Ian winced as Misty dabbed hydrogen peroxide on his back with a cotton ball gently as she could… but it still stung.

"Aye, take it easy there!" He growled.

"I am. Quit being such a baby, I've cleaned four year olds cuts who whined less than you!" Misty said.

Emily had been gone for four days and it was now about 2:30 am on Thursday, Ian had come home from the bar, ready to pass out from exhaustion; only to find himself forced into the kitchen getting disinfected from head to toe by Misty who had been sitting for the kids while he was at work.

Then the front door opened and in walked Emily. Finally someone who would see reason! He was fine! She dropped her bag in the hallway, and the car keys in the bowl on the table by the door. He braced himself for the forthcoming conversation, letting out a loud sigh.

"Oh, my god! Ian, what happened?" Emily said in astonishment. He knew he looked worse than he felt. He was covered in deep scratches, and his lip was busted wide open.

"I'm fine, Emily. It's nothing, just some scratches." He said waving a hand dismissively.

"Obviously not, you look like you were attacked by a rabid ferret!" Emily said half jokingly. She put a hand on his face to get a better look at his lip.

"Close," Misty said snorting. Ian rolled his eyes.

"Just a little domestic dispute at the bar is all," Ian said rolling his eyes.

"Domestic dispute? Can't leave you alone for a minute, you get yourself into some kind of trouble…" she said shaking her head. "Okay, for the last time, what happened?" Emily said crossing her arms. Ian sighed, and said nothing, preferring to let Misty excitedly retell the story.

"Okay so, apparently Joey Freidman got caught by his old lady with Can't-Keep-Her-Legs-Closed Candace at the Meteor tonight."

"Joey Freidman? As in the coke dealers Freidmans?" Emily asked. Ian knew she was already concocting all sorts of horrible scenarios in her head. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Yeah, apparently Joey's been stepping out on his baby mama with Chlamydia Candy for a couple weeks now. Poor Ian got caught in the crossfire." Misty said giggling. Ian winced again as she dabbed at the deepest scratch on his right shoulder.

"Wait, wait. Candace…she's the stripper with the twins right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know she had twins?" Misty asked quizzically.

"Oh, I was at the grocery store last week with Lauren and Landen and I bumped into her. She asked me about the twins, introduced herself and told me about her twin boys, and then the other day your sister was telling me about her. They were in the same class, right? Classy chick." Emily said sarcastically.

"Yeah well your knight in shining armor here had to pull Ashley off of Joey, throw him out, then he ineffectively inserted himself into the middle of a full fledged chick fight. Hence, the scratches. No doubt if he'd had longer hair he'd be missing that too." She said laughing, putting gauze on the last scratch. "You might have a scar through your tattoo back there," she said lightly.

"Oh, it wouldn't be the first…" Ian said winking at Emily. Her cheeks turned bright red.

"Ian, stop it!" Emily said embarrassedly. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. How was it while I was gone? Did Declan have any more problems?" She asked nervously.

"No he didn't. We went and played football at the park, and I took him to go see that new robot movie he's been asking about. Tried some "bonding time," as you would call it. Seemed to work, he was much more talkative." Ian said pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"Aww, Ian come on!" Emily whined. "I haven't even been home 20 minutes and you're already drinking?"

"Love, I've fought grown men who have done less damage than these two broads. I deserve one bloody drink." He said impatiently.

"Fine. Did you at least use the burn phone to call Granger? Did he overnight that packet?" Emily asked.

"Aye, its on the counter over there." Ian said nodding towards the counter by the door.

"Oh, good. Declan needed that stuff for school registration next week." She said picking up the packet. Ian watched her pull out the new i.d.'s, birth certificates, social security cards, and…a marriage certificate.

"Mrs. Emily O'Riley?" She asked raising an eyebrow. Ian shrugged.

"I didn't pick the name, Love. I just told him it'd better be Irish." He said chuckling at her expression.

"Oh, you guys are married?" Misty piped in.

"Ohhh no!" Emily said quickly, at the same time he said "Yes."

They looked at each other, Ian raised an eyebrow.

"Well… We weren't where we came from. We just filed for a marriage certificate when we got here. And we changed our name…"

"Why?"

"Oh, honey it's a long story. Uh, we had to leave because, it—it just wasn't safe… for us to live there anymore…" Emily said falteringly, looking at him.

"Oh… Well did you guys at least get to have a wedding?" Misty asked.

Ian snorted. A wedding? For him and Emily? He thought there would be a better chance that chocolates would fall from the sky and he would ride a unicorn up the hill of a rainbow before Emily would agree to a wedding with him.

"No." He said shortly.

"Why not? Do you guys even have rings or anything?" Misty asked incredulously.

Ian looked at Emily with an expression of hurt on his face. Yes, there had been a ring… once upon a time. Emily looked down at her shoes. He knew that she knew how he'd felt about that ring. That he'd wanted to marry her a long time ago, be the mother to his son.

"No, no we don't have rings." She said quietly.

"Oh, my god. Lord, you guys are like the worse married couple ever!" Misty guffawed. "You guys have to have a wedding! And rings! It's like, the law!" She said emphatically.

Ian looked over at Emily. She looked at him with an odd expression on her gentle features, longing, maybe?

"Oh, well… I don't know, we don't have any friends around here, and my parents are in Italy… Its not a big deal, really." Emily said, waving a casual hand. She busied herself flipping through the rest of the paperwork that Ian's old forger friend had sent over.

"Oh, pshh! Come on! You guys have to have one! It can be really small, but I bet it would be great!" Misty said pleadingly. "I'll bet Declan would love seeing his parents married!" She said arching an eyebrow and nodding. "Come on guys!"

"We'll… talk about it." Emily said giving Misty a smile, biting her lower lip. She looked over at Ian who was sipping his bourbon in silence.

Soon Misty was gone, and Emily and Ian were alone.

"So… hi," Emily said coming up behind him as he brushed his teeth in the sink.

"Hello, Love," he said quietly, rinsing his mouth out.

"Did you miss me?" She asked, kissing him gently on the neck.

"I will always miss you, Em," he said turning around to face her.

They stood this way in silence wrapped in each other's arms, holding the other close. When finally Ian couldn't hold it in anymore, "Love, I want to have a wedding."

She looked up at him, "Really? You want a wedding? Ian, we don't know anyone here. I mean, it's just a formality…" She said giving him a concerned look, as he shook his head.

"No, love. Not this time. I want a real wedding. I want to see you in a white dress. I want to exchange vows, the whole nine yards. Who cares who comes? We'll always have the memory and so will our children." He said brushing her hair away from her eyes.

"Ian—"

"Emily." He replied

"A wedding?" She said arching an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. I want to marry you. For real." He said holding her face in his hands.

She said nothing for the longest time. Ian felt his hope plummeting to a rocky death, before he heard…

"Ok."

"Yes?" He asked.

"Yes… I will marry you Ian."

Ian pulled her as close as he could and kissed her. It felt like something right out of a romance novel. Somehow, the kiss was more passionate, more intimate than any of their others.

He swept Emily into his arms and carried her over to the bed. She smiled up at him and let him take her shirt off over her head. He planted light kisses and nibbles down her neck. His hands caressed her breasts, leaving her nipples hard and perky. He flicked his tongue over her scar, then her breast. She moaned softly.

He grinned to himself, sliding a hand down the front of her pants. She was wet. So wet. He growled quietly, oh this was so good.

Soon there was not a shred of clothing between the two of them, hot skin on skin. He gently slid his rock hard member between her dripping folds. She hissed in anticipation and arched her naked hips towards him.

"Ian," she moaned. Begging him. Ohh, yes, he thought. He happily obliged, sliding into her warmth. He started slow, moving in and out at a leisurely pace, each thrust deliberate and meaningful. Soon, he knew Emily was ready for more. Her fingers clutched his shoulders as she bucked her hips into his every thrust. She called out his name, begging for more, faster.

Not long after that they were in a heated frenzy of moans and quiet screams, Emily wrapping her legs around his back, his arms cradling her head, licking her ear, breathing…

"Ian... IAN!" She cried out as she dug her fingers into his shoulders while she came.

"Em-Emily…" He groaned as her walls tightened around his shaft sending him into immediate orgasm.

They laid with each other breathing heavily, tangled up in skin and bed sheets. Ian rolled off of her and laid beside her and she curled into his side and laid her head on his bare chest.

"Wow, if I knew you missed me that much, I should go away more often," she joked, still breathing heavily.

"Emily, if I had it my way you'd never leave this bed again," he replied, joking in kind. He stroked her dark, straight, hair gently, remembering the wavy locks she'd had all those years ago. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Minutes drifted by in silence, before she spoke again.

"Ian?"

"Yes, love?"

"Did… how did you know? You know, back then, when you gave me the ring… How did you know I was "the one"?" Emily asked quietly. She drew invisible designs on his chest with her finger.

Ian took her hand in his, running his thumb over her ring finger. For a moment he said nothing…

"Ian?"

"Love, sometimes… sometimes there's not anything you can do to make it work. It has to just be. There are no signs… no… indicators… you just… you just know." Ian said softly, kissing the top of her head. Sometimes you just know…