Five years earlier
He tugged on her hand, the inertia of his body weight propelling her sleepy body forward slightly, and the crisp morning wind stung his cheeks. She was trailing behind him as he led her, taking her to the perfect spot he had located on the horizon.
"Are we there yet?" Karen's voice was slow and soft, lazily trying to emerge from a shell of sleep. Jack had all but carried her from the limo to the little walking path that they were on now, the little trail of sand through a thin forest that would take them to the beach.
"Almost." He turned and smiled at her, his alert state contrasting sharply with her drowsiness. He was wide awake, despite the fact that it was so early in the morning. And in the twilight of this new day, he was thinking and feeling a million things.
Their path opened up and they soon found themselves on an empty, pristine beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was still a luxurious dark blue but for the thin pink line resting gently along the top of the water. Jack released Karen's hand as he spread out the blanket he had with him on the sand and situated himself on it. Karen allowed him to pull her down so that she was sitting between his legs, resting her weight against his chest. She closed her eyes as his arms encircled her body, his warmth and solidity inviting her back into her state of REM.
Karen was resting peacefully in his arms, the top of her head laid just below his chin. He nuzzled his cheek into her soft hair, contemplating the waves in front of them. The water of the tide washed in every few seconds, coming within feet of their toes. Over and over again the thin layer of salt water approached, each time dragged back out to the sea from where it came. It was a constant and comforting phenomenon; and although it would occasionally be farther rather than near, it always came back towards them. Jack kissed the top of Karen's head, realizing that she was the constant in his life; although they had had rough times, she was always coming back to him. It was unavoidable that they would be together.
"Karen," Jack whispered into her hair. When he got no response from her, he continued, softly. "Karen. I want you to know something. I want you to know that I love you. I think you know it already, but that's not what I mean this time." The pink line on the horizon began slowly growing upward, with just the slightest hint of orange rising out of the sea. "I love you. I've always felt it, but I'm sure of it now. I could never say it out loud because it would change so much…and it would make things so complicated. I don't want things to change; everything is perfect the way it is. I want you to know that I love you but you can't know that I love you…you would want too much from me - too much that I can't give you, as much as I would want to. And I know that you love me too, Kare. I know that when you say it to me every day, you mean so much more than what you think I take from it. But I know; I can see it in your eyes. For the past thirty years I've seen it in your eyes. And on some level, you have to know that I feel the same way." Karen stirred in Jack's arms, and he caught his breath for a moment - paused to make sure that she wasn't awake. "But if you ever knew that you were the reason I get up in the morning, the reason my heart keeps beating…then it would be that much harder for you when I go. I know we're fighting this as hard as we can, but we both have to face the fact that this illness is going to take my life, Kare. And it's not going to be pretty, and it's not how I want to leave you…" He pulled her closer in his arms and ran the inside of his leg along the length of hers. "…I wish I could say all this to you while you were awake. I want you to hear it, but I just can't let you." The orange below the pink in the sky was turning to yellow now, and Jack knew it wouldn't be long. "I couldn't go without telling you. Maybe, somewhere in the breeze of your dreams right now, you're hearing this. Maybe some random night after I'm gone, you'll hear my voice speaking these words to you and you'll wake up smiling, thinking of me." A seagull crowed and the darkness of the sky began to fade away more rapidly. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you." He kissed her hair. Then her cheek. And as she slowly awoke in his arms, her lips.
"Did I miss it?" she asked, in a daze of kisses and confusion. Jack took her chin in his hand and tilted her face out towards the water and the impending sunrise. The top of the sun was just starting to crest the water, making it dance and sparkle in front of them. Karen gasped at the beauty of the moment.
"No," he told her. "You didn't miss a thing."