Lonnie drove up Monticello and hung a right on Cherry Ave., parking the squad car on the road in front of the house; 88 Cherry Avenue. He was on his lunch, and told the Realtor when he made the appointment at the station it would have to be a quick one. She fit him in, and he was grateful. Frankie didn't know about this, and it was the only time he'd be able to see it on his own. He wished it wasn't raining so he could walk around the back yard. 'It's always a different feel when you can walk around a place rather than just look at it' he thought, looking in the rear view and smiled big to make sure there was nothing left over in his teeth from his sandwich.

He put his arm across the long front seat and looked at the house. It was bigger than it looked on the online, and it was off white, not bright white, which he was glad about. He didn't think Frankie would like a bright house, she would think it wasn't cozy enough. He'd have to agree. It had charcoal wood shutters on all the windows, and a huge wrap around porch with an egg swing hanging in the corner. 'Where we can sit in the summer and have some drinks' he thought with a grin. There seemed to be lots of bedrooms, but he wasn't the best judge of it. He'd been an apartment dweller since he moved out of his Mama's house years ago to go on his own, and Mama's house was a bungalow, not a two story like this. He wished his Mama could have met Frankie, she would have loved her.

Lonnie sighed, and saw a car pull up behind his cruiser. The realtor quickly ran up to the car and knocked on the window, holding a thick file over her head to keep the rain off. She motioned with her arm for Lonnie to come up, and he jogged up the grass to the porch to meet her.

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Frankie was at The Twelve Oaks B&B having lunch with all the OPS agents. The table ran long down the side of the restaurant with all of them eating, drinking and talking about what they were going to do with their new freedom. It was a celebration, and the energy bouncing off the table was pure excitement. Earlier that morning, they received word that the entire OPS agency had, as of midnight the night before, had been officially disbanded. The shit had hit the fan in a big way; heads were rolling and careers were ending at an alarming rate.

The U.S. Marshal's, with a nod from the governmental organization sent in to investigate OPS Commanders, demobilized the unit. This was due to a plethora of legal concerns, as well as corruption in the highest ranks, finding Rizonou and the others...it went on, and on. The DA's subpoenaed every high ranking official associated with anything to do with the OPS agency going back over twenty years. It was a complete shit show. All the money that was ever owed to OPS agents was wired to separate accounts in Zurich in each of their names, where it couldn't be frozen, or cut off. The amount was substantial, and enough for each of them to live very comfortably for the rest of their lives.

They talked about where they would go, different countries they'd live in, the future. None of them ever brought up the future because they all knew what it was going to be. It was sad and painful so everyone just avoided talking openly about it. None of them had a future, they only had entrapment. To think about a future that they themselves got to choose was the most amazing feeling ever, and as the words flowed so did the drinks, and most of them found themselves a little on the drunker side. It didn't take any of them much. And Frankie was no exception. She got up to go to the washroom and stumbled a bit, grabbing onto the chair and giggling. Tog broke out laughing.

"Can someone take this girl to the can please!" He held her arm, still laughing.

"We'll all go!" Whinnie cheered loud enough for the other guests to either join in the laughing or scoff at them. Frankie, Marty, Whinnie, Felicia and Reba linked arms and marched to the washroom, singing "Whatta Man" by Salt n' Pepa, one of their favorite songs, much to the manager's dismay.

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Lonnie walked in the house into a large foyer with stairs a ways back in front of him, a livingroom to the right, and a sitting room to the left. Straight ahead down the hall he assumed was the kitchen. It was pretty spacious, neutral decor so Frankie could decorate 'Does she like that kinda thing?' He was pretty sure she did, if not they could have someone come in to do it.

They walked up the hall to the kitchen. It had a ton of windows and all the natural light made it really bright and open, Frankie would definitely love this, especially after being in his apartment for so long.

"Feel free to look around Lieutenant, I don't want to shadow you. Let me know if you have any questions." She smiled and made her way to the only piece of furniture that seemed to be in the house; a small kitchen table, and went through some papers there.

Lonnie walked around and into the livingroom. There was a big bay window and a stone fireplace with lots of floor space. The hard wood under the window was buckled and he guessed it was water damage from a leak. He'll have to remember that and put it in the offer to lower the price to cover that repair. 'You don't even know if she'll like this place' There was a push/pull going on inside him. He really like it - hoped she would really like it, and wondered if not bringing her was a good idea. 'Relax, your just lookin' you ain't signing anything today' He shook his head and laughed. He was nervous with this he had to admit. He headed into the sitting room; it was smaller, but cozy, with a regular window and a door at the end of the room. He walked through it and he ended up in the kitchen.

"Good so far?" The realtor asked.

"Yeah. Real good. I'm gonna head upstairs quick, then I have to get back to the station."

"No problem. Just to let you know there are currently no offers on this residence, but I do have another showing after you. Things could change very quickly since this is the first day it's been on the market. Not to pressure you at all, I just want to let you know that once things get going – they go."

"I understand." He made his way to the stairs and his long legs made it up in a few strides. There was a window and a space for a small table to the right and directly in front of him two small bedrooms. He walked down and looked into another bedroom that was a fair size, then a bathroom beside it, and across from that the main bedroom. Walking in he was surprised how big and light it was. There was a small bay window with room for seating, beside it an electric fireplace encased in stone, and at the end of the room a large bathroom. He walked in and smiled. There was a shower that was six feet long and taller in height that was a walk through. It was open on both ends with mutable shower heads on the tops and sides of the quartz walls. Lonnie had never seen anything like this before, and he knew Frankie would just love it; And he would just love coming in here when she was in the shower, running his hands down her back and around her tight stomach and-

"Lieutenant?" She startled him. "Sorry, but my other appointment will be here in about five minutes. Can I schedule you another viewing?"

"Yes, please do."

"Fine, my assistant will contact you... where...?"

"The station is the best way to get a hold of me."

"Very good. She'll be in touch soon."

He thanked her and nodded, walking down the stairs he said to himself out loud,

"Our home – this is ours; this is our place now." All of the sudden he was certain, without a doubt in his mind.

Lonnie stopped just before he opened the front door and turned to the realtor that was coming down the stairs.

"Is something wrong Lieutenant?"

"No Ma'am." Lonnie took a deep breath and smiled at her. "I'd like to put an offer in."

The realtor smiled. "Wonderful! I'll start the paper work."

Lonnie walked out while the couple who had the appointment after him came in. He said hello and jogged back to the cruiser, trying not to get soaked as it was pouring now. He bucked in and looked at his watch, he still had some time to kill. He knew Frankie was out with her co-workers for lunch, so as much as he'd like to grab her now, he relented and began making a plan on how he was going to bring her here. He decided he wasn't going to tell her about the offer just yet. If she honestly didn't like it, he would pull the offer out. But if she did like it, the offer would secure that they got in. Either way she would know.

His phone dinged and he picked it up and smiled. The text from Frankie said she had a surprise for him when she got back to the apartment, he texted back 'Can't wait!'. Now it seemed, today after his shift would be the best time to bring her here. There were a few things he had to do yet and pick up, and scoffed at the time, driving off to run his errands before his lunch was up.

"Lieutenant Jamison come back"

"Yeah Parker, I'm here."

"You on your way back to the station?" No he wasn't, but Lonnie guessed he was now.

"Yeah I am."

"You may want to stop at The Twelve Oaks on your way." That's where Frankie was, he began to panic." Why? What's wrong?" Parker heard the worry in his voice and shook his head.

"The manager called and asked if we could escort a large party from the restaurant as they are getting a bit..." Parker struggled for the words and had to put the receiver down because he broke out laughing. "...a bit rowdy." This time Parker laughed out loud and Lonnie heard it. "I'm sorry Lonnie, Sweet and Bubba are already there."

'Good Lord what has she gotten herself into.' He thought, wondering if the rowdiness was caused by a few too many, and he smiled. He'd never seen Frankie with some liquor in her, and he was kinda looking forward to the show. 'Must be about what she wanted to tell me.'

"10-4 Parker, I' on my way."

"Bubba – Sweet, you copy that?"

"Yeah Parker." Bubba was smirking. "We copy that."

Lonnie stepped on the gas, hoping there was no traffic to slow him down so he could pick up his Lady.

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"Aww we're real sorry sugar, we don't mean no disrespect.-" Reba began talking to the manager then hick-upped, and Roach hung on to her arm and laughed as she complained about her shoes. "We are awful sorry." And continued to hick-up as they walked out.

Bubba and Sweet smiled and smirked to themselves as they rounded up the OPS team and started escorting them out of the restaurant.

"Are we kicked out of the hotel too?!" Felicia almost yelled. The manager shook his head 'No' and pointed to the door. "Ohhh, okay bud, thank you!" Whinnie broke out laughing as her and Felicia were trying to figure out where the local bar was.

"Do you know?" Whinnie asked Sweet

"Know what Ma'am?"

"Where the local bar is? My friend and I aren't done yet." Sweet smiled and looked at his boots before looking back up at the two wobblily women.

"Yes Ma'am, you're done." Whinnie looked flabbergasted and Bubba laughed out loud as Sweet moved them gently to the entrance.

Lonnie walked through the doors and looked around for Frankie. Bubba saw him and smiled, pointing to where the planters were. He looked over and saw her laughing with Marty and Foley. Foley had his arm behind her resting on another planter box and Lonnie began to grind his teeth a little. He didn't know this Foley well, and he was standing way to close to Frankie for his liking. Marty looked up and saw him, and punched Frankie's shoulder. She pushed her back and Marty pointed to the doors. When she saw Lonnie she waved hysterically at him and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"We're off!, See ya later alligator. Hey Lonnie" Marty waved and Foley held on to her shoulders as they left.

"In a while crocodile." Frankie winked.

"Lieutenant." Foley and Lonnie nodded at each other.

Lonnie stood with his hands on his hips and Frankie stood there with her arms crossed smiling at him. He walked closer to her, and she ran her fingers down his forearm, giving him tingles all over.

"Well hello officer, what brings you here.?"

"A beautiful lady that's maybe had too much to drink at lunch with her friends." She scoffed then giggled, covering her mouth. Lonnie was very amused by this, and walked closer to her still. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. "What were you drinkin' Darlin'?" Frankie put her finger on her cheek then smiled, and stumbled a bit. Lonnie caught her and she giggled more.

"Never mind, you can tell me in the car."

The manager was walking by and Frankie stopped him "Sir, my friends and I are very sorry we caused such a disturbance, we really didn't mean too" He forced a smile and moved on to assist his customers.

"Lonnie I have the best news!-"

"Just wait a little bit till we're in the car." He held her arm and walked her to the squad car, opening the door, handing her the belt, then walking to the other side to get in himself.

"Frankie, I can't stay with you Darlin', I gotta go back to the station." She pouted and he wanted her lips on him.

"But-"

"I'm still on duty. I want to hear everything, but I also don't want to rush through it, and right now that's what would happen..." He hated seeing her even the least bit saddened, it really bugged him.

She put her hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes at her touch. She leaned in and licked his lips, then slowly slid her tongue in his mouth and kissed him gently. Her lips tasted like Jack Danials. He loved Jack Danials, especially on her lips. Lonnie grabbed the back of her hair and pushed her mouth on his hard, and she moaned, making him want her right now. He broke off the kiss, realizing where he was. He stared at her with parted lips; she knew the look he was giving her, and she knew what he wanted. Frankie blew him a kiss and he growled at her, his intense eyes staring at her like she was his pray, and she loved it. He cleared his throat and adjusted himself, trying to regain his composure.

"I'll drop you at the apartment. My shift ends at 6:00 but I have some stuff to pick up so I'll be home about 6:30 I reckon." Frankie smiled and winked at him.

"Let's go then Lieutenant, the sooner you get back to work the sooner I can have you when your off."

'Fuck'. His mind wondered to what she said the entire drive back to his apartment. He needed to focus, and he couldn't do it when she was with him – she pulled him in every single time.

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Lonnie came in the door of the apartment with his hands full and called to Frankie. No answer. His guts tightened a bit and he placed the stuff on the kitchen table and walked around the apartment looking for her. The T.V. was on, and the theme song for "Blue Mountain State" rang out. He stuck his head around the corner from the kitchen, and there she was, all curled up under her huge duvet, fast asleep on the couch. He leaned up against the threshold and crossed his arms, staring at her beautiful face. He loved watching her sleep. Sometimes she would grab his t-shirt while she was sleeping next to him and hold it while she slept; not knowing she was doing it. He loved it when she did that, and would stare at her until the wee hours of the morning.

"Frankie," Lonnie whispered "Frankie, wake up." She groaned and rolled over, smiling at him.

"What time is it?"

"6:50."

"Did you just get home?" She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"I did. Get dressed Darlin', we're goin' out." She grinned and her eyes went wide.

"Where are we going? Do I have to get dressed up?"

"No, you don't. You'll see." He nudged her, "Go on, get dressed." While she was getting herself together, Lonnie prepared a few things for when they got to the house.

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Frankie bugged Lonnie the whole way, asking questions: where are they going, when will they be there, what is it, but he said nothing, just smirked at her. The realtor had left the lock box on the door knob and texted him the code to unlock it. He was thankful this time it wasn't raining. It was a sunny evening with clear skies, so they'd be able to walk around the property and see every nook and cranny of it.

He pulled up and parked on the street across from the house, so Frankie could see it in its entirety. She turned and looked at him confused.

"Are we walking somewhere from here?"

"Nope, wait here a minute." Lonnie opened the tiny trunk of his Corvette, and pulled out a bouquet of Zinnia's in every color, and a decorative bag. He opened Frankie's door and she stepped out, still confused. She saw the flowers and looked up at him, and he smiled.

"Come on." He took her hand and they walked to the porch.

"Wow it's a beautiful house – oh look!" She pointed to an Osprey nest in the tree on the front lawn. "That's huge...oh, you can see the sunset in the back, wanna go?" Lonnie was so happy she was excited about the place, but he had planned this out down to the minute and he was not deviating from it.

"In a minute, yeah; but I have something to show you – come on."

"Why are we-"

"Just come on Darlin'"

He put in the code and opened the door for her, when she stepped inside she sighed, and then, she clued in. Frankie turned to Lonnie with her big eyes even larger at the realization of why he brought her here. Her hands went to her face and she covered her mouth, staring at him. He closed the door and stood there with the flowers and the bag.

"Lonnie...?"

He walked toward her, handing her the bouquet of Zinnia's.

"Frankie, I wanted to show you this place because...because I think it would be perfect for us...for us to start a life together. I want to make sure you like it – I thought you would, it has lots of light, and it's cozy and has a big kitchen and sunsets...we can watch the sunsets together, and have drinks on the porch in the summer, and...and watch our children play..." He looked at her and she was just staring and smiling at him; he didn't know what that meant. He cleared his throat. "This just came on the market; I thought you would love it, so I put an offer in – but listen – if you don't, for any reason want-"

She dropped the flowers and attacked his lips, and he hit the door with his back. She kissed him passionately; moaning and breathing hard when their lips parted, and he was lost in her. He yanked her closer to him and grabbed her hair, pushing his mouth closer on hers. They kissed for what seemed like forever. Frankie looked at Lonnie and small tears ran down her cheeks.

"So, does that mean you like it?" He asked jokingly.

"I love it so much, I can't believe you did this." She hugged him hard, and he was so relieved.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be mad that I looked at a place without you..."

"No, not at all. I would have been mad had you bought it without me looking at it or anything." She kissed him again "I would have picked this." She grabbed his hands "So... are we going to do this?" Lonnie squeezed her hands and a huge smile appeared across his face.

"Hell yeah." She jumped around and he laughed. She kissed his lips and he sighed. "I'm gonna look around, are you coming with?" He grabbed her hand and they walked around the house together, talking about where they would put the furniture and what store to buy it from...

When they finally made their way out to the back yard Frankie screeched with happiness. The large yard backed onto a field with tree lines at the sides and very back, and a crystal clear view of the sunset. There was a firepit off to the left, and a lovely little garden shed to the right. Back by the cow fence there was a large rectangular area of tilled up soil for a vegetable garden. The sides of the backyard had scattered apple and fruit trees running down the lengths, and there was a raggedy patch of raspberry canes growing up a run down fence closer to the house.

"Lonnie this is so wonderful! I love it!" His heart was about to explode. Never did he think someone else's happiness would mean so much to him. Frankie walked over to him, and taking his hand, lead him down to the fence, and they sat on the grass.

"I wanted to tell you earlier, what we were all celebrating today..." She put her hand on his cheek and kissed him. "I'm free." He didn't get it, she could tell, so Frankie waited for him to roll it around his mind for a minute. Suddenly it clicked, and he looked at her with huge green eyes and parted, pouty lips.

"You mean-"

"That's right, we're disbanded – no more OPS. Ever." Lonnie grabbed her face and kissed her so hard her knees would have given out if she was standing.

"Really!?" This was the best thing he'd ever heard, especially now. 'Thank God'. Now he knew she would be safe, and they could live a normal life together.

"Really. We're done." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they sat there, neither of them speaking, just staring at the sunset.

As the sun began to go down and the dark clouds started creeping through the pink and orange sky, Lonnie stood up and brushed the grass off his jeans. He held Frankie's hand, and helped her up.

"Do you want to go now?"

"No, not yet." He looked at her, then looked down. He took both of her hands, and looked back up into her gorgeous eyes.

"Frankie, I love you more than I can ever put into words, and I..." He took a deep breath and continued. "...and I never want anyone else. I think about you all the time, I want you near me all the time, I want..." He was sweating a little, he could feel it as he fidgeted one of his hands inside the floral bag. The bag fell to the grass and he took her other hand again.

"I want you to be my wife."

Lonnie got down on one knee and looked up at Frankie, who was now balling and smiling at the same time. He took her finger, and slid on a beautiful diamond and gold ring. She held it up to her face to take a better look, the whole time bouncing a little, she couldn't help it.

"Will you marry me Frankie?" She was crying so hard that her voice came out in gasps.

"Yes...Yes I'll marry you." He stood up and wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his neck, he could feel the warm tears on his skin, and felt completely content. She was the only person who ever made him feel like that; she was the only one who ever made him feel the things he did now. He lifted her chin up with his index finger, and wiped of the tears from her cheeks.

"All the promises I made to you in the park, I meant, and will never break. I love you Darlin'." She held him tight.

"I want to get married now, - I mean soon, like, this week?. I don't want to wait, not a year or whatever, I don't want a fancy wedding..." She blurted it out so fast, and now wondered if that was something he wanted. " Um, do you? Do you want a fancy wedding? 'Cause if you do, I'm good with that. I don't want you to not have what you want, I-"

Lonnie smiled at her. He was completely amused at the fact she thought she had put her foot in her mouth, and was now trying to explain it. He thought it was funny she didn't know what to do. "Do you want a big wedding?"

He rubbed her arms, "No. I want what you want – not fancy, and not in a year; the sooner the better." He was actually relieved to hear her say that.

"Well, we could have a big BBQ under a tent, have some games – horse shoes... volleyball...a place with a pool maybe, like a huge cook out..." She looked up at him and he had the biggest smile on his face she had ever seen.

"Darlin', that sounds just perfect. Let's do it." Frankie squealed and bounced around again and he laughed at her inability to contain her excitement. He grabbed her and kissed her, and she melted into him.

They stood there for a long time holding each other, before walking back to the house to lock it up; their arms still tightly wrapped around each other, making plans for their future.

Their future.

Together. Finally.