Author's note: Wow, I can't believe we're 28 chapters in! This is my longest story to date, but I didn't get here on my own. You guys are why this keeps going and why it's as popular as it is. Basically, this is just the long version of me saying "thank you."

Ultimately, I'm planning on this story ending up with around 100 chapters. A while ago, someone suggested having each chapter contain one year of Carrie's life. I have to admit, I did consider it, but it just didn't make sense. It would result in Carrie being the only completely flushed out character, and everyone else would just end up being like stick figures in the background. Anyway, enjoy.

P.s. There's a chapter coming up that is in many ways, a reunion. That's all I can say without giving anything away.

P.p.s. This chapter was originally going to be published right after the last one, but I honestly hated the way it turned out. The entire thing was basically just one big continuity error.

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts, and facts, and figures, and instructions for dancing

But I,
I love it when you read to me.
And you,
You can read me anything.

The book of love has music in it,
In fact that's where music comes from.
Some of it is just transcendental,
Some of it is just really dumb.

But I,
I love it when you sing to me.
And you,
You can sing me anything.

The book of love is long and boring,
And written very long ago.
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes,
And things we're all too young to know.

But I,
I love it when you give me things.
And you,
You ought to give me wedding rings.

And I,
I love it when you give me things.
And you,
You ought to give me wedding rings.
You ought to give me wedding rings." Peter Gabriel

(Alex's pov)

I was released from the hospital a week after my talk with Gary. I was originally supposed to leave the next day, but I collapsed on the floor from a massive headache due to being weaned off the pain meds too quickly. The pain was so bad once I was released that I didn't even want to get out of bed for the first two days. And I mean I literally never got out of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Carrie asked as she brought in my lunch (with Tylenol as desert)

"I... uh... shitty." I replied

"Speaking of, what's that smell?" She asked

"Nothing." I instantly replied, but since I'm the worst liar in the history of the world, she lifted up the sheets. And yeah, you get the picture.

"My underwear's gonna have to be torched, isn't it?" I asked

"No, this'll come out." She said as she put the underwear in a garbage bag. Although I later found out that she did throw it away, but then searched all over the Internet to find an identical pair of Spongbob underwear.

It was an awesome pair too. It had SpongeBob saying: "Patrick, are you mad?" And on the back, it had Patrick saying: "Yeah, I can't see my forehead." Yeah, I'm a grown man and I like SpongeBob (the first 3 seasons). So what, sue me!

After I got injured, I realized something. Life is too short to wait around, and I had no reason to wait around to propose to her. Why wait for the perfect moment when I can just make it perfect on my own. I decided that I was just going to go for it. I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

(Carrie's pov)

A few weeks after Alex was released, he surprised me by picking me up from work taking me to one of the nicest restaurants in the city. Even though the restaurant's closest opening was three months away, Gary apparently knew a guy that was able to get us in at the last moment.

I honestly can't believe I didn't understand why Alex was doing all of this for me. It wasn't like it was our anniversary or a special occasion. His explanation was: "It's just my way of saying 'thank you'. Thank you for coming into my life and making me happier than I ever thought I could be."

About fifteen minutes later, Rita called and said that Kevin got out of the building and she didn't have a car to chase him. Naturally, Alex and I darted out of the restaurant, and forgot to pay the check. The minute we pulled into our complex, she called again and said that she caught up to him and he was okay.

"Shit." Alex muttered

"What?" I replied

"My phone fell out of my pocket and it's stuck under the seat." He said

"Do you want me to help you get it?" I asked

"No, it's okay." He said "Just head inside, I'll be up in a minute."

I don't think he planned on me noticing his smile as I walked inside. I expected to have Kevin jumping all over me when I opened the door to the apartment. Instead, I saw candles. They were all lined up and formed a pathway to our bedroom.

There were even more candles in our room. A few on our nightstands, and a few more on our dressers. I looked over to our bed and saw rose petals sprinkled everywhere, as well as a note. "TURN AROUND" it said. I turned and faced the door and saw Alex dropping to one knee.

"I've wanted to this for a while..." He began as my eyes filled with tears "I wanted to wait for the perfect moment, but I realized that a moment doesn't get perfect on it's own, you have to make it perfect. I don't need time to decide if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, because I already know, I've always known."

He then pulled out a ring: "Carrie White, will you marry me?"

"YES!" I replied "Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!" We then kissed with more passion than ever as he placed the ring around my finger.