Author's Note: Just to put this story in context, the first part of it takes place soon after Phil dies on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Sorry it took me so long to update – things have been busy. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 21 – Unexpected

(Inside & Outside the Dome)

Julia and Barbie stood on the edge of the cliff, looking over at the newly formed abyss. Just minutes earlier, jagged rocks filled the bottom of the cliff. But the rocks were gone. The unending darkness was back.

"What happened?" Julia asked.

"I don't know," Barbie answered. "I think that earthquake or whatever the hell it was, was really the dome giving us back our portal."

Julia tore her eyes away from the blackness to look over at Barbie.

"You think the portal to Zenith is back open?"

"Why else would the dome change?" Barbie wondered out loud. "Maybe it wants us to have a way out again."

"But how do you know?" Julia asked. "How do you know if we jump, we won't just hit bottom?"

"I don't."

Barbie grabbed a rock from nearby and threw it down into the abyss. They both stood, silently listening.

"I didn't hear it hit bottom," Julia said after a few moments.

"Neither did I," Barbie agreed.

"Maybe the portal is open again."

"Then we shouldn't waste it. We've got to tell everyone. Get everyone down through the tunnel and to the edge."

"And then what?"

"Then we have to convince everyone to jump," Barbie stated.

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here," Julia replied. "There's no guarantee jumping will bring us to Zenith. Just because we didn't hear the rock hit the bottom doesn't mean this is our way out."

"Then what do you think we should do because we sure as hell can't stay here, trapped under this dome indefinitely!"

"I know. I just think we need to...test it first."

"How?"

Julia took a deep breath. "I'll jump."

"No way," he said immediately.

"Isn't that what we talked about last time? I'll jump and you'll be the last to make sure everyone gets out safely?"

"That's back when we had the egg to use for leverage. No way in hell I'm letting you jump now."

"Barbie, one of us has to go. And if this does lead us to Zenith, they'll be after you. There's no telling what they might do to you just for escaping last time."

"I'm not letting you do this, Julia."

"It's not really up to you."

He took her hand.

"I can't lose you," he said.

"One of us has to do this, Barbie and I have a better chance of coming out the other side without a problem."

"They're not going to just let you walk out of that playground, Julia. They'll detain you. And they're not afraid to use force to get what they want."

"I'm tough," she assured him.

"I know," he agreed. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"It'll be ok, Barbie."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Because I think the dome wants us together. I think that's why it brought you here. For you and me to find each other. Finding you, being with you…it was…unexpected, but it's so…right." He brought her hand to her mouth and kissed each knuckle. "I have faith. In the dome. In you and me. Everything is going to be ok."

"Ok," Barbie finally agreed. "But how will I know if you made it to the other side?"

"I'll send you a sign."

"How?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "I'll have to figure that out when I get there."

"Do you have a pen?"

"A pen? What do you need a…"

"Do you have one?" He repeated. "Or a marker? Anything?"

Julia searched her pockets. She pulled out a black Sharpie. Barbie took the marker from her and began writing across her arm.

"What are you doing?"

"My dad's address. I know he may not be on our side, but he may be the only help we have." He scrawled a second address. "And this is address for my apartment. If you can get there, it'll be somewhere you can stay and get supplies. Just…be careful because there may be some people looking for me."

"Looking for you?"

"It's a long story," he said, not wanting to get into it with her.

"Let me guess, they're not good people."

"They used to be."

"Tell Joe to keep his tablet with him just in case I'm able to send a message electronically," Julia said. "If not, I'll make my way to the dome somehow."

"I'll wait for you. Every night at eight o'clock, I'll be in the spot we first met."

"Ok," she agreed.

"Ok."

Still holding hands, they took a few steps closer to the edge. Julia turned to Barbie.

"I love you," she stated.

"I love you, too."

He put his arms around her, pulled her close, and kissed her. He could taste the saltiness from her tears mixing in their kiss. He wanted to show her how desperately he loved her and that he, too, had faith that they would be reunited.

"I'll see you soon," she said.

"You better believe it."

He kissed her one last time before finally letting go of her. She crept closer to the edge, her toes dangling over. She turned back to look at Barbie. She smiled as tears glistened in her eyes.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Wait!" He shouted.

With a sigh, Julia took a step back. She didn't want to lose her nerve.

"Barbie, I have to do this. You know…"

"I know. I know you have to do this. I know this might be the only way for all of us to get out of here, but there's something I have to ask you first."

"What is it?"

"Will you marry me?"

She blinked and her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Her mind was a jumble. She was shocked and speechless.

"Barbie…"

"I love you, Julia. I know we haven't known each other long, but I know you're the one. I could never imagine my life with just one person, but now I can't imagine my life without you. And I don't care if it's here or in Zenith or anywhere else in the world. I want to be with you. I want you for my wife. I want us to build a life together. And maybe...maybe my timing sucks and maybe it's too fast, but I…"

"Yes," she said simply, cutting him off.

"Yes?" He questioned, not sure if he heard her correctly.

"Yes, I will marry you."

She ran into his arms and he swept her off her feet, kissing her. This time, both their tears mingled together, streaming down their faces.

"I don't even have a ring," he said when he settled her back on her feet.

"It doesn't matter."

"I'll buy you one someday. When we figure all of this out."

"It's ok." She paused. "I still have to jump, you know. Just because you proposed doesn't mean I'm not going to jump."

"I know. I just had to ask you before you did."

"We'll be together soon," she said.

"I love you."

She turned around and stepped off the edge.

6 Months Later

It had worked. Julia had stepped off the cliff into the abyss and had wound up on the playground at Zenith. She had been taken immediately by men in military uniforms. After blindfolding her, throwing her in an unmarked van, taking her to an interrogation room in an unknown location, Barbie's father arrived. He explained that the egg wasn't doing anything for them. Julia managed to convince him that he needed the four hands and the only way they were going to get them was if everyone got out safely. It took some time, but eventually everyone in Chester's Mill jumped off the cliff and ended up Zenith. Barbie was the last one to jump. Julia had been there to greet him. Julia, Barbie, and the four hands had remained detained until they touched the egg and the dome came down and the egg disappeared completely. There was no other explanation other than that the whole thing was over. Eventually, they let everyone go. Julia and Barbie quickly moved as far away from the Chester's Mill as they could. Their destination was the West Coast where the weather was perfect most of the time and the scenery was gorgeous.

That had been six months earlier. Julia sat in their new living room, thinking about that day as she laced up her hiking boots. She checked her backpack one more time, making sure she had enough water, snacks, and a first aid kid. She looked down at her watch. If she and Barbie didn't head out the door in the next few minutes, they'd hit traffic and Julia did not want to spend the beautiful day in traffic.

Julia walked down the hall and into their bedroom. Barbie was standing at his bureau, his back to her. She couldn't see what he was doing.

"You ready?" She asked.

She noticed he slipped something into his pocket. He turned around with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, be right there."

"You ok?" She asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Fine. Why?"

"I don't know. You seem...jumpy."

"No, I'm fine. I'll meet you in the car."

"Ok."

She made her way back towards the front door, grabbed her backpack, and walked outside. It was a beautiful day. The perfect day for a hike. She was looking forward to spending the whole day with him.

As Julia made her way across the front lawn, she couldn't help but smile at the neighborhood around her. There was no dome. She was free to walk wherever she wanted without running into an invisible barrier. Sometimes she felt like she was dreaming.

"All set?" Barbie asked as he joined her outside.

"Yup."

Hours later, Barbie held out her hand, helping Julia up a steep set of rocks. They had been hiking for over three hours. Julia breathed a sigh of relief as she realized they had reached the top. They both stood on the mountain, looking out over the mountain range.

"It's so beautiful," Julia said.

"Worth the hike?"

"Definitely. Although I think I need to start working out more. I'm winded."

"You're beautiful just the way you are," he complimented.

"How do you always know the right thing to say?"

"Just lucky I guess. You hungry?"

"Yeah." She took her backpack off her back. "I brought some snacks."

"We don't need snacks," he said.

She looked at him quizzically. "Why? Do you have sandwiches in your pockets?"

"Not in my pockets."

Barbie walked a few feet away and stepped behind a large bush. He pulled out a large basket and showed it to Julia.

"A picnic basket? Our picnic basket?" She questioned.

"Yes. It's ours."

"How did you get a picnic basket up here?"

"I have my ways," he answered.

"What is going on?"

Barbie put the basket on the ground. He opened it and took out a red and white checkered blanket. He spread it out on the ground and sat down.

"We're having a picnic?"

"Mhmm. With all of your lunch favorites. Chicken salad sandwiches, caprese salad, pita chips and hummus, and your favorite wine." As he listed each item, Barbie pulled them out of the picnic basket and placed them on the blanket. "Sit."

She sat down beside him.

"How did you do this?"

"I told you, I have my ways."

"This is amazing," she said.

"You're amazing."

He poured the wine into two plastic cups.

"Always classy," she joked, taking the plastic cup from him.

"To us," he toasted.

"To us." They each took a sip. "I don't know how you did it, but I couldn't have asked for a better day."

"Well, I do have one more thing that might make it more perfect."

"Oh? What's that?"

"I didn't do this right the first time. But I'm going to do it right this time."

"What are you…"

Barbie shifted his body so he was balancing on one knee. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, but when she did, she gasped.

"I love you, Julia. And we've been through...so much. These last six months outside of the dome have only proved to me how much I want to be with you. How much I need to be with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know I asked you before, but I'm going to ask you again...the right way…" He pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it. Inside there was a solitaire diamond ring. Julia couldn't suppress another gasp. "Will you marry me?"

She nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."

He took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger.

"Oh, Barbie, it's beautiful."

"So are you."

She took a moment to admire the ring on her finger before pouncing on him. He fell backwards with a laugh.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too."

"You didn't have to do all of this."

"I wanted to make sure you knew I hadn't forgotten that I proposed to you on the edge of the cliff. I want to marry you, Julia. I wanted to marry you then and I sure as hell want to marry you now."

"You mean you didn't propose to me last time under the dome just because I was about to jump off a cliff?"

"Well, maybe that was part of it."

She laughed. "Shut up and kiss me."

"Gladly, future Mrs. Barbara."

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too."