This is pretty much the end of this bi-chapter story.Please, please read and tell me what you think!

Thanks to boyzaremylife for her idea!

nickersoncrazy:,,,!

PS: I don't own the lyrics to 'The Best Of My Love' by the Eagles, even though I wish I did, lol :D

I feel like walking over to him and punching him in the stomach. We were apart the past seven months, but the only thing that got me through those times, which gave me a reason to live was the hope of us getting back together. Someway, someday. But now he's turning back on me. Crushing me.

But he's too busy to notice. Just too busy to notice the tears rolling down my face, to notice all the pain he's causing me.

And then he pulls away gently, and I can see the soft glow in his eyes. The eyes that I drowned, melted into a long, long time ago.

I can feel my heart breaking – the stabbing hurt sinking in, right through the core. I bury my hands in my hair and cry hard – cry because I'm losing the boy I love more than anything else.

I look up at him again, trying to keep out of his sight, but in vain. His eyes met mine, and his mouth hung open slightly at the shock of seeing his former girlfriend in so much of pain – so much of afflicting pain.

All of a sudden, he's all I can see. The world around me forgotten, all I can see is him approaching. As new angry tear well up in my eyes, as my heart further clenches in pain, he moves closer, until he's within touching distance. My heart pounds like crazy.

"Nancy," he breathes, disbelieving. His trembling hands reach up and touch my face gently, and the rush of love I feel for him is just so bittersweet. All I want is to fall helpless into his arms, and feel my mouth against his, to tell him that I love him…but my heart…it's still broken.

I push him away half-heartedly. The tears just don't seem to stop. "Why?" I cry out. "How could you do this to me?"

"Nancy," he whispers. "Oh, Nan…I – "

"I don't care what you have to say," I burst out suddenly. "How could you hurt me so much?"

Suddenly he turns angry as well. "Oh, so that's how it is? You can go get married to someone, but I can't even kiss one girl? What's you problem anyway? You've got Frank, you don't need me."

"I don't love Frank!" I shouted. I'm dying on the inside. "I just realized that. We've even applied for divorce."

He looks momentarily shocked. "Divorce?"

I bit my lip painfully as another tear rolled down. "Yeah," I choke out. "I never realized how much you meant to me," I whisper.

"And you never will," he replies bitterly. "All you've ever done is hurt me. If you really loved me, none of this would have happened."

He's right. I can really blame him for feeling that way. Reaching out for his hand, I whisper, "I'm so sorry, Ned."

He tilts my chin to look into my eyes. "You don't know the meaning of that word, Nancy." He pulls away his hand, and turns away.

He's moving away from me – he's going away. But I can't lose him again. All the pain has taught me just how much I care about him and how much I need him in my life.

"Ned, please." I reach for his hand again. He turns toward me and my heart breaks at the sight of the hurt in his eyes. It brings back old memories… "I'm begging you, Ned. Please don't leave me. I love you," I say, the tears evident in my voice, "and I want you to love me, too."

He squeezes my hand gently. "Nan, I do love you. But…this relationship…it just isn't working out. I hate that you expect me to be there for you even when you hurt me so much. You expect me to wait for you while you move on with your life. I can't do that – not anymore." The pain in his eyes met mine, and the injury he had just caused to my heart, knew no bounds. "I'm sorry," he whispers finally.

"You've got a girlfriend," I say sadly. "I hope she's not a jerk like me. I hope she never hurts you the way I did. You really love her don't you?"

"Nancy, I hardly know that girl. She's not my girlfriend."

"Then come back to me," I beg.

He looks down sadly into my eyes. "I can't, Nancy – I can't keep killing myself for you. I'm sorry."

He walks away, leaving me alone in the dark. Leaving me alone to sob out all the pain.

--

Every night, I'm lying in bed, holding you close,

In my dreams.

Thinking about all the things that we said,

Coming apart at the seams.

We tried to talk it over, but the words come out too rough.

I know you were trying to give me the best of your love…

…I'm going tin back in time

And it's a sweet dream.

It was a quite night

But I will be all right,

If I could go on sleeping…

…But every morning,

I wake up and worry,

What's going to happen today?

You see it your way, and I see it mine,

But we both see it slipping away.

You know we always had each other, baby,

I guess it wasn't enough…

…But here in my heart,

I give you the best of my love…

--

I woke up, the next morning, after an entire night of crying, to the smell of roses. Blinking against the morning sunshine pouring in, I crack open an eye and see a single red rose lying on my pillow. I am still hurting, but there is something that makes me smile.

There was one guy – just one guy in the whole world – that would be sweet enough to sneak into her house, just to lay a rose beside her.

Ned.

I turn around and see him standing over me, smiling. He kneels down beside my bed, and gently strokes away the hair that falls over my eyes.

"Ned?"

He smiled again. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to wake up," he said and continued, "I love you the most when you're sleeping, though."

"Ned?" I whisper again and sit up slowly. And then with all the love my heart can hold, with all the emotion I held inside me for the past few months, I fall into his arms. "Oh, Ned."

He wraps his arms closer around me and kisses my cheek gently. "I'm so sorry, baby," he whispers.

"I'm sorry, too."

He leans down and gently presses his lips against mine. "I love you."

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I reply, "I love you, too."

"I couldn't lose you again, Nan. All I want now is to be with you. I never want to be apart from you again. I just love you so much."

For the next few minutes all I can do is cry in his arms. But these aren't the kind of tears I'd been shedding in the past. I'm crying because I'm happy. Ned loves me and I love him, and that's all that mattered.

After lingering in his arms a few minutes longer, I take a deep breath before asking him. "Ned?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still – do you still have that ring?"

He kisses me again – passionate this time. "I never gave up, Nan," he says softly and reaches into his pocket.

And the minute he slides that beautiful ring onto my finger is the best of my life. Happiness, ecstasy, love…my heart is just full of eclipsing emotions. And at that very moment, I am assured of one thing.

I will never have to face life alone again. I will always have Ned with me, until the end of time. My hand will always be in his, through thick, through thin…