"York get your lazy ass out of bed!" Carolina shouted from the kitchen. Carolina had improved her cooking skills but York still made the better breakfast sandwiches. When nothing happened Carolina sighed and trudged up the steps. Three months ago she and York had been able to buy property near the town and with help from neighbors and friends had built a small two story, two bedroom house. With such a small population real estate was quite cheep.

She rubbed her head. After being here two years Carolina had come to terms with the fact that the AI's were slowly causing her to loose her grip on reality. It was harder to concentrate sometimes and occasionally she couldn't tell the difference between her thoughts and theirs. But she wouldn't pull them for more than a night, her pride was not that low yet. Being away from the project had helped a lot but she still was suffering headaches often. But she had gotten a closer relationship with the two AIs all the same.

Carolina reached the second floor landing and pushed open York's door. She carefully picked her way around the laundry and general disorder that was York's room to where the man himself was sprawled across his bed, limbs in every direction. Carolina sighed and sat on York's back.

"uurh this is not what I meant." York groaned into his pillow.

"What did you mean?" Carolina asked amused, poking York in the face. Yes being away from the project had certainly changed Carolina for the better.

"Stop that, I'm up and can't breath, get off!" York pushed himself up easily pushing himself up and causing Carolina to tumble on to the floor taking the sheet with her.

"Come on York, breakfast in ten." She turned to leave.

"Give me my sheet."

"No." She heard York move and then felt arms wrap around her. She blushed as she felt York's bare chest against her back. She held the blanket in front of her just out of York's long arms' reach. "Your going to have to get dressed and make breakfast if you want the sheet." Then in a move from their old combat training she broke his hold and darted out of the room trailing the blanket after her. York followed more slowly cursing her and the day in general. As York started on breakfast, Carolina worked on lunch.

Once that was done they headed for the farm eating on the way. Passing through the town they greeted the shopkeepers who were just opening up, and the locals who were already on the street. The people of Sherman IX had grown accustom to the freelancers after a while. Though calling them freelancers was not really true anymore. York and Carolina had tried to contact the project several times using both other's and their own homemade equipment but had never got a response. To be honest Carolina realized she didn't mind as much as she thought she would. Life here was good, no stress, no director breathing down her neck. She and York spared when they had time so as to keep up their skills but in reality they had become civilians.

Carolina caught sight of a shadow darting out of out the corner of her eye as they reached the outskirts of town. She smiled slightly and York grinned as well. Carolina pulled a ten out of her pocket and threw it in the general direction of the shadow. The wild cat leapt up and gracefully caught the coin at the peak of it's arch before darting away. The wild cat wasn't a cat but a little girl. She had earned her name due to the way she climbed and hissed at anyone who tried to approach. She was one of the few homeless in the town. No one knew where she came from or knew her real name, if she even had one. The coin game was one the three had been playing for over a year with Carolina and York throwing harder and harder targets but the Wildcat caught them all.

Once on the farm York and Carolina split up to do different jobs. Later in the day as York was sitting on the tractor eating his lunch he pulled out of his pocket a small box. He opened it and looked at the simple band of copper that had a green stone set in it. He hadn't worked up the courage yet to ask, give him fifty insurrectionists and one bullet any day.

"York this is against protocol" Delta's voice sounded almost disapproving for the logical AI.

"I know Dee but we are not in Project Freelancer anymore. Why follow protocol?"

"I see only a 4% chance of her agreeing."

"Great confidence booster." York said sarcastically even though he knew Delta would completely miss it. And to true form Delta continued on as if York had not spoken.

"What is the point anyway? Why even mate at all. It's not necessary and humans are already overpopulated."

" Dee you don't get it. I don't just want to have sex or children though I wouldn't mind either, it's more than that. I love her and by marrying her I promise to stand by her no matter what and love her forever."

"I see." York could tell Delta didn't get it at all and was trying to make sense of York's thoughts or the logic in marriage and love as a whole. Obviously he was getting nothing. Delta decided to move on with the questioning. "What happens after you ask her?"

"I assume we plan the wedding. It won't be anything fancy neither of us are religious and we are both still soldiers at heart. Then after the wedding things will probably be similar to how they are now."

"Let's go York we are burning daylight." Caleb Jr., the son of the old man whose farm the freelancers worked on, was standing next to the tractor looking up at him. He looked at the ring box in York's hand. "You ever going to actually ask her or are you going to carry that ring around for the rest of your life?"

"Soon" York told him before stuffing the sandwich in his mouth and snapping the little box shut, then he started up the tractor and got back to work.

That night after Carolina made pasta from scratch something she was really quiet good at, York got out of his seat and knelt next to hers with the little box. "Carolinawillyoumarryme?" Carolina blinked and tried to process what he said. To buy herself some time she said "What?"

York took a deep breath "Carolina will you marry me?"

Carolina hesitated remembering the fights her mother and father had always gotten into. She didn't want that but looking at York she realized that she didn't need to be like her parents. York was not her father who could never truly understand why her mother chose to leave him for the army. She was not her mother who had been absent so often even when she was home. Yes Carolina was messed up the Project and AI's had made sure of that but York had always been there too. She realized she had made her decision long ago.

"Yes."

"what?" he asked. Carolina plucked the ring from the box and slipped it on her ring finger and giving him a light peck on the cheek before going to clear the plates.

"York you are such a dork sometimes." she said with a slight laugh.

What just happened? York wondered in a lovely stupor watching his fiancé walk out to the kitchen.

"She accepted your proposal and took the ring. Now get up off the floor." York obediently stood up and looked at Carolina who had come back into the room.

"God York you look like you got hit over the head with a bunch of bricks." She laughed and York grinned enjoying her laugh more than ever.

"It's not every day the girl you love agrees to marry you." York almost wanted to take the words back because Carolina looked a little surprised.

"I think that's the first time anyone's told me they loved me." Her eyes unfocused going back to a time far out of York's reach. He thought of something that would call her back.

"Then I'll be saying it a lot." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Hi All! (Again)

So I know I told you that I would have no access to a computer but I got my hands on one for less than twelve hours. I stated this chapter the morning I left and you can thank NOVARUNFALL for that because their review is what pushed me to publish this incredibly on time with the schedule I set. Don't ever expect this to happen again unless tons of people review. I am also considering rewriting some parts of chapter three because what I wrote in the notebook is much better than what is typed. I would like it to be noted that I previewed this before I published it and found that like chapter two it was simply a block of weird code so I corrected that. If you review before 11 am Sunday I will ether start typing the next chapter or respond.

Olivecat