Author's Note: I'll be ending this story very soon; this may even be the last chapter, it may not. I'm sorry that this story is so short but I can't really think else that I want to do with this story at the moment.
Paradise
I've been back in the caves for one week now. I fell back into my normal routine quickly. I had missed everyone here and it was nice getting to back with my friends again. It made the work easier when you had a bunch of friends to talk with.
Jamie rarely left my side now. In the morning, I made sure he got up with enough time so we could relax together before I went and woke up Lily down the hall. The three of us went to the kitchen together and ate. Jeb would tell us where he wanted us to work today then we headed off. I guess nothing had really changed but it sure felt like it.
Every night I started on my mattress but held his hand before I fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning I was all over him. Some times my hands would be wound in his hair while I was cuddled into his chest and other times I had pulled his shirt up his torso in my sleep. I was starting to wonder what kind of dreams I had to trigger these actions.
Of course, Jamie didn't mind one bit about my new sleeping habits. He'd tease me before we went to sleep about how he might wake up the next morning. When he finally woke up in the mornings he'd ask me what I had dreamed about and if was a good one. I'd always blush and say I couldn't remember.
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"Alright, grab a basket and start picking the corn!" Jeb yelled to the crowd of people in the southern field. Some people cheered and hurried to pick up the woven baskets or a bucket and started into the corn field.
"It is a good thing we get the easy stuff today; my back is killing me from working the ground yesterday," Jamie sighed, grinning down at me. I smiled back up at him, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where the piles of buckets were.
After each of us had our own bucket we plunged bravely into the field to endure the next few hours of work. Jamie and I worked together in one row. I could hear Ian trying to help Wanda a few rows over. They were so cute together.
We probably had an hour or two before lunchtime when Melanie waddled over to us with a small pail of water for us. There would be no doubt in anyone's mind, soul or human, that Mel was pregnant now.
"You guys working hard?" Mel teased, handing us a cup to drink out of. I smiled tiredly at her. My arms were tired from reaching up the stacks and my fingers were aching from ripping the husks off. I gladly drank the water and let my shoulders relax while Jamie and Mel talked.
"I've got to get back to work; this is the only thing Jared lets me do anymore so I'm going to do it right," Melanie exclaimed before she waddled off to the next row. I frowned but turned my back to Jamie so he wouldn't see. I still hadn't gotten Jared to warm up to me yet. I just didn't know what his problem was.
"I can't wait to be an uncle," Jamie sighed with a giant grin on his face before getting back to work. I smiled. A baby in the caves seemed weird to me. I've haven't saw a baby since my little cousin was born years ago and I was so little then that I wasn't even allowed to hold her.
"Lunchtime!" someone screamed. It sounded like a stampede out of the corn field and into the hallway. Jamie and I followed slowly, just enjoying holding each other's hand before we were in front of everyone else.
"Angelica, I've got a surprise for you after dinner. Wanda and Lily agreed to help me out so I could get everything ready. I think you'll like it," Jamie exclaimed before we got to the main field. I looked up at Jamie curiously. A surprise?
"What kind of surprise?" I asked. I ignored my excited butterflies in my stomach so I could hear what he said. He just smiled mysteriously and waggled his finger at me. I groaned and nudged him away from me. Jamie laughed and pulled me back to him, pecking my lips quickly before we went into the kitchen with everyone else.
I went to go get my food with Jamie hovering behind me with his hand on the small of my back. I kept blushing every time I felt his fingers rub small circles on my back. I could see people out of the corner of my eye, giggling at my red face.
My heart was about to hammer out of my chest by the time I actually sat down at a table. Jamie just smile at me and sat next to me, holding my hand under the table like we always do.
I listened to Kyle's jokes and Wanda and Melanie talk about the baby but I was really trying to figure out what Jamie had planned for later. Jamie seemed more quiet than normal also but he did crack a few jokes before Jeb told us to get back to work.
We ambled along, trying to prolong the moment before we started to work again. Even though collecting corn was probably one of the easiest jobs here in the caves, I couldn't help but feel sorry for my fingers.
I was eager for the afternoon to be over with. I wanted to see what Jamie had up his sleeve. Finally, Maggie yelled for us to get up to the kitchen for our steak. Jamie and I raced past just about everyone. I was giggling so hard that I ended up getting passed up by Brant and Lily though.
When I finally made it to the kitchen, Ian was practically carrying me in while I was laughing my head off. I wasn't a hundred percent sure why I was laughing but I was having a fun time doing it.
"Hey now, hands off the girlfriend, O'Shea," Jamie said, coming towards us with two plates of food. I giggled a little more as Ian sat me down. I skipped over to Jamie and kissed his cheek then led him over to a table for us to eat at.
I calmed down considerable after I took the first bite of steak. The only thing on my mind was the wonderful meat I was eating and Jamie sitting right next to me.
"Lily, Wanda, can you take Angelica down to the bathing room. I've got to get things ready," Jamie said after we had finished eating. My curiosity burned inside me. I wanted to know what he had planned now.
Lily grabbed my arm and tried to drag me up. I hurried and leaned over to Jamie to give him a quick kiss before letting myself be dragged out of the kitchen and to the washroom.
Once we were out of hearing range I started on the girls. "Okay, what is he planning?" I asked Wanda. She would most likely be the one to know what is going on since she is so close to Jamie.
Wanda just giggled excitedly but just shook her head. I turned to Lily instead.
"I don't know anything. He said couldn't tell me anything because I'd tell you on accident, which I would," Lily said before I could even ask her. I sighed.
We spent fifteen or twenty minutes in the bath before drying off with the towels Wanda got for us on a raid. I put on some new clothes that she had also bought for me and sighed happily. The clothes were so soft and fresh feeling.
"Ready for your surprise?" Wanda asked, bouncing up and down in front of me. I nodded and fast walked down the hallways until I had finally made it to Jamie and mine's room. I glanced behind me and saw Lily and Wanda give me the thumbs up before going into their own rooms.
I went inside and had to gasp. A flashlight had been placed in the corner, giving the room a soft glow that candle light might give it. In the other corner sat a tiny boom box that was playing soft music that made me relax instantly. Jamie stood nervously to the side in a pair of clean jeans and a clean white t-shirt.
He timidly smiled at me and stepped towards me. "Could I have this dance?" Jamie asked politely, holding his hand out for me. I smiled nervously and took his hand. I have never danced with anyone before, especially with a boy.
Jamie placed one hand on my waist and the other held my hand. He put my free hand on his shoulder then he led me in slow circles around our room. I was nervous that I'd step on his feet but Jamie never led me wrong.
"What's the special occasion?" I whispered softly. I didn't want to ruin the soothing feeling that had spread through me. Jamie beamed down at me and dipped me backwards, making me giggle.
"I'll tell you later," he murmured when he brought me back up. I sighed and leaned my head on his chest and let him guide me around the room. Jamie took his hand off my waist and ran his fingers through my damp hair.
We stopped dancing all together when the song chanced to something quicker. I kept my head on his chest while he played with my hair as I listened to his breathing and the music.
"Do you want to sit down now?" Jamie asked suddenly. I looked up at him before nodding. He seemed kind of nervous. I guess there was more to the surprise.
I sat down on my mattress that was pushed up against his and waited patiently for him to gather his nerve. Jamie paced twice in front of me before kneeling down in front of me. I don't know why this looking so familiar but it made my heart pound rapidly in my chest.
"Angelica, I love you so much and I can not think of a life without you in it now. I know this probably sounds so cheesy but I've just got to say it. You complete me," I felt tears prick my eyes and I wanted to hug and smother him with kisses but then he continued talking before I had a chance. "I know that since we live in a cave and probably will for the rest of our lives until the souls leave us alone but I wanted to give you something," Jamie dug in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a small black box.
Jamie opened it and I held my breath. My air came whooshing out almost immediately. Inside was a little silver ring with two hearts entwined as the design. With shaky fingers I pulled it out of the box so I could look at it better. On the band it had two words engraved. I Promise.
"I promise that if we ever find a human preacher that I'll marry you. I had Wanda special order it for me on our last raid and I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you. Do you like it?" Jamie rambled nervously.
"Oh, wow. Are you for real?" I choked out. Tears had started to freely fall down my face now but there was no way that I would be able to stop them with how crazy my emotions were at the moment.
Jamie nodded, watching me anxiously now. I realized that I should probably say something like "yes, I'd love to marry you," or something like that but my voice had left me completely. So I did the next best thing that I could do.
I crashed my lips against his and pulled him towards me, bringing him off his knee. I placed kisses all over his face, muttering something while I did. It took me a second to notice that I was gasping out yes to him. I'm guessing he knew my answer now.
(A/N: They did NOT have sex! Just thought I'd point that out before we moved along)
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I groggily opened my eyes. I blinked a few times before getting my bearings. I was lying on Jamie (no surprise) and I had my hands flat out on his bare chest. I glanced around and saw his shirt lying on the other side of the room.
I pushed my hair out of my eyes so I could get a good look at Jamie. His hair was wild looking and I noticed that his hair band was on my wrist. I grinned as I kept looking. Jamie had red marks on his collarbone, neck, and shoulder. It took me a moment to realize what they were. I had given Jamie hickeys! I stuffed my fist into my mouth to stop from giggling.
I glanced down at my left hand and couldn't help but sigh. Jamie's promise ring shone proudly on my finger. I felt like waking up every female in the caves just so we could look at my new ring.
"Jamie," I murmured in his ear. His face twitched and his arms flexed at my sides.
"Is it morning already?" he groaned, rolling over onto his side taking me with him. I chuckled and kissed his nose. Jamie cracked open one eye then the other one before smiling brightly at me. "Good morning, Angelica. Have a good night's rest?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, I had this wonderful dream where some dark haired guy promising to marry me. It was very nice," I exclaimed, smirking at him. He grinned back.
"Dark haired fellow, keeps his hair in a ponytail, tall, dashingly handsome? I believe I know this man; we're somewhat good friends actually," Jamie played along. I laughed then pecked his lips.
Suddenly it felt like a million people were running down the hallway, towards our room. I sat up and wrapped the covers around me just in time. Kyle, Sunny, Ian, Wanda, Lily, Jeb, and Trudy all came bursting into our room talking at once.
I heard a lot of "congratulations!" and "I'm so happy for yous!" as they all crammed inside. I was blushing and making sure they couldn't see my pajamas while Jamie just sat there grinning at our friends.
"Whoa, Jamie, did you have a fun night last night?" Kyle laughed suddenly, pointing at him. I glanced over at him and blushed even harder. Kyle was pointing at all the hickeys I had given Jamie. I pulled the covers over my head and made a cocoon around me of embarrassment.
I couldn't see Jamie's reaction but I could still hear it. "Yeah, it was very nice, very romantic. I even made her cry a little," he laughed, patting my side. I shifted away from him (more like wiggled) to my mattress.
"Okay, I think it's time for everyone to find some work to do. We'll see you two for breakfast," Jeb said. I heard shuffling around as our friends left the room. I finally poked my head out of the covers. I was starting to get hot under here.
"Well, that was embarrassing," I muttered. Jamie chuckled and helped me to unwrap myself. We dressed for our day and took our sweet time going to the kitchen.
"I'm surprised that Mel hadn't bombarded us this morning like everyone else," I stated. Jamie purposely avoided looking down at me. "Jamie, she doesn't, does she?" I accused. He squirmed under my gaze.
"Well, no, but I know she'll be okay with it. It was mostly Jared I was trying to avoid. I'm not sure what his deal is," Jamie broke down finally, looking at me with guilty eyes.
"Oh, so Jared was the problem. I'll take care of that later," I hissed moodily. Jamie didn't say anything else about it but I knew he was wondering what I was going to do. I was even sure what I was going to do but I was sick of Jared's attitude towards me.
During breakfast a few people came up to congratulate us or to look at my ring. I didn't really say anything but let Jamie take care of all the talking. I kept an eye on Jared the whole time. Neither Melanie nor Jared knew what was going on yet.
It seemed Jeb was even trying to help me with cracking the Jared case because he put Jared, Jamie, Melanie, and me on dish washing and clothes washing until lunch. Jamie grabbed the dish bucket and Jared took the clothes basket. Melanie and I trailed behind them as we headed to the washroom.
"What is that?!" Melanie suddenly squealed. Jared whipped around, dropping the clothes. It looked like he was expecting her to go into labor soon or something. Mel didn't even notice and was gaping at my left hand.
I blushed and raised my hand so she could get a better look at my new ring. She took my hand and turned my hand around so she could see every angle.
"Oh, wow, it's such a pretty promise ring," Melanie gushed, smiling up at me. I blushed even more and smiled over at Jamie, who had been watching for Mel's reaction.
"Promise ring?" Jared snapped, coming forward to look closer for a look. I wanted to shrink away from his. He didn't look too happy.
"I gave it to her last night," Jamie cut in somewhat defensively.
"You guys are too young to be making such a commitment like this," Jared stated, turning on Jamie now. I glared and took my hand back from Melanie. I stepped in front of Jamie and crossed my arms.
"Melanie was seventeen years old when you guys got together and she knew that she was in love with you after only a few weeks. Jamie and I have known each other for months!" I exclaimed heatedly. Jared glared down at me this time.
"Melanie and I are a little different than you two," he practically growled.
"Hey, I don't think you've got a right to say anything about Angelica and mine's relationship," Jamie shot at him, wrapping an arm around me, pulling me back into him.
"Jared, sweetheart, just drop it," Melanie finally intervened. He went back over to her and they whispered heatedly for a moment before Melanie turned back to us. "Can you guys take care of the dishes and crap so we can talk?" she asked one hand on Jared's shoulder and the other on her stomach.
I nodded and took the dishes and let Jamie take the clothes. I stalked away from them and didn't slow down until I could hear the rush of the rivers. Jamie had stayed quiet during my little fit.
"Are you okay?" Jamie asked, dropping his basket.
"Yeah. Ugh! He's just got me all fired up now!" I exclaimed. I let Jamie hug me until my anger disappeared. I sighed and pulled back from him. "Come on, lets get this done before Jeb shows up," I grumbled.
It didn't take long for Jamie to get me laughing and joking around again. We had a splashing fight and raced to see who could wash a plate faster and just goofed off. After Jamie was soaked and his hair was plastered to his face while I was skipping out of his splashing rang.
"I'm glad to see you two are having fun," I almost slipped and landed on my butt but caught myself before I could fit the ground. Maggie and Jeb were standing there, grinning at us.
"Hey, Uncle Jeb, Aunt Maggie, did you guys come down for a bath too?" Jamie asked, pushing his hair out of his face.
"Nope, not this time. I came down to make sure neither of you drowned or something," Jeb chuckled.
"You guys can go on up to lunch now, I'll finish this up," Maggie said.
I smiled at her and helped Jamie up from the floor. We hurried up to the kitchen. Everyone was fighting for a dessert cake for later. I sent Jamie into the madness because I wouldn't stand a chance against Kyle or Brant in a tussle.
I sat down at a table. I looked around to see if Melanie or Jared was in here just in case we had to have another roll. Luckily, Melanie must still be talking to him because the two of them weren't here.
Jamie and I ate quickly since everything was crazy in the kitchen. Jamie actually had to dodge a flying elbow. He had to shield me on the way out.
"Now what are we suppose to do?" I asked, wrapping my arm around Jamie's waist.
"I'm going to check on Mel and Jared. You can take a nap or splash Lily to death or talk Doc's ear off, whatever you want to do," Jamie exclaimed. I nodded and kissed his jaw before heading in the direction of Doc's hospital.
I walked slowly over to the hospital, hoping I'd run into Lily so I could have someone to talk to. I almost turned around when I saw Jared and Melanie talking with Doc.
"Angelica, could you go find Sharon for me?" Doc asked when he saw me lurking there. I nodded and quickly ducked back into the hallway. I sprinted away and went back into the kitchen. Sharon was sitting on the counter with Freedom beside her.
"Sharon, Doc wants you for something," I mumbled as I walked past her before I grabbed a roll that someone hadn't eaten. I found Lily and stayed with her until Jamie came back when we were headed to water some carrot seeds.
"So, how did it go?" I asked when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Jamie grinned down at me.
"I talked to Jared and Melanie and he said he was cool with it after he thought about it for a while," he said, leading me back to our room.
"Oh, that's good," I muttered. Instead of going into our room, Jamie led us into Jared and Mel's. Melanie was lying down, snuggled into her pillow with Jared sitting by her head.
"Go on, Jared," Melanie mumbled sleepily. Jared looked past Jamie and let his eyes rest on me.
"I'm sorry, Angelica. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I was just shocked, more or less," Jared said, smiling at me with a hopeful look on his face.
"Well, I forgive you, more or less," I stated, grinning at him to let him know that I wouldn't yell at him or anything, not unless he continues to be a prick at least.
