Author's Notes: Wow. Yeah, that last chapter was short and craptastic. Had to get the boring stuff out of the way, though, so it's all good. Hopefully this chapter does a better job of being entertaining.

Ian sat up and looked around. He wasn't sure where he was; everything was dark, and there was nothing that he could feel under him that would give away his location. He sat quietly for a moment and listened; at first, there was no sound, but gradually the sound of soft crying came to his ears. He thought it sounded a lot like Sasha.

"Sasha?" he called. "Sasha, where are you?"

There was no reply. Ian scrambled to his feet. He realized his shoulder didn't hurt anymore; his headache was also gone too. However, the all-consuming darkness was almost worse. He looked around frantically for the sun-kissed girl.

"Well, this is surprising," a deep voice said behind him.

Ian spun around. His eyes widened in shock and he stumbled backward a few steps. "Johnny Gambino?"

"The same," the burly blonde replied. "Don't look so shocked, Kid. It seems the crazy sniper got you as well."

"N-no!" Ian stuttered. "I…Moira said it didn't kill me! It was just my shoulder…" Ian reached up and felt under his jacket for the bullet wound; he drew back his hand in shock when he couldn't find it.

"Yeah, my wound is gone too," Gambino replied. "And damn if it didn't hurt when I was shot. I think the look on poor Gino's face was worse, though," he added. "The boy had only that moment recognized me again; I turned to pick him up and the next thing I know I'm reeling in pain and falling from my tower. What a miserable way to go."

Ian shook his head. "I can't be dead!" he exclaimed. "This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life! And Sasha…Sasha was right there! I was ready to tell her…to tell her that I…" He crumpled to the ground with the realization that he was never going to be able to tell her how he felt now. "Sasha…" He bit into his fist.

"Sasha, hmm?" Gambino asked. "Oh yes, that cute tanned girl with the blonde highlights – the one who runs Gambino Outfitters. That's too bad; she doesn't deserve to lose someone she loves."

Ian punched the ground. "If only I had it to do over again! I…I wouldn't hesitate anymore. I'd let her know how I feel – I'd let her know right away! I don't want to lose her like this – or the rest of my life for that matter. There's so much I have to do yet! I can't let my family down like this."

"I know how you feel, Kid," Gambino said sympathetically. "I wasted so much time in that ridiculous quarrel with the Von Helson sisters…I could have been spending that time with Gino; maybe he'd have recognized me sooner. I could have put the money I sunk into that accursed tower into building better and more useful things for Gambino Island – for all of Gaia for that matter! To die with regrets is truly a miserable thing."

"Gino…" Ian said quietly. The mention of the boy's name brought back bitter memories for Ian – from the time that he and Sasha had found Gino on the beach to the time when Gino had appeared as the Masque at New Year's and literally swept Sasha off her feet in front of him. "You don't have to worry about Gino," Ian told Gambino, "he's a lot like you – he knows how to get what he wants."

Gambino stared at Ian. "Then…then Gino survived? He survived the tower collapsing?"

"Yeah, he survived," Ian said morosely. He tried not to relive discovering the boy on the beach. "He survived and came back better than ever. The whole superhero thing is really wowing people. I'm sure it won't be long before he rebuilds the mansion and lab again so that he can keep on following your work, like he said he would."

"NO!" Gambino shouted. "He can't! I never told him all the details of that work – it can't fall into the wrong hands!"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't for the idea myself, but who listens to me? They wouldn't even listen when I tried to defend myself in court, let alone when I'm saying something that's against the wishes of a Gambino."

"Ian!" Gambino grabbed the brown-eyed man by the shoulders. "You have to talk to Gino. You have to tell him that the lab can't go unsupervised – it was hidden for a reason! The work being done there can't fall into just anyone's hands!"

Ian shrugged the larger man off. "It's kind of hard for me to tell him, isn't it?" he asked. "We're stuck in the same boat here."

Just then, Ian caught the sound of Sasha's crying again. He looked around. "Sasha?"

The room around him began to brighten. He squeezed his eyes shut against the glare, but even through his eyelids the light was blinding. After a few moments, it faded. Ian could hear Sasha's sobs and slowly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on his back on a firm bed. The walls and ceiling around him were white, and as he moved his head to the side he caught a glimpse of a white pillow under his cheek and a white sheet covering his body. Sasha was sitting in a wooden chair next to the bed, crying into her hands.

"Sasha?" Ian was surprised by the sound of his own voice; it was dry and quiet.

Sasha's head jerked up and her eyes flew to him. "Ian!" she cried. "Oh, Ian, you're awake!"

"I'm…" Ian blinked and tried to take in his surroundings all at once. He realized he must have been taken to the local free clinic. "Yeah, I'm awake."

Other faces appeared in the doorway. "Oh, he's awake!" Moira exclaimed. She looked behind her. "Guys!" she called. "Ian's awake!"

From the floor beside Ian's bed, a short bark sounded. "Woof! Ian!"

Ian smiled. "I'm glad you're all right, Rufus," he said. He reached his arm over the side of the bed to pet the cat.

Moira walked into the room, followed closely by Vanessa and several others. To his surprise, Ian realized that even Ruby and Peyo were there.

"Ruby! Peyo!" he said. "You two didn't have to come all the way here!"

"You better believe we did," Ruby retorted. "After all you've done for us? And Peyo would have never forgiven me if I wouldn't have let him bring his get well card." Even as she spoke, the little boy reached up and placed a small envelope on Ian's lap.

Ian reached for it; he winced as bandages on his shoulder tugged on the still-fresh wound. "Gah…shoulder," he gritted out. He reached over with his left hand and pressed on the wound to alleviate the throbbing.

"I'll open it for you," Sasha said. She reached down and opened the envelope, then drew the card out of it. She handed it to Ian. He smiled; Peyo had drawn a picture of his favorite ducky hat and written 'Get Well' in his large, child-like handwriting inside. A smile surrounded by hearts adorned the signature "Peyo". Ruby had added her own signature underneath.

"Thank you," Ian said. He looked around the room at everyone and then looked again at Sasha. Suddenly, the memory of his conversation with Johnny Gambino came flooding back. It had just been a dream, he realized. A horrible dream, but a dream nonetheless…wasn't it? An unsettled feeling landed in the pit of his stomach.

His face must have reflected the sensation, because Sasha immediately looked concerned. "Ian?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

Ian was thinking fast and thinking hard. "No," he said quickly. "No, there's nothing wrong. I just remembered something that I need to do." He glanced around. "I need to get to the bank. I need to get something out of my safe deposit box."

"I can go to the bank for you," Ruby volunteered. "I'll have Peyo stay here with you; I'm sure he won't be any trouble with all of these people around."

Ian smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks," he said. "Take Rufus with you. He's allowed into my account, and Meredith knows him. I need the white carved box; it's sealed, so just bring the whole thing."

Ruby nodded. "I'll be back in a jiffy," she said. "I'll take the teleporter so that the trip is faster." She scooped up Rufus and hurried out of the room.

Just after she left, a doctor walked into the room. He made his way around Ian's visitors and walked to the side of the bed. "I guessed from all the commotion that you'd woken up," he said. He smiled down at the young man. "You gave everybody quite the start when you passed out on the stretcher like that. But we got you fixed up – I want to keep you here the rest of the day just to be sure that you're not going to have any more fainting spells, and then you'll be able to go home. You'll still need to take it easy, but we can send someone to take care of your bandages and check on you at your house."

Ian nodded. "Thank you," he said. "Thanks to all of you who helped me out, and supported me – it means a lot to me."

"Hey, come on, Ian!" Vanessa quipped. "We've got to keep you around – where else are people going to be able to find those rock-bottom deals that Barton Boutique has?"

Everyone laughed. Ian sighed and smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah," he said. "Barton Boutique…it seems like it's been years since I've been at work. I'll be glad to get back." He suddenly realized that the top of his head was bare. "Hey…" he said. "Where's my hat?"

"The police kept it for evidence," Gino said. He snorted. "We tried to ask them what kind of 'evidence' they could possibly get from your hat, but they're so worked up over this crazy sniper that they wouldn't talk to us."

Ian started to reply but was interrupted by Ruby coming back into the room. Rufus and Meredith followed her.

"Hello, Ian," Meredith said warmly. "I'm so sorry about what's happened to you. Ruby told me all about it when she came to get your box. I hope you don't mind that I came back with her; it's not that I don't trust Ruby or Rufus, I just like to oversee transfers like this myself."

"It's no problem, Meredith," Ian said brightly. He reached eagerly for the box and tried to sit more upright.

Sasha propped him up with his pillows and settled the box on his lap so that he could work the clasp with his left hand. She noticed that his hand was shaking as he fumbled with the latch and peeked inside.

Ian smiled broadly when he realized the contents were still in place, exactly where he'd left them. He quickly turned to Sasha, who looked at him in surprise. "Ian?" she asked.

Ian didn't let himself hesitate this time. He didn't care that almost everyone they knew were in the room with them. He didn't care that Gino Gambino was standing right there by the foot of his bed. All he cared about was the oath that he'd made while talking to Johnny – he'd gotten his second chance, and he wasn't about to waste it.

Everyone in the room gasped as Ian reached over and pulled Sasha into a deep, passionate kiss. Sasha's eyes widened in surprise, and she stumbled a little, falling onto the edge of Ian's bed. He took the opportunity to wrap his arm more tightly around her.

When he finally broke the kiss, she pulled back slightly and stared at him. He smiled back and lifted her hand to kiss the back of her fingers. "I kept hesitating too long, and I almost lost my chance to tell you," he said. "I love you, Sasha. I love you more than anything in this world, even more than my own life." He flipped open the box and revealed a gold ring, set with sparkling diamonds. "Sasha, please – make this the happiest day of my life after all. Marry me, Sasha."