A/N: This is the last chapter so please don't ask me to update soon. I leave the rest up to your imaginations. Please review. It's been a slice

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The bank owns my house and my car.

Chapter 34

Ryan and Marissa had a quiet ride home from the hospital after visiting with Summer, Seth and baby Robert. They each seemed to be lost in their own little world of thought. In truth, each of them had a great deal on their mind on the way home, and so nothing was said. The last three months had been an incredible whirlwind of emotion and activity for them. They had both agreed that they were going to resolve any issues outstanding from their past as quickly as they could so they could start fresh and have nothing hanging over them.

The first thing Marissa wanted resolved was Volchok. He was serving time in prison for vehicular homicide, attempted manslaughter, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. The plea agreement that Sandy had negotiated at the time had allowed for the sentences on all charges to run concurrently, the longest being fifteen years for vehicular homicide. Although Sandy loved teaching, he still loved being back in the arena of 'real law' as he called it. It had taken a few phone calls and some incredibly fast talking to keep Julie from being prosecuted for anything, but finally he had achieved the result the he, Ryan and Marissa had all felt was the fairest and best way for everyone to move on.

Volchok would be released unconditionally after ten years, unconditionally. He would not have probation or parole and would never be told that Marissa was alive or where Ryan was. His punishment would be appropriate for the crimes he had ACTUALLY committed.

The second, and most important thing they had figured out was their own relationship. They had a long conversation during their drive back from Newport that first weekend that started during their driving tour before they actually left their old home town.

"So his is Harbor." Ryan said as they got out of the car at their old high school campus. The buildings were closed for the summer, but they walked around the large courtyard and sat down on the steps where there senior year photo was taken.

"It all looks familiar, but I'm not sure I could find my way around." Marissa said placing her hand on Ryan's knee. Ryan laced his fingers with hers and gazed into her eyes.

"You know, the day we had the class picture taken, you had only just got back into Harbor that week, and we were still struggling with the whole Johnny thing, or at least I was. I felt like we were drifting apart, but I felt paralyzed by my own emotions. I could never seem to get the words in my brain out of my mouth. It's been a major feature in my 'what if' reflections all these years. What if I'd opened up? Would you Johnny have even felt it worth his while going after you if he knew we were solid? Would Johnny not have been up on that cliff? Would we not have broken up? Would Volchok have even been a factor in our lives? Would you then not have agreed to go to Greece, so we wouldn't have been on that road and Volchok wouldn't have been after us?" He paused for a moment.

"Wow, you've been torturing yourself over this haven't you?" Marissa squeezed his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, I want you to know, that I think we're solid now. We've talked more about EVERYTHING in these last few days than we probably did in the entire time we dated back in high school. I think that's a pretty good start, and I feel closer to you than I have felt to anyone in a very long time. I feel like I would be empty if you weren't around. I'm actually kind of dreading going back to Frisco. I don't want this to end."

"It doesn't have to, and I don't want it to either. In fact, I think you should move in with me and Nate as soon as we get back." Ryan let go of Marissa's hand and turned to face her. "I don't want to be going back and forth between each other's houses trying to steal moments to be together. It's not like we don't know each other, or we're not sure what we want. I think we both want the same thing in the end, right?" Ryan's eyes connected with hers and pleaded his case.

"Is that a proposal, Mr. Atwood?" Marissa grinned.

"Kind of" Ryan chuckled. "You'll get the full moonlight, roses and diamonds some other time, but why waste any more time? I love you, and I want to marry you, I've wanted to marry you since I was seventeen years old, I just didn't recognize it as that back then."

"I love you too, and I would love to move in with you. You don't think it's too soon…after you and Taylor, I mean. Don't you want some guy time or something?" she giggled.

Ryan kissed her nose. "I want you and Nate in my house. I don't like it empty, and it's just that much better with you in it."

"Well ok then." Marissa leaned forward into a tender kiss.

When they got back to San Francisco matters were complicated a little by Kaitlin being in town and Nate's guardianship case. Marissa wanted to spend time getting to know her sister again, and Ryan needed to focus on Nate and what he needed. They had tried rather awkwardly to spend some time together alone during the first week, but either Kaitlin was at Marissa's or Nate was at Ryan's and it made things difficult.

Then both issues had seemingly resolved themselves although neither Ryan nor Marissa felt like celebrating. Ryan's guardianship petition had been refused, Nate's mother passed away, and although Kaitlin and Marissa were enjoying getting to know each other again, they were still sisters, and living in the same house was a definite cause of tension between them.

It had taken another week after Nate moved in with Kirsten and Sandy before Marissa had decided she was ready to make the move. She decided not to put her house up for sale immediately as Kaitlin had decided to stay for the rest of the summer. It had then taken another week of trips back and forth after Ryan came home from work to bring all the stuff she wanted and have it put away or displayed in various rooms of the house. Ryan loved having her in the house, and loved the way she had made it very much THEIR house in a very short period. Taylor had done very little to the house when she moved in so it had remained more like a bachelor pad than a home. With Marissa's touches here and there, you instantly felt that a couple lived there, each with very unique, but totally complimentary tastes.

Since then, they had settled into a life of domestic bliss. Ryan had been very busy with work, but it had all paid off with more lucrative contracts coming in to ATCO. Life was good, business was good and for the first time in years, he was completely happy.

Seth had joked that he wasn't sure that it really was Marissa who had come back because Ryan smiled way too much and whistled when they hung out. The Ryan he knew had only whistled when he dated normal girls, like Sadie or Lindsay. The last comment had earned him double smacks on the head from both Summer and Marissa one weekend when they were hanging out at Seth and Summer's house.

Everything seemed to be going really well, too well. Three weeks before Summer had gone into labor, Marissa had become ill. It seemed like it was some sort of stomach flu, but it wasn't going away. She began losing weight and was extremely fatigued. After two weeks of watching Marissa virtually wasting away, and sleeping the days and nights away, Ryan had insisted she see a doctor. The doctor, having been informed of Marissa's medical history and recent stresses in her life, was concerned that Marissa was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and had launched a barrage of tests to confirm his suspicions.

Marissa had been called back to see the doctor to receive her test results the morning Summer went into labor. She hadn't thought much about it since she had begun to feel a little better and she seemed to be gaining some weight back.

"Marissa, I'm glad you were able to come and see me. We have a lot to discuss and I need to refer you on to a specialist."

"Specialist? Please just tell me what's wrong. Is it serious?" Marissa was panicked. She was finally happy and now she was going to die of some obscure disease before she could marry Ryan, or he before he even got the nerve to propose to her properly again! Her mind raced a million miles a minute as the doctor droned away with his calming tone, and in the middle of it gave his diagnosis that Marissa almost missed in her fantasy world of deadly diseases and Ryan's apparent commitment phobia…again.

"What did you say?" she stopped suddenly. "There must be some mistake."

"No mistake. I want to see you again in two weeks, and we'll get your other appointments set up for you."

"Uh, thank you." Marissa rose slowly and shook the doctor's hand. She needed to talk to Ryan as soon as possible. As she dug for her phone in her purse, it rang. Speak of the devil, there he was.

"Hey you" she said quietly.

"Hey you. How did it go with the doctor?" he asked.

"Umm, fine I guess. I have to make some other appointments and stuff. Can we talk about it tonight?" Marissa did not want to have this conversation on the phone. She was interrupted from saying anything further by her call waiting going off. "Hold on, babe, Summer's on the other line."

"Sum? What's up?"

"Coop!! I'm in labor and we're heading to the hospital. I need you there."

"Oh my god…er ok, I've got Ryan on the other line. I'll tell him and I'm on way. Remember breathe, Sum, breathe! I'll see you soon." She pushed the button to reconnect with Ryan.

"Hey, um Summer's in labor, so I'm headed to the hospital to be with her."

"I know" answered Ryan "While you were gone, Seth called me. I told him I'd be there as soon as I could. Why don't you go home and have Kirsten pick you up and take you to the hospital so we don't have two cars there."

"Ok, I love you. I'll see you soon."

"I love you too, and we will talk tonight, I'm worried about you." Ryan added.

"Don't be. I'll be fine." Marissa hung up and called Kirsten to make arrangements to be picked up at home.

Ryan hung up with an ominous feeling about what was wrong with Marissa. An overwhelming sense of dread filled him. What if there was something really wrong? He hadn't given her the moonlight and roses proposal he promised. Would there even be time for them to get married? The thought of losing Marissa again terrified him and he was determined that if the worst happened, they would be married before it did. He was going to make plans for this evening after they got home from the hospital. Before Marissa could give him the bad news, he was going to make it an evening she would never forget.

Marissa was extremely tired in the car on the way back and lazily dozed as she thought about telling Ryan her news. She would wait until they were home with no distractions, and went over in her head exactly how she was going to break it to him. She played out the different reactions in her head and finally settled on a plan.

Ryan watched her dozing beside him as he drove home wondering if all the arrangements he had made that afternoon had been carried out properly. He hoped it wasn't too late and Marissa was too tired to appreciate the effort. Who knew babies could take that long to be born?

As he pulled into the driveway, Marissa woke and they lazily made their way into the house in silence. As Marissa opened the door her mouth fell open at the sight before her. The soft lighting from the kitchen cast into the hallway and foyer and revealed a trail of red rose petals leading into the kitchen. She turned to stare at Ryan speechless. He smiled and indicated to her to follow the trail.

The petals led through the hall into the kitchen and out through the French doors to the patio by the pool. The patio table was set for two with candles. A single red rose lay across one of the plates. White lights were strung around the patio giving a soft glow to the area. In the middle of the sting was a large white disk lit with soft cream light. Marissa turned to Ryan again with questioning eyes.

"I had to guarantee the moon would be here" he smiled and led her to the place where the single rose was laid. He pulled out her chair and gestured for her to sit down. Once Marissa was seated he went back into the kitchen to check the oven. It was on low and inside was exactly what he expected. He was going to have to give the cleaning lady a lot extra this week. She had come through big time!! In the oven were two plates with metal covers on them. He removed them from the oven and checked under one and found what he had asked for. He took a small velvet box out of his pocket and placed it on the plate and covered it again.

"Ryan?" Marissa called from outside.

"Coming…" he answered as he carried a tray with the two plates out to the patio. He placed Marissa's in front of her and then placed his. Marissa started to lift the cover off her plate. "WAIT!" Ryan yelled a little louder than he had intended to and it made her jump.

"I mean…er…sorry…there's something I want to say to you first before we eat. I promised you moonlight and roses, so I think you know what's coming, but I'm gonna do it right." Marissa smiled as she wiped a tear that had inadvertently escaped from her eye.

"Marissa, you may have noticed that I've gotten a lot better at telling you how I feel" he began "but I still don't feel that I could possibly find the right words, or enough words, to tell you exactly what you mean to me. I am amazed every day when I wake up next to you that you are actually there. Ever since the first time I woke up spooning you in that sleazy TJ motel, it's felt right, and I don't want to ever imagine not waking up beside you again. In you I know I have truly found my soul mate. I really believe there is a reason that we have always found our way back to each other no matter what or who got in the way. I don't want to have to find my way back to you ever again. I want you to always be right here with me. I love you." Ryan removed the lid from his plate and indicated Marissa to do the same. Seeing what was on her plate, Marissa laughed and cried at the same time.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches, Ryan? How cheesy is that? Pardon the pun" she giggled again wiping tears away.

Ryan got up and knelt down in front of her taking the velvet box off her plate as he did so. He opened the box to reveal a two carat square cut sapphire set on a platinum band with eight tiny diamonds arranged in a square around it.

"Marissa Cooper, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?"

Marissa could not contain the tears any longer and could not get any words out. She simply nodded. Ryan got up off his knee and leaned in to kiss her with all the love and tenderness he was feeling at that moment.

"I love you so much" Marissa finally managed to whisper as they pulled apart. Ryan removed the ring from the box and placed it on her finger. "Ryan it's beautiful"

"Yeah well, the sapphire is for your eyes and the diamonds are for the eight years it took for us to find each other again." He kissed the ring and her fingers. "Are you ready to eat the fabulous meal I had prepared now?"

"Actually, I'm not really hungry. Could we just go sit in the swing and cuddle for a bit?" she added taking his hand and leading him to the love seat swing they had in the corner of the garden.

"Sure. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just not hungry after all this excitement."

After they had settled into the swing with Marissa leaning on the left side of Ryan's chest and his left arm around her shoulder, they enjoyed a few moments of silence. Ryan wanted to now ask her about her doctor's appointment again, but wasn't sure how to bring it up now. He opted instead to get a time frame in mind.

"So, when would you like the wedding to be?" he asked casually.

"Well, I guess that will all depend." Marissa answered cryptically. Now would be the perfect time to tell him.

"Depend on what?"

"It will depend on whether or not you want Jimmy to show up with a shot gun" she was smirking and loved teasing him.

"Shot gun? I'm confused." Ryan looked down at her puzzled.

"Ok, let me ask you a question before I really answer yours."

"Um…ok"

"Do you still want to give a child the kind of life you never had?"

"Yes, of course I do, but what's that got to do with…" Marissa cut him off.

"Can it be any child, or are there specific parameters?" she was loving teasing him and he was making it so easy.

"Er…no, but we tried this already with Nate and they wouldn't let me. Do you think they would reconsider again so soon?"

"Ugh, Ryan!!! I can't believe how dense you can be sometimes!" She sat up smiling.

"What?" he was thoroughly confused.

Marissa sighed. "Ok, let me lead you down the garden path. Why do fathers show up at weddings with shot guns? Let me help you…when their daughters HAVE to get married." Ryan still stared blankly, but the wheels were turning.

"Ok…final clue, and if you don't get it, the engagement's off" she joked. "There is only one way that you could ever give another child the life you never had when you were young without having to get a rubber stamp from the authorities and that is by…" her eyes beckoned him to finish her sentence.

"By…" everything clicked in an instant. Ryan took a second to process the information and finished "by having a child of my own? Does that mean you are? That you can? That we are? That everything is ok?" he turned to face Marissa his eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes, I am, we are. The doctor said that he thinks I'm about 8 or 9 weeks along, but he wants me to see a couple of specialists because of the accident and the damage. He said I would likely have a high risk pregnancy throughout but if I really take things easy, I should be able to carry to term."

"Oh, I love you!!! I was so worried I was going to lose you. I thought there was something seriously wrong with you. I can't believe this is happening. I told you, if we kept practicing and testing the theory it would work!" he laughed. "Ah, shot gun wedding…I get it…haha…very funny." He pulled her in for a kiss as he rubbed his hand on her belly and leaned down to talk to the life growing inside his beautiful fiancée.

"Hey Baby Atwood. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're there. Your mom and I are going to take the best care of you starting from right now. Just don't give your mom a hard time for the next few months 'cos I don't like to see her not feeling well."

Marissa smiled as Ryan spoke and stroked his hair.

"Well, honey, I guess you're going to get to pay it forward after all." She said lovingly.

They swung together silently for a while enjoying their closeness. Each knew that things were now as they were always meant to be. They were Ryan and Marissa and they were solid.

The End