I am trying to keep the medical science to this story as accurate as possible, but as I am only a C.N.A. and not a neurosurgeon please forgive the inaccuracies if they occur.
Justifying the Means
"Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil."
-Niccolo Machiavelli
"The end justifies the means."
-Niccolo Machiavelli
Chapter 2"Trust Alvin to take a marriage proposal and turn it into a publicity stunt."
Jeannette slapped at Simon playfully. "Oh, Simon, don't be mean. You know Brittany. There's nothing she would have liked better than to be proposed to on national television."
"I know." Simon smiled at her, taking her hand. "But still, it's going to be interesting to see how their cd sales skyrocket after this."
Jeannette watched Alvin and Brittany dancing for moment, wishing briefly that she had a little of that magic grace her sister had. The two of them seemed totally lost in each other, and Jeannette shook her head. "Honestly, Simon, I'm not even sure they'll notice. Just look at them."
Simon did. "They do look happy, don't they."
"Yes." Jeannette hoped that Simon couldn't hear the faint sadness in her voice. It wasn't that Simon and her relationship was having any problems, it was just…well, lately it seemed like there was almost no relationship at all. She had just completed her P.H.D. in Organic Chemistry, and he was just starting his residency at the local University hospital. Between the two of them, they were the youngest graduates from their university ever.
As always, however, Simon seemed to be able to read her mind. "Do you feel like getting some fresh air?" He asked, standing and offering his hand. "We've barely had any time alone together, and the marina's not far from here."
Jeannette smiled. "I don't think anyone will notice if we sneak off."
No one did. They walked in silence as they headed to the marina, casually holding hands.
"I have to choose which doctor I'm going to mentor under soon." Simon said suddenly.
"Really? I thought you had more time." Jeannette said. They continued down the pier. "Are you still debating between the same two?"
"Yes…"Simon shrugged. "Dr. Thomas is a brilliant surgeon, and he has years of experience. Just being offered a mentorship with him is an honor."
"That seems like it would make it an easy choice, then." Jeannette pointed out.
"I know, but Dr. Pryce…" Simon seemed to be hesitating over something. "He's really into the cutting-edge technology. And he specializes in studying spinal cord nerve regeneration."
"Oh." There was no question as to why that appealed to Simon. "But isn't that Quentin Pryce? The doctor who was just under inquiry for unethical practices?"
"The charges were dropped." Simon defended the doctor.
"But still…" Jeannette said.
"Jeannette, the man took a woman who had been a quadriplegic for ten years and was able to give her back almost full use of her arms. She had a seventy percent recovery rate in her upper body. Seventy percent! No other doctor has ever even come close to that."
"But weren't there complications…"
Simon nodded in frustration. "Yes, there was…somehow, the synthetic myelin he used to protect the new nerve growth caused a rejection issue. She reverted back to being paralyzed, but the possibilities…"
"Dr. Thomas is a brilliant neurosurgeon, too." Jeannette reminded him. She just had a bad feeling about this Quentin Pryce, but didn't want to seem unreasonable. "You said so yourself. And maybe getting a solid understanding of the basics first would be a sound idea before moving on to more 'cutting-edge' technology."
"You have a point." Simon admitted. "I have to be rational about his. I can't let my emotions make this decision for me."
"So…?"
"You think I should choose Dr. Thomas, don't you?" Simon asked her, cocking his eyebrow.
"Honestly?" Jeannette made it a habit never to lie to her boyfriend. "Yes. I just don't trust a doctor who is only thirty-four and already has been accused of unethical practices."
Simon kissed her cheek. "How can I ignore the voice of reason? Dr. Thomas it is."
Jeannette smiled at him. "Good."
They had reached the end of the pier, where a wrought-iron bench was resting. "Let's sit, Jeannette." Simon said.
Jeannette sat and let Simon wrap one arm around her, snuggling into him gratefully. They sat that way for a moment, watching the boats sail past on the darkness of the water. The moon was full tonight, and it cast a magical glow over the ocean, making Jeannette think of the water as not being water at all but liquid silver.
"Jeannette." Simon said after a moment.
"Yes, Simon?"
"If I ever proposed to you, you wouldn't want all that hullabaloo, would you?"
Jeannette's heart speeded up. They had never discussed this before. "Simon, you know me better than that. Of course I wouldn't –I wouldn't even know what to do with all the attention."
"Okay, that's good." Simon laughed nervously. "I wouldn't know how to set up something that would get you that much attention, anyways."
"No, that's Alvin's specialty." Jeannette sat up, looking at him quizzically. "Why do you ask?"
"Well…" Simon seemed edgy for some reason. "I have just been thinking lately. About us. And you, well, I thought you might someday like a little hullabadoo-hullaballoon…ugh." Simon sighed in frustration. "I thought you might someday like a big to-do about it."
"No, I don't think I would."
"And I know I 'm not very romantic. I try, but I just can't seem to…I mean, my tang gets all tungled up…ugh. This isn't going well at all." Simon seemed about to growl in aggravation.
"It's okay, Simon." Jeannette told him gently, even though her heart was pounding in her ears like the sound of drums. She looked at the moon's reflection in the water, putting her hand on one of his knees. "It's beautiful tonight, isn't it?"
"Yes." Simon took her face and turned it towards his. "It is beautiful."
Jeannette blushed.
"Jeannette, I wanted to do this when we were alone. I know I can't compare with what Alvin was able to pull off, but I thought…" Jeannette felt something being slipped onto her left ring finger. "I thought it would mean more if we shared this just between the two of us."
Jeannette looked down at her hand. A platinum band shone there, with a single pear-shaped blue diamond sparkling in the center of it. "Simon?"
"I've known you since we were children, Jeannette. For years we were both so involved in our own lives, our own projects, that I could never see you as more than a close friend…a study-buddy, if you will." Jeannette laughed a little at the sheepish look on Simon's face. "But over the last few years, you've become so much more. You don't mind that I idolize Albert Einstein and I trip over my own feet-"
"It's no worse than idolizing Marie Curie." Jeannette pointed out, her eyes brimming. "And you're not the only one who has two left feet."
Simon laughed a little. "My point is, the last five years have been the happiest of my life. I don't ever want that to end, Jeannette. I can't give you a national broadcast of how I feel, or banners or special songs. All I can give you is this…"he held her hand up, letting the ice-blue diamond sparkle in the moonlight. "And my heart."
Simon knelt before her on the bench. "Jeannette Miller, will you marry me?"
Jeannette smiled brilliantly, tears running down her face. "Of course I will, Simon!"
Simon stood, pulling her to her feet and kissing her soundly. When they broke apart, tears of happiness were staining both their faces. Jeannette laughed.
"I don't know what to say after that." Jeannette said.
"It does leave one sort of speechless, doesn't it?"
Jeannette stared at her ring. It was much simpler then Brittany's, but in her mind it was more beautiful and elegant than any adornment that had ever been made. She looked at Simon. "So…do you think we should tell Brittany and Alvin?"
Simon paused. "Nah. Let's wait until tomorrow. This is their night."
Jeannette stepped up on her tippy-toes and kissed him gently. "I couldn't agree more."
OoooOoooO
"Can you keep a secret?"
Eleanor looked at Theodore curiously. "That's an interesting way to start a conversation, Theodore. What type of secret?"
Theodore was watching Brittany and Alvin dancing on the ballroom floor happily. "A big one."
"Is it going to get me into any trouble?" Eleanor asked cautiously.
"No! And don't worry, you won't have to keep it for long…but I am going to burst if I don't tell you soon."
Eleanor smiled at him. "Well, we wouldn't want that. I'm surprised you're not bursting already with all the crab-cakes you've eaten tonight."
Theodore blushed. "I was busy all day helping Simon get the ballroom ready. I hadn't eaten since breakfast."
"Don't worry, I'm happy about it." Theodore was at a very healthy weight now, but Eleanor still sometimes fretted over how much he ate – it was a hard habit to get over, considering how difficult it had been for him to get back onto solid foods after the accident. "But sure, I can keep a secret…at least for a little while." She winked at him.
"Did you notice that Jeannette and Simon left a little while ago?"
Eleanor glanced around. "Why, no, I didn't. Where'd they go?"
Theodore glanced around furtively. "Okay, don't tell Alvin or Brittany, 'cause Simon wanted this to be their special night, but he took Jeannette down to the marina…"
"Yes?" Eleanor waited in anticipation.
"And…he's going to propose to Jeannette, too!" Theodore grinned.
"Really?" Eleanor smiled just as big.
"Really." Theodore shrugged. "I think Simon knew that Jeannette wouldn't want a big to-do, and so decided to do it while everyone's attention was diverted on Alvin and Brittany."
Eleanor batted her lashes at him…"So does this mean…?"
Suddenly Theodore looked terrified. "Um, Eleanor, I know that we three usually do things together, but, you know…"
Eleanor laughed. "I'm kidding, Theodore. I'm not ready to get married. "
"Oh, good." Theodore sighed in relief. Eleanor looked at him, eyes narrowed. "Not that I wouldn't love being married to you, but…"
"Its okay, I understand."
Over the years they had come to some certain conclusions about their relationship. The future still remained unclear in many ways. Since the accident, Theodore had undergone three more surgeries, in an attempt for him to regain some function in his lower limbs, but none of them had been successful. The doctors had reluctantly told him that there was nothing they could do at this time. Somehow both Theodore and Eleanor had been counting on those procedures to give them a few more options in their lives. It was hard coming to terms with the fact that there were no more options open to them.
Still, they would persevere. Until a new medical breakthrough came through for them – or a miracle – they would have to just continue on as they had for the last five years…being strong together.
Eleanor couldn't help the small part of her that felt sadness at her sisters' engagements, though. She didn't know if Theodore would ever gain the courage to propose to her, though they had never talked about it. Whenever they would talk about the future, they would talk about their possible careers, or what kind of an aunt and uncle they would make, or whether or not they thought they should continue touring every year or break it up to every few years. They never spoke of marriage, or children, or even of what kind of home they would eventually want. It was if Theodore wanted to live only in the now, somehow afraid of the future and unable to let himself think about their hopes together for later in life.
"Here they are." She whispered to Theodore, seeing Jeannette and Simon come in through the back door. Jeannette looked radiant, and she was clutching her left hand possessively. "Can I go congratulate them, or –"
"No!" Theodore looked petrified. "Simon would kill me if he knew I told you."
"Oh, I doubt that." Eleanor stood and ran over to Jeannette before Theodore could stop her. "Hi, Jeannette."
Jeannette hid her hand behind her dress. "Oh, hi, Eleanor."
Theodore was already behind her. Brother, he could really move around fast in that wheelchair of his. "Uh, Simon, hi."
Simon looked at them suspiciously. "Hi, Theodore, Eleanor."
Eleanor smiled brightly. "So, what have you guys been up to?"
"Nothing. Just a walk." Jeannette said too quickly.
It didn't fool Simon, though. "Theodore, you promised you wouldn't tell!"
Theodore blushed. "It was just Eleanor, Simon, and you know I can't keep secrets from her!"
Eleanor couldn't help it any more – she squealed and jumped up and down. "Oh, congratulations, Jeannette! I'm so happy for you." She hugged her sister fiercely. "Can I see the ring?"
Jeannette showed it off proudly for a moment, and then hid her hand again. "Okay, enough already. This is Brittany's night. We'll tell everyone else tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, okay." Eleanor could barely contain her excitement. She glanced over to where Alvin and Brittany were sitting at a table, each with a plate of food in front of them but both untouched. "I don't think we could get their attention tonight, anyways."
Jeannette looked over at the glowing pair and smiled. "I don't think we could either, Eleanor."
End of Part 2Reviews very much appreciated!
