Another A/N…

Shirl, Thanks so much for the honest opinions and the review. Unfortunately I can't agree with you on the majority of your points. Love makes people do and think strange things. There is a lot about Frank Donovan that was never exposed and that we will never know about. Heck, it took how long for us to see him actually crack a smile? He was a very secretive person.

Do I honestly believe that he would have been so silent? Yes, I think he would have. I would not have written him this way if I didn't have complete faith that he would close off part of his life to protect a woman he loved. And honestly, if you had read the first part of this journey, the FIC titled "Love Letters", I think you would understand a little bit why Hope stayed. It took her forever to face him personally and let him know in her own voice how she felt about him. Until he made her look at him, she couldn't even muster the courage to knock on his door and talk to him. So, would she stay with him? Yes, she would. She knows on a deeper level that he loves her. Just, sometimes it's nice to hear the words instead of assuming them. I know it's nice to hear someone say it to me instead of just 'knowing' it.

I love getting honest reviews like this - constructive and non-abrasive. ~L~ I enjoy getting the chance to explain why I did certain things that way and stand behind my writing.

OK, explanations over with. This is the last chapter for these two unless inspiration hits me again. Which, for this particular saga, I highly doubt. Romance isn't my forte - action and adventure is… of course with a little hint of romance here and there ~wink~

Read On!!

****

Hope groaned and shifted in the seat. There had been one flight left going to New York that night and, unfortunately, it'd been delayed due to mechanical issues. The plane and its passengers had been on the taxi runway when they were turned around and returned to the terminal. At first it was only a few minutes while the mechanics checked everything over. That few minutes turned into thirty… then turned into an hour. Looking at her watch, Hope realized that the hour had become two and a half.

Frank shifted in his seat impatiently. First he'd had to wait an hour to get onto the flight, then the flight itself had to be rerouted forty-five minutes out of the way because of upper level disturbances. The flight attendant had come over the PA and announced that they were 10 minutes from landing at O'Hare. So far he could only hope that Hope was waiting for him at the Tribune building. Whether that woman at the Times had called Hope and told her where to meet him, he had no idea. Now it was up to Fate.

Hope rolled her eyes and stood up. Her stomach had been growling for the last five minutes. Maybe it was time to eat… after all, she hadn't eaten since that morning. A bagel and cream cheese with a mug of coffee didn't go very far – airplane snack pretzels even less. What surprised her was that she hadn't noticed that she was hungry before now. It was almost 7 pm by the terminal clocks, 8 by her time. She looked around to see what was close by. There was a Chili's Too restaurant a good walk down, or there was a McDonald's about 10 feet from where she was sitting. "Ohhh the ultimate choice… " With a sigh, she headed off the opposite direction towards Chili's.

Frank eyed the seatbelt sign with a scathing hatred as the plane rolled to a stop at the jetbridge. "C'mon, c'mon, turn off already," he muttered. Not willing to wait one second more than he had to, Frank flicked off the seatbelt and bolted up the instant the plane jerked to a stop.


"Sir… please wait until we're ready for you to deplane."

He glared at the flight attendant. "Then hurry the hell up lady, I've got some business to take care of." To impress upon her the importance of his request, Frank whipped out his badge and ID. Sure, it wasn't a legitimate duty, but the sooner he got out of the plane and on his way towards Hope, the better he'd feel.

"Oh what fresh hell is this…" Hope sighed as the waitress came back.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. But we're all out of the southwestern eggrolls too. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"How about a southwestern cobb salad? Surely you have lettuce, tomatoes, etc for a cobb salad."

The waitress looked at the woman in front of her as the sarcastic and scathing reply came out of her mouth. "There's no need to-"

Hope's eyes snapped with lime green sparks as she leaned over the counter and growled. "No need?! I've been trapped in this airport hell-hole for the last three hours, haven't eaten since 530 my time, dealt with three kinds of headache and heartaches in the span of one day, been told that my trip out here to Chicago was a monumental waste of my time and now you're telling me that three out of the four items I would prefer to eat off of your menu is not available? Sorry, you tell me what there is no need to get upset about!"

The little waitress swallowed and then turned to hurry into the kitchen. Hope turned around, rested her elbow against the counter and sighed. The one thing in the world that would turn her into a raving bitch was hunger. Forget PMS, lack of sex, stress or 'bad hair days'. It was lack of food pure and simple that turned her into Public Enemy #1.

Frank stalked down the terminal walkway. The gate he arrived at was roughly half a mile from where he'd parked. Not only that, he'd finally received a call from Monica that Hope had been at his apartment building and was probably already back in New York. The only thing that stopped him in his tracks was a familiar voice shouting irately. Backing up a few feet, Frank paused and looked inside the restaurant.

What he saw was an unhappy looking Hope Quinn Weathers leaning back against the counter while a few of the patrons looked around and noticeably kept their distance. Apparently she hadn't eaten at all that day. Not eating all day was the only thing he knew of that made her raise her voice and shout at people. Frank stood there for a few minutes, just simply watching her. It'd only been a few weeks, but it felt like a lifetime that he'd been apart from her.

Hope blinked, catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Slowly she turned around to see Frank standing in front of the restaurant and watching her. A hundred different emotions hit her at once - anger, fear, resentment, joy, sorrow, pain… All at the same time she felt anger and resentment for him because he hadn't come to find her sooner. But, she was terrified for the reasons why and the joy of seeing him again battled the sorrow of the last few weeks apart from him. Everything combined created an ache in her very core.

Frank read the play of emotions across her face as they stared into one another's eyes. He smiled briefly, a hesitant smile that flickered across his face as he stepped into the restaurant. Out of the corners of his eyes, in his peripheral vision, he saw the patrons stop and turn to watch. He heard the whispers and gasps as he stopped in front of Hope and simply stared into her eyes. He swept his gaze down over her lime green eyes, the slight smattering of freckles across her cheeks, her sweet upturned nose and those soft petal colored lips.

In a span of a second, Hope felt the breath sucked out of her chest as his lips descended upon hers and her body molded tightly to his own. She felt the tender press of Frank's tongue against her lips, the passionate taste of his mouth as his hands roamed over her body. It was bliss to feel him again, ecstasy to touch his body again and ultimate heaven to feel the hardness of his body pressed against her. However, her world tilted and she let out a startled gasp as she was hauled up roughly and thrown over his shoulder.

"Put me down Frank." Hope giggled as she bounced along over his shoulder down the terminal walkway.

"Not until I get you to my apartment."

"Frank, please. Put me down."

He sighed and stopped, easing her down gently until she stood between him and the wall. "What is it you wanted? I assume there is a reason you asked me to put you down."

"Well, first thing is I have to tell the airline to cancel my ticket and rebook me for tomorrow."

"No."

"No?"

"No. You're coming home with me and I'm not letting you out of my sight Hope Quinn Weathers."

Hope's eyebrows raised clear to her hairline. "No, eh? Well, then what do I tell my Editor? What do I tell my boss now that I'm an Associate Editor at the Times?"

"Tell them to go to hell, because you're staying with me." Frank cupped her cheeks in his palms, the passing people forgotten behind him as he looked deep into her light green eyes. "I love you Hope. I cannot and will not live without you again." As he said it, he dipped his head to nibble tenderly at her lower lip in a butterfly light kiss. However, he heard her gasp sharply and he raised his head to see a tear trickling down one cheek. Tenderly he kissed her cheek, licking the salty tear away before he whispered into her ear, "I love you Hope. I truly do. It took me losing you to see that my fear for your safety blinded me to my actual feelings. I was so worried about protecting you from my work that I neglected to protect you from myself. Can you ever forgive me?"

Hope's eyes slid closed, another tear skating down her cheek as Frank stepped back from her. He said it. The toughest thing he'd ever had to say, she knew it, and he said it to her without her asking this time. After all, it was why she ran to New York, wasn't it? To get him to say it? No, it wasn't. She ran from herself and from the pain… but the pain was worse in New York. Her world was with Frank, at his side, in his heart and in his life - for better or worse. She'd weather any storm with him, even if he'd not said that he loved her.

"Hope?" Frank's voice was tentative, as if testing stormy waters. He couldn't read her eyes and she had yet to answer him. Every fiber in his body prayed to whatever god would listen that it wasn't too late for him. He slid his fingers into her hair gently and tilted her face up to him as he lightly kissed the tip of her nose. "Hope," he whispered again. "Hope, say something please."

Hope opened her eyes slowly and looked into his. She smiled for a moment, then let out a loud whoop and leapt into his arms, wrapping them around his neck even as she wrapped her legs around his waist. As Frank stumbled a moment, then caught her and steadied himself, she showered his face with kisses and whispers. "I'm so sorry I left you… It was selfish of me. Take me home Frank, get me out of here."

"What about your job at the Times?" Frank stopped and looked up into her brilliant green eyes.

"My place is here with you."

****

- finis