Chapter Seventeen

Evie turned to see Chase walk through the front door and stretch, dropping his bag and shrugging off his favorite track jacket. He looked over at Evie and smiled back at her.

"Hi Love, how was your day?" He asked coming over to her. "Feeling pregnant yet?" She smiled.

"No. But my day was fine otherwise. Dull, but fine. How was yours?" She picked up the cup of coffee she was getting for her self and handed it to Chase. "You looked tired."

"Really, I feel tired." He walked over to the coach and slumped into it. "I had too… What are you doing?" He turned his head to see Evie slipping on his discarded track jacket.

"What?"

"I was just wearing that!" She looked at him.

"So? You don't smell or anything."

"I didn't say that!" Chase said looking exasperated as she walked over to stand in front of him.

"I am a bit chilly, anyway I love this jacket." She knelt in front of him and rested her chin on his knees, smiling.

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Yes you do."

"Hmm," Evie thought for a moment sliding beside him on the couch and wrapping his arms around her. "It smells like you…in a good way of course, you know a mixture of your aftershave, anesthetic, and coffee." She smiled at him.

"Good enough for me!" He smiled and kissed her then rested his head back on the coach closing his eyes.

Evie leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder. She stared into the roaring flames in the fireplace. She thought back over the past few years.

She remembered it as if it was yesterday. They had been lying in bed in Chase's apartment. He had his eyes closed and she was looking at him intently. She closed her eyes and got the distinct feeling that he had just opened his eyes. She had been lying with her head on her hands and her hands on his chest.

"You have the prettiest hair," He laughed silently. "Sorry, I mean to say the most handsome." She rolled off his chest and lay beside him.

"You have never been more beautiful then you are right now." And her heart swelled with joy even though she opened her eyes and replied:

"Ha! My hair isn't done; I have no make-up on-

Then he had interrupted:

"That doesn't matter." And he had leaned over his pillow towards her and kissed her. He pulled back a little, she opened her eyes, and he was looking at her. "I want to wake up every morning and even at night and see you beside me."

She remembered thinking that that couldn't mean what she thought it did. Then he continued.

"I want to know you will be at home, I want to know you will always love me, I want you to marry me." She remembered staring at him for a few seconds, then sitting up pulling the sheet around her. He was looking at her calmly with his big eyes, and then he sat up beside her and grabbed something off the bedside table. It had been a ring box; he had opened it to reveal a gorgeous ring that had a ruby in the middle encircled with diamonds. "Evelyn will you marry me?" She stared up at him.

"Yes!" She threw her arms around him. He had smiled. He had even asked House's permission, everything had been perfect.

A month before they had gotten married they went back to Melbourne Australia to tell Chase's parents in person. Evie had met them one Christmas before when they had come to New Jersey.

Chase was going to take Evie to all his old haunts, after a week of family time they were going to use his parent's house as a base camp and they we going to jaunt around Aussie land finishing off with a weekend in Sydney. Of course that was all until Chase got a bad case of the flu, and Evie had to stay in the guest house on his parents estate and look after him so as not to infect the rest of the family. Evie had loved it. It was the best vacation she had ever had strangely enough.

And now here they sat. One year happily married and many more ahead.