When he arrived on scene, Jimmy ran like a bat out of hell towards the ambulances, needing to see Jessica for himself. He skidded to a stop when he found her sitting in the back of one, wrapped in a blanket and shivering. She flashed him a smile they both knew was fake. "Hey," she murmured.
"You're going straight to the hospital with Parker to get checked out yourself, right?" he checked.
She nodded, her whole body continuing to shake. "Of course I am. But I have something to ask you first," Jessica firmly declared.
Jimmy cocked his head, confused, while an intensely curious Nick's head flew up. "What?"
"I had an epiphany while trapped in there, when I nearly died again. You're in my future, Jimmy Palmer. I can't imagine a world without you and Victoria." She tearfully grinned at him. "Marry me."
Nick's mouth dropped open in shock and Jimmy gawked at the woman he loved. But he couldn't shake off the insecurity, the abandonment issues that reared its ugly head in the wake of Ducky's death and Jessica's dad's visit. "But you said 'right now," he reminded her, his voice cracking.
Jessica flinched. Nick moved behind the ambulance door in an effort to blend in an eavesdrop, Tim rolling his eyes at his co-worker and friend (but he also refused to give them much needed privacy because he wanted to witness this moment too). "I fucked up," she admitted. "Jimmy, I didn't mean it that way and should have clarified instead of avoiding the hard conversations. After nearly dying last time, I started living my life day to day. Trying to imagine the future - any future - scared me, so I shied away from all of it. A future with you is what I want, even though the mere thought was slightly terrifying before. I love you and that beautiful little girl, and want to spend the rest of my life with you both. So, marry me?"
"But what about the job Vance offered you?" he pressed. He had been so sure she would accept it and leave him (them).
"I'm turning it down. My life is here," she declared unflinchingly.
Jimmy's mind raced as he struggled to process all of it but he didn't hesitate long, not wanting to panic the woman he loved. He responded by surging forward to kiss her. "That was a yes, by the way," he told her with a laugh.
Nick and Tim cheered, congratulated them, and then started wrapping up at the scene as Alden's ambulance departed. Jimmy jumped up into Jessica's, wanting to go to the hospital with the woman he was about to marry. After Jessica and Alden were both given clean bills of health and discharged, Jimmy insisted she come home with him. She didn't have any objections, fortunately, and happily followed him out to the car, thankful to now be in dry clothes. "I can't believe I proposed to you soaking wet," she mused once the car rolled to a stop outside his place.
"It'll be a fun story that everyone gets to hear," he reminded her. They kissed again before heading inside to break the news to Victoria.
They had been put through the ringer again recently but that was par for the course. Jessica felt grounded in a way she hadn't even been before - she couldn't wait to call Jimmy her husband and Victoria her stepdaughter. Surprisingly, the thought didn't terrify her when it would have sent her running for the hills before - they had come a long way from her not wanting to label the relationship when they first started dating. Jimmy and Jessica could definitely navigate any more issues and surprises thrown their way.
