WHOOO...SEASON 3 FINALE
So I thought I would bring you the next installment. Sorry it took so long. My real life is really getting crazy.
But here we are with many...many time jumps. I was going to do this in two parts and then I realized it wasn't going to work so I made it a one shot instead.
Disclaimer; I own nothing at all.
"..Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/Within his bending sickle's compass come;/ Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,/ But bears it out even to the edge of doom./ If this be error and upon me proved,/ I never writ, nor no man ever loved."~ William Shakespeare "Sonnet 116"
She swears she didn't plan any of it, at least she does to Nick and Monroe, later when they ask. But the whole sad, brooding vibe that Nick had been giving off since Christmas was really starting to wear on her. She did it so she didn't end up killing Nick so she could get five minutes alone with Monroe.
There are certain skills that you retired when you moved from one job to another. But there were some, Rose realized, that came in handier in civilian life. She ferreted out where the clinic was that Juliette worked, saying that she needed a recommendation for a friend. It was easy, finding people. She calculated how many coffee shops were in walking distance from the clinic. And then it was only a matter of time before she was greeted with a "You're Rosalee, right?" midway through her latte at Extracto on Killingsworth.
Rose glances up from her book, pretending to be surprised. "Juliette? How are you?"
"I'm better, not so cluttered, you know?" She taps her temple with her free hand. "Up here."
"So things are coming back?"
"Bit by bit, yeah. Do you mind if I sit?"
"By all means."
Juliette smiles. "I actually hoped I'd run in into you or Monroe."
"Oh?"
"There..." She grasps for the right words. "There a few questions I have."
"About what?"
"I remembered the night I went into the coma and..." Juliette frowns. "He brought me to Monroe's and they were going to show me something...or tell me something or..."
"That's progress, at least. Didn't you want to talk to Nick about it?"
"No...no. There are some things that aren't adding up...some things that he's been keeping from me."
Rose sighs. "Maybe he just wasn't ready to tell you? Maybe he was trying to find the right time...?"
"Maybe...but I just-" Juliette shrugs and takes a nice long pull from her coffee cup. "I remember that he took me to Monroe's on the night of and." She shakes her head. "I just..."
Rose grits her teeth, knowing exactly what Nick was going to ask and how much Monroe would hate doing it. Then again, so would she. But watching Juliette stumbling around like this was working so hard on this weird new compassion she'd unearthed in the last few months. "I'll talk to Monroe."
Juliette squints and then her face splits into a huge grin. "Oh...I see. I sort of figured...You guys are cute."
"Thanks...I guess." It's so odd to say; it's been a long time since she's had someone to 'girl talk' with.
"But you'll talk to him? To Monroe?"
Rose grins. "I'll see what I can do."
Rose promises herself ten more minutes and then back to work, but his hand moves down to her hip and his fingers press into her skin under her blouse as he pulls her to him and settles her on his lap. Maybe fifteen. And just like that, all the books stacked around her couch are long forgotten, and the research she was conducting fading away. In the back of her head, she knows she shouldn't have invited him over if she had work to do. This is what happens when they sit in too close proximity, even if he was just offering commentary and generally filling the role of sounding board. That is until she hit the whole-talking-to-herself part. And then he kissed her because he thought it was adorable. Okay, maybe twenty.
"Ugh, you have to stop that," she murmurs but she presses against him anyway, teasing.
"Stop what?" He kisses her again just under her jaw and then down her neck. He always had read her like an open book; this was no different. He grins wolfishly up at her.
"That..." she groans. "You make me greedy."
"How do you figure that?"
She presses her fingers to his neck, feeling his pulse race under her skin. He looks at her like she's the only person in the world and she could say it now. That she's happy with her life here; she's happy he's around. But that she's happiest when they're together; talking, not talking, eating, sleeping, whatever. But instead, she says the other true thing that's been weighing on her; "It always feels like there's never enough time. And that I have to steal it whenever I can."
He grins, placing his hands on either side of her face. "We have plenty of time." He promises. "As long as you want."
She smiles.
"But I know what you mean though; I'm not used to this much good all at once either." He pushes a few loose strands from her cheek.
"Feels a little too good to be true?"
"Yeah," he pulls her in again. "A little bit."
"You're doing it again." She mutters, smiling.
"Maybe that was the plan," he replies.
"Archloch,*" she growls just before he cuts her off with a kiss. She melts into him, threading her arms around his neck.
"Rose, " he murmurs against her mouth.
She kisses him quiet again. If he wants to distract her from her work, he doesn't get to stop half way through.
"Rose, I–"
And then his phone starts to ring out on her coffee table. "Ficken Sie Verkohlen von mir?*" She mutters in his ear. "I bet you ten bucks it's Nick."
Clutching her to him still, he reaches for it and gives her a smile. "Hey dude. What's up?"
Rose's close enough to hear Nick's voice through the receiver. "Are you with Rosalee?"
"Yeah, I'm putting you on speaker." He clicks it and holds it up to Rose.
"Hi Nick," she sighs.
"Do either of you know anything about a wesen that sets people on fire?" He asks without preamble. "Besides a daemonfeuer?"
They glance at each other and wince. "None that I ever want to come across." Rose insists. "What's up?"
"We just got a call in from a unit in Salem. Apparently there was a bonfire way out in the sticks...only it wasn't brush they were burning. It was people. Two of them."
"So why'd they call you?"
He laughs. "Apparently my reputation for the 'weird ones' has preceded me."
"Yeah, good luck with that one, dude." Monroe replies, running his hand down Rose's back.
"So, I guess it's another night in the trailer." Nick groans. "Awesome."
Rose bites lower lip. "Do...you know who the people in the fire were?"
"All we can tell so far is that it was a man and woman. We're still waiting for the M.E. to get back to us on whether or not they can get a hit off dental records to get ids. Some of the other remains look to be...eaten."
Monroe's hand stills on her back as the morbid situation dawns on both of them.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, " Rose sighs. "It just sounds like..." She looks over at Monroe and frowns. "PWO."
"Purewelt Orden," Monroe replies, working hard to keep his voice even. "They don't really approve of wesen...'mixing .'"
"Mixing?" Nick wonders. "You mean..."
"Like us," Rose confirms in a quiet voice, keeping her gaze on the phone.
"So this is wesen on wesen?"
Rose nods. "If it is, there will probably other members of these families that will have been murder or are missing."
"And does this happen often?"
"It goes in and out of fashion, like everything else." Rose murmurs. "It's...it's barbaric."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Nick promises. "But I've got to hit the hay, we're due in Salem at nine o'clock."
"Will you call us later? To let us know?" Rose wonders. "And be careful..."
"I will," Nick promises. "Thanks for your help."
Rose sighs against Monroe's shoulder and sits beside him. "Talk about killing the mood."
"Not funny."
"I wasn't trying to be." She insists. "You know if it really is them, I'm going to have to alert the Council. They might have to send someone...or several some ones."
"Would I finally get to meet the mysterious Alexander?"
She shrugs. "You might. But we have other fish to fry." She taps his knee in a nervous pattern. "I saw Juliette today... bumped into her. And, someone's going to have to tell her." Rose says quietly. "She thought she was going crazy and now...she knows something's up. She's known for a while."
"Says the person who didn't want to tell Hank." He shoots back.
"Well, Juliette doesn't have access to a gun." She retorts and then winces. "Sorry, sorry." She places her hand on his. "I just sort of feel bad for her...and Nick."
He sighs. "Yeah, I do too. But should we really be meddling?"
"You're the one who took him in, so yeah. Besides, as much as I like Nick and all, I'm really tired of his moping. And if he can't do anything about it, I will."
He laughs, settling his arm around her. "I never would have picked you for a matchmaker."
"Is it really matchmaking if they've already been together?" She wonders. "She just wants to talk to you. What harm could it do?"
"There's no ulterior motive here?" He checks.
"Well maybe..." she shrugs.
"What's it gonna cost me?"
"It's not what it'll cost, it's about what we'll gain." She grins. "Apparently if Nick isn't getting any, neither is any one else. So, that has to stop."
*Asshole
*Are you fucking kidding me?
It's the staring that's the worst, Rose decides. But at least Juliette's not running for the door. She asked for it, she begged Monroe to tell her and he brought her to the shop. She's here taking in all in with wide unblinking eyes. She says nothing; her lips stay pressed together in suppression of what...exactly? A shriek? A scream?
Rose yanks it back. "See?" She murmurs. "Just me...sort of."
Juliette talks two steps back from the table, glances up at her and then takes another step back. "So...that was a woge? And you're a Fuschbau?"
Rose only nods.
Juliette turns to Monroe. "Are you a Fuschbau too?"
"Um...no." He glances over at Rose. She reaches out and grips his arm in support. "No I'm not. But I take a little more getting used to."
"I can handle whatever you've got." Juliette assures him and Rose wants to hug her.
He nods. "Okay..." he rolls his shoulders. "Just remember that it's still me, what ever you see."
"I will." Juliette promises.
He woges and Juliette takes three or four steps back this time. But he pulls it back, hands up in surrender. "Just me."
Juliette nods, standing perfectly still in the middle of the room. "So, this is what Nick sees...Fuschbau and..." she glances to Monroe for the name.
"Blutbad."
"And Blutbad and...I can't see them unless they want to be seen? How many wesen are there?"
Rose shrugs. "It's hard to tell. We don't necessarily like to...flaunt our other faces...But Portland has one of the largest populations in the Pacific Northwest."
"So, there are people that I've known my whole life who are wesen and I wouldn't know?"
"Not unless they told you." Monroe said. "You okay?"
Her eyes go unfocused as she nods silently.
"Don't feel like...you know, your brain's melting at all or anything? Not going to pass out again? Feeling coma-y at all?"
"No." Juliette murmurs. "No, I think I'll be okay. But um...I have to talk to Nick. Where is he?"
"In Salem for the day." Rose replies, smiling. "But he should be back soon. You should call him."
"I will." Juliette smiles back, heading for the door. "And...thank you. For telling me. I don't understand everything that's going on here but I'm so...grateful."
"Juliette..." Rose calls out. "Before you go, do you maybe want to get coffee on Friday? Just to talk?"
"Yeah." Juliette's smile lights up even more. "Yeah. Extracto at ten?"
Rose nods as Juliette slips out the door. She looks up at Monroe and smiles. "I do believe that I just got us a Nick-free night."
"Are you sure about that?" He wonders.
"Leibling, people are easy, I've told you that. You just have to figure out what they want."
"And what do you want?" He wonders, stepping closer.
"To have a night with you," she grips his hand. "And a morning, uninterrupted." She grins.
"I think I could swing that."
Rose wakes suddenly in the middle of the night. The dream that woke her fades entirely. But it's quiet, quieter than her apartment, even with the clocks on the walls, his breathing on her shoulder. Stretching far enough to reach the bedside time where her phone, wristwatch and necklace wait, she notices that there are no missed calls, no texts.
Smiling to herself, Rose settles back down, turning over face him. With a light finger, she traces the freckles across the bridge of his nose and cheekbones. Even asleep, he leans into her touch. "Why'd you pick me?" She wonders quietly, her voice barely audible even to herself. "Of all the people, why'd you pick me?"
Though, she supposes, the same could be asked of her: why, of all people, did she pick him? Why did she pick a vegetarian Blutbad who played cello (which she had yet to hear) and fixed clocks for a living? She'd found her fair share of unworthy men whose names she couldn't remember, blurred from years of jay and simply the passing of time.
Maybe it was his quiet acceptance of who had been, how he asked no questions beyond what was necessary. Maybe it was that he was steady and patient (well, they hadn't been very patient earlier). Maybe it was those scars that no one else saw. Maybe it was because he expected nothing more from her than what she was. It doesn't matter though, she knows. She's beyond the why now.
She can't remember the last time she trusted anyone else like this, to hold her secrets and know they weren't going anywhere. Even with Ian, everything was about business and arrangements were always made in secret. There were false names and dark alley meetings and things that were starting to fade from her memory entirely. She doesn't miss them; she needs room to store all new ones. With him. He shifts under her hand and pulls her in closer, not wanting her to be very far.
She yawns, tucks her head under his chin and tries to shut off, all the way while thinking that the last time she told someone she was in love with them, things deteriorated so fast, she almost missed him vanishing from her life. But it doesn't feel the same this time around; there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. No in or out, just solidly and suddenly there.
The next thing she realizes is the alarm going off. Groaning, she winds her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his collarbone to avoid the sound. "I thought we were going to sleep in!" she whines.
"We were..." he grunts and reaches blindly for his phone. "Someone's calling me..." He sits up and sighs. "Well, we got an evening. Here goes the morning." She closes her eyes in annoyance.
"This close..." she mutters.
"What is it you said last night? 'Leibling, people are easy, I've told you that.'
"Nick's not normal 'people.' He's a Grimm."
He rolls his eyes. "Dude. Boundaries." Monroe growls into the phone. "What? No...no, say it again; I haven't had any coffee yet..." He's so quiet for a moment that Rose drifts back to sleep.
"Rose...Rose, we gotta get up."
"No." she insists. "No, we don't. Nick is a grown up; he can take care of it himself."
"Not this time. Big trouble."
Rose sits up, pulling the sheet with her. "How big are we talking?"
"How does big does 'violent mind control victims' sound?"
"A welcome break from Hexenbiest shenanigans."
She's not exactly thrilled to have a chubby tow truck mechanic sprawled across her back room cot first thing on her day off. Then again, trying to stop a Royal-backed revolution isn't very high on her priority list.
"This is really bad," he says as soon as Nick and Hank clear out. "Like Council bad."
She shakes her head as she mixes "They won't interfere. There's an unspoken truce between them; the Royals keep to their business and the Council does the same. They aren't a military; they keep the status quo."
"And this is the status quo?" He gestures to the man handcuffed to the bed.
"If they went after every Royal doing something shady, there wouldn't be an end. It'd attract too much attention."
He crosses his arms over his chest. "I don't like this."
"It's from the Royals, what's there to like?" She asks and stretches on her tiptoes to grab at a jar. "Can you grab the Piqure-gigantesque from the case? All three solutions are ready after this."
He handles it gingerly, as if it burns at the touch, and inspects it from every angle. "This thing is terrifying..."
She laughs. "When we were little, De used to say that if we were bad, Dad would use it on us."
"Your sister is terrifying, by the way."
"Beyond the usual? Can you pour the green solution in this vial?"
"Sure. Oh, when they came a few days after Christmas and before you took them home, she told me that if I broke your heart...she'd kill me."
Rose grins. "That sounds like De." She looks up at him. "It's a good thing you won't then, isn't it?"
He turns to her, smiling. "It is."
She leans forward into him to steal a kiss and lingers there a moment longer than she should before going back to work.
"Speaking of which, I made reservations for tomorrow at Quandry...just saying."
"What's the occasion?"
"Well...it's Valentine's Day...or it will be."
She grins. "I didn't realize. Haven't celebrated it very often in the last few years. It'll be fun."
There's a moan from the bed and she loads the last of vials into the Piqure-gigantesque. "Why did we ever agree to be friends with a Grimm?" He wonders with a sigh.
"You jumped out your window to tackle him, remember?" She replies. "And to think I gave up taking out drug kingpins for this."
The tow truck mechanic rolls onto the floor, with a yell, before he smashes her bedside table and lamp.
"Well, this is just so much safer. Besides, think of the job security."
The mechanic gives a loud yell and rushes at them. With one punch from Monroe, the mechanic is back on the floor, slightly growling. Rose sticks all three needles in his side until he goes completely still.
She hoists it over her shoulder. "So much fun." She groans and goes back to the table to empty the vials.
"Is he still alive?" Monroe wonders, peering over him. "He's twitching."
"It means it's working on the nervous system, which is exactly what we want."
What they didn't count on was the twenty or so odd 'zombies' running amok through the shipping yard with Juliette screaming for Nick the whole while. Rose and Monroe dive into the truck and herd Juliette the best they can.
"So can I make an addendum to what I said earlier?" Rose wonders as the 'zombies' slam into the truck.
"What?" Monroe jiggles with the keys.
"This is really bad. Like..." She swallows hard. "Resistance bad?"
He puts the truck in gear and tries to not run over people as he maneuvers through them. Meanwhile, they can hear Juliette talking to Hank, asking him to meet them at the shop. They pull out onto the main road and everyone takes a small sigh of relief. Rose leaves her hand on Monroe's wrist knowing, what she needs to do next.
Once they get back to the shop and fill in Hank, who's brought the Captain along, they disappear in the back room for a moment. Everything is as bad as they feared, the Captain's brother, who has been sending them all manner of 'fun' in the last few months is in the process of taking Nick with him as a souvenir.
"Are you serious?" He asks. "The Resistance?"
"We don't have a lot of options here! Look, they're taking him to the airport and we still have twenty odd 'zombies' to deal with. If we let Erik take him, we could lose him. And I mean forever. Because once the Royals have you..." She shakes her head. "You don't come back."
"Rose, you said yourself that you didn't want to and...and this is the Resistance, we're talking about."
"I know what I said." She pulls out the card with Meisner's number. "I know but Nick's in trouble..." She sighs. "He'd do the same for us."
He closes his eyes briefly. "Yeah...I know. I know. "
"It's a stepping stone." She reassures him. "I'll figure a way out...I always do."
"Rose..." His hand on hers grips hard. She looks up from Meisner's number on the paint chip and sees only fear.
"Do you trust me?" She asks quietly. "Because I need to know that you do. I know I said that I wanted out and that I didn't want to be in the middle anymore but...I don't see any other way."
He closes his eyes briefly before nodding. "I do. I trust you."
She stands up on her tiptoes to kiss him, hard. She cradles his face in her hands and only breaks away when she has to breathe again. "Good. Now, keep them busy for a bit while I call Meisner. The Captain especially. "
He nods, but kisses her once, chastely. "No exit points." He murmurs to her as he pulls away.
"No exit points," she promises right back as he disappears through the door.
Sighing, she dials the number and waits through three rings to hear the gruff "Ja?" that she didn't know she missed.
"Herr Mesiner?" She starts. "It's Calvert."
"So good of you to finally call," he chuckles in German. "I'd hoped that Inez had done her job and convinced you when you returned to Portland."
"No, she didn't. If you're going to teach your agents to use emotional blackmail, you'd better tell them to dig deeper."
"So this is out of the goodness of your heart then?"
"Of course not." Rose snarls. "If you do something well, you never do it for free."
"Smart. Name your terms."
"I need access Inez's team. She needs to stall a flight headed out of Portland International in half an hour."
"And the flight contains?"
"A Royal, a Crachter-Mortel and a incapacitated Grimm. You should tell her to wear a mask and take out the Cratcher-Mortel first."
There's silence for a moment. "I see."
"If you don't help me now, you'll lose your chance at keeping this Grimm out of Royal hands, not to mention the utter chaos that's going to engulf Portland if I don't stop these zombies."
"You'll have to do something for us."
"I'm well aware. What do you want?"
"The Grimm's Captain...has offered himself to us. A Royal working for the Resistance...We need to know he's trustworthy."
"I don't have that much contact with him. And I can't promise I will without it looking suspicious."
"Whatever information you can give me will suffice."
"And for long?"
"Until I tell you that I no longer require your services."
"Done."
"You will say nothing to the Grimm or his Captain and Inez will call in five minutes to say she will intercept the plane. Act surprised."
"Don't you think I wouldn't have made it as long as I have without knowing how to act?" She snaps.
Mesiner chuckles. "Harmon was right about you. You are a firecracker. I look forward to hearing all this goes. Tomorrow."
"Your wish is my command." She clicks the phone off.
Snow piles up on the Jeep's windshield as they wait in one of the far off parking lots near the airport. Juliette insisted on coming and it took Monroe promising the moon to keep her and Hank on the 'zombie' situation. "The last thing we need is the Resistance to see anyone else to hold over our heads.," The Captain told them when Rose offered to turn the solution into a gas and handed the jars off to Hank and Juliette. "Besides, if they fail, we'll have to be ready to go after him. I just hope it won't come to that."
"What color car were they driving?"
"A black one, of course. What other color would they work in?"
"You sure this is going to work?"
"For today, yes. Tomorrow?"
He turns to her.
"I don't know." She shakes her head and grips the instrument tighter. "I really don't. What we're doing here... with me and you and Nick and Hank and... I can't tell if we're crazy or just plain delusional."
"Maybe a little of both?" He guesses.
"Maybe."
"But you and me..." He starts.
"Not crazy." She affirms. "Not crazy at all."
He turns to face her, as far as the seat will allow. "Rose..."
"Hmm?" She scans the streets again, looking for headlights or movement in the darkness. Anything.
"Rose, I know this isn't the best time or anything..."
The Captain knocks at the window and Monroe rolls his eyes. "Five minutes. Five minutes is just too much to ask, I guess."
A small black compact pulls up next to them. Inez hops out of the driver's seat, face red with cold and effort. "Next time, no Cratcher-Mortel. Jesus Christ almighty."
"You got him?" The Captain asks. "Nick?"
"We did but, Jeez." There's a roar from the trunk and a sickening thunk. Inez points. "It's all yours! I hope you're happy. Fredricks! Be a dear and pop the truck for our friend."
Fredricks gets up slowly, showing off his quickly swelling black eye as he moves under the streetlight to unlock the trunk.
"I have something for that at my shop." Rose offers.
"It's not in there, is it?" He points to the Piqure-gigantesque.
"No, that's for him."
"Didn't think you could cure someone of being a Grimm." He grunts.
"I can't. It's for the poison." Rose shoots back. She turns to Monroe and the Captain. "Ready?"
"Ready." They repeat and Fredricks pops open the trunk.
Nick, pale and bloody, screams at the sudden light and cold. His limbs flail but don't catch. She looks down into those dead black eyes and woges without meaning to. He's finally the nightmare creature she always imagined.
"Rose!" Monroe prompts her, trying to keep hold of Nick's arms. "Anytime would be good-" One slips out and Nick reaches for him, fingers curled like claws.
Rose sticks the needles in and pushes down on the plunger. Nick freezes, a half strangled cry echoing from him now. She keeps pressing on the plunger until there's nothing left. Only then does he close his eyes and go limp.
"Well...shit." Fredricks snorts.
"He might need another dose." She says to the Captain. "We should take him to the shop and wait out the night."
"I'll take him." He turns to the sleeper cell and Inez. "Thank you."
"Your brother was not a happy camper." Inez snarls. "Meisner will expect a report, Pauper."
The Captain frowns. "In my own time."
"Whatever." Inez turns to Rose. "Good meeting you, she-of-the-scary-needle."
"You too." Rose puts the Piqure-gigantesque back in its case in the back of Nick's Jeep. They speed off into the night, followed quickly by the Captain.
The flurry's quickly turning to slush and she's a little sad for it. Snow would have made another great excuse to take tomorrow off. She shuts the door and goes to walk around the front of the jeep.
"So all in all," Monroe starts. "Quiet night?"
She stops at the headlight and turns around. "I love you." Slips out instead of anything else.
He stands very still, watching her every move. "What?"
"I just- I've been thinking about it for a while..." She shrugs. "...I don't know; thought maybe you should know." She looks up at him, watching his face for reciprocation. He keeps staring at her.
"And it's not even a specific thing, like that you're a better cook than I ever will be or that you always know what to say or that you play the cello..." she babbles. "It just...is... And I know we're standing in the middle of an abandoned parking lot and I just..." She shrugs.
He grins and steps a little closer. Instead of reaching for her hands, like she imagined he would, he runs his hands up her shoulders to her cheeks. His fingers curl into her loose hair, gentle. "You love me?" He repeats, slowly and carefully.
She nods and hates that she can feel the burn of tears in her eyes, even if they are from a strange, overflowing mixture of hope and happiness. "You got anything to say?" Rose retorts and tries to not give into the quiver in her voice.
He checks his watch.
"Really?" She rolls her eyes, but isn't in the least bit surprised. "What? Are you waiting for the right moment or something?"
"Nope, just want to remember. "
"Remember what?"
He smiles and cups her face in his hands again and pulls her in; his voice drops down an octave like it always does. "That you love me on February 14th–"
She pulls back. "Wait! No, it's the 13th."
"No, it's the 14th as of ten minutes ago." He reaches for her again but she doges him effortlessly.
"Nope. No. We are not doing this today! We are not going to be a cliché!"
"So, I have to wait another twelve hours to tell you that I-"
"Don't. You. Say. It." She warns. "Not until 12:01 AM tomorrow!"
"This is ridiculous, Rose."
"Yeah, I know." She shrugs. "Maybe...maybe we could just lie?"
"We'd have to corroborate our stories, then."
"Fine by me. Official story: I told you fifteen minutes ago. And you reciprocated."
Before she can change her mind, he gathers her up in his arms. "I love you." He murmurs in her ear as she presses her forehead to his collarbone for a moment.
There are friends to help still, bigger plans at play. There are ten thousand tasks still be taken in hand. But right here and right now, in a slushy parking lot outside Portland International Airport, none of it seems to make much difference as he says the words back without her making him miss any more beats. "I love you, Rose." He says again, his voice a little surer, a little stronger. "Fifteen minutes before midnight."
And there are few things in life that fill you up the way being loved does. "Fifteen minutes before midnight." Rose agrees, closes her eyes and tilts her face upward. She's good, Rose decides. She doesn't really need to know what those other ways are.
D'AW!
And as a note, I'm sorry in advance for the next chapter...it's gonna be a heart-wrencher
R&R as always!
