AN: First, thank you for the reviews and for adding the story to your alerts/favorites. I'm really glad y'all are liking it. Second, there are only going to be a few more chapters. I plan on writing another story about Flack and Kristina. I love them and like I've said before, Kristina is like my baby. So I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
"Mom! He's taking me to Tavern on the Green for dinner tomorrow night!" Kristina shouted excitedly as she ran into her parents' bedroom.
Her mom jumped up from her chair and hugged her daughter. "Oh honey! I bet he's going to propose! We have to go buy something new!"
"Mom, I'm sure I have something here. I'm not even sure if he is going to propose. I don't want to waste the money," Kristina said with a laugh.
"Well, you should know that he's taken your father out for lunch today. When was the last time they went out to lunch? Never. He's probably asking your father's permission," Emily Young reasoned.
Kristina's eyes grew wider with every word her mother said. "Oh my gosh. He's going to propose!"
"Yes, I think so! Now get your purse, we're going out and finding something gorgeous for you to wear."
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The next evening, Kristina walked down the stairs to her waiting boyfriend. She and her mom had spent hours looking for the perfect dress, before settling on a little black number.
"Hi Nate," she said with a bright smile. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. His eyes had gone wide and his mouth was slightly open. Clearly the dress had worked.
"Uh… um… hi Kris. You look absolutely stunning," he said giving her a soft kiss on the lips. "Are you ready to go?"
Kristina nodded and they said goodbye to her parents, and then left. Kristina could see that Nate was nervous. His hands were visibly shaking. He almost spilled his drink twice during dinner. They were now walking through Central Park. Nate seemed to be leading Kristina to a certain spot in the park, but she had no idea where.
"Nate where are we?" she asked as he stopped in a small alcove.
"Kris, look around. It doesn't look familiar?"
Kristina did what he asked and took in her surroundings. She quickly realized that this was a very special place. It was where they had kissed for the first time. When she looked back at Nate, tears instantly welled in her eyes at the sight before her. Nate was down on one knee and was holding a ring up to her.
"Kris, I wake up every morning and you are the first thing on my mind. I think about you all day long and I even dream about you sometimes. I love you more than anything in the world and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Kristina Nicole Young, will you marry me?"
Kristina's tears had begun flowing freely during his speech. He knew they were happy tears. She simply nodded and he placed the ring on her finger. Nate stood up and took her in his arms kissing her deeply.
"I love you so much, Kristina."
"And I love you, Nathaniel."
Kristina smiled as she looked at the area around her. She was sitting in that same alcove for the first time in over ten years. She and Nate had wanted to go back to Central Park before they got married, but they had both been too busy. And then he was gone.
After he died, Kristina couldn't bring herself to go back. In the ten years since he died, she had only set foot in the park if she had a scene. Otherwise, she stayed as far away as possible.
Today was the exception. Kristina was on her way back to the hospital when she passed by the park. She didn't know what it was, but something made her stop the car and find that alcove. And there she was sitting by herself.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Kristina looked up to see her father walking toward her. She smiled and glanced down at her hands. "How did you know where I was?"
"Well, when your mom and I got to the hospital they said you had been gone for about an hour. Somethin' about goin' home to shower and get some stuff for Donnie. She and I both knew that you would have been back in thirty minutes, so we figured you had gone somewhere to think. This was the first place we thought of, so here I am," her father explained.
Kristina smiled at her father as he sat down beside her. She stifled a giggle at the thought of her parents putting their hard earned detective skills to use.
"How is he?" she asked, glancing at her father to find him staring at her. He sighed. This can't be good, she thought.
"He's still out. The doctors say that he's stable, but that could change at any moment." His words caused tears to form in her eyes. Kristina let them fall as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Daddy, I'm scared. What if I lose him too? I couldn't live with myself knowing that the last words I said to him were 'get out' before slamming the door in his face. I never really told him how much I love him. He doesn't know. He needs to know how much he means to me," she said through her tears.
"Krissy, look at me," her father said as he lifted her chin. She looked into his eyes and found sorrow. "I know for a fact that Donnie knows how much you love him. He knows just how much he means to you. And because he knows that, he's going to come back to you. Donnie was there for you when Nate died. More than the rest of us. He's going to come back because he knows how much you need him in your life. Now come on. Let's get back to the hospital so you can be there when he wakes up."
Kristina nodded and stood up. She wiped her eyes as she started walking toward her car. She noticed that her father was following her and turned to look at him. "Did you park next to me or something? Or are you just making sure I actually get back to the car?"
"No, I uh… took a taxi. Needed to clear my head," her father replied looking at the ground.
"Daddy what's wrong with you? And don't lie to me and say that you're fine. I can tell that something is bothering you."
Christopher Young sighed and looked up at his daughter. She was worried about him and he hated that. She had worse things to worry about. Like her injured boyfriend for example.
"You know we named you after me?"
"No shit! I never made the connection… Christopher… Kristina," she said with a smirk.
Her father just rolled his eyes. "We actually had another name picked out for you. Cassandra. It means 'to shine'. But when you came out, you were kicking and screaming. More than your brothers and more than most babies, according to the doctor. You were a firecracker. You're mom said you were just like me. So we decided to name you Kristina."
Kristina smiled. "I didn't know that you had another name for me. I just always thought that you were being egotistical and naming one of your children after yourself."
"Nope. You were extremely close to being my little Cassie," Christopher said with a laugh. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until they reached the car. Christopher held out his hand to his daughter. "Give me the keys. I'll drive."
Kristina nodded and handed over the keys. She walked around to the passenger side and climbed in. When her father had gotten in, she turned and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Daddy. But you never told me what's upsetting you."
Christopher laughed. He thought he had successfully distracted her. He had clearly been very wrong. "I was just thinking about you and if I could have made your life better."
"What are you talking about? I've had a wonderful life. There have just been a few bumps in the road," Kristina said.
"I know, but I feel like I could have done something more to make sure you didn't have to experience those bumps."
"Oh yeah? Like what? What could you have possibly done?"
"I could have pushed you and Donnie together. We always did want the two of you to get together. Your mothers were ecstatic when the two of you finally started dating. Maybe if I had done something when you were younger, you wouldn't have met Nate and then you wouldn't have had your heartbroken…" Christopher's voice trailed off and he glanced at Kristina. She was staring out the window. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Krissy?"
"There's nothing you could have done Dad. Don is ten years older than me. There was never anything between us until after Nate." Kristina knew that this was a lie, but she was not about to tell her father about what had happened between her and Flack before Nate came around. "Please don't beat yourself up over this. Yes, bad things have happened to me. But I am completely fine now. I just need Don to wake up and life will be perfect again."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Positive," Kristina replied.
"Okay. I'll stop thinking about it then," Christopher said while he parked the car. "Well, we're here now. Do you need help carrying anything?"
"No thanks Dad. I've got it." Kristina smiled and grabbed everything out of the backseat. She held it with one arm and took her father's hand with the other. Together they walked through the hospital doors to discover the fate of Donald Flack, Jr.