"What did you just say?"

Amelia moved back towards Jackson, her gaze firmly set on him as he fidgeted in the bed, not quite sure where he should look. She took a seat on the edge of the chair by his bed, leaning forwards and lacing her fingers together. She did nothing for a couple of seconds, giving Jackson some time to recollect his thoughts.

"Jackson," she urged him. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Jackson muttered. "You should know how I feel, Amelia. You...you are all I have...and..."

"Did you mean it?" Amelia checked. "Or did you say it to get out of my bad books?"

Jackson chuckled and arched his brow. "I wouldn't say something like that to get you back into favour. You've been pissed off with me multiple times before and I've never told you that."

Amelia perched on the edge of his bed, moving her hand to hold his cheek. Jackson looked back into her eyes, wondering if she intended to say the words back to him. Did she love him? Could she love him like he did her? Jackson didn't know. He only hoped so.

"I...that's a dedicated thing to say, Jackson," Amelia whispered. "You do know that declaring your love for me means that; don't you?"

"I had thought so," Jackson responded. "I'm serious, Amelia. I want to be with you now. I've burnt my bridges with the firm. You are all I have, Ames. I don't want to lose you, but...if you...your parents are important to you...I would regret it, but I would understand if you went back to them."

"How?" Amelia croaked out. "You were right. My parents would be in danger if I did anything...if I went back to them then I would put them at risk, and now I'm pregnant. They'd not understand, and I...I do need you, Jackson. Dear God, I care of you more than I wish to admit."

Jackson reached out lazily to twirl a strand of hair around his finger as she caressed his cheek. He stared at her as she closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek. Jackson wiped it away with his thumb, doing his best to keep quiet and give her time to think through her options. He only longed for her to pick him.

"There's no other option," Amelia whispered with a small nod. "We have to do this, Jackson."

"You're certain?" he checked with her. "Amelia, you know that this is the right thing, but I do not wish to see you suffer."

Amelia gave a sad smile and kissed his forehead, pushing his hair from his face. "I want to stay with you, Jackson. I know it sounds crazy after everything which has happened, but I do...I do love you..."

Resisting the urge to give a cocky smile, Jackson leant up to press his lips against hers gently and she laughed once, a hand on his cheek whilst he placed his own palm on top of hers.

"I will leave here and make everything how it should be, Amelia," Jackson promised her. "You have my word. I'll make this better."

She nodded and kissed him again squarely. "I know."

...

"You have to do it," Jackson urged her. "If you ever want to talk to your parents again then this is the only way. You need to convince them that you see no other way. You cannot continue to live whilst kidnapped to the man who had ruined your life."

"And you?" Amelia wondered.

Jackson rested in the vast bed in the French hotel. The pair of them had been hotel hopping, doing their best to hide from Mick and his other men. Amelia had done her best to make sure Jackson recovered and gained his strength again. He was still weak two weeks later, but he was slowly getting better, she had no doubt about it.

"My death will occur because I was far too in love with you to go on alone."

"And is that believable?" she replied sceptically and Jackson shrugged;

"Most people already believe I am," Jackson nonchalantly spoke. "You need to do it, Ames."
She nodded and took the phone from his outstretched hand, walking into the en-suite to make the call in private.

Jackson listened with intent for the next five minutes, hearing how she sobbed and begged for her parents to understand. She was well aware that Jackson could probably hear her as she said anything she could think about to him. She cried down the device, pleading for her mother to see that there was no other way.

She kept the call brief and short, knowing that she would probably crack if she listened to her mother's crying any longer. Jackson watched her exit the bathroom, the back of her hands wiping away the tears which sat there. She sniffed loudly and Jackson looked at her, motioning for her to move back towards him.

She did so, her hand covering her mouth as she stumbled back into Jackson's embrace, sobbing wildly for a few minutes until she could cry no more. Jackson's hand remained on the back of her head, keeping her to him as he softly spoke.

"The medics will be here soon with the bodies to pose as us. Your parents will have alerted the police to your location and they'll find our bodies here."

"And how can we be certain they will be our bodies?" Amelia sniffed into his chest.

"Same build, same height and weight," Jackson told her. "I found the best for this, Amelia. You need not worry. The faces...well...they're unrecognisable...and the people I've paid will identify us successfully. There would be no reason to doubt them. They're expert morticians."

"And when do we leave?" Amelia wondered.

"In ten minutes," Jackson whispered, "and then this room turns into a crime scene."

...

It took a while for Amelia to come to terms with Jackson's plan, and when it had been put into place she didn't know how she felt. A part of her was relieved that her parents would be safe now. The death of the criminal and the kidnapped woman ran on the news whenever she and Jackson looked up their names.

Deceased. They were both deceased.

She didn't complain anymore. She learned to keep going with her life. Jackson watched as her stomach expanded with each passing day. She slowly bloomed and Jackson couldn't help but think that she looked beautiful with the added weight. It didn't detract from his attraction to her.

Jackson had secured them a small house in the suburbs of Melbourne, their fake identities and his remaining money serving them well. It didn't take long for him to secure a job in a bank, putting his charming personality to good use whilst Amelia stayed home and prepared for pregnancy.

She'd spent the first couple of weeks locked in the house, convinced that she couldn't escape from Mick and his men. But there had been no sign of anyone so far. She knew that Jackson's plan must have worked. After that she became more bold, daring to go out and shop instead of peering through the blinds every day and wait for something bad to happen.

"Jackson, dinner is ready," Amelia called out after the second month, watching as he moved from locking the patio door. He traipsed across the carpet floor, sitting himself down at the breakfast bar as she served the food.

He looked across to her, his eyes wide as she smiled across to him. "What?" she wondered, tucking her hair behind her ear and he shook his head.

"I'm just considering how lucky I am."

"Again?" she joked with him and he kissed her on the cheek as she took her first mouthful of steak.

"As always," Jackson replied, knowingly content with her and his child in his life.

...

A/N: I am sad to say that this is the end, but they have the happy ending which they deserve! I thank anyone who has stuck by me through the story and I hope you've really enjoyed it!