"Come on now wakey wakey, rise and shine." He voice penetrated through her subconscious as she pulled the pillow over her head, trying to block out the noise. "Abby, come on now. The day's a wasting."
Pulling the pillow from her head, she peered at him through one eye. "Remind me again why I have to be up this early on my day off?" She asked in her hoarse, morning voice.
"You promised me that this day off we could spend rock climbing." Carter told her as he pulled the sheet from her body. He could marvel at her body all day, but they had somewhere they had to be. "Now come on. We have to leave in thirty minutes if we want to miss the rush. Please Abby; I really want to do this with you. It's been ages since we went."
"All right, all right. I'm up." She told him as she planted her feet on the floor. "Give me ten minutes in the shower and I'm all yours."
"Okay, I'll have your coffee ready when you get out." He quickly kissed her forehead, before turning to the bedroom door. "Abby, don't worry. It'll be a great day."
"It had better be." She mumbled as she made her way into the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later they were on their way to his favourite spot. The sun was shining brightly as they drove out of the city. Soft jazz music emanated from the radio as they sat in quiet contemplation. Every so often he would reach over and softly touch her arm, just to remind her he was there. She smiled back every time before returning her gaze to the world that was passing her by.
Parking the car, Abby noticed there weren't many other cars about. "Looks like you were right. The earlier we got here, the quieter it would be."
"I'm right some of the time. Just admit it." He joked as he popped the trunk, pulling the equipment with him.
Abby groaned as she grabbed her bag. "You're going to be like this all day aren't you?"
Carter laughed. "Would that be so bad?" She shook her head as they headed for a spot they had climbed before. The air was warm, perfect climbing conditions. Not like the time before, when it had started to rain. "Okay lets harness up. Do you want to climb first or shall I?"
"Can I go first?" She asked him, secretly hoping he would say yes. As much as she hated being up that early in the morning she had found her passion for rock climbing.
"Sure." He answered as he watched her almost bounce on the soles of her feet in anticipation. She was so beautiful, especially the way the sun was hitting off the bun she had pulled her hair into. The tight blue tank she was wearing sat just above her belly button, showing the great tan she seemed to have acquired. And the tight black 3/4 length pants she was wearing, hugged every curve in just the right place. He couldn't help but stare.
Once she had her harness on, she checked and double-checked all her connections before attaching any ropes. She turned and checked Carter's before getting him to check hers again. It was the one thing she was always afraid of. What if a rope was to come loose, what would happen?
"Okay, I'm going to go now." She told him as she approached the rock face. It had been a while since they had last been out here, but they knew the terrain so well it didn't matter.
"Be careful." Carter told her as she placed her first foot on the rock face. She looked like an expert up there. It was hard to believe that just six months ago she had never tried it. It had been his obsession and somehow he got her interested in it and now she was the one who loved it.
"Descending now." She called as she had reached the top and was about to make her descent down to meet him again. She loved bouncing her way down the wall, putting all her trust in Carter holding tight to her rope at the bottom.
She was rewarded when she reached the bottom with a kiss from her boyfriend. "You looked amazing up there. I just can't get over how lucky I am to have you." He told her as she started to loosen her ropes before roping back up to belay him.
After checking ropes and fixtures again Carter made his way to the rock face and started to climb. He turned back to where she stood fast, bracing herself for his weight. "I love you." He said, before turning back to start his climb.
"Love you too." She called back and she fed the rope between her hands.
He climbed up quickly but as he reached the top he felt his hands starting to slip. Gripping tighter to the rock face he tried to move his feet into a better position that caused his to loose his grip all together and he began to fall.
"Carter." Abby screamed as the weight of him falling caused her to be lifted from the ground. As her body was being pulled upwards she tried to grab onto the wall but without much success. She could see him getting closer and when he was by her side they balanced out and they swung side by side. "Are you all right?" She asked reaching across to him.
Carter seemed dazed as to what had happened to him. "Abby are you all right?" He asked realising what had just happened. She nodded, though he could see the tears in her eyes. "I was so frightened there. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. God Abby I am so sorry. I lost my footing and my handhold. I could have lost you. And it would have been my fault." He reached across to her and tried to bring her into his arms, which was rather difficult as they were hanging roughly fifty feet from the ground. "Abby I don't' what I'd do if I lost you. Marry me?" He blurted out.
"What?" She managed to say, before looking into his eyes and realised what he said, he meant. "You really mean it don't you?"
"I do, and this wasn't exactly how I had planned on asking but I can't think of a better time. Abby will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" He asked so sincerely.
"I will." She answered reaching across for a kiss. After securing the deal she looked back into his eyes. "Now lets get ourselves down from here. Do you think you can make it?"
"Yeah, with you by my side I can do anything." He told her, watching as the tears reappeared in her eyes again.
Slowly they made their way back down the rock-face and once both had feet on solid ground he threw his arms around her. "I love you so much baby. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."
"Same for me." She told him before she let him go.
Back at the apartment, later that evening they sat on the sofa surrounded by candle light and the fairy lights Abby had left up after Christmas. She liked the soft glow that came off them. She also liked the sparkle that came from the ring that now graced the third finger of her left hand. "I am so glad you dragged me from bed this morning." She told him.
"Are you sure? I almost killed you and myself. I don't call that a good thing." He said.
"Yeah but I did get an engagement ring out of it." She said with a shy smile on her face.
"Oh so that's how it's going to be is it?" John said taking her into his arms. "You just wanted me for the ring?" He asked as he started tickling her. She started to laugh and couldn't stop. "I really do love you."
"I love you too, even if you did scare me to death today. Don't ever think of doing that again." She warned him,
"Never." He replied taking her lips to his own and kissing her, sinking further back into the sofa, allowing the candles to burn out themselves. He wasn't letting her go for a while.