TOM

You've been in Hawaii for two weeks now. Filming was going great. You loved all the cast and crew and it's been really fun to shoot so far.

You leave early each morning and Jane stays home to work on her articles for the newspaper back home and do a little house work. Mostly she tried to stay well rested so hopefully she would not need a hospitalization in a strange place. She always had dinner ready for you when you'd return home, dead tired from a hard days work. Her cooking was never the best but it was improving, and it's the thought that counts.

You're driving home, eager for these next two days off. You wanted to plan something nice to do. Something to make up for the anniversary you'd missed, but something relaxing at the same time. You had thought about the beach, but you were unsure of how comfortable Jane would be at a beach with her new g-tube.

You walk into the house, and hear a Beatles record playing, you smell dinner cooking, and you see Jane in sports shorts and a sweatshirt standing at the stove humming along to 'Here Comes The Sun'. A big grin comes across your face and you walk over to her.

"Hello my little penguin, that smells delicious."

She turns around and you both embrace each other. She stands on her tip toes to give you a kiss.

"It's spaghetti and meatballs. How was work?"

You leave the kitchen to set your things on the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch. "Oh it was good. A lot of action sequences were shot today so I'm pretty tired. How was your day?" You ended your sentence with a yawn.

She gives a giggle and starts getting out the plates to serve supper. "It was ok, I finished my article and then took a little nap before heading to the store to pick-up some prescriptions and things for dinner. It was nice so I just walked. Dinner is ready, hun."

You give a little stretch and then heave yourself off the couch. Noticing how sore your muscles were getting from today. You head over to the tiny table beside the fridge and took a seat. She sat across from you setting down your plates of pasta. It really did look delicious.

"Thank you, it looks good." You say twirling pasta onto your fork.

It's great, you take no time inbetween bites. Feeling extra hungry today, probably due to the extra work put in.

Jane gives a slight chuckle. "I'm glad you like it." You nod and then the rest of dinner is silent.

When the meal is done Jane goes to cleanup and you head for the shower. The hot water soothing your aches.

You change into some boxer shorts and an old tshirt and head to the living room where you find Jane curled up under an afghan with a book. You go and sit next her, pulling her in close beside you. She sets down her book and lays her head on your chest. "Feeling better?" You kiss the top of her head. "Yes the hot water felt great for some of the aches." "Good." You decide to ask her about this weekend, crossing your fingers it wouldn't upset her.

"So..I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to the beach, tomorrow? We never did get to celebrate our anniversary, I thought maybe a day at the beach and then a romantic dinner would be nice. It's something to do without being too strenuous. If you don't that's completely fine too."

She sits up and looks at you a moment before answering. "It wouldn't bother you to go to a beach with me? Being all skinny and having a tube in my stomach?"

Your jaw drops, staring at her as tears well in her eyes. She looks away before they can spill. You gently grab her chin and turn her head back towards you. Looking into her eyes. "Jane, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Inside and out. It's foolish to think I would be ashamed or embarrassed to be seen with you. I think that you wearing your two piece and showing off all your beauty is the most encouraging and sexy thing. People who don't like it can bugger off. If you are comfortable, I am comfortable. I would love nothing more than to be seen with the most beautiful and strong woman in the world."

She smiles as the tears fall, leaning back into your chest. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I've just been in previous relationships where they wouldn't have been caught dead on a beach with me... I'd love to go to the beach. I wanna soak up as much of Hawaii as I can and I want to celebrate our anniversary. I love you, Tom. Thank you."

Things are pretty quiet after that. You both just relax on the couch, watching some mindless TV. You lie on your side and she lays beside you under her afghan. You can't help but think about what man would do or say those things to her. It fills you with hurt and rage.

At some point during your thoughts, you realize she's fallen asleep and your eyes also start to droop. You're too comfy and too content to move to bed. She get's one night off her tube feeds each week so it would be ok to sleep where you're at. You wrap your arms around her tight, before giving into your exhaustion after a long day.

JANE

You stood in front of the mirror in a dressing room, and have been for awhile.

You were trying your hardest to like what you see.

The bathing suit you had bought was too big now so you had to go out and buy another one, and a decent dress or wrap to pull over for when you went to dinner. Tom had dropped you off at a little strip mall and he went to the beach to setup a few things that he refused to share.

You decided on a white two piece with yellow daisies on it and a lavender knee length sundress. You pay and then walk to the diner next door to change before Tom picks you up. Looking one last time at yourself in the ladies room mirror before slipping on the lavender dress.

You walk outside and Tom is parked right outside, looking around for you. He gets a big grin once he spots you shuffling over to him.

You reach him and he leans down to give you a quick kiss. "Wow. You look positively gorgeous." You blush and do a little curtsey. "Why thank you! Ready for the beach?" He nods and opens your car door, he shuts you in and then heads over to his side. Shooting you one last grin before he starts the car and drives towards the beach.

You park and he carries the basket full of sunscreen and towels, a jacket for you since you were always so cold, and some of your medications.

You walk along the beach trying to find a nice quiet spot, it wasn't too hard to find. The beach was surprisingly quiet considering the beautiful day. But you were also on a very remote part of the island so there weren't too many people to crowd the beach anyways.

You settle on a nice spot that was inbetween the water and the road and about halfway down the strip of the beach. Tom set down the basket and began unpacking. Laying out the blanket and getting the sunblock out and ready. You were still sort of nervous about taking off your sundress. It was better that it wasn't as crowded as you anticipated, but it didn't ease your nerves completely. Suddenly Tom was beside you. "Darling? Are you sure you're up for this? We can always find something else to do." You look over at him and see the sincere look in his eyes. You did not want to disappoint him, you wanted to have a nice day. You suck in a deep breath and lift your dress up over your head. Folding it nicely and placing it inside the basket before returning to Tom who stood there with nothing but a smile. A smile you've never seen on him before.

"You look stunning, my love. I am so proud of you." He walks over and grabs you to pull you in close. Squeezing you tightly. "C'mon let's go get in the water before I change my mind." He let's you go and removes his white shirt, leaving nothing but his green board shorts. You both spray each other with the sunblock and you double check that the seal that you taped over your g-tube was still intact. You had to cover it up to make sure it didn't catch any sort of infection. Once that was all done, you grabbed his hand and looked up at him, smiling wide. He smiled back and at the same time you started darting toward the ocean. His long legs took him farther and faster. You quickly fell behind.

You hear him laughing ahead of you before he reaches the water and darts right in. "Cheater!" You shout before reaching the water yourself. Jumping at the cold and trying to turn right back around. Tom grabs you by the waist and pulls you back with him. You both sink under and back up quickly. You start giggling and splashing him but he just shakes his wet curls at you.

A small little wave comes in and takes you both under quickly. Pushing you forward and back. You both come back up for air and start laughing. You're not laughing at anything, just the fact that you are both having such fun. After another round of splashing and giggles, Tom grabs you by the waist and pulls you in. Leaning down for a kiss. He kisses you hard, you start running your fingers through his soaked locks as his grip around your waist tightens.

Before things get out of hand, another short wave comes crashing into you both, taking you down and up in the blink of an eye. Once back up, you suddenly feel a wave of exhaustion. "Can we head back to shore now?" He nods and sweeps you up, carrying you back to shore, he sets you down in front of the blanket and then wraps a towel around your shoulders before getting one himself.

You sit down on the blanket, clutching the towel tightly and wrapping it around you tighter. You try not to noticeably shiver but Tom sees and sits down beside you with another towel. "Are you ok?" You grip the other towel around you just as tight before answering. "Yes I'm fine. Just a penguin thing." With that you both lay back on the towel, content in each others arms. You feel your eyes start to droop, your body feeling utterly exhausted. Could you really not handle this kind of activity anymore? The next thing you know Tom is gently shaking your shoulder. "Oh penguin? It's time we head for dinner now."

You open your eyes and notice the sun was beginning to set. How long have you been asleep? Tom was changed into nice jeans and a button up short sleeved shirt. You sit up slowly, and Tom offers you a hand up. Once on your feet you pull your dress back on and swoop your hair into a small pony with the hair tie on your wrist.

"Ready?"

You nod and take his arm as you walk back toward the street. You only walk about a block before you reach a tiny intimate looking place. You walk in and Tom gives his name to the hostess and then she leads you straight back to a porch with only one table. There were twinkle lights that were strung around and it had the most gorgeous view of the ocean. The hostess leaves as you and Tom sit.

"Oh Tom, it's gorgeous."

He gives his signature Tom smile. "I' glad you like it."

The waiter comes and takes your orders and the shortly returns with a bottle of champagne. Tom lifts his glass towards yours and then you clink them together. "To us!" He says.

Dinner comes and goes and you talk about some of the filming Tom has been doing. He's really very excited about this film and is excited for the new and different challenges it brings each day.

Once dinner was finished and the sun was almost set, Tom slides out of his chair and down to one knee. You look at him in confusion for a second. Haven't we already been through this?

"Um... Tom? What are you doing? You know you've already proposed, and I agreed?"

"I know but I want to do this right. You didn't get all this and it's what you deserve, so just use your imagination my dear."

You smile and nod at him to continue.

"Jane, you are perfect. You are the only woman I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. I love you with everything I am. Will you marry me? Here in Hawaii?"

Your mouth drops. Did he mean now? Your voice gets high. "Wait, like now?!"

He shakes his head and almost laughs. "No not quite that soon. But while we are here, yes. I know we haven't talked about the wedding really so I don't know if it's something you would want, but it's just so beautiful and it wouldn't have to be some big exhausting project. We can throw another small ceremony at home for family and friends, but we could have this for us."

You lurch forward, wrapping your arms around his neck and sinking off the chair and onto your knees. Tears began to flow. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I would love nothing more."

He squeezes you tighter before pulling you up for a strong kiss.