Chapter Forty Nine

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.

You know, I really don't know what's harder to believe. The fact that we're now one chapter away from fifty or the fact that we're one month away from my self-imposed hiatus in order to protect my sanity during the holidays. And of course this year I've made the decision to increase my stress during the holiday season by electing to go to Paris in the early part of December for the Back to the Musical World convention hosted by Dream It Con!

And I just realized that I leave for Paris in 33 days…okay who pressed the fast forward button on the year? There's no way I'm a little over a month away from leaving for Paris!

Lauriverfanboy1: Thank you!

AmethystDragon14: Yay! Oh thank you! Yeah the fluff is sometimes the best thing to write in my opinion. And of course Akiho has the sandwich orders memorized! What about him would make you think he wouldn't lol? Effy's definitely going to be guarding Ethan if he immediately goes to lick ice that suddenly appears!

Tracie Adams: So glad you liked it!

bal4ever: Thanks!

OceanBlueSeaEyes: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :D Yeah, there's always the possibility of a nutcase happening, I won't lie! :D

Estela234: So glad you liked the chapter!

smc: Thank you!

SaikoGoyangi: You're welcome, I'm so glad you liked it! :D

crimsondragon: Yes, Choosing Life will be included in Truth or Fiction…well somewhat. Because Truth or Fiction is already over 100 chapters, for the sake of preventing burn out, everything after Choosing Home for ToF will be in a separate story :D

Ediblesoda: Well…it is for now! :D

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

Ryan smiled softly as he curled up with CJ; his back resting against the bark of the tree they were under as the remnants of their picnic date sat in the sun. There was not really any rhyme or reason as to why they were under the tree…okay that was a lie.

There was no rhyme or reason that CJ knew. As far as the blonde knew, the only reason they were there was because they hadn't been able to spend as much time together now that they were both working and Ryan had such crazy hours as a member of the ROAR team's coaching staff.

However, Ryan knew exactly why they were out there. The ring box in his pocket felt like an anchor and at the same time…Ryan knew there was no other spot where he wanted to ask the biggest question of his life than the spot where CJ had kissed him for the first time.

The ring was relatively simple, with a golden band and yellow stones that almost seemed to match CJ's hair trailing down the side; stopping midway and a lone large stone in the center. It had taken a few months of overtime but Ryan wasn't just going to have Lord Hades give him the ring.

Pirates didn't do that. VKs didn't do that. If they were going to get something, they were going to earn it…even if Ryan also knew that Lord Hades had gone and given the money to Henry for him to give back to Ryan via Rea ratting out her father.

"You're quiet," CJ said, pulling Ryan out of his thoughts. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded as he looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "Just thinking."

"Care to share with the class?" CJ teased and Ryan chuckled and shook his head.

CJ smiled softly and scooted closer to him. "It's been so long since I had you braid my hair, think you've lost your touch?"

"Oh I doubt it," Ryan said with a small smile as he began to do just that. While braiding hair would always remind him of his sister, Ryan found that it didn't hurt as much when he would do it for CJ after Kristy's death. And now, after so many years had gone by, Ryan was happy he was able to think about Kristy without wanting to curl up into a ball and have the world pass him by. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"I think I can guess but why don't you tell me?" CJ told him, a small smile pulling at her lips.

Ryan couldn't help but smile at the memory. "The day we had our first kiss."

"And here I thought you were going to say it reminded you of the day Mal finally turned Freddy into an ex-person," CJ teased.

"Hey, it just so happened that day happened to have both events happen," Ryan chuckled and gently kissed her cheek before finishing up the braid. Once his hand was no longer occupied by the task at hand, he smiled as he could still feel the ring box in his pocket.

"We've come a long way from being the kids who used tot plot ways off of the Lost Revenge, huh?"

CJ turned so that she was looking at him and smiled. "Yeah…we've been through a lot haven't we?"

Some of it for the better, CJ thought as she thought about her current relationship with her brother. The CJ who used to try to sneak off of The Lost Revenge to try to prove herself to the crew that she was old enough to assist with Face Offs would have never imagined she'd get to the point where Harry would willingly spend time with her, let alone give Ryan the 'shovel talk' after they had hit their one year anniversary.

He had claimed that he didn't want to scare Ryan off too fast, and that the fact that he had made it a year with all the insanity being with a Hook sibling brought proved to Harry that Ryan was in it for the long haul. Hence why it had been the perfect time to give Ryan the 'shovel talk' as people in Auradon called it.

The kids of the Isle had a similar talk. It was the 'you hurt them and death by hyena would be too good for you' talk. Jade had had a similar talk with one of the evil step-granddaughters after word reached her ear that said evil step-granddaughter had chased Jay around Dragon Hall after he'd flirted with her at a party despite his multiple tries to get her to leave him alone. He had finally managed to ditch her by hiding behind a statue but that had been the catalyst for Jade's 'talk'.

And Jade had wrestled a six foot crocodile so she could be scary when she needed to be. Granted she had also almost drowned but the scary factor was still there.

It had been rather fortunate that Ava Tremaine had also heard about what had happened and so had, without planning to, met up with Jade when she went to give the evil step-granddaughter the talk. CJ didn't know exactly what Ava Tremaine had said but she did know through the scuttlebutt of the Isle that Dizzy had been mentioned.

CJ shook her head softly as she shoved her thoughts down. It wasn't that she didn't like thinking about Harry or Jade or the Isle…but that she knew that if she'd brought it up, she might make Ryan sad if he though of his sister.

"You know the one thing that hasn't changed?" Ryan asked, his voice soft and CJ looked over at him. "It's always been us together. Through every plot and scheme, thick and thin, it's always been you and me…"

"Ry? Why do I get the sense that you're leading up to something?" CJ asked.

Ryan smiled softly and pulled the ring box out of his pants' pocket. "I love you Cali. You're my best friend. Will you plot and scheme with me forever? Will you marry me?"

CJ stared at the ring in shock, her old nickname barely registering in her ears. In all honesty, she would have never thought she'd have a ring like that. Oh not because Ryan couldn't afford it or anything, she wasn't shallow by any means, but because she just didn't think about it. However, looking at the ring in front of her, CJ couldn't deny the fact that it was perfect.

Everything about the proposal was, in fact. Because it had come from Ryan and there was no one who felt more deeply than the brunet before her.

Okay, maybe Henry but that kinda went without saying. Plus Henry practically raised Ryan so it was safe to say Ryan had come by it honestly.

Wow, did my thoughts just go down a weird path, CJ thought. And Ry's still waiting for an answer. I should probably put him out of his misery.

"You know I think we probably lost a lot of members of the crew a lot of money. Haven't they had bets on us getting together going as far back as when we both turned fifteen?" CJ asked as she took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her hand.

Ryan shook his head. "Nah, I think the whole 'betting on people' thing stopped after Harry and Uma got out of their denial and Henry proved he wasn't going to marry his sword…wait, are you…?"

"What do you think?" CJ asked, holding up her hand to show Ryan the ring. "Does it suit the next Mrs. Williams?"

Ryan shook his head. "Nah, I think it suits the next Mrs. Hook."

"Ryan, I'm not going to make you give up your last name—."

"I want to CJ. Besides, your last name has more gravitas in the pirate world. If we have kids…they should have that protection."

CJ smiled softly and gently kissed Ryan on the cheek. "Compromise? We could hyphenate? Like how Harriet and Sammy do it."

"I think that sounds fair," Ryan nodded. "But your name goes last."

"You're going to be stubborn about this aren't you?"

"I'm probably about as stubborn as you are and you know it."

"Still want to marry me?"

"You're not going to chase me away that easily."

CJ smiled and leaned her head on Ryan's shoulder. "I would never chase you away…though my siblings might be a different story."

"…I may have asked them for their blessing for the marriage…" Ryan said sheepishly and CJ's eyes went wide as she looked over at him.

"You did what?"

"Henry told me it's apparently what's done in Auradon, especially since Derek managed to avoid doing it with Piper since you know, her father's horrible and Henry didn't want both his brothers not to do it; otherwise it might look like we were sticking our noses up at Auradon's traditions," Ryan explained. "Phillip was giving him some 'prince' lessons since, you know, Henry's technically a prince after he married Claudine and she was adopted by Aurora and Phillip thus making her a princess."

"Something I'm sure none of us ever thought would happen back when we were all living on the Isle," CJ snorted in amusement as she shook her head. "Okay, how much did my siblings prattle on about us being 'babies'?"

Ryan chuckled. "Harry was surprisingly fine with it."

"…He was?"

"Yeah. He said that the fact that I hadn't been scared off by his talk with me after our one year anniversary as a couple showed him that I wasn't going to just up and leave you if life got hard. He just had one ask for the wedding…well two actually."

"What were they?"CJ asked.

"That we wait to have the wedding until Uma has her baby so she doesn't accidentally take the spotlight off of us by having the baby during the wedding."

"That's fair. What was the second?"

"That, if you wanted, he'd walk you down the aisle like he did with Harriet but that…if you'd rather your father do it, he'd understand," Ryan said and CJ's eyes went wide. Oh not that Harry had offered to walk her down the aisle, it wasn't that big of a shock after he'd done it for Harriet at her wedding. But that Harry actually thought that she'd rather their father be there than him.

Because she knew she had to pick one of them lest she put her brother through hell, wondering when their father would snap, and she also knew that if she had to pick one then there was only one she would pick.

"I hope you told him, he's insane for even thinking I'd want the Captain at my wedding," she said. "It's Harry and Harriet walking me down the aisle of our wedding or no one does."

Ryan nodded and gave her a small smile. "I suspected that. I hope it's okay that I told Harry to be prepared for you to tell him the same thing you just told me."

"What'd he say to that?"

"That it was a good thing I wanted to marry you with how well I knew you."

CJ smiled as Ryan gently kissed her on the cheek before turning her head to admire her ring. She had never thought she'd be one of those types of women who would go ga-ga over jewelry but it was different when Ryan gave it to her.

Maybe it was because of their childhood, maybe it was because of how they grew up without parents who would often wear jewelry like the ring CJ had on her finger. It didn't matter though, all she knew was that she wouldn't have traded this ring for all the items in the Cave of Wonders.

"If…if you want a different ring, I can get it for you," Ryan said, his soft voice breaking into his thoughts. "I…I tried to work more overtime Cali but Jane said I couldn't work more than four hours of overtime a week because of the fact that I'm around swords."

"She has met Henry right?" CJ asked. "How many times had we wondered how he had time for sleep with how often he'd train? But that doesn't matter because I don't need a new ring, Ry. I promise you that. I love this one. So don't be trying to wear yourself down or anything okay?"

"You're sure?"

"Did I stutter? I'm sure Ryan. You don't have to freak out about this you know, I'm not some prissy pink princess who'd scream if the stones on the band weren't the right size."

"I know, I know," Ryan said. "But…you're a Hook. You're practically pirate royalty and I…"

"You are my wonderful best friend and First Mate if we ever form a crew of our own, you are the only man I want to be with, and if you say the words 'pirate royalty' regarding my family again, I'll ask Mal if I can borrow Estelle so he can chase the stupid out of you," CJ said firmly. "There's only one family who can claim they're pirate royalty and that's the family of Pirate King Elizabeth Turner. Err…pirate queen? Oh whatever she calls herself, she's still the elected ruler of the Pirate Brotherhood."

"Would you consider Henry pirate royalty though? Considering he married Claudine, and her mom was Captain Red Jessica of The Rose? Plus the whole 'she's a Princess and he's a Prince' thing?"

"How'd you hear about that?"

"Henry and Claudine like to talk when they forget I'm in the room sometimes," Ryan shook his head. "It's okay though, I use that time to do my Unclely duties and rile up their girls and speaking of girls, should we figure out who we're going to have as flower girl?"

CJ snorted and shook her head. "Okay first off I don't think 'Unclely' is a word and second of all, we have plenty of time. Didn't you say Harry asked that we not get married until their second kid is born?"

"Well…yeah," Ryan nodded. "But I mean…I dunno, I kinda wanted to start talking wedding stuff is all. I'm excited to marry you."

CJ gave him a loving smile and gently kissed his cheek. "And I'm excited to marry you," she told him. "And how about this for talking about wedding stuff? You tell me who you want as your groomsmen."

She, of course, had no idea who she'd ask to stand with her as her Maid of Honor/Matron of Honor. She could ask Harriet but then that ran the risk of potentially hurting her relationship with Harry.

"I was thinking I'd take a page out of both Henry's and Derek's book and have two Best Men," Ryan said.

"Why am I not surprised?" CJ said with a small smile. "But you know…you may have just solved an issue I realized I was going to have."

Ryan tilted his head, brushing a bit of CJ's blonde hair away from her face as it escaped from her braid from the slight breeze blowing through the trees and landed in her eyes. "Oh? What was it?"

"…Who was going to be standing with me out of my siblings," CJ told him. "I…I know normally it's just women on the bride's side but—."

"CJ, you know perfectly well that none of us care about tradition," Ryan told her. "And you also know that Harry would gladly stand with you for your wedding. As would Harriet. Supporting you would be a no brainier for them and if they did say no then you were either talking to an imposter or it's because they're dying."

"Harry can't die, Lady Persephone gave him the gift of immortality for a wedding present," CJ said. In all honesty, she hadn't even been surprised when Harry had told her and Harriet about the gift. As she'd told him, the minute they learned he'd be marrying Uma, they had figured something like that would happen.

Her brother would follow Uma to the ends of the Earth and everyone knew it.

"So…we thinking small wedding party?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," CJ nodded. "I mean, it's us right? We're not really big wedding party type of people. I think having Henry, Derek, Harriet, and Harry standing with us is perfect."

"I think you're right," Ryan nodded. "Though you know we're going to have to find a way to make Clara, Hali, Helena, and Harry and Uma's newest child have some kind of role in our wedding."

"We will?" CJ asked, tilting her head.

"I mean…Lady Persephone may have mentioned the idea of junior bridesmaids when I went to Lord Hades for help with getting your ring," Ryan told her. "And Clara at least would be old enough to act as a junior bridesmaid by the time we actually get married."

CJ chuckled. "Oh she would, would she?"

"Well I mean, with the timeline and all. I mean Uma's got to be able to have the baby and then recover from giving birth and then readjust to the baby waking her and Harry up at all hours plus if the baby wakes up Helena—?"

"Okay how much thought have you put into this?" CJ asked as she held up a hand to cut off the rambling that had started to occur. "Ryan, you really don't have to worry about this. I'd marry you tomorrow in front of Lady Hera, that's how sure I am that I want to marry you. I don't need fuss, I don't need to be the center of attention. Okay? Our allies and our family being there, that's all I want."

"What about cake?"

"Well cake goes without saying. Who ever heard of a wedding without cake?" CJ asked and Ryan chuckled.

CJ smiled as she heard his chuckles and rested her head on his shoulder. They would have all the time in the world to worry about what the future held for them. She only wanted to enjoy this moment right here with the beautiful sun and the man she loved.

And judging by how Ryan held her close, it seemed he was on board for the same thing.