felt her heart warm up. Ryan has been her rock for these years of seclusion. She wants to protect their daughter but not in a place where she has to constantly hide from the world.
"Let's go home."
Eighteen Months Ago
Alex is walking through the rose garden in the back yard of the estate in a solid rose pink dress ruffled at the neckline and thin strapped on her shoulders. She sees Ryan sitting by a fountain in the middle of the courtyard.
"What you doing out here?" She asks walking up to him.
"Waiting on you."
"For what?"
He gets down on one knee and takes her hand, She's surprised at the suddeness of his re-proposal. "I know this probably feels like the bachelor but this is a moment we're going to tell our kids. So Alexandra Parrish, will you marry me today?"
"Now?"
"Right now. There's a church down the hill and I don't want to waste another day."
She starts to cry out of no where. Seeing him on his knees with the ring in his hand, she knew that this is the moment that is part of their love story.
"Yes, yes, yes!." She nods vigourously. He stands up and puts the ring on her finger. He pulls her into her arms and kisses he. He lifts her off her feet and she laughs as he spins her around. The brightness around them changes and it begins to rain. They pull apart and look up at the sky at the rain drops as the Tuscan sun shines down on the earth. They instantly laugh at the unexpected beauty in front of them in that moment.