After the week had passed, Lizzie was officially discharged from the hospital. Ross hadn't left her side for a moment. It was irrational, but a small part of him was still concerned about her father. He knew that she was worried as well, but just didn't say anything about it. When he drove her home in his pick-up the duo was greeted by a gathering of the town's people. They had pulled together a large party to celebrate the pair overcoming these extraordinary events. They had even brought Lizzie's younger sister to visit.
"Celia!" Lizzie screamed, before attempting to run over to her. It proved to be quite a challenge on crutches. Her sister was only about a year younger than her, with the same emerald eyes and pale skin. Her hair was bright red though, almost as bright as Peppers and red-orange freckles dotted her skin. The two girls hugged glad that they could finally meet again. "I missed you so much!" "I missed you. Oh Elizabeth I wanted to thank-you for all that you did for me!" "It was nothing." The two girls hugged for a minute longer.
The crowd erupted with cheers and music began to play from an unknown source. The party had begun. Lizzie and Ross were soon overwhelmed with people complimenting their bravery, ingenuity and the level of devotion they had displayed towards one another.
After a few hours, Lizzie silently slipped away. She walked, or rather hobbled down to La Charla's edge, sitting on the river bank. The calm sounds of water flowing helped to sooth her. While she had been enjoying the party, three hours of constant interaction had worn her out. She was just glad that she hadn't seen Linc or any of the other Slocum's.
The sound of gravel crunching made her aware that she was no longer alone. Looking up, she saw Ross. He eased himself down so that he was sitting next to her. He had to take in a breath as his body was still recovering. "Hey." "Hey yourself. Did you take the meds that the Doctor gave you?" "Naw, don't need'em." Lizzie fought to not roll her eyes. A soft smile worked its way onto her face instead.
They sat in silence for a while, simply content to just be in each other's presence. "We should get married." Lizzie's head turned so fast Ross feared that she was going to get whiplash. "W-What?" "I thought I was the one with the stutter." He chuckled without humor. "Ross, what are you talking about? Are you serious?" "Not now, not so soon after everything that has happened. I just think that in the future that you are going to be my wife." Silence followed his blunt statement.
Without warning, Lizzie lunged at Ross and hugged him tight. He gripped her just as tightly, both of them ignored their injuries. "I like that idea." Lizzie whispered. She pulled away and Ross saw that although she had a grin on her face, her eyes were filled with tears. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, I just, I can't believe how far my life has come. Six months ago I was in the hospital trying to survive, and now I'm talking to my boyfriend about the future. This is the first time since my mom left us that I've been happy. Thank you Ross. I love you." "You deserve happiness Lizzie. I love you too." He kissed her gently, and they silently agreed to getting married one day.
After a while Ross saw that Lizzie was shivering. "Come on, let's get you warmed up." As they walked towards the bunkhouse, they saw Celia kissing Pepper. Lizzie's jaw dropped. "Pepper!" she yelled. The couple broke apart and looked at her, both blushing beet red. "Yeah?" "You two make a cute couple." Celia and Pepper both sighed in relief. "Thanks Liz." "Oh, don't forget, I know how to shoot a gun." Pepper's face became deathly pale, and everyone else simply laughed at his expense.
Well we are almost finished! I'm going to add one last chapter later as an epilogue. I want to thank everyone who reviewed or read this story as well as everyone for adding me to their favorite author, favorite story or alert lists. Once again thank you and I hope you enjoyed!