Hello lovelies! Sorry for the wait. It would've been longer (hehehh) but I decided I should post what I had. And I am definitely taking in your reviews and encouragement, and all input is appreciated! Next chapter should be quite interesting with the Lou/Georgie/Peter dynamic coming into play.

Peter walked out of the building and was immediately embraced by the noise and chaos that was the city of Calgary. He blew out his breath, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He began walking down the street and took out his phone.

Before he could do anything, his phone began to ring. Putting a hand over the device to shade it from the sun, he saw it was Lou calling. A smile made its way onto Peter's lips, his heartbeat accelerating a little.

He pressed answer, and brought the phone to his ear. "Lou, hey. What's up?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to check in with you. Your meeting's over, right? You're on your way home."

Home.

Peter smiled. "Yes, I'm coming home."

"Okay, well, I'll see you soon. I just…well, I wanted to talk to you about what you said yesterday. I feel as if there was more you wanted to say…I know there was more I wanted to say."

"Yeah, yeah, definitely. We'll talk. I want to talk," Peter said, chuckling softly.

There was a smile in Lou's voice. "Okay, I'll be waiting."

"I won't be long," said Peter. "Talk soon. Bye."

"Bye," said Lou.

Once Peter was off the call, he put his phone away and rushed to the SUV.

His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest. He was giddy with excitement and had high hopes. He felt like a teenager all over again, all ready to take his crush to the prom. Except this wasn't the prom. And he wasn't in high school.

He smiled to himself.

Today's the day.

Peter arrived at Heartland, making his way into the kitchen. He saw Amy, who was preparing lunch. He greeted her and then asked for Lou.

"Oh, she's in her room."

"Oh, can I—?" He broke off, gesturing to the bedroom area.

"Oh yeah, of course. She's actually been waiting for you."

Peter's eyes lit up, twinkling at the mention of Lou wanting to see him. He smiled, thanking Amy and heading inside.

Arriving at her room, he knocked. "Lou...? It's me, Peter."

Lou called out, "Yeah, just a minute!"

"Okay."

A minute later, Lou opened the door wide, a hand resting on the door frame. "Hey, you're back."

Peter smiled. "I am. Hey, why—why don't we sit and talk?"

"Yeah, yeah—come on in," Lou ushered Peter inside.

Once seated, Peter began. "So, how did your follow-up go?"

Lou nodded. "It went okay. They did the scan on me."

"Yeah? Did it go okay? I could tell you were really bothered by it the last time."

Lou nodded. "It wasn't as bad as the last. I guess I just needed some getting used to, right? The doctor also prescribed me something. For the pain, for the symptoms I was telling you about…"

Peter nodded, a worried look in his eyes.

"Amy was with me, and I really appreciated her being there because I don't know how I would've done it all alone...but, it wasn't the same. Usually, you're there with me, and I missed you today."

Peter's head went up. He smiled cheekily. "You did, did you?"

"Yes! I did."

He smiled again. "I missed you, too. You know, getting your phone call as I headed out of that meeting...it all felt so familiar, so comforting, so...us, you know?"

Lou smiled. "I know," she said thoughtfully, nodding her head.

"And it just made me think about all the times I'd get those sorts of calls from you, how hearing your voice made me feel so much at home...even though I was in the middle of a loud, traffic-crazed city."

"It reminded me of those times, too."

"And I just kept thinking how much I missed that. How much I wish that we could go back to being like that."

Lou felt a ping in her stomach, beginning to also feel nervous and exhilarated. "Yeah...?"

"Yeah."

"So, what are you saying?" She said, shifting to face Peter's direction more.

"I'm saying that I still love you. I always will. And that I need you, and our daughters."

Lou looked down, clasping her hands together nervously. "The girls need you too. And I—I need you. I really do."

There was a soft glint in Peter's eyes. He looked at her, taking in just how beautiful she was. Always had been. A couple of moments passed before he said, "God, you're beautiful."

Lou looked down, smiling to herself. She laughed softly. "You're not so bad yourself."

Peter laughed, his dimples showing. He parted his lips, suddenly at a loss for words.

Lou watched him. Putting a hand to his wrist, she said, "What…? What is it?"

Peter reached into his coat pocket and pulled out Lou's ring.

Lou's lips parted. She laughed incredulously. "Peter—you…"

Peter looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You had it with you this whole time…" Lou said, moving a hand to her chest. "Oh my god, Peter…"

Peter held the ring in front of himself, looking squarely at it. "You know…sometimes in life, we don't realize how good we have it. How lucky and fortunate we are to have our loved ones in our lives. And as sad and despairing as it is, sometimes it takes almost losing someone to realize their worth…to realize that you couldn't live your life without them…that living in a world without them is just…well, it's unimaginable."

Peter paused a moment, catching his breath. He finally looked up at her, gazing into her green eyes. "I love you so much, and I'm holding onto the hope that there's a still a part of you that loves me."

Lou looked at him, taken aback by his choice of words. She suddenly felt like she had to defend her love for him, say something to make him trust that love, to feel needed and to feel important to her. "Peter, what are you saying? Of course I love you. I always will. Always."

"Yeah?" He asked, his eyes full of anticipation, a child-like quality to his voice.

Lou put a gentle hand to his arm. "Yeah! Of course…"

Peter laughed contentedly. Sighing, he slowly began, "Lou…I'm going to take our daughters to Vancouver. Once this whole mess is sorted out, I'm going to bring them back, and we will begin our new lives together. And we're going to be happy, happier than we ever were before. I swear it to you…" he trailed off. A moment later, "You know that meeting I went in for today?"

Lou nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, it wasn't just an ordinary meeting. My company is actually opening up a location in Calgary. They've been planning it for months, and it's finally coming together in just a few weeks. I guess they saw I've been working from home more and more, so they figured they'd just transfer me here. And they're not just transferring me, they're actually promoting me to managing director. I'd be running the entire operation in Calgary."

Lou gasped happily, moving forward to hug Peter. "Oh my god—Peter! That is amazing news! I'm so happy for you."

"I'm happy too. This way I'll be closer to you guys."

Lou moved back. "Yeah, I guess you'll really be at home then, won't you?"

Peter nodded. "I will."

Lou looked at him, smiling and laughing happily through the tears. "I can't believe this. I just…I must be dreaming."

Peter smiled. "You're not. This is real. It's happening." Peter went to grab her hand. "You and I are going to make this work. Okay?"

Lou brought her other hand to hold onto Peter's. She nodded. "Yeah. We—we will."

Peter smiled. He brought the hand holding the ring up. Holding it in front of her, he asked her. And when he did, he could finally breathe again.

"Lou Fleming, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes! Yes, I will…"

He brought the ring and slipped it gently onto her finger. He went to hold her hand in his. Looking at the sight, he was awestruck. "It still fits…" he said thoughtfully, almost in a daze.

Lou's heart was aflutter, her smile beaming, her stomach jittery. She nudged his arm. "Of course it still fits!"

Peter burst into laughter, his smile lighting up his handsome face. He sighed happily, putting his hands gently to her arms. "This is real. We're together, and nothing on this earth can break us apart, do you hear me?"

"I hear you," Lou said, a smile in her voice.

Peter moved forward, his eyes welled up. He wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her small frame with his own wider one. He planted a loving kiss on her hair and held her against him gently and carefully.

In that moment, Peter swore to himself that this time around, he would not screw things up. He was going to value and cherish her, he was going to be there for her, and he was not going to walk away, no matter what. He was going to love her like there was no tomorrow, like every moment they had together would be their last, and so he was going to make every bit of it count.