Always and Forever

Genre: Family; Friendship; Romance

Pairings: Rosie and Julian; John and Alex

Main characters: Rosie, Julian, John, Alex, Greg mentioned

"Do you remember when I had appendicitis, Rosa?" Julian asked softly, as he sat next to Rosie's bed, hunched over the edge and his head resting next to hers. "I was SO ill, and Mr. Greg helped you to forget for awhile, so you wouldn't worry, until you knew I would be okay?"

Rosie turned her gaze, tired and weakened as it was. She smiled, nodding to him. "I remember, of course I remember silly goose…"

Julian smiled. "You and Mr. Greg started horseback riding then. Has he ridden Pepper since then, or only you, my darling Rosa?"

Rosie didn't notice at first how Julian had worded that, exactly. She had noticed his presence, and his concern, of course. She had noticed how whenever he could, he had refused to leave her bedside, and how he was there, when she fell asleep, and again when she woke up.

"Oh, he still rides Pepper," she said quietly. "Sometimes he's ridden him when I've been on your Misty."

"MY Misty?! Oh Rosa," Julian laughed softly, as he raised himself up on his elbows. "I only rode her once. I'm still too frightened. Anyway riding is something you and Mr. Greg share, and I shan't interfere. It's far too special a thing. Anyway Mr. Greg and Daddy love to play football with me. I suppose that's MY special thing with them."

"Wait…" Rosie suddenly asked, noticing her hand was held by her best friend. "What did you just call me?"

Julian, embarrassed by his sudden frankness, and failed attempt to divert her focus, tried to fake it. "Um… I called you Rosa, Rosa?"

"Oh nonsense, silly goose," she said, smiling weakly. "You called me something else. What was it, darling Jules?"

Julian caught his breath. "I suppose… well I believe I called you my darling Rosa… Rosa?"

"Thought so then," she responded, with a tired smile and a sigh. She tightened her grip on his hand.

Julian thought about this a moment, before disregarding it. "Really, Rosa," he said. "Was there any doubt about that?

"I'm so tired, Jules. This bug has me knackered. Will you be here tomorrow, after school?" Rosie asked, suddenly exhausted.

Julian Bailey thought a moment before responding. "Yes, my Rosa. I'll be here. I'll always be here," he said. Steeling courage, he leaned down, placing a soft, cautious kiss upon her cheek. "I love you, Rosa. Always and forever, I promise," he whispered.

Rosie, not quite weak enough from her bug to not notice, raised her hand up to catch her best friend.

"I promise too," she said, pulling him back down. When she had returned the tentative kiss to his own cheek, she smiled at him, blushing. "Does that mean it's really?" she asked.

"Mean really WHAT?" Julian asked, as he settled himself on top of her covers, next to her.

"That now you'll marry me someday?" Rosie asked, tired. Julian smiled at this. Now that the awkwardness of their first kiss – even if it was still only an innocent peck to the cheek – was past, he suddenly felt more at ease with her than he'd ever felt before, in spite of their youth.

"Someday, yes. There's no one else for me, Rosa. Only YOU," he said.

Unseen in the doorway, John and Alex watched as the two drifted off to sleep, Julian having crawled onto Rosie's bed and settled next to her on top of her covers.

"Would you look at those two," Alex said, quietly. "It's about time, I'd say."

"Speak for yourself, Love," John said, wincing at the thought of his little lamb having an official beau.

"Bollocks, John Hamish Watson," Alex said, admonishingly. "They've been engaged longer than you and I have known each other, darling. They may be young but LOOK at them. I remember how worried she was when Julian was in hospital with his appendix. You recruited Greg to distract her. Now Rosie is terribly ill and Julian begs to stay at her side."

John sighed, smiling. "He does. He's a good boy, he's to grow into a good man, worthy of my little lamb. But now he's kissed her... sort've... and she's kissed him back. Give Greg a head's up that Kieran's household may soon encounter a nasty gastrointestinal bug. Shall we offer to keep Julian here while he recovers, an isolation of sorts?" John padded softly into the room, picking up a blanket from a nearby chair. Quietly, he draped it over the sleeping boy, tucking him in gently.

Alex snorted a laugh, before composing herself. "He's not ill yet. But I do agree, it's a matter of a day or two before we see. It WAS only on the cheek but still, she's quite contagious yet. I think he'll recover best with Rosie by his side, don't you? After all she nursed YOUR sorry ass back to health when you ate from that dodgy truck…"

John frowned. "That wasn't my idea. Well, not entirely any road. But point taken… she WILL nurse him, won't she," he conceded softly.

"Oh yes," Alex said, wrapping an arm around her husband's waist. "She will. And he, her, whenever she needs him. Always and forever."