That night Sam dreamed of Jess. It wasn't his normal nightmares where she was burning on the celling or when he could hear her screaming but could never get to her. This was a dream about what their life could have been it she hadn't been killed.
Sam walked into the jewelry he had been looking through the weeks before his Stanford Law school interview. He had been to all the jewelry shops on his side of town but this one had vintage rings that were all one of a kind. The one he planned on getting today was an elegant half karat square cut diamond engagement ring on a very slim band that had an engraving on the inside that read "my beloved" in little cursive letters. It wasn't the fanciest ring in the store but Sam knew Jess would love it the second he got it.
Suddenly he was standing outside their apartment with the ring and box now in his pocket. He was about to walk in when Jess walked out in a gorgeous deep purple one shoulder dress.
"Wow Jess, you look amazing." He couldn't help but stare with an open mouth. She noticed his expression and kissed it off his face.
"Come on handsome, let's go. So where exactly are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise." They climbed in the car and right as Sam sat down he was suddenly sitting at a table in this little French place on 18th street. He didn't really remember the drive but it didn't matter, what was important was the engagement ring in his pocket. They ate their food and talked about how Sam's Stanford interview went. After a long pause in the conversation, Sam gently reached for Jessica's hand and began his little speech he had practiced over and over again in his mirror.
"Jessica, since the first day we met I knew you were special. You always know what to say and your smile can turn a terrible day into something great. You were the first person I could truly see myself with in years to come and I hope you are the last." Tears of joy began to run down Jessica's face and her grip on his hand tightened. "I love you more than you could possibly ever know and I want to be able to tell you this every day for the rest of our lives."
He got out of his chair, hand still entwined with Jess's and pulled the ring out of his pocket. Jess gasped when she saw how beautiful it was and more tears dripped from her eyes. Sam stepped next to her chair and got down on one knee.
By now everyone in the small restaurant had gone silent and were watching Sam's every movement, but neither of them noticed. In that moment they were the only two people in the whole world and nothing could take that away.
"Jessica Moore, will you marry me?"
There wasn't a second pause before Jess replied "Yes." Sam placed the ring on her finger and kissed her slowly, barely hearing the clapping coming from the restaurant.
When Sam opened his eyes they weren't in the restaurant anymore. They were standing under a little white arch in the rose garden they used to go on walks in when they first started dating. He looked around and noticed the people clapping and smiling at his from the little white chairs in front of him. Then he looked at Jess. She was in the most elegant white dress he had ever seen. It was an all lace strapless dress with a long train. He had never seen her look so beautiful. He saw Jessica's lips mouth 'I love you', but he couldn't hear her. His eyes had tears in them, as did Jess's. They walked, hand in hand, to the large house in the middle of the garden and walked through the big wooden doors.
When they stepped through, they were standing in a little house with cardboard boxes in their hands that were labeled in sharpie. Sam walked further into the house and noticed the how empty it was. There were a few furniture items but the thing that stood out was all the pictures on the walls and table. They ranged from when Sam and Jess first met to them in places he didn't remember going. Again he began to tear up, but this time he wasn't truly sure why.
"We're home Sam." Sam placed the box down and turned to Jess. He kissed her like it was going to be there last kiss.
This time when he opened his eyes he wasn't somewhere beautiful or happy with Jess. He was back in his little empty room in the bunker, alone.
