Shaun ran a hand over Jess's leg absently, the fire in the stove sparking brightly. They'd eaten, and were just sitting quietly while the crack and pop of the wood slowed time down. It was what she needed, she realized, and she watched the flickering light dance across Shaun's features. He was pensive, the only indication he was thinking was his jaw flexing now and again.

She leaned into him, putting her head on his shoulders, and his arm went around her. This place was once just her family's, now with the memory of the night they shared on their way to find her uncle added in, it made it theirs.

It was a warm evening, the fire not really necessary, but the comfort was wonderful. She stretched, kissing his cheek.

"What?" he murmured. "You restless?"

She nodded, and got up, heading for the door, stuffing her feet into her boots. He followed as she flopped out the door. She headed for Truck Rock, and leaned on it, peering out over the top, towards the open grassland on the other side. He slid up behind her, his arms around her, leaning his chin on her shoulder. It should always be this easy, she thought.

"You want to tell me what's up?" he whispered into her ear.

She relaxed and sighed, turning in his arms so she could see him.

"Why did you bring me up here?" she asked.

"You need to decompress. I wanted to spend some time with you. I am in love with you. Seemed like a good idea?" he offered, quirking a smile.

"Jesus yes. All of that but—" she sighed. It sometimes was too much to take in. How was he so loving when she was so complicated?

"Why?" she blurted, looking into his eyes. "I was just a protection detail. We fell into this crazy thing, and now—"

He lowered his forehead to hers, tightening his grip possessively. "You want to know why I love you?"

"Stupid, I know."

He shook his head and backed up so he could see her, tucking some hair behind her ear, snaking a hand in around the back of her head, bracing her neck. She leaned her cheek on his forearm, closing her eyes.

"Because you are the strongest, fiercest, most stubborn woman I know, and you make me feel invincible, Jess. When you're with me I can conquer anything," He said, his voice husky and graveled. The emotion was clear, and she opened her eyes to him searching her face, and he squeezed the back of her neck, giving her a tiny shake to prove his point.

"But—" she stuttered and he shook his head, quieting her.

"I love you because of who you are. You're kind, you are so damned strong and smart, and so damned beautiful. I don't want to be away from you. You drive me crazy, you test my patience, you make my blood boil, and through all of it I can't imagine it any differently."

"Oh," she breathed. She liked all of those answers. She didn't deserve him, lately she'd felt like a sham of all those things.

"And before you tell me you don't deserve it, you do. You deserve the world. Or at least happiness in it. I want to be the person who helps you to find your happy. I know you're still dealing with what happened, and that isn't easy."

"Yeah. I know. It's been kind of nuts," she admitted. That was an understatement.

"I'm willing to wait as long as it takes, Jess. We're in this together."

Jess lowered her head. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to lump my shit too."

"No apologies, Jess. I seem to remember the last time I told you that was right here," he murmured softly.

She looked away, a lump forming in her throat. "Sometimes I think that someday I'm going to need space and you won't be there when I come back. I push you away, I push everybody away because I don't want anyone to see how not well I am dealing. How you can be patient with that is beyond me."

"You're dealing fine," he said.

She barked out a laugh. "No. I'm not. I'm defective."

"You are not your mother. Don't you ever dare compare yourself, okay? She was a product of some twisted, fucked up life choices. If it was about genetics, your uncle would be fucked up as well," he clipped, his voice almost angry.

She looked up, shocked. How had he known she'd been thinking about that?

"Wait—" she stuttered, but he took her face in his hands, looking down at her again. "Jess, its not hard to see. It's natural to wonder that. But you aren't her. You didn't have her life, thank God. Your father saved you from that, don't you see?"

It was enough to break her. She closed her eyes, the tears coming, but for the first time since last Fall, feeling these emotions, she didn't want to run away and hide them, feeling broken. She wanted him to touch her, hold her.

Remembering how she had needed it before, how it had helped and she felt like a fool. It was okay for him to see her like this, he'd seen it before. Grief was a frustrating bitch. For some reason, she'd decided bottling it up was better, her mind twisted up in the negativity. Maybe it was time to stop, and lean on him. She was tired of trying to shoulder it without him.

"Dammit," she swore. "I don't want to cry. I am sick of crying."

He leaned in and kissed her cheeks, then backed away. "I will always be here for you Jess. I've said that before too, I think."

She dried her eyes off on the sleeve of her sweater, and nodded. It felt like they'd just made some sort of pact, and somehow a bit of the heavy shell she'd erected around her since last year broke off and floated away, making her lighter. They leaned against the rock, listening to the night sounds, letting what they'd just talked about sink in, the closeness solidifying her. Time slowed down.

"Screw it. I don't want to wait any more," he said suddenly. Shaun took a huge breath, closed his eyes, opening them to her after a moment, searing with the intensity.

"Shaun?" she asked, worried.

"Marry me," he said quietly, his voice cracking, and she couldn't even blink, or turn away from him, caught in his gaze, her heart stopped by the words.

Was this happening? She had thought about it, of course, but normally couples took a year or more to get to this point. She held her breath but then let it out, realizing that with them, time was immaterial. They'd fallen in love after three days, who was to say this was too fast?

"Jess?" he asked, searching her for an answer. She realized she hadn't spoken. "You—"

"Yes." She whispered, meaning it fully.

He let out a whoop and kissed her, then stepped back and held her hands out at arm's length.

"Yes?" he asked, smiling as wide as possible, the smile she loved to see.

"Yes!" she repeated, laughing. He danced her in a circle, then pulled her in close again. To see him so happy made her giddy. He should laugh like this all the time.

Then he stopped, and fumbled in his pocket.

"I did that wrong, didn't I?" he said, breathless. "I'm supposed to give you this too."

He held out a box in his fingers and she laughed again. A ring. It was, of course, the traditional thing, but she never wore rings. It wasn't safe around the horses. He knew that, since he wasn't allowed to wear jewelry of any kind, no one was, on the force.

"Open it," he ordered, and she did. Inside was a cobalt blue band, with writing on it. She couldn't really see in the evening light, but as she pulled it out, she realized it was made of some sort of rubber.

"It's silicone." He said excitedly, pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. She looked at him, confused, once she had deciphered the writing on the inside.

"It's a lat-long location," she murmured. "For where?"

"Here, sort of. At least what Google says is here," he replied, a sheepish grin on his face. Before she was able to ask why, she knew. After all this time, this had been the place where they had slowed down enough in the aftermath of the shooting to fall in love. And now? They could someday tell their kids stories around the campfire about how Dad had proposed to her right here, at Truck Rock.

He'd obviously been planning this for awhile.

She bit her lip, the sentiment overwhelming her. He truly loved her, even through all the shit they'd been through, and all the up and down she'd heaped on his after. Tears pushed at the back of her eyes, and she slipped the ring on, running her fingers over it slowly.

"I'm going to ask you that question again, Jess," he murmured quietly, his hands going to her face, pulling her up to look into his eyes. He tilted his head and she smiled, letting out a short laugh and shook her head out of his grasp.

"You will always ask me that question, Shaun. Never stop," she replied, and grabbed his hands, pulling him towards the cabin.

The End