AN: Good news: I didn't make you wait a year between updates. Bad news: It's been almost two years ::sheepish:: But this is almost done, I think. I just need to wrap up a couple things and that should be done in a chapter or two. Thanks for your patience, those who are still with me from the start, and hope you are enjoying it, those who have just started reading.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"Rest your head,
You worry too much,
It's going to be alright,
When times get rough,
You can fall back on us,
Dont give up,
Please dont give up."

(Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush – Don't Give Up)

Shana's eyes widened with shock. "M-marry you?" She looked down at Conrad, kneeling before her with a ring in his hand, looking as nervous as she has ever seen him. "But…I mean. I can't…My memory…"

"We're working through all that, Shana. And it doesn't matter. I love you and I want to be with you, through good and bad, if you will allow me. That's what marriage is about." His voice took on a firm tone at the end; he knew that she didn't want to 'saddle him' with her issues.

Shana looked down at the man she loved, seeing that love reflected back to her in his eyes, and wanted to say yes, so very much, but couldn't yet bring herself to form the word. "I love you Conrad. More than anything," she began, looking into his eyes and then letting her eyes fall to the floor, not able to look at him as she continued. "But." She took a deep breath and to his credit, Conrad didn't try to interrupt or react until she had finished. "I have to think about this. I don't want to say yes, and then regret it. Or vice versa. I need to look over my notes." She looked back up at his face, imploringly, and was surprised to not find any of the emotions she was expecting; there was no hurt, anger or sadness. He was actually smiling.

He reached up and touched her face gently, still on one knee in front of her. "I love you, Shana. You didn't say 'no'," he said that with a grin. "And I know you. I know you want to be sure. Just make sure you write down that this is a standing invitation." She slipped off her chair and went to her knees to meet his height and kissed him.

"Thank you," she murmured, hugging him tightly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you so much, I'm just…scared."

Conrad kissed her neck then whispered in her ear, "I wouldn't be much of a husband if I didn't know my wife well enough to know she would want to think about a decision this big. It is scary, for me too. I've never wanted to marry before I met you. I never imagined that would be in my future. We can hold each others' hands and make it through the scary parts together."

"Stop." She couldn't help it, he was being too understanding, and tears were forming in her eyes. "You're making it too perfect."

"That's my job, ma'am. I intend to make it very easy for you to decide yes. You are pretty much stuck with me anyway. You might as well get to share my retirement benefits while you're at it." Conrad grinned and was pleased to see Shana laugh and break the tense mood. "Now, go write it down, so we can enjoy ourselves without me worrying that you'll forget." He pecked a kiss on her cheek and offered a hand for balance while she got back up.

She smiled, "Yes sir." She kissed him again before standing, looking wistfully down at him, still kneeling. "I wish I would be able to remember this." She turned and retreated to her room where her books and PDA were to make her notes.

Conrad stood smoothly, speaking quietly to himself, "Me too." He couldn't help the sadness that showed on his face for a moment, sad for what she had lost, what they had both lost. The smile returned to his face quickly though when Shana reemerged from her bedroom, still looking radiantly happy.

"Now, where were we?" Shana approached Conrad, slipping her arms around his neck.

He swept her up in one easy motion, cradling her in his arms, "I was about to distract you and make a damn fine argument for my side." He kissed her deeply, Shana responding and holding him tightly.

"I wouldn't want to deny you that opportunity." She nuzzled his neck when they broke, whispering teasingly, "Make me forget, I dare you."

True to her request, he was fairly certain that by the time they went to sleep that night, she had 'reset', but no harm done as she felt comfortable where she was and in his arms. He just hoped that after reviewing everything, she would agree to marry him.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Scarlett woke in the morning, slightly disoriented; this didn't seem like Duke's quarters. An odd thought occurred to her though: she needed to watch a DVD. She looked to her side and there was a remote control labeled 'Play me'.

Curious now, she turned on the TV in her room, leaving it quiet so as to not disturb Duke who was still sleeping beside her, hitting 'play' on the remote. She watched with her eyebrows knitting together and looking more and more upset as the home movie went on. She was vaguely aware of Duke slipping his arms around her, stroking her hair, trying to calm her it seemed, her eyes frozen on the screen.

When it finally ended, she looked at Conrad, who wore a smile for her. "How long have I been like this?"

He kissed her softly, "Almost a year." His eyes were glued to her face, waiting to see how she would react today.

"And you still put up with me?" There was an underlying current of truth beneath her amusement.

Conrad laughed, "More than put up with you. Read your notes. I'll start breakfast." He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts, smiling at her once more before exiting the room.

She dutifully went to the PDA on her bedside and started reading. Of course, right on top was the note that Conrad had proposed to her and she was taking time to think about it. She wrote down a note to call Snake Eyes and maybe they could do one of the meditation sessions she saw in the movie to help her with this.

She slipped on a t-shirt and went out to investigate what was for breakfast, finding OJ, bowls of cereal and a carton of milk set out on the table, still with the fancy tablecloth and candles, which Conrad had appeared to have relit. She looked at him with amusement.

He shrugged with a grin, "Cereal sounded better than a bunch of heavy stuff, but no reason to not eat it with style." They laughed together and Shana took her seat at the table as Conrad joined her. "Sleep well, love?" He set the spoons on the table and reached for the milk.

"Yeah. A little overwhelmed." Her voice was a little unsteady. She had missed a whole year of her life and apparently the man across from her had proposed last night. A part of her screamed, 'You've only been dating for three months! It's too soon to be thinking about marriage!' She tried to shush that part though; she knew through her video and notes that they'd been together longer than that, and apparently through some difficult times since then.

Conrad reached over, took her hand and kissed the back of it. "It gets better through the day for you." He searched her eyes carefully, seeing the stress there. "And about last night, there is no time limit on that. Take all the time you need." Internally, Conrad was starting to feel confident the answer would be yes, eventually. If she was taking the time to consider it from all angles, she would see there was nothing to stop them. He had been most concerned for an outright rejection without consideration.

She nodded silently, pouring the milk on her cereal. They ate in relaxed silence, the only noise coming from the crunching of their cereal. After they had finished, he cleared the dishes and led her to the couch, pulling her onto his lap. "What do you want to do today?" she asked, not sure if he had specific plans for them.

"I'm already doing it." He kissed her, then continued. "Being around you pretty much sums it up." She laughed again and he couldn't help but kiss her again, just loving to hear her laugh. After a moment, he looked at her. "What would you like to do?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe of calling Snakes for a meditation session." She watched him carefully for his reaction. He managed to hide all but the smallest amount of disappointment. "I wanted to think about last night." She kissed him again softly.

He nodded. "I understand. Do you want me to go back to base while you do that?" He didn't want her to feel like he was smothering her or didn't trust her.

She shook her head with a sly grin. "You can keep the bed warm, if you want. I have a TV in there if you want to watch something."

"Sounds like a plan." Conrad paused, returning her sly grin, "Do you mind starting your day later than expected?" He slid a hand under her shirt to trace down her spine to show what he had in mind.

"I'm counting on you to remind me to call him later," she warned in a playful tone.

"Scout's honor," he replied and smiled as he pulled the woman he loved closer. She might be thinking now, but he was sure that she would say 'yes', and so he felt they had a lot to celebrate.