Chapter 10

She didn't bother folding her sexy, red dress neatly as she had when she had packed it a few days earlier. Instead, Vic picked up the dress that had been thrown on the floor the night before and crumpled it into a ball. She tossed it into her suitcase on top of her red shoes. She had half a mind to burn the dress and the shoes. She was sure she would never be able to wear them again without thinking of Ripley. And thinking of Ripley hurt too much.

It had been over two hours since their argument outside the resort's lobby. Vic had no idea where Ripley had been. She stormed off to their bungalow and had taken a long, hot shower. She had let her tears fall freely. When she got out, she had re-wrapped her sore feet and immediately started packing.

Vic looked at her phone. She hadn't used it the entire time she and Ripley had been in Hawaii. That had been part of their deal – no cell phones. She had several text messages from Travis, asking her how things were going or just sending heart emojis to irritate her. Vic thought about texting him, but didn't want to explain what had happened over text message. Vic wasn't even sure what had happened. She and Ripley hadn't exactly broken up, but she wasn't sure if they were still together either. Vic saw one of Ripley's shirts from the corner of her eye on the floor near where her dress had been. She limped over to it, picked it up, and smelled it. She hated that he smelled so damn good. She thought about putting the shirt in her suitcase, but thought better of it. If they were going to break up, it was best to make a clean break.

Vic focused back on her phone. The only reason she had turned it on was to check to see if there were any flights leaving Hawaii that evening. Even though they weren't set to leave until later the next day, Vic just wanted to get out of there. Paradise suddenly didn't seem like paradise anymore. Unfortunately, the only flight out that evening to Seattle was already fully booked. Vic thought about being put on the standby list, but the price of the flight was outrageous. With no hopes for escape, Vic focused on packing. She might not be able to leave Hawaii, but she could at least stay in a different bungalow. She had no interest in staying with Ripley. Actually, she did want to stay with Ripley. But that was the problem. She was so head over heels in love with him, but knew that heartbreak wasn't far off.

"Damn you," Vic said out loud, clutching Ripley's shirt to her chest. As a tear began to fall again, Vic wiped it away. She stood up, deciding she needed some fresh air. Although her feet were hurting her, Vic made her way to the balcony. With Ripley's shirt still in her hands, she leaned against the railing, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. The water, the sand, the warm air didn't seem so inviting as it had before. It was as if Hawaii had lost its magic. Vic thought about Susan, the woman she had met just a few days earlier. Maybe just like Susan wasn't meant to be with Ernest because it made things too complicated, Vic wasn't meant to be with Ripley. Maybe if Vic waited long enough, she would find a Roger, a man who was nice and handsome. But somehow Vic knew that her Roger wouldn't give her the same butterflies as Ripley did. No one could make her feel the way Ripley made her feel. But Ripley wasn't an option anymore. Did Vic regret climbing onto a boat that was on fire? No. But she regretted how Ripley felt about it.

When Vic turned around to head back inside to finish packing, she saw Ripley standing against the glass doorframe. She had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't heard him come in. Surprised, Vic gasped and dropped the shirt she was holding.

"You really do like my shirts, don't you?" Ripley asked, attempting to break the ice with a little humor. Vic wasn't having it.

"I'm almost done packing," she said. "Then you can have the whole place to yourself."

"I don't want the whole place to myself."

Vic tried to push past him to go back into the bedroom, but he stood in the doorway, blocking her way.

"Get out of my way," she stated.

"Can we talk?"

"We did enough talking before."

"That wasn't talking. That was me just spewing anything that came into my head and I…"

"Leave me alone," Vic interrupted.

"Please, Vic. I want to…"

"I don't want to hear it!" She shouted. "I don't want to hear that you were scared and you can't handle me. I don't want to hear that you're breaking up with me! Because damn it, Lucas Ripley, I fell in love with you. You and your charm and your amazing hair and your good smelling shirts. I thought we had something. I thought you understood me better than anyone else."

"I do, Vic. I…"

"But you're a coward!"

"You're right," he admitted. "I am a coward."

"You…you…" she stuttered, feeling the fight draining from her. He wasn't supposed to agree with her. He was supposed to yell back. He was supposed to fight with her.

"Eggy…"

"I bought special Hawaii underwear for you," she said lamely.

Ripley took a step towards her. "I know. And they were amazing. You're amazing."

"You can't say things like that when you're about to break my heart."

"Is that what you think?" Ripley asked. "That I want to break up with you?"

"Isn't it?"

"It was just a fight, Vic. Our second fight if we're keeping score."

"You said you didn't know if you could be with me."

"Because it's scary," he admitted. "Because feeling this way about you is scary as hell."

"This isn't making me feel and better."

"I don't want to break your heart. Vic, I want to do the opposite of breaking your heart."

"I…I don't understand."

Ripley reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, ornately decorate gold and red box. He opened it.

"Victoria Hughes, will you marry me?"

Vic stared at the ring inside the box. It was an oval shaped diamond with crystals all around. The band was exquisite. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped slightly. Vic's mind was going a million miles an hour. She was so sure that Ripley was going to break up with her. The last thing she expected was him to be holding out a ring in her direction. Vic couldn't stop staring. She thought that maybe staring at it would make the diamond go away. But did she want it to go away?

"I…" she squeaked out. "I need to sit down."

Vic took a seat on one of the lounge chairs, her legs practically giving way beneath her. She put her feet up and flopped her arm over her eyes as if seeing the ring was giving her a migraine. Still holding the ring box open, Ripley sat on the edge of the chair beside her so he was facing her.

"I know this is crazy," Ripley said. "Especially after what just happened."

"I thought you were going to break up with me."

"I know," he said quickly. "And I'm sorry. I was…irrational. I was scared. We had just been through this horrible thing and my mind wasn't working right and…and I know it's no excuse. I never meant to hurt you, Vic. I was just so terrified. And I know we both have dangerous jobs. And I would never ask you to stop. I would never ask you to not be you. This is just new for me…caring for someone this much."

"And what happens next time we're both on a call and I have to go in to a fire? What happens when there's a possibility I won't come out?"

"I'm not going to lie, it won't be easy. That will never be easy, but that doesn't mean I have to stop loving you. That doesn't mean we can't be together."

"And what happens if you're the one who has to make the call about leaving firefighters behind and I'm one of those firefighters?"

Ripley didn't answer right away. While Vic had spent her time packing over the last two hours since their fight, Ripley had spent the time walking down the beach, thinking about everything. He ran through every possibility and scenario in his mind. He thought about when he had been younger and more of a risk-taker. He thought about being the Chief and the responsibilities that came with it. But most of all, he had thought about Victoria and how he didn't want to spend a day without her. How he would rather worry about her safety than not be with her.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "That's probably why the department has the rule it does about not dating someone of a different rank."

"You have to make the right call," Victoria said. "You can't risk unnecessary lives."

"I know," he responded. "This isn't easy, Eggy. Nothing had been easy since you asked me out for a drink that night."

"But you still asked me to marry you? After this traumatic experience we had together and the fight, you thought the best thing to do is go buy some ring at the island jewelry store and propose?" Vic asked, not sure if she was angry or excited or something in between.

"I didn't buy the ring on the island," Ripley corrected. "This ring was my grandmother's."

Vic turned to look at him, thoroughly surprised. "What?"

"When my sister came to visit to meet you, I asked her to bring it because even then I knew you were special," Ripley explained. "I didn't know when I would ask you to marry me. I just knew that I wanted to. I've known for a while. And when I booked this trip, I decided to take the ring with me just in case. I didn't know if I was going to ask you. I hadn't really planned on it. I just knew I would know when the moment was right."

"So you've just been carrying this thing around?"

"Yeah, basically."

"We haven't…talked about marriage," she stuttered. "We haven't even been dating that long."

"I know. Which is why the whole thing is crazy. But I want this, Vic. I want you. And if you're not ready. If you think it's too soon, then I'll wait. I can…put the ring away until you're ready."

"It's not something we can pretend didn't happen," Vic said. "You can't just go home and put it in your sock drawer. Because I'll know it's there. I'll…feel its presence. It's like it'll be staring at us from inside the drawer."

"I did not picture this going this way," Ripley admitted.

"Then are you sorry you asked?" Vic responded.

He shook his head. "No. Vic, I love you. I want to spend my life with you. But I can also be patient and if you need more time, I'll give you that. I'll do whatever you want. Just know that I would wait for you forever. Because you're it for me. You're my happily ever after. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. So you don't have to say 'yes' now. Just say that you'll think about it. Just say that you're in this with me. Ring or no ring."

Vic stared at him, contemplating her options. Her mind was racing. Her heart was full. He was saying all of the right things, but just two hours before he had been saying all of the wrong things. But then again, she had to put herself in his shoes. What if he had gone off and done something reckless? How would she have reacted? Could she love someone who was in danger most of the time? Did she want to spend her life with the man sitting in front of her? The answer was yes.

"If we do this," she began, her voice a little shaky. "What does that mean for protocol?"

"What do you mean?"

"Would we be breaking department protocol if we were legally married? Would you still outrank me?"

"On a call, sure. But…marriage would basically wipe away our ranks. We wouldn't be breaking any rules. We certainly wouldn't have to be a secret anymore. Rank basically wouldn't matter."

Vic thought about it for a moment. "Then let's do it. Let's get married."

"Vic, I don't want you saying yes just because of some loophole in the protocol about married couples."

"You just said it would solve our problem," she said.

"Yeah, but would that be the only reason you're saying yes?"

Vic sat up a little and placed her palms on either sides of his cheeks. She wanted to look directly into his eyes when she said her next words, which she chose carefully.

"Lucas Ripley, I love you. I have never felt this way about anyone else in my entire life. You are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to wake up with you every morning. I want to hold your hand on the way to work. I want to be able to go to every restaurant in the city with you and announce to the world that you are my husband. I want it all…with you. So yes, I will marry you because I love you."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. Ripley's eyes began welling up as well. She leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Author's Note: So, I originally wasn't planning on doing a proposal, but then it just kind of turned out that way and I'm glad it did. I hope everyone is happy! Thanks for reading!