Chapter 142: Anniversary Celebration

Two weeks later…

Since I was doing much better mentally the past two weeks, Zak and I had finally decided to celebrate our one year anniversary of being a couple.

He had made a bunch of plans for the night, but he hadn't told me anything except that we would start with going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

I obviously wanted to look nice, and since I was feeling more confident with myself since I had started eating better and having gotten into better shape, I wanted to find something that was slightly more revealing than my usual attire.

With Cheryl's help on a shopping trip earlier in the week, I had decided on a classic: a little black dress. It had a deep V-neckline that ended just under my breasts, and the hem came down to mid thigh. I accessorized with silver diamond stud earrings and a matching necklace; black heels and a black, faux-leather jacket. I decided to wear my hair down, but after my shower, I had blow dried and styled it to have some waves instead of straightening it like I normally did.

(Link on my profile for Twitter and Instagram picture)

After we had a beautiful, romantic dinner, Zak started to drive us to a new location. On the way, he had me take out a small bag from the backseat, and I was both stunned and amused that he had brought along a pair of socks and sneakers for me, and had me change into them.

When we arrived, I was surprised and touched to see we were at the same spot in the middle of the desert where we had our first date, and he had gotten Aaron and Cheryl to park and set up his black pickup truck the way it had been that night. The tailgate was down, blankets and pillows were spread out in the bed of the truck, and white, battery operated Christmas lights were strung around the edges.

I smiled as I walked with him, hand in hand, toward the bed of the pickup truck.

"I can't believe you did this," I said.

Zak smiled and squeezed my hand.

"Wanted to bring back some good memories," Zak replied, letting go of my hand to gently take hold of my waist, and lifted me up so I was sitting on the tailgate.

I smiled and scooted back until I was able to comfortably lay back in the bed of the truck, resting my head on a pillow.

"Mission accomplished," I said, watching him as he got up into the bed of the truck, and then laid down next to me.

"Good," Zak said, turning his head to look at me. "I promise to behave this time," Zak added in a teasing tone.

I was confused at first by what he meant, but then the memories of how we had ended up in an uncomfortable situation on our first date came back to me.

We had been sitting up, and Zak had straddled over my legs to tease me about thinking about him. When I had tried to push him away, he had lost his balance, and overcompensated when he leaned forward to keep from falling backwards. I had ended up laying flat on my back, with Zak laying on top of me. After our laughter had died down, we had started kissing, and then Zak had started kissing my neck - both of us completely caught up in the moment- until I stopped him.

"Are you telling me that your loss of balance was planned?" I teased, knowing it wasn't.

Zak's eyes widened as he genuinely thought I was serious.

"No! That was-" Zak started, but stopped when he saw the teasing look I was giving him. "You little shit!" Zak said, laughing as he turned onto his side to face me and started tickling me.

I squealed in shock and then started laughing.

"Nice thing to call me during our anniversary celebration!" I joked, and then quickly swatted his hand away. "Hands to yourself, Bagans," I jokingly added.

Zak laughed, but then pretended to be upset.

"Pfft, fine," Zak said, pulling his hand back toward himself. "Your loss," Zak mumbled.

I laughed, knowing he was playing around, and shifted myself closer to him. Once I was comfortable beside him, I took his hand and pulled his arm to drape across my stomach, and then rested my arm on top of his.

Zak smiled as he tightened his arm around me, pulled me a bit closer to him, and then rested his head down on his pillow again.

"I love you," Zak said softly, looking at me as if I was the most beautiful thing in the world.

I smiled, feeling my heart swell with joy and love.

"I love you too," I replied softly, gently stroking his arm.


After some idle chit chat on a variety of topics, and some star gazing, the thought occurred to me that we had yet to discuss starting up a new season of "Ghost Adventures". As much as I didn't want to risk ruining the moment, curiosity got the better of me.

Zak had changed his position some time ago so he was laying on his back, and I was snuggled up along his side, with my head resting on his chest. So, I leaned my head back to look at him.

"Zak?" I said softly.

"Yeah, doll?" Zak replied softly, gently stroking my back.

"You haven't mentioned anything to me about returning to work," I said softly, watching him. "Has there been any talk about that yet?" I asked.

I thought I felt Zak tense up a bit, but I wasn't sure.

"Yeah, there has been," Zak said softly, hesitating a bit before he looked down at me. "We're not starting up again until June," Zak added.

My eyes widened in shock.

June?! That's not for another six months…

"What? Why?" I asked, feeling a bit concerned now. "That's a long time…and the show has already been on hiatus for a year because of my recovery…" I added.

"It's not your fault, Ali," Zak said, giving me a reassuring look. "We could have filmed a season if we wanted to," Zak added.

I sighed softly.

I just knew the delay was Zak's doing, and I was starting to get the feeling it was because of me.

"I know that…and I appreciate that you guys wanted to wait until I came back, but I'm fully recovered now. There's no reason to wait until June," I said.

Zak studied me for a few seconds, seemingly trying to figure out how to respond.

"Zak…I'm not stupid, I can tell you're the one wanting to wait. Please tell me why," I said.

Zak sighed softly.

"I'm still worried about you…" Zak said softly, his expression full of concern now. "I know the doctors have given you the all clear, but I keep thinking about that last investigation…and everything you went through even before the accident…whenever you're badly affected again, I'm afraid it'll set you back with your depression and anxiety…" Zak explained.

I frowned, feeling bad it hadn't dawned on me that he was worried about my health. I propped my upper body up by my arm so I could look down at him.

"I'm sorry, that didn't dawn on me," I said softly, reaching up and gently cupping the side of his face with my hand. "I appreciate your concern, I do, but I don't want to be the reason something might happen and the show gets cancelled…and I'm eager to get back at it…" I added.

Zak sighed softly, tilting his head toward my hand a bit.

"I know…" Zak said softly, looking away briefly before looking up at me. "I just don't want to see you go through something like that again…I can't…" Zak said, his voice becoming even softer as his eyes watered a bit.

I frowned, and then leaned down and kissed his cheek to try to reassure him.

"I'm in better health and in a better state of mind now than I probably ever was. I'm confident in myself now, and I know how to handle the anxiety better," I said, gently stroking his cheek. "And as long as I have you with me, I know I'll be okay," I added, smiling at him.

Zak smiled, his eyes watering a bit still, and he reached up and gently stroked some of my hair back over my shoulder.

"I know you are, doll. I'm so proud of you," Zak said, looking at me with nothing but love and admiration on his face.

I smiled, feeling my own eyes water a bit.

"Just let me have until June…I won't push it back any further, I promise," Zak said.

I still felt concerned about waiting for so long, afraid the network would get fed up, or that we'd lose a good portion of the fan base, but I nodded.

I didn't want to stress Zak out anymore than he already was about it.

"Alright, June it is," I said.

Zak smiled, looking relieved, and reached up and gently took my hand away from his face to hold in his own.

"Thank you," Zak said, gently kissing the palm of my hand. "Besides…it's been finalized that the guys and I are going to do a second season of 'Aftershocks'. We start in January and film through to March, and they'll air from April through to May. We'll be covering episodes you weren't a part of, but you could help with filming if you want…ease you back into it," Zak added.

I was a bit stunned at this news, but it eased my concern a bit.

"Alright, that sounds good," I said, gently squeezing my hand. "Now, are there any other secrets you're hiding from me, Bagans?" I said teasingly to lighten the mood.

Zak smiled and then laughed.

"You know how I said earlier that I'd behave?" Zak asked.

I couldn't stop from giggling at the innocent and playful look on his face.

"Yeah…" I said, pretending to be wary.

"I lied!" Zak said, pushing me so I ended up laying on my back with him hovering over me.

Before I could react, he leaned down into the nape of neck. But instead of kissing it, he blew a raspberry against my skin.

"Zak!" I squealed, laughing, a shiver running down my spine as the action tickled my skin. "You're evil!" I said jokingly.

Zak laughed at my reaction, then he lifted his head up to look down at me with a teasing, evil grin on his face.

I laughed and wrapped my arms around him. I rested one hand on the back of his neck, and pulled his face down to mine and kissed him gently.

I felt him smile against my lips before he kissed me back.


Zak and I had stayed out in the pickup for a while longer after discussing work, and then we returned home.

Zak had more surprises for me.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked, standing in front of the patio doors.

The patio doors had been completely covered by blankets, blocking the view of the backyard - another little detail Zak had asked of Aaron and Cheryl.

"Absolutely, completely, one hundred percent necessary," Zak replied, gently putting a black blindfold over my eyes before tying it at the back of my head.

I laughed and jokingly sighed in compliance.

"Fine," I mumbled, as if annoyed.

Zak laughed, stepping around in front of me and adjusting the blindfold to make sure it covered my eyes completely.

"Oh stop trying to ruin my fun, Miss Grumpy Pants," Zak teased, before opening the patio door.

I could hear a strange humming noise coming from the backyard.

I laughed as I felt him take my hands, and I held onto them tightly as he slowly started leading me outside.

"First I'm a 'little shit', and now 'Miss Grumpy Pants'!" I exclaimed, carefully walking forward with his guidance.

Zak laughed as he led me a few steps further, and then had me stop. I felt him move around behind me - trailing one hand around my waist as he did - and then reached up and started untying the blindfold.

"Maybe this will make up for it," Zak said softly, and removed the blindfold.

When I opened my eyes, my jaw dropped in shock.

The entire backyard was covered in a thin layer of snow, and there was snow gently falling still. As I took in the shocking sight, it was then I realized what the humming sound was.

There were fake snow machines on the roof, which were still running.

"I know Christmas is your favourite holiday," Zak said from behind me, gently wrapping his arms around me. "And I know my little Canadian misses the snow sometimes," he added, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

I felt like my heart would burst out of my chest.

"Zak…I love it…" I said, feeling my eyes tear up before I turned in his arms to face him. "Thank you," I said, fighting the urge to cry tears of joy.

Zak smiled and gently kissed my forehead.

"Though we could curl up under a blanket and watch a movie, like we did on our first date," Zak said.

I smiled even more brightly.

"That sounds wonderful…" I said softly, feeling emotional still that he had gone to all this trouble for me. It was then the latest name he had called me hit me. "Your 'little Canadian' huh? I think I like that," I said, smirking.

Zak laughed and kissed my forehead again before pulling back from me.

"Gonna go get us some snacks, you want to get the movie set up?" Zak asked, motioning to the table under the covered part of the patio. "The remote is there too for the snow machines, if you want to turn them off," he added.

I smiled and nodded.

"Alright," I replied, walking over to the table and the small outdoor sofa, where Zak had his laptop.

Zak smiled as he walked back inside.

Since the table and sofa were under the covered part of the patio, the snow didn't affect the area. As much as I loved seeing the snow fall, the humming noise would interfere with the movie, so I turned them off.

I then sat down on the sofa, pulling the large blanket over my lap, and opened Zak's laptop. I then picked up the unlabelled BluRay case and opened it, and I felt joy spread through me again.

The movie he had picked was "Christmas Vacation", my favourite Christmas movie.

Once I put the BluRay disc in the tray and had it set up, waiting on the menu screen, Zak came back outside.

He walked over to me and set down a plate of a variety of Christmas cookies - gingerbread, sugar, shortbread - and two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Oh my god…you're the best," I said, somewhat emotionally as I looked up at him.

These were things I had always loved at Christmas time - especially as a kid. I couldn't believe he had remembered all the little details.

"I know," Zak jokingly said, trying not to laugh as he sat down next to me.

I laughed as I helped him get under the blanket with me, and he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close.

I smiled and snuggled close to him, folding my legs up under me, and looked up at him.

"Thank you for all of this. I love you, Zak," I said softly.

Zak smiled.

"You're welcome. I love you too, Ali," Zak replied softly, before gently kissing my cheek.

I smiled, and then tapped the key on the keyboard of the laptop to start the movie.

Author's Note: That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed the update!