Ricky's donation to Fitz went off without a hitch and the doctors were cautiously optimistic that it would be successful. All of the boys went in to give their donations on the same day and once they were done and released to go, Ed insisted on taking Emily, who was there for moral support, out for dinner.

Anne had been watching Tristan while they were at the hospital and after a quick phone call confirming that she could keep him for a few more hours, Ed and Emily were on their way, but not before a quick wink and smirk from Theo, which confused Emily and seemed to make Ed a bit nervous.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked once they were in the limo.

Ed had a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he looked over at her and answered, "You'll see."

A short while later the limo pulled up in front of a rather normal-looking bar. "What are we doing here?" Emily asked, since the establishment did appear to be a bit seedier than their usual dining locations.

"You mean you don't remember?" Ed teased before breaking out in a grin when she just stared at him blankly, "Come on, let's go in." He said, scooting over to the door and extending his hand out for her to follow. Emily was hesitant, but she took his hand and climbed out of the limo after him.

Once they were inside, Ed watched as Emily looked around the bar, her face scrunched up in disgust at the obviously low-class place they were going to be eating in. "So this doesn't ring a bell?" He finally asked.

Her brow furrowed and she shook her head, "It does seem vaguely familiar, but I have no idea why."

"I think I can help you," Ed said, pulling her further into the room. He gestured towards the bar they were standing next too, "Maybe if you got up here things will become a bit clearer."

Emily was shocked, "Edward Bass, I will not be climbing up on some dirty bar! What are you thinking? Why in the world would that remind me of anything?"

"Because that is where you were when I first saw you here; right on top of this bar, dancing like I had never seen you before." Emily was looking at him with her mouth agape and Ed just smirked, "Do you remember now?"

Emily couldn't stop a small smile from creeping onto her face, "Vaguely. That was a pretty embarrassing night for me though. Why would you want to bring that up?"

Ed looked at the bar as he answered softly, "Because that was the first night I really saw you and I just knew that you were the perfect woman for me." He turned his gaze back to her with a look of pure tenderness and love, "I saw a different side of you that night; a side that made me realize just how strong my feelings for you were. I was always attracted to you, but seeing you so vulnerable made me want to hold you and protect you. Even though I may not have admitted it at the time, it was because I loved you, even then."

"And why are we here now?" Emily asked breathlessly.

"I needed to take you back to where it all began for me so that you could see how serious I am."

"About what?"

"About you, about us, about everything." He took her hand in his and slowly got down on one knee. Emily gasped and fanned her face with her other hand, trying not to cry. "Emily Vanderbilt," He said, looking up at her and pulling a ring out of his pocket, "I love you. Seeing you here last year made me realize I always did and I know now that I always will. And that is why I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Not because my brother is sick, and not because we have a son, although I love him very much. I want to marry you because I love you."

"Yes." Emily whispered as a few tears trailed down her face.

Ed stood up with a silly grin on his face, "I didn't even ask you yet."

"Shut up," Emily said while wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm saying yes." She told him right before she pressed her lips to his.

…

In just a few short days Fitz was scheduled to go home from the hospital, hopefully for good this time. He was sitting in his room, sorting through some pictures on his laptop when he received an unexpected visitor. He looked up when his door opened and Ricky was standing there, still in his school uniform.

"Hey Fitz."

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

Ricky shrugged, "I just thought I'd stop by after school and see how you are doing. You're getting out of here soon, right?"

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, if I stay healthy and everything goes according to plan. Why, are you worried about me encroaching on your territory again?"

Ricky smirked, "Actually, it will be rather nice to have you back. I've been surrounded by babies and lovebirds. I need some reinforcements."

Fitz laughed before becoming more serious, "Look, Rick, I'm glad you came. I actually wanted to thank you, for what you did. I know we don't always get along and you didn't have to-"

"Stop." Ricky interrupted angrily, "I am so sick of everyone acting like I did such an unexpected, great thing."

"But you did-"

"No. I did what any of us would have done. You and I may fight and disagree and we might not have similar views on just about anything in life, but you are my brother. I don't know why you would think there was even a question about me doing this."

Fitz looked surprised before slowly nodding his head, "You're right. But I still want to thank you. It is because of you that I am going to be able to go home."

Ricky wanted to move on from the sentimental stuff, so he tried to change the subject with a little teasing, "I know you are excited to get out of here, but aren't you going to miss not having your girl around twenty-four, seven? It's going to make it that much harder for you to finally seal the deal."

Fitz tilted his head and smirked slightly, "You didn't know? I did that a while ago."

Fitz thought Ricky's eyes were going to pop out of his head, "What!" He exclaimed, "When did this happen? How did I not know?"

Fitz shrugged, "Like I said, it was a little while ago; after my transplant. I was feeling alright and Rainer was having a good day and we had been talking about it for a while, so it just kind of happened."

Ricky wiggled his eyebrows and nudged his brother, "And how was it? Pretty great, right?"

"I guess." Fitz said before giving in and returning Ricky's grin, "Yeah, it was kind of awesome. I'm really glad we got the chance to do it."

Both boys quieted as the full meaning of what Fitz had said sunk in. "You really care about her, don't you?" Ricky asked after a moment.

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, I really do. It's so hard to watch her getting sicker while I get better and better each day, you know? That is the worst part about going home: leaving her behind."

"It will get better, man." Ricky said, clapping his brother on the back.

"No it won't," Fitz said with a bitter laugh, "She is only going to get worse. But I guess that is what I get for falling in love in a cancer ward, huh?"

Ricky tried to smile, but he just couldn't, "I really am sorry, Fitz."

"Yeah, me too."