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Revelations

Emily awoke several hours later when she felt the slightest touch on her cheek. She knew those hands, had dreamed of those hands touching her cheek. Then she heard it, the voice she hadn't heard in so long. It sounded older, tired but it was his.

"Em?" Ethan said in a voice no higher than a soft whispher.

Emily sat up, sure that she looked just horrible. She pushed the hair that had fallen out of its pins out her face. "Hi, how do you feel?" she asked.

Ethan smiled at her then, "So much better now that I get to see that."

"What?" Emily asked, looking around.

"You, your smile." Ethan said. He tried to lift his head, winced and let it fall back again into the pillow.

Emily smiled at him again. He looked terrible and yet so wonderful all at the same time. His head had a bandage wrapped around it, his wrist were wrapped up as well. Emily didn't really know what to say so she asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"Uhm, a while. I guess I woke up when I heard Pa go out to do chores."

"When was that?"

"I suppose a couple of hours ago." Ethan replied. He watched the look of shock move across her face and smiled.

"You let me sleep that long without waking me?"

"I liked watching you sleep." Ethan said. "You have to know your nice to look at don't you?"

Emily just smiled at Ethan and leaned into his hand when he cupped it around her cheek. She didn't know what to say to that comment. She was sure that he was going to at least try to kiss her when Katie came running into the room, ruining the moment. She climbed up on the endge of the bed.

"Hi Etan. Mama said that you woke up."

"Well hello Miss Katie. Yes I woke up."

Kate leaned down and wrapped her arms around her brother's neck. "I mwissed you Etan."

Emily sat back and watched as Ethan hugged his little sister and kissed her cheek. "I missed you too sweet pea." he said.

Katie rubbed his whiskered cheeks. "Etan, I don't like your hairy cheeks."

"Yeah I don't think I'll keep them." Ethan said, "What do you think Em, do you like 'em?"

Emily smiled. "Not necessarily."

"Emwilly?" Katie asked.

"What honey?" Emily replied.

"Caleb and Will will take you to town when your ready to go. That's what I was s'posed to tell you." Katie said and run out of the room.

"Well I see I have competition for your attentions." Emily said, feeling brash.

Ethan gave her a funny look, "What are you talking about?"

"The other girl in your life. She short, with dark curls and brown eyes, goes by Miss Katie."

Ethan laughed then. "No. Now I suppose you should go back to town, see how things are and let everyone know that I'm ok."

Emily looked at him then, "Alright. I suppose you'll have enough people fussing over you for today. Will you come and see me when you get up and around?"

"You can bet on it." Ethan said. He pushed himself up then and set against the headboard. "Now come here."

Emily smiled at him and leaned forward. "What?"

Ethan didn't say anything, he just leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was brief but both of them thought they had just flew to the moon when it ended.

The whole way home Emily kept touching her lips and she was sure that she had a funny look on her face because when she walked in the front door of their house after Caleb and Will drove her home Louise grabbed her and said, "What happend, Em?"

"Let's go upstairs." Emily said. They ran up the stairs like two little girls and into Emily's room.

"What happened out there?" Louise asked.

"Well he was really banged up from his whole ordeal. I guess we didn't talk about what has happened while he was gone."

"Did he tell you he loved you?"

"No! Oh Lou! No!" Emily said.

"Did he kiss you?" Louise asked. She was going to grill Emily just like she had when Louise and Oliver had started to see each other.

Emily blushed then and gave herself away without saying a word.

"Oh, how was it?" Louise asked.

"Brief. Lou, he is hurt! Goodness!" Emily said. She got up and went to her dresser. Then she changed the subject on her friend. "So has Oliver asked you to marry him yet?"

Louise smiled and looked down. "No but I think he plans too. Last night he asked me how I would feel about him buying a house."

"Oh Lou!" Emily said, jumping up from her seat, her hair half unpinned. "I bet he is planning to ask you then!" she squeeled. "Oh he'll be a wonderful father to Jesse. I know he will Lou."

Lou bashed all of Emily's excitement with her next comment. "But he doesn't know the truth Emily."

"Oh Lou. He doens't have to know, Oliver loves you and that is all that matters. He doesn't have to know the horrible things that happened to you."

"So you think that it doesn't matter?" Louise asked.

"No. I know it doesn't matter." Emily said.

She slept for a while and then she got up, changed her dress and redid her hair. Then she went downstairs and ran into her mother. "I heard Ethan Stabler is home."

"Yes." Emily said. "I'm riding out there now to see him."

"Oh." Casey said. " Emily."

"Yes mother?" Emily turned around to look at her mother.

"Emily, I'm sorry for not letting you persue your own dreams for pushing my dreams on you from the time you were a little girl so that they would become yours."

"It's ok Mama." Emily said and then she hugged her mother, something that she hadn't done in a while. Then she went and saddled a horse and headed to the Stablers.

Ethan got his mother to bring him the stuff to shave after Emily left. It took a lot of work but he finally got the beard shaved off. Then he looked at his hollow cheeks then. He did look terrible. After he finished shaving his mother brought him some soup and bread. "How are you feeling?"

"Better Ma. It feels good to have those whiskers gone."

"Well you look better, other than having hollow cheeks." Olivia said. She sat with him for a while and then after kissing his cheek left the room. His father came in shortly after that.

"Feeling better son?"

"Yeah, thanks Pa."

"No reason to thank me. So are you and Emily on better terms now?"

"I hope so. I think Keevler taking me with him both made us wake up a little bit."

"Keevler, he's the one who took you with him?" Elliot asked.

"Yes Pa. Then this girl she untied me when Keevler left me staked out on the prairie while he went into town to drink and play cards."

"You were lucky son." Elliot said. "Max Keevler could have easily killed you and left you for the buzzards."

"I know Pa. That was all I thought about. So you think Ma will let me out of this bed this afternoon?"

"I don't know, Ethan." Elliot said. "I think you need to rest."

"I'm not going to work Pa. I thought I would take Caleb and Will fishing or swimming this afternoon."

"I don't know Ethan. I don't think your mother is going to let you stray to far away. Maybe all of us can go this afternoon." Elliot said.

"Pa!" Caleb called up the stairs.

'What?"

"Is Ethan up?"

"Come on up, Caleb." Ethan yelled back.

His younger brother came bounding up the stairs. "Hi Ethan."

"Hi Caleb. You want to go fishing and swimming this afternoon?"

"Oh boy. Yeah! Can we Pa? There is the best spot over by Ethan's house."

"I'll think about it. You go and see who just rode into the yard." Elliot said.

A few minutes later Caleb was at the door again, "It's Emily."

"Oh, I better help you get dressed then, huh son?" Elliot asked.

"I think I can dress myself Pa." Ethan said. Then to Caleb, "Tell Emily I'll be right down."

Ethan set about dressing, he put his shirt on and immediately noticed how much looser it felt on his body. He sat on the bed to button it and then he pulled on a pair of pants. It looked like his mother had thrown out his other clothes. He pulled on his boots next and then looked for his hat. Ma must have put it down stairs. When he made it down stairs, he found Emily in the kitchen with his mother, Katie on her lap.

"Ethan Elliot Stabler!" his Ma said to him. "What on Earth are you doing out of bed young man?"

"Ma I feel fine. I need to move around. I'm getting stiff laying in that bed." Ethan said

"Liv, what do you say we go over by Ethan's place and take the kids swimming and fishing."

"I don't know." Olivia said. She then looked into the anxious faces of her husband, sons, daughter and the girl that she hoped would someday be her daughter-in-law.

"Please Ma!" the twins said in unison.

"Please Mama." Katie said.

Ethan and Elliot looked at her with matching blue eyes.

"Alright. Give me time to change myself and Katie into an old dress. Emily would you like something different to wear?"

"No ma'm I'm okay."

A short while later they were all piled into the Stabler wagon, heading toward Ethan's soon to be home if he could ever get it finished. When they reached the creek and Ethan's house, he was suprised to see that it was finished. The siding was on, the windows were in it. As soon as Elliot pulled to a stop, Ethan jumped down and helped Emily down as well. Then taking her hand he lead her into the house. The youngsters all went running to follow them and Elliot stopped them. "You three stay out of there and let your brother and Emily look around a bit."

Inside the house, Emily was holding onto Ethan's arm. "Oh Ethan, it's as beautiful as I imagined it would be!"

"You've been here?" Ethan said, turing to look at her.

"Yes, while you were missing. I came here and I saw what you were working on. Oh Ethan, I was so afraid that I would never see you again."

"I was afrid I would never see you again too." Ethan said. They were standing what was supposed to be his kitchen. It didn't have a cookstove yet or a countertop or cupboards or furniture but he hoped after he sold his cattle in the fall that it would. They went to the empty sitting room next and then to the two downstairs bedrooms. Then they went upstairs to look at the three rooms up there. All through their tour they stayed hand in hand.

"You must be planning on having a large family." Emily said.

"Yes I am." Ethan said looking her right in the eye. Then he said, "Come on lets go outside."

Outside Ethan and Emily continued to hold hands. Then feeling slightly inappropriate Emily pulled her hand away and said, "Ethan, what are you doing?"

Ethan pulled her behind the house, out of sight of his parents and siblings. "I'm holding your hand, don't the fellas do that with girls in Philadelphia?"

Emily looked at him in horror. "No! Why that would be inappropriate, unless, that fella as you say has spoken for a that girl."

Ethan grinned at her. "I thought I spoke for you this morning."

"No." Emily said.

Ethan took his hat off and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, so how does a fella speak for a girl?"

"Well, he had to tell her his intentions. Ethan you know all of this already." Emily said.

"No I didn't. I've never spoken for a girl before because she was always stepping out with all the fellas that called."

"You could have called on her."

"I didn't have the nerve. I was scared and I didn't think she would want to step out with me." Ethan said.

"Oh. So what are you saying Ethan?" Emily said.

Ethan threw his hat on the ground and run a hand through his longer than normal hair. "I'm saying that I want to be your fella Emily Munch. I'm saying that I want to be the only one that comes calling at your door on Sunday afternoons. I'm saying that I want to be teh fella that you dream about every night and think about every morning when you get up." He refused to tell her that he loved her yet. That could wait for a time that he wasn't run down, beat up and full of all other kinds of ailments.

Emily tried ot hide her amusement at him then she said, taking his hand again, "Well then I guess I am your girl Ethan Stabler."

Ethan grinned then and pulled her into his arms. "Good, so that means I can do this." He tipped her back and kissed her full on the lips.

When he tipped her back up she was laughing. "Ethan!"

He gave her his most innocent look and they went back around the house. They found his family already splashing in the water. "So much for fishing today." Ethan said, heading in their direction.

Emily looked at the tree and she wanted to ask Ethan about the initials that were carved there, see if he knew anything about them. She knew that he had built that house for her and that made her happy.

When they reached the rest of the Stabler family they found the children playing in the water and Olivia setting on the ground, her long skirts spread out around her, Elliot's head resting in her lap, his hat covering his face. Again, Ethan thought how nice it would be to have what his parents had. He looked at Emily and then ran out into the water grabbing a twin up under each arm and tossing them farther out into the pooled water. They each came up sputtering and swam back to get their big brother.

Katie didn't like the rough play of the boys so she came up and sat with Emily. "Hi." the little girl said.

"Hi Katie. Don't you want to play in the water with the boys?"

"No. They pway to rough."

"Well that's just the way of boys." Emily said to the little girl. She watched as the boys played in the water and laughed when the twins ganged up on Ethan and pushed him down.

Katie finally laid down and with her head in Emily's lap and fell asleep. Emily absent mindedly stroked Katies hair an day dreamed until in a half asleep state herself felt Ethan come and rest beside her. "Those boys wore me out." he whisphered, so not to wake Katie.

"Hmm." Emily said.

Ethan slid beside her so that her head was resting on his shoulder and kissed the side of her head. "Sweet pea fell asleep on ya huh?"

"Umhm." Emily answered, eyes still closed.

"You know I should be taken you home soon, right?" Ethan asked her.

"Umhmm." Emily answered.

They got up and left a short while later, the boys were played out and so was Ethan. When they stopped at the Stabler house, Ethan told his parents, "I'm going to take Emily back into town, ok."

"Ok." Olivia said, ushering her youngest children into the house. They needed to be fed and put to bed.

Ethan hitched up the buggy and tied Emily's horse to the back. Then he helped her in and away they went to town.

When they arrived there, Ethan said, "I would treat you to supper but I'm awful dirty."

"That's ok." Emily said. "Just take me home. I know your tired and you still need your rest."

"Yes dear." Ethan said.

When they got to the Munch barn, Emily sucked in a gasp. Her brother and Louise seemed to spend a lot of time there. "What?" Ethan asked.

"Oliver and Louise are in the barn again." Emily said.

"Em, they have as much right to be in the barn as anyone else." Ethan said, not catching Emily's meaning until he turned his head and saw his friend in a serious lip lock with a pretty red head. "Boy I think we need to try that."

Oliver must have heard them because he stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend and sister. "Ethan! So good to see you my friend." he greeted.

Ethan went over and shook hands with his old friend. "Good to see you Oliver. Who's the lady?"

"Oh, Ethan, this is my fiance, Louise." Oliver said.

When Emily heard those words come out of his mouth she nearly fell over and then when he did the next thing she really did feel faint. She hadn't seen Jesse's basket setting on the ground next to his mother. Oliver bent over and picked up the baby. "Ethan, meet Louise's son, Jesse. Well I guess you can say that he's our son now."

Ethan extended his hand to Louise and looked at the baby. "Congratualations to you both. It was nice to meet you Louise. Good for you for catching this old hard head."

Emily followed Ethan as he took her horse into the barn, unsaddled and then turned it into the corral. She waited until Oliver and Louise were gone before she said anything. "Fiance! I am Louise's best friend and I didn't even know that they had gotten engaged."

Ethan grabbed her arms and turned him towards him. "What are you upset about Em? So your brother and Louise got engaged. I thought you would be happy for them?"

"I am happy for them but I would have thought that I don't know Oliver would have told me he was planning to get engaged. I mean Lou told me he was planning to buy a house this morning." Emily said. More she was upset that her brother was getting married before her.

"Well that should have given you the hint right there, Em. I mean a fella doesn't usually buy a house for no reason or build one for that matter." Ethan said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'm making myself sound snotty, aren't I." Emily said, laying her head on Ethan's shoulder. She heard him suck in a breath and she realized it was sore from where he had landed on the rocks in the days before. She picked up her head.

"Yeah, kind of." Ethan said, being honest.

"Ok. I'm sorry." Emily said. "Will you still walk me to the house?"

"Of course." Ethan said. He walked her to the house, kissed her goodnight and turned on his heel and left. He drove home and by the time he reached there it was almost dark. The house was quiet when he went in and his mother had some supper waiting for him. While he ate his father came in and sat with him.

"So you and Emily are back on good terms again?"

"I think so. I hope so." Ethan said and smiled.

"I saw them holding hands El, you know what that means." Olivia said, rubbing her sons shouldlers.

"Oh, so when's the wedding?" Elliot teased.

"Well we're not having one but Oliver is." Ethan said.

"Really?" Olivia said. She loved to hear any gossip from town.

"Yep. I saw him tonight and he introduced me to Emily's friend Louise as his fiance. She has a little baby too."

"Is is Oliver's?" Elliot asked.

"No. Louise is a widow Pa. She was pregnant when her husband died and she had the baby in Philadelphia with Em there to help her."

"I see." Elliot said. "Now back to you and Emily."

"What about Emily and I Pa?"

"Well did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"That you love her." Olivia supplied into the conversation.

"No not yet. I just wanted to make sure that she was going to be my girl first." Ethan said. "Thank you for finishing the house Pa."

"No thanks needed son. I didn't want all that lumber rotting and going to waste. I wasn't sure how long you were going to be gone."

"Neither was I Pa. You know what I experienced wasn't pleasent but I'm glad that it was me and not someone else."

"Ethan how can you say that?" Olivia asked.

"Because if Keevler had taken someone else, say you or one of the little ones, they wouldn't have survived. He was mean Ma, he barely fed me, barely let me drink, when he did I didn't know if the water was going to be good or bad. Before that girl found me, he gave me bad water and I thought I was going to die. I never thought that I would see any of this again."