A Different Happy Ending:

A New Beginning – Part 6b

Out from the edge of the carnival, Alena and Gideon held hands as they walked along the sidewalk.

She hummed as her green eyes focused on the blue, cloudless sky. She took her last bite of corn dog before she looked over at Gideon.

"Think you can hold those nachos over here?"

He couldn't help but chuckle before he moved the chips closer to her. He then surmised, "This might be easier if we weren't holding hands."

"Mm-hmm," she simply hummed through a mouthful of nachos. Once she swallowed, she commented, "I'm still trying to figure out how you and Dad managed to beat us."

He only shrugged as he told her, "I suppose we just work better together than anyone thought."

A fond smile made its way on her face as she conceded, "Yeah, you do." Gideon smiled back before he planted a kiss on her head.

He then spoke, "I for one am looking forward to more family get-togethers…and more celebrations."

Alena narrowed her eyes as she studied his features. She then asked him, "You're up to something, aren't you?"

Gideon's eyes flitted to the ground. He then defended, "No, of course not. Why would you think so?"

"Because I know you," she pointed out before she popped another chip in her mouth.

His brown eyes flicked to the ground once more. He took a breath as he considered his words.

With a smile, he then told her, "I assure you that you will love it," kissing her head once more.

She tilted her head as she looked at him. She then smiled as she spoke, "In that case, I'm looking forward to it." Gideon hummed as he offered her another smile.

She then continued eating her nachos. After several chips, she let out a sigh and asked him, "Do you think you could help me finish these?"

With a chuckle, he then told her, "Sure." He let go of her hand before he grabbed a couple chips and popped them in his mouth.

They continued eating in comfortable silence until they caught sight of the shore. "And we're here," Alena announced with a smile before she threw away their empty food carton and sticks.

She then turned to her boyfriend with a smile and took his hand in hers. "I think our spot is waiting for us."

"I think it is," Gideon agreed with a smile. The two of them then headed over to a secluded part of the beach.

Gideon sat down in the sand as Alena followed his movement and sat down in front of him. She leaned against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

She let out a sigh before she surmised, "I don't know how I lived with Ciana all that time without a place like this."

Gideon pecked the top of her head before he spoke, "I'm sure you found a place just as lovely when you needed to be alone with your thoughts."

Alena hummed before she said, "Don't get me wrong I loved Ciana, and I wouldn't change growing up in the Light Realm, but…"

"It wasn't quite home," Gideon supplied. She nodded against his chest.

She then squeezed his arm before she said, "I know you wouldn't change anything either because it led you here."

"No I wouldn't," he agreed with a small smile. He then placed a soft kiss on her neck before he added, "Because I met the most amazing woman that I'm lucky to call mine."

Alena smiled as she snuggled further into his embrace. Her smile grew as she recalled, "You told me something similar on our first date."

Gideon tilted his head for a moment before he smiled and confirmed, "I did - and it's even more true now than it was then."

He paused before he added, "And we had that date right here because we wanted to be away from prying eyes."

"Not that anyone would blame us," Alena quipped with a giggle. Gideon let out a chuckle of his own.

He then tilted his head and surmised, "Picnics seem to be a bit of a staple in your family."

Alena couldn't help giggle before she spoke, "I guess you're right - I just hadn't thought about it."

"But they do make for a nice little getaway," she then added with a smile. The corners of Gideon's mouth quirked into a smile as he squeezed her hand.

She squeezed his back before she continued, "And our picnic made for a wonderful and romantic date. I think my favorite part was the dancing."

Gideon hummed before he spoke, "I loved the feeling of you being in my arms. I don't think I'll ever forget it."

He then chuckled and reminisced, "Though the song wasn't particularly romantic. It sounded like something from Henry's video games."

Alena laughed out loud before she said, "I had gotten him to put a few on my phone just so I had something to listen to. I insisted that we needed music if we were going to dance, so that's what we had."

Gideon let out a laugh as well. When he sobered, he spoke, "I remember thinking that I wasn't sure how we were supposed to dance to that, but we managed to make it work."

"I couldn't have asked for anything better. As we swayed and waltzed along, I kept thinking how unexpected you were - I never even expected or even thought about having feelings for you."

She paused as she turned to face him. With a bright smile, she continued, "But here we are - just as in love as two people could ever be."

He returned her smile as he brushed a stray hair off her forehead. "And we're still best friends who know everything about one another."

"And I think we always will," Alena spoke as she cupped his face with her hands, "Including how sentimental we both are, and I'm thinking we need to share that dance again."

As a response, Gideon rose to his feet and offered her his hand. She smiled as she took his hand and let him pull her on her feet. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close."

She draped her arms around his neck. She rested her head back on his chest, focusing on the sound of his heartbeat.

She sighed contentedly once more and smiled into his chest. She then spoke, "You know, I think part of me had already fallen in love with you that night."

"Truly?" Gideon asked, his voice full of awe. She nodded against him, her arms tightening around his neck.

She then elaborated, "We were already friends - and you just…just got me. And I was so incredibly happy that you asked me out."

With a giggle, she then told him, "And it was totally cute with how nervous you were," pulling back to look at him.

He shook his head as he posed, "Can you blame me? Our fathers' past feud was only a little less intense than the Montagues and Capulets."

Alena couldn't help but chuckle before she told him, "I'd like to disagree, but the description is pretty accurate."

He offered a slight chuckle before he said, "Now you see why I was so nervous." She only giggled before he continued, "And there's also the fact that you are incredible - you're witty, passionate, strong, and beautiful - I had a feeling you'd want to be more than friends, but that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking."

She offered a sweet smile as she told him, "Even still - and in between the fumbling - you were incredibly romantic, and I couldn't wait to see what you had planned."

"And a picnic with your favorite food where we overlooked the ocean was absolutely perfect," Gideon supplied as he returned her smile and kissed her head.

"It really was," Alena agreed as she smiled once more. With a slight chuckle, she then added, "And the food was pretty perfect, too. I'm still amazed - and impressed - that you made chicken salad sandwiches."

"Well, there isn't too much cooking involved," he jokingly began, receiving a head shake from his girlfriend, "But I know it's your favorite, and I knew it would be special for our first date."

Alena hummed her reply. She then tilted her head and surmised, "It was absolutely special - but it still wasn't quite what I expected."

He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion as he questioned, "How so?"

She shrugged as she told him, "I guess between my parents and grandparents - along with Rumple and Belle - I was looking for some kind of epic adventure with villains and curses trying to tear us apart."

She then tilted her head and added, "Or our fathers. I mean, I knew they wouldn't do anything - but they weren't our biggest fans."

Gideon couldn't help but chuckle as he admitted, "I haven't really thought about it like that, but we are relatively normal compared to our family."

A shadow then passed over his features. His voice cracked as he asked her, "You don't wish that we - I - were more exciting, do you? That we had more of those epic adventures?"

Alena took his face in her hands as she reassured him, "Of course not, Gideon." She kissed his forehead before she continued, "Our story may not include battles, magic, or heroics, but it's our story. I wouldn't trade the beautiful simplicity of it for all the adventures in the world - we fell in love in the midst of walks along the beach, video games with my brother, and dinner at Granny's. I would happily do it all over again because it's perfect for us."

Without warning, Gideon swept her into his arms and pressed his lips against hers. She smiled into the kiss before he threaded her fingers through his hair. He pulled her even closer and pressed his hand against her back.

When they pulled away, Alena asked, "Believe me now?" a smile spreading across her features.

He smiled back at her and ran his fingers through her hair. "As if I could do anything else than hang onto your every word."

She blushed slightly and ran her hand over his chest. He took a deep breath before he said, "You know that I am deeply in love with you, but sometimes, those doubts still creep in."

"Then I'll just have to make sure I'm always reminding you why you're an amazing boyfriend." Alena then smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Hmm?" she then wondered aloud as a drop of water splashed on her arm. She then looked up and saw the darkening clouds.

Before she - or Gideon - could say anything more, the sky opened and released a furious rainstorm. The two of them covered their heads with their arms before they began searching for shelter.

They spied a small wooden dock and quickly ran. Once there, they ducked under with a fit of giggles.

"That's one way to make things more interesting," Alena commented with a chuckle. She then ran a hand through her wet hair.

Gideon slicked back his brown locks as he agreed, "That's for sure." He then smiled and offered, "But I suppose it just appeals to your sense of adventure."

She smiled back at him. With a kiss on his cheek, she then said, "And it's one of the reasons you love me."

He hummed and kissed her head. She then glanced back at the falling rain before she asked him, "Think it'll last long?"

"I'm not sure. It was quite unexpected - I suppose it's a good thing you carried your prizes back to the house," Gideon answered with a tilt of his head. He couldn't help but chuckle before he said, "I hate to think what this is doing to the carnival - Regina can't be happy."

Alena chuckled as well before she surmised, "Yeah. I'd really hate to be Robin right now - or anyone else that has to face her."

Both of them then laughed. After a few moments, she said, "Even with the rain, it's been a great day."

"You think so?" Gideon posed as he grinned at her. She couldn't help but shake her head.

With a smirk, she then began, "As a matter of fact, yes, I enjoyed myself immensely," earning a chuckle from her boyfriend, "But I really did love spending time with my friends and family at Granny's and then at the carnival. I couldn't imagine anything better."

A look - a combination of sheer joy and anticipation - passed over Gideon's features as his hand traveled to his back pocket.

He then smiled and asked her, "Are you so sure about that?"

Alena furrowed her eyebrows as she asked, "What are you…"

She trailed off with widened eyes as Gideon dropped to one knee. She covered her mouth when he pulled out the ring.

"From the moment you returned my heart, my life changed in a way I never anticipated. Not only did you save the town, but you saved me. You gave me the chance to have a real life in Storybrooke with my parents - and now my family is so much bigger than I could have imagined. And to think it all started with a friendship formed from my immense gratitude."

A bright smile bloomed across his features as he finished, "And I can't picture anything better than spending the rest of my life right here with you by my side - as my wife. Alena Swan-Jones, will you make me so incredibly happy and marry me?"

Tears streamed down Alena's face as she continued to wipe them away - an accompanying smile revealing the joy in her heart.

She threw her arms around him. They both laughed as they fell backwards in the damp sand.

"Should I take that as a yes?" Gideon then asked as she looked down at him from where she perched on her arms.

With an enthusiastic nod, Alena exclaimed, "Yes, Gideon! I'll marry you!"

He smiled brightly before he surged forward and pressed his lips to hers. She placed her hands on his chest before she tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

The kiss went on until they could no longer breathe. When they pulled away, he smiled and said, "There's just one thing left to do."

He then began feeling around for the ring. He soon let out a chuckle and told her, "I can't really find it with you still on top of me."

With a giggle, Alena nodded and rolled off him. He then dug around in the sand before he found the ring box.

He reopened it and presented it to his girlfriend – fiancée. She beamed as she covered her face with her hands once more.

She then admired, "Oh, Gideon, it's so beautiful! I love it so much." A fond smile made its way across her features as she caressed his cheek.

"And I love that it represents our new life together." She then moved in for another kiss - this one soft and tender.

When they pulled away, Gideon took the ring from the box. He then held the ring out to Alena and asked, "May I?"

She nodded excitedly as she held out her left hand. He gingerly slipped the ring on her finger before he kissed her head.

"I can't wait for you to be my wife."

Alena admired the ring with a bright smile. "That makes two of us," looking back at him and running her fingers through his hair.

He leaned into her touch before he clasped her hand in his. With a smile, he told her, "I didn't think it was possible to be this happy and this in love, but apparently fate had other plans."

She smiled back at him as she spoke, "And we'll be making new plans soon enough." She then tilted her head and added, "But let's wait on those just a bit. I want our engagement to be ours."

Gideon rubbed the back of his head as a sheepish look crossed over his face. He then admitted, "Well, uh, your father already knows that I was proposing today. The ring fell out of my pocket when I grabbed my wallet…" trailing off as he was unsure of what to say next.

For a moment, Alena's expression was unreadable. A flicker of hope flashed in her green eyes as she questioned, "And he's… he's okay with it…us?"

"Absolutely," he reassured her as he smiled at her once more. He then added, "He even gave us his blessing."

Alena's eyes lit up as she pulled him by his shirt and kissed him. He was briefly caught off guard - and used his arm as a brace to keep them from falling over. He then wrapped his free arm around her and sank into the kiss.

When they pulled away, he studied her features for a moment. He then took a breath and asked her, "Not that I would ever want to question your kisses, but I'm not entirely sure about this one."

She only giggled and shook her head. She then took his face in her hands and told him, "You are the reason we have my father's blessing."

He offered her a puzzled expression. "I'm fairly certain Hook made up his own mind, and it took a great deal of patience and thought to get there. Needless to say, he didn't come to it lightly."

"Maybe," Alena conceded. She then took a deep breath and said, "But you never gave up on us - and you have fought for us. I've never doubted how much you loved me, and I know I never will. I could not be happier to be marrying you - and I couldn't be prouder to call you my husband."

Gideon beamed at her. He then rose to his feet and offered her his hand. "I'd say this calls for another dance."

She took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet - all while she wore a look of pure adoration. He encircled her waist as he draped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

The drizzle sounded out a pleasant rhythm against the docks as the couple began to sway back and forth. They imagined the wedded bliss ahead of them and how they couldn't wait to see what this next chapter had in store.

A/N: You guys will see the last of this story tomorrow – and see a beautiful wedding! Until then, my lovelies :)