When James finally regained conciousness, he felt as if his body had quit on him and he hurt everywhere. He opened his eyes and saw that somebody was leaning over him. That someone had short black hair and a young face that was wet with tears. Henri, no doubt. As his other senses began to kick in, he felt that he was sweating, but he was somehow cold and shaking like crazy. The bright sunlight reached his eyes and he squinted, groaning as he did so.
"James! You are not dead!" Henri shouted, "oh, I am so happy I could kiss you!" James grinned as Henri blushed bright red. "Well, not really, but I'm still so happy you are awake!"
As James's eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was laying in the back of Moses's wagon. Henri was hanging of the edge and the blackened ruins of the print shop were just a few buildings away. The fire had been extinguished, but from James's vantage point everything looked to be completely destroyed.
"Where's Sarah? Is she okay?" James asked, beginning to panic.
"She's with Dr. Franklin. She inhaled too much smoke and she couldn't breathe, so Dr. Franklin was trying to find a way to help her breathe better. Don't worry James, she'll be fine because YOU saved her! If you hadn't taken Mr. Harrsion's horse and ran straight for the print shop, Sarah would have died." Henri's face grew sad at the sheer thought, and so did James'.
"I want to see her-"
"Sorry James, but Moses and Dr. Franklin both said that you are to stay here, and I am to watch over you until they say you can go."
"But-" James began coughing and a samaritan nearby came and offered James a cup of tea. He accepted graciously and thanked the woman for her kindness. Turns out that the Pennsylvania Gazette had a lot of loyal fans, because a ton of people came and did what they could to help. Whether it was making food, or helping to clean up what was left of the shop. Makeshift tents had been set up in the middle of the streets for such things, and James guessed that Dr. Franklin and Sarah were in one of them.
Some time later, James spotted Sarah and Dr. Franklin walk towars him. Sarah broke into a run, against Dr. Franklin's protests, and James found himself being squeezed to death by his crush. He wished they could have stayed that way, but eventually it had to end, and he needed air.
"How are you James?" Sarah asked worried.
"I'm fine, but how are you? Henri told me that you couldn't breathe." She smiled, and James's heart stopped momentarily.
"You know how Henri exagerates things. It wasn't that bad, thanks to you." James was thankful for the layer of smoke on his face because it hid the blush that appeared. Dr. Franklin decided to intervine at this moment.
"Oh, look at the time, I must meet with a man who just might give us a place to stay for the night. Henri why don't you join me?" Turning to James he grinned, and James knew to thank Dr. Franklin for this moment alone. When they truly were alone, James lead Sarah to the wagon and they sat down.
"James, why in the world did you come into the shop after me? You could have been killed, too, you know."
"Why wouldn't I come after you? Your one of my best friends!" James put a hand on her shoulder. "How could I have left you there without at least trying? Sure, we have our moments but I wouldn't trade you for the world!"
Sarah smiled one of her special smiles, and James grinned, happy that his plan had worked. That was when Dr. Franklin's words came flooding back to James: We must either diminish our wants or argument our means, take time for all things. He knew how badly he loved Sarah, but he realized that now was not the time to tell her. He would wait a little longer, heck he could wait forever if she'd court him one day.
Sarah yawned as she tried to fight sleep. When James noticed this he gently pulled her against his shoulder, leaving his arm drapped across hers.
"Try and get some sleep, Sarah." he told her, and within a few moments her breathing slowed enough that James knew she had to be asleep. Then Ben's final piece of advice came back to him: Always show her that you care. And, well, that's exactly what he planned to do. He looked down at Sarah's face, which was at ease momentarily, and gently kissed her on the cheek. The rush that followed went straight to his heart as Sarah smiled, completely unaware of the kiss's origin.
A/N - Yay, the final chapter! Alright, I know some of you were probably expecting a real kiss, but I thought this way was more suited to the story. Sorry to disapoint any of you! But, hey, I added the check kiss at the last second, so don't hate me that much! And I just want to take a moment to thank all of you who reviewed this story, you guys are awesome! Especially those of you who review on every chapter, because then I have a good idea of when to update. I check my account on here every day to see if anyone has reviewed, and I'm always thrilled when you have! So thank you all!