I want to apologize for the long wait on this one and also perhaps for the not so good story telling. I began this chapter a long time ago and felt that I had to get it up and may have rushed through it too fast. I feel like I owe it to it's readers to give an ending, so I'm pretty sure there will be one more chapter after this to wrap it up.

"The Floating Rib?" Kristina asked curiously as they walked into the empty bar.

"Well you said you wanted to know everything about our life together so I thought I would start from the beginning." Ethan grabbed onto Kristina's small hand, but waited for her approval before pulling her in further. "This is where we first met."

"Really? I met you at a bar?"

"Yeah, but it was Jakes at the time. You were here for Maxie and Spinelli's non wedding. Remember it?"

It had been a long time ago, but she smiled when she thought back. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well I was here crashing it. Kind of for the free beer." He laughed.

"Go on." Kristina encouraged.

"Okay, well, when Coleman thought I was helping myself to too much of the open bar, he told me I should leave since I wasn't officially invited."

"Oh?"

"But that's when you stepped in and invited me as your guest."

"Well that was nice of me."

"Indeed it was, love. But, as kind as it was, you were all of sixteen years old and I was not looking to get myself involved in anything like that and your mother was right along with me on that one. She was actually quite funny about it."

"My mother? Funny?"

"Yeah, I can remember singing karaoke that night and Alexis made sure that I didn't get anywhere near you."

"Oh I remember the karaoke that night." Kristina spoke with excitement.

Thinking she remembered something about him that night, Ethan's eyes widened with hope. "You remember me being here that night?"

Realizing what she had done, she bit down on her bottom lip. "No, I'm sorry Ethan. I remember that night very well, but just not with you in it."

Ethan was disappointed, but not enough to let it get him down. "No expectations, remember? I'm good, I promise." He smiled to prove it. "Come on, we have another stop to go to."

Kristina grabbed hold of Ethan's hand as he led her out of The Floating Rib and moments later they walked into the Haunted Star where Ethan told her of all their poker lessons and reminded her of the painful past with Keifer. And although that little trip down memory lane shook her up a bit, she continued on their field trip and they walked to the park.

Kristina was having a great time and although she still couldn't remember Ethan, she was really enjoying having him tell her everything about their experiences together.

Their final destination was at the docks. They walked down the stairs and both walked out to the edge and stared out at the water. "And what exactly did we do here?" Kristina asked.

Ethan moved over to the bench and sat down. Kristina followed right behind him. "We had lots and lots of talks here."

"We did? About what?"

"Love, no matter how many times that I told you we would never be, you would never give up."

"Yeah that sounds like me. But I have to say, all these stories you have been telling me make me feel like I was a bit stalkerish."

Ethan couldn't help but laugh. "I don't know if I would say stalker, but definitely persistent."

"I'm sorry." Kristina joined him in laughing, but was very serious in her apology."

"Don't be love. I mean if you hadn't been, I don't think I would've realized just how much you meant to me by the time I had to leave Port Charles for that time."

There was a moment of silence between them when Kristina just stared into Ethan's eyes and then as she studied every part of his beautiful face. He had been so kind to her. She could see why she had been so infatuated with him now. He was amazing and for some reason, she wanted to kiss him. Her breathing had changed and was becoming rapid as she took in his scent when the cool wind brushed over the two of them. She could see the want in Ethan's eyes as well. She knew that he wanted to kiss her too. She wouldn't make the first move, but if he would try, she definitely wouldn't be pulling away.

If he could just kiss her, maybe that would be all it would take. He watched her getting familiar with their chemistry again. She was feeling it as much as he was. This was his opportunity and he was for sure going to take it. He slowly slid his hand on top of hers and started to make his way closer to her.

She was eagerly waiting for the connection. She wanted the kiss so badly. So much so that she hadn't realized that her phone had started ringing.

"Kristina?"

"Yeah?" She practically moaned out.

"Kristina, your phone is ringing." That phone of hers had been a thorn in his side on more than once occasion.

She immediately broke out of her trance and looked down at her purse. "Oh, right, my phone." She pulled the phone out and saw that it was her mom. "It's my mom." She told him. "I've been gone for hours. I'm sure she's wondering where I am."

"Are you going to answer it?"

"I'll call her back in a minute." She stood up from the bench. "Ethan, I better get going."

"Oh, okay. Can I drive you?"

"No, I'm good. But, Ethan, I had a really nice time today."

"I did too. Maybe we can do it again?" He smiled lightly as he eagerly waited for her response.

"I'd like that."

"Good, I'll give you a call then."

"Yeah, I will talk to you soon, Ethan." She felt like a giddy school girl while she twisted on the heel of her shoe and headed up the stairs and then out of Ethan's sight.

Ethan remained staring at the now empty spot Kristina had just left. He felt good about their day together. She still might not remember him, but he felt like they were off to a good start.

A few days had past and Ethan had not heard from Kristina. He didn't want to push her too far, so he had only texted her once asking her how she was doing to which she only replied with a vague, doing great, thank you. The lack of communication between the two of them was starting to get to him, because he truly thought they experienced some sort of break through the other day. He was having a hard time keeping his mind on anything other than Kristina when Coleman walked into The Floating Rib.

Dripping wet, he grabbed a clean towel and rubbed it over the top of his head and face. "The weather is crazy out there, brother. Mother nature doesn't know whether to give us a blizzard or a rain storm."

"Really? I haven't been out all day." Ethan answered.

Coleman walked behind the bar and opened the register. "From the looks of it, no one else has been out today either. Why don't you go home? The weather is only supposed to get worse, I don't expect anyone coming in tonight. I guess over fifty percent of the city is already without power."

Ethan's mind went straight back to Kristina and her family. He didn't give it another thought when he grabbed his phone and sent her a text. "Hey, just checking to see if all is okay. You know, because of the storm." He found himself pacing the floor staring back at his phone as he waited for a response.

"You alright there, brother?" Coleman asked.

Ethan looked up. "What? Oh, yeah, just checking to see if Kristina's okay."

"Why don't you just call her then?"

Ethan wasn't sure how to answer, because he didn't have an answer. Why was he only texting her. I mean, he could call. It wasn't like Kristina had told him that he could only text her. He knew his nervousness was crazy. He nodded at Coleman and began to dial her number. It rang several times. "It's going to voicemail."

Coleman rolled his eyes.

"You sure you're alright with locking up?" Ethan grabbed his keys from behind the bar."

"Uh, being that it is my bar I think I'll manage. Besides, it's so nasty out I'm just gonna crash on the cot in my office."

"Thanks." Ethan headed for the door.

"Don't tell me that you're going out in that mess?"

"I've got to make sure she's okay." He hollered back as he walked out.

The wind was blowing so hard that the ice pellets seemed like they were going to shatter the windows on all sides of the Jeep. The normal ten minute car ride to the Lake house was now going on forty five minutes. Visibility was almost zero and the fact that Kristina was still not answering her phone was making Ethan crazier by the moment. He dialed another number.

"Ethan, hi! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Molly's voice was as chipper as ever. Not what he expected from a girl who could be trapped in a storm.

"Molly, good, you sound safe."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Half the city is out of power from the storm. I take it you ladies haven't lost it yet?"

"Storm? Ethan, my mom and I are in Chicago for the weekend. We flew out yesterday. Is everything okay?"

"You and your mom? Where's Kristina?"

"Kristina didn't want to come. Mom talked to her this morning."

"Shit, she's by herself?"

"Ethan, you're worrying me. What kind of storm are you guys having there? Is Kristina okay? Should I get my mom on the phone?"

"No, no, Molly, it's okay. Don't say anything to Alexis. The storm's not that bad. No need to worry her. I'm just going to head over to the house to check on her."

"Are you sure, Ethan?"

"Yeah, yeah, Molly. Everything's fine. I promise."

"Okay, if you promise."

"I'll have Kristina call you."

"Okay, Ethan."

"Bye Molly." Ethan hung up the phone quickly, thanking god he had driven this route a hundred times in the past. He could barely see a foot in front of him.

He pulled as close up to the house as he could and was practically out of the vehicle before he even had it in park.

The place was dark expect for a few flickering dim lights coming from inside as he jolted up to the door. He began pounding on the door as the sleet welted away on his head and face. "Kristina!" He yelled. "Kristina, it's Ethan, open up." He repeatedly knocked again.

The door swung open. "Ethan! What are you doing here? Oh my god. You're soaked. Come on, get in here!" She pulled him in by the arm and shut the door and locked it behind her.

"The storm… I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, make sure you didn't need anything. Molly said you were by yourself."

"You spoke to Molly?" She asked as she pulled Ethan's soaked coat off of him.

"I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, I know. My phones dead and as you can see, there is no power to charge it." She motioned her arm around the room to let him focus on all the lit candles around them.

"I'm sorry." He ran his fingers through his wet hair. "I know I shouldn't be here. I just needed to make sure you were okay."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "I'm okay."

"Yeah, I can see that now. I guess I should get going now." He grabbed his coat from her arms.

Stunned by what he was about to attempt to do, she grabbed it right back from him. "Ethan, you aren't going anywhere."

"What?"

"I don't know how you made it safely here in the first place, but we are not going to tempt fate again by sending you back out. Come on, take your shoes off and go warm up by the fire before you get sick."

"Are you sure, love? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Uncomfortable she was not. In fact the feeling of emptiness that she had been feeling since their last meeting had suddenly disappeared. Feeling guilty about the way she had treated him in the past, she smiled softly at him. "Ethan I know I have treated you badly lately and I don't know why. But that's all gone now. In fact I'm happy that you are here."

"You are?"

She was a little embarrassed and fumbled her words a bit. "I was watching movie. I mean, a movie. On my laptop, but that just died too. I would actually enjoy the company."

Ethan gazed back at the only true love of his life. "Okay then, I'd love to keep you company."

"Now hurry, go sit by the fire. I'll pour you a glass of wine."

Ethan slowly made his way over and sat on the brick ledge in front of the fireplace. "This feels nice." He said of the fire, but completely meant of the warmness between the two of them.

Kristina picked up on the metaphor. She too was warming up even more now that he was here. She walked over and handed him his glass and took a sip out of her own before taking a seat on the bricks herself, careful not to sit too close. "My phone was dead tonight Ethan, but it's been working fine over the last few days."

Ethan cocked his head to the side. What was she talking about? "I texted you Kristina."

"I know, but come on… a text?"

Ethan was confused. "I… what? Kristina, I didn't want to push you into talking to me. And then you barely responded to the text. I thought you were trying to avoid me again."

"Ethan, a girls got to play a little hard to get." She blushed as she turned away and stared at her glass of wine.

"Hard to get?" Ethan laughed at the thought. "Kristina, do you not remember our conversation the other day? You have never tried to play that game with me before."

She pushed playfully at his shoulder. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"I guess there is."

Kristina noticed a drop of water start to trickle down the side of Ethan's forehead and before she could stop herself, she instinctively swept it away with the back of her fingers. Realizing what she did, she quickly pulled her hand back. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Please, don't be."

She drew in a deep breath and slightly shook her head. "No, really. I'm sorry Ethan for everything that I have put you through. We obviously had this great life together. This great love story and I did nothing but push you away."

"It's not your fault, Kristina."

"Nonetheless, I was awful to you. I was afraid of you and you didn't deserve that. I'm so sorry."

"Are you now? Afraid of me?"

Kristina let her eyes connect to his. She was feeling something, but it definitely was not fear. "No. I am not afraid of you. In fact…" Her smile opened widely as she let out a small laugh."

"What?"

She took another huge sip of her wine. "Now I am feeling overwhelmingly drawn to you. I know, it's crazy, right? I'm sure I'm giving you whiplash."

"Kristina?"

"What?" She replied without looking up at him, fearful that she would feel humiliated if she did.

Ethan's voice lowered. "Kristina…" He gently used his hand to lift up on her chin and turn her face toward him. "All I want to do right now is kiss you. And I am going to, unless you tell me not too. You've got two seconds to tell me not too and then I am going to kiss you, Kristina."

She stayed speechless. She wanted so badly for him to kiss her. If she hadn't been sitting, she was sure that she would have become weak in the knees.

He moved in slowly, never breaking their eye contact. He wanted to give her every opportunity to back away, but praying that she wouldn't. Their eyes both closed when he connected with her lips. His touched over hers softly and when she didn't pull away, he worked them over hers again.

His touch and his smell, the way he held her head in his hands, was all that it took. Every memory of the two of them came flooding back through her mind. She immediately could not get enough of him. The palms of her hands gripped tightly to the sides of his face as she stood up in front of him while still connected to his wanting lips.

He stood up and lifted up under her arms until she wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. He started to walk in the direction of her bedroom, but stopped just short of the hallway when he could feel the dampness touch onto his cheek. "Kristina, you're crying." He loosened his grip from her back and lowered her to the ground. "Please forgive me, love. That kiss, I just haven't felt that from you in so long. I got carried away."

"Ethan, I remember… everything."

"You remember me?"

"The moment we kissed everything came rushing back. I feel like I'm on overload right now."

"I am so happy right now, you have no idea. There were times I thought I had lost you forever. Let's sit down so you can relax for a few minutes." He tried pulling her over to the couch, but it was like she was cemented to the floor beneath them.

"Ethan, I don't mean that my mind is what's on overload." She took both hands and ran them up under his shirt. "Please, we can talk later. I need you right now. It has been way to long and I desperately need to feel your body against mine."

"Are you sure?"

"Ethan, please stop talking and kiss me."

He ran his hand down the side of her face and brushed his thumb over her lips and she released a moan. It drove him crazy. He picked her up and cradled her body against him. Their gaze never broke while he carried her to the bed and laid her down. He pulled off his shirt and she rose to her knees and pulled open on his belt. He then lifted her top over her head. He kissed down on her neck and over her collarbone, pushing her back so that her head hit the pillow.

Kristina's breathing was heavy. She ached so badly for this man. Her nails glided down on his sides as she waited for his entry and exhaled loudly when he finely gave her what she wanted.

"I love you, Kristina." Ethan said as he rocked back and forth.

"Tell me again."

"I love you."

Kristina pushed up on Ethan's chest and rolled him over on his back. She may have missed many days of not being able to tell him that she loved him, but she was going to start making that up by showing him how much she loved him.

Kristina laid on her back and Ethan was propped up on one elbow and turned up on his side. "You have no idea how much I have missed this." He said to her.

"I'll never be apart from you again, Ethan. I promise."

His fingers were tracing small circles over her body and he stopped when he landed on her scar. He bent over and kissed gently on her healed wound. "There is one sure way that that will never happen." He rolled on top of her and with pure love in his eyes, he asked the question that he was so sure a year ago he would never ask any woman. But Kristina had made him a better man. "Will you marry me, Kristina?"