Author's Notes: Mweh heh…ebil cliffhanger. Please continue, if you haven't already skipped this to get to the good part and find out what happens. XD Also, I apologize in advance – this is another short chapter. It found its own stopping place before I wanted it to stop.
Sasha stared at the ring that Ian presented to her. Her mouth moved as if to form words, but no sound came. Ian waited with his heart in his throat as she sorted out her thoughts.
"Ian…" she began. "I…I don't know what to say…this is so sudden…" She looked between his hopeful face and the ring nestled in the box. "Ian, I…I will, Ian," she declared.
Ian closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh of relief. He held the box up to Sasha. "It's yours," he said. He opened his eyes and looked at her beautiful brown eyes. "It can be resized if it needs to be; it was my grandmother's engagement ring…she left it to me, with instructions that I was to give it to the girl who was right for me."
Tears slid down Sasha's face as she reached into the box and took the ring out. She slid it onto her finger and adjusted the ring so that the diamonds caught the light. "It…fits perfectly, Ian," she choked out. She set the box on a small end table beside the chair and leaned over to kiss Ian again. Her tears of happiness mingled with Ian's as they kissed, but neither could bring themselves to wipe the tears away.
The two of them looked up at the sound of sniffling at the foot of the bed. Moira had a handkerchief out and was wiping tears off her cheeks; Vanessa stood beside her, blinking pooling tears from her own. Even Ruby looked a little misty-eyed as she smiled at the two of them. Ian had a small pang of cruel thought as he wished that he had a camera for the look on Gino Gambino's face.
Behind those four, their other friends coughed or rubbed at their eyes. "Congratulations, you two," Meredith said.
"Thank you, everyone," Ian said. He took Sasha's hands in his own and smiled up at her. "We'll be sure to let everyone know when we have a date set."
"Hey, I'm not one to cut and run," Vanessa said, "But I have to get back to the salon. Besides, I think these two could use some alone time anyway." She winked at the two of them.
The others murmured their consent and started to shuffle out the door. "Come on, hot stuff," Moira said. She grabbed the frozen Gino by the arm. "That means you too. No exes in the room with the lovebirds." She tugged him along behind her as she left.
"OH!" Sasha realized. She sat up and watched them leave. "OH! Oh…darn. Oh, that was mean. I should apologize to Gino." She started to stand up.
Ian caught her arm. "Later," he said. "I…I'll need to talk to him myself, later, anyway." He remembered Gambino's insisting that he talk to Gino. "Right now, I just want to relax – just the two of us."
Sasha settled in beside him on the bed. "Ian," she began, "are you really sure about this? It was so sudden, so out of nowhere…"
"I'm sure," Ian said. He paused. "I…I had a dream, Sasha. After I passed out on the stretcher. I had a dream that I died, and…there was so much I'd left unsaid and undone."
"Tell me about it?" Sasha asked. "Your dream?"
"It was dark, everywhere," Ian said. "There was nothing – nothing at all – except…" he hesitated. "Except…Gambino. Johnny Gambino." He quickly glanced at Sasha. "Please don't think I'm crazy, Sasha," he begged. "I know there's no way I could have talked to him. But in my dream…he was there."
"I don't think you're crazy, Ian," Sasha said. "What did Gambino say to you?"
"We talked about the sniper," Ian said. "Gambino seemed to think that it was the same one who shot him. And…we talked about our regrets." Ian looked at his hands. "I always kept thinking that the right time would be 'later'. It was never 'now'; it was always 'later'. The dream made me realize that 'later' might not always be there. And…he wanted me to give a message to Gino." He paused again. "Which is going to be difficult now. I expect that Gino hates me right now."
"I don't hate you," came the reply from the doorway. Ian and Sasha looked up. Gino walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed again. "I'm conflicted, yes. I'm surprised, and a little sad, but I don't hate you." There was a moment of silence as he paused. "What did my father want you to tell me?"
"Y-you heard?" Ian asked.
"Yes," Gino replied. "I was waiting for the doctor to release you; I didn't want to leave with things awkward between the three of us. You did so much to help Sasha take care of me – I don't want to believe what that ProsecutionBot said in the courtroom." He looked at Ian earnestly. "My dad was taken from me the moment I remembered him," he said. "Please – even if it was a dream, I want to know what he wanted to tell me."
Ian looked toward the floor. "It was about the lab," he said. "He said that the lab was secret for a reason." He reiterated what Johnny had told him. "I didn't get to ask him what the lab was for; I woke up here in the clinic before he could say anything else."
Gino cupped his hand around his chin in thought. "I haven't been back out to the mansion since it was destroyed," he said. "It was a total loss – the house and lab both burned completely to the ground. The lab wasn't even completely finished yet – I have no idea what might have been inside it." He paused. "But, it's worth looking in to. I don't think it can be a coincidence that someone tried to pin the fire on you and then you ended up targeted by a sniper the day you were released. I think I'll take a couple of guys out to the ruins of the lab and have a look around."
He walked around the bed and stood before Ian and Sasha. He pulled the two of them close together and hugged them both. "And I want you two to know that you have my blessing. I have you two to thank for me being alive right now, and I only want Sasha to be happy. So thank you, and best of luck to you two."