A/N: And to think, I was originally gonna break them up in chapter five. Screw that crap.
After today, she was planning on not going back to the airport for a very long time. She loved arrivals but hated departures and knew she couldn't have one without the other, so it was best to avoid the place altogether. She stood on her tip-toes and scanned the crowd, finally spotting Adam across the room. She fought the urge to run to him, but fighting the urge didn't mean her hands and feet weren't almost spasming in anticipation.
This was pathetic. It had only been four days and she was almost nervous to see him again. The crowds eventually thinned and their eyes met from twenty feet away. He smiled and her willpower flew away on the 6:10 to Oakdale. Her feet carried her across the tile floor and she jumped into his arms, just like the well known scenes of older chick flicks. She didn't care what she looked like as they crashed together, nearly falling over.
"You missed me," he said, holding onto her. She nodded against him as he settled her back down on the ground, pressing his lips to hers.
"Did you miss me?" she asked, a playful smile on her lips.
"Like crazy," he answered. "I didn't have anyone to cuddle with all weekend."
"Let's get out of here and make up for lost time then."
He picked up the bag he had dropped in order to catch her, then took her hand and led her outside.
"Ah, nice and cool here," he said as the breeze hit him.
"Have we digressed into discussing the weather?"
"Maybe we're just that… together."
"Works for me," she shrugged, wrestling the keys out of her pocket. "You wanna drive?"
"Sure. Did you eat?"
"A little. You?"
"I had plane food."
"So… burgers?"
"Sounds like a plan."
They got into the car and he put the key in the ignition, but didn't start it up.
"What's the matter?"
He turned in his seat and drew her into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. He didn't do it often, but sometimes he grabbed her into a desperate hug and just held her there for a while. He once said that it was the one thing that allowed him to pull himself back together. Every direction he'd been pulled in, all the chaos, he needed just those few moments to reassemble.
She relaxed into his arms, feeling quite reassembled herself as his lips pressed into her hair. Everything became as crisp and clear as a glacial runoff when they held each other. Time didn't necessarily slow, they just stopped being prisoners to it.
"So dinner?" he asked, once the awkward positions became uncomfortable.
"Yeah."
She sat up and reached for his hand, threading their fingers together as he started the car and drove away from the airport.
"You got tan," she noted, crinkling her nose. "Now I look sickly."
"No you don't. Besides, this will fade in a couple days. You should see Hannah. Her hair is almost blonde from all the sun she's been getting."
"You lucky people without buildings in your way."
"Hey, I've seen pictures. I know what a Montana summer does to you."
She smiled.
"I suppose."
"You're itching to go barefoot, I can tell."
"Guess we're just going to have to hit the beach then, huh?"
"Pretty much."
"Hey babe, you're going the wrong way," she said, noticing they were headed away from the city instead of into it.
"I know. Trust me?"
"Okay."
She settled back into the seat and turned the radio on, surfing for a second until she found and oldies station.
They drove for a while, places and streets she didn't know, and finally came up on a burger stand. He got out of the car and ordered for them, bringing the food back in a few minutes. She glanced over at him and grinned.
"I want to make a hunter-gatherer joke, but I'm not sure which one to pick."
"It's okay. Sometimes I wanna make a woman in the kitchen joke, but I don't know which one to pick."
She slugged his arm playfully and giggled.
"So where are we going?"
"Remember trust me?"
"I trust you. I was just curious."
"You know what curiosity does."
"I'm not a cat though, so I'm not worried."
He chuckled and continued to drive. The sun would be going down in less than an hour, and it was still strange to see it set in the opposite direction of the water. Growing up, he'd been to California numerous times, and the sun always set over the ocean. Here, it seemed backwards. It always threw him off.
But that didn't really matter as he parked in a lot near the beach, rolled the windows down and hooked his iPod up to the radio. Lindsay looked at him curiously, then shrugged and joined him on the hood of the car. They sat back against the windshield as country music played from the speakers, and they ate their half cold burgers and fries while he told her about his trip. It had been a family reunion, with family members he hadn't seen in years. He told her all about his crazy uncles, aunts who asked him too many questions, and his cousins who had a morbid curiosity about him coming into contact with dead bodies.
"You're going to have to come with me next year," he said, finishing off his fries. "I'm sure between the two of us we can give them some really good stories."
"I'm betting so."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, listening to the music and the waves and just letting themselves be. He reached over and took her hand as they stared out over the water and she couldn't remember a time in her life when she'd been happier.
The song changed and she looked over at him, just in time to catch his grin. Dropping their voices lower to match the singer, they both half belted out the first few lines.
Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire
Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher
If we roll from town to town and never shut it down
They had dissolved into giggles by this point, and couldn't keep up the deepness in their voices. Staring up at the stars that had started to come out, they sighed in contentment as the song continued.
Would you go with me if we were lost in fields of clover
Would we walk even closer until the trip was over
And would it be okay if I didn't know the way
If I gave you my hand would you take it
And make me the happiest man in the world
If I told you my heart couldn't beat one more minute without you, girl
Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea
Let me know if you're really a dream
I love you so, so would you go with me
Would you go with me if we rode the clouds together
Could you not look down forever
If you were lighter than a feather
Oh, and if I set you free, would you go with me
If I gave you my hand would you take it
And make me the happiest man in the world
If I told you my heart couldn't beat one more minute without you, girl
Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea
Help me tie up the ends of a dream
I gotta know, would you go with me
I love you so, so would you go with me
Her fingers tapped against the car in time with the instruments in the song and she closed her eyes comfortably.
"Hey Linds?"
She turned her head slowly to look at him. He'd propped himself up on one elbow and was starting down at her intently.
"Yeah?"
"Would you go with me?"
"Of course," she answered with a grin. "Anywhere."
"What if I was asking for forever? Would you go?"
"Yes."
"What about with a ring on your finger?"
Her eyes grew wider and wider and her jaw dropped as he held up the ring for her. Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't decide between saying yes and asking if this was real. He reached over and brushed her hair back from her face, the contact bringing her head back down from the clouds.
"Linds?" he asked again, softer this time.
"Yes."
It was a whisper and a nod and a tear falling down her cheek, but it was yes. He took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. It was a small ring with a tiny diamond, almost dwarfed by the intricate filigree detailing. She'd never seen anything like it, and knowing Adam, there was a story behind it.
She looked up and met his eyes, her chest clenching as he leaned down and kissed her. It was real and it was perfect and she had no idea how it was happening to her or where along the way she had become so lucky, but she wasn't going to question it now.
"When?" she asked finally, as her feet touched back on reality.
"You always said you wanted a fall wedding," he answered with a shrug.
"I did?"
"Yeah. A long time ago. Before we were even dating. You mentioned how you wanted a fall wedding and I thought how well that fit you with the colors and… I just remember that."
"You remember everything."
"I do my best."
She smiled and reached up to trace over his lips with her finger.
"You're stuck with me now," she said. "For good. Like Cheng and Eng."
He chuckled and kissed her again, both of their minds running ahead to a wedding and a home and an entire life together. Where it would take them and where they would end up, they had no idea, but they both knew that wherever that was, they would be together. That was what mattered. That was what the journey was all about.